jnewell Posted July 22, 2006 Report Share Posted July 22, 2006 Hello...new user here. Very brief background - I got interested in the StoryCorps concept and before a visit to my parents decided to purchase 21st century recording gear. After some research, I purchased an RH-910, an MS907 mic and a set of V500 phones plus some discs. The experience worked out very well, and I have uploaded the PCM recordings to some DVDs for backup. I plan to do more of this with my parents and my wife's parents, but have a question I would appreciate your help with.I did the first set of recordings in PCM. It seems that the only drawback is that PCM has a relatively short recording time per disk - is that correct? If I use Hi-SP, or even Hi-LP, for these voice recordings, am I likely to notice any degradation in sound quality? Are there other disadvantages for editing or backing up to other disks?Many thanksJ. Newell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Low Volta Posted July 22, 2006 Report Share Posted July 22, 2006 - HiLP could be reasonable for speech, but it is very probable you will hear some degradation in sound quality- PCM definitely is overkill for speech- HiSp gives 8 hours of recording time on a 1gb disc and (especially for speech, but for music almost just as well) does not give a significant audible difference when compared to PCMjust go for HiSP and you'll have a lot more recording time compared to PCM, while you will never have to be sorry when confronted with an audible artifact, that you chose quantity over quality with HiLP... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenmachine Posted July 22, 2006 Report Share Posted July 22, 2006 PCM recording will also give a shorter battery life than either of the other modes. Nevertheless i'd generally use the best quality i can afford. If the recording wouldn't be longer than 90 minutes (an occasional upload / disc change doesn't hurt), i'd use PCM even for speech. You can then convert the WAV to any other lossless/lossy format for backup. Bear in mind that ATRAC[3(+)] is a proprietary format, that needs the use of proprietary software to be usable.Here are some hints how to back up your files, for backing up Hi-SP or Hi-LP without conversion to a different format, you need to remove DRM first:http://forums.minidisc.org/index.php?showtopic=16088 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnewell Posted July 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2006 Thanks to both of you for the replies. I think I'd read the backup post during my pre-purchase research and that was probably part of why I used PCM - even a complete newbie like myself could successfully copy the files on the MD! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tekdroid Posted July 22, 2006 Report Share Posted July 22, 2006 Thanks to both of you for the replies. I think I'd read the backup post during my pre-purchase research and that was probably part of why I used PCM - even a complete newbie like myself could successfully copy the files on the MD!That's the way. Personally, I would never record priceless once-in-a-lifetime interviews with people in any compressed format, open or proprietary.You bought some decent stuff, and the limitations (battery life, recording time) aren't really limitations at all (if you ask me - but might be for some people), so I tend to think recording with anything less than the best quality available to you would be a stroke of insanity The extended battery life and more audio per disc will be long forgotten, but the audio will live on. Do it at the best quality possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faulkner1953 Posted August 13, 2006 Report Share Posted August 13, 2006 For grins, why not try the various options by recording yourself? You can then evaluate the results with your own ears. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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