Tom Duffy

Going back to the original question, the problem here is not that the users are forced, but that the developers are being forced to drop support for the older OSes (and hence older devices), so while "Foo 1.00" worked on an ipod touch 2nd gen and iPhone 3G, "Foo 2.00" with its added support for the iPhone 5 screen has to drop support for those products. There is no way in Apple's eco system to download the older version. so unless you already purchased "Foo 1.00", there is no way you'll get it once "Foo 2.00" is released. The only way for a developer to continue to serve older customers who don't see the need to upgrade their hardware just to run the latest version of their favorite $0.99 apps is to maintain an older machine with an older xCode installation (which is going to be harder and harder to find, Apple will drop those from their pages some time). The rules constantly change, so I wouldn't be supprised if they refused App updates in the future which added features but didn't add iPhone 5 screen size support. Currently they added a rule that if you say the app is iPhone 5 compliant, you have to have iPhone 5 screen shots to go with it - automatically forcing all developers to purchase an iPhone 5 instead of just simulating it. For Mac development here, I keep an image of OS X 10.6.8 and the last xCode that runs on that OS for building apps that don't rely on new OS features. Tom.

The HS-P82 limiters are very strong. Per the specs they kick in at -5dB, but there is an additional 18dB of headroom that kicks in when the limiters are on. The ratio is 32:1, so it will catch anything you throw at it. The limiters are on all 8 channels, as well as an additional one on the stereo bus. The metering is after the limiter, but since the threshold is close to the top, it would be difficult to see limiting going on in the meter itself. There may be some confusion about what the clip indicator is showing. Blue means the limiter caught something. Red means either the digital signal clipped (e.g. at -0.03dB), which is very unlikely when the limiter is on, OR, if the level just after the A/D converter is too high. That 2nd clipping indicator is currently set too conservatively, so it is going Red even though the limiter brought the level down. It's less of a clipping indicator, more of a "potential analog distortion" indicator. I will hook the HS-P82 up to a Audio Precision analyser here to double check where the Red light is coming on and see if we can make it less panic-inducing.

Audiohound reached me via the Trew Audio page, and also worked this through with Coffee Sound. It turns out the battery connector with the BP 160 doesn't have the same pin size as the HS-P82, so it wasn't making a good connection. Coffee Sound supplied him with a different connector tip. I noted to him that the DC IN jack has a cut off voltage of 12V exactly, so this is fine for a regulated external battery pack like the BP 160, but making a 4 Pin XLR connector cable allows access to the EXT DC programmable cut off voltages. He also answered his own question, it's not a problem for the power supply to have a greater amperage capacity than the HS-P82. Tom.

With the HS-P82, M/S decoding can be done on Input (records the decoded signal), or in Monitoring only, so the M/S signals are recorded raw. This can be selected individually (actually per pair of channels). The M/S width is not fixed, you get a control for 0-100. Tom (TASCAM)

The problem with false takes not being erased on the mirror card is fixed in the upcoming V1.20 (we're testing this now). Some people are used to not having files delete at all, so we changing it to simply rename the copy on the Mirrored card, so it is always there to go back to. Also in V1.20 File Renaming! Trims for Line level inputs (was Mic level only). Screen access and Transport shortcuts from a PS/2 keyboard. Timecode Sync Rec (Records when incoming TimeCode starts, stops when it stops) better iXML tagging. other minor issues with Mirroring fixed. We think this makes the HS-P82 a real contender for cart-based recording, while still being a niche choice for bag recording. Although TASCAM Customer support is the official place to send any future requests for features, I try to keep current here. Tom Duffy (TASCAM).

I purchased a refurb'ed Mac Mini off the Apple webstore for testing here at work, because my only Macs were 2006 vintage. It came with Lion installed, and I had to submit proof of purchase to another one of their webpages to get an unlock code for the Mac App Store, then that let me download Mountain Lion for free. I had several wtf moments, trying to get the proof of purchase (which was from their webstore) into the other page. It had to be png or jpg format, I ended up screen-shotting the invoice in my browser. Anyway, no such thing as install media anymore, better get used to having a permanent on, broadband internet connection for anything Apple related. The up-to-date program has different rules for computers bought before and after the release of the new OS. Tom.

Apologies for the sales pitch, but the TASCAM iXY is a cheap AA battery powered phantom mic pre for iphones, etc. Since they use Apple wiring on the 4 pin 1/8", you'd just need a 4 pin to 3 pin 1/8" passive adapter, then you should be good to go, into the Canon. Tom (TASCAM).

We are investigating the crazy frame number display with 23.976 rates, there will be a firmware update when we fix it. Tom (TASCAM)

Yes, this is coming in the next version as well, also fixing the problem with not being able to Retake when mirroring, and adding a mode that automatically starts recording when incoming TimeCode is detected. (Same as Sound Devices's Auto Rec and Deva's Auto Load) Tom.

1. Take renaming (with iXML tag updating) is coming soon. 2. Mixdown is a stereo broadcast wave file only, the built in mixer has pans on all 8 channels, so you can just pan them all center and get the same audio in both sides. 3. iXML metadata shows up correctly in ProTools. Cubase writes iXML, but doesn't do much with it on import. Even Nuendo seems to be lacking, see: https://www.steinberg.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=120160 Tom (TASCAM)

The power input circuit is rated to over 16V no problem, something else must be happening to the LCD screen, I will check the schematics when I can access them (currently moving offices).

One tiny nit-pick against Star-Quad cables - after prolonged use, a broken solder join in the connector or a broken wire part way along the cable won't break the signal flow, so a cable tester won't show a fault. You'd only notice that its noise reducing qualities were no longer effective. Diligent periodic inspection inside the connector, and scrapping cables that have been badly turned/pinched is required.. Tom.

The TASCAM HD-P2 will take almost anything you throw at it. 16V is absolutely no problem, the power input is good to around 24V. The TASCAM DR-680 is much more picky. Above 14V you may burn out a capacitor (or more) in the power input circuitry. The DR-680 power input was designed for the 12V power brick, not as a general purpose DC input. Tom TASCAM.

I just did a choral recording on Saturday myself with the HS-P82, RC-F82 and a keyboard (USB->PS/2 adapter). The thing with USB keyboards is, when they first came out, they were nearly all dual-protocol, i.e. USB and PS/2, and the adapter plug told the Keyboard which to be. There was never a standard for how the adapter tells the Keyboard "use PS/2", so unless you're using the adapter that came with that Keyboard, it probably won't work. We are starting to see more keyboards that are truly USB-only, so an adapter won't work for those at all. On the HS-P82, (as of V1.11) the Keyboard is only active on the QWERTY text entry screen. I am looking at adding some shortcuts on the Function keys for Transport control, and some other shortcuts for navigation around the LCD UI. Tom.

We've discussed it a few times, and it was a tough decision for us; we stopped making them a long time before the 64 bit kernel in Mac OS X became mainstream. When we officially announced "no more support for future OSes", there would have been plenty of customers who retired or sold their equipment. If we went back on that statement, you can imagine the angst. For quite a while, everyone ran the 32 bit kernel with 64 bit apps, which provides plenty of oomph. It's only the latest generation of Macs that went 64 bit kernel all the time. We still advise customers who need the FW-1884 with a new Mac to boot into the 32 bit kernel (hold "3" and "2" while turning on). Or, just keep a 3 yr old Mac around for this - a Mac Pro from that era still has a ton of processing power. Tom.

Even now, all drives are not equal. When we qualify HDDs for 48 track recording (24 bit, 96kHz), we found the following: drives that slow down in the cold. drives that slow down randomly over a long session. drives that read slower than they write. drives that had numerous firmware updates to address quality and speed issues. (crapshoot which one you get) drives that can't have their "green" features turned off to tune for performance. For a non-realtime transfer of data to a backup, pick whatever's cheap, but if you need a drive for DAW work, can you really risk not getting the audio recorded at all? Even with SSDs, the read/write patterns for high channel count recording busted through the capabilities of the earlier models. Tom. TASCAM.

Apologies for the sales pitch, but: There are basically no more rotary heads available for repairing DAT units, and parts to fix other borkeness usually comes from other donor machines. If you're worried about whether to keep holding onto an old DAT unit just in case someone brings you a tape to get some audio off, TASCAM has recently started a DAT and DTRS to Broadcast wave file conversion service. Details on our website. Tom TASCAM.

Ah yes. You could just imagine a tiny Nagra-like micro tape deck hidden inside the HS-P82 just to provide a Longitudinal TimeCode signal... How to describe the timecode capabilities of products that just stamp the BWAV file with the Time Of Day from the on-board wall-clock generator? (accurate to the closest second) Tom.

Yes, we are still making plenty of these, tell me if you run into problems such as compact flash card compatibility, etc. Tom.

Ha! I had Tetris in an early version of the TM-D8000 mixer back in '96, took it out before shipping though... Tell me more about the Schoeps Mic. We have identified a problem with mics that present a highly inductive load that can destabilize our phantom power filtering. Does the problem depend on the power going into the HS-P82 (e.g good with freshly charged batteries?) Tom.

Badly written - it's a professional product, but not one I can help with directly, because I didn't do anything for it, and I don't have one in my office. You can also draw the line at: products with LTC Timecode, which the DR-680 doesn't have - it has Time of day BWAV timestamps but nothing more. You can also draw the line with: products with ergonomics designed for busy professionals (controls for all channels), in which case the DR-680 is a budget item, even though it meets channel count and I/O specs for professional situations. What we used to call prosumer. Tom.

Some of you know me already, I'm an Engineering Manager at TASCAM. I've been with TASCAM for a long time, helped design the 2nd generation DTRS machines, all of our Digital mixers, and recently worked on specifically the HS-P82, RC-F82 and other HS-series devices. TASCAM doesn't have its own forum for online customer interaction, and lately the review page on the Trew Audio site became an impromptu support forum for the HS-P82. I'm here, unofficially, to take feedback on the HS series and check up on any spec questions or problems that users (current or potential) are experiencing. I can't help with the DR-680, I didn't have any hand in the spec'ing or implementation there. All of my production knowledge is what I have learned through osmosis, lurking on forums around the web. I have experience recording classical and choral works in multichannel audio, and the subsequent mixing and mastering, but no direct film/TV experience. Since I am a shortcut into TASCAM engineering, you'll need to go the official route through the tascam.com support webpage to get a fully weighted request for features into the marketing department. So please know that I can't promise things, but can advise on known work-arounds, problems and be a sounding board for ideas on our professional products (which doesn't include the DR-680). Tom.

The HS-P82 has Reference level adjustment on the Line outputs - -9dB, -14dB, -16dB, -18dB, -20dB, so you should have no trouble lining up to line level transmitters. The internal tone generator always puts out 0dB, so you can calibrate that way. It doesn't have fully adjustable output level, so you'll need a Y splitter and passive pad to go to both a transmitter and a IFB. The RC-F82 has a built in Y splitter (L/R XLR ins, 2 sets of L/R XLR outs) that was designed to help in this situation, and the built in talkback Mic on the RC-F82 can be toggled over to the Line out 2 for simple coms. You'd still need passive pads to get down to mic level though if that's what your IFB needs. The reference level adjustment is in the analog circuitry to maintain the signal quality. We could add a digital level control, but is it worth risking screw-ups? Do you want to lose 50dB of S/N just to get a scratch track back to the camera that only takes mic level? (Really, I want to know). Tom TASCAM.