Re: Recording audio with Debian - hardware/software suggestions
On Sun, Jan 28, 2007 at 01:38:03PM -0500, KS wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> We are planning to have a setup so that we can record the upcoming talks
> (happening every weekend for several weekends at a stretch). The
> equipment which is already there comprises of 4 microphones, a mixer
> (with 12 inputs I think) and an amplifier for the speakers.
>
> The following are the questions which come to mind for the hardware:
> 1. What kind of processing power do we need? Would a 2.0GHz PIV based
> machine be OK?
> 2. RAM is 512MB currently. Would it be enough?
> 3. What kind of sound card would be a good choice? The ultimate
> objective being to archive the audio as mp3/ogg.
> 4. Should the audio be captured from the mixer or from the amplifier?
>
> Software wise: which applications are there which can help in recording
> the audio? For splitting/editing the audio I think Audacity is a good
> candidate. Are there others of the same kind?
>
> Anything else we need to consider for the setup?
>
I've done it on a 486 with 16 MB ram. IOW any computer will do. For
speach, any sound card with line in will do. Use an RCA to 1/8" phone
patch cable from line in on the sound card to the best line out source
(probably the mixer).
Adjust the output from the mixer and the input of the soundcard levels
(using the soundcard mixer) so that nothing starts clipping or
distorting.
Once you have it stored as a raw wav file you can do the format
conversion to whatever you like. That doesn't have to be done in
real-time so again any computer will do.
Software wise, take your pick from the debian archive. Many like
audacity but there are others. You can even use raw sox.
If you get hum, watch for ground loops. Have the computer plugged into
the same power source as the mixer as long as the computer doesn't put
noise on the power line for the mixer or amp to pick up. If its still a
problem you may need to convert to/from balanced line.
Further along this line gets into the technical aspects of sound
recording and off topic for the list.
Enjoy.
Doug.
Reply to: