HDV audio compellor

[John M. McCloskey]

Is there a digital compellor that we could use to enhance(sweeten) HDV audio? We currently use Aphex model 320A compellor for our DVcam footage. Does anyone have a hardware solution for HDV audio???

[John M. McCloskey]

what we are looking for is a compellor device between the HDV deck and the Avid adrenaline. Dvcam uses XLR's from deck to compellor and compellor to Avid adrenaline, (analog signal). As of right now we run from our HDV deck a firewire cable straight into the back of the Avid adrenaline. So what we are looking for is a middle man between our HDV Deck (out) to our adrenaline (in), the middle man being the compellor,(digital signal).

[Bob Grant]

I think that's a pretty big ask, the digital audio data would have to be extracted, processed and then re-encoded back into the data stream. That would probably require several frames delay so the vision would also have to be delayed to match and then you could have all sorts of issues with deck control and TC.

[John M. McCloskey]

Surely there is hardware and not just software plug ins to sweeten HDV audio. Its still hard to believe with new HDV decks coming out that a company has not pursued a connection path from the HDV deck to the Avid that works as well as the old analog XLR. Seems like they dont ever want HDV in its raw form to become a 100% broadcast medium format.

[Douglas Spotted Eagle]

HDV is being used in broadcast every day. What you're asking for would be for anything using firewire, and the ever-present latency whether it's DVCPro25, DVCPro50, HDV, HDCAM, DV, whatever, would make this useless in the field. Additionally, for large format productions using HDV, I'd seriously doubt anyone is recording production audio to the camera as anything but a reference. This holds true for most formats.
What you're looking for is a great idea, and a difficult actuality.

[John M. McCloskey]

OK, for the work we do we must record audio to the camera and take great steps to get the best audio we can, lets say with one field producer running every aspect of the production what would be the one main concern or idea with which we could make the audio from HDV better. We run lectrosonic 200 series with tram mics and also ME 66 outside and short hypercardoid AT for inside. Our audio isnt that bad but sure would like to be able to run a compellor on it before it hits adrenaline like we did with our DVcam audio back in the day. If there is no compellor what would be the next step hardware wise we could consider for HDV. Thanks very much

[Douglas Spotted Eagle]

I'd suggest using a mixer or other input device, using a BBE or something similar pre-camera, and then sending a balanced signal to the cam from there.

[Graham Hickling]

Wow! Heavy-handed editing on this thread ... that sure put me in my place, eh?

[Bob Grant]

Originally Posted by John M. McCloskey

OK, for the work we do we must record audio to the camera and take great steps to get the best audio we can,

HDV audio is not that flash, it's only mpeg-1 layer 2 i.e. fairly lossy. It's not that horrid for dialgie but doing anything to it in post could make matters worse. For serious audio one should be double head recording.

To the best of my knowledge there's never been a way to patch an analogue audio device into a muxed A/V digital stream, be it DV, HDV or SDI. The only way to do that was to decode the DV into analogue but in the process you weren't doing the vision any good.

As DSE pointed out if this is the path you must go do you'd be better off doing it before the audio is recorded to HDV, double heading it would seem the ideal solution or else can you not route the audio out of the Avid, through the Aphex and record back in. I realise this'll be real time and therefore a PIA.

One other way you could protentially do this is through the HD Connect, convert from HDV to Component HD and analogue audio and then into another box to do the reverse. Of course the D->A->D process isn't going to do wonder for your vision quality.

[John M. McCloskey]

Thanks for the help, I guess thats why HDV is considered Prosumer its surely not for its picture, its the audio capabilities and its range. Great info and thanks again

[David Kennett]

What's an audio compellor?

[John M. McCloskey]

Through all the brainstorming on this thread we have figured out a way to get HDV audio through a compellor and into the adrenaline and it sounds so much better, The video even looks great. We will draw up the path we took and the cables it took. I think the missing ingrediant was patching into the mixer. We got the audio compressed then added very little level with the mixer and it made the mids, bass, and highs real even, nice and warm sound, not that clippy,tinging. much better and thanks for bringing up new avenues of thought very helpfull