High resolution digital audio recorder with time code (82 pages)
Summary of Contents for Sound Devices 788T
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High Resolution Digital Audio Recorder with Time Code User Guide and Technical Information fi rmware rev. 1.00 SATA 2.5" HDD Sound Devices, LLC 300 Wengel Drive • Reedsburg, WI • USA +1 (608) 524-0625 • fax: +1 (608) 524-0655 Toll-Free: (800) 505-0625 www.sounddevices.com...
Table of Contents Quick Start Guide ........3 Headphone Output .
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788T User Guide and Technical Information Audio File Formats ........40 Powering .
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LLC. SOUND DEVICES is not responsible for any use of this information. SOUND DEVICES, LLC shall not be liable to the purchaser of this product or third parties for damages, losses, costs, or expenses incurred by purchaser or third parties as a result of: accident, misuse, or abuse of this product or unauthorized modifi cations, repairs, or alterations to this product, or failure to strictly comply with SOUND DEVICES, LLC’s operating and installation instructions.
788T User Guide and Technical Information Quick Start Guide The 788T is an extremely powerful and fl exible portable audio recorder. Before recording, please familiarize yourself with the product. Several settings should be verifi ed or set based on individual recording needs.
Routing Inputs to Tracks Before recording, inputs must be assigned to tracks. Each of the 788T’s eight inputs (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8) can be assigned to any of the eight tracks (Left, Right, A, B, C, D, E, F). Any of the eight inputs can have its own isolated track, multiple inputs can be summed to the same track, or an input can be routed to multiple tracks.
Files on the 788T can be treated as if they are local fi les, including renaming fi les, copying, deleting and playing directly from the 788T hard drive. In general, it is good practice to copy audio fi les from the 788T to a computer before any processing is performed on the fi les.
788T User Guide and Technical Information Front Panel Descriptions All 788T settings can be accessed and monitored through the front panel LCD and navigation keys. This allows the unit to be placed in a production bag along with fi eld mixers and wireless transmit- ters and receivers.
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Power Key for about one second. is played back. Power/Charge LED Fast-Forward Key Indicates the 788T is powered and avail- Performs fast-forward (FF) scrubbing able for operation. Indicates the charge through the played fi le when pressed in status of the onboard battery charger.
LCD backlight key then the TONE key to bring up the front panel But- ton Lock Screen. Button lock prevents unintentional changing of settings or record status. The 788T displays any button lock options enabled. select the soft buttons to...
Accepts Sony ® InfoLithium L-Series bat- board use only. A keyboard can be used teries. Also accepts batteries conforming to remote control the 788T and enter to this mount. Numerous capacities, metadata. from 1500 mAh to 7000 mAh are avail- able.
Also used to at- Analog Output 5-6 tach external FAT32-formatted FireWire Unbalanced output on 3.5 mm TRS drives to the 788T for direct recording stereo connector. Program source and at- and copying. tenuation levels are user selectable. Tip FireWire 400 (IEEE-1394a) Port = left, ring = right, sleeve = ground.
5-8. Input type is set within the Input Settings Window. Pin-1 ground, pin-2 − (+), pin-3 ( Headphone Volume Adjusts the headphone volume. NOTE: the 788T is capable of producing ear- damaging levels in headphones. Please use with caution...
Indicates voltage level of the remov- Alternating display between the set date able battery or external power sources. and time of the 788T. This information is If present, external power overrides written as the creation and modifi cation battery power. Graphical bar for relative date for generated audio fi...
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Time Code Display (space remaining/record ready) In stop and record, shows the time code generated or received by the 788T. In Bar graph indicates amount of record play mode, the display shows the play time remaining on the internal hard fi...
788T User Guide and Technical Information Input Settings Window Descriptions To access the Input Settings Window push and hold the Input Selector Switch into the position of the desired input. Pushing the Input Selector Switch to the left will select the odd numbered inputs and pushing it to the right will select the even numbered inputs.
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788T User Guide and Technical Information Panning Control Channel Is Powered Down If the Input selected is a linked stereo The Input Settings Window cannot pair, the odd numbered inputs will dis- be accessed if the Input’s Gain Pot is play gain and the even numbered inputs switched to off.
788T User Guide and Technical Information Input Setup and Control The 788T has eight inputs and eight record tracks. Inputs can be analog or digital sources. Analog inputs 1-4 use XLR connectors; inputs 5-8 use TA3 connectors. Digital AES3 inputs 1-8 use the DB-15 (D-Sub) connector.
788T User Guide and Technical Information Input Type Select between Mic, Line, or Digital inputs using the MENU key while in the Input Settings Window. Input Type Input Connectors Gain Range XLR 1-4, TA3 5-8 Off (-infinity) 0 dB to 76 dB...
788T User Guide and Technical Information Track Assignments Control The Track Assignments Control allows the user to quickly view and edit the input-to-track routing for the selected input. The highlighted selections indicate the tracks that the input is currently routed To edit track assignments: Enter the Input Settings Window using the Input Selector Switch.
To use a digital input, the Input Type switch located in an input’s Input Settings Window must be set to Digital. Although a digital input signal contains a pair of channels, the 788T is able to select just one of the pair as an input, so for example, it is possible to select line or mic for Input 1 and digital...
Input Delay A digital delay is selectable on each channel of the 788T. Delay time per input is selectable in tenths of a millisecond (0.1 mS) steps up to 30 mS. Each input has its own designated Input Delay setup menu.
Sampling Rate and Bit Depth When recording the 788T generates uncompressed PCM audio WAV fi les in the Broadcast Wave File format at the user-selected sampling rate and bit depth. The 788T LCD calculates available recording time based on the sampling rate, bit depth, number of tracks set for recording and the selected stor- age media available capacity.
24 bit audio is truncated to 16 bit, meaning the least signifi cant 8 bits are discarded. Once a fi le is recorded its sampling rate and bit depth can not be changed in the recorder. The 788T does not perform sample rate conversion or bit depth changes. File conversion must be done in another environment, such as an audio workstation.
The 788T can act as a clock master, the provider of a reference clock, or as clock slave, where it locks its internal sample clock generator to a received external master reference clock. Neglecting synchro- nization can result in poor audio quality, sample clock timing errors, and time code drift.
Digital Inputs 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8 The 788T can be set to lock and derive its clock from any valid digital input pair even if the equiva- lent numbered analog input pair has been selected for recording. For example, sync reference is set to digital input 1-2 and inputs 1 and 2 are both set to MIC.
SCMS bit is not set. The output level of the digital outputs is not adjustable. Headphone Output The 788T headphone output is a fl exible tool for monitoring audio in the fi eld. The 788T allows the user to monitor inputs and tracks in a number of combinations. MS stereo and B-format surround decoding are also available in headphones.
You can exit the selection process by pressing the stop or cancel (backlight) key at any time. If you press (done) in the fi rst headphone slot, the 788T will select a single option (Tracks L, R) for head- phone monitoring.
788T User Guide and Technical Information Available audio sources for headphone monitoring include: HP Sources Description Inputs 1,2 Stereo monitoring of input pairs. Inputs 1, 3, 5, and 7 are assigned to left headphone Inputs 3,4 outputs; inputs 2, 4, 6, and 8 are assigned to right headphone outputs.
When recording four-channel B-format audio, the 788T headphone monitor can decode the B-format signal into L/R stereo. The 788T constructs a stereo signal using the W, X, and Y signals of the B- format. The Z-axis signal is not used. Similar to the 788T’s MS stereo monitoring, the stereo width is fi...
Headphone Warning Tones The 788T can generate an audible beep, or warning “bell”, in the headphones when an error has occurred. The specifi c error will be reported on the LCD. The output level of the warning bell can be adjusted from off or –60 to –12 dBFS from the Setup Menu.
Output Meter The meter uses energy effi cient LEDs which are viewable in full sunlight. The 788T output meter is unaffected by shock or extremes in temperature and humidity. Meter ballistics and peak hold dura- tions are selectable in the Setup Menu.
788T User Guide and Technical Information Peak/VU Peak/VU mode will display VU and Peak level information simultaneously. In this mode, the per- ceived loudness (VU) is displayed as it is in VU mode, and the Peak level is indicated by the upper- most LED.
788T User Guide and Technical Information audio fi le. To record tone, press the tone key and continue to hold it down while starting to record. Subsequent presses of the tone key are locked out to prevent tone from inadvertently being recorded.
All fi les generated by the 788T have time code numbers begin on the 0 frame (or 02 in DF modes). If necessary, pre-roll is dynamically applied to accomplish this. This simplifi es synchronization in post-pro- duction.
Counts 0.1% faster than real time. • 30+ – This setting is specifi c to Sound Devices recorders. Records at 48.048 sampling rate at 30 frames per second but stamps the fi le at 48kHz, 30 frames per second.
“jamming value” in the jam menu. Record Run The time code generator runs only when the 788T is recording. Time code in this mode defaults to 00:00:00:00 at power-up. When switching to record run from another mode, the internal generator will stop at the last number generated.
The internal time code generator follows an external time code signal appearing at the time code input. In all of the external time code modes the time code value set on the 788T appears as the re- corded fi le’s time code rate value.
LCD screen; the 788T internal generator, user bits, and frame rate are shown at the bottom of the screen. To jam the 788T from an external value, press soft key next to the jam button or the Multi-Function Rotary Switch. The screen will display JAMMING.
2 frames = 108 frames per hour. To sync the 788T to a video camera, fi rst determine if the camera is in drop frame or non-drop frame mode. If you, the DP or the producer are unsure about what setting to use, check with post-produc- tion, if possible.
The largest, most easily accessed control on the 788T is its record key. Recording takes priority over all activity except for disk formatting, disk speed tests, and fi le transfers. The 788T will immediately enter record mode whenever the record key is pressed. When recording, the adjacent red LED, the REC key, and LCD backlight will all illuminate red, to indicate that the unit is in record mode.
REC: MEDIA SELECT and FILE: FOLDER OPTIONS Setup Menu settings. AutoPlay The 788T can be set to play back all valid audio fi les in a directory. Files will play back in their order in the directory. Autoplay can be set with the following options: •...
fi le, its name is the same as the fi le’s name. In the 788T, a polyphonic take/fi le name comprises of a scene name, take number, and a fi le exten- sion. For example, for scene S01, take T01, the polyphonic fi le name and take name are both S01T01.
fi le name. Take numbers can be overridden and a new take number can be set in the setup menu. If the 788T detects a take/fi le with the same name in the destination folder, a letter suffi x, starting with “A”...
788T User Guide and Technical Information Take List The take list shows a sequential listing of the last 200 recorded takes, without regard to what folder they have been recorded in. In the case where a take was recorded polyphonically, its take name will be the same as its fi...
788T User Guide and Technical Information False Take Control To identify a take as a false take, perform the following: Press stop to end recording. Wait for the fi le to fi nish writing, the activity LED will turn from orange to green.
788T User Guide and Technical Information Circle Take Take names can be altered to include the “@” symbol preceding the fi le name. This can be used to highlight a take as a “circle take”. Circle takes are often used to identify good takes for transferring.
File Time and Date Similar to a computer fi le system, all fi les recorded by the 788T are stamped with the time and date of fi le generation. To ensure that accurate time-of-day and fi le generation dates are written for each fi...
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If no TOP-LEVEL folder is used the MID-LEVEL folder will reside at the drive’s root. If set to <DAILY> a new folder will be created daily. When recording past midnight the 788T will prompt to make to a new daily folder.
Enter the File Viewer. By default the File Viewer opens to the location of the last take recorded or played back. The 788T knows this fi le name by reading a .txt fi le written to the 788T each time the unit records or plays audio.
Any fi le or folder located on any of the storage media, can be deleted. Permanently deleting fi les is a two-step process. Similar to Mac OS and Windows operating systems, the 788T uses a “trash” folder to temporarily hold fi les which have been deleted. To send a fi le to the trash, perform the following: Press the HDD key to enter the File Viewer.
Press OPTIONS, then choose Set Copy Flag or Clr Copy Flag respectively. If the item contains sub-fold- ers, the 788T will display the following prompt: All fi les created by the 788T have their Copy Flag set to on by factory default. v. 1.00...
Error Conditions: If a fi le is too large for the destination storage media, the 788T will prompt to skip it or cancel copy- ing. If an error occurs during fi le copying, the 788T will prompt to cancel the transfer. When the destination storage media is full, the 788T will report the error and end the transfer.
788T User Guide and Technical Information Press the check mark soft key or CTRL + Enter from a USB Keyboard to save Notes. Pressing the X soft- key or Esc on a USB Keyboard will cancel the Notes entry. Using an external keyboard via the USB Keyboard Input the entry of notes is much quicker than using the Multi-Function Rotary Switch.
Formatting the drive prevents fragmentation and reduces the likelihood of directory cor- ruption. Be certain that all fi les on the 788T drive have been backed up to another media before formatting. Once formatted, all data on the drive will be erased. Dynamic lists such as track names, scene names, folder options, etc...
Media Repair Utility Included in the software for the 788T is a basic media repair utility. The utility is similar to Windows “scandisk” with added capabilities specifi c to WAV fi les. This utility can be run after improper media removal, or in the event of a write error during recording.
CompactFlash (CF) is a practical, portable storage medium for audio recording. Its speed, capacity, and price continue to evolve to the benefi t of portable recorders. The 788T can write to and read from CF cards as either its sole storage medium or simultaneously with the internal hard drive.
After recording to CF has stopped, it may take several seconds for the 788T to fi nish “housekeeping” on CF. When preparing to remove the CF, always observe the CF activity LED. If it is lit yellow or red, wait until it turns green before removing the card.
FAT32 volumes. Upon connection to an unformatted (or non-FAT32 formatted) external drive, the 788T will prompt the user to format the drive. If the drive is already formatted as a FAT32 volume the drive will be ready to be selected as a storage medium. The front panel drive LED will illuminate to show which drives are available for recording.
FireWire drives use a variety of chipsets to perform conversion from the drive’s native format (i.e. IDE) to FireWire. To check for compatibility with the 788T attach a FireWire drive and run the media speed test selected from the Setup Menu. This will write, then read a fi le to the drive. If the drive can perform this test then it can be used to record audio.
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Make certain the 788T battery is fully charged, or connect to external DC. Connect the 788T to the host computer with a FireWire 400, FireWire 800, or USB cable. No drivers are required if the computer meets the requirements listed in Specifi cations If the 788T doesn’t search for the computer connection initialize the FireWire/USB connection...
When the battery drops to 6.9 V, the LCD voltage display will begin fl ashing and the power LED will also fl ash red to warn that the battery is nearly depleted. When the voltage reaches 6.5 volts the 788T will power down—any recordings in-process will automatically be closed (stopped).
L-Mount battery. If no external DC is connected, the internal Li-ion battery is charged from the removable L-Mount battery. Accurate time code is held for six hours after power down. The 788T can be powered down and the removable battery can be removed and replaced without worry of time code jumps or inaccuracy.
The best determination of your run time is to experiment with a given record- ing setup. The 788T power consumption varies over a range between 4 W to 20 W (12 volts), depending on ac- tive functions. The following functions have the most signifi cant affect on power consumption: Inputs Active inputs increase power consumption.
Transfer the fi rmware fi le (it will be named VERSION _ NUMBER.PRG) to the 788T internal hard drive via FireWire/USB or onto a CF card. If there are multiple fi rmware fi les on the media, the 788T will indicate the fi...
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788T User Guide and Technical Information To verify that the PRG fi le selected is correct the 788T will ask “Are you sure?” Press the Multi-Function Rotary Switch or the tone key to say yes. The 788T will begin fi rmware upgrade and validation. Progress is indicated with a bar graph.
DB15 connector. The 788T does not support the CL-1 Remote Roll Accessory for the 702, 702T, 722, and 744T recorders. The keyboard interface and logic I/O have been integrated into the 788T’s design, negating the reason for the CL-1 accessory.
Goes to the end of the string being edited Assignable Shortcuts Keyboard shortcuts can be programmed to control nearly every function on the 788T. Shortcuts can select and change menu items with a simple key strokes. Combinations of computer keyboard func- tion keys, along with Control-, Alt-, and Shift- can also be programmed.
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788T User Guide and Technical Information To program a shortcut perform the following steps: Enter the KEYBOARD/LOGIC IN: ASSIGN Setup Menu selection. Shortcut number. Up to 50 shortcuts can be programmed Select an unassigned shortcut number for programming. If a duplicate key sequence is selected the low- est shortcut number action takes place.
The Logic output is able to source or sink up to 500 mA. The logic output pin can be set to go high or low when record is initiated on the 788T. The setting is made in the Setup Menu option LOGIC OUT: ASSIGN.
788T User Guide and Technical Information Setup Menu The Setup Menu controls a wide range of parameters for the 788T, including all audio routing, recording settings, and time code options. The Setup Menu is a single, fl at architecture with no sub- menus, easing navigation.
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- takes reset on either change Rec: Pre-Roll Time Selects the amount of pre-roll time 0–10 sec. @ 48 kHz 2 Seconds the 788T will add to the beginning of each file. Rec: Timer Start Sets a specific start time/date for <enter time, date>...
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• 4 GB 2 GB CF (1.8 GB) will close, then start a new file. The • 2 GB 788T will not record a file larger than • 1 GB CF the selected size. • 640 MB • 4 GB CF (3.6 GB) The largest file permissible with the •...
788T User Guide and Technical Information Setup Name Setup Description Setup Options Factory Default Time Code: Frame Sets the time code frame rate. All • 23.976 Rate common time code frame rates are • 24 available. • 25 • 29.97 •...
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788T User Guide and Technical Information Setup Name Setup Description Setup Options Factory Default Time/Date: Set Sets the internal date and time of the <time, date> 788T. Clock is not set until <done> is selected Resetting the time re-jams the internal time code generator to the set time.
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Caution, while various PC utilities are • Empty both able to recover files from a re-format- ted drive, once formatted old audio data is not accessible by the 788T. INHDD: Repair Runs a utility to repair minor errors in the directory (FAT) of the drive.
By entering QUICK SETUP from the Setup Menu, selecting SAVE USER TO INHDD/CF the user can save or restore parameters to and from this data fi le. This binary fi le is named 788T.SUP and is saved in the SOUNDDEV directory on the medium selected in the setup menu.
Front Panel Button Shortcuts To speed navigation the 788T has numerous navigation “shortcuts”. For combinations, hold down the fi rst identifi ed key and continue to hold while pressing the next keys. Function Key Sequence...
788T User Guide and Technical Information Connector Pin Assignments Each connector type, electrical characteristics, and pin assignment is shown below. Connector Pin Assignments Notes 1 – ground 3.3k ohm input impedance, mic and line level active- Analog Inputs 1-4 2 – signal (+) balanced 3 –...
3 – AES 5,6 Output (+) DC powering and is therefore ideal as a single umbili- 4 – AES 7,8 Input (+) cal connection between the 788T and an external digital 5 – AES 5,6 Input (+) mixer. 6 – EXT DC (-) Ground 7 –...
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788T User Guide and Technical Information Output Analog Line Output Clipping +24 dBu, 10k ohm load Level Attenuation & Resolution 0–20 dB, 1 dB increments Output Topology Line: fully electronically-balanced, RF, ESD, short, and overload protected; pin-2 driven hot, pin-3 driven cold; let pin-3 float for unbalanced connections.
788T User Guide and Technical Information Environmental Operation and Storage ambient temperature 5–55° C, relative humidity (non-condensing) <80% Other Tone Oscillator 100 Hz–10 kHz, variable output, assigned to tracks or outputs (menu-selectable) Dimensions and Weight Size 45 mm x 257 mm x 163 mm (H x W x D) 1.8”...
161.8 323.6 The chart above shows recording time available with the 788T. Time is expressed in hours per track (track-hours) at the specifi ed data rate supported by the 788T. If recording two tracks, divide the track hours fi gure by two. Similarly for eight-track recording, divide track-hours by eight. Note that the 788T supports additional sampling rate / bit depth combinations, however, only the most com- mon are included below.
788T User Guide and Technical Information Appendix B – Metadata Implementation 788T Broadcast wave fi les include iXML (revision 1.5) data and bEXT chunk data. For bEXT and iXML-aware software applications this data is available. For applications that don’t recognize bEXT or iXML, this information is ignored.
Duplicate File Names When the 788T detects that a duplicate fi le name is going to be generated in any specifi c folder, the 788T changes the fi le name by adding of a letter suffi x before the extension. For instance, if take numbers are reset but fi...
Appendix D- FAT32 and Maximum File Size The 788T storage volumes (internal hard drive, CF, external drives) are formatted and write to FAT32 fi le structures. This structure allows these drives to directly mount in a wide variety of computer platforms, including Windows and Mac OS.
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BNC to BNC cable, to connect word clock from external sources XL-BNC to the 788T for synchronizing the 788T; also used to sync external devices from the word clock of the 788T. XL-DVDRAM An external bus-powered FireWire DVD Multi-drive. Based on the...
According to ISO/IEC Guide 22 Sound Devices, LLC 300 Wengel Drive Reedsburg, WI 53959 USA declares that the product, 788T Professional Digital Audio Recorder is in conformity with and passes: 89/336/EEC EMC Directive EN 55103-1, 1997 EMC-Product Family Standard for Audio, Video, Audio-Visual and Entertainment Lighting Control Apparatus for Professional use.
Sound Devices cannot guarantee that a given computer, software, or operating system confi gura- tion can be used satisfactorily with the 788T based exclusively on the fact that it meets our minimum system requirements. Please check with your software editing application to make certain that it is compatible with the fi le type selected.
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788T User Guide and Technical Information...
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