Military Log , Combat Date 17 Feb 97 Rick Mcbroom wrote to me:
Hi Rick.
-=>> Quoting Roger Davison to Rick Mcbroom <=-
RM> (DAT)
RD>> ..in the professional market it's *very* highly used..
RM> Right! I'm aware that it's widely used by pros.
RD>> ..not so good in the /field/ as the older analogue formats.
RM> Really? How come?
Comparing Dat to the older analogue it needs more general maintenance and is
more likely to fail in extreme cold/warm conditions. The BBC *must* change all
Dat heads more frequently than most analogue formats just to keep the quality
at
maximum. Just Imagine taking the latest hi-tech Dat machine to a cold dirty
mountain side while blowing at force 10.
RM> (DAT for data)
RD>> It does seem to offer one of the biggest single backup device.
RM> Granted, though DVD will offer 5+ gigs of data storage.
I'm looking forward to the day when we get that much data on a single CDrom
because it could save me buying so many disk caddies .
I assume it will use MPEG2 but how much time will each disk hold when used for
films (video and stereo sound). Any ideas?.
RD>> I don't know anybody with a DAT machine..
RM> I know /one/.
They still cost so much here, that most normal people cann't afford them.
[SNIP]
RM> using dbx-encoded metal tapes, to me. Also, the first generation of
I've heard some good things about dbx but I've never used one myself. In 1995 I
brought a Sony Dolby S deck but although it's not my main source of music it's
still find it very good for just the price of a #2.50p 90 minute blank metal
tape.
RM> 8mm
RM> video tapes had a problem with oxide flaking. This causes only a
RM> slight
RM> glitch in a video, but /kills/ digital audio.
Fingers crossed mine are still ok.
RD>> They did release Audio Cd writers well before Data writers..
RM> Sure. But as you say, the price has been kept atificially high. The
RM> first
RM> generation machine went for nearly $10 grand! The current generation
RM> (I've
RM> seen only a Pinoeer model) are still over $2 grand, I believe.
Still that much :-(
RD>> But at least us computer users can upgrade our machines without coming
RD>> close to the four figure mark.
RM> Unless you're running an old 386/25, like I am. :-( I'll have to
RM> upgrade
RM> my whole computer, before I can go the CD-R route.
All I should now need is the 1.2gig Hd and the writer. The rest of my Amiga is
ok but like you we both have no money.
RM>>> A Hi-Fi video deck really does make an outstanding "reel-to-reel"
RM>>> recorder. I'm amazed that more people don't use them that way!
RD>> I think the same.
RM> I still use a Beta deck. When taping in the "simulcast" mode, it has
RM> the
RM> capability of shunting the line-level audio input source to the Hi-Fi
RM> soundtracks, while pulling the linear soundtrack's signal from the
RM> tuner.
A m8 has the Sony Hi-Fi deck that sounds fantastic. It's one of the few video's
around that have *metal* parts inside compared to all the VHS machines that are
made of plastic.
RM> Think about that for a moment, and you'll see where I'm going.. ;-)
This sounds similar to how the Uk Nicam decks work (ish). (see below)
RM> What it does is let me have my cake and eat it, too. Say I've got 9 or
RM> 10
RM> albums that I want to backup to Beta video.. I wait 'til there's a
RM> couple
RM> of good movies showing back-to-back on cable (or I feed in the RF
RM> signal of
RM> another VCR), then I start the machine to recording in "simulcast
RM> mode".
RM> THEN I cycle the music media (cassette, CD, LP, etc.) through the
RM> stereo. I
RM> end up with a Beta tape which contains a couple of movies which have
RM> only
RM> linear sound (good enough, for most movies!), and also 4.5 hours of
RM> high-
RM> quality audio which happens to be totally unrelated to the video. I
RM> only
RM> need to switch the Beta Hi-Fi off to watch the movie, or leave it on
RM> to
RM> hear the music that I've archived.
I used to do this before Nicam arrived.
RM> I tell ya, those Beta manufacturers were /smart/! ;-) I've looked
RM> high
RM> and low for a VHS machine that can do this, with no success.
Most of our video's don't have the simulcast function anymore, but again it's
because the Uk has gone Nicam.
RD>> I've also wondered why the stand alone PCM audio units that let you
RD>> record digital audio on the *video* *track* on any normal VCR never
RD>> really took off.
RM> Same here!
RM> I considered one myself, back at the same time that I was looking at
RM> the
RM> 6-track Sony 8mm PCM machine. The main drawback, for me, was the cost.
RM> The
RM> lowest-priced PCM unit ran $1,000 or so, if I recall. And you STILL
RM> needed
RM> a $400 to $500 VCR (remember, that's what a basic mono VCR cost, 10 to
RM> 12
RM> years ago.. a Hi-Fi VCR was well over a grand!).
Same here :-( The only units I every saw was in my local BBC studio but they
of course have that sort of money to spend. A m8 did borrow it once and said it
equalled any Music Cd quality but I never got the chance to try it myself.
RD>> With the price of Nicam video's today I always wonder why people still
RD>> buy mono units.
RM> "Nicam"? I'm not familiar with the term.. I assume you mean "Hi-Fi",
RM> which
Near instantaneous compounded Audio Multiplex (I think)
It's a system where a set of stereo channels is sent with the normal
picture/sound but using compressed PCM giving us almost CD quality from any VCR
or Tv fitted with the Nicam chip.No other new equipment is needed to receive
other than a Nicam equipped VCR or Tv.
When recording with Nicam the stereo sound gets recorded on the Hi-Fi tracks
and the old mono sound gets recorded on the linear track.Nicam now covers 99%
of
the Uk so we are hard pushed to find any mono broadcast or material in mono.
RM> is the name that they're marketed under here in the U.S. But I agree!
RM> The
RM> price between a basic mono VCR and it's Hi-Fi counterpart is only $25
RM> to
RM> $50! I've seen Hi-Fi VCSs for as low as $189.. why anyone buys a mono
RM> deck
Same here :-( The only units I every saw was in my local BBC studio but they
of course have that sort of money to spend. A m8 did borrow it once and said it
equalled any Music Cd quality but I never got the chance RM> is beyond me.
The price difference is only very small here aswell.
RM> see no reason to use the 2-hour speed. Picture quality is another
RM> thing
RM> altogether, of course.
You can always spot the difference between any LP and SP picture. Have you
tried S-VHS yet?. The blank tapes cost a small fortune but the picture quality
is alot closer to broadcast standards than any VHS machine.
See ya m8.
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