(August 5th 2010)



Pro Audio DVD review (photo from website)
(http://www.proaudiodvds.com/product-p/h4n.htm)

After purchasing my Zoom H4n I was getting fairly good quality right out of the box but felt I was missing something, not using or understanding a lot of the features. To help me get more out of the unit, I came across the Pro Audio DVD series online from David Wills.

The easiest way to describe my audio knowledge is above average. Most of my work on productions involves lighting or camera work. The main goal with purchasing the Zoom H4n was to get higher quality audio that my on board microphone and allow flexible options with not having to carry a lot of extra equipment set up. The unit allows me to use it as a stand alone, or as a full extension of my camera with several configurations that can be set up fairly easy.

The H4N does pretty good right out of the box, but in order to understand what the unit was capable of, I looked further than the manual for guidance and found the Pro Audio DVD series.

David Wills is the host of the DVD and provides valuable information based on several years of professional experience in the music industry. I was not only impressed by the level of instruction given, but also the delivery of very useful information and how it pertains to the subject of audio recording in general.

The DVD takes you from the very basics of the Zoom H4n to the advanced features.
With taking notes, pausing and experimenting, I went through the entire DVD in about 2.5 hours with the H4n in hand.

Here are some of the details covered in the 120 minutes by David.

1) Introduction – Covers information about the unit, uses in the industry and recording options. Learn about media storage, microphone inputs and navigating with the buttons.

2) Field Recording – Learn what sets this unit apart from the others and how to take advantage of these features and get “professional” recordings in the field.

3) Multi-Track recording – Very good explanation and several in depth examples of recording, playing back, saving and mixing multi-tracks.

Field Test:

* The H4n was used as a standalone with only the built in microphones for my audio work.

After viewing the DVD I improved my quality of work in the field on my very next job that was just a couple of days away. This involved collecting footage for a Mixed Martial Arts Promoter during live fights. The training paid off as I was able to set up the unit before hand, manage the audio coming in, maximize the quality for the environment I was in, then just focus on my video work. The Star Spangled banner was sung live and it sounds like a recorded CD from the track. All of the noises from fighters and the corner men were crystal clear and allowed me to not only show them footage from the event, but hear many details that others are not able to include due to limitations on their equipment.

I also wanted to see what I could do with live music and followed a band to a small recording session. The quality was also as good as a CD and provided great feedback for the band as they decided to change a couple of songs based on what they were hearing being played back. There as also a point where they had stopped playing and I had headphones on reviewing some of the recording, it was so clear I thought they started playing again, looked up and they were not even on stage. This really set me back and let me know that I was really doing some quality work now.

Later when using the H4n with a 3 camera shoot (T2i, and 2 other camcorders), I was able to match the video from all 3 cameras with the unit “perfectly” using a program called Pluraleyes, that allowed me to use the audio as a road map on my editing timeline.

Each of these jobs was a paying one that led me to other ones based on the quality of the finished product. I can honestly say that without learning some of the items from this DVD, my work would have not been so impressive to the clients and might not have led to such good recommendations.

If you have a Zoom H4n this DVD is a valuable accessory that will more than pay for itself after the first time you apply what you have learned. The training not only helped me with the H4n, but also placement of my microphones when using with my cameras only. The results from this DVD will add priceless quality to your work and compliment any project.

Worldwide shipping is free, and the DVD is region free. $ 29.95. On the website there are samples of the chapters as well to help you see the way the content is presented and the quality of David’s work.