R-44 control sync
 

I'm being tormented. I was pretty certain there was a Lanc sync option for the Edirol R-44 so I ordered one. While I was waiting for it to come, I read that the connector is meant to sync two R-44 to allow for 8 channel recording. The sync is a pretty big deal for me. It doesn't need to be exact. I'm using this with several teen programs and I don't want to worry about them turning it in on and off or spending a lot of time cutting up one long audio segment to match up with the clips. Will the R-44 work with Lanc or do I have to go to the R-4 Pro?

Thanks

Thomas...

What about the possibility of having the R44 use "time of day" timecode?

I was thinking of getting an R44 but wasn't sure if it is able to "tag" each clip with the time it was recorded, or if it embedded time-of-day timecode in the file itself.

That could help you with your problem. An editor would take note of the time on the camera footage, then locate the corresponding clip among the audio files.

Let me know if that's workable. It could provide me with a good solution, too.

Thanks,

AFAIK the control sync in the R-44 is to synchronize the two sample clocks so the two recorders run at the same speed - I don't think it has anything to do with LANC or timecode. The R-4 does accept LTC but of course that presumes you have a camera that outputs it and you didn't mention what camera you're using. (There is a product on the market called "TimeTool" that takes a LANC output and derives LTC from it but I don't have any info on how well it actually works.) Likewise the Sound Devices 702T, 744T, and 788T off the top of my head, depending on how flush your budget is, are timecode capable, and others as well. Before you get too hung up on the pursuit of timecode, note that TC only establishes a convenient lineup point between the audio and video files, functionally identical to an old-fasioned clapper slate, and does nothing to prevent the two from drifitng apart over the duration of a long'ish shot. TC on a file-based recorder DOES NOT cause the camera sample clock timebase and the audio recorder sample clock timebase to lock together. To prevent the audio from drifiting out of sync with the video over long shots you need to send wordclock to the recorder or have one such as the Tascam HD-P2 that accepts composite video and derives its sample clock from it.

Hi Thomas,

As always, Steve House is a great help in this forum and once again he is right.

I'm afraid that your Edirol recorder doesn't have TC in/out so it's a NO NO for your sync problems.

Besides that, I don't really understand why people still continues to buy the Edirol recorders over the Tascam (only reason that I know of got to be the 2 extra tracks), because not even the R4 Pro has as good Pres as HD-P2. This is well stated in some reviews and I can assure you this because I've tried both.

Regarding LANC timecode. I have what can be some good news for you. I've bought one Timetool L and I'm in contact with Ben Fisher (the developer). The TTL has some issues and it's not outputting TC from my XH-A1 but Ben assures me that he's digging why is that, since it works like a breeze on a XM2 (I've tried).

So, if you have a Sony or a Canon camera just wait for the TTL fix and you have half the problem solved. You then can solve the other half and by a Tascam recorder.

Needless to say... When I have my TTL fully operational I will post a deep into review on it.

How are you liking the R44? I finally got the chance to play around with one. They are very easy to use and the project I will be working on they are providing the equipment so this is the machine I will be working on. Well another question for you is why not just slate everything(which I'm sure you will do) and go by the clap? If you keep up with all your audio files it won't be to much of a problem in Post. A good editor can maneuver around this but I can understand your questioning.

Lastly, do you run straight into the recorder or are you using a mixer with it? I plan on using a mixer and then going from the mixer into the recorder and from the mixer into the camera. But good luck with everything.

Nicole
www.myspace.com/misscc803

I've owned both the HD-P2 and the R4-Pro and they both are good units and have different uses.

I mainly use the R4-Pro in a bag using the direct outs of my 442 (line level) and it has been solid, even on some very cold overnights.

I'll be using it on a low-budg feature in a week and we'll be jamming it and an HPX500 using freerun tod and traditional clapper-slating.

Hi,

You never said what you use the hdp2 for vs the r-4 pro? Thanks!