Digital sound

[GarethJM]

What is the best way to record sound digitally? I'm not familiar with mindisc player technology, is that the best way?
Also, how do you download the sound from your minidisc player to your PC?
Thanks.

[Pryce]

Hello Gareth,
"BEST", aaahhh! that Old Chesnut.
Best is a relative word; Best What?
Do you mean, Cheapest, Costlyest, Best Value, Easiest to use, Coolest, Sexiest, "Best left in the box"?
You will have to give us just a little more to go on - however here is a bit to go on.

The Mini Disk is one of the cheapest digital media you can buy. You can get good, expensive, featurefull ones from, say, Marantz that costs quite alot all the way down to the Sonys/Panasonics etc of this world that will cost you circa ?100+. There is an output socket on the back of the MD player and there should be a microphone/ext.input socket on the back of your sound card on your pc. Get a cable to fit both sockets are you are quid's in. If you are going to use a mike input to the MD then do a level test and then play it back to the pc and see what levels you get. Mikes dont send back a high level so you may need a pre-amp. Some MDs are better than others.

There will be big discussions here if everybody adds them - there usuall is with sound recomendations - however - if I may add just a little to your decision list, Digital Audio is not your only options. Recording on a "Good" (sorry - yes this is a relavtive word too) tape machine. OK so the bigees are expensive but I have used an old SVHS-C Stereo Panasonic camera as a sound recording media a few times and have got some absolutley spiffing results - as good as my digital option (from my canon mini-dv camera).

Best of luck

Pryce

(Errors & Omissions Expected)

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http://prycejones.com/film/

[dstepson]

The best sound is Digital Audio Tape (DAT). It used quite often on 35 mm feature films instead of Nagra. It is also used for playback on music videos. Top of the line DAT with time code costs about $7,000.

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[GarethJM]

$7000 is just a little bit too expensive at the moment. I'll give the minidisc format a try.
Thanks

[dstepson]

They dont all cost $7,000 just the one with timecode you can get a Sony D-9 I believe for about $700.

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