mini disc
 

hello,

i'm new to this forum and new to video stuff. just bought a sony vx2000 a couple of weeks ago. i have been reading about mini disc recorder on this forum and thinking of getting one.

my questions are.

1. what is a good portable mini disc recorder that users are using on this forum? would you need a better mic for it?

2. i have a canopus storm nle. how do you capture and sync it with your video clips? do you just play it by ear.

i'm currently learning more about mini disc at minidisc.org but just wanted to get more info from other users on this forum.

thanks a bunch.

I haven't been able to use Storm for synching. I like to see the waveforms and Premiere shows them. I use the audio from the camera as a reference, and capture the audio from my HD recorder as a wav using Sound Forge. I then find a landmark noise at the begining of the video and match the waveforms and sounds. This is assuming that the audio from the cam doesn't lose sync...
Keith

I use a Sharp 722 I bought several years ago. Works well. Sync has not been a problem. I play it by ear and listen for proper sync.

I have a brand new one for sale or trade. See the classified section here or e-mail me for details.

don,

how do you go about uploading or capturing it to your computer? i went to our local electronics store and they said that you can only download it to you md.

thanks a bunch.

I've done it two ways.

1. Capture via analog audio card (I use a Midiman/M-Audio Delta 66 card).

2. Put the MD in a miniDisk deck with S/PDIF output and do a digital transfer via S/PDIF. This is the better way because it avoids an A/D-D/A conversion set, but it means having a MiniDisc deck (most portable do not have digital output, but many economical home component stereo sets do have S/PDIF output) and a S/PDIF input on a PC somewhere.

<<<-- Originally posted by Don Palomaki : I've done it two ways.

"1. Capture via analog audio card (I use a Midiman/M-Audio Delta 66 card)."
If you have already captured it into the computer then why do you need to capture it back to MiniDisk? If you are editing your video on a computer, you can synch it up from there.

Also, doesn't this assume that you have a computer equipped with audio to digital converters on location when you are filming?

It might be ok if you have a laptop, but I can't imagine dragging around my workstation.


"2. Put the MD in a miniDisk deck with S/PDIF output and do a digital transfer via S/PDIF. This is the better way because it avoids an A/D-D/A conversion set, but it means having a MiniDisc deck (most portable do not have digital output, but many economical home component stereo sets do have S/PDIF output) and a S/PDIF input on a PC somewhere. -->>>"

Calvin. Believe the intent of the poster was to capture audio on a MiniDisc in the field, then get it from MiniDisc into the NLE for editing later. So no need to haul a PC in the field.

The AT-822 or Sony ECM-MS957 are reasonable stereo mics for use with a MiniDisc recorder.

HHb PORTADISC
 

I have a HHb PORTADISC which replaced the HHb PORTADAT. The latter gained wide acceptance by filmakers. The new unit has a USB port, so you can just plug it into the computer and download directly. I do this on my Mac G4 and it works great.

For a filim-making related review of the PORTADISC see:
http://www.lafcpug.org/review_mini_disc_rec.html

It is expensive, however. I have had no direct experience with syncing with video, although I bought it with that in mind. It's been very good for the radio actuality work I've used it for so far.

MARANTZ has just come out with a portable that records to full size CD that is a few hundred dollars cheaper. It's aimed more at the music market, I think.

I noticed that Sharp MD recorders have microphone sensitivity selector while Sony's don't. Is this important for wedding-like recordings? Also, what small, lavalier microphones were you able to use and with which MD's. Would Sony (707) or other brand be better for this kind of use?

Thank you for all suggestions,

Zbigniew Helak

Zbigniew,

I use the Sony MiniDisc MZ-R900. It works fine. If you get one, be sure to get the blue metal case...that "cool factor" is an extremely important feature. ;)