Sorry if this has been asked before, but I’m planning on recording long sessions with Audacity (something I’ve never tried before), I’m planning on recording the stream of the complete Woodstock festival from 1969 being streamed on XPN dot org. (3 days worth)
I have 385 hrs of recording time (way more than enough than needed) on my secondary D drive (HDD) using the default 44100Hz, 32-bit floating settings. I plan on stopping recording after every 1 or 2 hours, in between sets and export each set into best quality MP3’s, then closing the previous project without saving it so it doesn’t build up all those au files (I won’t be needing them after exporting each session.)
So I’m just wondering if anyone has recorded very long sessions, and if I should expect any trouble? I did a test run and recorded an hour, it was fine.
But this project is going to be going almost non-stop for 3 days (broken up into various MP3 files as I go), but I’m concerned about running Audacity, along with my computer, for that long. Thanks for any tips or information.
MY INFO: Windows 10, C Drive (SSD)= 500GB, D Drive (HDD)= 1TB with 455 GB free, latest version of Audacity, Intel i7-5820K, 32 GB Ram, Audio: Forcusrite Saffire Pro 24.
Ensure that your computer is fully updated well before you start (allow time to fix any problems that Windows update may bring), then disable Windows update for the duration. Similarly for your anti-virus.
Have a “plan b”.
Thanks Steve, I’m going to turn off Windows Update, and I’m creating an exception for my anti-virus scanner to NOT scan the folder that Audacity is writing the files to. (as well as making sure no scans are scheduled during the days of recording.)
I also have my laptop standing by as “plan b”.
I just worry about “computers” because computers are the most unreliable things we own. And, the way Audacity records those little AU files makes it easier for things to get fouled-up.
You might look for a solid state recorder that uses SD cards or some kind of removable memory because I suspect you won’t find one with enough built-in memory, but I could be wrong.
Then if you do that, I’d record with Audacity too so you’ll have a back-up.
I’m planning on recording the stream of the complete Woodstock festival from 1969 being streamed on XPN dot org. (3 days worth)
I didn’t realize such a recording exists! But then I found [u]this[/u].
but I’m concerned about running Audacity, along with my computer, for that long.
Right. This is a job for a stand-alone recorder. There are just so many things that can go wrong with computer recording and you’ll never catch all of them.
Having an SSD as C: is a good start. I would record it there, not the spinning-metal, sloppy, slow D:.
Before you get too fuzzy-warm about this, you’ll have to scan through the whole thing at least once to make sure there are no errors. Regard the forum postings from people discovering unexplained ticking or popping sounds in their recordings.
Definitely stand-alone recorder.
Don’t do it over Sunday morning. That’s when internet services frequently take the data streams down temporarily for maintenance. That’s less likely for business services, but can I assume you don’t pay extra for business grade?
So it sounds like what you guys are telling me is that I shouldn’t trust Audacity for a job this big?
Or at least I should trust my computer’s hard drives?
I should mention that I’m a musician and I have a DAW set up on this computer. I have quite a large setup using Cakewalk Sonar, with dozens and dozens of virtual instruments, digital efx, and other audio plugins too many to mention. I have recorded over 100 multi-track songs on this computer, with recording errors that I can count on just one hand. It’s a stable computer and the DAW setup has never let me down.
Although, again, I’ve never recorded for 3 days straight either.
I appreciate the suggestions, but I don’t have the time or money to go out and buy a stand alone recorder. I think I’m going to have to take my chances on this computer, and I’ll setup my laptop as a backup.
And, the way Audacity records those little AU files makes it easier for things to get fouled-up.
So this is the kind of advice/warnings I’m looking for with Audacity. Is this really something I should be concerned about?
Also one more point I’d like to raise (and honestly I’m not trying to be difficult, I’m just a bit concerned and appreciate your help)…
Having an SSD as C: is a good start. I would record it there, not the spinning-metal, sloppy, slow D:.
I agree that a SSD is more reliable than HDD, however I unfortunately have my main drive (with Windows OS, and all my programs) is on the SSD C drive.
In the past, I’ve always used the D drive (HDD) to record audio and store all my project files (video and audio). That’s the way I learned how to setup a DAW with two disc drives.
But here’s the thing I’m concerned about. If I’m recording the three days of audio on my C drive, and something should screw up with that drive, I’ve lost my OS and all my programs. But if I record the audio on the D drive (even though it’s the HDD), if it screws up, I will have only lost that audio. Everything else on that drive (all my previous projects) have already been backed up on an external drive.
Again, not trying to be difficult, and I understand that recording on the SSD might be more dependable, but as I said, I’m concerned about that drive crashing after extended use and me losing all my installed software programs.
You asked for potential problems. You got answers for potential problems
Personally I disagree with DVDdoug’s statement that “computers are the most unreliable things we own”. Over the years that I’ve been using this laptop, I’ve had a CD player (hifi) fail, a dehumidifier fail, many lightbulbs fail, and several socks develop holes. I own plenty of things that are less reliable than my computer On the other hand, I do agree with DVDdoug that people tend to overestimate the reliability of computers, and when this computer does fail, it will probably be at the most inconvenient time imaginable
I would expect that if I tried this job on my computer, the recording would work flawlessly. The most likely point of failure for me is my internet connection going slow - with my service provider, it rarely stops altogether, but it’s not so uncommon for viewing streaming media to be interrupted, especially at weekends. I wouldn’t put money on there being a perfect internet connection for 3 days continuously over a weekend.
There is still a chance that my computer could develop a problem, and I could find out several days later that some of the recording are clicky and unusable. The worst part of that is not knowing until it is too late, because there won’t be chance to listen back to the recording during the 3 day period. This isn’t a problem specific to Audacity - I’ve even experienced the problem even with a professional grade Pro-Tools rig.
There’s not much that I can do to protect against Internet problems, but I do have a Zoom H2 portable recorder that uses flash cards, and I could buy a few spare flash cards, then connect the zoom to a second computer.
Normally I use wifi, but “Cat 5” Ethernet cable to the broadband modem is more reliable.
If you have a setup that works, I’d go with that. I routinely record to a spinning disk hdd without problems. I can achieve more tracks at the same time with a SSD, but I’ve less free space on my SSD. As for reliability, I’ve only owned a SSD for about 4 years, but I’ve used hdd for well over a decade without a single failure. Whatever type of drive, there’s a (slim) chance of failure without notice.
Cassette recorder? Video recorder? Anything as a backup is better than nothing.
Assuming that there are no known problems on either of these computers, you would have to be supremely unlucky for both to fail at the same time.
I’m assuming that you don’t live in a mountainous, snowy region that is prone to power cuts…
There are (at least) tens of millions of Audacity users, that don’t have problems. I don’t recommend “Audacity Projects” for archival storage - if there’s a 1:10,000,000 chance of a single file failing on the storage medium, and you have 100,000 files in a project, then the chance of one file in the project failing is obviously much higher than the chance of one FLAC, WAV or MP3 file from failing. (these numbers are made up, for illustration purposes only).
I think your plan of exporting each file, then closing and re-launching Audacity between each session, is a good plan. Personally I’d export in FLAC format rather than MP3 (larger files, but lossless quality), provided that I have sufficient disk space. FLAC files are typically around 350 MB per hour at 44100 Hz sample rate.
For this recording project, because you are not doing any processing of the audio, I’d recommend temporarily disabling “dither” in Audacity’s Preferences: (Set “dither” to “None”: https://manual.audacityteam.org/man/quality_preferences.html). Don’t forget to set it back to “shaped” when you’ve finished.
So it sounds like what you guys are telling me is that I shouldn’t trust Audacity for a job this big?
It’s not because it’s a “big job.” If you’re recording something critical and there’s no chance for “take two” I don’t trust anything! The same goes for computers used in live performance. A guitar or guitar amplifier can last a lifetime without a show-stopping problem, but most guitar players carry extra strings and maybe an extra cable. And if a computer glitch can stop the show, I’m paranoid and I recommend having a backup computer configured and ready-to-go!
I should mention that I’m a musician and I have a DAW set up on this computer. I have quite a large setup using Cakewalk Sonar
That helps a LOT! It’s even better if the computer is dedicated to audio so it doesn’t get messed with during the day.
If you are more familiar with Sonar you might want to stick with it. Most “reliability issues” more-related to configuration errors/changes or user-error, than actual hardware (or software) failures.
If you have a 2nd computer, that’s another way to set-up a back-up recording in parallel.
I appreciate the suggestions, but I don’t have the time or money to go out and buy a stand alone recorder.
If you still have a VHS recorder [u]VHS Hi-Fi[/u] was “nearly digital quality”, but if you add-up the cost of the tapes… Or maybe you have a DVD recorder?
Just a brief follow up -
The three and a half day recording session went perfectly. Both Audacity and my computer performed flawlessly…the human operator though had a little trouble staying awake, but that’s a story for another time.
Not a single glitch, pop, or malfunction from Audacity.
Thank you again all for all your advice and help! And thanks to the folks at Audacity for making such a dependable piece of software.
