manual/configure_rockbox/recording_settings.tex

   1 % $Id:$ %
   2 \screenshot{main_menu/images/ss-recording-settings}{The recording settings screen}{}
   3
   4 \note{To change the location where recordings are stored open the
   5       \setting{Context Menu} (see \reference{ref:Contextmenu}) on the directory
   6       where you want to store them in the \setting{File Browser} and select
   7       \setting{Set As Recording Directory}.}
   8
   9 \opt{masf}{
  10   \section{Quality}
  11     Choose the quality here (0 to 7). Default is 5, best quality is 7,
  12     smallest file size is 0. This setting effects how much your sound
  13     sample will be compressed. Higher quality settings result in larger
  14     MP3 files.
  15
  16     The quality setting is just a way of selecting an average bit rate,
  17     or number of  bits per second, for a recording.  When  this setting
  18     is lowered, recordings are compressed more (meaning worse sound quality),
  19     and the average bitrate changes as follows.
  20
  21   \begin{table}[h!]
  22       \begin{rbtabular}{0.75\textwidth}{lX}%
  23         {\emph{Frequency} & \emph{Bitrate} (Kbit/s) -- quality 0$\rightarrow$7}{}{}
  24         44100~Hz stereo   & 75, 80, 90, 100, 120, 140, 160, 170 \\
  25         22050~Hz stereo   & 39, 41, 45, 50,  60,  80,  110, 130 \\
  26         44100~Hz mono     & 65, 68, 73, 80,  90,  105, 125, 140 \\
  27         22050~Hz mono     & 35, 38, 40, 45,  50,  60,  75,  90 \\
  28       \end{rbtabular}
  29   \end{table}
  30 }
  31
  32 \opt{swcodec}{
  33   \section{Format}
  34     Choose which format to save your recording in. The available choices are
  35     the two uncompressed formats \setting{PCM Wave} and \setting{AIFF}, the
  36     losslessly compressed \setting{WavPack} and the lossy
  37     \setting{MPEG Layer 3}.
  38
  39   \section{Encoder Settings}
  40     This sets the bitrate when using the \setting{MPEG Layer 3} format. And has
  41     no settings for the other formats.
  42 }
  43
  44   \section{Frequency}
  45    \nopt{sansa,ipodnano,ipodcolor,ipod4g}{
  46     Choose the recording frequency (sample rate).
  47     \opt{h100,h300}
  48         {44.1~kHz, 22.05~kHz and 11.025~kHz}
  49     \opt{iaudiom3,iaudiom5,iaudiox5,vibe500}
  50         {88.2~kHz, 44.1~kHz, 22.05~kHz and 11.025~kHz}
  51     \opt{masf}
  52         {48~kHz, 44.1~kHz, 32~kHz, 24~kHz, 22.05~kHz and 16~kHz}
  53     \opt{gigabeats,ipodvideo}
  54         {48~kHz, 44.1~kHz, 32~kHz, 24~kHz, 22.05~kHz, 16~kHz, 12~kHz, %
  55         11.025~kHz and 8~kHz}
  56     \opt{sansaAMS,ipodnano2g}
  57         {96~kHz, 88.2~kHz, 64~kHz, 48~kHz, 44.1~kHz, 32~kHz, 24~kHz, %
  58         22.05~kHz, 16~kHz, 12~kHz, 11.025~kHz and 8~kHz}
  59     are available. Higher sample rates use up more disk space, but give better
  60     sound quality.
  61     \opt{swcodec}{\note{The 11.025~kHz setting is not available when using %
  62       \setting{MPEG Layer 3} format.}
  63     }%
  64     \opt{masf}{
  65       The frequency setting also determines which version of the MPEG standard
  66       the sound is recorded using:\\
  67       MPEG v1 for 48~kHz, 44.1~kHz and 32~kHz.\\
  68       MPEG v2 for 24~kHz, 22.05~kHz and 16~kHz.\\
  69     }
  70     \opt{recorder,recorderv2fm,h100}
  71       {\note{You cannot change the sample rate for digital recordings.}
  72     }
  73    } % nopt sansa
  74    \opt{sansa}{
  75       Recordings can only be made at a 22.05~kHz frequency (sample rate)
  76       on this \dap.
  77    } % opt sansa
  78    \opt{ipodnano,ipodcolor,ipod4g}{
  79       Recordings can only be made at a 44.1~kHz frequency (sample rate)
  80       on this \dap.
  81    } % opt ipodnano1g
  82
  83 \section{Source}
  84   Choose the source of the recording. The options are:
  85   \opt{recording_digital}{\setting{Digital} (SPDIF), }%
  86   \opt{recording_mic}{\setting{Microphone}}%
  87   \opt{recording_hwcodec}{ and \setting{Line~In}.}%
  88   \opt{recording_swcodec}{%
  89       \nopt{radio}{\opt{recording_linein}{ and \setting{Line~In}.}}%
  90       \opt{radio}{%
  91           \opt{recording_linein}{%
  92               \opt{recording_mic}{, }%
  93               \setting{Line~In} and %
  94           }%
  95           \nopt{recording_linein}{%
  96               \opt{recording_mic}{ and }%
  97           }%
  98           \setting{FM~Radio}. For more information on recording from the
  99           radio see \reference{ref:FMradio}.%
 100       }
 101   }
 102
 103 \section{Channels}
 104   This allows you to select mono or stereo recording. Please note that
 105   for mono recording, only the left channel is recorded. Mono recordings
 106   are usually somewhat smaller than stereo.
 107
 108 \opt{swcodec}{
 109   \section{Mono Mode}
 110     When configured to record to mono and the source is a stereo signal, use this
 111     setting to configure how the mono signal is created. Options are L, R and L+R.
 112 }
 113
 114 \opt{masf}{
 115   \section{Independent Frames}
 116     The independent frames option tells the \dap{} to encode with the bit
 117     reservoir disabled, so the frames are independent of each other. This
 118     makes a file easier to edit.
 119 }
 120
 121 \section{File Split Options}
 122   This sub menu contains options for file splitting, which can be used to split
 123   up long recordings into manageable pieces. The splits are seamless (frame
 124   accurate), no audio is lost at the split point. The break between recordings
 125   is only the time required to stop and restart the recording, on the order of
 126   2 -- 4 seconds.
 127   \begin{description}
 128     \item[Split Measure.]
 129       This option controls wether to split the recording when the
 130       \setting{Split Filesize} is reached or when the
 131       \setting{Split Time} has elapsed.
 132
 133     \item[What to do when Splitting.]
 134       This controls what will happend when the splitting condition is
 135       fullfilled the two available options here are
 136       \setting{Start a new file} or \setting{Stop recording}.
 137
 138     \item[Split Time.]
 139       Set the time to record between each split, if time is used as
 140       \setting{Split Measure}.\\
 141       Options (hours:minutes between splits): Off, 00:05, 00:10, 00:15, 00:30,
 142       1:00, 1:14 (74 minute CD), 1:20 (80 minute CD), 2:00, 4:00, 8:00, 10:00,
 143       12:00, 18:00, 24:00.
 144
 145     \item[Split Filesize.]
 146       Set the filesize to record between each split, if filesize is used as
 147       \setting{Split Measure}.
 148
 149   \end{description}
 150
 151 \section{Prerecord Time}
 152     This setting buffers a small amount of audio so that when the record button
 153     is pressed, the recording will begin from that number of seconds earlier.
 154     This is useful for ensuring that a recording begins before a cue that is
 155     being waited for.
 156
 157 \section{Clear Recording Directory}
 158     Resets the location where the recorded files are saved to the root of your
 159     \daps{} drive.
 160
 161 \nopt{ondio}{
 162   \section{Clipping Light}
 163     Causes the backlight to flash on when clipping has been detected.\\
 164     Options: \setting{Off}, \setting{Main unit only},
 165     \setting{Main and remote unit}, \setting{Remote unit only}.
 166 }
 167 \section{Trigger}
 168   When you record a source you often are only interested in the sound and not
 169   the silence in between. The recording trigger provides you with a
 170   tool to automatically distinguish between sound and silence and record the
 171   sound only.  Unfortunately it is not very easy to make this distinction between
 172   silence and sound because you hardly ever encounter real silence. There always
 173   are background noises. What is considered as background noise depends on the
 174   situation. For example during a lecture the very low noise of rustling paper
 175   might be considered as background noise. During a rock concert the murmur of
 176   the audience might be concidered background noise which is much louder compared
 177   to rustling paper. Also the duration of the signal matters. When you record
 178   speech you want to record every syllable. When you record live music you may
 179   not be interested in that chord the guitarist strokes for two minutes before
 180   the show to verify his amp is turned on. The trigger features numerous
 181   parameters to adapt its behaviour to the desired situation.
 182   \begin{description}
 183   \item[Trigger.]
 184     This parameter specifies the trigger mode.  When set to \setting{Off}
 185     the recording must be started manually and apart from the Prerecord time no
 186     other parameter has any effect.  \setting{Once} will have the trigger start
 187     one recording only; after the recording has finished the input signal will
 188     not start another recording. \setting{Repeat} will have the trigger start
 189     multiple recordings.
 190
 191   \item[Trigtype.]
 192     \fixme{Add description of Trigtype}
 193     Options: \setting{Stop}, \setting{Pause}, \setting{New File}.
 194
 195   \item[Prerecord Time.]
 196     This specifies the time that is included into the recording before the
 197     trigger event occurs. This is very useful if you record a signal that
 198     fades in. Usually you want to set the prerecord time greater than or
 199     equal to the start duration. That ensures that you record the entire
 200     sound. Strictly speaking the prerecord time is not a special parameter
 201     of the trigger. It is available during normal recordings too.
 202
 203   \item[Start Above.]
 204     The start threshold defines the minimal volume a sound must have to start the
 205     recording. It is displayed numerically in the line ``Start Above''. Note that
 206     the unit of the threshold depends on the settings of the peak meter. (i.e.
 207     When the peak meter displays dB you can adjust the level in dB and when the
 208     peak meter is set to linear the threshold is displayed as percentage.) In the
 209     peak meter at the bottom of the screen the start threshold is displayed
 210     graphically by a little triangle pointing to the right. There are two special
 211     values. The value \setting{Off} turns the start condition off.  With this
 212     setting you have to start the recording manually and the trigger only stops
 213     the recording according to the stop condition. The setting \setting{-inf}
 214     sets the trigger to the absolute minimum. This setting only makes sense when
 215     you record via a digital input as even the noise of the device itself would
 216     exceed this threshold immediately.
 217
 218   \item[for at least.]
 219     The start duration defines the minimal duration that a signal must exceed the
 220     start threshold to start the recording. Depending on your situation you may
 221     want to set this setting to 0 (e.g. when copying a song from a commercial
 222     medium) or to quite big values. Because sound is not continuous by nature
 223     (think of percussion) neglectable dropouts are tolerated during this start
 224     duration.
 225
 226   \item[Stop Below.]
 227     When the sound level drops below the stop threshold the recording is stopped.
 228     It is displayed numerically in the line ``Stop Below''. Just like the start
 229     threshold the unit of the stop threshold depends on the settings of the peak
 230     meter. There's also a small triangular marker in the peak meter at the bottom
 231     of the screen. In contrast to the start threshold marker it points to the
 232     left. The value \setting{Off} turns the stop condition off. With this setting you
 233     have to stop the recording manually.
 234
 235   \item[for at least.]
 236     This time specifies the duration the signal must drop below the stop
 237     threshold to stop the recording. By selecting high values you can ensure
 238     that, for example, trailing fade-outs are recorded entirely.
 239
 240   \item[Presplit Gap.]
 241     When the signal drops below the stop threshold for the time specified by the
 242     presplit gap a new recording may be started when the signal raises above the
 243     start threshold. Thus the value of the presplit gap should be smaller than
 244     the stop hold time. Otherwise the recording would stop anyway and the
 245     presplit gap has no effect. For most uses I recommend to set this parameter
 246     equal to the stop hold time. Sometimes you may encounter a sound source (e.g.
 247     a CD) where the songs have fade outs and hardly any gaps between the tracks.
 248     Here you can set the stop hold time to long values to ensure that all fade
 249     outs are recorded completely. By specifying a short presplit gap you still
 250     can split the recording into seperate tracks whenever the trigger start
 251     condition is met.
 252
 253   \end{description}
 254
 255 More information can be found at \wikilink{VolumeTriggeredRecording}.
 256
 257 \opt{h100,h300}{%
 258   \section{Automatic Gain Control}
 259     The \setting{Automatic Gain Control} has five different presets for
 260     automatically controlling the gain while recording.
 261     \begin{description}
 262       \item[Safety (clip).]
 263         This preset will lower the gain when the levels get too high (-1~dB)
 264         and will never increase gain.
 265
 266       \item[Live (slow).]
 267         This preset is designed to be used for recording of live shows and has
 268         quite large headroom for loud parts. It heads for a nominal target peak
 269         level of -9~dB and will slowly increase or decrease gain to reach it.
 270
 271       \item[DJ-Set (slow).]
 272         This preset heads for a nominal target peak level of -5~dB and will
 273         slowly increase or decrease gain to reach it.
 274
 275       \item[Medium.]
 276         This preset heads for a nominal target peak level of -6~dB and will
 277         increase or decrease gain to reach it.
 278
 279       \item[Voice (fast).]
 280         This preset is designed to be used for voice recording and heads for a
 281         nominal target peak level of -7~dB and will quickly increase or
 282         decrease gain to reach it.
 283     \end{description}
 284
 285   \section{AGC clip time}
 286     This setting controls how long the level is too loud or soft before the
 287     \setting{Automatic Gain Control} kicks in.
 288 }%
 289
 290