Topic: SD 7 Series V2 Upgrade announced!

[lobitz]

http://www.sounddevices.com/news/7-v2.htm

Sound Devices has announced the long-awaited 2.0 software update as of sept 25, 2006, which will require a no-charge hardware upgrade as well.  It includes the ability to simultaneously record to CF, internal HD or external firewire drive or DVD-RAM.

[thegreatgumbino]

Cool.  Thanks for the link.  Not sure how the ability to record to a fw device would benefit me, but increased transfer times is a plus.

[MattD]

but increased transfer times is a plus.

I think decreased times would be even better!

[thegreatgumbino]

but increased transfer times is a plus.

I think decreased times would be even better!

Smart a$$.   

[thegreatgumbino]

It's pretty sweet that the hardware update is free of charge (less shipping from what I can tell).

[it-goes-to-eleven]

I wonder if you can still run the older firmware after getting the hardware upgaded?

[MattD]

I wonder what is being updated in the hardware. My guess would be the firewire controller.

[Sanjay]

When first read this for a second I thought they were updating the Grace v2 to have a722 in it.

I gotta get more sleep...

[Brian Skalinder]

When first read this for a second I thought they were updating the Grace v2 to have a722 in it.

You're not the only one!  My initial reaction was the opposite:  that SD was upgrading the 7xx preamps to mirror the V2 sound. 

[ts]

Cool. I've been waiting for faster transfer speeds. I'm on 1.46 and I've been hesitant to jump on newer firmware, not really knowing if transfer speeds were greatly increased. I guess we just need to wait for an email with send in instructions.

[terrapinj]

this looks great. the article briefly mentioned a remote but never went into details, that could be really sweet for stealthing depending.

i didn't see anything specifically mentioned in the release article, but I am assuming that one can also copy files over directly to FW devices without the need for a computer? could be great for festivals, people that tour etc. (my Maxtor external drive is 12v DC)

[fozzy]

this looks great. the article briefly mentioned a remote but never went into details, that could be really sweet for stealthing depending.

i didn't see anything specifically mentioned in the release article, but I am assuming that one can also copy files over directly to FW devices without the need for a computer? could be great for festivals, people that tour etc. (my Maxtor external drive is 12v DC)

when i was speaking w/ them in the past I was dissappointed to find out that they were not planning on supporting bus powered drives (not a problem in your case),   This may have changed but i haven't heard differently

[terrapinj]

this looks great. the article briefly mentioned a remote but never went into details, that could be really sweet for stealthing depending.

i didn't see anything specifically mentioned in the release article, but I am assuming that one can also copy files over directly to FW devices without the need for a computer? could be great for festivals, people that tour etc. (my Maxtor external drive is 12v DC)

when i was speaking w/ them in the past I was dissappointed to find out that they were not planning on supporting bus powered drives (not a problem in your case),   This may have changed but i haven't heard differently

that was gonna be my next question, i was thinking that could be part of the Hardware upgrade, but perhaps not, i guess we'll find out for sure in a few weeks

[midside]

So, are they saying that you can record directly to an external firewire drive, but you cannot transfer the files to an external drive as you wish?  That would be too bad.....

[fozzy]

So, are they saying that you can record directly to an external firewire drive, but you cannot transfer the files to an external drive as you wish?  That would be too bad.....

I don't see why we won't be able to, you can already copy to the flash card from the HD.

[fozzy]

More info
http://www.sounddevices.com/tech/7-2.0-faq.htm

[terrapinj]

thanks for that link Fozzy

Can the 7-Series recorder power my external hard drive or DVD-RAM drive?

    Yes! The 7-Series can power an external drives only when powered from external DC. The 7-Series will not power a drive off of its attached Li-Ion battery alone. There is not enough voltage from the Li-Ion battery to support bus powering.



Can I copy files from my internal hard drive or Compact Flash to the external drive?

    Yes. The external drive shows up just like CF or hard drive in the File Viewer. Files can be moved to and from it, played, info can be viewed, etc. Additionally, files from at external drive can be copied to internal drives.

[thamblet]

Do I read this correctly  - I could "patch out" of a 744 to an external firewire drive while the 744 is recording to it's own internal drive?

[terrapinj]

Do I read this correctly  - I could "patch out" of a 744 to an external firewire drive while the 744 is recording to it's own internal drive?

yes, it can record to internal HD, onboard CF, and external FW device at one time, but it cannot power the FW device unless the 722/744 had external DC power

[mmedley.]

I am going to wait on the hardware update as it is something I will not be using in the immediate future. I will wait until the big rush is over to send mine in. I will be running 2.0 though! 

I am very excited about this release. Looks to be the icing on the cake!

[-sam]

huh, i just sent my 722 in to get its lcd fixed.  I wonder if they'll make with the updates as well while they've got it popped open.

Additionally, any unit we receive for service is receiving the 2.0 updates.

Ah indeed.

[tim in jersey]

Sweet! Now what exactly is this CL-1 remote?

[-sam]

a dongle-deal that let you plug in a PS/2 keyboard.

http://www.sounddevices.com/products/acc/cl1.htm

[nickgregory]

a dongle-deal that let you plug in a PS/2 keyboard.

http://www.sounddevices.com/products/acc/cl1.htm

yeah, not much use for what some would want it for, except to start recording...but I can do that on my own.

This is a fantastic upgrade though...credit SD...most companies release their product and move on...and the few that will make a change charge you for it...stand up company in my book, with one of the coolest taping gadgets out there

[F.O.Bean]

agreed nick, i waited til the bugs got worked out first, def the best piece of gear ive ever owned

3x faster firewire speeds thats FREAKIN FAST

wonder what firmware theyre saying its 3x faster than? hopefully they mean 1.79 beta, cause that is pretty damn fast, maybe 2x faster than 1.74

HELLS YEAH 2.0 here i come

wonder what other fixes are inmcluded?  hopefully the weird error where it starts another track on its own and the first one is hosed. happened to me once w/ 1.79 beta, or could have been some weird user error, but i highly doubt that since i dont really mess w/ the 722, i just get decent peaks(-6db>-10db) and just let her ride since the self-noise is so low, i just add a bunch of gain in post

[tim in jersey]

a dongle-deal that let you plug in a PS/2 keyboard.

http://www.sounddevices.com/products/acc/cl1.htm

Oh, I see. Thanks.

[ianstone]

sick

[F.O.Bean]

info? where is it?

[mwz]

sent my 744 in last week for warranty repair - it's back w/ a 2.0 ready sticker.  Justin said 4 day turnaround in the shop - it was more like one day.

email from yesterday:

Sound Devices, LLC7-Series 2.0 Software Next Week!

Sound Devices is please to announce the availability of our "2.0" release of 7-Series firmware on September 25, 2006. This release consolidates several significant features into one release and brings several powerful features to the 702, 702T, 722, and 744T portable digital recorders. The links below provide additional information about the features of this 2.0 release.

    * 7-Series 2.0 Software Press Release - provides an overview of the 2.0 update
    * 2.0 Software FAQ - provides information on often-asked questions regarding the 2.0 updates

Available via Download

No differently than any other firmware update, we will be posting 2.0 as an available no-charge download from sounddevices.com. All 7-Series recorders in the field can download and run 2.0 and take advantage of its many new features (see Hardware Update for limitations).
Hardware Update

In order to take advantage of recording to and playing back from external FireWire storage volumes, such as hard drives and DVD-RAM drives, a 7-Series recorder needs to be 2.0-ready. Without 2.0-ready hardware external FireWire writing is not available.

Sound Devices has been shipping 2.0-ready hardware since early September 2006. Units produced that are not specifically labeled as 2.0 ready (next to the serial number label on the battery mount and on the outer box) will require a hardware update to be fully 2.0 ready.

The hardware update process involves the units being sent to a designated Sound Devices Authorized Service Provider to have the updates performed. The updates cannot be performed by an end user.
U.S. 7-Series Customers

Sound Devices will perform 7-Series 2.0 hardware update at no charge. Contact us by phone at (800) 505-0625, by e-mail at support@sounddevices.com, or use our web form at www.sounddevices.com/contact_support.htm and provide your contact and product information. We will issue you an RA number and confirm that your unit is scheduled for the update. Since we believe that a great many 7-Series customers will take advantage of external FireWire storage we need to schedule units for updating to minimize the amount of time your recorder is in service.

Sound Devices will perform the updates at no charge, and will apply any other hardware updates to bring your recorder to present production specifications. We pay for return freight to U.S. customers using UPS ground. Premium freight, freight to customers outside of the U.S., and inbound freight is the customer's responsibility.
Non-U.S. 7-Series Customers

Customers outside the U.S. should first contact their Authorized Sound Devices Distributor for the 2.0 upgrade. Contact information for our distributors is at www.sounddevices.com/resellers. In many cases the distributor will perform the update, or they will arrange for units to be updated. Again, the actual upgrade is performed at no-charge.

If you have any specific questions on the upgrade process please contact Sound Devices at support@sounddevices.com.

Warmest Regards,

Jon Tatooles
Sound Devices, LLC

[Gaze]

Cool. I've been waiting for faster transfer speeds. I'm on 1.46 and I've been hesitant to jump on newer firmware, not really knowing if transfer speeds were greatly increased. I guess we just need to wait for an email with send in instructions.

1.79 has the increased fw-speeds. It doesn't have all the other stuff, but it does have the same speed as the 2.0 (without the hw-upgrade

[F.O.Bean]

Cool. I've been waiting for faster transfer speeds. I'm on 1.46 and I've been hesitant to jump on newer firmware, not really knowing if transfer speeds were greatly increased. I guess we just need to wait for an email with send in instructions.

1.79 has the increased fw-speeds. It doesn't have all the other stuff, but it does have the same speed as the 2.0 (without the hw-upgrade

how do you know this

all SD said was that firewire speeds were 3x faster

[F.O.Bean]

ok, transferred a file that was 1.85 GB, the default my 722 splits at 2GB, and it took about 6 mins on 1.79 beta

re-transferred the SAME file on v 2.0 and it took about 6 mins

whatever, im still psyched to be running 2.0 and still solid FW speeds IMO

6 mins for a 2GB file aint too shabby, thats as good as any JB3 FW transfers ive done especially considering the JB3 xfers were about 1GB max in size

[Gaze]

Cool. I've been waiting for faster transfer speeds. I'm on 1.46 and I've been hesitant to jump on newer firmware, not really knowing if transfer speeds were greatly increased. I guess we just need to wait for an email with send in instructions.

1.79 has the increased fw-speeds. It doesn't have all the other stuff, but it does have the same speed as the 2.0 (without the hw-upgrade

how do you know this

all SD said was that firewire speeds were 3x faster

I know this because I'm a member on the sounddevicessupport.com forum, and  someone from SD – I believe it was Matt – told us when the ones of us that were using the 1.79, that the increased fw-speeds were in comparison to the the 1.74. THe increase we saw saw in the 1.79 beta was the same as the one in the 2.0.

However, seeing that they certainly are changing fw-chipset, maybe there will be a little increase there as well.

Me, I'm still waiting (and hoping) for my 722 to get proper FW-speed. I hope that will come soon. 50mbps is a mere 1/8th of what it can be.


Edited: It was Tattooles - in this thread (if you have acces): http://sounddevicessupport.com/viewtopic.php?t=647