Hi, I’m using Zoom to record a podcast. I import into Audacity the separate audio tracks after I convert to MP3. When a participant goes silent, the recorded track seems to drop out and cause syncing issues. I just realized as I type this, that likely the conversion to MP3 is what is causing the silent part to be dropped out.
any thoughts?
Never use MP3 in the middle of production. It has too many instabilities, sound damage, and unpredictable behaviors. Save MP3 for your music player running on the beach.
It’s possible to set Audacity to stop recording during silences. Transport > Transport Options > Sound Activated Recording.
How did you get your sound tracks? Nobody wrote that all sound recorders had to be running at exactly the same speed. Sample rates can vary slightly and cause the ends of takes to miss even though the beginnings are spot on.
Koz
Stick with WAV (Microsoft) 16-bit at either 44100 or 48000 sample rate (be consistent) instead of MP3.
44100 is very common.
Koa
thanks, I use Zoom to record and get the separate tracks and then edit in Audacity. I think it’s the conversion to MP3 causing the issue. Zoom records to M4A
I think it’s the conversion to MP3 causing the issue. Zoom records to M4A
Maybe… MP3 adds a few milliseconds of silence to the beginning but it’s a constant delay that doesn’t get worse over time.
When a participant goes silent, the recorded track seems to drop out and cause syncing issues.
If you record using WASAPI-loopback that can sometimes happen because WASAPI can’t record when there’s no digital audio stream. …But that’s different from a silent stream.