Portable Digital Audio Recorder

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Level 1

15 points

Portable Digital Audio Recorder

Could someone recomend a good portable voice recorder? I would like to record high quality sound on a portable recorder as a backup to my camera. I would stick the recorder in my mixer and record everything coming down the line, even when I'm not rolling in my camera. My concern is finding a recorder that integrates easily with Final Cut Pro and my MacBook Pro (intel chip). Is there a voice recorder that records in aiff files? It looks like Olympus and Sony have the digital voice recorder market cornered. I worried that if I buy one, I will have to go through a myriad of conversions and steps to edit with it cleanly.

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.4.7)

Posted on Mar 17, 2007 5:15 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Da Nam

Level 4

1,115 points

Mar 17, 2007 5:42 PM in response to FriendlyDan

I use a minidisc recorder - the Sony MZ-N710 - and have recorded it directly into FCP using the voiceover tool. They're dirt cheap on EBay presently, although when I got mine
three years ago, they were quite expensive.
They record digitally onto cheap minidiscs and the audio quality is excellent.
BBC Radio over here have used them and that's a decent recommendation.
Downside is that they use 3.5mm minijack connector.
Dave.

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Answer 2

FriendlyDan Author

Level 1

15 points

Mar 17, 2007 6:38 PM in response to Da Nam

Thanks, but I was looking for something that I could import files directly from. Peace.

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Answer 3

Mar 17, 2007 9:48 PM in response to FriendlyDan

Why can't you use Soundtrack Pro and record to your MacBook? If you need mic preamps and an A/D interface there are many good ones out there. M-Audio, Mackie, and others.

Does the MacBook have an external line-in jack? If so, plug your mixer right in there.

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Answer 4

Mar 18, 2007 6:16 AM in response to FriendlyDan

You might have a look at the current crop of affordable, USB-equipped flash recorders: Edirol R09, Zoom H4, M-Audio Microtrack… I use the Edirol (and an external mic) myself for field recordings and I've been very happy with it.

Best regards,
Gert

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