Zoom H4 2.0 firmware update fixes almost everything

There's a new firmware update for the Zoom H4 Handy Recorder, and boy is it a doozy. In fact, Zoom seems to have addressed almost every single complaint anyone's ever had with the Zoom software. Version 2.0 includes:

• Larger fonts making the tiny display easier to read
• Battery meter shows how much juice you've got left when recording in stereo mode
• Specify whether you're using alkaline or Ni-MH batteries for a more accurate battery reading
• There's a remaining time meter in stereo mode
• Mono mix recording in stereo mode (In other words, you'll still be recording on two tracks, but the output will be dual mono instead of true stereo. This doesn't save you any space on your memory card, but it does make voice recordings more accurate).
• Low cut filter with 10 presets for reducing background sound
• Auto recording mode starts up a recording when there's sound above a certain threshold and pauses when it gets quiet
• Support for SDHC cards up to 4GB (Previously you could only use SD cards up to 2GB)
• Convert WAV files to MP3 directly on the unit to save space
• Divide large files
• Normalize files to bring up the volume on the recorder (Depending on the card you're using, this could reportedly take almost as long as recording a new track, so you might be better off waiting until you get to a PC to do this).
• You can now turn off the input signal when using the USB interface mode. In other words, you don't have to hear the mic or line input sound all the time
  

I downloaded and installed the update, and so far I'm pretty impressed. I would have preferred a true mono recording option in the stereo mode, even if that sounds like a bit of a contradiction. Once you become comfortable recording in mono using the 4-track mode, it's not that hard to do. But since you don't get a battery meter or remaining record time display in 4-track mode, it would be nice if you could do make true mono recordings in the 2-track mode.

You can download the supplemental Zoom H4 manual (PDF link) and see in-depth descriptions of all the new features if you want to read up a bit before messing with your recorder's firmware.

The software update does nothing to solve the electric pulsing noise problem when you're running on battery power, so the best solution is still to build your own battery pack. And of course, the Zoom H4 still has a few hardware issues like noisy preamps when using external mics and loud handling noise when using the internal mics.

But this update is still pretty sweet. It certainly makes up for the last disappointing firmware upgrade.

Update: A couple of people have contacted me to let me know they were having problems installing the firmware. So here are three things to make sure you're doing:

1. Make sure you check to see what version of the Zoom firmware you're currently using and download the corresponding update file.
2. When Zoom says put the update file in the root directory of your SD card, this does not mean the Sys folder. Instead, the file should not go in any folder at all.
3. Make sure your Zoom is plugged in when performing the update.

Making cheap and free PC to land line calls

As a reporter, I spend a fair amount of time recording telephone interviews. Sometimes I use excerpts of the audio to produce radio stories, and sometimes I upload complete interviews for this site or Download Squad.

If you want top of the line telephone audio recording equipment, you could easily spend $500 or more. The JK Audio Broadcast Host, for example, is highly recommended by radio professionals, but it'll set you back $495. On the other hand, you can pick up a cheap audio interface from Radio Shack for less than $20, but you kind of get what you pay for when it comes to sound quality.

Anyway, when I started out as a freelance reporter, the point was moot because my telephone line had a loud, annoying buzzing sound on it. All the post-processing I could throw at it wouldn't make it go away. I had a Verizon tech come out and "fix" the line twice, to no avail. So I eventually canceled my land line service altogether and signed up for Skype. At the time, you could get a SkypeIn number for $30 for a year, and make unlimited calls to US land lines and cellphones for free. (Eventually they raised the price of the unlimited calling plan to $30, but I signed up in January when there was a deal to get a year's service for $15).

Skype quality depends on a lot of factors. But if you've got a broadband connection, a fast CPU and a decent amount of RAM, calls to land lines sound at least as good as cellphone calls, and often quite a bit better. And most importantly, if you record the calls using your PC's sound card or by plugging in an external MP3/WAV audio recorder, the quality was significantly better than anything you were going to get with a $20 recorder.

Apparently about a year has passed since I started using Skype, because I got the renewal notice for my SkypeIn phone number the other day. The price has risen to $60 per year. That's still pretty good compared to what I'd pay for a land line. But I don't use my SkypeIn number ever day, or even every week, so I figured I'd to a little bit of digging before signing up for another year.

When I first looked at Skype, I also checked out Gizmo Project. I'd heard some good things about Gizmo, including the fact that you could record calls without plugging in an external program. But the call quality wasn't as good as Skype, the long term payment plans were more complicated, and the call recording feature was pretty low quality.

I took another look this week and it turns out that a Gizmo Project CallIn number is cheaper than a SkypeIn number. $60 for Skype, $35 for Gizmo. On the other hand, Skype has an unlimited plan for calling out, while you have to pay 1.9 cents per minute for domestic calls with Gizmo.

So I started to think about a complicated solution where I would use Gizmo to receive calls and Skype to make calls. It didn't seem like it would be worth maintaining two separate systems just for $25 in savings. But then I saw that Gizmo offers free numbers for incoming calls if you're willing to take a number with a 775 (Nevada) area code.

Now here's where it gets tricky. (Yeah, I know, I probably already lost you). I planned to use Grand Central to ring all of my phones simultaneously. Grand Central is a startup that Google bought a few months back. It's still in beta, which means you need an invitation to sign up. But it offers a few nice features. At its most basic level, Grand Central lets you give out one phone number to anyone you meet. When they call that number, GC will ring any phones numbers you've linked to your account. I already use this for my SkypeIn number and my cellphone. So when I'm trying to schedule an interview, I give people my Grand Central number. When they call me, if I'm at my computer with Skype open, I can take the call and record the interview right away. If I'm out of the office, my cellphone will ring and I can ask to call them back when I return to the office.

I figured I could easily link my new 775 number to Grand Central so that nobody would ever know I had a Nevada-based phone number.

As it turns out, I didn't even need to do that. When I signed in to Grand Central, I noticed that there's an integrated Gizmo option. You can connect your Gizmo account to Grand Central even if you don't have a CallIn or 775 number. When people call your Grand Central number, Gizmo will ring, your cellphone will ring, any other number you want will ring. Brilliant.

So now if I'm calling someone for an interview, I can fire up Skype and my Zoom H4 to record the interview right away. If I'm waiting for an interview, I don't need to have Skype open. I can just open up Gizmo Project and wait for the call to come in.

Since incoming calls will be routed through GrandCentral (which is free) to Gizmo, I'll never have to pay for an incoming call or for my phone number. And since Skype allows you to pay an annual fee for unlimited calls to domestic land lines and cellphones, I'll only have to pay one VoIP bill per year.

Comparing the Sony PCM-D50, Fostex FR2-LE, Zoom H4 and Sound Devices 702

I tested out a couple of different flash audio recorders at AES yesterday. And while recording conditions weren't ideal on the noisy show room floor, here are the results. Ideally I'd love to take each of these recorders into a quiet room and record an interview and some ambiance, because even the Zoom H4 with its noisy preamp sounded halfway decent with all that background noise.

Fostex FR2-LE using an Electrovoice RE-50 microphone:



The FR2-LE is a trimmed down version of the Fostex FR2. It packs combo XLR/quarter inch inputs, track marking, and most of the features I'd want, on paper. But as you can hear when the gain is turned down the preamps are a bit noisier than I'd hoped.

Sound Devices 702 with RE-50 mic:



The Sound Devices 702 is a high end compact flash recorder. It'll set you back about $2000 but honestly, I've never heard a DAT/minidisc/Flash recorder that sounds as good.

Sony PCM-D50 with RE-50 mic:



The Sony PCM-D50 sounds surprisingly good with an external mic. Although it sports 1/8th inputs, meaning no phantom power, you can get an extraordinarily high record level with a dynamic microphone like the RE-50. That, plus the fact that you can mark tracks on the fly, pre-buffer recordings, and change record levels on the fly makes this an excellent recorder or anyone who likes the convenience of a compact minidisc recorder but wants the sound quality of a DAT or high quality flash recorder.

Sony PCM-D50 with the built-in stereo condenser mics:



The PCM-D50 also has stereo condenser mics built in. If no mic is plugged in, the recorder will use these by default. Plug anything into the mic or line input and they'll shut off. While they're not ideal for recording on a noisy show-room floor (they pick up way too much ambiance and not enough of the people they're pointed at), these mics would be excellent for quick interviews in the field or for recording music or outdoor ambiance. There's an optional wind-screen for $50, and there's almost no handling noise when using the built-in mics, which is a huge problem with the cheaper Zoom H-4.

Zoom H4 using an RE-50:



I brought along my Zoom H4 recorder in order to make a comparison recording. The preamps are pretty noisy and in a quiet recording environment a Zoom H4/RE-50 combination is really less than satisfactory. But because of all the background noise, this recording actually came out pretty decent.

In other words, take all of the other recordings with a grain of salt. That said, I think it's still safe to say that in this limited test the Sound Devices 702 an the Sony PCM-D50 both produced cleaner recordings than the Fostex FR2-LE or the Zoom H4. When you add the PCM-D50's extra features like the ability to create new tracks, change record levels, and switch between internal and external mics, I think it's the clear winner.

If you've got high quality mics that require phantom power, the PCM-D50 probably isn't the way to go unless you've got another $500 to drop on Sony's XLR-1 mic adapter. But for radio producers and podcasters looking for a high quality and affordable device for recording interviews, music, and ambiance, the PCM-D50 looks (and sounds) awesome.

Related Posts:

• Sony announces PCM-D50 handheld flash audio recorder
• More Marantz PMD620 details
• M-Audio to launch the Microtrack II in November
• Zoom H2 review roundup
• Top 5 gadgets for radio/podcast producers
  

More Marantz PMD620 details emerge

When the Marantz PMD620 flash recorder was announced a few days ago we didn't have too many details to share. That hasn't stopped people from talking though. Boing Boing, Gizmodo, and other popular gadget blogs have weighed in on the compact prosumer device.

While Marantz still hasn't posted any details about the PMD620 on its website, Podcasting News got their hands on some of the specs. So here's what we know:

• Records WAV audio in 44.1/48KHz at 16 or 24 bit resolutions
• Records direct to MP3 at three different quality levels (no word on what that means in terms of kpbs yet)
• Includes 2 internal condenser mics, a 1/8th inch external mic input, and a 1/8th inch line input
• First Marantz recorder to use SD flash memory with support for cards up to 2 TB (that's terabytes with a T)
• You'll get a nifty little red glow when you're recording so you know you're recording
• OLED display for low power consumption
• Powered by 2 AA batteries
• Configurable screen with 2 font sizes
• Do basic non-destructive copy and paste style editing directly on the device
• Transfer audio to your PC via USB 2.0
• "Skip back" feature lets transcribers review audio recorded from 1 to 60 seconds go (we assume this means while you're still recording, which means this could be an ideal device for anyone who needs to transcribe audio in real-time, like courtroom reporters).
• Level and Peak LEDs
• Display can be set to show time remaining, elapsed time, or other important numbers.
  

Now if we could just get a picture of this thing in someone's hand, or better yet, side by side with a Zoom H2. The Marantz PMD620 will be out in November, and will set you back about $400. That's twice the price of the H2, but it looks like the Marantz has a few features the H2 doesn't, like a better display, Skip Back, on-board editing, and support for massive SD cards.

Of course, the things that matter most to me are how noisy the preamps are, how clean the audio recorded with the internal mics sounds, and the ease of use. All the rest is gravy. And until we start to see some hands-on reviews, we won't know how the PMD620 stacks up against the H2, the H4, or even the PMD660.

Related Posts:

• Marantz Announces the PMD620 handheld flash recorder
• Marantz PMD620 gets a price
• Zoom H2 review roundup
• More Zoom H2 reviews roll in: some users have better results than others
  
• Zoom H4 review
• 5 gadgets for producing radio or podcasts on the cheap