HVX200 Audio

[Will Hanlon]

I saw another post about people wanting to turn off the on-camera mic. Well, I know a way to not record its sound. If you set the first audio channel to input 1 (assuming you have an XLR mic plugged in) and set the second to input 2, you can just keep input 2 turned off so you don't record the on-camera mic. Better yet you could plug your mic into input 2 and set both channels to it. Then each channel you could record at a different audio level incase one spiked.

I remember reading how the HVX200 records 4 channels? How does that work if you can only set 2 channels? Does each channel have left and right audio? I'm a bit confused on this.

As far as the HVX200's audio level meter, where do you want the audio levels to fall between? After the first line, but not the second? Or after the second but not in the red? I remember on the DVX you wanted it to be in the red or that's what I remember. Well, thanks for any help guys.

[Barry Green]

In DVCPRO50 or DVCPRO-HD modes, there is no way to stop the on-camera mic from recording.

In those modes, it always records four channels, two from the XLRs and two from the onboard mic.

For the level meter, the two lines represent -20 and -12. Those are reference points you can use for calibrating your HVX inputs against an external mixer. You want to record a good strong signal without peaking; if you kept your audio between those two marks you'd never record over -12, and a lot of your potential dynamic range would go to waste.

[David Tamés]

In the HVX200 manual in the section titled "Switching Audio Input" (p. 52 in the copy I have) there's a handy chart that illustrates what inputs are mapped to each of the four audio channels that the camera records depending on how the various switch settings are arranged.

As Barry Green writes, when recording DVCPRO HD or DVCPRO 50 the camera always records four channels, however, I have found it to be pretty handy at times to have the camera mic go to Ch.3 and Ch.4 as a reference or backup. Otherwise you can simply ignore Ch.3 and Ch.4. Depending on your NLE, you can simply ignore Ch.3 and Ch.4 when you capture.

When recording DVCPRO or DV either 2 Channel or 4 Channel recording can be selected via the RECORDING SETUP => 25M REC CH SEL menu.

[Will Hanlon]

In Vegas, how do you see all four channels (with Raylight)? Does each channel have left and right audio?

[Barry Green]

Each channel is an individual mono track. So four channels = two stereo pairs.

[Blake Marnell]

I'm doing some research on systems and am leaning heavily towards the HVX200 right now. One thing I had hoped for when I saw that this unit has 4 channels of audio is that it would be possible to record 4 channels of audio from a single soundfield mike and get great surround sound right in the camera.

A little background on the principle application that I intend to use this camera for might be in order. I'm looking to shoot travelogue/festival type footage from within crowds and intend to produce material in 1080p 24 and was looking for an effect where if someone to the right rear of the camera yells out something that that sound would register in a specific channel that would make the creation of a 5.1 surround track easier and most importantly more authentic in post.

What I was hoping to create was a soundscape that would accurately recreate ambient sound as heard from the viewpoint of the camera with the least possible effort in post.

It seems to me that I might still be able to accomplish this via some creative mike placement. For instance, I could leave track 1 as built in LF and track 2 as built in RF and then use an XLR directional mike on channel 3 for LR and another mike as channel 4 RR. With enough trial and error I might be able to use this format to produce tracks that I could make into 5.1 in post.

Another possibility in shots or situations such as where a host with a microphone is in frame, seems to be to use the in camera mikes as LF and RF and use a handheld (wireless or corded) on channel 3 for use as a Center channel, and lastly use channel 4 to an XLR rearward pointing mike. Then in post I could just clone/copy channel the rearward channel 4 to both LR and RR. This would sacrifice any rearward stereo effect but I could still place voices to the left right via panning if needed.

Does this type of arrangement seem like it would fly? I'd be interested in hearing if anybody has used mike setups similar to these and if so how they worked.

Thanks for the help and I'm loving this forum and looking forward to the day when I might be able to contribute to it rather than just use it as a resource.

I guess I should also mention that I intend to use Apple Final Cut Studio HD for all post production/editing if possible.

Blake

[Marcus van Bavel]

Originally Posted by Will Hanlon

In Vegas, how do you see all four channels (with Raylight)? Does each channel have left and right audio?

Raylight (using RayMaker) puts channel 1 and 2 in the AVI as a stereo track. If you want 3 and 4 you have to convert the audio MXF files in the AUDIO folder to mono WAV files with RayMaker (it does this automatically if you either put RayMaker into the AUDIO folder and run it, or copy the audio MXF files into the VIDEO folder and convert everything, video and audio, together there).

By the way I believe channels 3 and 4 are for the built-in mics only, so it's really only useful for a scratch track or backup track.

[Barry Green]

Originally Posted by Marcus van Bavel

By the way I believe channels 3 and 4 are for the built-in mics only, so it's really only useful for a scratch track or backup track.

Depends on how you have the switches set. If you have the switches set that CH1 is INT L and CH2 is INT R, then CH3 = XLR 1 and CH4 = XLR2.

If instead you have CH1 set to INPUT1 and CH2 set to INPUT2, then CH3 = INT L and CH4 = INT R.

So 3 & 4 may be scratch tracks, or they may be your external microphone audio, depending on how you had the switches set when you shot.

[Will Hanlon]

Cool, thanks for the information guys.