Makin' Tracks: Audio Tape Recorders (page 2)

The next step up in portable, on-location ATRs is the portable DAT (Digital Audio Tape) recorder. DAT has become a popular recording format among audio engineers, and affordable portables that work well for video production have recently come on the market. Since DAT is digital, digital bits control the speed. This means that fluctuations of the motors won't affect the final product, as with analog ATRs. It also means that you can record dialog with a DAT and keep it in sync with your videotape.

You can get into a portable DAT for as little as $699 with Sony's TCD-D7 DAT Walkman. Not much larger than a standard Walkman, this little DAT recorder has no loudspeaker, so you must use headphones when recording. But Sony left room for line inputs and outputs in addition to the mike input, so you can hook it up to your sound system back in the studio. As with other DATs, you can get up to two hours of recording in the SP speed (sound familiar?) and four hours in the LP speed.

Tascam makes a portable DAT, the model DA-P1 ($1799). Don't let the price scare you, because this deck comes with such pro features as XLR inputs and outputs and phantom mike power. (Phantom power means your microphones get power from the ATR, so you don't have to worry about mike batteries dying out during your shoot.) The P1 includes digital inputs and outputs so you can record directly from a digital keyboard or computer. The DA-P1 also operates without the recording restrictions of SCMS, which stands for Serial Copy Management System, an anti-piracy chip put in consumer DATs that prevents digital copying of original material.

JVC's XD-P1 portable DAT recorder ($1849) is an ATR with a special microphone that can remain attached to the deck. This clever feature lets you operate the deck with one hand. The mike sends a clean, digital signal to the deck, and you can switch it from stereo to shotgun. The XD-P1 also accepts analog mike or line inputs through its 1/8-inch jack, and operates without SCMS.

Sony has a high-end portable DAT with features found in studio decks. The TCD-D10 ($3675) includes a feature called absolute time recording and playback. Absolute time is an accurate time reference used on pro DAT machines that translates to SMPTE time code. This deck operates much like a studio deck with mike/line XLR inputs and outputs with a low-cut filter, level attenuator and peak limiter. The deck offers index and search features and LCD status displays.

Two other digital ATR formats are worth mentioning. These are newer, lower-cost digital recording formats that have not yet caught up with DAT's popularity in the music recording world. One reason for this could be that MD and DCC use compression to record audio. Though designed to be inaudible, some claim they can hear the effects of the MD and DCC data compression schemes.

Sony invented the unique MiniDisc (MD) format. Instead of tape, the MiniDisc records on a 2 1/2-inch optical disk that holds 74 minutes of stereo audio and allows you to instantly find a particular recording as you would on a CD. You could view the MD format as a hybrid of a CD and an ATR.

Sony's MZ-2 portable MD recorder ($749) has both digital and analog mike and line connectors.

The Sharp MD-M11 portable MD recorder ($800) includes analog or digital inputs and outputs and a 21-character track labeling feature.

JVC makes the XMD1 ($1299), a portable MD recorder with digital and analog inputs, 32-character track labeling, an LCD readout panel and four editing modes. The unit also features A/C or battery power from standard JVC camcorder batteries.

While MD uses a random-access disk, DCC uses special digital audio cassettes. It's currently marketed for home audio recording and playback, but as we all know, high-end consumer gear quickly finds its way into the hands of creative professional videomakers. Developed jointly by Philips and Matsushita, DCC decks are compatible with standard audio cassettes for playback only; they will not record on a standard analog cassette.

The compression technique is a unique one that disregards sounds below the threshold of human hearing or those sounds masked by other, louder sounds. Philips engineers found they could discard nearly three-quarters of the data that would ordinarily end up in a non-compressed digital recording (for example, DAT).

The Philips portable DCC-170 ($449) is an 18-bit DCC recorder with mike- and line-level inputs, a fiber-optic digital output and a 14-character display. Another unit, the Technics RS-DC8 DCC deck, sells for $650.The Marantz DD-82 ($599) DCC deck has fixed and variable analog outputs and five programmable recording markers.

While a good DAT or analog cassette portable will help you record nat soundtracks and effects, they have only two channels available--left and right. Multi-track ATRs have four or more tracks and usually have a built-in mike mixer. What's more, a multi-track ATR allows you to record on one track while listening to others.

This ability to discretely record each track opens a new world of audio production to videomakers. For example, you can record ocean waves on track 1, then record a seagull on track 2 as you listen to the waves. Next, playback and listen to tracks 1 and 2 as you record the sound of feet walking through the tide on track 3. Finally, play those three tracks as you record music onto track 4.

Now plug the multi-track ATR into channel 1 on your editing VCR and plug the audio from your player VCR onto channel 2. Your audio mix of ocean sounds combines instantly with the dialog you recorded onto the videotape. And you can control the levels of any of the audio channels as you do your editing. The result is a rich soundtrack, full of realism and music.

A visit to your local music store or a look through musical equipment catalogs will reveal several 4-track or 8-track cassette decks designed for musicians. Entry level 4-track cassette decks include the Fostex XR-5 ($499) and the Tascam Porta-07 ($395).

Fostex also makes a six-track cassette deck, the XR-7 ($699), and Tascam has an eight-track cassette deck, the Model 424 ($559) that also records at the standard 1-7/8 IPS speed.

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