DOCSLIB.ORG

IN PRACTICE Transport/Tape, and These Are Luxuries Few of Us Can Afford with PCM-1610S and PCM- 1630S

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
IN PRACTICE Transport/Tape, and These Are Luxuries Few of Us Can Afford with PCM-1610S and PCM- 1630S something we do not really need. Tandy make some inexpensive moulded 2 -way headphone splitter leads which can be rewired with a couple of XLRs to make reliable headphone socket -to -line driver leads -I have not always had the best of luck with home-made headphone -to- two-XLR leads, they seem to fall apart at the jack end after a couple of months. The best setting corresponding to our normal headroom practice was with the headphone output level set to around 3 o'clock (ie slightly below maximum) and the input levels to give unity gain overall in-to out. In the fullness of time I shall probably change a feedback resistor in the headphone output amplifier to reduce the gain, so we can operate the line -out with the headphone volume control set to maximum, which is easier to set consistently. These interfacing details will be nothing new to those experienced with the Sony PCM-Fl or 701, and although unbalanced, they cause few troubles. Metering is via horizontal fluorescent bargraphs, with 0 dB on the display corresponding to 2 dB below peak-bits (digital end-stop). A red over light tells you when you have gone over the top, and the 2 dB 'overlap' is very helpful in optimising peak recording level. Having the audio processing and tape transport in one box about the same size as a sophisticated R-DAT domestic video cassette deck (it weighs just under 12 kg) is much more convenient than lugging around a PCM-1630 and U- matic. With two DATs on a session one has automatically a full backup of A/D and D/A circuitry as well as tape - IN PRACTICE transport/tape, and these are luxuries few of us can afford with PCM-1610s and PCM- 1630s. Tony The Aiwa consumer R -DAT machine has digital Faulkner describes some initial input and output via phono sockets on the back experiences with an Aiwa consumer panel, so with two machines on a session you can link the recorders together digitally if desired in machine and ways that R -DAT may order to use one set of A/D converters for both sets of tapes. The digital interface format (also to affect the pro user be found on quite a few compact disc players, and the PCM-601) is similar in most respects to the AES/EBU format used by manufacturers such as The intrusion of consumer promises to remove most of the hassles, and in Neve in their mixers /processors. Except for being audio equipment into the few weeks of operational experience we have unbalanced and having a status flag bit set in the professional recording had, impressions have been very favourable. The wrong position ('off' for consumer, 'on' for and broadcasting has powerful Reed- Solomon error correction from professional, which should be sorted out by increased a lot over the last few years. The recent compact disc has been included to cope with tape changing a couple of DIP switches somewhere in introduction in Japan of commercial R -DAT dropout errors, and at no time have we heard any the pro interfacing, there is no major integrated digital audio tape recorders promises to dropouts, crackles or spits -more than can be said incompatibility problem. hit the professional stereo tape deck market like for the existing systems we were auditioning in The Aiwa XD-001 will replay tapes made at Attila the Hun, finishing off the ground work comparison. Many years of experience with various sampling rates as follows: done by the low -cost Sony PCM-F1 and PCM-701 Betamax and VHS have obviously taught 32 kHz sampling -rate: such as recordings converters, and probably rendering them obsolete manufacturers a great deal about how to make previously taken off Direct Broadcast Satellite, in the process. In March earlier this year we took reliable low cost rotary head systems. and recordings made on other consumer R -DAT delivery of our first consumer Aiwa XD -001 DAT Hooking the Aiwa up to a professional mixer machines using 32 kHz recording options. machine, which sold in Japan for around £850, posed no new problems -the line input is 44.1 kHz: commercial pre- recorded tapes, digital with 2 hr blank cassettes retailing alongside at unbalanced via high grade phono connectors (two transfers off PCM-1630, JVC or PCM-F1, and just under £7.50. switchable sets labelled Line 1 and Line 2), and recordings made on professional R -DAT. My first experiences with video based digital the input record -gain level -set ganged controls 48 kHz: recordings transferred digitally from pro audio date back to the Sony PCM-1 at the very wired right at the front -end of the circuitry so 48 kHz sources, and tapes made on itself or other end of 1977, through the various generations of that normal professional studio high levels are consumer DAT recorders from analogue sources: PCM-1600, PCM -1610, PCM-1630, PCM-100, PCM- adjusted passively rather than allowed to clip an The player senses recorded sampling rate F1, PCM -701 and two or three different JVC oversensitive preamp. The Aiwa deck had no automatically, also the presence or absence or pre - systems along the way. Each new model brought microphone inputs, but a professional portable emphasis flag, and displays this information. The its own advances, but video based digital audio is recently shown at London AES included consumer recorder tested will record at 48 kHz not without inherent weaknesses -the high microphone preamps together with phantom only, when switched to analogue source -from a expense of fully professional models, the powering options. digital source it is possible to record at 32 kHz or mechanical noise of the recorders in operation, The line -out phonos are at a lower 'domestic' 48 kHz (if there is no COPY PROHIBIT flag-bit in video /system incompatibilities, increased level, which could be amplified externally using the signal to protect copyright material), but the complexity of electronic editing, as well as some one of the interface boxes marketed by various control circuitry has had a 'pre -frontal lobotomy' petty aggravations, such as difficulties with companies, or an unbalanced high level output to prevent recording at 44.1 kHz in any handling U -matic cassettes of longer than 60 min may be taken from the front panel headphone circumstances and just sits jammed in RECORD duration for compact disc master. Twin-track fixed socket. Personally I prefer the latter solution for PAUSE if you ask it to record. There are head DASH/PRODIGI machines cope with some of three main reasons: simplicity, dissatisfaction manufacturer options to utilise 12 bit non -linear these problems, but at quite a price and size. On with the sound quality of some of the adaptor quantisation and 32 kHz sampling for reduced paper the lightweight rotary -head R -DAT format boxes, and reluctance to pay good money for quality at half tape speed, but I have had no 58 Studio Sound, July 1987 .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Digital Audio Systems
    Digital Audio Systems While analog audio produces a constantly varying voltage or current, digital audio produces a non-continuous list of numbers. The maximum size of the numbers will determine the dynamic range of the system, since the smallest signal possible will result from the lowest order bit (LSB or least significant bit) changing from 0 to 1. The D/A converter will decode this change as a small voltage shift, which will be the smallest change the system can produce. The difference between this voltage and the voltage encoded by the largest number possible (all bits 1’s) will become the dynamic range. This leads to one of the major differences between analog and digital audio: as the signal level increases, an analog system tends to produce more distortion as overload is approached. A digital system will introduce no distortion until its dynamic range is exceeded, at which point it produces prodigious distortion. As the signal becomes smaller, an analog system produces less distortion until the noise floor begins to mask the signal, at which point the signal-to-noise ratio is low, but harmonic distortion of the signal does not increase. With low amplitude signals, a digital system produces increasing distortion because there are insufficient bits available to accurately measure the small signal changes. There is a difference in the type of interference at low signal levels between analog and digital audio systems. Analog systems suffer from thermal noise generated by electronic circuitry. This noise is white noise: that is, it has equal power at every frequency. It is the “hiss” like a constant ocean roar with which we are so familiar.
    [Show full text]
  • SAA Early Born Digital Formats
    Early born-digital audio formats (Slide Notes) Compiled by George Blood SLIDE 1 GBA logo SLIDE 2 GBA logo audio SLIDE 3 GBA audio video SLIDE 4 SSA logo SLIDE 5 SSA presents SLIDE 6 Title Slide Early born-digital audio formats SLIDE 7 First Commercially Available Formats: PCM-1 PCM-10 PCM-F1 PCM1600/1610/1630 ...DAT As a practical matter, I'll be speaking about the last three of these early formats. Unless you work for a record label, it is highly unlikely you'll see PCM-1 or PCM-10 tapes. In 25 years I've only seen one PCM-10. (Hint, it plays like a PCM1600, but uses a PCM-F1 decoder). SLIDE 8 citation: "The Dawn of Commercial Digital Recording" ARSC Journal, Tom Fine There are earlier formats, mostly based on data recorders or custom hardware. For an excellent introduction to this Jurassic period of digital recording, see Tom Fine's article in the Spring 2008 issue of the Journal of the Association for Recorded Sound Collections. SLIDE 8b Principles of Digital Audio, Ken Pohlman As with most materials we face in preservation, it helps to understand the properties of our quarry. I'm going to do a very brief introduction to digital audio. For anyone who wishes to dig deeper, I highly recommend this book. Ken's writing his extremely clear. You can look up individual topics, or read entire chapters. It is a standard desk reference at my facility. SLIDE 9a Quantization "The process of converting analog signals to digital." syn: digitization For our purposes, in preservation, we are talking about Pulse Code Modulation: PCM.
    [Show full text]
  • December 1921) James Francis Cooke
    Gardner-Webb University Digital Commons @ Gardner-Webb University The tudeE Magazine: 1883-1957 John R. Dover Memorial Library 12-1-1921 Volume 39, Number 12 (December 1921) James Francis Cooke Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.gardner-webb.edu/etude Part of the Composition Commons, Ethnomusicology Commons, Music Education Commons, Musicology Commons, Music Pedagogy Commons, Music Performance Commons, Music Practice Commons, and the Music Theory Commons Recommended Citation Cooke, James Francis. "Volume 39, Number 12 (December 1921)." , (1921). https://digitalcommons.gardner-webb.edu/etude/40 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the John R. Dover Memorial Library at Digital Commons @ Gardner-Webb University. It has been accepted for inclusion in The tudeE Magazine: 1883-1957 by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Gardner-Webb University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. DECfEMBEB 1921 Page 769 THE ETUDE Musical Gifts w SS1“Ss®®ISk.= ^SS^=iSS'' phoadelphu^ T1J£fVDORE PRESSER CO^ ™ The Special Holiday C musical literature^ e*belov.^re the^best^b^oma..*^ - r.v, biographit fob. the pianist. , ff-SSS “ode^.DCompos6it?ons by Moshowski Rhythm, ' . co,. sfsiltic »o™vsr ot”,w);“ Favorite lompo^iionsT^ Mozart'. lEtton” ^rom^Piano'worhs' W BiS iness°MMiualC fotWuSo Teachers gg sElreiSgas PaHor^^d^Sb^®1 lflarchesS *. • Piano Player-e Reperto.re . • popular Parlot AUninion Popular Recital Repertoire. Rachmaninoff Album • — •••• DECEMBER 1921 Page 77l\ THE ETUDE e 770 DECEMBER 1921 ~ ®Ijtrtg-®Ijirii Annual Ijoltiag (!Dtt>r nf difta for HlitHii: IGonprs OFFER POSITIVELY EXPIRES JAN. 1, 1922 THE PRICES GIVEN ARE FOR CASH WITH ORDER SPECIAL HOLIDAY CASH PRICES=THIS —TRANSPORTATION CHARGES PREPAID THE PRICES GIVEN ARE FOR CASH WITH ORDER of Music.
    [Show full text]
  • Preservation & Valorisation of Audiovisual Heritage
    Preservation & Valorisation of Audiovisual Heritage Second edition NP 1 Second version: September 2015 2 1 Welcome, This document is for all those who are in possession of audiovisual heritage. If it has not been digitised yet, it is time to do something. Digitise it before any paper document. They can wait. They are not in danger. Audiovisual digitisation is affordable. But within 10 years, it will not be the case anymore. Your tapes are going to be really old and sticky and difficult to read. And the main issue is that it’ll be just impossible to find devices to play the old media. If your collection has been digitised, then, you are probably looking for better ways or new methods to value your assets. There are solutions. Every day, new technologies create opportunities that you may want to explore. Have a look at this document and go to the next level, whatever is the status of your audiovisual heritage. Enjoy it. Jean-Michel Seigneur Head of Marketing at Vectracom 2 1 2 3 Contents Edito 1 Content 3 Preservation of audiovisual heritage 4 Film 8 Storage & restoration of films 10 Digitisation of film 12 Sound recordings 14 Digitisation of sound recordings 16 Video Recordings 18 Preparation of magnetic tapes 22 Digitisation of video content 24 Main media file formats 26 Media files quality control 28 Storage of digitised heritage 30 Drafting preservation projects 31 Managing preservation projects 32 Use cases 34 Valorisation of audiovisual heritage 36 Using MAM 39 Metadata collection 40 Restoration of content 42 Accessibility of content 43 Use of heritage content 44 Service platform for audiovisual content 46 Vectracom’s references 50 2 3 Preservation of Audiovisual Heritage According to UNESCO, 200 million hours of video programmes are in danger of being lost.
    [Show full text]
  • Safeguarding Our Documentary Heritage
    Safeguarding our documentary heritage Preface All throughout history, libraries and archives have been the guardians of the documentary heritage of mankind. Although during past centuries the writing medium underwent only very few changes, from parchment to paper, the last two centuries have seen the recurrent emergence of the new media, ranging from daguerreotype to digital disk. Given the rapid evolution of the new technologies, safeguarding the cultural heritage becomes more and more a concern for specialists. At the same time the participation of the entire library and archive profession is necessary. It has become equally indispensable to raise awareness among decision- makers, professionals and the public at large. One of the main goals of the UNESCO "Memory of the World" programme is to promote the preservation of the documentary heritage of mankind. Thus a guide providing the recommended practices and listing the standards and reference literature related to preservation of documents of all kinds was published by the Sub-Committee on Technology of the Memory of the World Programme. In order to disseminate this guide among a wider range of users, hoping that it becomes an initial or permanent training tool, UNESCO contracted IFLA to create a thoroughly illustrated CD-ROM both in English and French on the causes of deterioration of library collections and archival documents as well as on the preventive measures to be taken. Thanks to the hypertext links this CD-ROM should be able to extend the possibilities of research by providing the links with other Internet sites dealing with similar information in the preservation field.
    [Show full text]
  • Trevor De Clercq Digital Audio Processing November 17Th, 1998 E85.2600, Prof
    Trevor de Clercq Digital Audio Processing November 17th, 1998 E85.2600, Prof. K. Peacock Chapter 9 "Art of Digital Audio" Abstract This chapter's focus is the stationary-head recorder. As compared to the rotary- head recorder, a stationary-head recorder employs a fixed head block, open reels, a much faster tape speed, and a higher bandwidth. Basically, stationary-head digital machines are identical to their analog open reel counterparts in appearance and user operation. The advantages to stationary-head recording versus rotary-head recording, therefore, are the ability to do tape-cut edits and record 24 or even 48 tracks on a single reel of tape. Stationary-head digital recorders also offer a couple advantages over analog machines. Print through on digital tapes is not a problem. Because of this, digital tape is rather thin compared to analog. Also, the crosstalk which is prevelant in analog multi-track recording is rejected by the digital machines. In practice, their are three main formats of stationary-head recorders which have appeared on the market, the Mitsubishi ProDigi format, the Digital Compact Cassette, and the family of DASH formats. All of these formats share the general layout of a stationary-head machine. The DASH format is probably the most commonly used stationary-head format, as seen in use on Sony's PCM-3324 recorder. The DASH I format allows for 24-tracks on 1/2" tape or 8-tracks on 1/4" tape. The so-called double density version, known as DASH II, allows for 48-tracks on 1/2" tape and 16 tracks on 1/4" tape.
    [Show full text]
  • IPN 47:Mise En Page 1
    International II FF LL AA Preservation PPAACC A Newsletter of the IFLA Core Activity No. 47 News on Preservation and Conservation May 2009 Preservation of Audiovisual Collections Moving Images INTERNATIONAL PRESERVATION Preservation of Audiovisual Collections No 47 NEWS May 2009 Moving Images ISSN 0890 - 4960 International Preservation News 5 is a publication of the International Federation Video Archiving and the Dilemma of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) Core Activity on Preservation and Conservation of Data Compression (PAC) that reports on the preservation Dietrich Schüller activities and events that support efforts to preserve materials in the world’s libraries and archives. 8 IFLA-PAC Presto – PrestoSpace – PrestoPRIME Bibliothèque nationale de France Daniel Teruggi Quai François-Mauriac 75706 Paris cedex 13 France 13 Director: Preservation of Broadcast Archives – a BBC Perspective Christiane Baryla Richard Wright Tel: ++ 33 (0) 1 53 79 59 70 Fax: ++ 33 (0) 1 53 79 59 80 E-mail: [email protected] 18 Editor / Translator Flore Izart La stratégie de sauvegarde et de numérisation des archives Tel: ++ 33 (0) 1 53 79 59 71 E-mail: [email protected] de l’Institut National de l’Audiovisuel, 1999-2015 Spanish Translator: Solange Hernandez Dominique Saintville Layout and printing: STIPA, Montreuil PAC Newsletter is published free of charge three 26 times a year. Orders, address changes and all Preserving Digital Public Television: other inquiries should be sent to the Regional 2 Centre that covers your area. Is There Life
    [Show full text]
  • Preservation and Valorization of Audiovisual Heritage
    Preservation & Valorisation of Audiovisual Heritage NP 1 March 2014 2 3 Welcome, This document is intended for all those in possession of audiovisual heritage. If it has not been digitized, as time progresses, your content becomes increasingly unusable. It degrades physically and devices for playing it become obsolete and disappear. You often tell yourself that everything should be digitized but in rea- lity, little is done. It’s time to take action to rescue a legacy that is on the road to ruin. There has never been a better time. The technology exists, and it is mature. Apart playing equipment, it is widely available and affordable, and time has not yet completely erased your historical recordings. Without a doubt, your audiovisual heritage has value. It’s up to you to make it profitable. Jean-Michel Seigneur Head of Marketing at Vectracom 2 3 4 5 Contents Edito 3 Content 5 Preservation of audiovisual heritage 6 Film 10 Storage & restoration of films 12 Digitization of film 14 Sound recordings 16 Digitization of sound recordings 18 Video Recordings 20 Preparation of magnetic tapes 24 Digitization of video content 26 Main media file formats 28 Media files quality control 30 Storage of digitized heritage 32 Drafting preservation projects 33 Managing preservation projects 34 Valorization of audiovisual heritage 36 Using MAM 39 Restoration of content 40 Accessibility of content 41 Use of heritage content 42 Service platform for audiovisual content 44 Vectracom’s references 48 4 5 Preservation heritage 6 7 Preservation Preservation of audiovisual heritage heritage 6 7 According to UNESCO, 200 million hours of video programmes are in danger of being lost.
    [Show full text]
  • Digital Audio Format Converter
    FC726 Digital Audio Format Converter Installation Manual Document Revision: A Part Number: 840-11321-01 Release Date: August 2010 Euphonix is Avid. Learn more at www.avid.com Regulatory and Safety Notices FCC Notice Part 15 of the Federal Communication Commission Rules and Regulations has established Radio Frequency (RF) emission limits to provide an interference free radio frequency spectrum. Many electronic devices produce RF energy incidental to their intended purpose. These rules place electronic equipment into two classes, A and B, depending on the intended use. Class A devices are those that may be expected to be installed in a business or commercial environment. Class B devices are those that may be expected to be installed in a home or residential environment. The FCC requires devices in both classes to be labeled with the interference likelihood and additional operating instructions. The rating label on the equipment will show which class the product is (A or B). Class A product will not have an FCC logo. Class B equipment will have an FCC logo. The information statements differ on the two classes. Class A Equipment This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class A digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference when the equipment is operated in a commercial environment. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. Operation of this equipment in a residential area is likely to cause harmful interference, in which case the user will be required to correct the interference at personal expense.
    [Show full text]
  • Magnetic Carriers
    Magnetic Carriers Magnetic Carriers TYPOLOGY AND HISTORY ................................................................................................................... 2 MAGNETIC TAPES................................................................................................................................... 2 TYPES OF MAGNETIC TAPE CONSTRUCTION ............................................................................................ 2 TYPES OF MAGNETIC TAPE HOUSING ...................................................................................................... 3 – OPEN SPOOL TAPES............................................................................................................................ 3 – CASSETTE TAPES................................................................................................................................3 – TAPE CARTRIDGES .............................................................................................................................. 4 MAGNETIC DISCS ................................................................................................................................... 4 DATA DENSITY VERSUS DATA SECURITY ................................................................................................. 4 TYPOLOGY OF MAGNETIC TAPE CARRIERS (AUDIO AND VIDEO) - SYNOPSIS ................................................ 5 CAUSES OF DETERIORATION AND PREVENTIVE MEASURES........................................................ 5 THE STABILITY OF MAGNETIC CARRIERS..................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Digital Audio Recorders
    Digital Audio Recorders Consumer Digital Tape Recorders The first commercially available digital recorders made use of videotape recorders as the actual storage medium. The PCM (pulse code modulator) converters digitized the audio signal and converted it to a video signal. These recorders were the Sony PCM F-1 and the later PCM 501, 601, and 701 processors. They allowed 14 or 16 bit quantization with better error correction in the 14 bit mode. The main problem with these units was due to poor tracking on the VCR that led to dropouts and adjustment of the finicky VCR tracking control was frequently required. Only the 601 offered digital I/O. PCM converters are rarely used today and are frequently available used for a few hundred dollars. The DAT (digital audio tape) recorder was developed later, incorporating both the A/D and D/A converters and the actual tape transport mechanism into a single unit. The DAT offered better (although not perfect) machine-to-machine matching and greater simplicity of operation. DAT recorders have better error correction and automatic tracking, making them preferable to PCM/video recorders. DATs also offer sub-code indexing not available on PCM converter systems. Most DAT recorders are 16-bit machines, although there were 24-bit variants. Extending the basic technology of the DAT, rotary-head multi-track digital recorders were developed. The Alesis ADAT and the Tascam DTRS recorders used video transports with rotary heads optimized for digital audio to create video-tape-based recorders capable of 8-channel simultaneous recording and playback. These machines are still in use widely and have decided advantages, since they may be linked easily to provide large track counts and may dub with no signal degradation.
    [Show full text]
  • TASCAM MX -2424 Roes This Change Everything?
    August 2000 - $10.00 £5.00 THE INTERNATIONAL PROFESSIONAL AUDIO MAGAZINE FOR RECORDING, POSTPRODUCTION AND BROADCAST EXCLUSIVES Marantz PMD300- series Lindos Electronics LSC24 Universal Audio UA 1 176 Microboards StartREC Sennheiser MKH800 Mx -2424 n n Manley monobloc m n s v -_ ,._ _:_ _ Lucid SRC9624 o u. EA E DAS Monitor 6 : -_a EEEEE_ hi --= - EEEE-- g s 11,1 L..' 1.-11 Is M. 01111.111111 ..q. Y. j s.. .rn. If G /- -, NOr WWI ... fa. 1; "- 1.7 F-44--- !1- 1 TASCAM MX -2424 roes this change everything? BROADCAST AUTOMATION: HANDS -OFF CONTROL The FUTURE COMPUTER:THE EVOLUTION OF THE PC STEVE SURROUND SOUND: MIKING FOR SURROUND POWERHEADPHONES:CANS IN CLOSE -UP Interview iii 9 7701 44 59403 1 www.americanradiohistory.com Forgive and regret OUR LOOK AT THE TASCAM MX -2424 serves to remind how delicate the relation- ship is between intermediate and milestone technologies. As someone who can remember DASH and ProDigi being dismissed in the 1980s as intermediate Studìá technology I could be forgiven for waiting for this machine for what has been an eternity. Of course 'intermediate' is a word that is frequently confused and misused by those of shallow pocket who then proceed to power out of their personal hand- Incorporating Broadcast Engineering brake turns as soon as they can afford to. Digital tape was, and is, an intermedi- August 2000. Vol 42. No 8. ISSN 0141 5994 ate, but it hasn't stopped DASH representing the high -end interchange format in United Business Media, for music recording or the DA-88 serving as an established post mix medium long 8 Montague Close, London Bridge, for shrewd operators many times over.
    [Show full text]