The DVD-RAM thing is understandable, but is it still stuck to that standard or are other media formats being taken into consideration now like DVD-9 (DL), etc?
Starting with the Deva IV (there never was a Deva III), a FireWire port was put on the box, this allowed hard drives to be added along with DVD-RAM drives, etc. One thing to remember is 98% of the Deva users don't ever touch their audio, post production facilities do. This means they are at the mercy of those facilities when it comes to how they can turn in their stuff. For most that still means using DVD-RAM because they have to use the Fostex DV40 to read back their data. It also means using UDF as the format of the disc, making sure the DV40 has the latest firmware, not putting just 3 channels (or tracks) on the disc (the DV40 has issues with 3 channel masters)... For as advanced as the video and film industry has gotten, there are areas where they simply don't move ahead and audio is one of them. Most post production houses have had 6 years to figure out non-linear recorders, yet film sound crews still struggle with post production houses using outdated firmware and software which means a lot of the advances made have them going backwards (in some cases the DVD-RAM discs are transposed back onto DAT and re-stripped with time code). It simply makes me very happy that I don't have to deal with these issues since I do all my own post production work.
Wayne