Topic: Tascam DR-70D 4-channel audio recorder (Part 5)

[ButchAlmberg]

Voltronic, please update my survey to indicate that I did experience problems with my recorded. My first response was premature. Thank you.

[The Other Chris]

Not to get too off topic    Was wondering if someone might be willing to pm me some setting suggestions running Nak 300's into the 70D.  I have read the suggestions/settings info but still not sure I'm doing it right, plugged into XLR's 1 & 2 I'm getting both channels in the left & right headphone.  Just want to run one set of mics for now so nothing complicated.  Also, are the slate settings pre-amp settings?  Sorry, I'm going from an R09 to this and I'm not too tech savy.  Obviously.  Thanks in advance. 

[voltronic]

Voltronic, please update my survey to indicate that I did experience problems with my recorded. My first response was premature. Thank you.

The survey is anonymous, so I have no way of knowing which one was you.  I suppose you could figure it out for yourself by looking at the time stamp, card model, etc.  Send me a PM and I'll just delete that response, then you can submit a new one with correct info.

[voltronic]

Not to get too off topic    Was wondering if someone might be willing to pm me some setting suggestions running Nak 300's into the 70D.  I have read the suggestions/settings info but still not sure I'm doing it right, plugged into XLR's 1 & 2 I'm getting both channels in the left & right headphone.  Just want to run one set of mics for now so nothing complicated.  Also, are the slate settings pre-amp settings?  Sorry, I'm going from an R09 to this and I'm not too tech savy.  Obviously.  Thanks in advance.

Yeah, what gives?  You're not welcome here unless you're complaining about SD card performance or customer service issues!

Sounds like you may have your channels panned to center and/or set to record in separate mono tracks instead of a stereo pair.  Check the manual, or read the FAQ (link in my signature).  This will also tell you where to find commonly used things such as slate tone settings.

EDIT: I just read your post more thoroughly and saw that you read the FAQ already.  Sorry, I didn't mean to give you the "RTFM" response when it looks like you have.  But check to make sure you're recording in stereo mode, not mono.  If that's not it, make sure your channels are hard panned.  I don't know anything about your mics, but couldn't imagine any way they would affect this.

[F.O.Bean]

I can post in the 70d verified sd cards list. I have [2] PNY sd cards for my 70d. Mine seems to like sd cards better than a microsdhc card in an SD adapter. But I could just be imagining that! And I am sooo OCD, that I do a quick format and THEN a full format of my sd cards in my 70d before I use them for a show/festie lol If I have a good card that the 70d likes in, then the quick AND full formats finish pretty quick. Now when I did the full format with a couple of cards the 70d did NOT like, the full format would take like 10-15 minutes. The 70d didn't tell me that they were bad cards, but when I recorded onto the bad sd cards until they were 100% full in front of my TV, they had random clicks and all types of weird shit wrong with them throughout the WHOLE card. Even sounded like digi-noise at points ?!?!?!

BUT, since using verified cards[Mainly my 64gb or 32gb PNY 95x SD cards], my 70d has been rock solid!!!!! I had an unverified card in my 70d the ONLY time it gave me a problem[with the digi-noise and clicks and shit], so I lost a half day's worth of music at a festie this past summer. No big deal at all, because Steve[Tonedeaf] was recording there too, so I have everything my microsdhc card F'D me on thanks to Steve And it was only a half day because weather was horrible and we left pretty early that day. So LUCKILY, I didn't miss anything really special since none of the bands I missed were high up on my list lol

The ONLY thing I really have to focus and concentrate/remember about my 70d that I sometimes forget, is that when the 70d is in HOLD, even the gain knobs are locked. I know most[90% I'm guessing hahaha] of you already know that, and I think its a GREAT feature for really securing a recording, ONCE you get good levels going. But I sometimes forget that and then I remember immediately after touching my gain knobs that hold is ON I have found that its best to leave HOLD ON after you accidentally switch the levels, and then wait until the END of that song to turn hold OFF and fix your levels, if at all possible, so that they don't spike or go crazy and sound weird as hell, if you were to just turn hold off immediately and then try to fix your levels. Its MUCH less noticeable between songs if you do forget that hold is on when you're changing/fixing levels, than it is during a song. Trust me lol! Made that mistake one too many times Does that make sense though? All I'm saying is, if you mess with your levels while hold is ON, wait until the song is over before you turn hold OFF to fix the levels. Boom. Much shorter statement huh? I should just erase everything else, but it took me too long to write haha

Anyway, hope that helps someone avoid what I have done too many times I'm heading over to the 70d Media List and verify my PNY cards! I also have a LOT of music links that I will be posting soon in the Kickdown Section from the [3] festies and [2] Phish shows that I did this past summer. So check them out, because I ran my mk4>NBob KCY>Naiant PFA>70D just inches apart from my mk41>Schoeps KCY>Schoeps VMS 02IB>70D at basically every show/festie I did this summer, so you all can hear the 70D preamps with Schoeps straight in. I'm telling you what, the PFA>70D is ALWAYS on par or better than my mk41>vms recordings from this summer!!! Ive been VERY impressed with my 70D's sound. I hope that it sounds as good indoors as it does outdoors at festies and Phish WAY too much music to list band by band or set by set, so I'm just posting one whole day's worth of music per thread, that way all of my links can be available in one thread versus 50 separate threads. I'm not sure if its the mk4's or the 70D preamps. IMO Its a little of both The mk4's always have a more natural sound, and outdoors at festies with no walls or ceilings, the ambiance is usually great. And as long as the sound is good, the mk4's usually smoke the 41s. However, indoors, its another story. The 41s usually take the cake indoors! But what I hear from running mk4>70D, is that the 70D preamps are very detailed and neutral and have great transients[correct word?], letting the microphone of your choice really shine! In my case, Schoeps! If I could 100% trust my 70D like an SD recorder or something high end like that, I would buy another PFA[sooner than I plan to buy a new one], and have NO problems running both pairs of my capsules[mk4+mk41] into the 70D. Both pairs of caps straight into the 70D for a nice low profile, compact setup for indoors and in tight spots, where I would still run both pairs of my caps. That's how much I like mine so far!!!

I know that I ALWAYS fluff whatever I'm running at the time, but I don't just fluff any old product. I do it because they are GREAT products and I would recommend them to a friend! Otherwise I keep my mouth shut for the most part lol! I should quote "most"!!! And if I really believe in a product, maybe I can help the manufacturers sell a few to our little taping niche, while hopefully pleasing the buyer/taper Sorry for the mile long post! I've been meaning to pop in this thread for awhile now! Oh and I know its the wrong thread, but the Zoom F8 is really nice! I got to see Tonedeaf's last month. Never thought Id fluff a Zoom product, but I am

I always said the same about Monster, but I got Monster iSport Victory earbuds this past summer, and they are incredible IMO! I've had easily 20+ pair of earbuds over the years, but all at or lower than $100. I paid a little less than $150 for mine, and they were worth EVERY penny! They allow me to hear things that I've NEVER heard in my recordings before, in songs that I've heard a million times before. I'm glad that I have another HQ pair of phones! I used to have nice Sennheiser headphones, but sold those with my 722. Now that I have a FiiO E10K + E11K, I can properly drive my Monster earbuds, or any headphones/earbuds for that matter, allowing them to sound heavenly! Even if I'm listening to MP3's streaming from my Google Play account on my phone in the car, they sound incredible! And sitting at my PC with the FiiO E10K DAC/HP Amp and the iSport Victory, it just takes it to the NEXT level! I can even master my recordings ANY time of the day OR night, because they sound that good and neutral, that I don't need the speakers ON to master something! No Bass Boost or any shit like that. But its AWESOME to be able to edit/mix/master/etc my recordings at like 4am if I cant sleep or something. Now I can go back and forth between the earbuds and my speakers, which is possible with the FiiO E10K[DAC/HP Amp], and find the PERFECT mix for sets that need a little tweak to them! Makes me feel MUCH better now, since I'm not just relying on either 1. Speakers, or 2. Earbuds. Having the ability to master my recordings with BOTH is a really great thing IMO!

[groovon]

I can post in the 70d verified sd cards list. I have [2] PNY sd cards for my 70d. Mine seems to like sd cards better than a microsdhc card in an SD adapter. But I could just be imagining that! And I am sooo OCD, that I do a quick format and THEN a full format of my sd cards in my 70d before I use them for a show/festie lol If I have a good card that the 70d likes in, then the quick AND full formats finish pretty quick. Now when I did the full format with a couple of cards the 70d did NOT like, the full format would take like 10-15 minutes. The 70d didn't tell me that they were bad cards, but when I recorded onto the bad sd cards until they were 100% full in front of my TV, they had random clicks and all types of weird shit wrong with them throughout the WHOLE card. Even sounded like digi-noise at points ?!?!?!

BUT, since using verified cards[Mainly my 64gb or 32gb PNY 95x SD cards], my 70d has been rock solid!!!!! I had an unverified card in my 70d the ONLY time it gave me a problem[with the digi-noise and clicks and shit], so I lost a half day's worth of music at a festie this past summer. No big deal at all, because Steve[Tonedeaf] was recording there too, so I have everything my microsdhc card F'D me on thanks to Steve And it was only a half day because weather was horrible and we left pretty early that day. So LUCKILY, I didn't miss anything really special since none of the bands I missed were high up on my list lol

The ONLY thing I really have to focus and concentrate/remember about my 70d that I sometimes forget, is that when the 70d is in HOLD, even the gain knobs are locked. I know most[90% I'm guessing hahaha] of you already know that, and I think its a GREAT feature for really securing a recording, ONCE you get good levels going. But I sometimes forget that and then I remember immediately after touching my gain knobs that hold is ON I have found that its best to leave HOLD ON after you accidentally switch the levels, and then wait until the END of that song to turn hold OFF and fix your levels, if at all possible, so that they don't spike or go crazy and sound weird as hell, if you were to just turn hold off immediately and then try to fix your levels. Its MUCH less noticeable between songs if you do forget that hold is on when you're changing/fixing levels, than it is during a song. Trust me lol! Made that mistake one too many times Does that make sense though? All I'm saying is, if you mess with your levels while hold is ON, wait until the song is over before you turn hold OFF to fix the levels. Boom. Much shorter statement huh? I should just erase everything else, but it took me too long to write haha

Anyway, hope that helps someone avoid what I have done too many times I'm heading over to the 70d Media List and verify my PNY cards! I also have a LOT of music links that I will be posting soon in the Kickdown Section from the [3] festies and [2] Phish shows that I did this past summer. So check them out, because I ran my mk4>NBob KCY>Naiant PFA>70D just inches apart from my mk41>Schoeps KCY>Schoeps VMS 02IB>70D at basically every show/festie I did this summer, so you all can hear the 70D preamps with Schoeps straight in. I'm telling you what, the PFA>70D is ALWAYS on par or better than my mk41>vms recordings from this summer!!! Ive been VERY impressed with my 70D's sound. I hope that it sounds as good indoors as it does outdoors at festies and Phish WAY too much music to list band by band or set by set, so I'm just posting one whole day's worth of music per thread, that way all of my links can be available in one thread versus 50 separate threads. I'm not sure if its the mk4's or the 70D preamps. IMO Its a little of both The mk4's always have a more natural sound, and outdoors at festies with no walls or ceilings, the ambiance is usually great. And as long as the sound is good, the mk4's usually smoke the 41s. However, indoors, its another story. The 41s usually take the cake indoors! But what I hear from running mk4>70D, is that the 70D preamps are very detailed and neutral and have great transients[correct word?], letting the microphone of your choice really shine! In my case, Schoeps! If I could 100% trust my 70D like an SD recorder or something high end like that, I would buy another PFA[sooner than I plan to buy a new one], and have NO problems running both pairs of my capsules[mk4+mk41] into the 70D. Both pairs of caps straight into the 70D for a nice low profile, compact setup for indoors and in tight spots, where I would still run both pairs of my caps. That's how much I like mine so far!!!

I know that I ALWAYS fluff whatever I'm running at the time, but I don't just fluff any old product. I do it because they are GREAT products and I would recommend them to a friend! Otherwise I keep my mouth shut for the most part lol! I should quote "most"!!! And if I really believe in a product, maybe I can help the manufacturers sell a few to our little taping niche, while hopefully pleasing the buyer/taper Sorry for the mile long post! I've been meaning to pop in this thread for awhile now! Oh and I know its the wrong thread, but the Zoom F8 is really nice! I got to see Tonedeaf's last month. Never thought Id fluff a Zoom product, but I am

I always said the same about Monster, but I got Monster iSport Victory earbuds this past summer, and they are incredible IMO! I've had easily 20+ pair of earbuds over the years, but all at or lower than $100. I paid a little less than $150 for mine, and they were worth EVERY penny! They allow me to hear things that I've NEVER heard in my recordings before, in songs that I've heard a million times before. I'm glad that I have another HQ pair of phones! I used to have nice Sennheiser headphones, but sold those with my 722. Now that I have a FiiO E10K + E11K, I can properly drive my Monster earbuds, or any headphones/earbuds for that matter, allowing them to sound heavenly! Even if I'm listening to MP3's streaming from my Google Play account on my phone in the car, they sound incredible! And sitting at my PC with the FiiO E10K DAC/HP Amp and the iSport Victory, it just takes it to the NEXT level! I can even master my recordings ANY time of the day OR night, because they sound that good and neutral, that I don't need the speakers ON to master something! No Bass Boost or any shit like that. But its AWESOME to be able to edit/mix/master/etc my recordings at like 4am if I cant sleep or something. Now I can go back and forth between the earbuds and my speakers, which is possible with the FiiO E10K[DAC/HP Amp], and find the PERFECT mix for sets that need a little tweak to them! Makes me feel MUCH better now, since I'm not just relying on either 1. Speakers, or 2. Earbuds. Having the ability to master my recordings with BOTH is a really great thing IMO!

Wow! Great well-written and entertaining post And educational to boot (just getting into some IEMs)--thanks!

Dave

[Life In Rewind]

I can post in the 70d verified sd cards list. I have [2] PNY sd cards for my 70d. Mine seems to like sd cards better than a microsdhc card in an SD adapter. But I could just be imagining that! And I am sooo OCD, that I do a quick format and THEN a full format of my sd cards in my 70d before I use them for a show/festie lol If I have a good card that the 70d likes in, then the quick AND full formats finish pretty quick. Now when I did the full format with a couple of cards the 70d did NOT like, the full format would take like 10-15 minutes. The 70d didn't tell me that they were bad cards, but when I recorded onto the bad sd cards until they were 100% full in front of my TV, they had random clicks and all types of weird shit wrong with them throughout the WHOLE card. Even sounded like digi-noise at points ?!?!?!

BUT, since using verified cards[Mainly my 64gb or 32gb PNY 95x SD cards], my 70d has been rock solid!!!!!

But there are no PNY Cards on the TASCAM approved list!

I think we need to start a more authoritative - "Verified by Bean" list...

Interesting observation on the length of the format process.

[2manyrocks]

[quote author=tonedeaf link=topic=174900.msg2162554#msg2162554 date=1444340

Also, you made reference to my "only 11 out of 25" figure from the SD card survey.  My point there was that 25 responses is statistically insignificant to start with.  Out of that, only 11 problem reports, all from people using cards not on the manufacturer recommended list is hardly enough evidence to establish this as a widespread issue.  This is out of the many thousands of units sold, and no problems of this type have been reported anywhere else that I'm aware of.  Should those 11 people have customer service work with them to help resolve their issues?  Absolutely, but if that response is "use an approved card", then that shouldn't be viewed as an unsatisfactory response.

When 11 out of 25 users report the same kind of issue, that gets my attention.  We should not presume whether other users have or haven't had issues since they weren't even asked to respond. 

Some statements were posted here out of frustration.  If I sold a 70d and had to rebuy it over this issue, I'd be upset, too.  And then evidently there was some past history with prior products.

Beans post is really the first post of any joy since this part of the thread opened. 

Hopefully, the card thing is just a blip we can all put behind.

[Life In Rewind]

[quote author=tonedeaf link=topic=174900.msg2162554#msg2162554 date=1444340

Also, you made reference to my "only 11 out of 25" figure from the SD card survey.  My point there was that 25 responses is statistically insignificant to start with.  Out of that, only 11 problem reports, all from people using cards not on the manufacturer recommended list is hardly enough evidence to establish this as a widespread issue.  This is out of the many thousands of units sold, and no problems of this type have been reported anywhere else that I'm aware of.  Should those 11 people have customer service work with them to help resolve their issues?  Absolutely, but if that response is "use an approved card", then that shouldn't be viewed as an unsatisfactory response.

When 11 out of 25 users report the same kind of issue, that gets my attention. 

Not sure what Voltronic was expecting - despite the seemingly large subscriber base on this site - there are really only a few active users/posters on TS.com

I would think that 25 - might represent how many regular, active users have the DR70-D...there are probably more.

But 25 might be "most" - certainly not insignificant...even if there are twice as many.

Caveat - the survey was set up to cater to folks who were having problems - those who weren't having issues would be less likely to report...IMO

[Life In Rewind]

Voltronic - the FAQ is still pointing to an out of date recommended media list...

Thanks for catching that - it's now fixed.

I dont like the disclaimers too much - so - what is "QUICK FORMAT" for?

I posted links that explain Quick Format vs. Full / Erase Format here:

http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=174900.msg2162023#msg2162023

And you said earlier that adding "Erase Format" was a late addition, as though it was something missing from the get go.  Read the linked articles - once you understand what this is, you'll see that it's actually pretty unusual for recorders like this to include such a feature.  I really was quite excited to see this added in the latest firmware, since you typically can only do a full format on SD cards on your PC using the SD Formatter or a similar utility.  My M10 certainly doesn't do this - it's only a "quick" format (though not labeled as such), and I'm not aware of any non-professional recorder that will do an actual full format.

BTW, if you're ever wondering which kind of formatting your recorder is doing (since it's not usually labeled), all you need to do is take note of how long it's taking.  Unless it's taking several minutes or more, it's probably a "quick" format (or maybe .  A full / erase format takes a long time.  This is true even for new high-speed cards.  Read the articles in my linked post and you'll understand why.

They almost make it sound like SD is write once media...

If you're referring to the statement Tascam posted on the new SD card list:

*1
 The performace of the media may be degraded significantly if used repeatedly.
Once the card is full (data transferred if necessary), ERASE-FORMAT using the DR-70D is recommended prior to using the card again.

I think that statement is true for ANY flash media, as a Quick format will not identify bad sectors and filesystem errors that develop so you will definitely have degraded performance at some point.  A full format will address these things.  Maybe during testing they found that those two cards perform very well, but only if a full format is performed every once in a while.  EDIT to add: If that was the case and those two cards do develop degraded performance sooner than the others, then I wonder why they would be on the recommended list.

Those links are all about Windows formatting utilities - and another link for a software product. (that tells you not to use OS formatting utilities)

I think its wrong to make the assumption that these are equivalent functions - despite their semantic similarities. (I'm not totally doubting this - just not assuming)

The quick format seems pointless - so why was it included in the first place?

How could TASCAM perform reliable card testing when only "Quick" was included with the device?

With the tapers penchant for in-device formatting before every outing - some of us were setting ourselves up for failure...

[hoppedup]

Haven't had any issues with mine, but haven't run it much since these reports started coming out. I'll use the 60D until I need to run two rigs. It has been rock solid.

I'll check the card in the 70D tonight and post it up here. I never did a firmware update. Will check that version as well.

[mfrench]

I've had far worse issues with Tascam products . I can happily report none with this device.
So far, I've transferred about 30 cassette masters with it, without a single glitch.  I've not had a chance to run it live yet, but, don't have any reservations in doing so.
I'm running the most basic of firmware, 1.00 0037 (or something to this effect).  And I'm running a Sandisk Ultra card that is only a single letter removed from the approved list; a 16gb card.
I format between every concert transfer (be it a single cassette, or multiple cassettes). I run the complete show, transfer it, and then format the card with what is described as the quick format.

I'm not into it for any expense; I won it in a contest on another forum. So if it only ever serves as a cassette-to-digital transfer device, I'm totally happy with the results.  i've got plenty of cassettes to transfer; it will have a full life just doing that.
i hope to have a chance to use it live next weekend, a week from now. The way its been functioning for me in the transfers, I don't foresee any issues in running it live.

[voltronic]

Voltronic - the FAQ is still pointing to an out of date recommended media list...

Thanks for catching that - it's now fixed.

I dont like the disclaimers too much - so - what is "QUICK FORMAT" for?

I posted links that explain Quick Format vs. Full / Erase Format here:

http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=174900.msg2162023#msg2162023

And you said earlier that adding "Erase Format" was a late addition, as though it was something missing from the get go.  Read the linked articles - once you understand what this is, you'll see that it's actually pretty unusual for recorders like this to include such a feature.  I really was quite excited to see this added in the latest firmware, since you typically can only do a full format on SD cards on your PC using the SD Formatter or a similar utility.  My M10 certainly doesn't do this - it's only a "quick" format (though not labeled as such), and I'm not aware of any non-professional recorder that will do an actual full format.

BTW, if you're ever wondering which kind of formatting your recorder is doing (since it's not usually labeled), all you need to do is take note of how long it's taking.  Unless it's taking several minutes or more, it's probably a "quick" format (or maybe .  A full / erase format takes a long time.  This is true even for new high-speed cards.  Read the articles in my linked post and you'll understand why.

They almost make it sound like SD is write once media...

If you're referring to the statement Tascam posted on the new SD card list:

*1
 The performace of the media may be degraded significantly if used repeatedly.
Once the card is full (data transferred if necessary), ERASE-FORMAT using the DR-70D is recommended prior to using the card again.

I think that statement is true for ANY flash media, as a Quick format will not identify bad sectors and filesystem errors that develop so you will definitely have degraded performance at some point.  A full format will address these things.  Maybe during testing they found that those two cards perform very well, but only if a full format is performed every once in a while.  EDIT to add: If that was the case and those two cards do develop degraded performance sooner than the others, then I wonder why they would be on the recommended list.

Those links are all about Windows formatting utilities - and another link for a software product. (that tells you not to use OS formatting utilities)

I think its wrong to make the assumption that these are equivalent functions - despite their semantic similarities. (I'm not totally doubting this - just not assuming)

The quick format seems pointless - so why was it included in the first place?

How could TASCAM perform reliable card testing when only "Quick" was included with the device?

With the tapers penchant for in-device formatting before every outing - some of us were setting ourselves up for failure...

I think you're missing my point.  No recorder I'm aware of in this price bracket includes a full format function except for the 70D with the new firmware.  Why other recorders don't include this could be for reasons of speed, battery life, etc. but the 70D is very unusual that it can do this.*  It's a much more involved procedure, and the way it's being done on a PC whether it be a quick or full format is functionally the same so those articles I linked are valid. 

Quick format isn't useless at all, but a full format is much better for reasons stated.  One reason why you would want to format in your device even if it's not a full format is to make sure the filesystem is exactly what that device is expecting.  I always recommend formatting in the recorder for this reason.  The filesystem these devices use is often FAT32, and as I said before Windows removed the ability to format in that filesystem a few versions ago.  So to do a real full format on an SD card, you would need to use one of those utilities.  Then, it would be good to do a quick format in your recorder to make sure the filesystem is set up exactly how it should be for that device.

The 70D saves you that step and includes functionality other recorders do not.  Other recorders are doing a Quick format only.*  You can verify this by running data recovery utilities on a card you just formatted.  If it was a quick format, you'll be able to recover quite a bit from before the format.  After a full format, not so much without professional tools.

*EDIT: I didn't realize that even the cheaper Tascam units have had Full / Erase format as a normal feature!  My other portable recorders have been Sony, Marantz, and Zoom which do not.  Giving myself a dope slap here for jumping to conclusions.

[Life In Rewind]

I think you're missing my point.  No recorder I'm aware of in this price bracket includes a full format function except for the 70D with the new firmware.  Why other recorders don't include this could be for reasons of speed, battery life, etc. but the 70D is very unusual that it can do this.  It's a much more involved procedure, and the way it's being done on a PC whether it be a quick or full format is functionally the same so those articles I linked are valid. 

Quick format isn't useless at all, but a full format is much better for reasons stated.  One reason why you would want to format in your device even if it's not a full format is to make sure the filesystem is exactly what that device is expecting.  I always recommend formatting in the recorder for this reason.  The filesystem these devices use is often FAT32, and as I said before Windows removed the ability to format in that filesystem a few versions ago.  So to do a real full format on an SD card, you would need to use one of those utilities.  Then, it would be good to do a quick format in your recorder to make sure the filesystem is set up exactly how it should be for that device.

The 70D saves you that step and includes functionality other recorders do not.  Other recorders are doing a Quick format only.  You can verify this by running data recovery utilities on a card you just formatted.  If it was a quick format, you'll be able to recover quite a bit from before the format.  After a full format, not so much without professional tools.

Are you quite sure about "Other recorders are doing a Quick format only."?

DR60D owners report much longer format times...hell even the JB3 took a bit to re-format.

And I think your missing (or dismissing) my point that the functions that service the filesystem are different.

Obviously the DR70D isnt running Windows...I can't really just accept your dismissal as they are "functionally the same."

[dallman]

I think you're missing my point.  No recorder I'm aware of in this price bracket includes a full format function except for the 70D with the new firmware.  Why other recorders don't include this could be for reasons of speed, battery life, etc. but the 70D is very unusual that it can do this.  It's a much more involved procedure, and the way it's being done on a PC whether it be a quick or full format is functionally the same so those articles I linked are valid. 

Quick format isn't useless at all, but a full format is much better for reasons stated.  One reason why you would want to format in your device even if it's not a full format is to make sure the filesystem is exactly what that device is expecting.  I always recommend formatting in the recorder for this reason.  The filesystem these devices use is often FAT32, and as I said before Windows removed the ability to format in that filesystem a few versions ago.  So to do a real full format on an SD card, you would need to use one of those utilities.  Then, it would be good to do a quick format in your recorder to make sure the filesystem is set up exactly how it should be for that device.

The 70D saves you that step and includes functionality other recorders do not.  Other recorders are doing a Quick format only.  You can verify this by running data recovery utilities on a card you just formatted.  If it was a quick format, you'll be able to recover quite a bit from before the format.  After a full format, not so much without professional tools.

Are you quite sure about "Other recorders are doing a Quick format only."?

DR60D owners report much longer format times...hell even the JB3 took a bit to re-format.

And I think your missing (or dismissing) my point that the functions that service the filesystem are different.

Obviously the DR70D isnt running Windows...I can't really just accept your dismissal as they are "functionally the same."

Full Format is not unusual at all among Tascam decks. Quite a few Tascam decks have this feature, I know off the top of my head that the the DR2d, the DR-08, DR60D, has quick and full format function. I usually do a quick every show or so. If I remember from home I do a full, but it takes a long time, the bigger the card, the longer it takes.

I think it is safe to say that the DR70D is unusually sensitive as to what cards you can use, and this is not typical in other multichannel decks or even other multi-channel Tascam decks. Hopefully a firmware upgrade will fix this, as Tascam is not willing to publicly say there is a problem.