recording 16 hours of audio? logistics -Sound Forge - PC

Sound Forge - PC

Subject:recording 16 hours of audio? logistics Posted by: pb Date:2/13/2005 7:01:21 AM Hello experienced laptop recordists.... this is new territory for me so I am soliciting advice. I am bidding on a contract to record a conference, strictly for archival purposes (eg: "I certainly did not say that, here listen to the speech again..."). They want 2 days @ 8 hours archived. 16 hours. I was thinking of plugging the mixer and a signal generator into a DVCAM vcr set to DV speed with 184 minute tapes, giving me about 4.5 hours per tape but then realized I will have to capture all that audio, tying up another 16 hours. Bad idea. Another factor is I really don't want to take one of my DVCAM decks out of service. Sound Forge? Yes, but how to get audio into my Toshiba laptop other than via the mic input (not sure if it is stereo or real mic level line. Don't trust it in any case) So I am going to use my laptop a USB audio interface and an external USB drive. My Toshiba laptop is a 1.8 Ghz Celeron with 256 meg RAM. USB2 via an adpter card. What do you think of this product: " UA-1A USB Audio Interface" http://www.mtlc.net/main.php?Products&FolderID=262&ShowItem=753&b=All Would it be up to the job of transferring my Mackie 1202-VLZ output to the USB2 connected external HD? Are there any issues around concurrently capturing and recording via USB2? Thanks for reading and if you can spare a few minutes to look at that USB adapter link, I welcome your opinions. Peter
Subject:RE: recording 16 hours of audio? logistics Reply by: musicvid10 Date:2/13/2005 8:54:19 AM I have recorded 11 hours continuously with a USB audio interface into Sound Forge at 22khz Mono, 16-bit (That is very sufficient for conference recordings). File size was about 1.7 Gig. No glitches, no dropouts. However, when it is "must have" audio, I always back up using an mp3 recorder and external mic, it's saved my butt when there were problems with the board feed. Be fearless, it will work, but always back up.
Subject:RE: recording 16 hours of audio? logistics Reply by: pb Date:2/13/2005 9:06:56 AM musicvid: please recommend a USB device. I included a link in the initial post, is that affordable little box practical? I don't mind going going to a higher price point if that is what it takes to ensure reliability. This forum is always the best source of audio advice. Peter
Subject:RE: recording 16 hours of audio? logistics Reply by: musicvid10 Date:2/13/2005 9:39:06 AM pb, I have no experience with the $99 Edirol, but assume it's in a class with similar models by M-Audio and others. I use an M-Audio OmniStudio USB which is a lot bigger and has more mixing capabilities, but is still rather low-end. The $200 Tascam has also been recommended to me. I know some people won't look at anything but firewire, but I've had no problems with USB.
Subject:RE: recording 16 hours of audio? logistics Reply by: mpd Date:2/13/2005 10:23:38 AM I record with an M-Audio MobilePre in our studio (VO for multimedia) with SoundForge. It works well for us, and our clients have been very pleased with the results, even when compared to recordings done in one of large studios in town. I bought this I/F mainly because we wanted a portable recording solution that would work well in the studio. Keep in mind that you get what you pay for. The line outs are unbalanced -10dBV, and the A/D is only 16 bit. However, in your case, recording at 22.05/16 or maybe even 16/16 may save you a lot of disk space if it is just archival.
Subject:RE: recording 16 hours of audio? logistics Reply by: pb Date:2/13/2005 10:41:46 AM Thanks. Now I am thinking I'd like to be able to use the laptop for recording VOs -- so what's the best solution for KSM32 -Mackie 1202 -> ???? -> USB -> ghard drive? I will never need more than two audio inputs and already have two mixers. Phantom power isn't an issue because I have an FP 24 field mixer to provide that and also to make the output line feed. Peter
Subject:RE: recording 16 hours of audio? logistics Reply by: pb Date:2/13/2005 12:19:36 PM the $99 Edirol, Available in Canada, thus avoiding the UPS legalized theft via "brokerage fees". Looks to be all I really need but I'll wait until tomorrow night to see what else is recommended. Thanks for all your help. Peter
Subject:RE: recording 16 hours of audio? logistics Reply by: Geoff_Wood Date:2/13/2005 1:24:57 PM I use an M-Audio Transit on the same li'l Mackie mixer. You will be needing an NTFS HDD, size, and file format that supports the likely resultant file-size. Suggest mono instead of stereo, to reduce file-size. Also you will be using the laptop running on mains power, so check that you don't get a background buzz from the SMPS power supply (my HP Pavillion buzzes away at ~ -55dB). It may be worthwhile building/obtaining a 'linear' power supply if this is a problem. You should also look at a 'safety'' recording. DAT on LP , or DVcam maybe .... geoff
Subject:RE: recording 16 hours of audio? logistics Reply by: musicvid10 Date:2/13/2005 4:34:36 PM I'll wait until tomorrow night to see what else is recommended. Nothing against the Edirol, but I think you'll be happier down the road with more mixing/input options including XLR http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/MobilePreUSB-main-1.html http://www.tascam.com/Products/US-122.html
Subject:RE: recording 16 hours of audio? logistics Reply by: Rednroll Date:2/13/2005 6:54:59 PM Peter, I use a Sound Devices USBpre for my laptop. It's very good quality 24bit/96Khz, has balanced mic IN or Line IN inputs or spdif digital. There's one limitation in using a USB sound card, which may be a concern in your setup. If the sound card does not have it's own external power supply as in the case of my USBpre, then the sound card will use the power supplied from the USB port. A USB sound card will most likely require all the power that is available on the USB port, so if you connect a hard drive also to the USB port, make sure that it has an external plug to supply power to it, because the USB port most likely won't be able to supply enough power to both the sound card and the hard drive. To avoid hanging a bunch of devices off of the laptop, I would use the laptops internal hard drive and then get a laptop with an internal DVD burner for immediate backup of what you recorded. Afterall that's why you're using a laptop is for portability right? You could even elliminate having to drag the Mackie mixer along with your setup, because the USBpre also has a headphone jack for monitoring inputs and outputs, as well as line outs. So why weight yourself down unnecessarily by having to connect a bunch of external attachments? I would be willing to bet the USBpre's mic preamps are better quality than the Mackie also. For 16bit/44.1 mono audio it takes 17.5 meg per minute of hard drive space. So for 8 hours of recording you'll need 8.4 gig of available HD space. For the entire 16 hours you'll need 16.8gig, definately doable for laptop internal hard drives. Use a utility like Winrar and you can break the 8 hour record of the 8.4gig WAV file into 2 pieces and then place each piece on a DVD-R, which can then be put back together using Winrar at a later time for playback. So basically you can consolidate your entire setup into 1 mic, 1 USB pre, and 1 laptop and could run everything off the battery of the laptop depending on the life of the battery, but just one thing to plugin if you have an AC outlet nearby, which would be just the laptop. The USB pre is a little more than the other recommendations, but if you'ld like to check it out then visit: www.sounddevices.com
Subject:RE: recording 16 hours of audio? logistics Reply by: pb Date:2/13/2005 7:53:55 PM Sorry, I didn't make myself clear. mackie needed for 3 wireless lapels and two wireless stick mics or PZM in place of stick mics (not my call). I think they also want sound reinforcement, meaning spaeakers and AMP. Peter
Subject:RE: recording 16 hours of audio? logistics Reply by: pb Date:2/14/2005 5:28:50 AM "Posted by: Geoff_Wood (Ignore This User) Date: 2/13/2005 1:24:58 PM I use an M-Audio Transit on the same li'l Mackie mixer." This is available in Canada right away so, despite drooling over Brian F and others' recommendations, I opted for minimum requirement at the best price. I already have a portable FP-24 mic mixer for phantom power and mic->line so I couldn't justify buying a USB device to do the same thing. Also the el cheapo solution will work well for converting my vinyl collection to MP3. Thanks for your help. The device will be here by Thursday. How much would you guys charge for a job like this? I figured around 2000$ for the sessions and another 500$ for mastering the CDs. This was based on 60$/hr labour including four hours travel, set up and take down plus what we normally charge for Sony WRR 810/WRT 822 c/w ECM 77s wireless combos, mixer, ECM 672, SM57s etc. plus the rental of a Peavy PA system. Thanks again!
Subject:RE: recording 16 hours of audio? logistics Reply by: musicvid10 Date:2/15/2005 6:12:07 PM A piece of advice from an long-time freelancer: Regardless of your hourly rate, if you buy/rent equipment especially for this job, embed the total cost of it in your contract price. In other words, don't absorb the cost yourself no matter how benevolent you may feel. Whether or not you never use it again, or use it hundreds of times, charging for job-specific equipment costs is not only good business practice, it is expected if your client has done pro contracting in the past.

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