Makin' Tracks: Audio Tape Recorders (page 3)

Once you start working with multi-track ATRs, you'll find that it's a blast to create your own elaborate mixes of nat sound, sound effects, background music and maybe even foley sound. Sometimes you get so involved that you want to add more tracks after you've edited the video. In other cases, you may want to revise your whole videotape--audio included.

To perform revisions, you'll probably need to copy your soundtrack to another tape, add a new track of audio and then copy the mix from the multi-track ATR back to your editing VCR. You probably already know about generation loss when copying videotapes; you also get generation loss when copying audio. The tape hiss becomes louder and music starts losing its clarity.

That's where digital multi-track ATRs come in. You probably know by now that with digital, there's virtually no generation loss as you copy from one digital deck to another. With digital multi-track ATRs, you can copy your mix to another digital multi-track or to a lower cost DAT with no generation loss. Then you can mix in more channels or even send the mix to a digital audio workstation.

One type of digital multi-track, called ADAT, records 40 minutes of CD-quality audio onto a standard T-120 S-VHS tape. Alesis makes an eight-track ADAT for $2995 that lets you overdub tracks repeatedly. For another $995, you can get an audio-video synchronization interface that lets the ADAT work with SMPTE time code. The interface synchronizes the ADAT to your editing VCR and works with RS-422, the nine-pin editing protocol found on most industrial editing VCRs.

The Fostex RD-8 ($4295) is another ADAT digital multi-track ATR. Its built-in SMPTE time code generator lets you record time code and sync it to a VCR.

Similar to ADAT is a new format called DTRS (Digital Tape Recording System). DTRS records 100 minutes on a Hi8 tape. One DTRS system, Tascam's DA-88 digital multi-track ATR ($4499), records discrete digital audio on eight tracks. The optional SMPTE sync card allows for video sync input. The unit includes an RS-422 port for editing.

Sony also makes a DTRS, the model PCM-800 ($5995) with SMPTE time code, choice of sampling rates and digital and XLR analog inputs. Sony even came out with a special 8mm tape with a formula optimized for the DTRS format.

Computers are great ways to organize and process data. And when you have several tracks of audio that you want to access, modify, copy and file, you have data in need of organizing and processing.

Several manufacturers have come out with cards and software designed for recording and editing audio on computer hard drives. These have come to be known as digital audio workstations, or DAWs. With a DAW, you can record, mix and perform random access editing by cutting and pasting audio clips onto a timeline. You'll need a hefty hard drive, though, because uncompressed audio generally takes about 5 MB per minute per track. This means that ten minutes of eight tracks quickly consumes 400 MB of hard drive space.

Another use of DAWs is with non-linear video editing. Most non-linear editors provide only two tracks of audio to play with. Incorporating a DAW sound card and software into non-linear video editing gives you the richness of a full-bodied soundtrack.

You can get started with limited audio editing on your PC, Mac or Amiga with a good sound board and audio editing software. For PC computers with Windows, you might consider Turtle Beach's MultiSound Monterey card bundled with Wave SE 4.5 software ($399), Roland's RAP-10 bundled with Roland Audio Tools software ($599) or Creative Labs' Sound Blaster 16 ASP bundled with Creative Wave Studio ($449).

Turtle Beach's Quad Studio ($499) is a four-track recording software package bundled with Wave SE software and the Tahiti sound card. This package lets you record two tracks to your hard drive and then record two more tracks while listening to the first two.

On the Mac side, you can edit two audio tracks with OSC's Deck II software ($399) together with Raster Ops' Media Time audio card.

If you want to edit four tracks of audio with Adobe's Premiere non-linear video editing system, look into Digidesign's Audio Media II ($1295).

For videomakers working on the Amiga platform, Sunrize offers the AD-516 ($1299), a 16-bit, eight-track system that handles real-time mixing and SMPTE time code. Also for the Amiga is Tocatta ($499) from NoahJi's. This is a 16-bit, four-channel board with software. You can use the current version with MacroSystem's VLab Motion non-linear video editing system.

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