DAT or laptop?

#1 Personally, not that I'm a sound-guru, I would buy whatever is cheaper and results in higher quality output. Maybe DAT, because it is cheaper, and you can always hook it up to your pc at home and transfer the data to that, and multiple recordings could help you get past some of the inevitable bad recordings. Just my 2 cents =)

#2 Archos makes nice MP3 Players with recording facilities : that's how I recorded the IndieJam at IGC03.
It records direct to MP3, but if you're recording sounds for games, you don't need true CD or studio quality. Not to say you can get away with sounds with a lot of high and low frequency noise, but there is a lot in between studio quality and terrible lofi ;)
Then, once you have the MP3s, an app like Audacity will allow you to open them and apply filters to get rid of any artifacts. Of course, the MP3 will have been converted to a PCM .wav

Results : prime time sound samples and effects for your shiny new game !! ;)
Costs : around $220 US for the Archos recorder (comes with a real hard drive), Audacity being free and Open Source

www.archos.com

Just my Can 0.003 :)

#3 @ Nicolas: is this what you are talking about? www.archos.com/products/prw_500452.html It's $300, not $220.. but I bet I can find a cheaper one at newegg or something

#4 Yes I did... it's only $199.96 at newegg: www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16855501117

i might check this thing out sometime soon when i get around to it, looks good.

#5 I suggest the laptop with a good audio card. In september I'm going to Rome to record orchestral samples and I'll use my laptop. So imagine me, with my helpers, in a huge hall, with a small laptop :) Sounds funny, isn't it? But record at 24Bits 96KHz and with good mics and you can be sure the quality is outstanding.

#6 I dont use a laptop because the soundcards in those are mostly awefull. I got a normal computer with the Delta 1010 soundcard (8-track in and out). Whenever i need to record on location i use minidisc (not very common, but it's actually a great technology)

#7 What kind of microphone are you using? I know that wasn't your question, but I'm curious. I own an Audio-Technica AT835b short shotgun condenser mic. It's great for long-range pickup, for normal, reasonable sound levels. I've heard the SPL (sound pressure level) generated by a gunshot is HUGE, and that a condenser mic can't handle sounds that loud. What are you using?

#8 You could always buy an iRiver and a decent microphone. It supports line in/out and optical in/out as well as been able to record to mp3 (selectable bitrates) and wav (I know it plays ogg but off hand can't remember if it supports recording in that format)

Then you have a decent mp3 player as a bonus :)

#9 The problem with portable mp3 players/recorders is just that. They are mp3 devices that use mp3 codecs for compression. This is really bad, especially for SD. One of the reasons the Archos is a step up is that it supports wav and wma. I've used this device on location in a pinch and I must admit it's pretty good. The main reason I preffer to use the DAT is that there is no codec involved. It's certainly not the cheapest route (I got mine for a couple grand a few years ago), but it's quality in field recordings is unmatched (unless you happen to have access to a nagra rig).

#10 You should go OK with a DAT, at least if the noise smashes the mic you haven't wasted too much money.
No, thinking better about this is better to use a laptop, so you can use an external mic.
No joking here, stay alert and record from a distant spot.

Bye, Thc.

EDIT: Also be sure to record a single shot of each instead of a squall, you wouldn't sync well the audio with the firing event otherwise.
(too long shooting noise for a single hit or too short for a squall) If you loop the single shot effect while the player is shooting you can
have a better sync. (be sure to well-cut the wav files and use a fast player, like a tracker or notation program as FL Studio or eJay or Magix
Music Maker, to check if the audio repeats seamless).

#11 I'm not quite sure I've ever seen a pro DAT recorder with a built in mic, so I don't know that using an external mic is really an issue. You can, and should, use dynamic mics when recording firearms and any high SPL source. A laptop is certainly a viable option as well. What I don't understand is why you would compare a fairly good laptop to a low end pro DAT. Good Pro end field DAT recorders. The walkman style DAT recorders are not going to give you as good quality a recording and a good portable DAT will run you around $2000. If you're just starting out go with the laptop. You will get much more use out of it. Be sure to get a good soundcard for it though. I'd steer clear of the internal (pcmcia) cards as they tend to be noisy. Opt instead for something with external AD/DA converters. I like the M-Audio stuff, but if you're running Pro Tools you should invest in an M-Box (USB powered with Focusrite preamps). Be sure to bring extra batteries though. Recording at broadcast quality tecnds to eat RAM which tends to suck amps. Another reason why I tend to trust my DAT.