P3D Re: Stereo Sound and 3d

[Michael Kersenbrock <michaelk@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

"George A. Themelis" wrote:
> 
> If you remember, a few years back I mentioned that I took a tape recorder
> with me to Greece, to record sounds that can accompany my stereo pictures.
> At that time there was a short thread about recording the sounds in stereo
> too.

I recall that conversation.  I recall I being in the minority thinking
that stereo sound was a big plus, albeit not a "requirement".  Or it 
seems that way in my fuzzy memory. :-)

> So I have
> been playing around transferring "sound bites" from tapes into the computer
> and storing them as music "wav" files.  These can be then manipulated,
> edited, etc.  These sound bites accompany specific slides.  When I am ready
> for a slide presentation, I can write these sound bites into a CD, in any
> order that I want.  This costs almost nothing with $1 per blank CD/R.

That's a method I considered for the projection system I'm putting together,
and would be perfect if I'd be satisfied with mono-sound (which I'm not).
I need one sound track for the dissolver's program which with a CD leaves
only one sound-sound track left.  This is why the direct laptop method
mentioned the other day w/5.1 sound was a good one.  Also why I went with
a four-track tape unit (four simultaneous sound channels).  For manual
projection (or very custom sub/super-audible signaling)  though, the CD 
(or minidisc) would work great for stereo sound.


> Circuit City and got the AIWA AM-F70 minidic for only $250.  Blank
> minidiscs can be bought for as low as $2 each, can hold 76 minutes of
> digital stereo sound and can be recorded up to a million times without loss
> of quality!

..with new recordings, not the same one copied a million times.  I think
minidiscs use 5:1 lossy compression.  Do I remember this right?  A minidisc
holds about 140-MB as compared to 700 MB of a CD.

Nice devices, never went anywhere though.  Another alternative might be
an MP3 system and the new player units (rio, etc).

> integral part of the visual images.  But then, you have the dilemma:  Still
> images and "moving" sound?  Let's say a safari in Africa, the sound of
> animals running from one side of the room to the other and a picture of
> "still" animals?  Or the sound of a plane taking off and a picture of a
> plane frozen in the runway?   

I really don't think this is a problem for the reasons you site.  This
is done all the time in A/V shows and works just fine (IMO).  The bigger
problem IMO the more general dont-bore-the-audience problem.  Showing that 
same frozen plane taking off w/o any sound may be just as un-interesting 
as with it, maybe even more so.  Adding live sound complicates the show
design, but I think it can be done.  I've seen it done.

> Unless if you are showing stereo slides in
> such rapid succession that simulates real action.  

And of course, that's one of the solutions!  And why I want
an automated projector system to go with it! :-)


Mike K.