Digital Recording Levels

[Digital Frank]

Excellent points.

I think I drifted off topic a little, but let me wrap this up...
Based on the results I see, there can be clipping in one channel, but the -6dB channel is clean.
Of course a loud noise could result in clipping in both channels.

If the mic placement doesn't change, won't the signal:noise ratio will be the same for a low level recording or high level recording?
Sometimes we focus too much on the "noise" and not enough on the "signal."

 

[Noiz2]

If the mic placement doesn't change, won't the signal:noise ratio will be the same for a low level recording or high level recording?
Sometimes we focus too much on the "noise" and not enough on the "signal."

You are confusing room tone/ ambient noise with system noise. The "sound" in the room to subject balance will stay pretty much the same but all of that together is your "signal". Noise is added at various stages by the equipment and that level will stay fairly constant. So the higher your signal is the higher it is compared to the noise.

When using noise reduction we are often working at removing the ambient "noise" along with the actual noise. In that case the better the resolution you start with the better your results will be. So if you record too low it is very hard to use noise reduction with out having a lot of artifacts.

Most of the arguments in the thread are about levels that are not too low, but higher or lower in "the zone". The worry for post folks and talk of "lower is better" is not the seasoned pro who has made an informed choice to record on the "low side", it is the unseasoned amateur reading the thread who goes unknowingly too far and produces tracks that are way TOO low.

If you are peaking at -12 dBfs and the RMS is -20dBfs I don't have a problem, it's tracks (like ones I just got) where the RMS is -34 dBfs that are a problem. And in this case the director/ camera person was like "I didn't change anything so how could it be lower?", the rest of her tracks were fine. Obviously something did change, nobody checked, nobody monitored, and it was a problem.