Farewell, DAT.

[Christopher]

Sony Japan has apparently phased out production of DAT (mech. trans), and also noting the ironhorse TCD-D100 model will no longer be produced after December. Sony will continue to offer repairs and blank media. (via engadget) -cgm+++

Will this lead to more interest in the Hi-MD format as a professional recording medium? Are more "MZ-M" models on the way?

Edited November 29, 2005 by kurisu

[indeego]

Will this lead to more interest in the Hi-MD format as a professional recording medium? Are more "MZ-M" models on the way? -cgm

I think: Yes, if Sony provides more usability for professionell use.

Sony should improve stability of Hi-MD recordings, offer a way to recover lost recordings and provide a small cross-plattform software to upload recordings (or even drag and drop for analog recodings). Futhermore they should integrate normal transfer operations to Hi-MD into ConnectPlayer to satisfy normal consumers.

Wouldn't this be attractive, Prosfessionells ?

[MDGB2]

I just hope they build a deck.

And that 'professional' equipment does not mean high prices.

[sallymae_hogsby]

I just hope they build a deck.

Yes! I really miss all the editing features that were the norm on decks, but difficult or nonexistent on the Hi-MD portables. Fade-ins and Fade-outs, changing the level of a track (or part of a track) are what I miss the most. Tho this can be done with software on the computer, Sony made it so easy to do on the deck itself.

DAT wasn't just used for portable recording. Hopefully Sony will remember this.

[Skradgee]

DAT wasn't just used for portable recording. Hopefully Sony will remember this.

Very well said. I know of several public radio stations that only use DAT for their recordings. No minidisc at all from the studios I saw. As long as DAT tapes are made, I suppose this discontinuation won't be an issue...until new recorders need to be purchased. I imagine professional solid state recorders would be used...unless Hi-MD can come out as a true professional medium.

Edited November 29, 2005 by Skradgee

[ozpeter]

That's sad, but not surprising.

I bought one of the first 50 officially released Sony DAT recorders in the UK back in Dec 87 - I still have DATs from late that year (can anyone better that?) - and continued to use DAT for location classical music recording until audio CDR, with its rapid download to PC for editing, outweighed the advantages of DAT. At that point I continued to use DAT as the backup recording (due to its long running times), but finally this year retired my trusty (and costly) HHB PortaDat in favour of an NH600, which as far as I am concered makes a very acceptable backup even in Hi-SP mode.

The classical music radio station with which I am associated continues to use a combination of DAT, MD, Hi-MD PC and CDR recordings - I know they would welcome pro grade Hi-MD portables and rack mounted units, but sadly I very much doubt that we'll ever see them now.

[zerodB]

I agree with indeego partially on this one. HiMD, with it's PCM recording capabilities, and the non-sequential nature of the media has true potential.

But at the moment it's unlikley it will see it's full potential. Professional technologies with likley go in the direction of hard-disk or flash based storage IMHO. The only real advantage that HiMD has is cheap removable media, but given the proliferation of usb-thumb drives and flash cards on the market, I'm not too sure whether this gives enough edge over the competition. Also, i'm not so sure how much of an advantage removable media is in the studio anyway.

One thing Hi-MD does currently excel at is field/live recording. Sony should promote HiMD as a tool for musicians, hobbyists, amatuers and pros alike. I'm not to sure I like the branding of "MZ-M" models - sure it's a good incentive to offer a mic with the units, but in reality the versatility of the format should be promoted. Again, it's the same crap we keep having to deal with - if only Sony took our concerns seriously and did something proactive about it, they could be making squillions off the MD format. Hence the continued importance of internet fora such as these.

It's a sad day for DAT, yes, I know a few institutions who still rely on it as a primary recording media, but HiMD seriously has the potential to provide a viable alternative. Whether or not we will see this remains to be seen.

[jamesavis]

I just hope they build a deck.

And that 'professional' equipment does not mean high prices.

I also hope Sony builds a HiMD deck, ideally an ES model. I'd love to play my LP to HiMD transfers through my stereo system without having to hook up a portable unit. Anyone know if Sony offers one in Japan?

[Richard]

I also hope Sony builds a HiMD deck, ideally an ES model. I'd love to play my LP to HiMD transfers through my stereo system without having to hook up a portable unit. Anyone know if Sony offers one in Japan?

Not yet. Only Onkyo to date.

Edited November 30, 2005 by richyhu

[marcoleavitt]

I've worked as a sound technician on a couple of indie films (pretty low budget stuff), and feel that minidisc technology is an ideal format. The problem with hard disc and flash recorders is that there is no way to archive the original recordings. You have to transfer the file and make a copy on CDR, usually two as a backup. CDRs are famously unreliable, and there's a lot at stake. It is cumbersome and a little scary to have to move files around like that. It's one of the advantages of DAT that you can keep the original recording, although the media is somewhat fragile. HiMD shows the most potential, but Sony will have to overcome the pretty fierce skeptiscm and resentment their behavior has instilled in the location sound collection community so far. A professional unit would need to do away with the awkward menus and provide unrestricted downloads for analog and digital recordings without the use of Sony's proprietary software. Nobody is going to be willing to pay professional prices and then have their recordings held hostage in any way by Sony. Inexpensive professional hard disc and flash recorders are already available, so Sony has no negotiating power at all. They can either offer a better, more functional product or the format is dead in the professional world. The format will also have to support at least 48K recording and possibly higher bit rates. Multitracking and time code support would really seal the deal. For our projects I've found minidisc fantastically convenient, energy efficient, and robust. Sony's got a real winner in this technology, but they've got to quit screwing around.

Not yet. Only Onkyo to date.

[SteveDu]

Yeah I will miss the DAT for sure... but come to think of it, the tape's too thin and snaps on me all the time back then lol...

Oh well, there are bunch of high quality pro media for stereo out there.