Røde VideoMic Me (1 Viewer)

[Ruff-Leg]

In previous posts, I have mentioned this microphone as a small form-factor solution to recording bird sounds. And, I've usually denigrated the recording app which the company recommends - the Røde Reporter. I had found it unreliable, and the sharing feature (pushing to cloud storage) generally non-functional.

With a new version of the app, I've completely changed my opinion.

I was experiencing some electronic interference while recording with the VideoMic Me-C (there's an iPhone version), usually after about 15-30 seconds. After searching for a resolution I came across a YouTube video suggesting a firmware update to the microphone, available from the Reporter app. I re-installed the app, updated the firmware, and the microphone / recording app works perfectly for me!

Why am I keen on the app? My purpose in recording is to document birds, attach the edited recordings (I trim and normalize with OcenAudio), then send the recordings to Macaulay Library via eBird, and then to Xeno-canto. There are several recording apps available, but Macaulay's preferred format is 48 Khz sampling rate at 24-bit depth. Merlin is 44.1 / 16-bit, and has no gain adjustment. RecForge II is 48 KHz, but still 16 bits. The Røde app records at my desired 48 Khz with a bit depth of 24.

My use over a couple of weeks has been that the app is stable, and shares easily to cloud storage. Is it as good as my Zoom H5 / SGH-6 combo? No. And certainly not up to the capabilities of a 32-bit float recorder with a long shotgun or parabola.

But, here's the form factor, attached to my Google Pixel 8 and a short USB extension to fit my case (the microphone is perpendicular to the phone - the odd angle is a product of a wide-angle lens):



It makes serendipitous recordings so much more convenient.

 

[Lars Svensson]

Dear Ruff-Leg,

I bought a Rode microphone (Video Mic ME) and used it with my iPhone SE. But regrettably I found that after recording for c. 20 secs. an 'electric' noise started, which totally ruined the recordings of bird sounds. I corresponded with the Rode customer service and sent my device back to where I bougth it in Stockholm for a check. But nothing useful came out of it, and I regret to say that my purchase of a device costing c. €90.-- was a waste of money.

When reading your account I got interested again. How could I overcome the problems experienced in your view? Any advice would be much appreciated.

Lars Svensson

 

[Ruff-Leg]

So Lars, I should have updated that post. I apologize. If you were trying to use the Rode app, your electric noise would be consistent with my earlier experience. Eventually, I found the app totally unreliable, both for that noise and inability to export. I gave up. I reverted to using the RecForge II app. While it only records at a 16 bit depth, it has been reliable. And free.

Based on a post by 'Hermann,' I have just acquired/bought the 'Field Rekorder' app, and I'm experimenting with it. It will record at 48kHz at a 24bit depth. And, even higher.

Otherwise, I've never had a problem with interference noise from the microphone itself.

Don't give up. It's a nice little device. I can hear and see the difference between bird recordings I've made with the phone's internal microphone and the Rode plug in.

Please let me know if I wasn't clear.

R-L

 

[Ruff-Leg]

Some think that putting one's phone into Airplane Mode will reduce interference. That hasn't been my experience, but it may be part of the problem.

 

[Lars Svensson]

Many thanks for advice and comments! I have deleted the Rode app from my phone, finding it cumbersome to work with. It hasn't even a switch-off button!

I usually make recordings with 44 or 48kHz, so I will try the German (?) Field Rekorder app. Is it expensive?

I will give you feed-back once I have tried the app with my Rode Video Mic ME microphone, but it will take some weeks before I have access to the microphone again. But I'll be back. Again thanks for your help.

 

[Jason Bugay Reyes]

In previous posts, I have mentioned this microphone as a small form-factor solution to recording bird sounds. And, I've usually denigrated the recording app which the company recommends - the Røde Reporter. I had found it unreliable, and the sharing feature (pushing to cloud storage) generally non-functional.

With a new version of the app, I've completely changed my opinion.

I was experiencing some electronic interference while recording with the VideoMic Me-C (there's an iPhone version), usually after about 15-30 seconds. After searching for a resolution I came across a YouTube video suggesting a firmware update to the microphone, available from the Reporter app. I re-installed the app, updated the firmware, and the microphone / recording app works perfectly for me!

Why am I keen on the app? My purpose in recording is to document birds, attach the edited recordings (I trim and normalize with OcenAudio), then send the recordings to Macaulay Library via eBird, and then to Xeno-canto. There are several recording apps available, but Macaulay's preferred format is 48 Khz sampling rate at 24-bit depth. Merlin is 44.1 / 16-bit, and has no gain adjustment. RecForge II is 48 KHz, but still 16 bits. The Røde app records at my desired 48 Khz with a bit depth of 24.

My use over a couple of weeks has been that the app is stable, and shares easily to cloud storage. Is it as good as my Zoom H5 / SGH-6 combo? No. And certainly not up to the capabilities of a 32-bit float recorder with a long shotgun or parabola.

But, here's the form factor, attached to my Google Pixel 8 and a short USB extension to fit my case (the microphone is perpendicular to the phone - the odd angle is a product of a wide-angle lens):

View attachment 1571319

It makes serendipitous recordings so much more convenient.

Do you have sampled recordings for listening?

 

[Ruff-Leg]

Hi Jason - not I do not have recordings to compare. When I record serendipitously - without a plug-in microphone - I can hear hi-frequency distortion. When using the plug-in, I don't hear it. Sorry - very subjective.

 

[Ruff-Leg]

Many thanks for advice and comments! I have deleted the Rode app from my phone, finding it cumbersome to work with. It hasn't even a switch-off button!

I usually make recordings with 44 or 48kHz, so I will try the German (?) Field Rekorder app. Is it expensive?

I will give you feed-back once I have tried the app with my Rode Video Mic ME microphone, but it will take some weeks before I have access to the microphone again. But I'll be back. Again thanks for your help.

Lars, I paid ~ 5 USD for the app from the Google Play Store. I seems compatible with my Rode microphone, and work at 48kHz / 24 bit - the preferred mode for the US Macaulay Library and Xeno-Canto. I'm working through the many preference option at present. My university German is long gone from my brain, and the English translation of the guide is a bit stilted. But, I'll figure it out.