Compressed vs. umcompressed

Uncompressed is always better than compressed. 24 bits is better than 16, 16 is better than 12... 96khz is better than 48khz, 48khz is better than 32khz.
 
by the way , there is non lossless compression which is 3 to 1 and it used by some recorder - you save space when you record , in the editing you decompress the data and work with uncompressed signal - dont mistake that with mpeg compression used for mp3 sound .
if you work for television and run hdv format , you can stay with compressed signal for a dialog as long you feed good signal to the camera , you will really not loose to much. for music recording stay away from mpeg compression.
also, if you are going to film out in the end and optical sound , stay away as well .
 
Bit of a clarification of terms:

There are two meanings of "compression" that are both significant to film/video audio.

1) Data compression: (eg. ATRAC, MPEG-2, MP3) a method of reducing the storage space required for digital audio. "Lossy" compression methods attempt (with varying degrees of success) to decrease storage space requirements by discarding non-essential or redundant information. Modern audio data compression technology has benefited greatly from recent research into psychoaccoustics (specifically psychoaccoustic masking). The opperating principal here is that the "average" listener won't notice that anything's been taken out. I like to avoid using data compression altogether unless its neccessary for the distribution format (eg. podcasting, some forms of DVD video).

2) Dynamic compression: in this context, a compressor is an audio device that reduces the dynamic range of an audio signal. Effectively, loud parts become a bit quieter and extremely soft parts become louder. Although these have traditionally been external hardware devices, most DAW's and editing systems have compression plugins available. Many production mixers also have a specialized type of compressor called a limiter. Another handy type of specialized compressor is a de-esser, which is used to keep sibilance under control. Dynamics compression is an integral part of broadcast technology, and both radio and television broadcasts generally undergo significant amounts of it. During the production of a film, you're unlikely to want/need any dynamics compression other than a good set of limiters to avoid signal overloads. During post production, dynamics compression is a powerful tool in your mixing arsenal, and most tracks will benefit from the judicious use of compression.
 
SMuir said:
Bit of a clarification of terms:

There are two meanings of "compression" that are both significant to film/video audio.

1) Data compression: (eg. ATRAC, MPEG-2, MP3) a method of reducing the storage space required for digital audio. "Lossy" compression methods attempt (with varying degrees of success) to decrease storage space requirements by discarding non-essential or redundant information. Modern audio data compression technology has benefited greatly from recent research into psychoaccoustics (specifically psychoaccoustic masking). The opperating principal here is that the "average" listener won't notice that anything's been taken out. I like to avoid using data compression altogether unless its neccessary for the distribution format (eg. podcasting, some forms of DVD video).

2) Dynamic compression: in this context, a compressor is an audio device that reduces the dynamic range of an audio signal. Effectively, loud parts become a bit quieter and extremely soft parts become louder. Although these have traditionally been external hardware devices, most DAW's and editing systems have compression plugins available. Many production mixers also have a specialized type of compressor called a limiter. Another handy type of specialized compressor is a de-esser, which is used to keep sibilance under control. Dynamics compression is an integral part of broadcast technology, and both radio and television broadcasts generally undergo significant amounts of it. During the production of a film, you're unlikely to want/need any dynamics compression other than a good set of limiters to avoid signal overloads. During post production, dynamics compression is a powerful tool in your mixing arsenal, and most tracks will benefit from the judicious use of compression.
Click to expand...

Very clear explanation, SMuir.
I am particularly interested in your last point about dynamic compression in post-production. Do you have any good web pages or books teaching how to apply dynamic compression. FYI, I am using Avid Xpress Pro HD and Cubase for my audio.
Thank you very much.
King
 
c3kings said:
Do you have any good web pages or books teaching how to apply dynamic compression
Click to expand...
Any good book about recording or mixing should have a section dealing with dynamics compression.

I did a Google search using the string dynamic compression tutorial, and turned up a whole slew of tutorials. So far, all the one's I've perused have been written with music in mind, but the principals remain the same.

http://www.cycling74.com/download/OctiMaxCompressionTutorial.pdf is probably as good a place to start as any.

Practice and experimentation are key here. That, and a good set of studio monitors, of course. There are a whole plethora of compressor plugins available for both Avid Xpress and Cubase, many of which are modelled to sound like vintage analogue tube compressors.
 
SMuir said:
Any good book about recording or mixing should have a section dealing with dynamics compression.

I did a Google search using the string dynamic compression tutorial, and turned up a whole slew of tutorials. So far, all the one's I've perused have been written with music in mind, but the principals remain the same.

http://www.cycling74.com/download/OctiMaxCompressionTutorial.pdf is probably as good a place to start as any.

Practice and experimentation are key here. That, and a good set of studio monitors, of course. There are a whole plethora of compressor plugins available for both Avid Xpress and Cubase, many of which are modelled to sound like vintage analogue tube compressors.
Click to expand...

Oh, my god. You are very nice, and the tutorial is really great!

I am using a pair of Event 20/20, and I like them a lot.

By the way, a little bit OT of this thred, I once encountered a situation that my friend wanted to have a pair of speakers to listen to music, but he didn't have much money to buy a good hi-fi system, so he asked me if he should buy a pair of Event. To me, in my heart, with this budget, he couldn't get any decent hi-fi system anyway; as Event had good sound, so why not?

Yes, the questions is what the main differences between a hi-fi system and a pair of monitor are for general people listening to music sometimes.

Clearly, monitor is designed for near field, but his home is not big anyway. Also, I heard about that a hi-fi system is colored to much enjyoyable, sweet sound.... But to be honest, I didn't know how to explain to him the differences in a very convincing way, so I just answered him very vaguely. Any experts can elaborate about the differences.

Thank you very much.

King
 
Studio monitors are engineered to have a very flat frequency response, the flatter the better. This, combined with a good room, allows you to hear the true equalization of your work.

Hi-fi speakers in general boost the lows to give more "boom" to music and movies, and also a bump in the high mids to give more "presense", "punch", and clarity to vocals. It's an art, not a science, though, so every speaker is different in which frequencies they emphasize and by how much. This is why a flat monitor can help your mix sound good on all speakers. That being said, many mastering studios have high end hi-fi speakers in addition to the studio monitors, so the can adjust the final eq and compression accordingly.

It is possible to get a good mix out of hi-fi speakers, you just have to learn what yours sound like. Listen to a bunch of mastered recordings through them, preferably one's you know well, and you will get an idea of what your (or your friend's) speakers emphasize or diminish. Then mix to that, not compensating for it. (Even studio monitors are slightly different from one another and have to be learned.)
 
Shawnmaddock is quite right about the value of checking a mix on a set of hi-fi speakers in addition to studio monitors. I would even go so far as to suggest that a stereo video mix should be summed to mono and heard on the cheap speaker built into the side of a cheap 10" TV. Even when everything sounds great in a mix theater, its reasuring to know that it'll play propperly on a mid- to high-end home theater, as well as a dorm room TV. It'll be a safe bet that you're covered for everything in between.
 
we call it **** box, and yes mono check is must !!!
to check the mix for tv , usially people have large SONY TV in their studios .
as we know they put 50c speaker instad 5 cents other do , so you can check the averege sounding , this stuff is drasticaly changes in the past years as more people afford to buy home thater systems which sound segnificant better so the **** box standat need to go to the higher standart of 2 $:-)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top