Hot answers tagged laptop
10
Anything inside a computer chassis is exposed to a nightmare of electrical interference. The CPU, bus, hard drive and other components all emit electrical fields in the kilo, mega and gigahertz range. On top of that, most integrated and internal sound card vendors aren't that serious about efficient shielding, so you're generally much, much better off with ...
5
Pretty certainly yes to 1 here, this is an area where most PC laptop manufacturers apparently don't care for quality at all – namely, to answer 2, they tend to use the cheapest microphones and preamps available (it has little to do with software), which is IMO absolutely ok because 3. you should always use external microphones if you care for quality at all, ...
5
Put it in a different room!
Professional studios do this by having a control room with all of the more noisy equipment, so in a home studio you're going to have to try to approximate that environment as best you can.
On a MacBook, you may be able to limit CPU usage in the Energy Saver preference pane. I can't tell you specifically since I'm on an iMac, but ...
5
That's a well-known problem.
First of all, you shouldn't be using the microphone connector on the laptop. These inputs are usually not only particularly susceptible to buzzing noises, but also to all kinds of distortion and aliasing. Use an external audio interface, there are very affordable USB ones available.
Using an interface with XLR inputs, connected ...
5
I create a user account called "performer" on my Macbook Pro. I then use fast-user-switching to switch to it during any kind of on-stage use. Optionally, I actually log out the other user.
The performer user has:
A simple black desktop background
Only performance-related audio software and utilities
No screen saver and power saving features
I find ...
5
Using computers to record doesn't necessarily cause quality problems in and of itself, but it does introduce a number of variables that you otherwise wouldn't have to worry about:
Latency: Digitizing audio into a computer involves buffering samples, and then processing them. It is possible to minimize it with good hardware, but as far as I know it cannot ...
4
I recommend the M-Audio Fast Track Pro. It has 2 inputs for microphone/instrument and ASIO drivers for low latency.
I own a M-Audio Profire 2626 and have been very happy with the clean clear sound it delivers when recording my keyboard. You should be able to get similar quality of sound from the Fast Track Pro.
I record using Reaper on a PC running ...
4
In addition to the concerns that Warrior Bob has noted, computer recordings can be noisy. And they tend to have surprisingly inaccurate recording speeds which will be a problem if you want to sync with video. (If not, it's not an issue.)
A portable audio recorder like a Zoom H4n will set you back a few hundred dollars, but will deliver much better ...
3
It's possible to amplify VGA for long runs, but since that's an analog signal it's usually not the best option. VGA over coax is probably more trouble than it's worth (you'd have to merge the many VGA channels somehow to use the single coax pin, and then reverse it).
VGA over Cat5e is fairly common. You still aren't running an analog signal over 200ft, but ...
3
Technically, the PMD661 and that mic should be clean as a whistle. Maybe your gain is turned up too high? I don't know if changing the recording method would change that, but it could if you use a device with a better mic pre-amp, so the gain isn't so high and the hiss isn't introduced. Personally, I would try borrow another device and see if the hiss ...
2
I think your question is actually very misleading.
Some Windows based laptops have far superior sound to Macs, and some are much worse.
The thing Macs have is consistency, as Apple has control over the entire hardware, whereas there are a million different Windows laptops.
So for your 3 questions:
1 - not better generally, nor worse generally, just ...
2
To have lower fan speeds while also not having a cooked laptop, you need to have less heat to remove (i.e. reduce CPU or GPU load) or more efficient passive heat transfer. Luckily, modern MacBooks have metal cases which are quite thermally conductive, which allows many possibilities for improving cooling.
Chill the air around the laptop as much as you can ...
2
This is more computer related than music but here's some hints and tips anyway.
Right click on 'computer' and then click 'properties' (you can do this either in your 'start menu' or on the 'desktop'). Here you'll find the specs of your PC including CPU speed and amount of RAM. Perhaps post the result here and also any other details you have about the laptop ...
2
So the problem is (drumroll) the crappy sound manager that came on the laptop. The RealTek software was defaulted to "filter out noise" from the microphone. It, of course, was doing a terrible job of it. I turned that off and all was well I got tons of extra noise from the un-isolated inner workings. But at least I know where all that sound is coming from.
...
2
This has little to do with the OS and more to do with the software you're installing.
It is best practice to do what you are currently doing and stick to the software that you need. However you generally won't have a problem, unless you aren't familiar with the software you're installing, and are prone to downloading anything and everything.
I primarily ...
1
The Easycap Capture adapter is simply a video capture device with no TV tuner, so you would not be able to receive any TV signal.
I would recommend the USB TV tuner. I'm not sure whether you will need an Analog or Digital tuner as this will vary according to where you live (here in the U.S. all stations are now Digital). If you are putting this into a ...
1
Let's start with the two mics question: you should only use two mics if you're able to record them in separate channels.
IT IS NOT A GOOD IDEA TO USE A Y CABLE TO MIX BOTH MICS WITHOUT A MIXER.
Why? Well, if you're using two microphones you be getting a STEREO recording - and that's awesome! You can work with Mid/Side eq to balance the sounds and even set ...
1
As far as I'm aware, there have been long standing problems with Windows 7 and FireWire devices (a quick Google search will turn up a lot). This especially applied to external hard drives, but I suppose it could apply to all FireWire devices.
Here is what I would do to give the best chance of it working:
Get the latest drivers for the FireWire interface ...
1
You might also consider using a virtual machine for general-use applications. Assuming nothing is too resource-intensive, this is a comfortable way to not worry about trashing your primary environment. Plus, you can roll it back at any time.
There are many options. VMWare is the industry standard, but not free: http://www.vmware.com/products/fusion/
1
(I just know someone's going to say "get a new laptop" or "replace the motherboard" or something like that...)
I wouldn't, because you would probably end up in the same situation after some time. Profesionally speaking, if such a component breaks down, I would say: stop working with it. Instead, get your hands on a not too expensive USB interface. ...
1
You have largely answered the question yourself in your parenthetical. Updating your sound card drivers if you can might help a little, but the main problem is that the sound card is not protected from the electromagnetic effects of the rest of the computer (plus it's probably not a great card, onboard ones rarely are).
The new HP laptops with Beats Audio ...
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