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Zoom F8n OVERWRITES TAKES


dennygreene

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I've lost a very very important take caused by a firmware bug in the Zoom F8n, which erroneously overwrites files when renaming takes. Official info here: https://www.zoom-na.com/news/firmware-update-v120-f8n. This issue was addressed by Zoom this month with a firmware update but I must recover this file somehow. I've tried homebrew data recovery programs (RescuePro, Recuva, and PhotoRec) with no success. Has anyone else here dealt with this issue? If so, have you had any success with data recovery software or professional services in the Los Angeles area? Let's talk about the importance of backup recordings after I sort this out.

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  • 2 weeks later...

On my last feature film the production sound mixer (I was the boom op) experienced exactly that issue two times through production over one month. We couldn‘t believe it when it happened the first time and thought it might have been user error - until it happened again.

 

It was the reason why I afterwards chose to invest into a MixPre-6 as my first recorder.

 

As far as I know the lost takes remained lost and weren't restored.

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10 hours ago, IronFilm said:


But the MixPre series has had the same problem of files destroyed as well.....

News to me as well....  I have used the shi* out of my mix pre 3, never an issue... nor have I EVER heard of one regarding "damaged, missing or wrote over files".

 

Not saying it is not "true", but again, news to me..

 

 

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17 minutes ago, afewmoreyears said:

News to me as well....  I have used the shi* out of my mix pre 3, never an issue... nor have I EVER heard of one regarding "damaged, missing or wrote over files".

 

Not saying it is not "true", but again, news to me..

 

 

There's a bug in the newly released v3 firmware- files aren't being split if they hit 4GB in size and are corrupted. SD is recommending users stay on v2.21 if you do really long recordings. If you upgrade to v3, they recommend you factory reset the MixPre afterward and reformat your media.

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7 hours ago, afewmoreyears said:

News to me as well....  I have used the shi* out of my mix pre 3, never an issue... nor have I EVER heard of one regarding "damaged, missing or wrote over files".

 

Not saying it is not "true", but again, news to me..

 

 

Likewise, my mp6 has been flawless since Ive got it. Have been using it heavily the past year, guess Ive always been on the right firmware 😉

 

Looks like they just released 3.01 to remedy the bugs Allen mentioned.

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The root cause is the sad state of the software industry. It’s 2018 and a “file system” perpetrated in the early 80’s for floppy disks with capacities measured in the KBs is the only common ground among the different operating systems.

 

A new, proper FS should be designed for this kind of applications, but the audio equipment manufacturers cannot do it alone. For it to succeed the operating systems should support it as a tier-1 file system, not requiring additional downloads. Keep dreaming!

 

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17 hours ago, afewmoreyears said:

News to me as well....  I have used the shi* out of my mix pre 3, never an issue... nor have I EVER heard of one regarding "damaged, missing or wrote over files".

 

Not saying it is not "true", but again, news to me..

 

 

Ditto re overwriting/'destroyed' files, and I've had a Mixpre-3 from when they first came out: more to the point this isn't included in SD's very clear/exhaustive list of changes and fixes in the firmware history - https://www.sounddevices.com/support/downloads/mixpres-firmware/?device=3

 

David/Ironfilm, what is the basis for your post?

 

Cheers,

 

Roland

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2 hours ago, Throwback said:

Ditto re overwriting/'destroyed' files, and I've had a Mixpre-3 from when they first came out: more to the point this isn't included in SD's very clear/exhaustive list of changes and fixes in the firmware history - https://www.sounddevices.com/support/downloads/mixpres-firmware/?device=3

 

David/Ironfilm, what is the basis for your post?


It is right there in the link you gave yourself :-)

I'll quote it again here:
"The potential loss of recorded audio due to a failed automatic file split has been eliminated"

Sound Devices had to rush out another firmware update so quickly after their previous firmware update because that previous one was sometimes destroying takes. I'm glad they've so speedily fixed this (hopefully). But this fix wasn't out when I posted earlier in this thread, as this new firmware update just came out now. 

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2 hours ago, Throwback said:

Ditto re overwriting/'destroyed' files, and I've had a Mixpre-3 from when they first came out: more to the point this isn't included in SD's very clear/exhaustive list of changes and fixes in the firmware history - https://www.sounddevices.com/support/downloads/mixpres-firmware/?device=3

 

David/Ironfilm, what is the basis for your post?

 

Cheers,

 

Roland

RE MP series 'overwrite': My impression (from this thread) is the 'overwriting' was a bug with v3.00 and (as A.R says) hopefully fixed with v3.01. If so, this issue has been fixed in a short time frame and addressed as matter of priority (which for me would me would more important than pre-roll).

I imagine while there is some overlap in the type of customers who've bought SD MP series or Zoom F series recorders, the prices and brand history suggest to me there is at least some difference in the types of expectation the customers may have. Eg. the discussion (FB) about MP series recording at high sample rates. I've not really seen this level scrutiny on the Zoom hardware (although I guess it exists).

 

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9 hours ago, borjam said:

The root cause is the sad state of the software industry. It’s 2018 and a “file system” perpetrated in the early 80’s for floppy disks with capacities measured in the KBs is the only common ground among the different operating systems.

 

A new, proper FS should be designed for this kind of applications, but the audio equipment manufacturers cannot do it alone. For it to succeed the operating systems should support it as a tier-1 file system, not requiring additional downloads. Keep dreaming!

 

 

While I don't disagree with you, I think the more immediate issue is that Sound Devices doesn't utilize beta testers. From the MixPre Users group on FB: "Paul Isaacs: We have had a beta test program in the past. We'll re-consider."

 

A larger beta test group would help them catch many of these issues pre-release, although administering beta testers is like herding cats that are on various combinations of downers and meth. 

 

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5 hours ago, IronFilm said:


It is right there in the link you gave yourself 🙂

I'll quote it again here:
"The potential loss of recorded audio due to a failed automatic file split has been eliminated"

Sound Devices had to rush out another firmware update so quickly after their previous firmware update because that previous one was sometimes destroying takes. I'm glad they've so speedily fixed this (hopefully). But this fix wasn't out when I posted earlier in this thread, as this new firmware update just came out now. 

Thanks for clarifying David: I thought from your first post (with that use of the past perfect) that you were referring to a past problem, not the then current file-splitting bug affecting files over  4Gb. It was, of course, a pity to see v.3.0 of the Mixpre firmware released with this problem, but glad this was fixed quickly (in 4 days), so we can enjoy the benefits of the major firmware update.

 

Cheers,

 

Roland

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On 12/16/2018 at 1:19 AM, daniel said:

I imagine while there is some overlap in the type of customers who've bought SD MP series or Zoom F series recorders, the prices and brand history suggest to me there is at least some difference in the types of expectation the customers may have.


I'd say the overlap could be quite large. 
Am constantly seeing posts on filmmaking forums saying "Should I buy a MixPre6 or Zoom F8n?" (or similar)

Wouldn't be surprised if the F8 had an impact on even 633 sales (certainly I know for myself I was on the edge of considering seriously a 633 until the F8n got announced), and the F8 certainly has had an impact on the sale prices of secondhand 700 series or 442/302 mixers. 
Am sure Sound Devices was thinking about the Zoom F series when they launched their MixPre range of recorders, and they've got a significant overlap in market with their prices being broadly similar. (F4 vs MixPre3, and F8n vs MixPre6)

 

 

On 12/16/2018 at 1:19 AM, daniel said:

Eg. the discussion (FB) about MP series recording at high sample rates. I've not really seen this level scrutiny on the Zoom hardware (although I guess it exists).


I'd disagree, the intensity of scrutiny (such as on this forum, where it has all been negative because of "the Zoom name", aside from a few positive posters like myself who have been using long term a Zoom F series daily ) and the sheer volume of discussion (but not here, elsewhere such as over on the dedicated Zoom F series FB forums of which there are nearly six thousand users across a couple of FB groups) greatly exceeds what I've seen for the MixPre series. 

If the Zoom F series had the same flawed issues with high sample rate recordings as the MixPre recorders have then we'd have known about it a long time ago. 

 

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