Home |
Search |
Today's Posts |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Adding 5-way Switch to existing Sound mixer
Hi everyone,
Hopefully you can provide me some much needed advice as I'm very new to all this. I worship at a church where we already have a 24 way mixer already installed. We recently added a DVD player as a source, but we really would like the following Source Systems: =============== DVD Player VCR Audio Cassette Recorder Mini Disk Recorder PC Recording Systems ================= VCR Audio Cassette Recorder Mini Disk Recorder PC The sound mixer we have is now fully loaded, and so has no free connections, but it does have a pair of jacks for Tape input and another pair for Tape output. What I would like to know is can I connect the Tape Input to some kind of separate mixer/selector box so that I can choose one of the above sources to play through the sound mixer, and so become audible to the congregation. At the same time we would like the Tape Output to go to another separate box which would send the same audio signal to the four recording systems in parallel, so each would get the same audio signal at the same time. I don't mind if the two boxes are the same or separate, but as we are based in the UK, they need to be available here. We also have a separate Video solution where our services are both recorded to the VCR, and sent to a spill over area in a nearby hall. Ideally we would also like to send the video signal to the same PC as the audio as described above, so we could capture both video and audio on the PC for later editing to make our own SVCD or DVD's. Has anyone already done this, and if so what software would you recommend for capturing audio on it's own on the PC (to make our own CDs), and/or combined with video (to make our own SVCDs and DVDs)? Many Thanks |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
Adding 5-way Switch to existing Sound mixer
Ratty Burger writes:
Hi everyone, Hopefully you can provide me some much needed advice as I'm very new to all this. I worship at a church where we already have a 24 way mixer already installed. We recently added a DVD player as a source, but we really would like the following Source Systems: =============== DVD Player VCR Audio Cassette Recorder Mini Disk Recorder PC Recording Systems ================= VCR Audio Cassette Recorder Mini Disk Recorder PC The sound mixer we have is now fully loaded, and so has no free connections, but it does have a pair of jacks for Tape input and another pair for Tape output. What I would like to know is can I connect the Tape Input to some kind of separate mixer/selector box so that I can choose one of the above sources to play through the sound mixer, and so become audible to the congregation. The answer is yes...but there's a better way. What you need is what is called a "submixer." Functionally it's no different than your 24 channel mixer you already have. Get a 6 or 8 channel mixer (Mackie 1202 or 1402 for instance, Behringer also makes little mixers along with many other manufacturers) to handle the additional inputs. Plug the output of that into either a single pair of channels (to handle stereo) in your existing mixer, into the tape input, or into some other input that will sum at the outputs. If you post the specific model of 24-channel mixer you already have, I could give more detailed recommendations on hookup. At the same time we would like the Tape Output to go to another separate box which would send the same audio signal to the four recording systems in parallel, so each would get the same audio signal at the same time. That's fairly simple. Take the tape output from your the 24 channel mixer, and run it to hte VCR input. The VCR output to the Audio Cassette recorder input. That output to the mini disk recorder. If the minidisk has audio outputs, send that to the PC. Otherwise, you'll need a simple pair of Y adapter cables to split the output of the cassette deck to feed the PC and minidisk simultaneously. I don't mind if the two boxes are the same or separate, but as we are based in the UK, they need to be available here. We also have a separate Video solution where our services are both recorded to the VCR, and sent to a spill over area in a nearby hall. Ideally we would also like to send the video signal to the same PC as the audio as described above, so we could capture both video and audio on the PC for later editing to make our own SVCD or DVD's. Has anyone already done this, and if so what software would you recommend for capturing audio on it's own on the PC (to make our own CDs), and/or combined with video (to make our own SVCDs and DVDs)? Typically video capture boards for the PC will come with some software for doing this. I'm afraid I am not familiar with this though. You may find better performance however if you were to get a digital video (DV) recorder with a firewire interface taking the video input, and the audio from your mixer setup. That way, you'd have a flawless DV copy of the video with audio recorded digitally already together on it--guaranteed no frame drops (as PC systems are prone to). And no cumbersome video capture card to buy. Once on the tape, you could digitally transfer from DV tape to the PC as desired using a Firewire interface. This technology is already reaching maturity and should be relatively easy to work with. Video capture stuff is far less mature and cumbersome and takes a pretty beeefy PC and video capture card to keep up with the frame rate as I understand. Best Regards, -- /"\ ASCII Ribbon Campaign | Todd H \ / | http://www.toddh.net/ X Promoting good netiquette | http://triplethreatband.com/ / \ http://www.toddh.net/netiquette/ | "4 lines suffice." |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
Adding 5-way Switch to existing Sound mixer
|
#5
|
|||
|
|||
Adding 5-way Switch to existing Sound mixer
with that being the only use
he could get a 5 way video game a/b/c/d/e/ box my son has one to patch all his consoles into one tv I don't know where he got it , a video game store I guess but handles 4 or 5 inputs to one output with the push of a button George --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.555 / Virus Database: 347 - Release Date: 12/23/2003 |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
Adding 5-way Switch to existing Sound mixer
"Mike Rivers" wrote in message
news:znr1072720549k@trad In article writes: The answer is yes...but there's a better way. What you need is what is called a "submixer." Functionally it's no different than your 24 channel mixer you already have. No, he doesn't need a submixer unless he told you something he didn't tell me - that he wanted to be able to mix those playback sources. I think he just wants to select one at a time, send it to the Tape Input on the console, and not have to deal with any more controls. Speaking as a guy who has pretty much the same situation, but also has a 32-input mixer to deal with it, I would probably favor the submixer over the switch. (1) I can't say for certain that I'd never have to mix some of the sources being mentioned. (2) The ability to set a trim for level-matching, and use a fader to control the extra inputs is not necessary, but it sure is convenient and familiar. Understand this is just a matter of personal preference and my perceptions of convenient, not some kind of technical issue. The switch can work, and will have the advantage of being cheap and positive. But it won't provide level matching, and it will involve a different control paradigm. That's fairly simple. Take the tape output from your the 24 channel mixer, and run it to the VCR input. The VCR output to the Audio Cassette recorder input. That output to the mini disk recorder. If the minidisk has audio outputs, send that to the PC. That would only work if all the units were turned on and were switched to an "input monitor" mode. And if one of them failed, you pushed the wrong button, or the computer crashed, it would remove the signal from everything else beyond it in the chain. No, the simple paralleling of all the inputs has a pretty good chance of working (no impedance matching [c]rap, please - it doesn't apply unless something has a truly low impedance input). I agree. Daisy-chains give me the willies. They are a reliability exposure. A distribution amplifier or just a simple splitter cable would be better solutions. Pro audio gear generally has abundant load-driving abilities as related to line-level inputs. Fan-out = 5 with relatively short cables shouldn't be a problem. But, the DA would provide isolation and the ability to drive anything that was even vaguely reasonable. Some DA's have output level controls which would allow tailoring the input signal levels for each load. |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
Adding 5-way Switch to existing Sound mixer
Impedance matching MAY NOT be a factor, but considering the number of
devices being fed, it MAY BE. The schematics of every mixer I've ever seen show that the tape out is coupled to the main out by a resistor of high enough value to drop the signal level, typically from 0 dBv or +4 to -10 dB. Paralleling this number of devices might produce an unacceptably low output. The only way to find out for sure is to try it. If it works - fine, if not, using a D.A. is a good idea. One some mixers, certainly not all, the tape input may not go to the mix bus, it may bypass it. That is, you may not be able to use the tape input and all the other inputs simultaneously, check your manual to be sure how yours works. Under these circumstances, I would use a sub mixer either through the tape inputs (if they can be mixed) or a regular input channel. Good luck with your project Lee Salter |