Rob Danielson wrote:
> Thanks for the tip Oryoki. This is quite a disappointment for anyone
> milking the last hours out of DATS and MD's. Don't you think they
> must be confronting some basic tech problems? Size is cited. It is
> surprising that the move from tape to hard drive recording has been
> so difficult for the field recorder manufacturers-- at least at price
> point that makes HD recording somewhat competitive with tape/disc.
> Rich and I had a hunch something was going astray when Sound Devices
> didn't want to let us beta test the 722 or 744 this May at the
> Kickapoo recordists gathering, only 50 miles from their office.
>
> I fear the solutions are being complicated as manufacturers seem
> compelled to keep overhauling computer operation systems. The latest
> version of Jaguar, for example, seems to be rendering many OS9
> software and hardware investments as non upgradeable. The manuf's
> strategy of upgrading software to produce a market for new hardware
> is running aground as people are being asked to throw away working
> gear for unproven drivers and the like. And in today's economy.
> Trying to buy something as basic as a d->d interface for getting MD
> onto your hard drive using recent OSX requires major research. Such
> unthoughtful moves actually reward consumers for staying on the
> trailing edges of technologies.
>
> Yep, this shift the bets to Walt's side on my "Walt will be doing 24
> bit hard drive field recording" wager. I'll have to check that
> deadline again. Rob D.
I could do it, but will is a different story.
Having just moved from OS 9.2.2 to OSX 10.2.6 on my G4 I'm aware of the
issues. I did, however, study this move for some time before making it.
My Roland UA-30 continues to operate perfectly. Which, of course, means
all my audio I/O continues to work just fine. I've given Peak 4 and
SparkXL 2.8.1 both test runs with no problem. Only problem I ran into
with regard to sound was with my Yamaha SCSI CD-RW. Seems when apple
first brought out 10.2, they forgot about SCSI burners and only
supported firewire and USB, so it did not get recognized until I updated
to 10.2.6, when it got back to normal, and Toast 6 and Jam 5.0.1 work
just fine. My 3.5" optical drives also have no problem with OSX, so my
archives are fine.
I do not plan on updating the core of my system until the G5 has been
through at least it's first revision and looks stable and likely to be
supported for a while. I have a first generation G4 that apple tends to
ignore, and a first generation G3 laptop that they ignore even more,
don't want to play that game again. And everyone is aware that the next
version of OSX is about to replace Jaguar? One other thing of note is
that Apple is not supporting DVD-RW with the G5, only DVD-R.
And in spite of my G4 not being on apple's Airport ready list, I'm
typing this through our Airport base station, wireless. Though OSX
needed the help of a classic app from a third party to make that fully
functional. Apple's Airport software swears it's not there, but it works.
One problem of any company playing the bit and sample rate jumping is
that it's a moving target. The software in my computer is now capable of
processing up to 32bit 192khz inputs (even though the Roland can't do
that). 24bit 96khz is being left behind. I'm sure with the advent of the
G5 with it's 64bit setup that 64bit sampling will turn up soon. Like
clock speed of processors, the ad men dictate such things. It does not
need to be practical, just a larger number on a ad. This could be one of
the things delaying Sound Devices. By the time it's introduced it will
be obsolete.
Recently in another group a member reported the results of a recording
expedition. With a weeks worth of recordings on his HD recorder it
slipped from his pack and dropped a couple feet. The HD was toast, all
recordings lost. Be warned, if you get a HD recorder, treat it well.
That person wished he was still using MD.
I think I shall be using MD for some time. I've dropped a MD recorder
from three times that height onto rough pavement, while recording, not
once, but twice for the same recorder. Not only was it not damaged other
than a minor dent in the external sheet metal, but it kept recording and
did not even skip. Many years later I still have that recorder, a Sony
MZ-R30 and it still works fine. Though I did replace the worn out
buttons and switches. I also have the original MD involved and the
recording still plays from that just fine. I'm not exactly worried about
my MD's wearing out, or milking the last hours out of them. They may
outlive me.
Actually my bigger problem is my digital camera. The software is no
longer being updated and I have to boot into 9.2.2 to run it. Equivalent
replacement would be many thousands of dollars as I'd have to change to
Nikon or Canon lens systems as well as body, mine is Minolta and they
don't make a interchangeable lens digital anymore. A digital camera in
perfect shape, soon to be useless.
Walt
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