360 Systems DigiCart II Plus User Manual

DIGITAL AUDIO HARD DISK RECORDER

OWNER’S MANUAL

MODEL DR-2750

SOFTWARE VERSION 3.xx

FIRST EDITION

SEPTEMBER 2000

P ROFESSIONAL DIGITAL AUDIO

www.360systems.com

[e-mail]

Safety Compliance

DigiCart/II Plus complies with the following safety standards:

• UL 1950, Standard for Safety of Information Technology Equipment, Including Electrical

Business Equipment.

• EN 60950, Standard for Safety of Information Technology Equipment, Including Electrical

Business Equipment.

EU Declaration of Conformity

Type of Equipment:

Professional Use Audio Equipment.

Conforms to the Following Standards:

• EN55103-1 (1997) (Emissions) Electromagnetic compatibility – Product family standard for

audio, video, audio-visual and entertainment lighting control apparatus for professional use.

• EN55103-2 (1997) (Immunity) Electromagnetic compatibility – Product family standard for

audio, video, audio-visual and entertainment lighting control apparatus for professional use.

FCC Compliance

This equipment complies with part 15 of the FCC rules. These limits are designed to provide
reasonable protection against harmful interference when the equipment is operated in a commercial
environment. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and if not
installed and used in accordance with the owners manual, may cause interference to radio
communications. Operation of this equipment in a residential area is likely to cause interference in
which case the user will be required to correct the interference at his own expense.

This device will accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired
operation. The user is cautioned that changes made to the equipment without the approval of the
manufacturer could void the user's authority to operate this equipment. It is suggested that only
shielded and grounded cables be used to ensure compliance with FCC rules.

Notice

This Class A digital apparatus meets all requirement of the Canadian Interference-Causing
Equipment Regulations.

Français:
Cet appariel numérique de la classe A respecte toute les exigences du Reglement sur le matériel

brouilleur du Canada.

Contents

Introduction 1

Chapter One 3

Getting Started 3

Drives.............................................................................................3

Zip Removable Media.............................................................3

The Internal Hard Disk............................................................ 3

Disk Storage Times........................................................................4

The File ID System.........................................................................4

Directories......................................................................................5

Cuts................................................................................................5

Navigation......................................................................................6

Condensed Operating Guide 7

Navigation......................................................................................7

Selecting A Drive .................................................................... 7

Selecting A Directory..............................................................7

Selecting A Cut........................................................................7

Recording And Playing Cuts..........................................................7

Setting Record Levels..............................................................7

Recording ................................................................................7

Making A Digital Recording...................................................8

Checking Available Drive Space............................................. 8

Playing A Single Cut............................................................... 8

Playing Multiple Cuts – Follow-On Play ................................ 8

Pause.............................................................................................9

Looping ..........................................................................................9

Secondary Cues.............................................................................9

Setup Menu Operations...............................................................10

GENERAL PROCEDURE:......................................10

Utility Menu Operations................................................................11

GENERAL PROCEDURE:......................................11

Edit Menu Operations ..................................................................11

GENERAL PROCEDURE:......................................11

DigiCart/II Plus Owner's Manual Contents • i

Find Operations........................................................................... 12

Chapter Two 13

Controls and I/O 13

Installation....................................................................................13

Front Panel Controls....................................................................14

The SELECT Knob............................................................... 14

The POSITION Arrows......................................................... 14

The RECORD Button............................................................ 15

The PLAY Button ................................................................. 15

The STOP Button.................................................................. 15

The UTILITY MENU Button ............................................... 15

The SETUP MENU Button................................................... 16

The EDIT MENU Button...................................................... 16

The ENTER Button............................................................... 16

The CANCEL Button............................................................ 16

The VIEW LIST Button........................................................ 16

The SEC Button .................................................................... 16

The PAUSE Button............................................................... 17

The LOOP Button................................................................. 17

The D-NET XFER Button..................................................... 17

The INPUT LEVEL Knobs................................................... 17

The Peak Level Meters.......................................................... 17

The Rear Panel............................................................................18

Rear Panel Interfaces............................................................. 19

Serial Control ........................................................................ 19

Transport Controls ................................................................ 19

Transport Lamps/Tally Outputs............................................ 19

Cue Output — Secondary...................................................... 19

Alphanumeric Keyboard ..............................................................20

Chapter Three 21

Operating Instructions 21

Recording Your First Cuts ...........................................................21

Selecting A Drive......................................................................... 21

Checking Available Disk Space............................................ 22

Setting Record Levels..................................................................22

Recording ....................................................................................23

Playing Audio Files...................................................................... 24

Selecting A Drive.................................................................. 24

Selecting A Directory............................................................ 25

Selecting A Cut ..................................................................... 25

Playing A Single Cut............................................................. 25

Playing Multiple Cuts — Follow-On Play............................ 26

Pause...........................................................................................26

Pressing Pause In Play Mode ................................................ 26

Pressing Pause In Record Mode............................................ 26

ii • Contents DigiCart/II Plus Owner's Manual

Looping ........................................................................................27

Turning Loop On...................................................................27

Turning Loop Off ..................................................................27

Cues.............................................................................................28

Secondary Cues...........................................................................28

Creating A Secondary Cue:...................................................28

Changing A Secondary Cue: .................................................28

Deleting/Erasing A Secondary Cue....................................... 28

Setup Menu Operations...............................................................29

General Operations................................................................29

Sample Rate And Format ......................................................29

Dolby® AC-2 Coding.............................................. 30

Stereo And Mono Recording...................................30

Selecting Sample Rate And Format......................... 30

Input Monitor.........................................................................31

Threshold...............................................................................31

'Threshold' Recording With A Digital Input............32

Overwrite...............................................................................33

Recording Time Limit...........................................................33

Restart Mode .........................................................................33

Time Display.........................................................................34

Sort Directory By...................................................................34

Keyboard Type......................................................................35

Keyboard Mapping Assignments............................. 35

Remote Control .....................................................................36

Cart Spindown (Time-Out)....................................................36

Sync Source...........................................................................37

Digital Output........................................................................37

Audio I/O Interface Table........................................38

Digital Input Type ................................................................. 38

Audio Input Type ..................................................................39

Utility Menu Operations................................................................40

General Procedure.................................................................40

Change Name ........................................................................ 40

Erase......................................................................................41

Copy Original........................................................................ 41

Copying A Cut......................................................... 42

Copying A Stack......................................................43

Copying A Directory ............................................... 43

Copy Edited...........................................................................45

Copying A Cut......................................................... 45

Copying A Stack......................................................45

Copying A Directory ............................................... 45

Renumber Disk......................................................................46

Assign Preset.........................................................................46

Assigning A Single Preset Using The RC-205; Or

RC-210/220 (Method 1):.....................................46

Assigning A Single Preset Using The RC-210/RC-

220 (Method 2): .................................................. 47

Assigning Multiple Presets On The RC-205, Or

RC-210/RC-220...................................................47

Viewing Presets Using The RC-205, Or RC-

210/RC-220.........................................................48

Playing Presets........................................................48

DigiCart/II Plus Owner's Manual Contents • iii

Clear Preset ........................................................................... 48

File Transfer.......................................................................... 48

Format Disk........................................................................... 49

Update Directories................................................................. 50

Partition Drive....................................................................... 50

Edit Menu Operations..................................................................51

Head ...................................................................................... 51

Setting The Head Point “On The Fly”.................... 52

Setting The Head Point While Stopped................... 52

Tail ........................................................................................ 53

Setting The Tail Point “On The Fly”...................... 53

Setting The Tail Point While Stopped ..................... 53

Pre-Roll................................................................................. 54

Fade In................................................................................... 54

Setting The Fade In “On The Fly” ......................... 54

Setting Fade In While Stopped................................ 55

Fade Out................................................................................ 55

Setting Fade Out “On The Fly”.............................. 56

Setting Fade Out While Stopped ............................. 56

Output Gain........................................................................... 56

Find Operations........................................................................... 57

Using The FIND Mode.......................................................... 57

RC-205.................................................................... 57

RC-210/220............................................................. 57

The RC-210/220 Stack Dir Key............................... 57

Operation Of The Zip Disk Drive..................................................59

FRONT PANEL.................................................................... 59

Handling Zip Disks ............................................................... 59

Zip Disk Loading ..................................................................60

Zip Disk Removal ................................................................. 60

Formatting A Zip Disk.................................................................. 60

To Format A Disk:................................................................ 60

Select An External Drive:...................................................... 62

Chapter Four 63

Stack Mode 63

Stack Types.................................................................................63

Linear Stack .......................................................................... 64

Music And Voice Editing......................................... 64

Creating Spot Sets................................................... 64

Rotating Stack....................................................................... 64

News Actualities...................................................... 64

Automated Liners & IDs......................................... 64

Special Effects......................................................... 65

Compound Stack................................................................... 65

Creating A Stack..........................................................................65

Building A Quickstack.......................................................... 65

Saving A Stack...................................................................... 66

Playing A Stack............................................................................67

Playing A Linear Stack.......................................................... 67

Using The Stop Button In A Linear Stack............................. 67

iv • Contents DigiCart/II Plus Owner's Manual

Playing A Rotating Stack ......................................................67

Viewing A Stack....................................................................67

Viewing A Stack — While It Plays.......................................68

Copying A Stack....................................................................68

Converting A Linear Stack To A Cut....................................68

Stack Edit Mode...........................................................................69

Scan Mode.............................................................................69

Insert......................................................................................70

Append .................................................................................. 70

Looping A Linear Stack ........................................................71

Remove..................................................................................71

Truncate.................................................................................72

Change Stack Type................................................................72

Chapter Five 73

File Transfer Network

Features.......................................................................................73

Transfer Rates........................................................................74

Electrical Specification For D-Net Transfers........................74

AES-3ID................................................................................74

AES-3....................................................................................74

D-NET Setup................................................................................75

Receiver Names And Destination Names..............................75

Wildcard Transfers................................................................75

Assigning A Receiver Name .................................................76

Mail Box And Destination Location Transfers......................76

File Receiver..........................................................................77

Echo Function........................................................................78

Selecting The I/O Connector.................................................79

Making A File Transfer.................................................................79

Transfer Messages ......................................................................82

Source Display During Incomplete Transfer.........................82

Source Display During Aborted Transfer.............................. 82

Receiver Display During Transfer......................................... 83

Receiver Display After A File Is Received With Errors........83

Receiver Display During Error Occurrence...........................83

D-Net Implementation On Instant Replay And Shortcut.......84

Idle State D-Net Messages.....................................................84

73

Chapter Six 85

Maintenance Guide 85

System Maintenance And Repair.................................................85

System Reliability.........................................................................86

Other Reliability Factors .......................................................86

DigiCart/II Plus Owner's Manual Contents • v

Cleaning.......................................................................................86

Appendix A 88

Interface Schematics 88

Audio Connector Wiring....................................................... 88

Keyboard Connector ............................................................. 88

Remote Control And Cue Out Connector.............................. 88

Appendix B 90

Serial Control Protocol 90

Host Device Message Summary............................................ 90

Hardware Format................................................................... 90

Data Format........................................................................... 91

Pinout for the Serial Port: ...................................... 91

Appendix C 92

Technical Specifications 92

General Specifications........................................................... 92

Physical Dimensions............................................................. 93

Audio Specifications............................................................. 93

Zip Drive & Cartridge Reliability......................................... 94

Environmental Limits (Operational)..................................... 94

Environmental Limits (Storage & Shipping)......................... 94

Index 95

vi • Contents DigiCart/II Plus Owner's Manual

Warranty and Repair Policy

DigiCart II Plus is warranted against defects in material and workmanship for a period of one year
from date of original purchase. This warranty includes parts and labor. This warranty excludes
units that have been modified, repaired by unauthorized personnel, or damaged by rough handling,
abuse, improper operation, dirt, or static electricity.

360 Systems assumes no liability whatsoever for real or consequential damages, loss of profits,
inconvenience or any other losses due to non-operation of DigiCart II Plus recorders. 360 Systems’
sole liability under this limited warranty shall be the repair or replacement of defective product or
components. Products being returned under warranty shall be sent to 360 Systems or one of its
foreign service centers, freight prepaid, in the original or equivalent packaging. Please call 360
Systems for a return authorization number before returning any merchandise for any reason.

Product Improvements and Upgrades

360 Systems reserves the right to make changes and/or improvements to its products, without
incurring any obligation to incorporate such changes or improvements in units previously sold or
shipped.

Trademarks

The following trademarks may appear in this manual:


 DigiCart is a registered trademark of 360 Systems.
 Quickstack is a trademark of 360 Systems.
 Zip® is a registered trademark of Iomega Corp.
 Dolby® is a registered trademark of Dolby Licensing Corp.
 All other product and brand names and any registered and unregistered trademarks

mentioned in this manual are used for identification purposes only and remain the exclusive
property of their respective owners.

Copyrights

Software contained in this product is copyrighted by 360 Systems, Microware Systems Corp.,
Iomega Corporation and Dolby Laboratories.

Patents

Designs incorporated in this product are the subject of current or pending United States and foreign
patents.

is a registered trademark of 360 Systems.

DigiCart/II Plus Owner's Manual Notices • vii

DigiCart II Plus Owner's Manual

The information contained in this Owner’s Manual is subject to change without notice or
obligation, and is furnished for informational use only.

MODEL DR-2750 OWNER’S MANUAL

FIRST EDITION, SEPTEMBER 2000.

SOFTWARE VERSION 3.xx

© 2000, 360 Systems. Printed in the United States of America. All rights reserved.
Contents of this publication may not be reproduced in any form without the written permission of

360 Systems. Reproduction or reverse engineering of copyrighted software is prohibited.

Company Address

Please use the following addresses for shipping and correspondence. At the Corporate Office in
California, the switchboard is open Monday through Friday, from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Pacific
Time.

Corporate Office and Customer Services

31355 Agoura Road
Westlake Village, CA 91361 USA
Telephone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

E-mail [e-mail]
Website www.360systems.com

Cautions

Please heed the following important cautions regarding the DigiCart II Plus:

• Do not remove the cover. No user serviceable parts inside. Refer servicing to qualified

service personnel.

• DigiCart II Plus recorders contain a hard disk drive. While today’s hard disks are very

reliable, they may be vulnerable to shock. Please handle with care, and exercise caution
not to drop or bump the recorder — damage to the internal hard disk may result. Ensure
that power is off before moving the unit.

• To reduce the risk of fire or electric shock, do not expose this unit to rain or moisture.

viii • Notices DigiCart/II Plus Owner's Manual

Warning Symbols

THE FOLLOWING WARNING SYMBOLS ARE USED ON THE PRODUCT IN THIS

MANUAL:

ENGLISH ATTENTION: REFER TO OWNER’S MANUAL FOR IMPORTANT

FRANÇAIS ATTENTION: VEUILLEZ VOUS RÉFÉRER AU MODE D’EMPLOI

ITALIANO ATTENZIONE: FATE RIFERIMENTO AL MANUALE PER

ESPAÑOL ATENTCION: FAVOR DE REFERIR AL MANUAL DE OPERACION

ENGLISH WARNING: ELECTRICAL SHOCK HAZARD.
FRANÇAIS AVERTISSEMENT: DANGER DE CHOC ÉLECTRIQUE.
ITALIANO AVVERTIMENTO: PERICOLO DI SHOCK ELETTRICO.
ESPAÑOL ADVERTENSIA: PELIGRO DE CHOQUE ELECTRICO.

INFORMATION.

POUR UNE INFORMATION IMPORTANTE.

INFORMAZIONI IMPORTANTI.

POR INFORMACION IMPORTANTE.

DigiCart/II Plus Owner's Manual Notices • ix

Introduction

Congratulations! You have chosen DigiCart/II Plus, the most advanced hard disk/cart system in the
broadcast industry. Building on technology proven in the industry standard DigiCart/II, your new
DigiCart/II Plus delivers many significant enhancements. A few of these enhancements include the
use of low cost removable Iomega Zip™ disks, larger hard disks and the inclusion of the D-Net file
transfer network as standard.

Cuts are stored on an internal fixed hard disk drive (HDD) or removable Zip™ disks. Each
DigiCart/II Plus contains an internal hard drive and Zip drive.

Transportable recordings for archiving and backup are stored on Iomega Zip disks. These
economical, re-recordable compact magnetic disks are DigiCart/II Plus's "carts". Iomega, the
company that built the reliable Bernoulli™ drive used in the legendary DigiCart/II, has engineered
the Zip drive system to provide the speed, ease of use and reliability required in professional audio.
Each Zip disk can store 100mb of data - enough to record 8¾ minutes of 16-bit linear stereo at 48k,
and 9½ minutes at 44.1k.

A notable feature of DigiCart/II Plus is selectable recording formats. You may choose linear
sampling rates of 48, 44.1 or 32 kilosamples/second in mono or stereo. All formats can coexist, for
the machine is smart and plays them back automatically. Dolby AC-2 stereo data compression is
selectable at the 48k rate. AC-2 delivers more than five times as much stereo storage time with
subjectively excellent sound quality. Accurate compression and expansion of the digital
information accomplish this. AC-2 does not use "psycho-acoustic tricks" that discard parts of the
sound that might not be noticed.

DigiCart/II Plus's storage space is variable. By matching bandwidth and track needs to the material
(or limits of the downstream audio chain) you may maximize storage. These flexible rates provide
advantages for the broadest range of applications. For most applications, Dolby AC-2 delivers the
greatest broadband storage without regard to content. AC-2 uses less disk space than even 32k
mono recording while delivering full bandwidth stereo.

Because DigiCart/II Plus is a software-based device, supplementary information can be stored
along with each individual audio recording. This information is stored in a header containing:

 Five-character ID for drive, directory and cut.
 A name of up to fifteen alphanumeric characters

DigiCart/II Plus Owner's Manual Introduction • 1

 Total running time
 Sampling rate
 Recording format
 Editing information for head and tail times, fade in, fade out, gain and secondary

cue timing.

Much of this information is displayed on the front panel of your DigiCart/II Plus to assist you in
managing a large audio library.

A significant advantage of DigiCart/II Plus is random access to any cut. Multiple drives, directories
and cuts are quickly accessed. Once the ID of a cut appears in DigiCart/II Plus's display, that cut is
pre-loaded and available for instant playback. This way, multiple sequential cuts can be rapidly
accessed from a single DigiCart/II Plus machine. Unlimited cuts may be stacked in easily edited
pre-built lists. The Quickstack™ feature lets you create a sequence "on the fly" for one-time-only
use, or it may be saved and named for repeated use.

DigiCart/II Plus also expands the traditional role of the cart machine by including non-destructive
editing capabilities. You edit and prepare cuts on the same medium used for playback. Start and
end points are easily adjusted. Up to 40 seconds of fade-in and fade-out can be applied. Playback
gain can be set for each individual recording and sounds may be seamlessly looped for continuous
play.

Maintenance issues have been addressed with modular construction, making repairs an easy matter
for the electronics professional. Durable construction keeps wear and tear to a minimum, even in
high-usage environments. The design of DigiCart/II Plus incorporates built-in upgrade paths and
the capability to accept larger disk drives as storage technology advances.

DigiCart/II Plus has been significantly enhanced by the inclusion of D-Net file transfer software as
standard. D-Net enables the digital audio interfaces of your DigiCart/II Plus to be used for faster
than real time transfers of individual cuts, entire drives and their associated file information.

Before you begin using your DigiCart/II Plus, please take the time to read this manual. You'll find
information regarding startup and a condensed operating guide with concise step-by-step
instructions in Chapter 1. Chapter 2 covers setup. Detailed operating instructions are in Chapter 3.
stacks (playlists) are explained in Chapter 4. Maintenance information is contained in Chapter 5.
Operation of D-Net is detailed in Chapter 6.

For product support and assistance, you may reach 360 Systems customer service by:

Phone: [phone] (9:00 am to 5:00 pm Pacific Time)
Fax: [phone]
Email: support@360systems

2 • Introduction DigiCart/II Plus Owner's Manual

CHAPTER ONE

Getting Started

Your new DigiCart/II Plus stores digital audio on removable Zip disks and internal or external fixed
hard disks. These are collectively referred to a s d r i v e s. Eac h indiv i d ual disk (or p artit i o n ) conta i n s ten
directories numbered 0 to 9. Each of these directories can contain index numbers from 000 to 999
that identify the audio files, called cuts.

Cuts can be played individually or they may be assembled into playlists called stacks. Each disk
(or partition) has a Stack Directory. A Stack Directory can contain index numbers from 000 to 999.

Drives

Your DigiCart/II Plus records digital audio directly to a fixed hard disk or removable Zip disks.
Recordings with different formats may be stored on the same drive. DigiCart/II Plus reads a
"header" stored with each recording to properly configure itself for playback.

Zip Removable Media

360 Systems selected the Zip Disk, from Iomega Corporation, as the removable media for your
DigiCart/II Plus because it provides the reliability, speed and ease of use required in professional
audio.

The Internal Hard Disk

DigiCart/II Plus contains one internal hard disk which m ay be par titione d into as m any as fi ve l ogical
drives. See page 64 for information on Drive Partitioning.

DigiCart/II Plus Owner's Manual Getting Started • 3

Disk Storage Times

Storage time on DigiCart/II Plus drives will vary depending upon the sampling rate and recording
format used. The table below shows approximate recording times, based on stereo recording at
different sampling rates. Storage capacity will double in monaural for linear recordings. Dolby
AC-2 operates only in stereo, however mono material may be stored on either or both tracks.

20 kHz/48K

DOLBY AC-2

Storage per

1GB

Zip 100 MB

Times quoted are approximate. Storage times may vary with actual use, depending on the
combinations of bandwidths, formats and sample rates stored on a drive and the length and number
of cuts and stacks.

462 min 86 min 94 min 130 min

46 min, 20 sec 8 min, 40 sec 9 min, 25 sec 13 min

DRIVE STORAGE TIMES

(STEREO)

20 kHz/48K

LINEAR

20 kHz/44.1K

LINEAR

15 kHz/32K

LINEAR

The File ID System

It may seem overwhelming to consider that a DigiCart/II Plus may contain thousands of individual
cuts and stacks containing any combination of cuts or other stacks, all of which are instantly
accessible upon your simple command. Yet the ID and name system of DigiCart/II Plus simplifies
and clarifies the location and identity of every cut and stack.

DigiCart/II Plus provides a straightforward identification and naming approach suitable for the
most advanced external controls. These range from QWERTY keyboards and DigiCart/II's RC-210
and RC-220 remote controls, to Serial-Interfaced PCs and industry standard ES-Bus automation and
editing controllers.

Files may be accessed by name or by their File ID number. The key to the File ID system is an
easily understood five-character basic identifier. The first character represents the disk drive.
There are two choices in the original factory setup:

0 = Internal Zip Drive
1 = Internal Hard Drive

The internal hard drive may be partitioned by the user for even more flexibility in configuration.
Up to five logical drives of equal size may be partitioned using the Utility Menu. See page 50.

After a "." the second character represents the directory. The ten cut directories range from 0 - 9.
A unique eleventh character, "S" is used to identify a drive or Stack Directory.

Individual cuts and the ne xt three di gits m ark s tacks: 000-999 so there can be 1000 cuts in each of the
10 regular directories. An extra character follows stac k numbers: L for Linear Stacks, R for Rotating
Stacks. For example:

Cut 27 in Directory 8 on the hard disk would have the ID: 1.8027
Rotating Stack 5 on the Zip drive would be identified as: 0.S005R
NOTE: The first number in this system is 0, not 1.

4 • Getting Started DigiCart/II Plus Owner's Manual

Every drive, directory, cut and stack can be given a 15-character name, so you do not have to
constantly crosscheck between a printed index and th e s creen d i splay . DigiC a r t/II P l u s will sort
contents nume rically by ID, or alphabetically by name.

Directories

DigiCart/II Plus provides directories to organize and group audio cuts that have something in
common; e.g.: spots, jingles, station IDs, production music beds, common types of sound effects,
etc.

Each logical drive may contain up to 10 directories identified as 0-9. The directory character
appears second in the ID, following a " . " used by DigiCart/II Plus to separate the drive ID from
that of the directory.

An additional directory, S, is used to store information about stacks. There are two types of stack:
Linear and Rotating. Once started, a Linear Stack will continue with Follow-On play until all of its
contents have been played, or the user presses STOP. A Rotating Stack will stop after each cut and
wait for a PLAY command to continue. Stacks may be contained within stacks, allowing for
versatile "like live" performance from an automated system.

For example, by recording several different leads and tags to a recurring song or break, the rotation
lets you automatically vary the front- or back-announcement. When programmed as a Linear Stack
with a rotating lead or tag, the item will have a different nature with each occurrence.

Cuts

Cuts are individual recordings. Each has a "header" which stores its ID and name, plus information
about total playing time, SAMPLING RATE and RECORDING FORMAT. This information is
shown on DigiCart/II's front panel display each time a cut is selected for playback.

Other information contained in the header is not shown on the display unless called up by EDIT
MENU activities. It is used for file management functions performed in the background by
DigiCart/II's operating system. This includes HEAD and TAIL markers, FADE IN and FADE
OUT markers, OUTPUT GAIN settings and other information.

The number of cuts that may be recorded really is limited only by the maximum amount of
recording time available on a drive. Each drive may contain 10 directories, each containing 1000
cuts. DigiCart/II Plus can store audio information in a non-contiguous manner, so cuts may be
recorded, erased and re-recorded in any length without concern about disk segmentation. In other
words, the total of all empty disk space will always be available for recording new cuts.

Cuts may be edited using DigiCart/II's non-destructive editing features. You can also place
Secondary cue markers in cuts, and copy cuts to other drives and directories or other index numbers
in the same directory. All cuts may be played back-to-back, even if they reside in different drives
or directories.

DigiCart/II Plus Owner's Manual Getting Started • 5

Navigation

The selection of drive, directory or cut is organized into “layers.” Navigation between the drive,
directory and cut levels is accomplished by pressing DigiCart/II's Left and Right POSITION
buttons. Within any layer, rotating the select knob accesses available drives, directories, cuts or
stacks.

6 • Getting Started DigiCart/II Plus Owner's Manual

Condensed Operating Guide

This section presents condensed information on the operation of your DigiCart/II Plus. Fully
detailed step-by-step instructions are found in Chapter Three: OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS.

Navigation

Selecting A Drive

Press the Left POSITION button twice.
Rotate the SELECT control to choose a drive number.

Selecting A Directory

Press the Right POSITION button from drive level.
Press the Left POSITION button from the cut level.
Rotate the SELECT control choose a directory ID.

Selecting A Cut

Press the Right POSITION button twice.
Rotate the SELECT control to choose an ID/Name.

Recording And Playing Cuts

Setting Record Levels

Using tone, press REC. Adjust INPUT LEVEL for -9 segments "just off". Illumination of the red
"0" segments indicates probable distortion.

Recording

Press the REC button. Press the PLAY button to start recording.
Press the PAUSE button to interrupt recording,
Press the PAUSE button again to continue.

DigiCart/II Plus Owner's Manual Getting Started • 7

Press and hold the SEC button to insert the Secondary cue.
Press the STOP button to end recording.

Making A Digital Recording

Select the digital input you would like to record.
If desired, select Dolby AC-2 data compression for 48K digital inputs. If you do not wish to

compress a 48K digital input, select any format other than AC-2. (44.1K and 32K digital input
signals are never compressed.)

Select a record trigger threshold.
Select the appropriate digital audio input type in the set-up menu.
Press the RECORD button and disk space will be allocated.
You will be instructed to press PLAY when you are ready to enter the record mode.
Press the PLAY button. Once the digital input signal is valid, DigiCart/II Plus will wait for the

audio level to cross the Trigger Threshold. Recording then starts, and will continue until the STOP
button is pressed, or the digital input signal stops or becomes invalid.

The recorded format of the resulting cut is identical to one made from an analog source.
NOTE: DigiCart/II Plus will drop out of the record-ready mode while waiting for a trigger if the

digital input becomes invalid.

Checking Available Drive Space

Press and hold the STOP button.

Playing A Single Cut

Rotate the SELECT control to choose a cut name.
Press the PLAY button.

Playing Multiple Cuts – Follow-On Play

While playing, select next cut. You can change layers to select other drives or directories.
Press the PLAY button. The PLAY button will flash to indicate that at least 1 cut is waiting to play.
Repeat as needed.
Press the VIEW LIST button, use the SELECT control to see items following current cut.
To stop playback after current cuts ends, press the STOP button once.
To stop playback immediately, press the STOP button twice.

8 • Getting Started DigiCart/II Plus Owner's Manual

Pause

Used to temporarily interrupt recording or playback, or create Pla ylists. Note that Pause during Record
does not work when using digital inpu t.

Using PAUSE during Play or Record
Press the PAUSE button to interrupt.
Press the PAUSE button again t o resume.
Using PAUSE to create a Playlist — Quickstack, stack
Press the PAUSE button.
Select a cut.
Press the PLAY button to enter in list.
Select the next cut and press the PLAY button, repeating for each cut to be entered in the Playlist.
Press the PAUSE button to Play the list (a Quickstack) or press the ENTER button to save the list

as a stack.

Looping

Causes the current cut to play continuously from HEAD to TAIL.
Play the cut you want to loop.
Press the LOOP button to activate.
Press LOOP button again to discontinue or press STOP once to stop at the end of the current loop.
Press STOP twice to stop immediately.
Select cut for cue selection.
Press and hold the SEC button.
Press the CANCEL button.

Secondary Cues

Activating a Secondary cue, closes one pair of "Form C" relay contacts. This contact closure can
be used to connect, disconnect or redirect a circuit. Cues may be placed or moved during PLAY or
RECORD and HEAD or TAIL editing.

Play the selected cut.
Press the SEC button where relay should actuate.
Hold for desired duration. The contacts will remain closed for the duration of the cue.
Programming a cue will remove any previously programmed cue.
NOTE: Only one cue can be programmed per cut.
Deleting A Secondary cue
Select cut for cue deletion.
While pressing and holding the SEC button, press the CANCEL button.

DigiCart/II Plus Owner's Manual Getting Started • 9

Setup Menu Operations

Values for SETUP MENU functions (defaults are BOLD):

SAMPLE RATE & FORMAT

INPUT MONITOR

THRESHOLD

OVERWRITE

RECORDING TIME LIMIT

RESTART MODE

TIME DISPLAY

SORT DIRECTORY BY

KEYBOARD TYPE

REMOTE CONTROL

CART SPINDOWN

SYNC SOURCE

DIGITAL OUTPUT

DIGITAL INPUT TYPE

AUDIO INPUT TYPE

DOLBY AC-2 48000 (STEREO)

48000 STEREO
48000 MONO
44100 STEREO
44100 MONO
32000 STEREO
32000 MONO

OFF, ON

-42 dB, OFF, -6 dB to –60 dB
OFF, ON

NONE, 30 SEC, 1 MIN, 5 MIN,

30 MIN, 60 MIN
ON COMPLETION,

IMMEDIATE
TIME REMAINING,

ELAPSED TIME

INDEX, NAME
MINI, STANDARD
INACTIVE,

ADDRESS (1-32)

ON, OFF
INTERNAL, DIGITAL INPUT
PROFESSIONAL FORMAT,

CONSUMER FORMAT,
COPY PROTECTED

CONSUMER,
OFF

AES/EBU XLR-3,
AES/SMPTE-75-OHM BNC,
IEC-958 TYPE II

ANALOG, DIGITAL

GENERAL PROCEDURE:

1. Press the SETUP MENU button.

2. Rotate the SELECT control to choose the option you wish to adjust.

3. Use POSITION buttons to select a new value for the option.

4. Press the ENTER button to confirm and exit or press the CANCEL, STOP or
PLAY buttons to exit.

You can adjust several options and then confirm or cancel all of them at once.
See Setup Menu Operations on page 29 for detailed procedures.

10 • Getting Started DigiCart/II Plus Owner's Manual

Utility Menu Operations

Utility Menu features are:

CHANGE NAME ERASE COPY ORIGINAL
COPY EDITED RENUMBER DISK ASSIGN PRESET
CLEAR PRESET FILE TRANSFER FORMAT DISK
UPDATE DIRECTORIES PARTITION DRIVE

GENERAL PROCEDURE:

5. Select the drive, directory, cut or stack you wish to work upon.

6. Press the UTILITY MENU button to enter the menu.

7. Use the SELECT control to view menu options.

8. Follow the screen prompt to activate an option.

9. Press the CANCEL, STOP or PLAY button to exit the Utility Menu.

See Utility Menu Operations on page 40 for detailed procedures.

Edit Menu Operations

Edit Menu features are:

HEAD (TRIM) FADE IN OUTPUT GAIN
TAIL (TRIM) FADE OUT PRE-ROLL

GENERAL PROCEDURE:

1. Select the drive, directory, cut or stack you wish to work upon.

2. Press the EDIT MENU button to enter the menu.

3. Use the SELECT control to view menu options.

4. Follow the screen prompt to activate an option.

5. Press the CANCEL, STOP or PLAY button to exit the Edit Menu.

Time display is HH:MM:SS:FF.BB: Hours, Minutes, Seconds, Frames and SMPTE Bits. The
selected unit shows in the display in brackets, for example <F> for Frames.

Output Gain is adjustable in decibels and tenths of a decibel.
Use the Left and Right POSITION buttons to select units.
Minimum cut length is about two seconds. Head and Tail times will be limited to maintain this

minimum l ength.
See Edit Menu Operations on page 51 for detailed procedures.

DigiCart/II Plus Owner's Manual Getting Started • 11

Find Operations

There are numerous Find Operations that use the RC-205 alphanumeric keyboard from 360
Systems to instantly find any cut or stack by Name or ID on your DigiCart/II Plus. Please refer to
the operations manual for your RC-205 for complete instruction.

RC-210 and RC-220 Remote Controls from 360 Systems enable you to find cuts by index number.
Please refer to the operations manual for your RC-210 and RC-220 for complete instruction.

If you are interested in any 360 Systems accessory, please contact 360 Systems directly or contact
your 360 Systems dealer.

Further description of the Find function can be found beginning on page 57.

12 • Getting Started DigiCart/II Plus Owner's Manual

CHAPTER TWO

Controls and I/O

This Chapter contains descriptions of front panel controls and rear panel interfaces. Information
regarding the setup and installation of your DigiCart/II Plus is also provided. Schematics with
pinout information for wiring to rear panel connectors can be found in Appendix A.

Installation

A full depth shelf is recommended to provide adequate support when rack-mounting a DigiCart/II
Plus. A dedicated rack shelf that will accommodate one or two DigiCart/II Plus units is available
from 360 Systems. Alternately, your DigiCart/II Plus is also well suited to tabletop operation.

WARNING

CONNECT ONLY TO A GROUNDED 50/60 HZ AC OUTLET PROVIDING THE

CORRECT VOLTAGE (115 VAC OR 230 VAC, AS DELIVERED).

DO NOT REMOVE OR DEFEAT THE GROUNDING PIN ON THE AC POWER

CORD.

A SERIOUS SHOCK HAZARD MAY RESULT FROM FAILING TO MAKE

CONNECTION TO A PROPERLY GROUNDED ELECTRICAL OUTLET.

DO NOT USE THIS PRODUCT OUT OF DOORS, IN RAIN, OR IN DAMP OR WET

ENVIRONMENTS.

THIS PRODUCT CONTAINS A COOLING FAN. DO NOT COVER THE

VENTILATION PORTS WHEN INSTALLING OR USING THE UNIT. FAILURE TO

PROVIDE PROPER VENTILATION MAY CREATE A FIRE HAZARD AND CAN

VOID YOUR WARRANTY.

DigiCart/II Plus Owner's Manual Controls and I/O • 13

P

C

Y

%

T

HARD•DISK

DIGITAL AUDIO RECORDER

1.1315 PERRIER 15
00:00:29 48K STER

RE

Disc Eject

button

UTILITY

MENU

VIEW LIST

BUILD LIST

PAUSE

INPUT LEVEL

ST O

PL A

LEFT

RIGHT

DigiCart/II Plus Front Panel View

Figure 2-1

EDIT LIST

SEC

EDIT

MENU

DNE

XFER

PEAK LEVEL

SETUP
MENU

VIEW
LIST

LOOP

-27 -24 -21 -18 -15 -12 -9 -6 -3 0

SAVE LIST

ENTER

CANCEL

POSITION

< >

YES

NO

Front Panel Controls

The SELECT Knob

Rotate the select knob to select an item from a list, such as:

 Choose cuts for playback.
 Select drives or directories.
 View available menu options.
 Select values and alphanumeric characters.

The POSITION Arrows

Press the Left and Right POSITION ARROW buttons to:

 Navigate between drive, directory and cut levels.
 Select from different values in a menu.
 Select units for editing operations.
 Move the cursor during naming operations.

14 • Controls and I/O DigiCart/II Plus Owner's Manual

The RECORD Button

(Illuminates when enabled)
When you press the RECORD button DigiCart/II Plus will:

 Allocate blank disk space for recording.
 Turn on the Input Monitor function and enter the Record Ready mode.
 Pressing the PLAY button will initiate recording and illuminate the PLAY button,

unless a threshold level is set.

If a threshold level is set, recording starts when the level of the audio input exceeds the
THRESHOLD setting. Audio will be recorded at the sampling rate and recording format
currently selected in the SETUP MENU. If using digital inputs, the sampling rate will be
automatically set at the same sampling rate as that of the incoming signal.

The PLAY Button

(Illuminates when enabled)
Press the PLAY button to initiate playback of a cut or stack.

 Subsequent presses of the PLAY button will cause the next cued selection to play

immediately or on completion of the current one, dependent on the RESTART
MODE.

 A blinking PLAY button indicates another cut is ready for Follow-On play or that

Loop Playback is active.

 A solid PLAY button indicates DigiCart/II Plus will stop after the current cut.

The STOP Button

(Illuminates when enabled)
When the PLAY button is illuminated, pressing the STOP button ONCE will:

 Terminate playback or recording.
 When in follow on play, playing a stack, or loop playback, will end playback upon

completion of the present cut.

Press the STOP button TWICE to:

 End both the present cut and others selected for follow-on play.

Holding the STOP button in will:

 Display the drive or disk number and name.
 Display the available recording time remaining on the drive based on the currently

selected recording format.

The UTILITY MENU Button

(Illuminates when enabled)
Press the UTILITY MENU button to:

 Enable the selection of drive, directory, cut and stack management functions.
 After pressing, rotate the SELECT knob to view your options. Press the ENTER

button to initiate the chosen function, or CANCEL, STOP or PLAY buttons to
terminate the selection.

DigiCart/II Plus Owner's Manual Controls and I/O • 15

The SETUP MENU Button

(Illuminates when enabled)
Press the SETUP MENU button for:

 Access to functions related to audio behavior of your DigiCart/II Plus.
 Rotate the select knob to view your options. (The Setup settings are stored in non-

volatile memory.)

The EDIT MENU Button

(Illuminates when enabled)

Press the EDIT MENU button for:

 Access to non-destructive editing functions.
 To edit a playlist. Rotate the select knob to your view options.

The ENTER Button

Press the ENTER button to:

 Confirm, continue or complete an operation.
 Save a playlist.

Note: Throughout this manual, the button will be referred to simply as the ENTER button.

The CANCEL Button

Press the CANCEL button to:

 Cancel or abort an operation.
 Answer “no” to a query from the display.

Note: Throughout this manual, the button will be referred to simply as the CANCEL button.

The VIEW LIST Button

(Illuminates when enabled)

Press the VIEW LIST button to:

 View the contents of a stack.
 View the contents of the playlist during follow on playback.

The SEC Button

(Illuminates when enabled)
Press the SEC button to:

 Write a secondary cue. A secondary cue is a contact closure created for control

applications. During RECORD, PLAY or EDIT of a cut, both the press and release
of the SEC button are stored and determine the duration of the Secondary cue. The
SEC button will illuminate when pressed and throughout the duration of a
Secondary cue. Only one Secondary cue can be recorded per cut. To change the
timing of a Secondary cue, simply re-record it. To delete it from the selected cut,
hold CANCEL and press SEC while in STOP mode. (See Appendix A for wiring
details.)

16 • Controls and I/O DigiCart/II Plus Owner's Manual

The PAUSE Button

(Illuminates when enabled)
Press the PAUSE button to:

 Activate or release Pause mode in PLAY or RECORD. Note that Pause during

Record does not work when using digital input.

 In Stop mode to build a playlist or stack.

The LOOP Button

(Illuminates when enabled)
Press the LOOP button to:

 Activate Looping during PLAY. The current cut will continue to cycle until

LOOP is pressed again. The PLAY button will flash until the STOP button is

pressed once or LOOP is pressed again. The LOOP function cannot be activated
in STOP mode.

 In Loop mode, pressing STOP twice will stop playback immediately.

The D-NET XFER Button

(Illuminates when enabled)
Press the DNET XFER button to:

 Activate DNET transfer functions. DNET is used to transfer cuts, directories,

stacks or entire drives between two DigiCarts. Please refer to Chapter Six:

File Transfer Network

.

The INPUT LEVEL Knobs

The INPUT LEVEL knobs adjust the record level for the left and right audio channels.

The Peak Level Meters

DigiCart/II Plus uses quasi-peak reading LED level meters for monitoring left and right channel
audio levels. These meters have been selected over standard VU meters for their advantages in
monitoring digital audio.

DigiCart/II Plus Owner's Manual Controls and I/O • 17

   

The Rear Panel









Figure 2-2

Table 2-1: Rear Panel Interfaces and Connector Types

Ref. Description Connector Type

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Power cable connector and switch IEC 320
Serial Port - EIA-485 (EIA-422 compatible) serial

communic ations including RC-210/220 Remote Controls
Port for QWERTY keyboard 6-pin Mini DIN
Left and Right balanced analog audio inputs 3-pin XLR female
Left and Right balanced analog audio outputs 3-pin XLR male
GPI/O & Transport remote control interface 25-pin “D” female
AES/EBU digital audio input, left and right AES/EBU

digital audio output, left and right

9-pin “D” female

3-pin XLR female
3-pin XLR male

8

18 • Controls and I/O DigiCart/II Plus Owner's Manual

IEC-958 TYPE II or AES/SMPTE 75Ω digital audio
input, left and right

BNC female