DAT transfer

[iquinn]

A friend was getting some DAT's transfered and the person doing the transfer said the DAT's were NTSC but their machines were PAL, so they couldn't play them.

I thought those standards only applied to video, but that you could sync some dat machines (sony pcm's etc) to those formats.

If it's only audio information should it not playback regardless of the ntsc/pal information?


thanks,
stephen

[Cellotron]

Originally Posted by iquinn

A friend was getting some DAT's transfered and the person doing the transfer said the DAT's were NTSC but their machines were PAL, so they couldn't play them.

I thought those standards only applied to video, but that you could sync some dat machines (sony pcm's etc) to those formats.

If it's only audio information should it not playback regardless of the ntsc/pal information?


thanks,
stephen

Yes, you are correct - PAL & NTSC are only standards for VHS and DVD-V and have nothing whatsoever to do with whether you can play the audio off of a DAT.
Personally I would get someone else to do the transfer because if they are not aware of this I would be wary of what else they don't really know.

Best regards,
Steve Berson

[iquinn]

Originally Posted by Cellotron

Yes, you are correct - PAL & NTSC are only standards for VHS and DVD-V and have nothing whatsoever to do with whether you can play the audio off of a DAT.
Personally I would get someone else to do the transfer because if they are not aware of this I would be wary of what else they don't really know.

Best regards,
Steve Berson

Great thanks, that's pretty much what I told him.

[ed littman]

Originally Posted by iquinn

Great thanks, that's pretty much what I told him.
I think it was a post house that was doing it, maybe they tried to fit it into a DV deck...

Could also be that the tapes are in LP mode- recorded at 32k. The tapes will roll but not read. You need the consumer decks like a sony tcd-d7 hanging around for that.
Ed

[Cellotron]

Originally Posted by ed littman

Could also be that the tapes are in LP mode- recorded at 32k. The tapes will roll but not read. You need the consumer decks like a sony tcd-d7 hanging around for that.
Ed

Just a note that my Tascam DA-20 and a good number of other decks handles 32kHz LP mode as well.

Best regards,
Steve Berson

[ed littman]

Originally Posted by Cellotron

Just a note that my Tascam DA-20 and a good number of other decks handles 32kHz LP mode as well.

Best regards,
Steve Berson

Ha!
myDA-45hr does not. I guess i'm just more pro having a 24/48 ability & no 32k .
Ed

[iquinn]

Originally Posted by Cellotron

Just a note that my Tascam DA-20 and a good number of other decks handles 32kHz LP mode as well.

Best regards,
Steve Berson

I've a DA-20 also, I've told him I'd have a look at them if he wants.

speaking of DAT's, I've about 20 tapes of my old music that were recorded on a Sony DTC A6 that won't play without distorting on the DA-20, the heads must have been mis-aligned or something on the sony.
Is there a deck that handles those type of errors better than others, or is it a case of trying to track down another A6 with dodgy heads?
A 4 head deck?

[ed littman]

Originally Posted by iquinn

I've a DA-20 also, I've told him I'd have a look at them if he wants.

speaking of DAT's, I've about 20 tapes of my old music that were recorded on a Sony DTC A6 that won't play without distorting on the DA-20, the heads must have been mis-aligned or something on the sony.
Is there a deck that handles those type of errors better than others, or is it a case of trying to track down another A6 with dodgy heads?
A 4 head deck?

Thats another reason i keep a couple of those little consumer dat players around. I have found that when the audio drops out & distorts on the "pro" deck. The tape plays better on the consumer portables.
Ed

[iquinn]

Originally Posted by ed littman

Thats another reason i keep a couple of those little consumer dat players around. I have found that when the audio drops out & distorts on the "pro" deck. The tape plays better on the consumer portables.
Ed

ok, thanks.

[jamsmith]

Sony F-1 ran on VHS. Could that be what they are talking about?

[iquinn]

Originally Posted by jamsmith

Sony F-1 ran on VHS. Could that be what they are talking about?

no, the master is a DAT tape.

[Cellotron]

Originally Posted by ed littman

Ha!
myDA-45hr does not. I guess i'm just more pro having a 24/48 ability & no 32k .
Ed

Actually - you're right. The DA-20 has digital i/o on spdif only making it kind of more of a "prosumer" deck - while the DA-45 has AES i/o as well and was basically Tascam's final "top of the line" DAT deck. Regardless my DA-20 has functioned well as a reliable playback deck, and there's so little call for DAT transfers these days that it doesn't make sense for me to "upgrade."

Anyway - I've had exactly one client who stated he sometimes he mixes to 24bit DAT and wanted to see whether I could accept them, but since he can also provide 24bit files on data CD-R or hard drive it's been a non-issue. Otherwise it's rare that I get call for DAT transfers - I've only done it about a handful this year - and I've never been asked to do a transfer from a 32kHz DAT. I still have a rack full of DAT's of material from my own projects dating mostly from 1992-2001 though - so since I've been too lazy to transfer all of them just yet it's nice to still have a DAT deck around.

As far as DAT compatibility - if your someone in need of doing lots of transfers there's definitely a good reason to keep a variety of DAT machines on hand (i.e. a mix of Panasonic, Sony & Tascam seems to cover nearly all bases) in order to make sure that problematic tapes can be more reliably played - by using the same brand to play them back as was used to record them.

My Sony PCM2600 that I kept just for this reason just stopped recognizing tapes (although it powers up fine) and it doesn't make sense right now for me to get it repaired since the cost would probably be more than the income it would generate - or to find something else on ebay. Actually if someone want this deck "as is" for a parts machune $50 plus the cost of shipping will get it - just send me a PM to steve at total sonic dot net

Best regards,
Steve Berson

[MarkRB]

.............but the PAL/NTSC thing is rubbish?

Timecode is a different thing, but there is no 'frame rate' for a DAT, like there is no frame rate for any other thing.
It is an interal 'house' thing and has no bearing on the transfer. It is all about how the host deals with video, so is only relevant to an audio/video hookup.

[jamsmith]

Originally Posted by Cellotron

Actually if someone want this deck "as is" for a parts machune

One upon a time, people would by DATs with busted transports to use as A/D converters.

[Jerry Tubb]

We still get the odd DAT master a few times a year.

I generally laugh, look at the client & say gettin' your money's worth outa that DAT machine aren't you?

We keep a Tascam DA-45HR and a Panasonic 3800 around for those days.

Was all hot on the Tascam 24-bit DAT for a couple years till the Masterlink killed the whole R-DAT format.

And there was the whole Philips DCC vs Sony MiniDisc battle : - )

Still have a few hundred DAT tapes from the '90s in our archive, should probably transfer them to HDD one year... sounds like a good discipline job for eager interns.

JT

[Adam Dempsey]

Ah, yeah the ol' PCM 2600 with the error LEDs - despite servicing I always found it be far less reliable than, say, the 4 head PCM 7010 or the R-700 - a good machine (which also passes 24 bits, btw).

One thing firstly, however, is the importance of letting the DAT acclimatize to the room before the transfer, then winding it through and back first. If a tape hasn't been stored fully wound the internal cassette guides can easily crease the tape over time = dropouts.