Audio Equipment

Hard-drive

Relatively new on the portable digital recording scene are the hard-drive audio recorders. These easy-to-use devices utilize specially formatted, rugged, computer hard-drives (typically 40GB or greater) for storage. The digitized audio is simply stored as data files on the disk making random access very easy. While a few multi-channel devices have been available for some time (Zaxcom - DevaII, HHB -PORTADRIVE, and the Aaton -Cantar-X) the market place has been void of simple two & four channel units. Sound Devices, LLC is introducing in the 2nd quarter of 2004 two new audio recorders, models 722 and 744T. They are being marketed as the next logical successor to the time-code and portable R-DAT machines.

The model 722 (~$2,000) is a high-resolution 2-channel recorder. It will feature high-resolution A/D and D/A converters, high-quality microphone preamps, active-balanced XLR style microphone inputs, 48-volt phantom power, high-pass filters, as well as real-time post-record monitoring. A user adjustable pre-record buffer is provided to eliminate missed takes. A large backlit display for metering is viewable in all lighting conditions. Digital inputs and outputs are available via either TA3 or BNC connectors. Multiple sampling rates are supported including 44.1, 48, or 96kHz. Selectable bit-depths are either 16 or 24. Recording format is un-compressed linear PCM. A 40GB field removable/replaceable hard-drive is standard. External data interface is via a 1394 (Firewire 400) port. Field powering is accomplished via removable lithium ion rechargeable batteries, or via external 5-18 volts DC. External powering requires a 4-pin Hirose connector.

The model 744T (~$4,000) shares many of the above features except it offers one, two, or four channels of recording plus an additional time-code track. Additional sample-rates are also standard to conform to the needs of the video/film user.