[linux-audio-user] (semi)professional "field" recording work, what to use?

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Subject: [linux-audio-user] (semi)professional "field" recording work, what to use?
From: Wilbert Berendsen (wilbert_AT_oswf.org)
Date: Wed May 14 2003 - 10:30:09 EEST

Hi, this is my first posting to this list; I'm a professional musician
(organist) and avid Linux user from the Netherlands.

I want to make good quality recordings with lightweight equipment and to
further process the recordings on my Linux desktop PC.

Currently I own a DCC recorder, but there are no DCC tapes available
anymore. I have some tapes, but they are starting to show problems.

So I'm in the market for some new equipment. I researched quite a lot and
I think there are the following possiblities:

1. Minidisc recording.

consumer minidisc recorders are very compact which is good. But they
almost never have a digital out. Some have USB, but will not function as
an USB-Audio device under Linux (AFAIK, all use the proprietairy NetMD
protocol, which is partially reverse engineered, see:
http://www.marcus-brinkmann.de/freemd.en.html).

so to use most consumer market MD recorders it looks like I have to have a
good audio interface to record the sound from MD to my PC (and still have
it D->A and A->D converted in the process.)

A professional MD recorder which looks very good (the HHB PORTADISC
MDP500, see: http://www.hhb.co.uk/000/int.htm) has an USB interface that
if I understand correctly just manifests itself as an usb audio device
under Windows, and should thus also work with ALSA (?)

so with that recorder I could once record the sound and futher process it
fully digitally. The price is around EUR 1600,= which is quite a lot. My
main concern would be the availability of MD's.

2. Harddisk/flashcard/cd-rw recorders.

It seems these are very expensive now.

3. A laptop with a good (external?) audio interface (M-audio USB?)

Just Linux on it and arecord -f cd full_concert.wav :-)

My question is: What equipment do other people use? Would the HHB MDP500
be a good choice? Will MD stay for another decade? I think it is
important that open standards are used (I feel more confident with usb
audio than e.g. NetMD)

thanks in advance for sharing your thoughts :)

regards,
Wilbert Berendsen 

-- 
Wilbert Berendsen (http://www.xs4all.nl/~wbsoft/)
"You must be the change you wish to see in the world."
        -- Mahatma Gandi

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