Products of Interest

Sound Devices 788T Digital Recorder

The 788T digital recorder from Sound Devices is a twelve-track portable recorder with eight microphone/live-level inputs (see Figure 1). Phantom power, peak limiters, adjustable high-pass filters, polarity reverse, and selectable delay are available on the microphone inputs. The inputs are located on the side-panel of the recorder and pop-out gain controls for each input are provided on the front panel. AES42 digital microphones are also supported. Eight channels of balanced AES3 digital input and six balanced output channels are provided for use with digital mixers and cameras. The inputs can be routed to stereo mix tracks, isolation tracks, and auxiliary tracks, giving twelve tracks in total. Sampling rates up to 24-bit/96 kHz are supported.

Audio can be recorded simultaneously to an internal 160-GB SATA hard drive, to a CompactFlash card (UDMA is supported), to an external FireWire hard drive, or DVD-RAM. The recorder can be used as a high-speed mass storage device when connected to a computer, using high-speed USB or FireWire 400 or 800 ports. External word clock and video synchronization inputs and a high-accuracy time code reader/generator are included. The time code can be stored for four hours without power sources connected. USB keyboards can be used with the recorder for metadata entry and control of menu items and transport controls using shortcuts.

Figure 1.

Sound Devices' 788T digital recorder with the CL-8 controller.

A backlit LCD display and 8 × 13-segment VU meters with peak indicators are located on the front panel. The recorder is powered by removable lithium-ion rechargeable batteries and is packaged with an external DC power unit. The unit measures 45 × 257 × 163 mm and weighs 1.7 kg without battery.

The company recommends the use of their lightweight CL-8 controller with this recorder for increased flexibility. The mixing control surface can be mounted on the 788T or used remotely. It features eight large rotary faders that can be used to control the input levels sent to the master or auxiliary tracks. It also offers controls for the high-pass filter, limiter, polarity, mute status, and routing shortcuts. The controller is bus-powered from the recorder.

A new model of the recorder is also available. The 788T-SSD digital recorder includes a 256 GB solid-state hard drive that allows users to record more than 60 hours of uncompressed 24-bit eight-track audio. Data transfer speed has also been improved in this model and it has increased resistance to shock.

The 788T is listed for US$ 5,995 and the 788T-SSD for US$ 6,495. The CL-8 controller is listed for US$ 985. Contact: Sound Devices, 300 Wengel Drive, P.O. Box 576, Reedsburg, Wisconsin 53959, USA; telephone (+1) 608-524-0625; fax (+1) 608-524-0655; electronic mail info@sounddevices.com; Web www.sounddevices.com/.

Tascam BB-1000 CD/SD Portable Recorder

The Tascam BB-1000 is a portable recorder that allows the user to record to CDs and SD memory cards (see Figure 2). The recorder has four built-in condenser microphones, positioned for 360-degree recording. Individual level controls are included for the two front and back microphones. Alternatively, a pair of external microphones can be connected to the XLR ports on the recorder and phantom power is provided on these inputs. The control panel of the recorder features dedicated knobs and keys for ease of use. A built-in 10 W stereo sound system is integrated into the recorder for instant playback. Tracks can be looped and slowed down, without affecting the pitch of the audio. The latest version of the recorder (v. 1.10) allows the user to route the microphone input directly to the built-in speakers.

Audio can be recorded as PCM data on to CDs and SD cards, or as MP3 recordings on SD cards only. CD-R and CD-RW are supported, as are standard and high capacity SD memory cards. Functions are available for copying audio between these media types.

Additional features include a metronome, chromatic tuner, and wireless...