Sound Devices, LLC - Portable, Professional Audio

Firmware revision 1.10 for the 788T is posted and available for immediate download and installation. It is recommended for all 788T users. The download page is available here.

Sound Devices has made firmware revision 2.54 available for download and installation. 2.54 adds new features (Including the Timecode: Hold Off feature from the Huskie beta firmware) and corrects a few known issues. Download here. Read the rest of this entry »

Designed for Production Sound Mixers and Post Production Editors, Wave Agent provides a comprehensive and indispensable range of tools for preparing audio files for problem-free passage through complex production workflows. Read the rest of this entry »

The 788T is a marvel of mechanical design. Using the latest 3-D computer-aided design tools and powerful visualization environments, the designers built a product that has an incredible amount of processing power and I/O flexibility. Because of its compact size, it is used in environments and applications never before possible for an eight-channel audio recorder. This brings with it several considerations for use. Read the rest of this entry »

Pre-release firmware revision Huskie is now available for download and trial for the 702, 702T, 722, and 744T recorders. Read the rest of this entry »

Sound Devices has made firmware revision 1.07 available for download and installation. Revision 1.07 addresses several issues listed below. Read the rest of this entry »

The 788T introduces a new microphone preamp and analog-to-digital topology to Sound Devices. This new circuit improves the dynamic range of the microphone inputs beyond the performance of the class-leading 702, 702T, 722 and 744T recorders. Read the rest of this entry »

Sound Devices has made firmware revision 1.06 available for download and installation. 1.06 addresses several issues relating to drive connectivity and other corrections.

Download here.

There has been a certain lack of “resolution” on how best to provide time code sync for shooting double-system sound with the popular Panasonic Varicam high-definition camcorder. The VariCam is the commonly used name for Panasonic’s AJ-HDC27 variable frame-rate high-definition video camera. Read the rest of this entry »

The 702T, 744T, and 788T include powerful time code functionality. One time code feature is the ability for the recorder’s time code clock to chase an external time code source. This is called “reader” mode. The time code value displayed by the recorder will indicate a +1 frame offset from the external master time code source when the master is in stop mode. This is normal behavior. Read the rest of this entry »

Sound Devices has made firmware revision 2.48 available for download and installation. 2.48 adds a few key features and corrects several known issues. Download here. Read the rest of this entry »

Since it began shipping, Sound Devices has received numerous inquiries concerning audio interconnection with the Red One camera and our field mixers and recorders. We elected to bring an example of the Red camera in-house for audio testing. Read the rest of this entry »

Sound Devices has heard from a few mixer customers experiencing difficulty removing AA batteries from the battery compartment of a field mixer, specifically the first two inserted cells. There are two reasons this would occur: Read the rest of this entry »

Since the conception of the 788T, Sound Devices engineering designed the recorder to make sure that it could be used in a bag in close proximity to wireless receivers without ill effect. The result: the 788T is a benchmark for digital recorders and RF performance. Read the rest of this entry »

7-Series recorders automatically switch from external DC power to the attached Li-ion battery when the external voltage falls below a 9 volt threshold (or the setup-menu set voltage on the 788T). This seamless switchover provides protection against sudden or unexpected loss of external power. Read the rest of this entry »

When two or more devices are intended to record or playback in sync, it is important to ensure that their word clock sources are locked together to prevent drift between the devices. For digital audio devices, audio sampling rate determines speed. For picture equipment, it is frame rate. Failure to lock audio devices can result in poor audio quality and/or lack of synchronization. Read the rest of this entry »

The 788T has been designed as a ‘big brother’ to the 744T recorder, offering many more inputs and greater headphone monitoring capabilities. Although it is designed as a recorder (not a mixer/recorder), it does offer some mixer-like functionality. One of these functions is the ability to use unused inputs as camera returns.

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The chart below shows speed test results for transfers between a 788T and a MacBook Pro. The selection of storage medium is based on common CompactFlash cards commercially available as of April 11, 2008 Read the rest of this entry »

Hard disk drives are mechanical devices and are susceptible to damage from physical shock. One type of physical shock, called operating shock, occurs when the disk is in operation. During operation, the drive head is typically over the drive platters reading and writing data. When a physical shock to the drive occurs during operation, the head and the platters can come into contact causing both components to be damaged. Read the rest of this entry »

Over the years, several accessory cables have come and gone. The XL-40 was a simple XLR male to XLR female cable with a switch-selected 40 dB pad. Read the rest of this entry »