Two Portable Podcast Recording Options - The Edirol R09 And The Zoom H-4
Posted on 9:38 pm by Paul ColliganIf you need a great, small, portable Podcast recorder, you have two great options: the Edirol R09 and the Zoom H-4.
The Edirol R09 is a fabulous portable media recorder that records to both MP3 and WAV files directly. It writes on MMC cards so you can put a lot of content on some very expensive media. The built in microphones are great but you can also plug in a simple microphone as well. When I speak at events, I always keep my R09 in my pocket and run a simple lapel mic. The results are always fabulous. The gain control the R09 is worth its weight in gold and has helped produce a far better recording than I have deserved some times.
The Zoom H-4 is bigger, not nearly as attractive, and a bit more complicated to use. However, it has a few features that the R09 don't have that are worth considering: A) It can be used as a USB audio capture device and not only takes XLR microphones, but can provide phantom power as well. B) You can also plug in the device directly to your computer and use the very good built-in microphones to record as well. Like the R09, it can also write to inexpensive MMC cards.
Technorati Tags: zoom h-4, edirol r09, podcast recording, portable recorder
1 Comment »
July 22, 2007
Fred Castaneda :
Paul,
I have converted to the Zoom H4. Yes, a bit more complicated, but well worth the value for all the extra features.
As you mentioned, the look is not attractive–in fact, downright frightening to anyone who is about to be interviewed (looks like a tazer gun). However, I have it mounted on a small tripod (usually used for small digital cameras). The two built-in mics give outstanding recording quality.
I have used it on the tripod on a small tabletop and have conducted interviews, recorded seminars and received other audio (e.g., music) from the other side of the room, and the recordings came out. Thanks to the Levelator, all comes out better than anyone expected.
Although I have used it religiously, I still feel that I am only 40 per cent of the way in exploring all the neat functions and features that it has–wow, wait until I can fully exploit this system. The podcasts will have bettter quality, and it has helped to make me a better podcaster.
Thanks for including the Zoom H4.
-FC