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Author Topic: Tascam DR-70D 4-channel audio recorder (Part 4)  (Read 105460 times)

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Offline goodcooker

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Re: Tascam DR-70D 4-channel audio recorder (Part 4)
« Reply #285 on: September 25, 2015, 10:22:25 AM »
Tom,

Ditch the recorder and move on. The only threatening language in any of that correspondance was from you. Totally unneccessary.

The email disclaimer at the bottom is one hudered percent standard in corporate communication.

What's up with you? Get a refund and get a different recorder. Pretty sure it not going to be worth anyone's time to send all this to the Attorney General.
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Offline JiB97

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Re: Tascam DR-70D 4-channel audio recorder (Part 4)
« Reply #286 on: September 25, 2015, 10:31:25 AM »
threatening legal language? hahaha chill out dude, that's the most non-threatening email footer i've ever seen

and the part about you contacting your lawyer? hahah thanks, i needed a solid laugh this morning  :yack:
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Offline phil_er_up

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Re: Tascam DR-70D 4-channel audio recorder (Part 4)
« Reply #287 on: September 25, 2015, 10:40:39 AM »
To those doing the SD card survey:

Please put the actual model number; not the product line (ex. Ultra Plus, Extreme Pro, etc.)  The product line names aren't useful for this; only the actual model number.  This will be printed on the card itself, usually on the back.  It will be fainter than the main branding and will look like it was put on with a dot matrix or thermal transfer printer.

Here's a guide from SanDisk on where to look.  If there are multiple codes printed on the card, the one you want will contain the card's capacity somewhere in the string.  For example, one respondent to the survey entered SDSDUN-064G-G46 which indicates a 64GB card.

Once again, you can view the survey results here.  I updated the FAQ page to include links to both the survey and the results.

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=========================================================================================

Volt good effort with spreadsheet. I can not see the number you are asking for on the back of the card. If they are there I can not read them. I even put them under a strong light and could see nothing.

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Offline 2manyrocks

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Re: Tascam DR-70D 4-channel audio recorder (Part 4)
« Reply #288 on: September 25, 2015, 11:19:01 AM »
Wishing you a full recovery....

I couldn't read the back of my card so I looked it up on the b&h website.


Online voltronic

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Re: Tascam DR-70D 4-channel audio recorder (Part 4)
« Reply #289 on: September 25, 2015, 05:28:22 PM »
I had thought all cards had the model number printed in this way, but I only have firsthand experience with a few brands.

If you have a microSD, you're likely to find it faintly printed on the front instead.
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Offline glennjr

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Re: Tascam DR-70D 4-channel audio recorder (Part 4)
« Reply #290 on: September 26, 2015, 04:39:09 AM »
I still haven't discounted this unit for ambisonic recording. Am I right about the preamps still not being gangable? Any word on a firmware update for that?

Regarding the slate function, is the slate tone written directly to the files? I'm thinking this could be used to level match the recordings in post. (If not, how are you doing it now?)

As a side, is it possible Tascam will never release a gang function firmware update because it might cause some sales loss from the DR680? This is the only feature keeping me from the 70d.

Thanks for your thoughts
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Online voltronic

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Re: Tascam DR-70D 4-channel audio recorder (Part 4)
« Reply #291 on: September 26, 2015, 08:09:06 AM »
I still haven't discounted this unit for ambisonic recording. Am I right about the preamps still not being gangable? Any word on a firmware update for that?

Regarding the slate function, is the slate tone written directly to the files? I'm thinking this could be used to level match the recordings in post. (If not, how are you doing it now?)

As a side, is it possible Tascam will never release a gang function firmware update because it might cause some sales loss from the DR680? This is the only feature keeping me from the 70d.

Thanks for your thoughts

You're correct that they're not gangable, and several of us here have been beating the drum about that being a big thing we'd like to see in a firmware update but don't hold your breath.  Tascam certainly could do it if they wanted to, and I don't think that would necessarily pull sales from the 680 as that's an 8-track recorder.

Yes the slate tones are written directly to files, and you can only activate them while recording (another thing we've requested be changed with a firmware update).

As for level matching, it's been established that the gain changes in 2dB steps and that the gain knobs are more "twiddly" than the actual level adjustment.  By that I mean if you set the knobs to the same clock position visually, even slightly off, you'll probably be within the same 2dB step for each channel anyway.  It does make setting levels a bit less precise feeling, as does the sub-par metering (my biggest firmware request). 

What I do is set one channel from the steady hall / background noise, watching the graphic meter and dB numeric display.  Then I set the second channel a bit higher, and dial it back until the numeric dB display reads what it did before, confirming that the bar graphs are visually matching as well.
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Offline Jonmac

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Re: Tascam DR-70D 4-channel audio recorder (Part 4)
« Reply #292 on: September 26, 2015, 08:59:42 AM »
I'm starting to lose faith in Tascam recorders, I have 2 Tascams, a Dr-05 and a DR-40, both of them have developed faults.

The DR-05 has lost lines on the display making it difficult to read, and the DR-40 has developed noise in one of the channels.

I also have 3 Zoom recorders, H1, H2 and H6, they are all working perfectly and accept any card I put in them.

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Offline 2manyrocks

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Re: Tascam DR-70D 4-channel audio recorder (Part 4)
« Reply #293 on: September 26, 2015, 10:03:49 AM »
I don't know what the percentage is, but my impression is the various zoom models are much less frequently discussed on TS.  Even the new f8 seems to have had a limited discussion so far in comparison to the m10, 680, and 70d.   The 70d has been priced below the m10 and you get 4 channels.  The recordings that have been posted sound good.  Metering could be better.  I think if you use a good quality card and format it in the 70d, its reliable.  I've never used a card bigger than 32g and really don't see the need for a larger capacity versus taking that risk.

I remember when 20g hard drives were considered large and were expensive.  32g on a postage stamp sized card for today's prices amazes me.

Offline glennjr

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Re: Tascam DR-70D 4-channel audio recorder (Part 4)
« Reply #294 on: September 27, 2015, 03:26:18 AM »
You're correct that they're not gangable, and several of us here have been beating the drum about that being a big thing we'd like to see in a firmware update but don't hold your breath.  Tascam certainly could do it if they wanted to, and I don't think that would necessarily pull sales from the 680 as that's an 8-track recorder.

Yes the slate tones are written directly to files, and you can only activate them while recording (another thing we've requested be changed with a firmware update).

As for level matching, it's been established that the gain changes in 2dB steps and that the gain knobs are more "twiddly" than the actual level adjustment.  By that I mean if you set the knobs to the same clock position visually, even slightly off, you'll probably be within the same 2dB step for each channel anyway.  It does make setting levels a bit less precise feeling, as does the sub-par metering (my biggest firmware request). 

What I do is set one channel from the steady hall / background noise, watching the graphic meter and dB numeric display.  Then I set the second channel a bit higher, and dial it back until the numeric dB display reads what it did before, confirming that the bar graphs are visually matching as well.

Thank you Voltronic, that was helpful. I'm really tossing up whether I should buy the DR70d or the new 680. Realistically I only need 4 channels, though it's nice to have a couple backup channels. But at an extra $400+...not sure they're that important! :)

Sounds like I could use the slate tone to level match in post. A couple extra steps, but not terribly a pain. Then hope and pray for a gang function update.

I'm still trying to find a sample recording at high gain with the 70d. How noticeable is the noise at high gain in your experience?
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Offline 2manyrocks

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Re: Tascam DR-70D 4-channel audio recorder (Part 4)
« Reply #295 on: September 27, 2015, 01:52:55 PM »
In the testing we did, the high plus setting is the one that had the most noise.  I don't think you will need it.

I have the original 680 and find the 70d more convenient and easier to use.  The 70d is easily powered with a cell phone battery.  It doesn't have the scroll wheel menu thing.  More compact.  The inability to gang channels is about the biggest hindrance IMO.  Unless you plan to spot mic and must have the extra channels, the 70d is certainly use able and may be your best value. 

There's a comparison recording posted in the 70d and the new 680 II in the 680 II thread.  Very close ...IMO.

Offline Life In Rewind

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Re: Tascam DR-70D 4-channel audio recorder (Part 4)
« Reply #296 on: September 27, 2015, 11:19:27 PM »
So - I got the digi-glitches on two sets (so far) this weekend.

These cards had worked well - until this outing.

LEXAR Platinum II 16GB SDHC 200x

Running 2 channels at 24/48...


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Re: Tascam DR-70D 4-channel audio recorder (Part 4)
« Reply #297 on: September 28, 2015, 07:58:22 AM »
Just as a public service reminder to people that might be considering buying one of the expensive cards on Tascams list, don't go to ebay or Amazon and try to save yourself money.  Ebay and Amazon are both chock full of counterfeit cards.  Best way to save money on a card is to buy it on-line through one of the volume discount dealers, like Newegg or B&H. 

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Re: Tascam DR-70D 4-channel audio recorder (Part 4)
« Reply #298 on: September 28, 2015, 12:00:04 PM »
Preliminary info from card testing:

Sandisk Extreme Pro SDXC UHS-1 128GB + 64GB    class 10 U3
Sandisk Extreme SDXC UHS-1 64GB class 10 U3

For many cards we tested, we can put the card in a state where its write speed drops too low for full channel count at max FS.   Only these sandisk cards had worst case write speed that meets out needs.

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Re: Tascam DR-70D 4-channel audio recorder (Part 4)
« Reply #299 on: September 28, 2015, 12:51:00 PM »
^ I would still like to know why recording four channels to an SD card is so difficult.  There are quite a number of recorders that can do it, some of which can record many more than four channels, and some of which are Tascam products.  Just seems like what the Dutch call a "smoesje", which is some sort of lame excuse...

I don't know if this is the answer or not, but I'm wondering if the issue might not be limited to only the write speed on the card but also be related to how the unit is designed to handle data transfer.

I don't remember for sure which unit it was, but I once had a recorder that indicated on it's display when the speed of data being created by the recorder exceeded the ability of the device to write.  When that happened (somewhat regularly), some kind of a buffer memory kicked in for the data to be stored temporarily while the write process caught up.  I figure the card bogged down as it was searching for clean sectors to write onto.  I also remembered that, there would be very rare occasions where I'd get a skip in the music.  There were no drop-outs or digi-glitches, but there might just be a second or two where it was obvious that the recording process stopped and even though the recorded music was continuous (without drops, pops, or noise) it would instantaneously skip.  In those cases, the buffer filled up and, once full, there's just no place to put the data so a second or two of music was lost forever.  This was rare though.

Now, I'm not sure how your 'typical' digital recorders designed, but it's becoming apparent from Tomuo's responses and the limited number of acceptable cards, that this DR70D design is far more sensitive to accurate data transfer (perhaps due to data backups or bottlenecks?!?) than other recorders.  Maybe the DR70D doesn't even have the capability to buffer data, whereas the others do?!?  Since the cards on the list are either very fast or sophisticated cards (the 'extreme pro' cards for example), from Tomuos response above it seems that there's only a handful of cards that can stay ahead of the recorder...or perhaps these card design itself has the buffering capabilities built into the card.

Anyway, thinking this through some, if a typical recorder can buffer data and the DR70D doesn't, that could explain why the same cards work in other units when they don't work in this one.

« Last Edit: September 28, 2015, 12:57:10 PM by tonedeaf »

 

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