Sanctuary+Audio+Recording

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Challenge from our Friend
Joan Phillips-Trimmer, who passed away in the Fall of 2008, had challenged me [Mark Smith of the C3H ITS group] to make the audio recording process less an art that few can master and more cohesively setup and documented for all Soundroom volunteers. In that spirit and in her memory, the work documented here is our attempt to create a well documented recording and audio publishing process for C3HUU. We hope publishing our trials and tribulations will allow others to learn from our successes, and our failures, in support of volunteers in church soundrooms everywhere!


 * //The section below is in need of update, for current information see the Digital Audio Futures page. //**

Audio Recording in the Sanctuary (3Q2011)
As of 8Feb2010, a Digital Sound Recorder was in place to record service audio as well. In early 2011, a second audio recorder was added to separately record the Sermon Audio from the entire Service Audio. Directions for using the Audio Recorder are posted on the Soundroom wall. Audio may still may be recorded using the Marantz CD-Recorder/Player unit coupled to the Soundboard.

Any event may schedule the Soundroom in advance; special request must be made to use of the Soundroom facilities including the Digital Recorder or CD-Recorder/Player. To do so requires scheduling one of the trained volunteers who staff the C3HUU Soundroom. Please send requests to Soundroom at c3huu.org. If there is a request to include special music or other sounds with a program, please insure that the materials are made available at least a week in advance for the Soundroom crew to decide how to make the music or sounds available during the event.

We are in the midst of switching over to direct digital recording of audio in the sanctuary. The intent is to allow rapid creation of MP3 formatted sermon audio for posting weekly. Efforts toward this goal are tracked below.

Short Summary of Audio Recording Milestones

 * 2011Jan through today: a second recorder was installed, a Zoom H1, and then a month later a Tascam DR03 replaced the Canon digital recorder. The Zoom H1 recorder had a problem in May of 2011 and the Olympus VN-5200PC recorder was installed to replace the Zoom recorder. So there is now a Tascam DR3 recording the Sermon and an Olympus VN-5200PC recording the whole Service.
 * 2010Feb08 through today: recorded using the Olympus Digital Recorder documented below. Service audio files are stored on the C3HUU Network Attached Storage server and sermon audio is extracted and stored in the Sermon Audio web site.
 * 2008Jan06 through 31Jan2010: Stored in the clear media bin on top of rolling cart which is underneath the electronics equipment rack in the Sanctuary Soundroom
 * 2006Dec03 through 2007Dec30: In large binder of CDs stored under the counter with the Soundboard in the Sanctuary Soundroom
 * 2003Oct19 through 2004Oct17: (many gaps) stored in CD stacks in Church Administrator's office
 * prior to 2003Oct19: tapes were kept, does anyone know where that archive of tape cassettes might be?

Prior sermons were kept on audio tape which was rotated over the course of 6 months. During renovations in 2007, those tapes were lost. The Marantz CD Recorder was installed circa 2002, but no CDs with dates earlier than 2003Oct19 have been located. All but a handful of sermons from the past 18months with good CD copies onhand have been posted in the online spreadsheet which serves as an audio and sermon text catalog. Where available, text of the sermon is also linked in.

Recording Audio during Services
[Update 2010-02-07: The process below documents use of the Marantz CD-Recorder, updated documentation for use of the Olympus VN-5200PC and the Tascam DR03 Digital Recorder is under review and will replace this section when completed. MS]

Here is an outline of the current process for gathering the sermon audio and putting the sermon audio online and answering requests for a copies of Sermon audio. These guidelines are based on input from other UUA congregations on the UUA Webmasters and UUA Podcasters e-mail lists:
 * Before //**each**//service:
 * Follow the directions taped to the wall of the soundroom to prepare microphones and the CD media for recording
 * Do an audio check on all the microphones and insure that there is adequate signal to the Soundboard
 * Obtain a copy of the Order of Service
 * During the service, use the "Increment Track" button on the CD-Recorder remote control to index the major parts of the service. Please write the track number in the left border on an Order of Service when you increment the CD track. Use the same process if the Digital Recorder is used instead.
 * Please finalize the CD (documented in the instructions adjacent to the CD-Recorder and amplifier equipment) and place the CD and the annotated Order of Service in the CD box that sits next to the CD-Recorder and amplifiers.
 * The Soundboard operator should request permission from a guest speaker who is NOT a C3HUU staff or Board member to put the audio from their Sermon online. It is usually best to do this after the service.
 * Maj-Britt, and most other experienced speakers, have a definite idea of which of the usual two services came out better. Please ask them which one to make available online.
 * After the service, finalize the CD and determine who is going to "rip" the audio and post an MP3 version of the sermon audio track. The IT Services Group has been performing that work for the past few years.
 * If a member or guest speaker requests a service in person of the Soundroom operator, please do NOT hand them the original CD. Take the requestor's name, phone number, and e-mail address and send the request to the IT Services Group,we'll get back in touch with the person requesting the audio.
 * the whole Service is not normally available due to copyright issues over the music. If there is a volunteer interested in working on fixing this problem, we have contacts at local Universities who have an idea and will work with us to remedy this problem.
 * if anyone asks via e-mail about access to a specific sermon only, if the CD is available and it isn't already posted online, leave a note for IT Support. We'll rip the sermon audio track and upload the sermon after editing for sermon content only and normailizing the audio (many times the sermon audio is weak on the CD). Then we'll send a link to the requestor.
 * if anyone asks via e-mail for a whole service, refer them to the audio and sermon text catalog, not the whole Service CD, we have been advised NOT to get into the business of shipping out CDs, copyright reasons are but one of many concerns here.

As of 2010-01-31, plans are underway and parts acquired that allow:
 * replacing the wireless transmitter on the podium microphone (next section) with a connector to the XLR inputs on the Soundboard (see this section)
 * using a Digital Audio Recorder to replace the Marantz CD-Recorder (two sections down)
 * insuring that a volunteer to handle the passing of the mic during "Welcome and Introduction of Visitors" is available, OR that the Soundroom volunteer knows and agrees to pass the mic as well as staff the Soundboard during a service.

2010-01-26: Replacing Wireless Podium Mic
[Updated 2010-02-07] The primary microphone for the celebrants using the podium in the Sanctuary was an Audio-Technica U857ALcW microphone attached to a palm-sized ATW-210 wireless transmitter. This transmitter has had at least 4 failures during services over the past few months. The microphone audio is wonderful and well suited for this use, after a bit of research we identified what is needed to cable the U857ALcW microphone to the low impedance XLR sockets on the stage which are connected to the Soundboard. Audio-Technica (A-T) support responded to an inquiry that using an AT8539 adapter (~$100) is the supported way to connect this microphone to an XLR connector to our Soundboard. The AT8539 adapter also performs voltage conversion for the phantom voltage requried by the A-T microphone. The adapter was installed on 2010-01-31.

In the future, there may be interest in a custom adapter, if so here is the wiring definition for the 4 pin A-T HRS connector:
 * 1) Pin 1 - Ground
 * 2) Pin 2 - High Z (instrument)
 * 3) Pin 3 - Low Z (mic)
 * 4) Pin 4 - Bias voltage

Rather than building a custom cable and interface, we found that BlueCow.com (UK) offers an adapter that looks like it will fill the bill. RAM Electronics, Cables2Go, and other audio/video semi-custom cable providers don't carry the 4-pin HRS connectors that A-T uses on the ATW-210 transmitter. For use in e-mail to vendors, this section is linked from []

NOTE: the ATW-210 transmitter and ATW-2110 system are NOT affected by the recent sale of wireless spectrum. Neither are the Phonic Ear Easy Listening PE-300T transmitters and PE-300R receivers impacted. This may be be verified at the FCC web site here.

2010-01-24: Indexing Digital Recorder
[Updated 2010-02-07] During late December 2009 and early January 2010, the Marantz CD-Recorder (CD-R) has again failed to record on several occasions despite monthly cleanings. Testing began in late December using the audio recording and indexing capability of a Livescribe Pulse 1GB Smartpen. The Smartpen does work as a digital audio recorder and allows very flexible indexing of the audio recorded during a service or a sermon, BUT the proprietary audio connector requires that a custom interface to the very unusual 4 connector 2.5mm connector with ground shield. Using the external headset microphone of the Smartpen isn't an easy or attractive recording alternative! Olympus VN-5200 or WS-400s digital recorders were recommended by RTP A/V professionals as very reasonably priced high quality digital recorders that will be tested to replace the CD-R for recording sermon audio

The Olympus VN-5200, like most palm sized digital recorders is designed to use the internal microphone or have a microphone attached to provide an audio signal. Connecting a low impedance sound amplifier to this high impedance recorder input requires some impedance matching. An in-line "headset volume control" such as this Koss VC20 does a very credible job from early testing, though a better quality splitter with volume control such as this Monster iSplitter should maintain better audio response. At under $20 one of these is an essential accessory when attempting to connect a high impedance input device such as a digital recorder to a low impedance output such as a soundboard auxiliary output lines. Inputs and outputs from the C3H Soundboard have been relabeled, there is currently a sound output cable labeled "Digital Recorder" and the Soundboard audio control is also labeled. There is also an input line and matching control labeled "Audio Input" that may be used to replay audio from this Digital Recorder (or an iPod or other similar audio recorder/player.

The Olympus VN-5200 (and a similar WS-400s that our IT Architect owns which will be made available should the recorder fail) are among the most basic, high quality, digital recorders researched. These Olympus digital recorders include an "index" button which is very similar to the "track increment button" on the CD-recorder. The VN-5200 also has a standard mini-phone mono "microphone" input jack which can be impedance matched to the Soundboard output. Testing has shown that the Olympus recorders can replace the current procedure of creating CDs with the use of a digital audio recorder. This Olympus recorders holds between 10 and 16 services total, BUT we certainly want to backup the recorder each Sunday and continue to use the CD-Recorder together with this digital audio recorder until we work out a reliable procedure. [|The index marks may be used for replay by another Olympus recorder or DSS transcription software]. Several alternative software packages were reviewed including NCH Scribe, TotalRecorder Professional, and NCH Wavepad. All are excellent for editing the recorded files, but do not recognize the index marks. The Olympus DSS Player software has been ordered from an eBay auction to allow software recognition of the index marks.

Note that the Neuros OSD that C3HUU installed in late 2008, is programmable, as detailed in Neuros Technology forums and Neuros Technology Wiki. By creating an executable that runs on a cron job when a device such as the Olympus Digital Recorder is inserted into the USB port, files can be ftp'd to an external server (rats, no rsync!). We just need to make sure to set the hardware clock and software clock in synch on the Neuros OSD!

2008-11-30: OSD & GVC-1000
Current audio files are now moved to the c3huu.org web site (Network Solutions is the ISP), linked from this wiki page. After working with a PC in the Soundroom for more than 1 1/2 years, and still not having the process automated enough to handover to other Soundroom staff, it is time to change the approach here. The OSD DVR is a great device for handling streaming video up to 780p resolution, but the built-in OSD DVR software ("codecs") create MP4 digital video output and can't be reprogrammed to generate MP3 audio directly. The OSD DVR also requires a video signal input just to record audio, so audio cannot be recorded alone. Our IT Architect was able to repair the Marantz CD-Recorder/Player (CD-R) and recording of Sanctuary audio has reverted to use of the Marantz CD-R (until replaced as documented above in 1Q2010).

This OSD DVR works great to transcribe video from Hi8 format of the donated camcorder to a digital format and will be available for anyone who wishes to record and then transcribe an event to digital format. As of this update (1Q2010) so many people have digital video equipment that few have been interested in the combination of a 6 year old camcorder and a 2 year old DVR.

History: After two months of investigating alternatIve methods we realized that the Soundroom PC which is currently the fastest and best equipped PC at C3HUU is best used for staff rather than once a week for acquiring sermon audio. We are looking to replace the Soundroom PC with a combination of dedicated Audio/Video (A/V) "appliances": [|Neuros Technology OSD] system to acquire and manage audio, and later other multimedia (including video)
 * provides full support for digitizing audio, and syncing with video, and output to many different types of digital media directly including flash memory cards and USB attached disk or USB flash memory
 * has an IR remote control similar to the Marantz CD-R remote control rather than a PC keyboard
 * can control other IR remote capable devices such as camcorders, projectors, etc
 * has on-screen menus instead of requiring login to a PC and operating an audio acquisition program (TotalRecorder)
 * integrated on-screen help
 * one-button record of incoming audio/video stream (well, sometimes you can "click" just one on-screen button using the remote!)
 * inexpensive, acquired for $129[[image:http://wiki.neurostechnology.com/images/b/b0/OSD_back.jpg width="377" height="148" align="right" caption="Neuros OSD back"]]

[|Grandtec GVC-1000 Video to SVGA converter]
 * allows use of the existing 13" SVGA monitor instead of purchasing a video monitor. (None of the monitors at C3HUU have external analog NTSC inputs)
 * allows for mixing inputs such as alternative microphones synchronized (sync'd) with the video. So output from the two can feed another video/audio recording device, such as the Neuros OSD above.
 * simple connection, either using push-buttons on the GVC-1000 or menu driven on-screen from remote (unfortunately, it is a separate remote from above)

Some goals met by putting in place dedicated, programmable hardware:
 * Provide a more reliable, simple to use platform that can replace the Marantz CD-R system for audio recording
 * Resume use of the "track" creation process from the Soundroom operator that is so valuable in allowing for rapid skipping forward to select portions of services, especially the sermon
 * Eliminate need to use a PC editing program (TotalRecorder) extracting sermon audio from whole service from the recording process
 * (Longer term) Support video streaming, initially just integration of still images with audio, so that eventually C3HUU can capture the sanctuary video quickly and easily to formats that may be displayed on the web as well!

Other requirements not yet met:
 * Immediate posting of sermon audio to the web after the service
 * Simulcast capability: live streaming ("podcast") of the service audio

The results of A/V appliance testing have been posted since December 2008 in order to determine whether or not these devices meet C3HUU requirements. The former Soundroom PC has been setup for our Office Administrator whose PC went "casters-up" in December 2008.

Update 2008-01-07: Internet MP3s!
Select sermon audio files are now posted on the Internet! Using the Mirra Server and a PC in the Soundroom running TotalRecorder software, the MP3 files are available as soon as they are processed from the raw digital audio on the Soundroom PC. We are now able to automatically record the sermon, post-process and extract the Sermon audio remotely (and securely) and then post the Sermon audio files online as linked to the C3H Sermon Audio Archive page. In late 2008, the Mirra device had some problems and was no longer used to post the MP3 files, instead they are posted directly to a box.net repository linked from the C3H Sermon Audio Archive page. Box.net was replaced by direct upload to c3huu.org site in 2009.

Note: If the MP3/WMA file uploaded is greater than 6MB in size, then clicking on the file name in box.net causes a download, if it is less than 6MB and in a format that the built-in box.net audio player recognizes, then it pops open a player instead of forcing you to wait for the entire file to download first! At this time the format which replays the best is a mono MP3 file (16kb/s, 11khz) Also, there is a 10MB maximum size for files under the license we currently have with box.net. This issue is still a problem for some people (1Q2010) at times and depends on how your web browser and audio player are setup on your PC or Mac.

Update 2007-10-09: updated PC in Soundroom
A 4 year old Compaq mini-tower PC was integrated and can record directly from the Alternate Output of the Sound Board in the Sanctuary using TotalRecorder software. This PC can also act as a source of multimedia data, any audio from a CD or USB flash memory in many different digital formats. It also has a remote control available for checkout that works from anywhere in the Sanctuary. There is no digital noise or feedback and audio from most sermons since 2007-09-16 have been recorded and saved as MP3 files. Files are directly saved on the Mirra file sharing server so they can be accessed from any ethernet network capable device at C3H.

Mirra File Sharing (Sept2007):
We have experimented with a Mirra File Sharing device and service which is primarily to provide immediate backup for staff files as they are created, but also integrates with a secure web sharing service. If you have an interest in accessing these files, please leave a message in the IT Services box, contact our Office Administrator, or leave a message here, and we'll get back to you on how to access these files. The web sharing service is really designed for sharing and recovery of small office documents among a few people, not sharing multimedia files which are 10s of MB in size with many people, however it works well to allow for upload and post-processing of the sermon audio files when the audio person is not able to get the church to complete post-processing.

We don't yet have a volunteer to do full post-processing of these files to get the equivalent to the "tracks" that are on CDs manually inserted onto the Marantz CD recorder during Sunday services. There are also copyright and permission issues, so for now we are concentrating on capturing and extracting the Sermon only. The software on the Compaq PC, [|Total Recorder Professional Edition] allows for completely automated setup and recording of any audio that is coming through the sanctuary sound system. The program records native Windows .WAV (PCM) format and it also allows creating various compressed format files such as the very popular MP3 format. MP3, or Windows Media Format, .WMF, or other compressed formats which reduce the size of a typical .WAV file for entire sermon from approximately 300MB (~1/2 the maximum capacity of a typical CD) down to circa 20-25MB.

Multimedia Presentation in Sanctuary:
The multimedia control device is a [|Honeywell 4-in-1 Wireless Media Presenter], which may be installed on the Sound Room Compaq PC with the remote available (working on a method to "checkout this device"). This device works much better and is simpler to setup than the predecessor devices which included a loaned [|Libra-N1 Bluetooth Presenter Mouse] which provided only one Multimedia remote function at a time and [|some freeware (Pebbles for PDA] or [|commercial software]) that runs on Bluetooth enabled Palm Treo devices. The Honeywell device also works well with any laptop PC (Windows or Mac OS/X).

SPDIF Digital IF (abandoned Summer 2007)
After several weeks of configuration and testing, we abandoned use of the SPDIF digital interface and instead installed a good quality Digital Sound card in the Compaq PC in the Soundroom. Audio output is now taken directly from the Soundboard and input directly to the Soundboard. Those inputs and outputs are now labeled on the Soundboard.

The C3H sanctuary audio system includes a Marantz CDR-500 audio recorder that is used to create CDs directly from the sound system. At first glance this Marantz CDR-500 has no digital output, **//but//** in back, there is a SPDIF digital interface (uses RCA jack so it looks like an analog output, or uses SPDIF fibre connector).

A bit of research showed that there are a number of ways to connect to a PC for concurrent digital recording when mastering CD. [|Marantz manuals online] and an [|SPDIF howto], plus [|SPDIF Wikipedia entry] were essential references to the initial setup. Many PCs have an SPDIF digital output, but very few have an external SPDIF analog input (diagram to come). The most straightforward way to digitize the audio for post-production work and editing seemed to be installation of a sound card which supports SPDIF input in the Compaq 4410CA (black mini-tower PC) in the C3H Soundroom.

On 2007-09-02 obtained a Soundlaster Audigy XE card for this Compaq 4410CA PC and installed it. Attempted to test SPDIF input from another PC with SPDIF output, but have no compatible cables. Taking a 75ohm shielded cable with RCA plugs on each end to test at C3H Sound Room on the Marantz CDR-500. There was considerable hum using this approach, likely a ground loop. The sound system and PC do not have a good common ground other than AC ground. This feature using the electrical SPDIF interface killed interest in the option.

TotalRecorder Software (Spring2007)
NOTE: both the programs that Jim M asked me to install (SoundPad and another) are no longer freeware and now prompt for registration and payment of a license fee. Found another inexpensive and automatable sound editing program -- [|TotalRecorder Professional Edition]. The Soundblaster card notes that there is software that gets installed, but it seems to be only sound card drivers and accessories not general purpose wave file editing. TotalRecorder fee is quite low ($35) for many features such as auto-stop recording and programmability.

Digital Audio File Creation in Soundroom
Goal of this project is to devise a very straightforward way to create digital audio files at the same time as a CD is being created off the C3H Sanctuary Audio system. Here is a proposed flow of operations, looking for feedback:
 * Start and login to the Soundroom PC
 * Power on the rack with the CDR-500
 * Insert CD into Marantz CDR-500
 * Operate the Marantz CDR-500 as Soundroom staff are used to doing
 * At the end of the session, the TotalRecorder program will create an MP3 file OR each file may be stored on the C3H NAS so it is accessible from any C3H PC (also shared as noted above using Mirra) - At the end of the session, TotalRecorder will stop itself and optionally put the PC into Hibernate mode (this is not working yet, some manual intervention required to generate the MP3 file)
 * Power off the rack with the CDR-500, but leave the power and the Soundroom PC on as well

At a later time, the created files may be sorted, and edited if needed, for either posting to a C3H Web site, or making available to C3H members and friends by other means.