That sounds decent, Mike - we're down to a laptop, and A/D USB converter
and two mics. That will go in a laptop bag.
Background ...
For those who don't know what we are talking about ('cause I got one
email comment), the software makes the laptop a Digital Audio
Workstation (DAW) with multiple inputs like a recording studio.
- You can set the equalization on each mic separately to accommodate
room acoustics and mic properties (compensate for cheap mics).
- The compressor can limit gain above a preset level so people don't
"boom" (this is appropriate for the speaker as they move their head
around relative to the mic)
- The compressor also can amplify that which is below a threshold level
and difficult to pickup (this would be for the audience mic).
dbc.
--
David Cook
Quoting Mike Ashton <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>:
> It's been a while since I've done recording, but what I used to do
> is:
>
> N-Track Studio - is a US$50 multi track software package written by a
> guy in Italy. It accepts CuBase VST plugins ( and others ) and can
> apply
> live effects ( dependent on CPU ). They have a demo which is fuly
> functional except it inserts an organ noise every 30 seconds when
> mixed
> down. In my opinion it's better then CuBase, and with the right sound
> hardware makes for an excellent home recording studio setup.
>
> Then a USB Sound card and the laptop mic in for two mics on
> individual
> tracks. Or from a mixer, to the two line ins (two sound cards) for 4
> track recording. I know today there are nice little USB mixers with
> 2,4
> & 8 ins with proper mic jacks with phantom power starting around
> US$80
> for a 2 mic one.
>
> With NTrack, you can apply a compressor to each channel or to the
> final
> mixdown or both.
>
> It will record each track individually, and the effects settings.
> Once
> done you can play back or edit each track in an external audio editor
> like audacity or CoolEditPro. Once your happy you just mix it down.
>
> Only limitations with NTrack is CPU (effects) and disk speed (writing
> raw wav to disk for each track).
>
> Mike
>
> David Cook wrote:
> > I know this flies in the face of the "less gear" mantra, but if you
> have
> > a proper presentation mic, audience mic, mixer & 2 channel
> compressor
> > you will eliminate the need for post-production. (Compressor is the
> > most important piece of gear for this type of setup).
> >
> > I am a hardware side guy using a 32 track desk and processing gear
> but
> > maybe we could find some DAW software that would do this on a
> laptop
> > with USB input?
> >
> > dbc.
> > --
> > David Cook
> >
> >
> > Quoting Fulko Hew <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>:
> >
> >
> >> On 3/27/07, Dave Donovan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> >>
> >>
> >>> If I understand correctly, there are 3 barriers to making this
> >>>
> >> happen
> >>
> >>> consistently for each meeting:
> >>>
> >>> 1) Equipment: wireless body mics, maybe a small mixer or
> >>>
> >> multichannel
> >>
> >>> recorder. Remember that these presentations are often
> interactive
> >>>
> >> and to
> >>
> >>> make it useful, it helps to record the audience questions and
> >>>
> >> input. I
> >>
> >>> video taped one, but the lighting and acoustics in the large
> >>>
> >> council chamber
> >>
> >>> made the tape pretty useless. Besides, video of a presenter
> >>>
> >> pointing out of
> >>
> >>> frame wasn't very meaningful.
> >>>
> >> I've been doing this now for the Toronto Perl Mongers for about 3
> >> years now.
> >> (even though I haven't gotten around to publishing some recordings
> >> for almost a year.)
> >>
> >> I've tried a few setups, and I'm sure our acoustic environment is
> >> different,
> >> but, here are my experiences....
> >>
> >> I started with a cheap < $10 plastic lapel mic from Future Shop
> >> (something
> >> they sold for people who were trying VoIP/gaming style stuff from
> >> their PCs).
> >> I plugged that into my laptop. Oh... with 25 feet of extra wire in
> >> between, and
> >> I use Audacity to record it. I've found that the lapel mic I have
> is
> >> good enough
> >> to also pick up the audience questions (in our room), and with a
> >> little bit of
> >> post-processing, I can bump the audience up to intellegible
> levels.
> >>
> >>
> >>> 2) Someone to show up consistently with the equipment, set it
> up,
> >>>
> >> make the
> >>
> >>> recording and pack up the equipment at the end of the night. The
> >>>
> >> trouble is
> >>
> >>> there there aren't too many people who make it to _every_ meeting
> >>>
> >> and so
> >>
> >>> getting the equipment to show up every time can take some
> planning.
> >>>
> >> Yup. This is the biggest problem. So I've only missed 1 meeting
> in
> >> the past 3 years. :-(
> >> Well, OK 2 meetings. And at that time, a friend with a FLASH
> based
> >> audio
> >> recorder, recorded the meeting for me. (But he lugged in a mixer,
> >> the recorder,
> >> 2 mics, balanced cables, etc.)
> >>
> >> I tried a cheap FM wireless setup, but in downtown Toronto
> >> (Young/Bloor),
> >> It didn't work well enough. It only had a usable range of < 10
> feet
> >> (even though
> >> out in the country I could get 30+ feet. And I wasn't going to go
> >> out
> >> an buy a 'real'
> >> wireless setup, so I stayed with the cheap lapel mic.
> >>
> >> I wanted to (and still do) have another mic for audience
> questions,
> >> but 99%
> >> of all laptops only have a mono-mic level input, and I don't want
> to
> >> carry around extra gear. I've looked for USB and Firewire input
> >> stages,
> >> but they are either too expensive, or line-level only
> neccessitating
> >> an external
> >> mixer, and then I'm back to having too much gear. And I haven't
> had
> >> the
> >> time to design/build my own (2 chanel USB mic level input device).
> >>
> >>
> >>> 3) Post production. There is a non-trivial amount of work
> involved
> >>>
> >> in
> >>
> >>> getting the slideshow lined up with the audio track, and
> producing
> >>>
> >> the
> >>
> >>> Podcast so that it's fit for general consumption.
> >>>
> >> This is the biggest issue.
> >>
> >> I decided not to try to produce an audio/video podcast.
> >> The slides if provided are available seperately, and you can't
> >> see what might be done on the white-board, but you can read along.
> >>
> >> I've only had one person say, they wanted to see an A/V
> production.
> >> Most people seem to be happy just to have even the audio!
> >>
> >> As for audio post-production, thats what takes up most of my time,
> >> and why I haven't released anything lately....
> >>
> >> For every meeting, I have to find the time, to listen to the whole
> >> thing
> >> again, trimming the front and the back. Bumping up the levels on
> the
> >> audience questions. Sometimes taking out un-acceptable content.
> >> Deleting umms, coughs, etc. where I can.
> >>
> >> And then I also have intro/exit music with voice-over.
> >>
> >> Then there's also the upload to the server, and updating the
> >> web page and RSS feed files (but thats trivial in the big
> picture).
> >>
> >> So post-production of a 1.5 hour meeting is usually another 3
> hours
> >> of work.
> >>
> >>
> >>> The last part is where the out-of-towners could pitch in. I
> >>>
> >> suppose it
> >>
> >>> could be as simple as this:
> >>> Let's say we came up with a good wireless body mic for the
> >>>
> >> presenter and
> >>
> >>> some kind of fairly omni mic for the crowd. They're both mono
> >>>
> >> sources so
> >>
> >>> one could be piped in to the left channel and the other could be
> >>>
> >> piped into
> >>
> >>> the right channel (basic multi-channel, avoids a mixer).
> >>>
> >> Yup, If you have the multi-channel (mic level) audio input device.
> >> Let me know if you find one.
> >>
> >>
> >>> Using Audacity,
> >>> the post-production team could mute and unmute the audience
> channel
> >>>
> >> as
> >>
> >>> needed to allow for audience input and snip out the irrelevant
> >>>
> >> parts to make
> >>
> >>> it flow. Mix it back into one channel to prevent our listeners
> >>>
> >> from getting
> >>
> >>> nauseous and that's it for Audio. I don't know what the Podcast
> >>>
> >> team used,
> >>
> >>> but there is some software to tie the powerpoint presentation
> into
> >>>
> >> the audio
> >>
> >>> and produce a podcast. Presto.
> >>>
> >>> We just need a group of individuals to commit to a component of
> the
> >>>
> >> plan and
> >>
> >>> it can happen. It's been discussed on a few occasions and
> >>>
> >> different people
> >>
> >>> have come forward at various times but it is time consuming and
> it
> >>>
> >> doesn't
> >>
> >>> seem to materialize consistently.
> >>>
> >>> That's my understanding of where it's at. If someone wants to
> take
> >>>
> >> the
> >>
> >>> reigns and muster the hardware and people, it can happen.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>
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> >>
> >>
> >
> >
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> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
> --
> Mike Ashton
>
> Quality Track Intl
>
> Ph: 647-722-2092 x 251
> Cell: 416-527-4995
> Fax: 416-352-6043
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