Video-audio recording and reproducing apparatuses (so-called video cameras) are popular to record video signals obtained by photographing objects and audio signals obtained by collecting ambient sounds around photographers including sounds from the objects. Such video-audio recording and reproducing apparatuses have stereo microphones to record stereo sounds. The sizes of the video-audio recording and reproducing apparatuses are reducing in recent years, to raise a problem that stereo microphones installed on the size-reduced video-audio recording and reproducing apparatus hardly record realistic sounds. There is a need to provide a video-audio recording and reproducing apparatus capable of recording lifelike sounds.
A pamphlet of International Publication No. 96/10884 discloses a video-audio recording and reproducing apparatus that arranges an ear structure on each side of the body of a video-audio recording and reproducing apparatus, to record a video signal obtained by photographing an object and sounds binaurally collected from around a photographer.
According to the disclosure of the above-mentioned document, the video-audio recording and reproducing apparatus having binaural microphones on the apparatus body is incapable of recording realistic sounds unless the width of the apparatus body, i.e., a distance between the left and right microphones is close to the width of a human head. The bodies of recently marketed audio-video recording and reproducing apparatuses are compact by virtue of improvements in high-density recording technology, digital signal recording technology, and video compressing technology. Accordingly, installing binaural microphones on a video-audio recording and reproducing apparatus proper is improper to provide the expected effect. In addition, the shape of the apparatus greatly differs from that of a human head, and therefore, it is presumed that the effect disclosed in the above-mentioned document is difficult to attain.