Chapter 1: Introduction; About The Ai-1 - Alesis AI-1 Reference Manual

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

1.0 ABOUT THE AI-1

Congratulations! You've just purchased a powerful tool that will
enhance your ADAT system with incredible digital audio routing
flexibility. The AI-1 Digital Interface and Sample Rate Converter
provides you a way of routing any two ADAT tracks to another
digital recording system, or the other way around, and will convert
the sampling rate as needed. The AI-1 is essential for either
recording digital audio from other sources onto ADAT, or mixing
down a 2 track mix from ADAT to a DAT machine or CD recorder,
all while remaining in the digital domain. Here are some of the
features the AI-1 will provide you:
• High quality, dual-channel digital interface. The AI-1 provides
the connection between AES/EBU, S/PDIF and ADAT digital
formats. With it, you can interface your ADAT digital audio with
various professional and consumer digital audio products (such
as DAT and CD recorders, and digital audio workstations) with
the assurance that the audio never leaves the digital domain.
• Sample rate conversion. The AI-1 can automatically detect the
sampling rate of an incoming digital audio source. When you
want to convert that source, it will transform a 44.1kHz clock to
48kHz, or vice-versa. When routing ADAT digital audio to
another digital destination, the AI-1 can convert the ADAT's
48kHz sample rate to 44.1kHz (this is especially useful for
creating a mix that's ready for transfer to CD).
• Sample accurate syncing capabilities. Using ADAT's exclusive
Proprietary Synchronization Interface, the AI-1 keeps perfect time
with the system. Each ADAT tape is "formatted" with a
proprietary Alesis time code that is much more accurate than
SMPTE or other time code systems. This process time-stamps the
tape to an incredible single-sample accuracy; that is, 1/48,000th of
a second. The AI-1 uses the ADAT's timecode to keep perfectly
synchronized while transferring digital audio.
• Simple to use. The AI-1's front panel is extremely easy to
understand and operate. Just select the source, destination,
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