Re: [ARSCLIST] 12 bit non-linear DAT and Sony LP mode

[Dave Rice <dave@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Oct 11, 2007, at 2:56 PM, Bob Olhsson wrote:

> -----Original Message-----
> From Dave Rice: "...Since this is born digital data it makes best  
> sense to
> transfer
> digital stream off data directly off rather than do a digital to
> analog back to digital conversion..."
>
> The problem with this common assumption is that digital audio isn't  
> really
> the same thing as computer data. A number of digital recorders have  
> done
> analog pre and post processing of the audio. For example first  
> generation
> ADATs and Sony PCM-F1s often sound much better when the machine's  
> conversion
> to analog is employed rather than attempting to emulate what the  
> analog
> stage did using DSP.
>
> Bob Olhsson Audio Mastery, Nashville TN
> Mastering, Audio for Picture, Mix Evaluation and Quality Control
> Over 40 years making people sound better than they ever imagined!
> 615.385.8051 http://www.hyperback.com

	Digital audio is computer data (1s and 0s) and sometimes computer  
data is digital audio. By preserving the digital information from the  
DAT tape we have the potential to recreate the original recording in  
the future. Doing a digital to analog to digital conversion is making  
a new recording, related to the original, but less exact than a  
digital transfer.
	In addition to the sound there is other data on the tape, recording  
times, info and when the recording started and stopped. This data has  
helped me enormously when tapes are poorly labeled or hard to  
identify by audio alone. The metadata on the DAT tapes should be  
preserved as well.

David Rice
Archivist
Democracy Now!
87 Lafayette St.
New York, NY 10013
Phone: (212) 431-9090 x811
Fax: (212) 431-8858
Email: dave@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx