Sound Devices, LLC - Portable, Professional Audio

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. (more…)

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. (more…)

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. (more…)

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. (more…)

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. (more…)

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. (more…)

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. (more…)

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. (more…)

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. (more…)

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. (more…)

The internal hard drive of the 722 and 744T can be removed and replaced if the drive is damaged or if a different capacity drive is required. In typical service conditions Sound Devices recommends hard drive replacement once every three years. (more…)

DVD-RAM is a convenient interchange medium between audio recorders and post production. While DVD-RAM disks share the same size and capacity as DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, and DVD+RW disks, it is easier to think of DVD-RAM as an “optical hard disk”. (more…)

FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) is a lossless data compression format available as a file format on 702, 702T, 722, and 744T recorders. The FLAC algorithm is very processor intensive, and subsequently has several limitations. (more…)

Solid state hard drives, or SSD drives, are becoming a feasible storage medium for portable recorders and computers. Like CompactFlash cards, SSD drives have no moving parts and greatly extend the environmental operating conditions of the recorders. (more…)

Q: I’m running an XL-DVDRAM with my 702T, and am using it to copy/back-up the files I record on the 702T. I noticed that you recommend 5X DVD-RAMs for this, but that 3X would work. (more…)

Sound Devices accessory XL-DVDRAM multi-drive attaches directly to 7-Series recorders. When connected to the 7-Series, only DVD-RAM media is supported. (more…)

Q: Is there anything to watch out for when using high capacity (60, 80, 100 GB) hard drives? (more…)

Q: Is there a particular brand of CF cards/size/speed that works best with the 7-Series recorders? There are numerous options available on the market. (more…)

Sound Devices 722, 744T, 788T, and 788T-SSD include internal, 2.5-inch drive mechanisms. These are industry-standard storage mechanisms that can be user-replaced. (more…)