Cheap MP3 players/recorders + hacked firmware = cheap recording of large groups

S

Shenan

Well-known member
Hi All, I don't usually visit the sound forum, but I thought this may interest some of you. I ran into this article on Slashdot, of all places, and thought it was a possibly useful idea for recording large group conversations. Probably not ideal in most common situations, but I think it deserves going in a "bag of tricks" for specific circumstances. Here is the solution, in the submitter's own words (check out the dinner conversation video to see and hear the results):

Looking for an inexpensive means to capture audio from a dynamically moving crowd, I sampled many MP3 players' recording capabilities. Ultimately the best bang-for-the-buck was refurbished SanDisk Sansa Clip+ devices ($26/ea) loaded with (open source) RockBox firmware. The most massively multi-track event was a thorium conference in Chicago where many attendees wore a Clip+. Volunteers worked the room with cameras, and audio capture was decoupled from video capture. It looked like this. Despite having (higher quality) ZOOM H1n and wireless mics, I've continued to use the RockBox-ified Clip+ devices ... even if the H1n is running, the Clip+ serves as backup. There's no worry about interference or staying within wireless mic range. The devices have 4GB capacity, and RockBox allows WAV capture. They'll run at least 5 hours before the battery is depleted (with lots of storage left over). I would suggest sticking with 44kHz (mono) capture, as 48kHz is unreliable. To get an idea of their sound quality, here is a 10-person dinner conversation (about thorium molten salt nuclear reactors) in a very busy restaurant. I don't know how else I could have isolated everyone's dialog for so little money. (And I would NOT recommend Clip+ with factory firmware... they only support 22kHz and levels are too high for clipping on people's collars.)
Click to expand...
 
It's not what I would recommend as a regular thing but for an Altman style massive production track kind of scene on a budget...

For new filmmakers getting all frothy, this is going to take a bunch of work in post to work out, and that is sound post not you on your NLE playing around.

That said I would have a go at it at a huge discount just for the fun of it.
 
Actually looking at the dinner link, you can see what the problems are if you don't have a good sound post. Many of the folks are out of sync.
 
Ah, interesting, I hadn't noticed it. Thanks! I kind of wondered about if the fact that the maximum is 44.1KHz if it would cause drifting if you threw it on a 48KHz timeline without properly compensating/converting. I still thought it was an intriguing concept though.
 
I don't think it is drift so much that in an NLE you have to sync to a full frame. In a DAW you can sync to the sample.
PluralEyes I believe allows sync to the sample, may be the best reason to get it if you are only working in a NLE.
 
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