Thanks to Marco for spotting that, hidden down near the bottom of the iPod tech specs page, is news that the new iPod records in 44.1khz stereo. No word yet on formats (presumably it's compressed, rather than raw aiff files), but it's certainly good news. Expect a rash of all-in one XLR port/phantom power/preamps in matching white and black. If you're looking to get started, Giant Squid Labs sell minature stereo microphones with powered preamps for $80, which are perfect for bootlegging concerts field recording.
Now just one question remains: Who did Damon Albarn have to blow to get his album cover in all the iPod ads?
UPDATE: Lots of people asking about the recording software on the new iPod. Anyone have one? Does it record uncompressed wav files? Does it have any level meter or way to set the recording level? I'm guessing not, but as usual I'm 100% ill-informed.
UPDATE: This report from ILounge suggests that the new iPod records everything as uncompressed wav files.
Posted by Tom Whitwell.
Comments:
Another question remains. Where's the input port? On the dock?
Yeah, it's really cool cause the penguin symbol comes up when it boots, then the apple. you just hold play and ff, i think and it will boot in to linux. it's really almost the same as the reg os, but with the recoding rate you can adjust.
It's just like Apple to make a product capable of recording but hidden from use. Remember they took away our 1/8" line-in/mic inputs for years on their desktops and powerbooks WHY???. Apple specifically DOES NOT want you to be able to record audio with your iPod. Now why the hell is that? Is it licensing/piracy issues?
Wow, have to say this is really cool. This is the first I'm hearing about this. I've used the iMac with the previous gen iPod and it sounds pretty rocky. Uping the quality and the convenience factor would change the playing field.
The iRiver H20 sucks. The company really dropped the ball after the H320. I have the iHP-120 and it rocks! I can record wav or mp3 (at 320kbs) from toslink input with no packet lost. The mic input has AGC as well. As you can tell I love this device. ...to bad iRiver dropped it.
true, I had used an active sony stereo mic and a MD to record our bands practice sessions with surprisingly good sound quality for the dB level this had to endure, it wasn't studio quality but it was waaaaaaay better than our old tapedeck with integrated electret mic (i.e. you coud hear the bass drum AND the bass guitar at the same time). :)
the high end sharps were really good a couple of few years ago. there is a big range of md recorders out there, true, but you can expect to get what you pay for. minidisco.com was a good place for that stuff. stereo mics and a decent md was a really good recording setup, but i think that was before atrac, you would have to record to your computer to get it out, no file transfers.
I love my Sony MD recorder. The sound's great, the menu's... okay... and it's light as hell.
If not for the fact that the only way to get the sound files onto my iBook is to use the MD beast's headphone jack plugged into some third-party analog-to-USB gizmo, I'd be even happier.
@Rob Cottingham: Check out Sony's latest offerings, the MZ-M100 and MZ-M10. You can record up to 94 minutes in PCM and upload that onto a Mac through USB about 6 times faster than realtime. Sony has them here: Pro-Audio
I don't think anyone is planning on stealing all of my DRM'd tunes at 1x speed. I don't even have that many but no one wants to do it in a way that is that slow.
... though I could understand stealing one or two songs from someone just because you really like them - I suppose it's just the ability to easily steal music directly from another person's ipod that they were afraid of.
Exactly my point about copying! We can ALREADY rip off music left and right with P2P and CD burners so WTF? As if we're gonna 1X our bud's library, please! What, just so we can convert it to mp3 again and listen to it on our iPods? WE all know how well that sounds...Arrrrgh!
It's a similar reason as why itunes doesn't let you copy from ipod>computer...to prevent unauthorized copying of material. There are obviously work arounds for this, and hopefully soon someone can make a firmware hack that enables recording without having to use linux.
Hey guys, has Apple taken out the record feature from the iPod video? On other iPods it's under "Extra" >> "Record". Note that iPod video has no "Record" feature under "Extra".
people with an iriver ihp 120/140 should look on www.rockbox.org they make altenative firmware with it. there working on glitchless recording as well and continues recording.
the point is not that there are not better options out there for recording (md etc.) but that you can record in the field with the same object that you are carrying around in any case! E
<< the left iPod headphone has always had a mic in it... >> So does the right... most all headphones can also act as microphones. Speakers and microphones are pretty much the same thing, just 'fine tuned' differently.
I've been using my iRiver iHP-120 to record Sirius radio off of Dishnetwork through toslink cable. Quality is very impressive. I'm guessing Dish gets a better Sirius feed, since the quality is superior to any Sirius decoder I've ever heard.
Just for the record - the iRiver H340 records from 40kbps to 320kbps Mp3, and it is also capable of recording uncomressed PCM .wav files. The only bitch about it i've discovered is that you can't view or adjust recording levels whilst recording. Oh, and iRiver H340's have been able to play video for ages.
<< << the left iPod headphone has always had a mic in it... >> So does the right... most all headphones can also act as microphones. Speakers and microphones are pretty much the same thing, just 'fine tuned' differently. >>
So can I buy a 5g iPod and use the packaged headphones to record? Or a powered mic with a preamp? Anyone know?
Can a company, not affiliated with apple, come out with a device that can record in 44.1khz on an ipod?
Since the ipod has the ability, all it needs is the hardware plugged into it to unlock it. So are there legal issues or what? Why hasn't anyone done this yet? Seems like theres a strong interest in a product like this.
<< << most all headphones can also act as microphones. Speakers and microphones are pretty much the same thing, just 'fine tuned' differently. >> >>
That is true - the membrane and actuation that makes up a speaker can usually be a crappy microphone if you try.. BUT - the *circuitry* for a headphone driver is not the same circuitry as for a preamplifier/ADC - which is what you need in order to record. Meaning that Apple did not accidentally make the headphone jack capable of recording audio - they would have had to design that functionality into the device explicitly. So they just chose not to expose it, or only to expose it in limited, controlled scenarios (like the early voice recorder that Griffin made perhaps..)
My question is this. IS IT POSSABLE to record audio to my ipod video without buying any extra software or hardware? (provided I already have a computer microphone)
this artical mentions Giant Squid mic's for recording concerts, if you REALLY want some good mics, you should check out http://www.core-sound.com/mics.html If you don't want to spend that much, check out www.soundprofessionals.com . If you don't want to spend that much, then don't record concerts--- Giant Squid is a joke of a company with inequivically crappy products. Save your money.
Oh and kudos on bringing up HiMD's for recording. I record TONS of concerts and I use the HiMD with wonderful results (namely the Sony MZ-RH10).
i would like to be able to record my DJ sets as WAV/MP3 which ould mean hooking it up wit RCAs from the back of the mixer - NOT A MICROPHONE! anyone know if this can be done?? thanks j
if i am about to start grad school and want a mic to record lectures, what's the simplest (read: no extra software, drivers, random stuff) way to do that? sound quality is not a major issue, size is more important. from what i read in the comments there's no way to do it on the video ipod direct from the box, so i'd need to buy a mic. what kind?
for example, i found this little thing, but suspect it wouldn't work if i just plugged it into the headphone jack and pressed "voice memo." am i right? if so, how then to do this?
um, THIS is the little thing i was talking about http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProductInformation-Start?CategoryName=&ProductSKU=ECMDS30P&TabName=specs&var2=
Many DJ's and bands use iPods for backing music... Being able to record music sets in hi-quality stereo would set the icing on the cake, and encourage me, for one to get a new iPod.
Hi-MD personal recorders actually capture recordings at a subtly better quality in realtime (via an optical lead from a CD source) than using the SonicStage software (using the highest bitrate available). I have done numerous tests and concluded without a doubt that the realtime recordings have a more solid weighty bass end and a clearer, more transparant top end with less colouration than using SonicStage.
Hi, unfortunately, I have just broken my Sony HMD, which was brilliant. As I have to replace it soon, I was wondering if I would be better off replacing it with an ipod. Does anyone think this would be a better idea, is so, which ipod should I get. I use it to record a singing lesson each week in a small room. Many thanks for any help. Maria