With one click, Vortex Zoom Encoder converts the Zoom H2 and H4n’s unique dual-stereo WAV files recorded in 4ch surround mode into standard formats such as DTS, Binaural and 5.1 WAV. It’s as simple as Drop… Click… Share Your Surround!

This recording was done with the Zoom H4n. Two channels from a UREI mixer and two channels from the H4n condenser mics.  The 2 stereo pair of files were encoded into 6 Channel AIF files and then encoded into MP3 Surround. Get your MP3 Surround Player/Encoder here:

http://www.iis.fraunhofer.de/en/bf/amm/download/software/index.jsp

Download this recording and playback in the MP3 Surround Player, it will playback in 5.1 surround!
BINAURAL-zoom-h2-walking-uke-rear by TiLuxRecording

This recording was done my Mark Nelson. Great article by Mark on the Zoom H2: http://digitalmedia.oreilly.com/2007/09/13/review-zoom-h2-surround-recorder.html?page=4

Note: Don’t tear apart your studio, Mark’s recording states he’s walking in a clock-wise direction, but he must have had the H2 in “player” mode with changes the perspective and makes it sound counter clock wise.

This was encoded by the Vortex Zoom Encoder into ImmersiveStereo (binaural encoder).

Vortex Surround Encoder is a surround sound utility application that allows you to freely combine and encode several individual sound files into a single multichannel master file. It can handle input and output files in any common channel configuration and it is compatible with the most popular file formats used in surround sound, from binaural headphone encoding all the way to 7.1 and beyond. VSE’s clean and simple user interface allows drag-and-drop importing of files and in-place editing of the most essential sound parameters.

NOTE: A SMALL WORK AROUND IS REQUIRED IN ORDER FOR VSE TO READ ZOOM H2, H4n, and H2n FILE FORMATS.  First convert your zoom recordings to AIF or WAV using VZE, iTunes, or Audacity before using VSE.

Encoded ImmersiveStereo from Zoom H2

Monolake DB Festival 2011 by TiLuxRecording
This Zoom H2 Recording is of Monolake from the 2011 Decibel Festival
The recording was done in “Four Channel Mode” and encoded into Immersive Stereo by the Vortex Zoom Encoder

Thank you Zoom for providing the Zoom H2n to IMR for testing!

This is yet another fantastic recorder created by Zoom, just Listen!
TrueReligion by TiLuxRecording

ZOOM0002mp3 by TiLuxRecording

http://www.yalegleeclub.org/
IMR’s Vortex Surround Encoder is the a great tool to leverage the assets you record. Here is a sample recording encoded binaurally into ImmersiveStereo:

Credits:  http://www.fpcsd.org/2012/02/rick-andrade-joins-fpc-jazz-service-this-week-2/
I’m happy to report that a small work around allows you to use the Vortex Zoom Encoder and Vortex Surround Encoder. Just convert Zoom H2n recordings into 44.1/16 StereoAIF files.

This first recording was done at the  Ocean Beach Pier of Pacific Ocean Waves, and a bit of jet taking off from Lindbergh Field Airport San Diego

Binaural Sr010 R by TiLuxRecording
Sr0096chanImmersiveStereo by TiLuxRecording

The Mainline AudioLogo

Get your headphones and hear the impact of

ImmersiveStereo™

CREDITS:

Frank Serafine – Captured the original train recording with a Zoom H2

Denver Clay – Provided “hip crickets“

Four steps to 5.1 surround

Click on the linked text below to read the whole story:

Making Tracks: Quad Squad

By David Battino

Click on the linked text below to see examples prepared to complement “Making Tracks”:

Vortex Zoom Encoder Web Clips

By David Battino

Below are three audio clips selected from the “Web Clips”. The first two I selected to demonstrate that Zoom H2  four channel recordings sound better when encoded by VZE into ImmersiveStereo™.

• Stereo Mix

The first clip “Stereo Mix” was rendered by combining the two H2 files using a standard quad to stereo mix-down that can be done using any Digital Audio Workstation or DAW.

• VZE’s ImmersiveStereo™ Mix

The second uses only VZE to render ImmersiveStereo™ from the pair of H2 stereo files. In my own humble yet biased opinion the ImmersiveStereo™ Mix has a distinctive and desirable spatial quality. I notice it in the lack of impact on the ear drum, and the sensation that you’re immersed in the scene rather than listening to a recording.

In the next clip I recorded the Hey! Ho! Let’s Go! Band live at U-31 in San Diego with a Zoom H4n. I fed front of house board mix into the H4n’s line inputs and used the H4n’s built-in stereo mics to record ambiance.

Please leave your comments,

what YOU hear?

This is an excerpt taken from an interview with Morton Subotnick, one of the United States’ premier composers of electronic music. In this interview, he refers to “Designer” meaning IMR’s Vortex Surround Designer as software which allows composers to work in multichannel audio without limitations.

Download a free fully functioning 30 day demo here: http://im-research.com/products/

Designer facilitates the creative and expressive manipulation of individual sounds in space as well as the combining of these sounds into multichannel sound cues and fully immersive soundscapes.

"Designer - User Interface"

With its intuitive graphic user interface and integrated set of DSP functions, Designer is a professional audio processing tool that allows the user to quickly and powerfully spatialize any mono sound file and save it as multichannel output. Each sound path can be designed with millisecond precision and then saved independently of the sound file itself, resulting in a library of spatial paths that can be re-used to process any monaural sound file. Sound paths adapt automatically to the length of each sound file. The result is a highly scalable solution that can generate unique paths and effects in a fraction of the time required when using manual panning techniques, with a higher return on investment and reduced development costs.

Designer Cost: $200.00 and not just for Surround Sound, it’s great for shaping stereo recordings!

RedHead Windscreens spotted taking in the sites, and sounds of San Diego

Get a RedHead for your Zoom H2 or H4n here:

http://www.redheadwindscreens.com/

This audio was captured with the Zoom H2 rendered in ImmersiveStereo™

Download Link: Sounds of Ferraris

Rally and Benefit Gala honoring Dan Gurney at San Diego Automotive Museum

This two day Ferrari rally from Los Angeles to San Diego and back offered the opportunity to capture the voices of rare vintage and late model Ferraris. The unique voices of these cars was easily captured by the Zoom H2 in 4 channel mode and rendered in ImmersiveStereo™ as a WAV file, then compressed into an MP3 file for ease of distribution over the Internet.

Equipment Used: Zoom H2 in 4 Channel mode, and Vortex Zoom Encoder software to create ImmersiveStereo™.