digital audio recorder
Digital audio is a representation of sound recorded in, or converted into, digital form. In digital audio, the sound wave of the audio signal is typically encoded as numerical samples in a continuous sequence. For example, in CD audio, sampl ...
from
Zoom
Zoom may refer to:
Technology Computing
* Zoom (software), videoconferencing application
* Page zooming, the ability to magnify or shrink a portion of a page on a computer display
* Zooming user interface, a graphical interface allowing for image ...
first announced at the
NAMM
The NAMM Show is an annual event in the United States that is organized by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), who describe it as "the industry’s largest stage, uniting the global music, sound and entertainment technology commun ...
tradeshow in February 2007. It records very high quality digital stereo or 4-channel audio on a hand-held unit, and has been called "the studio on a stick."
Peripherals and uses
Included in the retail box are an SD card, desk stand, handle for putting the H2 in a microphone stand,
wind screen
The windshield (North American English) or windscreen (Commonwealth English) of an aircraft, car, bus, motorbike, truck, train, boat or streetcar is the front window, which provides visibility while protecting occupants from the elements. Mod ...
RCA
The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...
cable, earbud
headphones
Headphones are a pair of small loudspeaker drivers worn on or around the head over a user's ears. They are electroacoustic transducers, which convert an electrical signal to a corresponding sound. Headphones let a single user listen to an au ...
,
USB
Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply (interfacing) between computers, peripherals and other computers. A broad v ...
cable and power adapter.
The H2's microphones, functionality, and use of standard USB and SD interfaces make it suitable both for recording high-quality sound and in many speech applications. The H2 has been cited by various oral history associations, such as
Oral History Association
The Oral History Association (OHA) is a professional association for oral historians and others interested in advancing the practice and use of oral history.Vermont Folklife Center as an affordable option for recording narrator interviews.
The H2's rate of data transfer via the USB 2.0 port is "full speed" of up to 12 Mbit/s, the same as USB 1.1 and much slower than the widely available USB 2.0 Hi-Speed of 60 Mbit/s.
The H2 can be powered either by two standard AA batteries or a power adapter. Recording time with low self-discharge 2000 mAh NiMH batteries is about 6 hours for mp3 bitrate set to 128 kbit/s.
Recorder features
The H2 can record in WAV format (at 96, 48, or 44.1 kHz in either 16 or 24 bit depth). Recording to compressed MP3 format at up to 320 kbit/s or VBR is supported in the 2-channel recording mode. Officially the H2 supports SD
flash memory
Flash memory is an electronic non-volatile computer memory storage medium that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. The two main types of flash memory, NOR flash and NAND flash, are named for the NOR and NAND logic gates. Both us ...
cards, but some SDHC cards of up to 32GB capacity have been confirmed by Zoom to work.
The H2 has a three-way gain input switch, with settings for low (useful for loud sounds, such as a live rock band), medium, and high (useful for speech, such as one or two people podcasting in a quiet room.)
Other features of the recorder are:
LCD Display
Four internal microphones
2-Channel Stereo recording up to 24bit/96 kHz
4-Channel Stereo recording up to 24bit/48 kHz (Creates two sound files)
W-XY mic patterns with 4 mic capsules and signal processing allows Front 90° cardioid, Rear 120° cardioid and 360° polar patterns
Time Stamp and Track Marker functions in Broadcast WAV Format (BWF)
Auto Gain Control
Auto Start function
Low-cut filter to remove wind noise
On-board chromatic Guitar/Bass tuner
1/8 External Mic In
1/8 Line Level In
Comparison with Zoom H4 recorder
Unlike the larger H4 Handy Recorder which succeeded it, the H2 does not include ports to accept XLR or 1/4-inch connectors, but has standard 1/8-inch (3.5mm) external microphone and line level inputs. The input jack for external stereo microphones supports plug-in power. The H2 has built-in microphones, but allows external ones to be used if different characteristics are required.
Unlike the H4, the H2 makes no provision for
multi-track recording
Multi-track may refer to:
* Multitrack recording, the process of mixing individual sound sources to a single recording
* Multi-track diplomacy, a method of conflict resolution
* Multi track, a process of civil litigation in England and Wales
** Fa ...
, but its 360-degree polar sound recording can record in 4 channel audio, which can later be converted to 5.1 channel audio using
computer software
Software is a set of computer programs and associated documentation and data. This is in contrast to hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work.
At the lowest programming level, executable code consists ...
.
The H2 and the H4, can be used as an audio interface to a computer. When connected to a host computer via USB, the H2 can act as a microphone, audio input (with microphone or line input) and output device with stereo line output. It can also be used as a USB file storage device.
Typical prices in the United States were around
US$
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
350 for the H4n and around $200 for the H2 and H2n.An example of an online store showing the US list prices is
Design changes and delays
The H2 began shipping on August 21, 2007. This was delayed from the original May 2007 shipping date due as an additional microphone was added; the original three-microphone Mid-Side design was lacking in some respects, and was abandoned in favor of the four-microphone W-X/Y design. The built-in high-fidelity electret condenser microphone capsules are arranged to allow stereo recording and have user-selectable parameters to allow for either a 90- or 120-degree pickup angle. The H2 can also be used to record a 360-degree soundfield.