Mpeg 1 layer 2 (HDV) good enough for voice over work?
by Scott Jensen
on
Oct 24, 2008 at 10:50:42 am
After much looking on the inter tubes I've concluded that to get good clean audio to my Canon HV20 I should purchase the Juicedlink preamp and with it some quality lavalier and shotgun mic.
For voiceover work I'd like to purchase the Porta Booth portable sound studio (for hotel rooms and car) with a good voice over mic. Will the juicedlink pre-amp fed into my Canon HV20 give top results for voice over? Or should I get one of those pre-amps that feeds the audio via USB right to the laptop? I am asking only about audio quality and not archive ability.
Re: Mpeg 1 layer 2 (HDV) good enough for voice over work? by Jeff Pulera on Oct 24, 2008 at 4:39:52 pm
Hi Scott,
I'm a little confused by the post - do you want to record talent speaking on camera, like an interview, or simply record some audio clips to be used in your NLE perhaps?
If just to get audio, then go straight to the computer, camcorder doesn't need to be involved, and audio purists are not thrilled with the HDV audio specs either
Re: Mpeg 1 layer 2 (HDV) good enough for voice over work? by Douglas Spotted Eagle on Oct 24, 2008 at 5:03:34 pm
Jeff is absolutely right; record straight to computer. But... Well-recorded (read "you know what you're doing") HDV audio is perfect for, and designed around, voice/dialog. It is very challenged for musical ranges, but for voice, it's spot-on.
But...why go there? As Jeff mentions, record straight to 'puter. I carry an AT Tube 2020 USB mic most places I go, it sounds TERRIFIC, and any NLE or DAW can access it.
Douglas Spotted Eagle
VASST
Certified Sony Vegas Trainer
Aerial Camera/Instructor
Re: Mpeg 1 layer 2 (HDV) good enough for voice over work? by Scott Jensen on Oct 24, 2008 at 7:31:03 pm
The Audio-Technica 2020 (USB version) sounds like an easy and quality solution.
After more internets reading I wondered why not connect a shotgun or lav mic (which I'll be getting anyway) directly to the hole in the side of my laptop (the one with the microphone symbol on it). That way these mics could do double duty...used with my camcorder and used to record direcly to computer when desired and I could avoid purchasing the Audio Technica 2020 USB altogether.
Then I ran into this quote.
"Problem one is that the standard mic/line input on almost any laptop (or for that matter,most standard sound cards on an average desktop) is cruddy for any purpose. It is likely, among other things, to be too near the power circuitry, and introduce a noticeable low-level buzz or hum on a low powered input signal"
Is that why you choose the USB type mic?
Is the input on my notebook line level or mic level?
Which lav and shotgun mic can go straight to the mic input of my notebook, or should I avoid that for reasons mentioned in quote above?
Re: Mpeg 1 layer 2 (HDV) good enough for voice over work? by Douglas Spotted Eagle on Oct 25, 2008 at 12:18:15 am
The build in sound card is but one issue...DC Offset, crappy converters, etc all come into play. Also, very few mics of quality have a 3.5mm connector.
I happen to really like the sound of the 2020 USB mic. It's sweet, smooth, and I was using one in the studio off and on long before it went USB.
I'd avoid the computer input if possible.
Douglas Spotted Eagle
VASST
Certified Sony Vegas Trainer
Aerial Camera/Instructor
Re: Mpeg 1 layer 2 (HDV) good enough for voice over work? by Mike Cohen on Oct 27, 2008 at 5:22:09 pm
Most of the voice over we record is synced to picture - thus we record video and audio together. Back in old timey-time, we would take the TC super output from a beta deck and XLR mic audio into a 2nd deck, as our clients narrate while they watch a video.
Nowadays, in the field anyway, we point a HDV camera at the computer screen, clip a lav to the client, and let them do their thing. Then we digitize the tape, video and all, and edit.
