Well, it looks like I've got a new 4ch rig to use!!
I recently got a 722, only had 2 opportunities to use it in the field so far. I still need to make up a bunch of new cables for it to run it in all the different configurations I'd like. So far I've been able to run mics>V3(analog)>722 and run SBD(analog)>722.
Last night I got around to making a spdif digi cable for it, so I did some testing of the external clock sync. Looks like it worked great getting an external clock from the V3!
It's probably worth describing the process, since it wasn't intuitive to me and the procedure is a bit buried in the manual. Info is found in the section on inputs, not in the section on word clock.
I synced the 722 using the AES3 unbalanced digital input on the 722, not the word clock in, and got the timing signal from the spdif digital out on the V3, not the word clock out (since my V3 has been opti-modded and doesn't have a WC out).
Here's what I did to test:
I ran Milab VM44>V3>iRiver h120 and then ran MSH-1O omnis into the mic/XLR inputs of the 722, with the 722 fed a spdif digital signal from the V3. On the 722 menus, I selected Analog input, instead of Auto-select. This forces the 722 to record off the analog inputs even though a digital signal is present on AES3. The digital audio signal on the AES3 input is used to provide the external clock -- once hooked up, there was an "L" for lock on the LCD screen next to the bit depth and sample rate info.
I recorded my stereo with both rigs for an hour. Got the files loaded into CoolEdit, found a good place to match up the files near the beginning, and then checked to see if they were in sync at various point throughout the files. Both files matched up perfectly, right up to the end at just past 1 hour of record time!
So from the testing, it looks like the 722 should work great to get an external clock from a digital audio stream. This should make it really easy to make 4ch mixes. You need to do the initial time-align in post processing, but other than that, 4ch mixes should be almost as easy as with a 744 or R4. I need to make up another cable, but I imagine the 722 can get the clock from the AES output of the V3 as easily as with the spdif out. So the nice thing is that the 722 appears to be able to get a signal clock from any A/D or recorder that has an available spdif/AES digital output.
Of course, it sure would've been nice to get this cable made and testing done a week earlier so I could've synced my 722 to my V3 last Sunday for YMSB when I recorded VM44>v3 audience and SBD>722. Day late and a dollar short I guess.
Topic: SD 722 external clock/sync (Read 3420 times)