How long does it take to export long ISO tracks?

[Robbie Ferguson]

Hi there,
I'm interested in buying a DP-24SD but the fact that I must export the audio before I can access the files from my computer worries me.

I am a video producer looking to use the DP-24SD as an ISO audio recorder for our wireless mics, for later importing into our video editor to sync up with the cameras.

I'd be recording 4-6 tracks on a normal shoot, for roughly 2 hours non-stop. At the end of that time I need to import the isolated audio (individual WAV files for each of those tracks) to my video editor to sync up with the video.

How long would it take to do this export? 2 hours of audio, 4-6 individual tracks.

Thanks!

 

[David Porter]

I don't have a direct answer - as I have not done that large of a file transfer.

But I'm wondering....

I'm curious to know whether it might be faster to remove the SD card, insert in computer, and copy files to another folder that way - as opposed to using the export function via Audio Depot folder.

Seems to me that that might be much faster.

Maybe someone who has tested this will chime in.

 

[Robbie Ferguson]

Thanks David,
Are you saying the files are accessible in a usable format (eg., WAV) even without exporting? I was under the impression that you must export to get the files (as I believe is the case with my little DP-008EX).

Cheers,
Robbie

 

[Mark Richards]

Are you saying the files are accessible in a usable format

The "zz" files are .wav files, so are accessible in the song folder directly on the SD card.

The zz files might be "usable" provided you don't intermittently stop/start/pause the recording in real time as you are tracking.

You can test this yourself and examine the results.

If you have one contiguous song session, the .wav files in the song folder should look something like this:
ZZ0000_1.wav
ZZ0000_2.wav
ZZ0000_3.wav
ZZ0000_4.wav
ZZ0000_5.wav
ZZ0000_6.wav

The 4 - 6 tracks you'll be creating should align since they all start and end at the same point and time.

If you also see any other ZZ .wav files in the song folder (e.g. ZZ0001_1.wav) in addition to the 6 primary zz files, then you must use Audio Depot to create time-aligned contiguous .wav files for import to another device.

How long would it take to do this export? 2 hours of audio, 4-6 individual tracks.

The amount of time it takes for export to Audio Depot depends on the number of tracks, how fragmented the tracks are (due to punching, overdubs, edits, false starts, etc. all of which must be read, stitched together, or ignored to form a continuous .wav track for export), and how long the song runs.

So it's difficult to say how long it would take to export 4 - 6 tracks that are contiguous to begin with.

 

[Robbie Ferguson]

Thanks @Mark Richards - this changes everything!

So my scenario is, I press record at 6:30pm, and then press stop at 8:30pm. That's it - no starting and stopping during the session.

So are you saying that because my recording is 2 hours consecutive, with no stopping throughout, I should end up with easy-to-use WAV files for each track, automatically, with NO exporting?

Seriously - if that's the case, I think you just made up my mind.

Cheers!!
Robbie

 

[Mark Richards]

I've never tried it, so I'm speaking "in theory".

Stand by and I'll make a simple test.

==========================

 

[Robbie Ferguson]

Thanks!

 

[Mark Richards]

OK.

• The portastudio comes with a 24 track demo song.
• The tracks are named ZZ0000.wav through ZZ0023.wav.
• This is the original song file on the SD card that comes with the portastudio, so no editing, etc. was done to them. Therefore no other ZZ files in the song folder.
• I was able to load all the tracks into Reaper directly from the SD card.
• All 24 tracks played back in sync.

For your actual project, make sure to use a TASCAM approved SD card. Most of us here use 32gb Sandisk (more on that in the stickies). The card should be at least 16gb so you have plenty of room.

 

[Robbie Ferguson]

AWESOME, thank you! Yeah I was planning to grab: SanDisk Extreme Pro 32GB SDHC UHS-I Card

Exciting stuff! Cheers!

 

[Robbie Ferguson]

Just a quick update that I ordered my DP-24SD tonight. It should be here Friday. Thanks again for being so swift to answer my questions - I'm really excited to add this board to our studio production chain. Even though we're pretty much exclusively video, audio is a massive priority to our production. Having ISO recordings of each headset is going to propel our sound to the next level.

Cheers!

 

[Robbie Ferguson]

Hi all,
Another quick update: the advice provided in this thread worked perfectly for me. My fears are entirely alleviated and it looks like the DP-24SD is going to be the perfect addition to the studio for what I'm doing (a 2 hour video shoot each week where I need to isolate the recording from each microphone).

I started a thread about my experience here, if anyone has a similar use case and wants to know what I've found.

Thanks again for your help!