Recording System; Program; Remain Indicator; Channel And Track - Fostex VF-16 Owner's Manual

RECORDING System

Unlike conventional systems, the VF-16 records on a
hard disk storage device, instead of cassette tape.
Sound source recording can start from any point on
a formatted disk, as long as the point is within a 24
hour time range in ABS time. Note that it is also
possible to move (locate) to any point within that time
range, as well. Just think of the VF-16 as coming with
a tape that is pre-programmed with a 24 hour counter.
ABS0
00m 00s 05m 00s 10m 00s
recorded area unrecorded area
You can record at any point within 24 hours in ABS time.
The REC time of cassette tape type recorders vary
according to the REC time of the tape. Recording with
the VF-16 is more efficient since unrecorded areas of
the disk are not used although the REC time is not
unlimited.
unrecorded 5 minute recording 5 minute recording
recorded area recorded area

PROGRAM

You can use up to a maximum of 99 "24-hour time
counted tapes" with the VF-16. This tape is called a
"Program".
Note that a program exists individually on the hard
disk. Therefore, each respective program can be freely
recorded, played and edited without affecting other
programs. A program can be named with a program
title, making it easier to identify and file the musical
piece. In the usual menu, the Program appears on the
LCD as shown in the following Figure.
Program: P01
Title: #0001

REMAIN Indicator

The REMAIN indicator shows how much recording
time is left on hard disk in use.
The VF-16 is controlled with a 24-hour clocked
program. Note that the REC time varies according to
how much space there is left on the hard disk.
By switching the LCD, the VF-16 remain display
appears in the following manner, as shown in the
figure below. The rough recordable time is on the hard
disk is computed in terms of a mono-track basis. The
value indicates the available recordable time and disk
space when recording one mono track.
REC END
23h 59m 59s
15m 00s
unrecorded area ......
recorded area
24 hour recording
......
unrecorded area (remain)
Remain Time
3h 07m
A mono-track refers to one track. Therefore, a mono-
track REMAIN time is the recordable length on the
hard disk space available when recording only one
track.
It is possible to compute the recordable time by
dividing the REMAIN time with the number of tracks
to record. Therefore, if four tracks are simultaneously
recorded, then the recordable time is 46 minutes (3
hours 7 minutes divided by 4). If eight tracks are
simultaneously recorded then the recordable time is
23 minutes (divided by 8), and for sixteen tracks the
recordable time would be 12 minutes (divided by 16).
The VF-16 manages up to 99 programs on the hard
disk. Note that the space on the hard disk is slightly
reduced as the number of programs increase, since
each program contains various settings, in addition
to the REC data.
Therefore, it is important to always check the REMAIN
time left prior to starting the recording, to ensure that
you have enough hard disk space to work with.
A shortage of hard disk space will stop the recording.

CHANNEL and TRACK

According to this manual, "channel" refers to mixer
items and "track" refers to recorder items.
For example, a sentence may read as follows.
"One track of recorder play music will be started on
the channel 1 fader of the mixer." "Eight channels
worth of signals from input A to H will be recorded on
tracks 7 and 8 of the recorder."

ADDITIONAL TRACK

One program on the VF-16 consists of 24 tracks.
The user can record, play and edit Tracks 1-16.
There are also 8 additional tracks (17-24). These 24
tracks can be alternately exchanged in one track or
an 8 track block. This is called track exchange.
This makes it possible to record solo parts on several
tracks, exchange the parts and compare the results.
The rhythm section recorded on multiple tracks can
also be completely exchanged and remixed with this
feature, which is a convenience in numerous ways.
Note that tracks 17-24 cannot be recorded, played or
edited. They must be exchanged with tracks 1-16 to
execute these features.
9
Hard disk space
1,000MB=1GB