Interview audio processing through => ZoomH1 + Lav mic + Post editing on Vegas

[Carlos Silva] "a) I am not confident on setting the ZoomH1 audio quality to either WAV 16-bit/48khz or WAV 24-bit/48khz. Are there significant differences between 24-bit and 16-bit that justifies the bigger size?"

24bit gives you more information so that you can record with greater accuracy. This is great for music and audio processing but doesn't really help with a voice over. I say it's overkill for an interview.

[Carlos Silva] "b) ZoomH1 has a low-cut filter to reduce background noise. Are this kind of filter useful to be set in the recorder? Or would be better to turn it "off" and proceed with adjustments just in post editing through Vegas? "

The low-cut is actually more of a "rumble filter" which removes sub-bass frequencies whether they are from background or your program material. Since the human voice will not be in that range you can leave it on. It will help if the microphone gets bumped or something. It will also help with wind noise of you're shooting outside.

~jr

http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com

[Carlos Silva] "About the ZoomH1 low-cut filter, do you think it could be useful/recommended in someway to cut air conditioner sound, car traffic sound from the streets, telephones ringing from next door offices? "

It could help with a low rumble of an air conditioner but not the higher frequencies, and definitely not traffic or a telephone. The "low" in low-cut stands for "low frequency". It has the exact same effect as using the Track EQ in Vegas and cutting the bass/low end. It does not perform noise reduction of any kind, just bass/low frequency reduction.

To reduce air conditioner noise you need something which does broadband reduction. I use to recommend BIAS Sound Soap but BIAS went out of business. It looks like AVID still sells it so maybe they support it now but I would definitely check before buying. Otherwise you'll need something more expensive like iZotope RX2 or Sony Noise Reduction.

For noise like traffic or telephone, you definitely need something like iZotope RX2 or Sony's new Spectral Layers Pro and plan to spend a lot of time removing it. It's not a magic button by any stretch of the imagination... it's more like surgery.

~jr

http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com

[Carlos Silva] "Since I am dealing with speech, by using the ZoomH1 low-cut filter and record a clearer speech since the begging would make my workflow simpler and faster (Vegas low-cut EQ would be eliminate/unnecessary) Does it make sense?"

Yes, using the low-cut filter on a voice recording is fine and recommended since there isn't anything down in those low frequencies that you would want on your vocal track.

~jr

http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com