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The Importance of Good Audio

George Lucas once famously said “The sound is half the picture.”  He isn’t wrong, but you don’t have to be making multi-million dollar blockbusters to be able to use his advice.

It doesn’t matter how good a movie or video might be, if the audio is bad, it isn’t going to do well.  We can be quite harsh in our judgments against other people, especially through the anonymity of the internet.  We seem to be much more judgmental and rude when we know we are a couple of thousands of miles away from the object of our ire.

So with that said, any criticisms you receive over something like bad audio on one of your productions has the potential to escalate out of control.  It isn’t fair, but it’s much easier to improve the audio on a production than change the way the internet works.

The single best way to improve audio in most situations is to use a separate microphone.  The ones built into many camcorders are okay, but will pick up any other ambient noise in the scene.  This can often detract from it rather than enhance it.  Unfortunately, most cheaper cameras don’t have them.  It’s only on the more expensive ones that includes an audio in, so it’s something to look for when shopping for a new one.

By using external microphones they can be directed to only pick up the sound you want for the scene.  They can either be attached to the top of the camera, or better still placed near the action.  You can even take the feed from a sound board if one is being used, like for a conference or something.

To collect audio from a soundboard you will need a line level adapter, which is an inline widget that reduces the sound level down to what a microphone can cope with.

If you film a lot of interviews or monologues, then it may be worth investing in a wireless microphone.  These are small and unobtrusive but offer decent audio without interference.  Being wireless also aids portability and freedom of movement for the subject.  They are used extensively in professional studios, just look for the telltale bulges of the transmitter in the lower back of the subject.

You can get wired versions but they are much clunkier than wireless.  It’s definitely better to go wireless if you can afford it.

If all you have is the microphone built into the camera, you will need to move closer to the subject to get better audio.  Preferably between them and the interfering noise.  It doesn’t work better than a remote microphone, but it’s better than nothing, certainly if you can’t afford the other equipment.  Not everybody films people or interviews enough to warrant the expense.

Remember, good video is the most important, but it’s nothing if the audio isn’t any good.  You don’t have to spend thousands of dollars on the best equipment around, but you should spend some if you have it.  If not then use technique and placement to make up the shortfall.  Getting yourself, and the camera between the noise and the subject will enhance the overall audio no end.

AMD's Radeon HD 4000 series has been one success story after another. Starting with the ultra high-end HD 4870X2 that won back the performance crown from Nvidia, to the HD 4850 that captured gamer's hearts by offering stunning performance at an unrivalled price, to the HD 4670 that changed the face of low-end PC gaming. Recently, AMD launched a new high-end card: the Radeon HD 4890, but can it continue in the tradition of it's predecessors?

Radeon Hd 4890 Specs:

Stream Processors: 800
Memory: 1GB GDDR5
Memory interface: 256-bit
Core Clock: 850MHz
Memory Clock: 950MHz
CrossfireX: Yes
Power Supply Requirements: 500W

The Radeon HD 4890 is built around the RV790 GPU. This is an update to the RV770, the chip that powers a multitude of video cards, including the HD 4870 and HD 4850. While it is by no means a revolutionary step, it does offer some advantages over the older chip. The HD 4890 comes with 1GB of GDDR5 memory, which makes up for its relatively narrow 256-bit memory interface. 1GB of vRAM allows this card to perform well at high resolutions, including 1920×1200 and beyond. Really, this card is overkill for anything less than 1680×1050, and is meant for larger monitors.

The Radeon HD 4890's main competition is the GeForce GTX 275. Generally, the GTX 275 outperforms the HD 4890, but it's also slightly more expensive. At the highest resolutions, the cards are more equal, with the HD 4890's 1GB of vRAM helping to level the playing field. When overclocked, the HD 4890 can be competitive with even the GeForce GTX 280, which is quite impressive.

The improvements in the RV790 allow the HD 4890 to be clocked much higher than the HD 4870. Where the HD 4870 was clocked at 750MHz, and could overclock to around 800MHz, the HD 4890 at stock runs 850MHz, and can hit in excess of 1000MHz when overclocked. These high clockspeeds also increase the power requirements, though not much, and it requires two extra power connectors, so at least a decent 500w power supply is required.

It's no surprise that at these speeds, the HD 4890 easily outperforms the HD 4870, but the bump in performance also comes with a bump in price. While a 1GB version of the HD 4870, or an Nvidia GTX 260+ will run about $180, the HD 4890 costs nearly $250, a $70 difference. $70 for a 10% or so increase in performance isn't really ideal, and we can't recommend the HD 4890 at this price point. Even so, the HD 4890 offers competitive performance to Nvidia's GTX 275 and GTX 280, while being slightly cheaper than either of those alternatives.