Topic: Tascam DR-70D Firmware Update Requests

[voltronic]

FAQ thread has been moved here: http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=172795.0

This thread has been locked to bring discussion to main DR-70D discussion threads:
Part 1: http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=170230.0
Part 2: http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=172109.0

[leehookem]

Thanks for putting this together.  I included it at the top of the first page on Part 2.

[sperho]

Outstanding. Thank you for assembling.

[voltronic]

Thanks for putting this together.  I included it at the top of the first page on Part 2.

Thanks.  You have a lot of great info there, but I didn't feel the need to copy it here and instead linked the first page of this thread.

[F.O.Bean]

Awesome thanks And I didn't realize that when HOLD is engaged, that the gain knobs don't work either I would prefer EVERYTHING to be locked while hold is ON, BUT the gain knobs!

And I wish that you could monitor channels 1/2 and 3/4 separately as well!

About the MONO/Stereo/2MIX settings. Which one does the Sony M10 do? Mono or stereo files? Because id prefer the 70D be the same setting as the M10 is [either Mono or Stereo]. I understand what the 2MIX is and I don't EVER see a need to use that feature

[voltronic]

About the MONO/Stereo/2MIX settings. Which one does the Sony M10 do? Mono or stereo files? Because id prefer the 70D be the same setting as the M10 is [either Mono or Stereo]. I understand what the 2MIX is and I don't EVER see a need to use that feature

M10 makes a stereo track, panned hard left and right.  STEREO on the 70D would be what you're looking for - it creates two stereo tracks every time you hit REC: one of channels 1/2 and the other 3/4.  Just be sure to check your PAN settings under BASIC to make sure they're set correctly.

[phil_er_up]

Very nice job voltronic. Thank you and everyone who contributed to it.

[voltronic]

Edited to better match the Issues with the Firmware Requests, and added the Petrol PS617 gear bag which was reported to work well (and have lots of extra room).

[Cheesecadet]

I use a lowepro nova 5 and have lots if room for cables, external pre, mics, etc.

[voltronic]

I use a lowepro nova 5 and have lots if room for cables, external pre, mics, etc.

I'll add it to the list, but it's discontinued so it might be hard to come by unless you're looking used.

[rockymtnryan]

So I haven't run 4 channels with this yet, but you're saying when I do I won't be able to see levels on channels 3/4?  They're just blank? Or it just copies what is shown for 1/2? Confused.

[Cheesecadet]

So I haven't run 4 channels with this yet, but you're saying when I do I won't be able to see levels on channels 3/4?  They're just blank? Or it just copies what is shown for 1/2? Confused.

It shows levels for all inputs

[rockymtnryan]

^^Thanks

[F.O.Bean]

Has anyone ran this with 4 channels WITHOUT phantom power at 24/96, with AAs? I'll be using my 70D with preamps in front of it most of the time so... If so, how long did it run? I am getting mine Friday, and don't have the scratch for the ravpower batteries yet, so I HAVE to use AAs

Also, at what level does the 'Peak' light actually come on? Other than those two questions, I think I have the rest figured out

TIA
Bean

[F.O.Bean]

Also, upon looking at pics at B+H, I noticed that the front screen DOESN'T show you what bit/sample rate you're recording at. Is this true? And everyone is running firmware 1.02, correct? I already have it downloaded onto my PC REALLY wish the screen showed what bit/sample rate you're recording at!

[stevetoney]

For what it's worth, I spend an hour or more researching pouches and cases for the DR-70D earlier today.  My goal was to find something that would fit the recorder just right, so that I could insert it into my larger gear bag so that it's protected from the various metal things I have in my bag.  This is a lesson learned from owning my DR100MKII, which looks like total crap now simply from bag wear. 

For what it's worth, the Tascam specs state that the unit is 6.65in x 4.2in x 2.2in.  This is with the top adapter attached.

Here is what I found...links are all to B&H.

Hard cases:

Pelican 1060 ($18.95)  Interior dimensions 8.2in x 4.25in x 2.25in
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/257892-REG/Pelican_1060_025_110_1060_Solid_Micro_Case.html

Soft cases:

Domke F-901 ($22.99)  Internal dimesions 9in x 5in x 3in
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/16048-REG/Domke_710_10B_F_901_Compact_Pouch_Black.html

Zing Designs Drawstring Pouch LPB1 ($11.99)  Interior dimensions 9in x 4.5in
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/75807-REG/Zing_Designs_562_322_LPB1_Large_Drawstring_Pouch.html/prm/alsVwDtl

Auray Zippered Furlined Pouch ($9.99)  Interior dimensions 9in x 5in
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1061478-REG/auray_mic_pouch_zippered_pouch_for_hh.html

Windtech Zippered Pouch ($7.99)  Interior Dimensions 10.5in x 5.5in
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/316717-REG/WindTech_B_1_B_1_Microphone_Pouch.html/prm/alsVwDtl

[voltronic]

For what it's worth, I spend an hour or more researching pouches and cases for the DR-70D earlier today.  My goal was to find something that would fit the recorder just right, so that I could insert it into my larger gear bag so that it's protected from the various metal things I have in my bag.  This is a lesson learned from owning my DR100MKII, which looks like total crap now simply from bag wear. 

For what it's worth, the Tascam specs state that the unit is 6.65in x 4.2in x 2.2in.  This is with the top adapter attached.

Here is what I found...links are all to B&H.

Hard cases:

Pelican 1060 ($18.95)  Interior dimensions 8.2in x 4.25in x 2.25in
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/257892-REG/Pelican_1060_025_110_1060_Solid_Micro_Case.html

Soft cases:

Domke F-901 ($22.99)  Internal dimesions 9in x 5in x 3in
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/16048-REG/Domke_710_10B_F_901_Compact_Pouch_Black.html

Zing Designs Drawstring Pouch LPB1 ($11.99)  Interior dimensions 9in x 4.5in
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/75807-REG/Zing_Designs_562_322_LPB1_Large_Drawstring_Pouch.html/prm/alsVwDtl

Auray Zippered Furlined Pouch ($9.99)  Interior dimensions 9in x 5in
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1061478-REG/auray_mic_pouch_zippered_pouch_for_hh.html

Windtech Zippered Pouch ($7.99)  Interior Dimensions 10.5in x 5.5in
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/316717-REG/WindTech_B_1_B_1_Microphone_Pouch.html/prm/alsVwDtl

Hmm... maybe these items should have their own separate category on the FAQ.  Something like "protective cases"?

[voltronic]

Updated with Tonedeaf's list of protective cases.  Thanks for doing all that research!

[Rally_AK]

I picked up a couple Auray wide mouth bags for my LD's and I'm super impressed with their build quality. The fabric and zippers used can definitely withstand some abuse. My only complaint is I wish the foam padding was either a little thicker or more dense.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1079363-REG/auray_wmc_100_wide_mouth_microphone.html

[stevetoney]

I picked up a couple Auray wide mouth bags for my LD's and I'm super impressed with their build quality. The fabric and zippers used can definitely withstand some abuse. My only complaint is I wish the foam padding was either a little thicker or more dense.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1079363-REG/auray_wmc_100_wide_mouth_microphone.html

I ordered the Auray fur-lined pouch from that list that I posted above.  I'll report back how well it fits.

[ts]

I'm about two days into playing with this. Hopefully get out to a show soon. Only question I have so far is the 2mix setting. This will combine 1/2 and 3/4 into one stereo file? I can see doing that with four Mics but not a SBD feed. I also might try the delay at 2 venues that I am sure of the distance between stage and SBD. Still will want to mix in post.

[Craig T]

Here's something I learned this past weekend at Wanee.  When you engage the hold button, it locks out all controls, including the gain knobs.  When you disengage the hold, the gain will change to whatever setting the gain knobs are at that time.  I had the hold engaged, levels began to run hot/over, I adjusted the gain knobs first, realized I needed to disengage the hold, and when I disengaged the hold I had horribly overcorrected the gain and my levels were now way too low.  This resulted in an ugly swing in levels that I'll have to fix in post that could have been completely avoided.

[Life In Rewind]

Here's something I learned this past weekend at Wanee.  When you engage the hold button, it locks out all controls, including the gain knobs.  When you disengage the hold, the gain will change to whatever setting the gain knobs are at that time.  I had the hold engaged, levels began to run hot/over, I adjusted the gain knobs first, realized I needed to disengage the hold, and when I disengaged the hold I had horribly overcorrected the gain and my levels were now way too low.  This resulted in an ugly swing in levels that I'll have to fix in post that could have been completely avoided.

Wow good catch. That really makes using Hold risky. Too easy to forget it's on - move your levels once and you're screwed.

It would be cool if they could just lock out the transport features in Hold - and still allow the levels to be adjusted (or make it an option in one of the screens.)

Firmware fix...

What does this say about the gain controls though - are they digital? - just indexed somehow - (and not the infinite twist kind?)

Speculation has been they are analog - but maybe not...?

[stevetoney]

^ FWIW, this was discussed in the body of the 70D thread.  Not saying this to be a smart-@$$ because we all know that it's a PITA to read through that thread.  I'm pretty sure it was concluded that the front gains knobs are digital, but yeah it was definitely suggested that leaving the gain controls off of the hold scheme would be a good firmware suggestion...or at least giving a user selectable option.  Those knobs seem to move really easily, so I can definitely see where some people might prefer leaving it the way it currently is set up if they're concerned the knobs might get bumped.   

[voltronic]

^ FWIW, this was discussed in the body of the 70D thread.  Not saying this to be a smart-@$$ because we all know that it's a PITA to read through that thread.  I'm pretty sure it was concluded that the front gains knobs are digital, but yeah it was definitely suggested that leaving the gain controls off of the hold scheme would be a good firmware suggestion...or at least giving a user selectable option.  Those knobs seem to move really easily, so I can definitely see where some people might prefer leaving it the way it currently is set up if they're concerned the knobs might get bumped.

Also not to pile on, I had that in the FAQ under Known Issues.  The pots are not pots but are digital encoders.  The good news is that they'll never get scratchy like analog pots, although I imagine if they wear out you could get bogus data being sent.  Think of the acceleration problems Toyota was having with bad throttle position sensors, which operate on the same principle.  Except in this case it's like you have cruise control on, you move the gas pedal and it does nothing until cruise is disengaged.

[Life In Rewind]

^ FWIW, this was discussed in the body of the 70D thread.  Not saying this to be a smart-@$$ because we all know that it's a PITA to read through that thread.  I'm pretty sure ...

Yeah - we already know you're a smart ass....thanks - sorry I've missed some posts. Think I was one of the early adopters of the 70D...sorry to be a nuisance member!

[Life In Rewind]

^ FWIW, this was discussed in the body of the 70D thread.  Not saying this to be a smart-@$$ because we all know that it's a PITA to read through that thread.  I'm pretty sure it was concluded that the front gains knobs are digital, but yeah it was definitely suggested that leaving the gain controls off of the hold scheme would be a good firmware suggestion...or at least giving a user selectable option.  Those knobs seem to move really easily, so I can definitely see where some people might prefer leaving it the way it currently is set up if they're concerned the knobs might get bumped.

Also not to pile on, I had that...

OK then...my apologies.

[stevetoney]

^ FWIW, this was discussed in the body of the 70D thread.  Not saying this to be a smart-@$$ because we all know that it's a PITA to read through that thread.  I'm pretty sure ...

Yeah - we already know you're a smart ass....thanks - sorry I've missed some posts. Think I was one of the early adopters of the 70D...sorry to be a nuisance member!

 

Chill pill man.  No sorry's needed and nobody's a nuisance except for the one guy that's the subject of a couple other threads.  Was just trying to help answer your questions and direct you to where the discussion had happened already.

[F.O.Bean]

Yeah, or have the option so that the gain doesn't jump when hold is disengaged!!! Got mine today and I'm already running mk4>PFA>70D on 1/2 and mk41>vms02ib>70D on 3/4. Plus vms02ib>m10 as a backup. Only things I don't like are the Hold/Gain things, and the screen doesn't show the sample/bit rate. Also, being able to monitor 1/2 and 3/4 separately would be nice! Other than that, its a great, sturdy little recorder and I think I'll love it as long as its reliable

[voltronic]

Yeah, or have the option so that the gain doesn't jump when hold is disengaged!!! Got mine today and I'm already running mk4>PFA>70D on 1/2 and mk41>vms02ib>70D on 3/4. Plus vms02ib>m10 as a backup. Only things I don't like are the Hold/Gain things, and the screen doesn't show the sample/bit rate. Also, being able to monitor 1/2 and 3/4 separately would be nice! Other than that, its a great, sturdy little recorder and I think I'll love it as long as its reliable

Agreed, I put that in the Firmware Requests section when I first found out about this behavior.

[yug du nord]

What are you all doing with the pan settings?

[F.O.Bean]

What are you all doing with the pan settings?

I left mine the way they were. Channels 1 + 3= Hard Left[12], channels 2 + 4=Hard Right[12]

[yug du nord]

What are you all doing with the pan settings?

I left mine the way they were. Channels 1 + 3= Hard Left[12], channels 2 + 4=Hard Right[12]

^Why??  I'm thinking leaving them all at center.  With a mixer, I can see panning left or right..  but when recording, why not center??..  then pan in post if necessary.  But I'm questioning my thought process......   
Thanks.

[F.O.Bean]

What are you all doing with the pan settings?

I left mine the way they were. Channels 1 + 3= Hard Left[12], channels 2 + 4=Hard Right[12]

^Why??  I'm thinking leaving them all at center.  With a mixer, I can see panning left or right..  but when recording, why not center??..  then pan in post if necessary.  But I'm questioning my thought process......   
Thanks.

Because you'll end up with mono files. But Im not sure that it matters anyway if youre recording stereo files and not mono

[yug du nord]

What are you all doing with the pan settings?

I left mine the way they were. Channels 1 + 3= Hard Left[12], channels 2 + 4=Hard Right[12]

^Why??  I'm thinking leaving them all at center.  With a mixer, I can see panning left or right..  but when recording, why not center??..  then pan in post if necessary.  But I'm questioning my thought process......   
Thanks.

Because you'll end up with mono files. But Im not sure that it matters anyway if youre recording stereo files and not mono

I just did a test with headphones on.....  and yes they should be panned as you said.  So apparently this is a mixer too. 
Thanks Bean!!.....  you motivated me to actually test this thing!   

[F.O.Bean]

What are you all doing with the pan settings?

I left mine the way they were. Channels 1 + 3= Hard Left[12], channels 2 + 4=Hard Right[12]

^Why??  I'm thinking leaving them all at center.  With a mixer, I can see panning left or right..  but when recording, why not center??..  then pan in post if necessary.  But I'm questioning my thought process......   
Thanks.

Because you'll end up with mono files. But Im not sure that it matters anyway if youre recording stereo files and not mono

I just did a test with headphones on.....  and yes they should be panned as you said.  So apparently this is a mixer too. 
Thanks Bean!!.....  you motivated me to actually test this thing!   

No problem Guy

[voltronic]

What are you all doing with the pan settings?

I left mine the way they were. Channels 1 + 3= Hard Left[12], channels 2 + 4=Hard Right[12]

^Why??  I'm thinking leaving them all at center.  With a mixer, I can see panning left or right..  but when recording, why not center??..  then pan in post if necessary.  But I'm questioning my thought process......   
Thanks.

Because you'll end up with mono files. But Im not sure that it matters anyway if youre recording stereo files and not mono

I just did a test with headphones on.....  and yes they should be panned as you said.  So apparently this is a mixer too. 
Thanks Bean!!.....  you motivated me to actually test this thing!   

You always have to hard-pan channels left and right for a 2-track stereo file to be stereo.  Think of it on the listening side of things.  If you recorded center-pan tracks, they would both be played back equally in your left and right speakers.

All the 2-channel recorders out there we use do this automatically.  The 70D is different in that it allows you to adjust this - say if you were a sound guy on a film crew and had a boompole mic you wanted in the center.

[F.O.Bean]

I verified that the 70d DOES save the files when its completely drained of power That makes me feel a lot better honestly. I'll see if it does the same once it switches from battery pack>internal AAs as well. I just found a Mophie 2,500mah USB battery that I got with my phone last year so I'm testing how long it runs with my 2,500mah AAs internally and with the Mophie USB battery that is also 2,500mah

[stevetoney]

Minor comment on the desired firmware changes is that, with four separate level control knobs on the front panel, to me it would be more logical (and more desirable) to have ganged level as the option, not the default.  On the DR680, there's only one level knob so it makes more sense to me that on that machine, ganged mode would be the default.

I would recommend that in ganged 1 x 2 or 2 x 2 mode, either level control 1 or 2 would adjust both channels 1 and 2 simultaneously and either level controls 3 or 4 would adjust channels 3 and 4 simultaneously.  Similarly, in ganged 1 x 4 mode, any of the level knobs would adjust all of the channels simultaneously.  Alternatively, since level control is all digital, there could be a second menu option to have certain gain knobs disabled in gang mode to prevent accidental movement...say in 1 x 2 or 2 x 2 only knobs 1 and 3 are active and in 1 x 4 only knob 1 is active.

[Rally_AK]

I verified that the 70d DOES save the files when its completely drained of power That makes me feel a lot better honestly. I'll see if it does the same once it switches from battery pack>internal AAs as well. I just found a Mophie 2,500mah USB battery that I got with my phone last year so I'm testing how long it runs with my 2,500mah AAs internally and with the Mophie USB battery that is also 2,500mah

Careful draining the battery's completely. When I was testing external battery's, the file that was recording when the battery ran out was erased. I wasn't using AA's at the time because I wanted the unit to shut off as soon as the external battery was dead and was using the recorded file time as my timer. It's great to hear that the last file saves if the internal batt's drain though because I will always have AA's in the unit as backup.

[F.O.Bean]

I verified that the 70d DOES save the files when its completely drained of power That makes me feel a lot better honestly. I'll see if it does the same once it switches from battery pack>internal AAs as well. I just found a Mophie 2,500mah USB battery that I got with my phone last year so I'm testing how long it runs with my 2,500mah AAs internally and with the Mophie USB battery that is also 2,500mah

Careful draining the battery's completely. When I was testing external battery's, the file that was recording when the battery ran out was erased. I wasn't using AA's at the time because I wanted the unit to shut off as soon as the external battery was dead and was using the recorded file time as my timer. It's great to hear that the last file saves if the internal batt's drain though because I will always have AA's in the unit as backup.

Yep exactly AAs are so cheap, it just makes sense to keep them in the 70D when taping! And you can be sure you're files are getting saved properly! I'm still testing this, so I will report back!

[voltronic]

Minor comment on the desired firmware changes is that, with four separate level control knobs on the front panel, to me it would be more logical (and more desirable) to have ganged level as the option, not the default.  On the DR680, there's only one level knob so it makes more sense to me that on that machine, ganged mode would be the default.

I would recommend that in ganged 1 x 2 or 2 x 2 mode, either level control 1 or 2 would adjust both channels 1 and 2 simultaneously and either level controls 3 or 4 would adjust channels 3 and 4 simultaneously.  Similarly, in ganged 1 x 4 mode, any of the level knobs would adjust all of the channels simultaneously.  Alternatively, since level control is all digital, there could be a second menu option to have certain gain knobs disabled in gang mode to prevent accidental movement...say in 1 x 2 or 2 x 2 only knobs 1 and 3 are active and in 1 x 4 only knob 1 is active.

That's actually exactly what I was intending when I put that in the firmware request - I never intended it to be default behavior.  Your description is more thorough and clear though - I'll adapt that to the firmware request section.  Like I said earlier, I don't know if anyone from Tascam is still reading any of this, and if they are, I'm a bit leery of customer service given the saga being described in the main 70D thread right now.

[2manyrocks]

One clerk in charge of repairs does not carry the weight of a determined sales rep who understands sales can be increased by allowing ganging of gain controls or adding more functionality via firmware.   One is an expense.  The other brings income.   

[voltronic]

One clerk in charge of repairs does not carry the weight of a determined sales rep who understands sales can be increased by allowing ganging of gain controls or adding more functionality via firmware.   One is an expense.  The other brings income.   

Very good point - that was a dumb comment on my part.

[stevetoney]

^ They've been hit and miss on their firmware support.  They have supported the hsp82, dr22 and dr44 quite well.  But then they pretty much forgot about the dr100mkii after it was released though finally after two years they put out a minor update that didn't address the main customer requests.

[2manyrocks]

As much as the discussion thread has already grown to the point that one can't find anything in it without a determined effort and given the rapid growth in this one, I think it would serve us well to delete or move some of the discussion here to the discussion thread and keep the FAQ short. 

Feel free to delete any of my posts in this thread, BTW.

[voltronic]

As much as the discussion thread has already grown to the point that one can't find anything in it without a determined effort and given the rapid growth in this one, I think it would serve us well to delete or move some of the discussion here to the discussion thread and keep the FAQ short. 

Feel free to delete any of my posts in this thread, BTW.

Agreed on moving the discussion to the main thread.  I'll modify the FAQ to suggest this.

About deleting posts, that's going to be up to each user to do on his/her own.  Only the mods have the ability to delete other users' posts, I believe.

[leehookem]

Pretty sure a mod can merge the two threads...

[Life In Rewind]

As much as the discussion thread has already grown to the point that one can't find anything in it without a determined effort and given the rapid growth in this one, I think it would serve us well to delete or move some of the discussion here to the discussion thread and keep the FAQ short. 

Feel free to delete any of my posts in this thread, BTW.

Agreed on moving the discussion to the main thread.  I'll modify the FAQ to suggest this.

About deleting posts, that's going to be up to each user to do on his/her own.  Only the mods have the ability to delete other users' posts, I believe.

What really needs to happen is a massive site renovation...like why not just have a TASCAM forum? - and don't do these 25 page posts on all facets of one piece of gear. The search engine would work better. Info would be more easily found and have longer shelf life in the forum.

We have 7 Nakamichi threads that contain good info - but are really hard to back track on and locate specific stuff, because its all trapped in one topic.

Sorry - I'll stop now - I've long had a beef with the sites organization/intent/outcome...

[stevetoney]

I've long had a beef with the sites organization/intent/outcome...

You mean ever since you registered last October? 

(Sorry LIR, if you hadn't called me a smart ass a couple of days ago, I'd have let this one slide, but the snark in me just couldn't look the other way on this one.)

[stevetoney]

My input on the current issue is that etiquette should cause people, including those that are responding to this current subject, to go to the general thread and post there.  However, if the OP wanted the FAQ to remain 'clean' or a static thing then it could have been a locked thread...OP can unlock to add information as necessary.  Otherwise, the FAQ gets updated in the OP announce the way he has been, so is it a big deal if people post onto the thread?

That said, a potential solution would be to start yet another NEW thread which includes only the up-to-date FAQ and lock it.  Then rename this thread something like 'suggested inputs to DR70D FAQ'.  Or something like that.

[Life In Rewind]

I've long had a beef with the sites organization/intent/outcome...

You mean ever since you registered last October? 

(Sorry LIR, if you hadn't called me a smart ass a couple of days ago, I'd have let this one slide, but the snark in me just couldn't look the other way on this one.)

Yeah - thanks - this is my 4-5th membership here - I go back to when everybody was excited about the JB3...

[stevetoney]

I've long had a beef with the sites organization/intent/outcome...

You mean ever since you registered last October? 

(Sorry LIR, if you hadn't called me a smart ass a couple of days ago, I'd have let this one slide, but the snark in me just couldn't look the other way on this one.)

Yeah - thanks - this is my 4-5th membership here - I go back to when everybody was excited about the JB3...

I figured.  I've been around since way before I was active.  But funny you mention the JB3 because I think researching the JB3 was one of the first reasons I REALLY felt a need to research this site.  I was using a hi-MD Sony before then and was looking for upgrade options.  Seems crazy now.

[Life In Rewind]

My input on the current issue is that etiquette should cause people, including those that are responding to this current subject, to go to the general thread and post there.  However, if the OP wanted the FAQ to remain 'clean' or a static thing then it could have been a locked thread...OP can unlock to add information as necessary.  Otherwise, the FAQ gets updated in the OP announce the way he has been, so is it a big deal if people post onto the thread?

That said, a potential solution would be to start yet another NEW thread which includes only the up-to-date FAQ and lock it.  Then rename this thread something like 'suggested inputs to DR70D FAQ'.  Or something like that.

If the site owners would respect the hierarchy of information - there would be gear specific forums - and the "DR-70D FAQ" would be a sticky post that would be maintained by one person.

Questions about battery life (for example) should have their own post...not stuffed in some general thread...questions about phantom power should have their own thread (good job Bean!)

Under "Recording Gear" - There should be sub-forums for Sound Devices, TASCAM, ZOOM...Similar sub-forums in the Microphones section would be nice too.

We also need to discourage these Gear Team threads - They arent even in the Technical Help section...genius!

[dogmusic]

Not sure if this can be done in a firmware update, but it would be great if the gain knobs could be used to adjust the playback volume of individual tracks when listening back to a file.

[stevetoney]

Not sure if this can be done in a firmware update, but it would be great if the gain knobs could be used to adjust the playback volume of individual tracks when listening back to a file.

I'm not sure if it's problemmatic to the above, but the volume control on the headphone monitor isn't from the front knobs...it's from the pot on the side which seems like it's probably analog.     

Nevertheless...and if you don't mind me stacking a couple of requests on top of yours.

The output monitoring capability of any four channel recorder should IMHO allow for monitoring individual channels.  To me, this MIX function is fairly useless without the ability to monitor individual channels.  What I'd like is menu selectability that allows any single channel to be routed to any output (like the SD744).  I'd also like to send one channel to multiple output channels if I want to so that I can REALLY listen to a single channel if I'm having problems.  At the very minimum, as others have already mentioned, we should be able to monitor in stereo pairs...1 and 2 or 3 and 4 so that you can at least listen through one side of your headphones what you're getting from each channel.

In other words, any four channel recorder should IMHO have rudimentary output mixing capability.

[stevetoney]

My input on the current issue is that etiquette should cause people, including those that are responding to this current subject, to go to the general thread and post there.  However, if the OP wanted the FAQ to remain 'clean' or a static thing then it could have been a locked thread...OP can unlock to add information as necessary.  Otherwise, the FAQ gets updated in the OP announce the way he has been, so is it a big deal if people post onto the thread?

That said, a potential solution would be to start yet another NEW thread which includes only the up-to-date FAQ and lock it.  Then rename this thread something like 'suggested inputs to DR70D FAQ'.  Or something like that.

If the site owners would respect the hierarchy of information - there would be gear specific forums - and the "DR-70D FAQ" would be a sticky post that would be maintained by one person.

Questions about battery life (for example) should have their own post...not stuffed in some general thread...questions about phantom power should have their own thread (good job Bean!)

Under "Recording Gear" - There should be sub-forums for Sound Devices, TASCAM, ZOOM...Similar sub-forums in the Microphones section would be nice too.

We also need to discourage these Gear Team threads - They arent even in the Technical Help section...genius!

I like it. 

Do you think a reason we don't do something like this is that the more sub-forums there are, the more oversight for maintenance is needed?  I don't know, but just saying that this site is almost completely unmoderated, so perhaps the more detailed or more branches/layers in the heirarchy there are would require more people to be able to maintain the information that goes into those locations (these are more questions than statements). 

[Life In Rewind]

My input on the current issue is that etiquette should cause people, including those that are responding to this current subject, to go to the general thread and post there.  However, if the OP wanted the FAQ to remain 'clean' or a static thing then it could have been a locked thread...OP can unlock to add information as necessary.  Otherwise, the FAQ gets updated in the OP announce the way he has been, so is it a big deal if people post onto the thread?

That said, a potential solution would be to start yet another NEW thread which includes only the up-to-date FAQ and lock it.  Then rename this thread something like 'suggested inputs to DR70D FAQ'.  Or something like that.

If the site owners would respect the hierarchy of information - there would be gear specific forums - and the "DR-70D FAQ" would be a sticky post that would be maintained by one person.

Questions about battery life (for example) should have their own post...not stuffed in some general thread...questions about phantom power should have their own thread (good job Bean!)

Under "Recording Gear" - There should be sub-forums for Sound Devices, TASCAM, ZOOM...Similar sub-forums in the Microphones section would be nice too.

We also need to discourage these Gear Team threads - They arent even in the Technical Help section...genius!

I like it. 

Do you think a reason we don't do something like this is that the more sub-forums there are, the more oversight for maintenance is needed?  I don't know, but just saying that this site is almost completely unmoderated, so perhaps the more detailed or more branches/layers in the heirarchy there are would require more people to be able to maintain the information that goes into those locations (these are more questions than statements).

Im going to start a thread in the Site Suggestions - lets not do it here - sorry to go OT.

[dogmusic]

Not sure if this can be done in a firmware update, but it would be great if the gain knobs could be used to adjust the playback volume of individual tracks when listening back to a file.

I'm not sure if it's problemmatic to the above, but the volume control on the headphone monitor isn't from the front knobs...it's from the pot on the side which seems like it's probably analog.     

Yeah, I'm talking about being able to choose which channels will play back and also adjust their levels with the front knobs before the signal gets to the analog headphone pot.

And, yes I agree it would be great to at least be able to send channels 1&2 through the headphone out and 3&4 through the line out.

[voltronic]

Not sure if this can be done in a firmware update, but it would be great if the gain knobs could be used to adjust the playback volume of individual tracks when listening back to a file.

I'm not sure if it's problemmatic to the above, but the volume control on the headphone monitor isn't from the front knobs...it's from the pot on the side which seems like it's probably analog.     

Nevertheless...and if you don't mind me stacking a couple of requests on top of yours.

The output monitoring capability of any four channel recorder should IMHO allow for monitoring individual channels.  To me, this MIX function is fairly useless without the ability to monitor individual channels.  What I'd like is menu selectability that allows any single channel to be routed to any output (like the SD744).  I'd also like to send one channel to multiple output channels if I want to so that I can REALLY listen to a single channel if I'm having problems.  At the very minimum, as others have already mentioned, we should be able to monitor in stereo pairs...1 and 2 or 3 and 4 so that you can at least listen through one side of your headphones what you're getting from each channel.

In other words, any four channel recorder should IMHO have rudimentary output mixing capability.

I wouldn't hold your breath on getting Sound Devices-level of channel routing functions, even though the Blackfin DSP chip probably is more than capable of it.  The selectable stereo pair monitoring has been in the FAQ from the beginning.

[voltronic]

My input on the current issue is that etiquette should cause people, including those that are responding to this current subject, to go to the general thread and post there.  However, if the OP wanted the FAQ to remain 'clean' or a static thing then it could have been a locked thread...OP can unlock to add information as necessary.  Otherwise, the FAQ gets updated in the OP announce the way he has been, so is it a big deal if people post onto the thread?

That said, a potential solution would be to start yet another NEW thread which includes only the up-to-date FAQ and lock it.  Then rename this thread something like 'suggested inputs to DR70D FAQ'.  Or something like that.

I will do whatever most of you people want to do.  I now wish I had locked the thread upon creation, honestly.  As an owner of this unit, it is getting a bit confusing to have discussion in both this and the other thread.  I'll shamefully admit that I forgot I could lock threads - I only ever do that for the Yard Sale.

I did send a request to Brian S to see if the threads could be merged as suggested here.  If that doesn't work out I'll either do one of two things:
A. Create a new locked FAQ thread as Tonedeaf suggests, but then I lock / kill this thread.  People can then PM update requests.
B. Keep this thread, but lock it.  Again, update requests via PM.

Any preference from the community?  It amazes me how much discussion is taking place on this unit given how new it is!

[jbosco]

My input on the current issue is that etiquette should cause people, including those that are responding to this current subject, to go to the general thread and post there.  However, if the OP wanted the FAQ to remain 'clean' or a static thing then it could have been a locked thread...OP can unlock to add information as necessary.  Otherwise, the FAQ gets updated in the OP announce the way he has been, so is it a big deal if people post onto the thread?

That said, a potential solution would be to start yet another NEW thread which includes only the up-to-date FAQ and lock it.  Then rename this thread something like 'suggested inputs to DR70D FAQ'.  Or something like that.

I will do whatever most of you people want to do.  I now wish I had locked the thread upon creation, honestly.  As an owner of this unit, it is getting a bit confusing to have discussion in both this and the other thread.  I'll shamefully admit that I forgot I could lock threads - I only ever do that for the Yard Sale.

I did send a request to Brian S to see if the threads could be merged as suggested here.  If that doesn't work out I'll either do one of two things:
A. Create a new locked FAQ thread as Tonedeaf suggests, but then I lock / kill this thread.  People can then PM update requests.
B. Keep this thread, but lock it.  Again, update requests via PM.

Any preference from the community?  It amazes me how much discussion is taking place on this unit given how new it is!

I would create a new locked FAQ thread and keep this one open but rename/repurpose it to a Firmware wishlist thread.

[pohaku]

For those who haven't noticed, the Petrol bag listed on page 1 is stupidly priced at B&H - $79.99.  That is about $200 less than typical - it is $279 at Full Compass.  I don't know if it is being clearanced as some vendors don't have them, but I suspect, as a Petrol, it may be a pretty good bag for this unit and appears to have adequate extra space for necessities.  Just saying (I've already ordered one, shipping is free).

[voltronic]

For those who haven't noticed, the Petrol bag listed on page 1 is stupidly priced at B&H - $79.99.  That is about $200 less than typical - it is $279 at Full Compass.  I don't know if it is being clearanced as some vendors don't have them, but I suspect, as a Petrol, it may be a pretty good bag for this unit and appears to have adequate extra space for necessities.  Just saying (I've already ordered one, shipping is free).

I'm strongly considering getting one, but as I posted in the Gear Bag Photos thread I'm concerned about how it would work out with the top not fully closing and just having the clear flap.

I would also want my 2 pairs of 25' mic cables to fit in one of those side compartments, otherwise I'm going to keep my current Amazon bag and add a small accessory bag to hold the cables. 

Please post some photos with the 70D in Rig Pictures when you get it and let us know how it works.

[F.O.Bean]

Not sure if this can be done in a firmware update, but it would be great if the gain knobs could be used to adjust the playback volume of individual tracks when listening back to a file.

I'm not sure if it's problemmatic to the above, but the volume control on the headphone monitor isn't from the front knobs...it's from the pot on the side which seems like it's probably analog.     

Nevertheless...and if you don't mind me stacking a couple of requests on top of yours.

The output monitoring capability of any four channel recorder should IMHO allow for monitoring individual channels.  To me, this MIX function is fairly useless without the ability to monitor individual channels.  What I'd like is menu selectability that allows any single channel to be routed to any output (like the SD744).  I'd also like to send one channel to multiple output channels if I want to so that I can REALLY listen to a single channel if I'm having problems.  At the very minimum, as others have already mentioned, we should be able to monitor in stereo pairs...1 and 2 or 3 and 4 so that you can at least listen through one side of your headphones what you're getting from each channel.

In other words, any four channel recorder should IMHO have rudimentary output mixing capability.

I agree! The MIX is useless for any real monitoring! Its useful in that I can make sure all 4 channels are recording, but that's it! At the very least, Id like to monitor 1/2 and 3/4 separately in stereo channels!

[pohaku]

For those who haven't noticed, the Petrol bag listed on page 1 is stupidly priced at B&H - $79.99.  That is about $200 less than typical - it is $279 at Full Compass.  I don't know if it is being clearanced as some vendors don't have them, but I suspect, as a Petrol, it may be a pretty good bag for this unit and appears to have adequate extra space for necessities.  Just saying (I've already ordered one, shipping is free).

I'm strongly considering getting one, but as I posted in the Gear Bag Photos thread I'm concerned about how it would work out with the top not fully closing and just having the clear flap.

I would also want my 2 pairs of 25' mic cables to fit in one of those side compartments, otherwise I'm going to keep my current Amazon bag and add a small accessory bag to hold the cables. 

Please post some photos with the 70D in Rig Pictures when you get it and let us know how it works.

Happy to do so.  For the price, I was willing to take the gamble.  I rarely do outside shows, so the lack of a weather secure top is less concerning to me (and I could always use one of my other bags if necessary).

[voltronic]

New FAQ is here: http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=172795.0

Locking this thread so we can move discussion to the discussion thread.