Audio Hardware & File Formats By Nemesis Morgan

Hardware

Field Recorder

A field recorder captures audio outside the studio setting, straight from the source.

Boom Pole

A boom pole is a multi-sectioned, extendable microphone holder that is made to get the microphone as close as possible to the subject or subjects while keeping you out of the shot.

Windscreen

The foam or fur cover of a microphone is called a windscreen. It protects the microphone from gusts of air, as it can cause loud pops in the audio signal.

XLR Connector

XLR connectors are a type of electrical connector commonly used in professional audio and video applications and are sometimes used in medical video technologies and industrial AV equipment.

Audio interface

An audio interface is a device that connects your computer to various musical instruments, microphones, and other audio equipment, allowing you to record, play, and process sound with your computer.

Audio mixer

An audio mixer is a device with the primary function to accept, combine, process, and monitor audio.

Microphones

Handheld microphone

A handheld microphone is a portable device designed to capture sound and transmit it to a sound system or recording equipment.

Lavalier (“Lav”) microphone

Shotgun microphone

A shotgun microphone is a type of directional microphone that is designed to pick up sound from a specific direction while rejecting noise from other directions.

Wireless microphone

Wireless microphones are used to transmit sound to an amplifier or recording device without needing a physical cable.

Boom microphone

A boom microphone is a microphone that is placed over the subjects during a shoot, picking up the audio like a regular handheld mic would.

USB microphone

A USB microphone is the simple solution for recording audio on your computer. It can plug directly into your USB port and allows you to record directly to your computer.

Cardioid microphone pattern

Microphones with a cardioid polar pattern pick up quality sound in a heart-shaped pattern in front of the microphone. The sides of the microphone are less sensitive but will still pick up a usable degree of sound at a closer range, however, the rear of the microphone is entirely out of range.

Omnidirectional microphone pattern

Microphones with an omnidirectional polar pattern pick up audio equally throughout a 360-degree space. The range of this sphere-like space can vary from the microphone, but the audio quality will remain consistent from any angle when using an omnidirectional microphone.

Supercardoid microphone pattern

The supercardioid polar patterns have a similar front-facing pickup pattern and a similar additional back-facing pickup range to the hypercardioid polar patterns. The only difference is that the hypercardiod polar pattern's back-facing pickup range is bigger.

Bidirectional microphone pattern

The bidirectional polar pattern is also known as the figure-8 polar pattern because the shape area forms the outline of a figure-8. A bidirectional microphone records audio directly in front of and directly behind the capsule without picking up sound from the sides

Audio File Formats

WAV

WAV (Waveform Audio File) retains all the original data, which makes it the ideal format for sound engineers. If you’re sending files back and forth for collaboration, WAV holds its time code. This can be especially useful for video projects in which exact synchronization is important.

MP3

MP3 is the most popular of the lossy formats. MP3 files work on most devices, and the files can be as small as one-tenth the size of lossless files. MP3 is fine for most since most of the sound it drops is inaudible, but that’s not the case when it comes to bit depth.

OGG

The Ogg Vorbis is a unique lossy file format that doesn’t get mentioned too often due to not being associated with a major operating system. It’s an open-source format that offers a high audio quality to file size ratio; the file size for an Ogg Vorbis file ranges from 16kbps to 128kbps per file.

Examples of various Audio Files

Sources Cited

Chillingworth, Alec. “What Is Field Recording? Definition &Amp; Best Tips | Epidemic Sound.” This Is the Epidemic Sound Blog | Epidemic Sound, 26 Aug. 2024, www.epidemicsound.com/blog/what-is-field-recording.

Robles, Gabby. “A Guide to Using a Boom Pole.” Adorama, 31 Mar. 2023, www.adorama.com/alc/boom-pole-guide.

PRO Knowledge Base. “Q: When to Use a Windscreen?” Anytime Help Center, 2024, help.harmanpro.com/q-as-about-microphone-windscreens#:~:text=have%20foam%20windscreens%3F-,%E2%80%8B,interact%20with%20the%20microphone%20diaphragm.

Amy Goetzman. What Is an XLR Connector? connectorsupplier.com/what-is-an-xlr-connector.

“What Is an Audio Interface and How to Choose One?” Avid, 22 Nov. 2023, www.avid.com/resource-center/what-is-an-audio-interface.

Fenske, Doug. “What Does an Audio Mixer Do?” Music Careers | Expert Advice - Careers in Music, 25 Nov. 2024, www.careersinmusic.com/audio-mixer.

What Is a Handheld Microphone When Should It Be Used? www.vissonic.com/news/335.html#:~:text=A%20handheld%20microphone%20is%20a,to%20be%20held%20by%20hand.

How Do We Define a Shotgun Microphone? | Blog | Klover Products. www.kloverproducts.com/blog/how-do-we-define-a-shotgun-microphone.

“Wireless Microphones.” Federal Communications Commission, www.fcc.gov/wireless/bureau-divisions/broadband-division/wireless-microphones.

Chillingworth, Alec. “What Is a Boom Mic &Amp; How Do You Use It? | Epidemic Sound.” This Is the Epidemic Sound Blog | Epidemic Sound, 26 Aug. 2024, www.epidemicsound.com/blog/what-is-a-boom-microphone.

Closset, Fabian. “All About the USB Microphone - Mic &Amp; Mod.” Mic & Mod, 15 July 2024, www.micandmod.com/all-about-the-usb-microphone/#:~:text=A%20USB%20microphone%20is%20the%20simple%20solution%20for%20recording%20audio,the%20need%20for%20additional%20hardware.

Kench, Sam. “What Are Microphone Polar Patterns — and Why They Matter.” StudioBinder, 31 Jan. 2023, www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-are-microphone-polar-patterns/#:~:text=Microphones%20with%20a%20cardioid%20polar,is%20entirely%20out%20of%20range.

“The best audio format types for audiophiles.” Adobe, www.adobe.com/creativecloud/video/discover/best-audio-format.html.

Transloadit. “What Is the Best Audio Format?” Transloadit, 4 Dec. 2024, transloadit.com/blog/2024/03/understanding-different-audio-formats.

“Top 10 Audio File Formats.” Sage Audio, www.sageaudio.com/articles/top-10-audio-file-formats.

Leisuretec Distribution Ltd. “Microphone Polar Patterns: The Basics.” YouTube, 10 Aug. 2021, www.youtube.com/watch?v=keBa2ocQInI.

Into The Ordinary. “How Do Microphones Work? - Recording Explained.” YouTube, 24 July 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_crXXbuEKE.

Credits:

Created with images by Дмитрий Усык - "audio speakers " • mirifadapt - "sound designer recording natural ambiance in a forest" • gnepphoto - "Boom Microphone hold up high by film crew. Boom man grabing a Big Boom microphone in studio while recording online movie. Film Production concept." • guruXOX - "Behind the scene. Sound boom operator hold microphone fisher outdoor" • Warittha - "Gadget Four black XLR cables with metallic purple connectors and color-coded rings, arranged in a fan-like 2" • Александр Беспалый - "USB Audio interface front panel with volume and channel mix controls, external sound card black color isolated on white background close up." • Quality Stock Arts - "professional stage sound mixer closeup at sound engineer hand using audio mix slider working during concert perfomance" • Iana - "Hand holding vintage microphone isolated on transparent background" • Oleksii - "Lavalier microphone on a green background, close-up. A lavalier microphone or lavalier is a small microphone used for television, theater, and public speaking." • chones - "Microphone isolated" • DC Studio - "Closeup of professional microphone swivel boom arm stand in empty vlog broadcasting studio used for recording social media content. Detail of audio live broadcast digital mic." • spotlightstudio - "Studio-style USB microphone with cylindrical matte black and metallic green design, compact tripod stand, white circular logos, and coiled USB-A to USB-C cable, generative ai" • Fauzi - "six video file formats namely MP4, AVI, FLV, MOV, MKV and MPG with folders. DMS management concept. digital multimedia container format most commonly used to store video" • Fauzi - "four main files. the 4 primary file types: document, image, video, and audio. Document management concept. Cloud computing technology, upload and download files concept. DMS concept" • Fauzi - "wooden tag with symbol icon csv file format. CSV files are just like Excel spreadsheets." • monocle - "file icons are arranged into folders. Concept document management system or DMS." • Fauzi - "What files are compatible with 7-Zip? Supported formats Packing or unpacking ie 7z, XZ, BZIP2, GZIP, TAR, ZIP and WIM."