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Sound Devices Technical Notes

788T Firmware Revision 1.75 Now Available

Firmware revision 1.75 for the 788T is now available for downloading. This revision is required for operation of the CL-2 Remote Control and is highly recommended for all users. The download page includes the complete change list.

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302 High-Pass Filters

Each input on the 302 mixer has a two-position high-pass filter. High-pass filters allow high frequency signals to pass while attenuating low frequency signals. High pass filters are useful at reducing wind noise, microphone handling noise, and room noise while having little effect on speech reproduction. Read the rest of this entry »

Copying Individual Files Between Drives with 7-Series Recorders

The following tech note describes how to copy individual files from one storage media to another from within the 7-Series Recorders. There are two slightly different methods, one for the 788T/788T-SSD models, and one for 702, 702T, 722, 744T  recorders. Read the rest of this entry »

Drive Repair Utility and 7-Series Recorders

In early revisions of firmware for the 702, 702T, 722, 744T, and 788T recorders, a drive repair utility was an available menu item. This utility was removed from the recorders in firmware revision 2.61 (702, 702T, 722, and 744T) and 1.51 (788T).  Read the rest of this entry »

Replacing the Internal Drive in the 788T

The internal drive of the 788T and 788T-SSD can be removed and replaced if the drive is damaged, a different capacity drive is required, or if upgrading to a Solid State Drive (SSD). In typical service conditions Sound Devices recommends hard drive replacement once every three years. Read the rest of this entry »

Track-to-Media Assignments Introduced in 788T Firmware 1.71

Firmware revision 1.71 for the 788T/788T-SSD recorders introduces powerful new control over the selection of recording tracks sent to recording media. Any recording track, from the 12 available, can be recorded to any recording media (CompactFlash, internal drive, or external FireWire drive). This means that each of the available recording media can be recorded with unique track configurations. Read the rest of this entry »

788T and 788T-SSD Power Consumption Comparison

There are many advantages to recording to solid-state hard drives (SSD), including improved mechanical robustness, faster transfer speeds, and silent operation. Additionally, the 788T-SSD has 96 GB of additional on-board of storage space versus the 788T. Regarding power consumption, the power consumption (and therefore run time) between the spinning hard drive in the hard drive-equipped 788T and the SSD in the 788T-SSD is nearly identical. Read the rest of this entry »

What Happens if Power is Lost During Recording?

Reliable, rock-solid recording is the single most important design criteria of Sound Devices recorders. 7-Series recorders are built upon a highly-stable, dedicated hardware and firmware foundation. Recording integrity is further enhanced through a process of periodic, automatic file directory and header updates written to disk during recording. This ensures file integrity in the unlikely event of a total loss of power. Read the rest of this entry »

Firmware Revision 2.63 Available for 702, 702T, 722, and 744T

Firmware revision 2.63 is now available for the 702, 702T, 722, and 744T recorders. This new firmware includes several fixes and numerous additional features. Read the rest of this entry »

High Sampling Rate Recording with the 788T

788T firmware version 1.65 introduces the ability to record multiple tracks at 88.2 and 96 kHz sampling rates. These rates are typically used in ultra high fidelity recording applications, such as classical music recording, test & measurement applications, or sound FX recording. Read the rest of this entry »

More Solid State Drive Tests with 7-Series Recorders

Since our first Sound Note on solid-state hard drives, the technology of SSDs has improved. Drives continue to gain capacity, speed, while their prices continue to drop. This is Moore’s Law at its finest and the trend has no signs of stopping. Read the rest of this entry »

Linking Multiple 788T Recorders for Simultaneous Recording

When 8 inputs and 12 tracks aren’t enough, multiple 788T recorders can be connected for multi-unit recording. The note below describes the process of linking three 788T recorders together for a total of 24 inputs and 36 tracks. Read the rest of this entry »

Saving a Setup File on 7-Series Recorders

7-Series recorders have the ability to save a user-defined Setup File. This Setup File includes all settings selected in the menu and can be saved to the recorder’s internal hard drive or to a CompactFlash card. Read the rest of this entry »

Wave Agent on Linux

Wine is a Windows application loader for the Linux operating system with a well-established history. Using wine, it is possible to install and run the Windows version of Wave Agent beta on Linux, with a few limitations. Wine is available in the official repositories of most popular Linux distributions. Read the rest of this entry »

788T Input and Track Relationship – v 1.60

With revision 1.60 firmware for the 788T,  the unit has gained four record tracks, for a total of twelve. Each of the eight 788T inputs can be routed to any of the twelve tracks in limitless combination. Read the rest of this entry »

7-Series DC Power Supply Overview

The 7-Series recorders are powered by either a removable Li-ion battery or external DC sources. Sound Devices includes a DC power supply with the unit. The specific supply and its output power varies, based on the time of purchase. Read the rest of this entry »

788T Powering from Li-ion Batteries

All 7-Series recorders, including the 788T, operate from removable, rechargeable Li-ion batteries. On power up, the 788T briefly draws more current from these Li-ion batteries than during continuous operation. This “in-rush” current is caused by the numerous circuits initially being energized. Read the rest of this entry »

Wave Agent Beta 1.05 Now Available

Sound Devices has released revision 1.05 of its powerful Wave Agent file utility software. This new revision adds several new features and includes numerous bug fixes. Download Wave Agent Beta 1.05 here. Read the rest of this entry »

Record Time Calculations

Before file-based recording technology was introduced for portable recording, planning storage needs was straight forward—buy enough medium (tape) to cover the recording time. In analog, a 7-inch reel at 7-1/2 ips lasts 33 minutes. A 120 minute DAT tape lasts…120 minutes, whether recorded in mono or stereo.

Sound Devices has a powerful web-based record time calculator available here. Read the rest of this entry »

AES 42 Support in 788T

Sound Devices introduces AES 42 digital microphone support in the 788T with firmware revision 1.5 beta. AES 42 is a protocol for direct digital interconnection between microphones and devices, such as mixers and recorders. Read the rest of this entry »