Topic: Tascam DV-RA1000 DVD Recorder Surprise

[VA_TAPER]

btw: I'm just waiting on my R1000 to arrive =)

[VA_TAPER]

http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/stream_heads/

feel free to join in, we'll try to get Doug Oade to join in as well, I'll work on setting up a FAQ once I get rolling with the machine, then we can work on seeding guidlines once we find out how we can share recordings via the net, etc.

peace, chris

[VA_TAPER]

Chris,

Somewhere in one of his posts, MattH said that he was able to copy the disc via his dvd duplicator, a basic stand-alone unit.

I read that, but, the Tascam manual states that computers can't be used to create discs playable by the unit, if a standalone works, then most probably, creating an image file on the PC and then burning should work.  If it does we can share recordings by posting the image files on archive.org, etc. instead of doing snail mail trades only.

peace, chris

[Jammin72]

Doug told me today that he couldn't get any of his PC's to recognize the disc... that's too bad.

Matt was mentioning an Acard DVD Duplicator that was doing the trick. 

From a quick search it looks like they sell the controller module separately... looks like if you have a reader and a writer you can save a little $$.

[VA_TAPER]

the discs are supposed to be able to be read by a PC.  You might need a reader that will support the burned DVDs which can be an issue. 

My big interest in the unit is not only archival quality concert sources but also to be able to convert many cassettes to an archival format for future use/ future noise reduction etc.  Being able to get these files off of DVD and on to the hard disc to post on the net is very important to me for this reason.  Hopefully we can make it work.

peace, chris

[MattH]

The PCM files are readable by most computers but you need DSD software for DSD files. Sonic Solutions and Discwelder have the lowest cost ware but it's 3 grand and up. Hope fully $300 in a year. In the meantime it's gonna be dvd duplicators and old fashioon trades.

We need to redigitize all good analog again. Whose got my Nak CR-7A?

[VA_TAPER]

The PCM files are readable by most computers but you need DSD software for DSD files. Sonic Solutions and Discwelder have the lowest cost ware but it's 3 grand and up. Hope fully $300 in a year. In the meantime it's gonna be dvd duplicators and old fashioon trades.

We need to redigitize all good analog again. Whose got my Nak CR-7A?

I understand that the dff files aren't playable on the PC right now but they have to be readable (meaning you can see them on the disc, transfer them, but not play them).  If a DVD duplicator can copy them, then they are probably just files, on the disc, but maybe in UDF format, so drivers (included with programs like nero would be needed to grab the image).  Of couse this is all speculation til I start playing with the unit.

Either way though through the USB 2.0 connection might be another means to image the disc.

peace, chris

[VA_TAPER]

just saw this on the the TASCAM website:

 What can I do with the discs?
A: The discs can be played in any computer with a DVD-ROM drive capable of playing DVD+RW discs. It creates UDF discs, a standard format read by virtually all computer platforms, including Mac, Windows and Linux. The files recorded are Broadcast Wave (.WAV) or DSDIFF (.DFF) files.

[VA_TAPER]

I am also interested to find out if the AES digi output sends anything or can be configured to send anything while playing a DSD disc....this would allow conversion to a more playable format with out a $3k computer program. 

[macdaddy]

just saw this on the the TASCAM website:

 What can I do with the discs?
A: The discs can be played in any computer with a DVD-ROM drive capable of playing DVD+RW discs. It creates UDF discs, a standard format read by virtually all computer platforms, including Mac, Windows and Linux. The files recorded are Broadcast Wave (.WAV) or DSDIFF (.DFF) files.

so we can put these up on the LlaMA..

[VA_TAPER]

so we can put these up on the LlaMA..

The .dff files can be extracted, but, the issue is, since tascam does something screwy with the file system, can an image be made of the disc so that it can be downloaded and burned so it'll be readable.  Burning the .dff files alone will not play.  It'd be like burning a wav on to a cd-r and trying to play it in a wal-mart special cd boombox.....not gonna happen =)

[MattH]

You can definitely pre-format discs and re-insert them when ready to record. This is actually recommended since it's a 30 minute process even though it can be done in the background while recording.

I think the program to recognize the files is the licensing fee. No way around it. The readers, writers and controlers don't change. My duplicator copies it but my cd player doesn't recognize it.

[macdaddy]

You can definitely pre-format discs and re-insert them when ready to record. This is actually recommended since it's a 30 minute process even though it can be done in the background while recording.

I think the program to recognize the files is the licensing fee. No way around it. The readers, writers and controlers don't change. My duplicator copies it but my cd player doesn't recognize it.

right - but how long until it is an add-on to nero..?

[MattH]

I mean't to say dvd player as an analogy to the PC reading issue.

Yes, the Tas. reads the DSD clone perfectly! As it also does my new 24/48 archive disc clones. It's kinda cool to transfer 16/48 to 24/48 on dvd.

[Jammin72]

The PCM files are readable by most computers but you need DSD software for DSD files. Sonic Solutions and Discwelder have the lowest cost ware but it's 3 grand and up. Hope fully $300 in a year. In the meantime it's gonna be dvd duplicators and old fashioon trades.

We need to redigitize all good analog again. Whose got my Nak CR-7A?

Actually...

I have one!  It needs a bit of work (I think the rewind doesn't work) but it plays tapes OK.

Got it from a neighbor that was a fellow long time Hi-Fi guy when he moved.  I've been meaning to e-Bay it but haven't gotten around to it yet.