Just as we now have Declicking, Debuzzing, Dehissing, Decrackling,
and so on, I expect that before long we will have DeATRACing.
Like its predecessors, this software won't be able to fully "restore"
a recording, and it will possibly introduce some by-products of its
own. But it wll perform well enough in many instances to be regarded
as a useful or even essential tool. Like other such tools, it will
interpolate information, based on probabilities.
Why are we creating a situation where such a tool needs to be
invented? There are several reasons, but chief among these seems to
be that MiniDisc is a convenient and reliable recording medium. It's
ironic then that MiniDisc operates on the principle of
"un-interpolating" based on probabilities. That is, quantisation
noise will be permitted in certain parts of the spectrum which are
regarded as "non-critical" in a particular context.
Unlike earlier eras, where only one medium existed for any
substantial period of time, and was rapidly made effectively obsolete
(acoustic phonography, electrical phonography, analogue tape,
analogue tape plus noise reduction), we now have a choice.
Uncompressed digital or compressed digital. As I surmise, before
long we may have the means to psuedo-decompress, and many people
would be happy with the results - that's assuming they believe that
process is warranted. Just as, at present, many people are happy
with their compressed recordings. But given that we do have this
choice - compressed or uncompressed - I am very curious as to why we
would not take every opportunity to leave our recordings in the best
possible state for future generations. If it's not totally essential
to compromise, then why do it?
It seems that there are many red herrings introduced into the debate
over recording media. Yes, the choice of microphone is critical, the
skill of the operator is an important factor, and so forth. But
let's be logical and take all these as givens. The only issue is:
what am I leaving for future listeners, reseachers, whoever? It
occurs to me that another red herring might be: who is going to care
about my/your recordings in the future anyway? Is any argument based
on future action somewhat presumptuous? Yes, of course it is. But
as we cannot predict how our recordings might be used, why not at
least ensure that they are not compromised. I don't see how we can
achieve that using MiniDisc.
While this applies to recordings in general, I believe it's likely to
be of utmost relevance to nature recordists. The habitats and
species we are capturing may not be around forever. If we are going
to spend considerable time and money doing it, and possibly never
getting a second chance, let's do it right.
I'm gonna get me a damn good red herring recording before them
critters mutate into permanantly pickled herrings.
John Campbell
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