Recording 18 hours of continuous audio???

  • Thread starter Thread starter nfgrufio
  • Start date Start date
N

nfgrufio

New member
Im not sure if this is the best section to post this in, but here goes...

I need to record a session of audio, a very LOOOONG one. 18 hours of straight audio with no interruption. Is this possible with reaper? I am going to have to start the recording and walk away and hope it doesn't get stopped or interrupted in any way for the full 18 hours. Has anyone tried anything close to this length? and did you have any problems?

...by the way, i have plenty of hard drive space so that should not be an issue, im just afraid of running out of something! i just don't know what that is...

thanks!
 
I would think it would depend on the size of your hard drive. If I'm not mistaken you might need to change a setting in Reaper for unlimited time recording. Some recording software I think is like that. Also, can your computer perform this task without puking out on you?
 
Yeah i thought there might be some option enabled that would limit the amount of recording but I wasn't for sure. I have 135 available gigs(and can free up more if needed) for 2 mono tracks, being recorded for 18 hours. I hope that is enough, it seems like it would be.


dodgeaspen said:
can your computer perform this task without puking out on you?
Click to expand...
That is really one of my main concerns, I am just not sure what would cause anything to puke out on me, if there is any. maybe something to do with RAM or CPU usage?
 
Reaper is great for a lot of reasons - One of which is that it will break the audio into "chunks" (based on preference - a GB is nice) automatically. So technically, it's not a problem.

That said - I'd be shocked if a PC could record for 18 hours straight without some sort of hiccup. I'd use a hard-disk recorder of some sort if it's reasonably important - Or at least have one running in tandem as a backup.
 
are there any known limitations with reaper as far as length of recorded audio? i cant seem to find an option that tells me that there is, that I can disable.

I am going to disable anything that might could cause the PC to hiccup and flub the audio, screen savers, sleep modes, virus scans, network cards, etc.
 
I've recorded about 5 hours of 8 mono tracks at a time (practice sessions) with all the stuff you mentioned that might cause hiccups turned off in windows and no special options clicked in reaper. That being said, the best way to find out whether it's possible would just be to do it. Set up a couple mics before you go to bed, set it to record, leave it til you come home from work the next day, see if any issues crop up. It should at least tell you whether your system will keep recording the whole time.
 
The Cancers said:
I've recorded about 5 hours of 8 mono tracks at a time (practice sessions) with all the stuff you mentioned that might cause hiccups turned off in windows and no special options clicked in reaper. That being said, the best way to find out whether it's possible would just be to do it. Set up a couple mics before you go to bed, set it to record, leave it til you come home from work the next day, see if any issues crop up. It should at least tell you whether your system will keep recording the whole time.
Click to expand...

Already have it started, and will check it tomorrow at 3pm and hope all is well, thanks for the help guys!
 
Assuming you're recording at 16/44.1...a single stereo track (two mono tracks) will eat up about 200MB/20minutes.

So...that's 1GB/100minutes

18hrs will eat up about 11GB.

If you are using some other sampling depth/rate (24 bit....96kHz...etc)...the numbers go up almost double...but I think you will be fine with a 150GB drive.

(someone check my math)

I think one possible issue is the drive physically writting for 18 hrs non-stop.
Drives work hard, but they also have a lot of stops...not sure if 18hrs continous is good or bad?
 
miroslav said:
I think one possible issue is the drive physically writting for 18 hrs non-stop.
Drives work hard, but they also have a lot of stops...not sure if 18hrs continous is good or bad?
Click to expand...

hmm never thought about that, very good point though. I hope it is not damaging to the drive.
 
My field recorder can do that...you might have to consider the resolution though....you might try to use one as a backup...then run the output into your computer while recording to the harddrive...make sure that your ram is maxed out...most Hard drives are big enough to take this so that shouldnt be a problem...but using the backup field recorder should insure you are able to do this.
 
I'm guessing "Teenagers are house sitting".:D
Testing out a girdle.
You don't believe that your snoring is that loud.
She doesn't believe that she talks that much!
 
nfgrufio said:
hmm never thought about that, very good point though. I hope it is not damaging to the drive.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't imagine that it would damage the drive. The drive isn't going to be active the entire time. Reaper (as will most software) will cache portions of the audio and then write it to disk at certain intervals. I'd make sure to defrag and such beforehand to keep the hard drive head from seeking too much for available areas to write. Also, make sure the computer stays cool, especially the drive. Heat will be the first thing that kills it, not the constant read/write routines. Not trying to scare ya, just making sure you have things in order before taking on such a task.;) Good luck and let us know how it turns out!
 
Talldog said:
I'll bite......What are you recording?
Click to expand...
I was asked to record 18 hours of radio for monitoring purposes for some company. 5am to 11pm

Jim Lad said:
I'm guessing "Teenagers are house sitting".:D
Testing out a girdle.
You don't believe that your snoring is that loud.
She doesn't believe that she talks that much!
Click to expand...

haha non of the above!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top