Hey i have a bit of a problem.

Basically i run a video production company and we film bands play live. We record off the sound desk with a 'Gemini Ikey'. And it records at 44.1khz sample rate and cannot be changed.

And as you guys probably know the audio cameras record at is 48khz.

When we try to match the audio off the desk to the video it can be synced at the start of a song but slowly gets out of sync, by the end of about 3:30 its a good 3 4 seconds out.

Does the sampling rate have anything to do with this?
What can i do to fix this problem?

I have tried converting the ikey wav file to 48khz but it seems to do absolutely nothing except make the file bigger. The length stays the same.

Your problem is very common and the answer is.... record at 48k

Sorry to be so blunt but it seems that nearly all programs which convert 44.1 to 48, have to use calculations and interpolations which can affect the length of the playback. Normally this is a fraction of a second per song and doesn't affect the listening but it does affect the sync with video. The "top" editing software can deal with almost any music files but costs a lot to buy.

I would suggest buying something like a Marantz PMD660 (which I use) or an Edirol R-09, both of which record superbly at 48k. I haven't used the 'Gemini Ikey' myself, nor have I seen one but it seems to be a basic A/D (analogue to digital) converter. The toys I mention are recorders as well as A/D converters, saving you using an mp3 recorder or seperate device.

Even with really good audio editing software, you'll lose quality moving from 44.1 to 48k. It really is worth recording at 48k in the first place. however.... some editing software (such as Premiere and Avid) will allow you to place 44.1 wav and mp3 files directly into the timeline and will only convert it when you render the completed project, thus avoiding timing issues. In the same way that converting a picture file from one format to another creates artifacts, converting audio does the same, so (repeating myself again) it really is best to record at 48k.

Good call! I use one of these too!

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man i just checked those recorders out, i gotta get one of those.

Yep, really good. Just make sure you get a nice new fast compact flash card and not use an old slow one.

Also, don't do what I did with mine once. plugged my mic into it, recorded all day and found out afterwards it was set to internal mic mode instead. I still have this image of my mate Dan aiming this shotgun mic at people all day long for nothing. Sad but sort of funny really.

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I'm not young enough to know everything!