video recorders

marciero

Does anyone have experience with portable video recorders like the Zoom QCHD? Is the sound quality compromised relative the H4? Also, can you separate out the audio and the video easily?

Mike

Archtop Eddy

Hi Mike. I have a Zoom QCHD but I haven't used it much. Here's some partial answers to your questions. From reviews on various forums, etc., they say the sound is equal to H4. I can't personally confirm this because I don't have an H4, however, I think the QCHD sounds fine. The QCHD lets you record either video or just the the audio with the sound quality being the same either way. As for stripping the audio from a .mov clip -- where there's a will (and the proper software...), there's a way: I took a .mov clip I made on the QCHD and played it on the Amazing Slow Downer and then saved it from there to an mp3 file. There are other ways to do this, but this seemed the quickest for me. You can hear the sound quality from the attached mp3 clip stripped from the .mov video file. The "jam", by the way, is from Django in June this year, in a hallway with Les Doights de L'Homme's Olivier Kikteff (1st soloist), Gonzalo Bergara Qaurtet's Jeff Radaich (second solist), and LDDLH's Yannick Alocer (3rd soloist) I think I'll post the vid as well but under the Archtop Eddy Corner... Hope this helps. AE

Jon

Hi,

I've got one too...I think it's great given the following conditions:

1. Low background noise - you can't adjust how narrow/wide the mic pickup field is like you can on the H4, and in noisier situations like bars, it picks up a bit much of the surrounding chatter etc and the audio can sound "distant"

2. Decent lighting - despite what people seem to say about it, I've found it to be not great at all in darkly lit clubs.

I've recorded some daytime gigs outdoors and the quality has been really excellent, but have had bad experiences in low lighting and when trying to record my band in enclosed noisy spaces from enough of a distance to get everyone in the frame while still getting a "present" sound.

Hope that helps,

Jon

richter4208

Hey Eddy,

Do post that video clip if you get a chance. I'd like to check it out. The audio sounds great by the way. Definitely listenable.

J

Archtop Eddy

Hi all. FYI -- The video is now posted as Django in June Live Jam Video in Archtop Eddy's Corner. Check it out! AE

marciero

Thanks for your comments and observations.

I ended up getting the Alesis unit for $99 at guitar center. It seems pretty cheapo but does adequate job. Good enough for web site promo, you tube. The sound quality is good, video is okay. There are some other issues that reviewers mentioned (like the unit turning off) that I have not experienced. Price was a deciding factor.

Mike