Topic: Microtrack 24/96 Firmware 1.4.0

[udovdh]

Installed it, will use it tonight.
At 48/16, it reports max time per file as 2:53:36!? (should be over 3 hours!)

That's the time you get when you base your calculations on kilobytes, megabytes and Gigabytes all being 1000 instead of 1024 so that must be what's happening.

If that's true then it is a joke!
How can a programmer use 1000*1000*1000 byte GB's instead of 1024*1024*1024!? 
Is the software development outsourced as well?
I guess the hope for a seamless 2GB file switch (whatever 2GB it is..) can be abandoned?

I hope enough reports of this bug will come in. We need all of the real 2GB (the WAV format's limit) we can get. Not some stupid implementation that says less than 3 hours.
How can a non-US user make this clear to M-Audio without going through a local distributor?

[Howell]

ran 1.4 tonight.  Did about a 90 minute file 16/44.1  using the 1/4 inputs.  I was patching from the board at 9:30.  Everything seemed ok.  Playback didn't stop on the way home like usual.

I did have problems trying to listen through the headphones while recording.  I turned it on in the record settings after I started recording and couldn't get anything to come out.  I could see the levels moving and turned the volume all the way up.  I was also running mics and plugged the headphones into my MD recorder and they worked fine there.  Not sure what the issue was I'll play with it tomorrow.  Do you have to set input monitoring to "ON" before you start recording?

Yep.  Monitor "On"

Well I know it has to be "ON" but do you have to do it before you hit record, or can you change it once you have started recording?  I'll play with it at home and find out.

[gl0bber]

Maybe my math is wrong - surely 44.1/16, but not 48/16 at 2GB should result in over 3 hrs?

Anyway, except for the auto-split issue, 1.4.0 is the first firmware that actually makes my MT useable for me.  The Chinese OEM (whoever it is) should have instructed its marketing firm (M-Audio) to hold off on release until the basic bugs were ironed out.  For example, what's up with the funky level meters during playback?!  Back in the days before rabid globalization, these things simply could not have happened...  You got to give the marketing firm credit, though - they got $400 out of me when it should have been $200 tops!

Cheers

PS  Sorry to have to break it to you - it was the Chinese manufacturer that offshored/outsourced the marketing of their product to M-Audio.  Who knows where the programming takes place.  It's a brave new world we are living in.  Crude engineering and tacked-on "Designed in USA" and "Engineered in USA" labels do not a US product make - but it still seems to fool quite a few (mostly younger) folks.

PPS  I have to switch monitoring on before hitting "Rec."  Then it works fine.  Of course your MD would work fine, it's a properly engineered device.  Sigh.

[Ed.]

yeah, the mt pisses me off too, but its not like any of us were forced into buying it when we all knew that it had kinks to work out.

[Howell]

PPS  I have to switch monitoring on before hitting "Rec."  Then it works fine.  Of course your MD would work fine, it's a properly engineered device.  Sigh.

That's what I suspected.  The odd thing is I know on 1.3.3(or whatever it was) I did turn input monitoring to "OFF" durring a recording and it stopped working.  I can't remember if I turned it back on later in the set though.  I don't usually use it but I was taking the board patch and just wanted to hear how it was coming through. 

[china_rider]

Glad to see people are having success.  However, to be safe I think I am going to stick older firmware until some more try it.  Is the new firmware still listed as beta? 

Oh well... Using the old firmware for tool tonight.

[deadheaded]

Ran 1.4.0  24-48 SPDIF last night with no problems.  second set went 1:54 with no shut downs or any other problems.

[JoeKiller]

Ran Keller and the Keels last night.  24/48.  Sets were 25:12, 65:32, 77:35, 34:00, 29:32

Ran mme > s/pdif

1.4 is a winner for me.

Has anyone tested the file splitting?

[John Kelly]

.

[udovdh]

At 48/16, it reports max time per file as 2:53:36!? (should be over 3 hours!)

That's the time you get when you base your calculations on kilobytes, megabytes and Gigabytes all being 1000 instead of 1024 so that must be what's happening.

Did anyone report this bug to M-Audio?

[guysonic]

Ran Keller and the Keels last night.  24/48.  Sets were 25:12, 65:32, 77:35, 34:00, 29:32

Ran mme > s/pdif

1.4 is a winner for me.

Has anyone tested the file splitting?

I had held off from installing the 1.3.3 version on a hunch it was trouble, but had a 'good feeling' about 1.4.0 so installed it last night and let the deck run at 24 bit/88.2K with Sandisk Ultra II 8 GIG card with 1/4" analog input set at "L" line input using Sonic Studios external PA-24XP preamplifier.  Deck was being powered by Sonic Studios BD-MT external D cell power sled, connected AFTER the deck booted up, but I don't know if connected before or after boot matters much.

Intended to let the card fill up and the deck make consecutive files which it did making (4) ~1:02:56 length files, and (1) ~00:02:56 short file without problem.  Happened to check the progress just as the first file was reaching the 2 GIG limit and saw the deck close the first file, and start the second very quickly within ~3-4 seconds time. 

To say the least, I am encourgaged so far.  More testing of other aspects is in process.  Other noticed improvements is the navagation toggle is VERY stable with EXACTLY one jump per activation verses the overshoot experienced with 1.2.3 (I do not know if this was already fixed in 1.3.3)

One possible 'hang-up' was after deleting a recorded file with the microtrack, the deck appears to freeze and not allow further recording, or I just got impatient waiting for some process to finish? The deck flashes deleting the file window briefly, and then returns to show the VU meter, but nothing else shows on the screen when pushing the REC button.  Looking at the files with navagation showed the deleted files to be gone, but the deck refused to activate further recording of new files!

In any case, I found myself having to shut down the deck (removing external USB power included with this) and reboot to find the files still gone as they should, and the recording process now possible to activate.   

Could be a bug, but more needs be tested more to see if this is a consistent problem, or just my very early morning imagination.

Other quirk was after making some initial short recordings, I reformatted the card to delete the files and start up fresh, which the deck did, and then got a message "the deck is now resetting" which makes the unit turn off completely.  Manual reboot is needed after this, but everything seems to be working OK after that.

 

[ghibliss]

I installed v1.4.0 in the microtrack and just tested the audio playback function via the headphone jack.  As noted by myself and other previously the Microtrack would stop output of the audio signal to the headphones after an undetermined period of time although the VU meters were still functioning correctly.  This problem has apprently been fixed as I loaded a .wav file which I had previously made on the recorder to listen to.  The file was a 24/44.1 file which was one hour nine minutes long and I was able to listen to it in its entirety without issues.

[ChrisF]

so far all the tests i have done (ua5>spdif>MT 24bit/44.1) with new firmware v1.4.0 have been successful except for one where i was using crappy batteries in a usb battery pack and they died. im keeping my fingers crossed though. its too soon to tell how reliable this is going to be.

with the v1.3.3 firmware 8 of 10 shows i taped were fucked up even though before that version of the firmware i was fine.

not counting the test where my battery ran out, i am 2 for 2 for flawless test recordings. in my house i recorded a 1 hour 20 min file, then a 2 hour file to simulate first set, then second set + encore. i formatted the card and tried it again and had no problems in either test.

im going to try it a few more times today, then tape a tim palmieri solo acoustic show tomorrow. if i get through the tests and the  show tomorrow i will be more confident that this thing will be reliable from this point on.


1 question i have for you guys with microtracks:

I was having problems with the channel swapping thing in all versions of the firmware before 1.4.0. i forgot to check before formatting my card after the tests i just did, but the channels were not swapped while i was monitoring the level meters. could you tell the channels were swapped while monitoring in older versions, or did you have to actuallly open the file on the pc to find out whether or not the channels got swapped?

[Ed.]

Well, here are my findings from 1.4.0...

I went to STS9 last night, IsWhat was the opener...I decided to try out my new compact flash card for this...it is the off brand one found in the retail section that was less than $100.  Its probably important to not that I was running spdif in from the v3, taping at 24/48.  When I first hit record I got the message "Media Full" - there was nothing on the card and I thought that I had formatted it at home before I left.  I formatted it again, hit record and everything seemed to work like normal.  At 3:30 it quit writing the file and started a new one.  I should add that I was holding the mt at this point in time checking to make sure that it was going ok, so its possible that the spdif cable might have jiggled or I did something to cause it to start a new file.  Upon listening theres about a 1/10 of a second of static at the beginning of the file and then it continues as normal.  The rest of the recording is flawless.  So I'm guessing it was me that messed up the first file.

For STS9 I ran the 6gb Hitachi Microdrive.  No problems running at 24/48 and from what I could tell, all was as it should be.  All the numbers and countdown timers were correct from what I could tell.  The recordings are flawless...and sound damn nice too.  Also, I listened to the recordings on my way home, playing from the MT and they never cut out like they used to.  I did notice at about 28 minutes in the recording stopped for a second and then started back up where it left off.  I'm guessing this was just the mt resetting its buffer or something.  Not a big deal by any means and much better than before.  I listened to that spot when I got home and the recording itself doesn't skip on my computer, so all is well.

So far, so good.  The battery still sucks though.

[ghibliss]

I suppose that the battery "sucks" (no pun intended) if you are powering the microphones from the MT. I am supplying power to my DPA 4061's via an external a/d converter mic preamplifier and typically get on the order of four and a half to five hours of battery run time even with the backlight set to always on.  Once I start my rig up I immediately select the "hold" button and then adjust my gain settings from the a/d converter mic preamplifier.  I have fortunately not experienced the problems with my microtrack that most of you have had.  I am going in spdif and have made several 24/96 recordings since 1.33 was released all with excellent results.

I hope that the current release is even more robust for the rest of the microtrack community as it is a great piece to strealth with.  Using good quality microphones and an external a/d converter the results are as good as any of the more expensive recorders for a fraction of the price.  As long as you are able to work around the file split issue for now in my opinion nothing can touch this piece.  I simply make a new file when the band members are introduced and then I am good to go for the rest of the night.  Most concerts I attend are approximately 90 minutes to just under two hours so It is perfect for 24/96 on a 4 GB card.  Two files with a small amount of room to spare!