Thread: [Separate audio/video recording] Avoiding drift?

Well you might be able to utilize that software, it really won't be necessary to bother with that nonsense. All video, from the VHS & Betamax days our own machines that while they are not utilizing actual timecode are in fact still locked via Crystal clock synchronization. That is to say, their speed is so highly accurate, once you get non-interconnected cameras transferred into your video editing timelines and once you synchronize them, even within a 1.5 hour-long production, you may only experience 1-2 frames of drift. And that's easily corrected by simply finding where the drift becomes noticeable, backing up a minute or two, splitting the track and re-synchronizing it. It's easy, it's fast, it's consistent. I have been doing this for quite a few years even before the days of digital video recorders. No big whoop. All of your audio will be at 16 bit, 48 kHz though it could also be 24-bit all the way up to 96 kHz. 16 bit, 48 kHz is a very well established audio for video format so you must make certain you are working in the 16 bit, 48 kHz which is what 99% of camcorders are recording. Besides, in order to use that other software, you would need to be running Avid, Pro Tools also. So spend more money if you want to but it's highly unnecessary.

Timecode is more important when you are utilizing edit decision lists from an off-line editor.
Mx. Remy Ann David

Thanks for the clarification.

So that quote above only applies to extreme cases and I should be OK.

I have a 1h30 segment that I recorded yesterday as my first attempt at recording audio and video independently, so I'll soon have an opportunity to check for any drift.

Is there a good, free or affordable video editor you would recommend for Windows?

I played a bit with VirtualDub and AviDemux, but find them a bit so-so (VD only works with AVI; AviDemux is cross-platform so a bit slow to start).

Sony makes a wonderful product called Vegas. That program originally started off as a multitrack audio program. It was later improved and augmented to include video. So it's a multitrack audio and video program. The full-blown version costs upwards of $600 US. But here's a great part. They make a much more affordable version that is scaled down called Vegas Studio (or something to that effect) that can be had for a little over $100 US. It can absolutely do what you need done. It only lacks some of the more complex features designed for more complex productions. It's like any other LE or SE version of a multitrack audio program so it's still very capable. And that's what I recommend for you because it's a professional product which offers much finer control over what you need to do instead of those clunky free consumer oriented conversion programs you are attempting to utilize. Unfortunately it's not a program you will find bundled with anybody's hardware so you will have to purchase it.

Pinnacle also offers some decent consumer oriented video editing programs that can accommodate an additional audio track or two but I find it to be far too limited for the kind of productions in which you and I do. Of course there is also Adobe Premier Pro & Adobe Premier Elements. The Premier Elements program is much more capable than Pinnacle's Studio and is also quite affordable in that $100 price range in the US. I used to use that program for everything I did before I switched to Vegas. Adobe's program converted all of my 16-bit audio to 32-bit which I did not want it to do. There was no way to disable that feature and that's why I stopped using it. Vegas doesn't care what you do or what you use. It keeps what you've selected intact the way you select it. Things are only converted if you tell it to convert things. I'd rather have programs that work the way I want to work not the way they want me to use it. So screw Adobe. They told me it doesn't hurt your audio but I don't care. I want it the way I want it.

This Vegas never has any losers.
Mx. Remy Ann David

I shot a live music Event recently, audio on a HD24 and video on a Sony Digital 8 camcorder, and there was no detectable drift over 43 minutes.

Thanks much for the infos + feedback. I don't know which consumer-grade camcorder I'll end up buying, but I was recommended to check Canon, Panasonic, and Sony.

Using two different pieces of equipment and doing some basic post-production work isn't as easy as just pointing a camcorder, but I find models that support mic input (+ headphone output) a bit too expensive for personal use. Maybe even a Flip on a tripod could be good enough to shoot lectures and such :-)

When doing multi-camera shoots it's always nice to have matching cameras. Sony's look way different from Canon's which look way different from Panasonic's. So they can become awkward in postproduction.

When shooting multi-camera shows, one should start the cameras and never stop them until the end of the show or a set. Otherwise, you'll be synchronizing tracks until next year.

I've been synchronizing cameras for 20 years now. I don't think I'll be stopping anytime soon?
Mx. Remy Ann David

Sorry about the misunderstanding: When I mentioned the three brands, I didn't mean that I would buy more than one camera, but rather that those brands were recommended to me. This is just to record lectures and interviews for my personal use, so a single camera is all I'll operate.

I guess the Flip-type camcorders like Sony's Bloggie line of products aren't a good idea to make two-hour-long recordings.

What about SD vs. HD? Is HD really needed? I'm more concerned about lighting condition being too poor, and contrast being too important when I need to go from speaker to slides on the screen:

• Sony
• Panasonic
• Canon

Originally Posted by Winfried

I find models that support mic input (+ headphone output) a bit too expensive for personal use.

There are very affordable ways to use very good mics with very ordinary camcorders. Beachtek, and Studio1 are the first devices that come to mind - I'm sure there are others, but these are the two I'm most familiar with.

If I were recording lectures & interviews that didn't require more than 2 tracks of audio (and wanted to avoid the unnecessary hours of post-production) I would consider recording the audio straight to the camera. In my opinion, unless you need more than 2 audio inputs, a standalone audio recorder needlessly complicates (and lengthens) your job.