On Tue, 9 Jul 2002 13:54:41 -0400, "L David Matheny"
>"Neuman - Ruether"
>news:3d2ff02a.8197459@newsstand.cit.cornell.edu...
>> Close to -60db s/n is not bad for current consumer
>> camcorders, though it is considerably noisier than
>> the 48kHz 16-bit medium would allow. I remember when
>> -60db s/n was considered very good for home audio with
>> a magnetic cartridge used to play "records" (those
>> big black things that spun while we listened to
>> music...;-). Also, with film and an optical sound track,
>> I have real doubts that the s/n even began to approach
>> -60db s/n before the days of Dolby - yet very few
>> complained of the relatively high noise level...
>> Times change, and standards change, but asking *now*
>> for s/n ratios that are generally un-needed, and until
>> recently, not offered (or even nearly impossible to
>> offer at a reasonable price) or complaining now about
>> test results that are normal for current gear may not
>> be reasonable - though we *can* pressure manufacturers
>> to offer better performance in future models...
>> DR
>But what's insulting is all the claims of "CD-quality sound".
>I *need* as much performance as they can build into the
>gear at a reasonable price. What I don't need is for some
>pointy-headed corporate bureaucrat to decide for me that
>something less is good enough. If there's a good side to
>the Sony hiss scandal, it's this: Unless they have the IQs of
>turnips, Panasonic and Canon (and yes, Sony) will surely
>build better audio circuitry into their future offerings.
Yes, I think the sound has been misrepresented in
Mini-DV - and it can and will be better (even if
most will not appreciate it, and even if that kind
of audio quality alone [without the motion-picture
part included...;-] cost about $1400 only a very
few years ago...). My point was that expectations
are unrealistically high (whether due to the
VX2000 having an unusually good picture, so the
expectation is there for similarly excellent
sound, or to the manufacturer's misrepresentation
of the actual audio capabilities), and this results
in people referring to a "Sony hiss scandal" that
some of us find a bit laughable (kinda like expecting
a "sporty" model of a family car to have the
performance capability of an all-out high-end
specialty car, but at a price a family can afford,
'cuz the ad hype leads one to believe that that is
true...;-). Best to be realistic and ignore ad hype,
and get excited only when a product truly falls short
of providing adequate and reasonable performance at
its price point, which I do not think is true for
the VX2000...