I shoot with multiple audio devices for audio redundancy.
1) Onboard mics on VX2100s
2) Onboard Senheisser ME66 on PD170
3) Wireless UWP-C1 on PD170 (wired on groom)
4) and 2 iRiver MP3 recorders with lapel mics

I usually place one iRiver on the minister/priest, and another by the soloist/harpist or on the podium to capture the audio of the readers.

The following is an example of the audio quality of an iRiver 790 with a cheap $15 Azden lapel mic.

http://home.comcast.net/~g.elliott3//iRiverCeremony.wmv

Sounds nice. Which bitrate do you use when recording MP3 on the iRiver?

I shy away from using MP3 in my videos because (pity me) I used MediaStudio Pro, which always "skips" somewhere. I don't have that problem with WAV or native DV25 audio. Can the iRiver record a mono WAV file? I'll settle for 22 kHz, 16 bit. Most clients can't hear the difference anyway.

Thanks for posting.

T.J.

Glen, thanks for the idea. This is perfect for recording voice. I'm curious about how music sounds using this method. I was thinking about using a minidisc player for that purpose, but this iRiver idea is probably way better because they're lighter and smaller.

Tim, I figure when you bring the sound files into your NLE it'd be best to first transcode them to AIFF or WAV at whatever settings your timeline usually is (most likely 16 bit 48KHz stereo). That should prevent skipping and other garbage.

Why the iRiver 790 Glenn?

I'm assuming you did some research on competeing models - thought you might be able to save us some time if so.

Thanks

I forget the exact bit rate I recorded this ceremony in. I believe it was pretty high- I only needed it to last a little over an hour. I have a 795 unit also that has double the internal memory of my 256 meg 790.

Patrick, I chose the 790 and 795 due to their size and price. I use the 795 (512 meg) to capture both the ceremony (soloist/harpist) AND the reception. Sometimes I can get a direct feed from the DJ.

The only downside about the iRiver units is there's no recording meters. You don't know if your clipping or not. For that reason I set the recording volume rather conservative and normalize it in post.

Glenn,

What have you been using for volume settings?

I'm particularly interested in what you have used for the receptions.

I've used 50 for all speakers at the ceremony and 45 for any musical/singing recording.

If I remember correctly, I may have clipped a speaker at the 50 setting so I think that I may end up using 45 for podiums.

Thanks,
-C

Glenn

I hve another question for you. I noticed your post about the minimum equipment needed. You mentioned you had the glidecam 4000.

I'm wondering why the 4000 over the 2000? I thought the specs of the 2000 could handle the pd170 or vx? Is it smoother with the heavier model?

I was also wondering if you got a quick release mount for it (if there is one) and how quickly you can mount and balance it while working?

Thanks a lot, trying to decide if I should go that route.

Added weight to the 170. W/A lense adapter, Wireless Reciever, Sony 10/20 light, NP 960 battery, and Q/R plate.

It's best to pre balance it as close as you can before starting the day that way there are only tweaks that need to be done while mounting it on site. It's a great tool but a gigantic learning curve. I haven't felt comfortable in the 2 years I've owned it until recently.

<<<-- Originally posted by Cesar Ruiz : Glenn,

What have you been using for volume settings?

I'm particularly interested in what you have used for the receptions.

I've used 50 for all speakers at the ceremony and 45 for any musical/singing recording.

If I remember correctly, I may have clipped a speaker at the 50 setting so I think that I may end up using 45 for podiums.

Thanks,
-C -->>>

Mine might even be lower- I believe, if I remember correctly, around 43. That way when the priest peaks his voice I won't clip. I can always bring it up in post- but once it's clipped it's gone. Similar to exposure...it's always better to under-expose a little rather than over-expose..

interesting way to get a nice blend of audio, one problem though is that we;re not always given the luxury to mic up a priest... which is pretty unfortunate. Alot of priests here are still in teh stone age, while others are very defensive about their own PA systems and some even refuse to allow us to mic the groom.

one thing, if people have these issues outlined above, scope out the PA system and mixing desk. If there is a record out it will give u a flat signal irrespective of how the actual EQ's have been set up on the mixer.

good call glen, im actually using a MyJoy mp3 player recorder straight onto sd card and using its line input. on a 1gb card, i get about 9 hours in stereo 256kbps.
Looking at gettng a microdrive unit with 4 or 20gb...

Glen, how did you upload the audio to your computer? From reading on the iriver website, the 1.25 firmware allows high bitrate recording, but there is no way to upload the files to your computer - the iriver interface software doesn't support uploading. There is a firmware upgrade version 1.28 that allows the unit to be recognized as a harddrive by WinXP which allows you to upload files, but the recording bitrate is limited to 96kbs.

Looks like there are some trade-offs. Oh-well - I ordered a couple of them to tryout. 96kbs should be fine for voice, but not that great for music.

Kelvin, I'm not quite sure what your talking about. You simply connect the iRiver device to your computer and pull the audio files off the unit. They are first recorded in a proprietary format- but the software converts them to MP3s.

It's capable of recording in much higher than 96kbs. I'm not sure where your getting your info from or if we are talking about the same unit. The audio in the clip was from an iRiver 790.

Tim , I rather like mediastudio pro. So no pity.
As Glen said the iriver records a file propritary file and converts to mp3 after uploading to the computer.MSP likes all audios to match the projects template and can either be converted in MSP or an editor like Soundforge.You shouldnt have any problem if you match the audios