With one mic feeding two channels on the HVX200, I can run audio levels on one channel higher than the other. Can I do this if the mic imput to the camera is coming from a Mixpre? I've been thinking about getting one. Does it work the same, or will I need to run two xlr cables from the mixpre to the HVX200 to get the same benefit? Thanks.
Different audio levels on 2 channels
- Thread starter carbon3c
- Start date
So if the levels are too high on the mixpre, it won't clip on the HVX200 if one of the HVX channels has lower levels? I was afraid that it would clip on the mixpre and be unrecoverable by the time it reached the HVX200. I'm new to this so I'm just trying to get clarification before I buy. It's a low budget indie short, so I want to keep things as simple as possible. Thanks.
It's all in proper gain staging, which is the process for setting audio levels that you can trust.
The meters on the MixPre should peak at 0dB and no more. Because the mixer is an analog device, it will have a little headroom should the levels pass 0dB. And if peaks of 0dB are properly set to the camera's inputs, they'll have headroom as well.
Use the MixPre's tone oscillator to set your levels. Set the tone to 0dB on the mixer, then set the camera's Ch 1 control so that the signal meters at the reference mark, and set Ch 2 a bit below that (roughly 5dB lower). Now, you're good to go. But wear headphones while you shoot.
But to your concern about levels that peak on the MixPre and are then unrecoverable in the camera, that's just physics of the sound signal. If the signal gets messed up in the mixer, it has to be fixed in the mixer. There will be no way to fix it downstream. If the singal is problematic in the camera, but clean in the mixer, check your camera's input setup. But if the signal is clean in the mixer, and the mixer and camera are properly gain staged, you'll be fine.
As for feeding the camera from the MixPre... you can send both channels of the MixPre to both channels of the camera. Since the MixPre doesn't have a pan pot, and only has selections of hard left, center, and hard right, you can set your input source to center and run both outs.
The meters on the MixPre should peak at 0dB and no more. Because the mixer is an analog device, it will have a little headroom should the levels pass 0dB. And if peaks of 0dB are properly set to the camera's inputs, they'll have headroom as well.
Use the MixPre's tone oscillator to set your levels. Set the tone to 0dB on the mixer, then set the camera's Ch 1 control so that the signal meters at the reference mark, and set Ch 2 a bit below that (roughly 5dB lower). Now, you're good to go. But wear headphones while you shoot.
But to your concern about levels that peak on the MixPre and are then unrecoverable in the camera, that's just physics of the sound signal. If the signal gets messed up in the mixer, it has to be fixed in the mixer. There will be no way to fix it downstream. If the singal is problematic in the camera, but clean in the mixer, check your camera's input setup. But if the signal is clean in the mixer, and the mixer and camera are properly gain staged, you'll be fine.
As for feeding the camera from the MixPre... you can send both channels of the MixPre to both channels of the camera. Since the MixPre doesn't have a pan pot, and only has selections of hard left, center, and hard right, you can set your input source to center and run both outs.