Body: <p>I have a Sony HDR-CX100 video camera that I would like to connect an external mic to (3.5mm plug), but the camera has no dedicated mic input.</p>
  <p>However, it as an &quot;<strong>A/V R</strong>&quot; plug:</p>
  <p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/ETBf6.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/ETBf6.png" alt="port" /></a></p>
  <p>Before you say &quot;it's not possible&quot;, I also have a <a href="https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/671698-REG/Sony_SPKCXA_SPK_CXA_Underwater_Camcorder_Sports.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Sony Sports pack SPK-CXA</a> that plugs into that port which includes it's own microphones (in addition to remote controls). So technically it should be possible to input audio through that port.</p>
  <p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/GR5ip.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/GR5ip.jpg" alt="housing" /></a></p>
  <p>So my question is has anyone seen a cable / dongle / adapter that would allow me to go from that A/V R plug on the camera to a simple 3.5mm mic port? Or would anyone have an idea on the pinouts to build one?</p>
  <p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/yeV6d.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/yeV6d.png" alt="plug" /></a></p>
  <p>I could buy a new camera, but this one does everything I need otherwise, and seems a shame when a &quot;simple&quot; adapter should suffice.</p>
  
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2020-11-04T03:02:08.233Z
Comments.Text: Do you have the A/V cable for the camera? A quick google search shows a fairly standard breakout cable with RCA & S-Video plugs? So an RCA to 3.5mm converter should work with the existing AV cable? i.e. https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/142242765540
Comments.UserDisplayName: Peter Barton
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2020-11-05T14:57:35.410Z
Comments.Text: Thanks for the suggestion; I have the original output cable, and figured maybe in recording mode it would provide input, however I tried that and it still used the internal microphone.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Ben in CA
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2020-11-05T20:48:27.673Z
Comments.Text: In that case, my guess would be that the AV cable is "all" or "nothing" (which isn't uncommon). It will likely activate if there's a video signal there, like with your sports pack, but you can't use it as an "audio only" signal without a video signal as well. A quick search shows there were some proprietary Sony mics that could be used on this type of port, and some people even hacked these to make a standardised connector - https://www.camerahacker.com/Forums/DisplayComments.php?file=Video%20Camera/Sony/converting_AIS_to_mic_audio_jack. That might be the only way.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Peter Barton
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2020-11-05T20:54:34.013Z
Comments.Text: Note that I'm assuming based on this post that the camera has an AIS port https://www.cnet.com/forums/discussions/need-help-with-sony-hdr-cx100-camcorder-my-question-is-becau-344545/ - it doesn't seem there would be any way to get audio only in via the AV port, based on your tests.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Peter Barton
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2020-11-06T23:15:09.813Z
Comments.Text: Thanks for the suggestions. No, my camera does not even have an AIS port. It appears Sony must have specifically made this difficult in order to sell higher end cameras. I guess I'll have to upgrade my camera in order to use a separate wireless lapel mic as an audio feed.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Ben in CA
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2020-11-07T05:05:36.677Z
Comments.Text: Bummer, the CNET discussion made it sound like it had an AIS port, but if not, you're likely out of luck. Sony likely just don't expect that port to be used to do audio only input, I've got a couple of older cameras that work the same way via the AV cable (all or nothing), although they all have a separate mic input elsewhere on the camera - that not being available as an option is the odd part to me.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Peter Barton
Tags: <video><audio><microphone><sony>
Title: Add external mic using Sony "A/V R" plug
UserDisplayName: Ben in CA
ThreadText: # Add external mic using Sony "A/V R" plug
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2020-11-03)
  
  I have a Sony HDR-CX100 video camera that I would like to connect an external mic to (3.5mm plug), but the camera has no dedicated mic input.
  
  However, it as an "**A/V R**" plug:
  
  [![port](https://i.sstatic.net/ETBf6.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/ETBf6.png)
  
  Before you say "it's not possible", I also have a [Sony Sports pack SPK-CXA](https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/671698-REG/Sony_SPKCXA_SPK_CXA_Underwater_Camcorder_Sports.html) that plugs into that port which includes it's own microphones (in addition to remote controls). So technically it should be possible to input audio through that port.
  
  [![housing](https://i.sstatic.net/GR5ip.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/GR5ip.jpg)
  
  So my question is has anyone seen a cable / dongle / adapter that would allow me to go from that A/V R plug on the camera to a simple 3.5mm mic port? Or would anyone have an idea on the pinouts to build one?
  
  [![plug](https://i.sstatic.net/yeV6d.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/yeV6d.png)
  
  I could buy a new camera, but this one does everything I need otherwise, and seems a shame when a "simple" adapter should suffice.
  
  **Tags:** video, audio, microphone, sony
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_1**: Do you have the A/V cable for the camera? A quick google search shows a fairly standard breakout cable with RCA & S-Video plugs? So an RCA to 3.5mm converter should work with the existing AV cable? i.e. https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/142242765540  
  > **username_0**: Thanks for the suggestion; I have the original output cable, and figured maybe in recording mode it would provide input, however I tried that and it still used the internal microphone.  
  > **username_1**: In that case, my guess would be that the AV cable is "all" or "nothing" (which isn't uncommon). It will likely activate if there's a video signal there, like with your sports pack, but you can't use it as an "audio only" signal without a video signal as well. A quick search shows there were some proprietary Sony mics that could be used on this type of port, and some people even hacked these to make a standardised connector - https://www.camerahacker.com/Forums/DisplayComments.php?file=Video%20Camera/Sony/converting_AIS_to_mic_audio_jack. That might be the only way.  
  > **username_1**: Note that I'm assuming based on this post that the camera has an AIS port https://www.cnet.com/forums/discussions/need-help-with-sony-hdr-cx100-camcorder-my-question-is-becau-344545/ - it doesn't seem there would be any way to get audio only in via the AV port, based on your tests.  
  > **username_0**: Thanks for the suggestions. No, my camera does not even have an AIS port. It appears Sony must have specifically made this difficult in order to sell higher end cameras. I guess I'll have to upgrade my camera in order to use a separate wireless lapel mic as an audio feed.  
  > **username_1**: Bummer, the CNET discussion made it sound like it had an AIS port, but if not, you're likely out of luck. Sony likely just don't expect that port to be used to do audio only input, I've got a couple of older cameras that work the same way via the AV cable (all or nothing), although they all have a separate mic input elsewhere on the camera - that not being available as an option is the odd part to me.  
  
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  ## 0 answers
  
  