As promised here is a full overview of the Tascam DR-60d wireless setup. All of the audio in this video (minus the intro) was recorded via a Wi audiolink stereo wireless transmitter. I’ve had very good luck with this setup in the field and this method has dramatically reduced the number of times I’ve needed to sync audio in post.

Tascam DR-60d with Wi audiolink (1 of 1)

In case you’re wondering the boom microphone being used in the video is a Audio Technica 4073 which is one of the most used microphones in my collection. Also, while the DR-60d does have a “protected recording mode” this mode doesn’t send two different levels via the line out port, it only generates two different volume level recordings internally. Thats why in the video I recommend a xlr Y splitter. Also you can run the Wi audiolink for longer periods of time via a usb port attachment instead of buying two units. While this works, I have had the unit randomly shut off on me while being powered via the usb port so I’ve elected to buy two of them.

There were also some questions earlier about audio quality loss. The Wi audiolink a 16bit, 48kHz uncompressed signal back to the camera. While there might be some loss in the A/D D/A conversions that happens along the way, you’re really limited by the weakest link which is the 16bit, 44.1kHz sampling rate in the camera used in this video. This doesn’t really affect recorded speech, but if you are really striving for higher fidelity sound in a live music environment you might want to use the Tascam DR-60d’s internal 24bit, 96kHz sampling rate and sync in post.

It looks like the Tascam DR-60d is still on sale at B&H for $199 and it still comes with a free copy of Pluraleyes. So if you end up having to sync audio in post, you’ll have a free software program to handle it. You can also find a newer version of the Wi audiolink labeled “Pro” for $259 as well as the original (tested in this video) for $189. I don’t see any difference listed on the spec sheet, but some have reported that the latency is even lower on the “pro” model. For video I haven’t had any problems with latency, but if you are using this for headphone monitoring while playing guitar, it’s enough to be noticeable and irritating. So keep that in mind if that’s your intent.

 

 

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