Zoom H2 stops recording after 40 minutes at DVinfo.net

Chris Hewitt · July 2nd, 2013, 05:57 AM

Hope someone can help. My Zoom H2 stops recording sometimes, not always, after about 40 minutes during a 60 minute wedding ceremony. The power is still on when I get to the Zoom, the recording is there, and the batteries are good for another three hours at least.
I've checked that 'auto record' is set to 'off' in the menu. The settings are set for two channel record at max quality wav at 48kHz/16 bit. The card is an SDHC 8gb card.
This is a mystery for me as obviously I can't be recording weddings and have this happen.
Any ideas would be welcome.Thanks.

Noa Put · July 2nd, 2013, 06:01 AM

Have you tried another card?

Chris Hewitt · July 2nd, 2013, 06:18 AM

Hi Noa, I'm running a test right now but will try another card straight after..that's a good idea.
I didn't mention in the first post that the file was at 695 mb when it cut so not a file size limit being reached.

Noa Put · July 2nd, 2013, 06:36 AM

That's the first that came to mind, you have to rule out any factors which might cause issues, it could be the batteries, a wrong menu setting but the card is a factor as well to consider.

Markus Nord · July 2nd, 2013, 06:53 AM

Do you just offload from the card and ”never” format the card? That may be small parts of old files on the card that causing problem if you don’t format the card.

Chris Hewitt · July 2nd, 2013, 07:29 AM

Markus, I always format the card and reset the menu.The audio file was 16/48kHz on the day.

I'm running a test right now with the same card and it is still recording at 1hr 25 mins on the same 16/48kHz setting. I can't explain it.

At the wedding, the H2 was sitting on a ledge recording away, no one touched it from the video footage I've checked and as I say, the batteries were good....they did record later at the reception for another two hours.

Wish I knew!

Brian P. Reynolds · July 2nd, 2013, 05:22 PM

Why record at 48khz? for a wedding ........ 44.1khz is good enough for everything except the highest of quality music.
Many of these small recorders are comfortable at 44.1 or lower, but 48 is pushing it.... What 'class' card are you using? I won't touch anything less than class 10 for critical live recordings.

Steve House · July 3rd, 2013, 06:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian P. Reynolds

Why record at 48khz? for a wedding ........ 44.1khz is good enough for everything except the highest of quality music.
Many of these small recorders are comfortable at 44.1 or lower, but 48 is pushing it.... What 'class' card are you using? I won't touch anything less than class 10 for critical live recordings.

The audio sample rate for video is always 48kHz. Recording double system audio at 44.1kHz means you have to sample-rate convert during post prior to syncing the audio file to the video, just one more thing that can go wrong and mess up your sync.

Rick Reineke · July 3rd, 2013, 11:06 AM

Some NLEs (like Vegas Pro) can work with different sampling rates and bit depths, even on the same track.
That said, I would use 48kHz just the same if it's to be used for video.

Greg Miller · July 3rd, 2013, 04:30 PM

Just to cover a few silly possibilities:

1.) Does the recorder have an IR remote control? (It does not, as far as I can ascertain... but can you confirm that?)

2.) Did the recording stop during a period with very low levels? Is there any chance you had the "auto stop" function enabled? (Since you say "Auto Record" is off, I think that implies that "Auto Stop" will be off, also.

3.) Did the display say "Data Write Error" when you went back to the recorder? If so, that identifies the source of your problem. I would guess, conversely, that if it did NOT say this, then you did NOT have a data write error, so the card is probably fast enough. But OTOH, different cards have different internal geometry, and your glitch might be occuring at some transition point in the memory addressing, or some other obscure issue.

I concur with an earlier suggestion: when in doubt, get a faster card (and be sure to format it in the recorder itself).

Chris Hewitt · July 4th, 2013, 04:23 PM

The card is a class ten SanDisk so yes, it is fast enough. There was nothing set in the menu that would turn it off and no IR remote. as mentioned, I did a test yesterday where it recorded till
it filled the card, the same card that had the issue. On the day, the Zoom
no error message, just the usual "Goodbye, see you" that you get when it's ready to turn off...it just stopped recording.

Greg Miller · July 4th, 2013, 07:36 PM

Chris,

It sounds as if you've done a very thorough job of thinking this through, and you've elminated all the logical suspects. That leaves perhaps a few low-probability things to pursue.

1.) Could there be some bug in the firmware? Would it be worthwhile to contact the manufacturer, and see if perhaps there's a firmware upgrade that addresses this?

2.) Although a class 10 card should be plenty fast, perhaps the card is exhibiting some intermittant problem. At one point I think you said you were going to try another card... have you done so?

3.) Do you leave the card in the machine all (most) of the time? Many years ago, I had a recorder that had very small internal memory, and used SD cards for expansion. I left an SD card in it all the time (since the internal memory was small). At some point it became intermittant. I noticed that wiggling the card seemed to help. I concluded that the recorder's contacts were somehow inadequate: either the plating was bad, or the spring tension was insufficient. It seemed that they suffered from metal fatigue if I left the card inserted all the time.

I removed the card, applied some Cramolin to the card's gold contact pads, slid it in and out a few times (to help clean the recorder's contacts), and it seemed to work OK. Thereafter, I left the card out except while I was recording, on the assumption that the contacts would retain more of their spring pressure this way.

I know that's a long shot, but since you've explored all the logical possibilities.....

Good luck with it, intermittant problems can be a real PITA!

Jay Massengill · July 4th, 2013, 07:48 PM

My original H4 actually didn't like "faster" cards, and would randomly stop recording with them when I first got it. After that initial problem I've never had any trouble using plain, non-speed or class marked cards in that unit and it still works fine. I've never tried 4-channel recording with it, just 2-channel.

July 2nd, 2013, 05:57 AM	#1
Chris Hewitt Major Player Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Broadstairs,Kent, England Posts: 225	Zoom H2 stops recording after 40 minutes Hope someone can help. My Zoom H2 stops recording sometimes, not always, after about 40 minutes during a 60 minute wedding ceremony. The power is still on when I get to the Zoom, the recording is there, and the batteries are good for another three hours at least. I've checked that 'auto record' is set to 'off' in the menu. The settings are set for two channel record at max quality wav at 48kHz/16 bit. The card is an SDHC 8gb card. This is a mystery for me as obviously I can't be recording weddings and have this happen. Any ideas would be welcome.Thanks.

July 2nd, 2013, 06:01 AM	#2
Noa Put Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Belgium Posts: 9,509	Re: Zoom H2 stops recording after 40 minutes Have you tried another card?

July 2nd, 2013, 06:18 AM	#3
Chris Hewitt Major Player Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Broadstairs,Kent, England Posts: 225	Re: Zoom H2 stops recording after 40 minutes Hi Noa, I'm running a test right now but will try another card straight after..that's a good idea. I didn't mention in the first post that the file was at 695 mb when it cut so not a file size limit being reached.

July 2nd, 2013, 06:36 AM	#4
Noa Put Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Belgium Posts: 9,509	Re: Zoom H2 stops recording after 40 minutes That's the first that came to mind, you have to rule out any factors which might cause issues, it could be the batteries, a wrong menu setting but the card is a factor as well to consider.

July 2nd, 2013, 06:53 AM	#5
Markus Nord Major Player Join Date: May 2007 Location: Vastervik ,Sweden Posts: 639	Re: Zoom H2 stops recording after 40 minutes Do you just offload from the card and ”never” format the card? That may be small parts of old files on the card that causing problem if you don’t format the card. __________________ www.nordproduktion.se https://vimeo.com/nordproduktion

July 2nd, 2013, 07:29 AM	#6
Chris Hewitt Major Player Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Broadstairs,Kent, England Posts: 225	Re: Zoom H2 stops recording after 40 minutes Markus, I always format the card and reset the menu.The audio file was 16/48kHz on the day. I'm running a test right now with the same card and it is still recording at 1hr 25 mins on the same 16/48kHz setting. I can't explain it. At the wedding, the H2 was sitting on a ledge recording away, no one touched it from the video footage I've checked and as I say, the batteries were good....they did record later at the reception for another two hours. Wish I knew!

July 2nd, 2013, 05:22 PM	#7
Brian P. Reynolds Major Player Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Adelaide, South Australia Posts: 466	Re: Zoom H2 stops recording after 40 minutes Why record at 48khz? for a wedding ........ 44.1khz is good enough for everything except the highest of quality music. Many of these small recorders are comfortable at 44.1 or lower, but 48 is pushing it.... What 'class' card are you using? I won't touch anything less than class 10 for critical live recordings.

July 3rd, 2013, 11:06 AM	#9
Rick Reineke Inner Circle Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: New York Posts: 2,038	Re: Zoom H2 stops recording after 40 minutes Some NLEs (like Vegas Pro) can work with different sampling rates and bit depths, even on the same track. That said, I would use 48kHz just the same if it's to be used for video.

July 3rd, 2013, 04:30 PM	#10
Greg Miller Trustee Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 1,786	Re: Zoom H2 stops recording after 40 minutes Just to cover a few silly possibilities: 1.) Does the recorder have an IR remote control? (It does not, as far as I can ascertain... but can you confirm that?) 2.) Did the recording stop during a period with very low levels? Is there any chance you had the "auto stop" function enabled? (Since you say "Auto Record" is off, I think that implies that "Auto Stop" will be off, also. 3.) Did the display say "Data Write Error" when you went back to the recorder? If so, that identifies the source of your problem. I would guess, conversely, that if it did NOT say this, then you did NOT have a data write error, so the card is probably fast enough. But OTOH, different cards have different internal geometry, and your glitch might be occuring at some transition point in the memory addressing, or some other obscure issue. I concur with an earlier suggestion: when in doubt, get a faster card (and be sure to format it in the recorder itself).

July 4th, 2013, 04:23 PM	#11
Chris Hewitt Major Player Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Broadstairs,Kent, England Posts: 225	Re: Zoom H2 stops recording after 40 minutes The card is a class ten SanDisk so yes, it is fast enough. There was nothing set in the menu that would turn it off and no IR remote. as mentioned, I did a test yesterday where it recorded till it filled the card, the same card that had the issue. On the day, the Zoom no error message, just the usual "Goodbye, see you" that you get when it's ready to turn off...it just stopped recording.

July 4th, 2013, 07:36 PM	#12
Greg Miller Trustee Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 1,786	Re: Zoom H2 stops recording after 40 minutes Chris, It sounds as if you've done a very thorough job of thinking this through, and you've elminated all the logical suspects. That leaves perhaps a few low-probability things to pursue. 1.) Could there be some bug in the firmware? Would it be worthwhile to contact the manufacturer, and see if perhaps there's a firmware upgrade that addresses this? 2.) Although a class 10 card should be plenty fast, perhaps the card is exhibiting some intermittant problem. At one point I think you said you were going to try another card... have you done so? 3.) Do you leave the card in the machine all (most) of the time? Many years ago, I had a recorder that had very small internal memory, and used SD cards for expansion. I left an SD card in it all the time (since the internal memory was small). At some point it became intermittant. I noticed that wiggling the card seemed to help. I concluded that the recorder's contacts were somehow inadequate: either the plating was bad, or the spring tension was insufficient. It seemed that they suffered from metal fatigue if I left the card inserted all the time. I removed the card, applied some Cramolin to the card's gold contact pads, slid it in and out a few times (to help clean the recorder's contacts), and it seemed to work OK. Thereafter, I left the card out except while I was recording, on the assumption that the contacts would retain more of their spring pressure this way. I know that's a long shot, but since you've explored all the logical possibilities..... Good luck with it, intermittant problems can be a real PITA!

July 4th, 2013, 07:48 PM	#13
Jay Massengill Trustee Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Burlington Posts: 1,976	Re: Zoom H2 stops recording after 40 minutes My original H4 actually didn't like "faster" cards, and would randomly stop recording with them when I first got it. After that initial problem I've never had any trouble using plain, non-speed or class marked cards in that unit and it still works fine. I've never tried 4-channel recording with it, just 2-channel.