Loop bin duplicator: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 13:45, 19 February 2007

Revision as of 03:14, 20 October 2007

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In the [[XDR (audio)|XDR]] duplication process, the loop bin duplicators use 1"-wide loop tape instead, yielding in a better quality duplication.

== Digital Looploop Binbin Duplicatorduplicator ==

Digital loop bins were also introduced in the early 90s1990s. The early digital loop bins replaced the source tape with audio data stored on [[hard drive]]s that was read and sent to [[digital-to-analog converter]]s that were connected to the "slave" recorders, but they were prone to failure because of the amount of stress put on the hard disks.

The hard disks were replaced by huge [[RAM]] [[buffer (computer science)|buffer]]s which eliminated the failures but added greatly to the expense of the equipment. Since a digital bin was capable of playback speeds of 256:1 or better, a single bin could perform as two by splitting the buffer between two different programs. A program could be loaded and looped for production while an additional program could be loaded into the buffer. A real-time monitoring system could playbackplay back the audio stored in either buffer to check for potential flaws in the audio while both programs were looping for production.

Digital loop bins were also introduced in the early 90s. The early digital loop bins replaced the source tape with audio data stored on [[hard drive]]s that was read and sent to [[digital-to-analog converter]]s that were connected to the "slave" recorders, but they were prone to failure because of the amount of stress put on the hard disks.

Another difficulty to overcome was the means for loading a digital bin. A bin could be loaded manually by recording directly into the bin's buffer, or it could be loaded by a high speed data device. At the time digital bins were first put into production, an [[S-VHS]] based storage device manufactured by [[Honeywell]] called a [[VLDS]] (Very Large Data Store) was used. A single S-VHS tape was capable of storing over 5GB5 GB of data. These extremely expensive storage devices were eventually replaced by CD loading.

The hard disks were replaced by huge [[RAM]] [[buffer (computer science)|buffer]]s which eliminated the failures but added greatly to the expense of the equipment. Since a digital bin was capable of playback speeds of 256:1 or better, a single bin could perform as two by splitting the buffer between two different programs. A program could be loaded and looped for production while an additional program could be loaded into the buffer. A real-time monitoring system could playback the audio stored in either buffer to check for potential flaws in the audio while both programs were looping for production.

Another difficulty to overcome was the means for loading a digital bin. A bin could be loaded manually by recording directly into the bin's buffer, or it could be loaded by a high speed data device. At the time digital bins were first put into production, an [[S-VHS]] based storage device manufactured by [[Honeywell]] called a [[VLDS]] (Very Large Data Store) was used. A single S-VHS tape was capable of storing over 5GB of data. These extremely expensive storage devices were eventually replaced by CD loading.

The benefits of using a digital loop bin are:

* There's is no master tape to degrade during the copying process

* Only a single master has to be made

* Audio can be transferred at a much higher rate

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The disadvantages:

* Initial cost

* Flaws in a recording would result in loud pops and cracks rather than a more subtle analog degredationdegradation.

* Generated a lot of heat and could start to overheat if not properly air-conditioned.

== External Links ==