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Re: guess at sound designs 744T specs

Subject: Re: guess at sound designs 744T specs
From: Rob Danielson <>
Date: Thu, 10 Apr 2003 14:04:12 -0500
oryoki wrote

>Rob Danielson wrote:
>
>>...at 4K$ for 4 channels of 24 bit, don't you
>>think most folks will continue to wait...
>
>This is still pure speculation since I have
>not read any information about the A/D
>capability of the new 744T (four channels
>with time code) or 722 (two analog input
>channels).  The Sound Devices USBPre is
>limited to 24/48 sampling because the Windows
>operating system won't reliably handle
>more data via USB 1.1.  The new 744 and 722
>won't have this limitation (recording
>internally or via Firewire) so my *guess*
>is that sampling rates higher than 24/48
>will be possible with the new devices.
>
>The decision to purchase in Fall or wait
>will depend on how much you want to get
>started with recording at higher sampling
>rates and multiple channels.  The 4 channel
>products announced by DEVA and HHB are
>expected to cost at least twice as much. 
>Even the Nagra V two channel recorder costs
>$3000 more.
>
>If you only want stereo recording, then the
>Sound Devices 722 at an estimated $2000 seems
>like a good deal, compared to the price of
>an MP-2 pre-amp and a laptop with A/D card.
>The 722 will certainly be easier to work with
>in the field.
>
>>  ...I also have reservations about the hard
>>drive recording direction. Do I want to always
>>have to manage hard drive data/space before I can go
>>  out with a clean drive to record?
>
>This issue is real.  So far, attempts to create
>field recorders with high sampling rates that write
>directly to an inexpensive removable medium have
>been unsuccessful. The original Nagra V design
>that writes to a 2.2GB ORB cartridge is one example
>that didn't catch on.
>
>So today at least, if you want to record multiple
>channels at high sampling rates, you have to
>record to a hard disc.  Maybe in the future
>we'll write everything to "blu-ray" 27GB discs,
>under development now for high definition TV
>and movies.
>
>In practice, it only takes a few minutes to dump
>the contents of a disc via Firewire.  I expect
>that the files created when recording will be
>time and date stamped, and numbered sequentially,
>like the files created when you take photos
>with a digital camera.  So it won't be difficult
>to keep track of the recordings when they
>are moved to your computer.  But it is true that
>this step must be accomplished to clear space
>for new recordings.
>
>Like I said in an earlier post, I think that
>this handling of files will be simple for
>people who are comfortable with computers,
>and intimidating for those who are not.
>
--oryoki/
>


Hi Oryoki--

4 tracks @24 bits without the laptop would be ideal for me too but 
I'm looking for a much less expensive way to get 2 tracks at 24bits 
in the field without a laptop.  Folks starting off and wanting a 
great recording system may want to seriously look at the sound 
devices 2 channel though.

>In practice, it only takes a few minutes to dump
>the contents of a disc via Firewire.

A few minutes for copying onto another hard drive, but not for 
permanent keeping-- thus the burning to DVD-R or CDR.  After having 
two hard drives decide to not start up all of a sudden, I sleep much 
better when important work does not depend on a drive working.  IDE 
drives, now at $1 a GB, are good for safety or mirror copies of files 
you are working with, but important stuff still has to go to disk in 
the long run. I burn the transfer files to DVD, scan and catalog the 
DVD with Disktracker so all of the files on all the discs are 
searchable and just a step away.

I agree that computing skills are critcal because file misnaming and 
misplacing happens all the time with beginners.

Rob


-- 
Rob Danielson
Film Department
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee


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