Topic: JB3 questions - patching

[saint-martin]

Man, is this a lot of information. At this point I'm trawling through it trying to understand what questions to ask first.

Here are a few:

- What is "patching"?

- One of the "cons" listed in the FAQ says: "optical input though most ADCs and patch chains use a coax S/PDIF signal." I have deciphered this to mean something like: the sound of the concert goes to your JB3 in the form of an optical signal (?) through an analog-to-digital converter and/or a patch chain (whatever that is) by means of a coaxial cable in an audio transfer file format known as Sony/Philips Digital Interface or S/PDIF. Is that correct? Now the real question: what's wrong with that? Why is that a con?

Many more questions will follow! Thanks for listening.

[Brian Skalinder]

Hey Saint-Martin - if you have questions to ask, post 'em here instead of the Archival Info forum.  The AI forum is really just for archiving, not questions, answers, discussions, etc.  Just makes it easier for people to find what they need in the AI forum if there aren't lots of questions, answers, discussions throughout.  Thanks!

Okay, to answer your questions:

When we talk about patching, we're talking about receiving a signal from someone else.  A patch chain is simply multiple people in a line receiving the same signal from the same source.

For example, I'll set up my mics, pre/ADC, and recorder at a concert.  There may be 5 other people at the performance who only have recorders - no mics, etc.  I'll output a signal which they may receive into their recorders.  The reason it's called a chain is because I only have *one* output signal for those 5 people.  So, the patchers create a chain to pass the signal to one another.  I pass the signal to person 1, person 1 passes the signal to person 2, person 2 to person 3, etc.:

My signal ---> Person 1 ---> Person 2 ---> Person 3 ---> etc.

The above looks like a chain, or line.  NOT like this:

            person 1
          /
My signal -- person 2
          \
            person 3

The reason the NJB3 optical input is a con is because most digital signals coming out from analog-to-digital converters are in a different format: S/PDIF over a coax cable with RCA connectors.  The NJB3 is not compatible with S/PDIF over a coax cable with RCA connectors.  So if I take my NJB3 to a concert and want to patch out of someone else's gear, they'll likely only have a S/PDIF coax cable with RCA connectors for me to patch into.  Since the NJB3 is incompatible with the S/PDIF coax cable with RCA connectors, I can't receive the signal - I can't record.  

This is where the digital format converter comes into play, like the Hosa ODL-276.  (Note: a digital format converter simply translates one digital format into a different digital format, very different from an analog to digital converter which converts an analog signal into a digital signal.)  The digital format converter changes a S/PDIF signal over a coax cable with RCA connectors into an optical signal which is compatible with the NJB3.

[F.O.Bean]

Man, is this a lot of information. At this point I'm trawling through it trying to understand what questions to ask first.

Here are a few:

- What is "patching"?

- One of the "cons" listed in the FAQ says: "optical input though most ADCs and patch chains use a coax S/PDIF signal." I have deciphered this to mean something like: the sound of the concert goes to your JB3 in the form of an optical signal (?) through an analog-to-digital converter and/or a patch chain (whatever that is) by means of a coaxial cable in an audio transfer file format known as Sony/Philips Digital Interface or S/PDIF. Is that correct? Now the real question: what's wrong with that? Why is that a con?

Many more questions will follow! Thanks for listening.

well, first, 'ptaching', is the act of using a recorder(ala nomad jb3) and plugging it into someone elses recording equipment(ala mics/pre/analog to digital converter), and getting a signal and a recording from someone elses stuff

the next q is like this, mainly ppl are used to using spdif 'coax' cable because they are most used in using dat recorders, which is a main digital input/output, because its nice beefy cable and reliable connection

well, the jb3 records in 'optical' spdif not 'coax', even tho BOTH are spdif, they are diff formats of it

so you throw a bit for bit accurate digital converter in between the 2 to go from 'coax' sdpif to 'optical' spdif(ala the hosa odl-276) and you now can 'patch' from any dat deck or any source w/ a 'coax' digital output

the only con of this is you cannot pass a signal in return, so you would have to use a 'coax' digital splitter to go from the coax source your patching to and your jb3 so that other decks could run after you in the chain

bean

any other q's, keep em comin

[F.O.Bean]

damn b, ya beat me to it;-)