MACKIE HDR24-96 User Manual

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HDR 24/96

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Technical Reference

24 TRACK/24 BIT, DIGITAL AUDIO HARD DISK RECORDER AND EDITOR

HDR 24/96

Table of Contents

ABLE OF CONTENTS 2

Foreword 7

About This Manual and How To Use It 7 Text Conventions 7 Window / Menu Navigation Conventions 7 Look in the margins! 8

Where/how are you working? 8

Hardware Interface Overview 9

Front Panel and Remote 48 Common Interface 9

Project Information Display 9 LCD and System Control 9 Menu Navigation 10 Transport Controls 11 Track Controls 12 Current Time Display 12 Status LEDs 13

Remote 48 Interface Additions 14

Jog/Shuttle/Data Wheel 14 LOCATE TIME display with Cue & Varispeed Indication 14 Autolocator Displays and Controls 16 Other Stuff 20

Graphical User Interface (GUI) Overview 21

GUI Conventions 21

Mouse Clicking 21 Window and Dialog Box Paradigms 22 Keyboard 24

GUI Components 24

MENU BAR 24 TOOLS and METERS PANELS 24 TRANSPORT AND TIME DISPLAY 26 RECORD TIME LEFT 26 TRACKS and the TRACK CONTROLS PANEL 26 LIST PANEL 26 Floating Windows 26

GUI Time Display and Controls 27

Project Information Display 27 Current Time Display 27 Time Bar and Marker Bar 27 Song Offset 28

Track Area 28

Track Area Scrolling Conventions 28 Track View Controls 28 Zoom Tricks 29 Auto Scroll 29 Screen Drag (Special Scroll) Mode 30

Track Control Area 30

Track Number button 30 Record Ready buttons 30 Take View and Active Take Number Buttons 30 Solo and Mute buttons 31 Track Name 31

Lists Panel 32

Region List 32 Cue List 32 History List – Undo and Re-do 34

Media Management 35

Formatting Drives 35 Verify Drive Performance 36 Format or Verification Failure 37 Aftermarket Disk Drives 37 Mount/Refresh Drives 38 Backing up and Restoring Audio 38

Project Management 40

Projects and Playlists – Recorder Housekeeping 40

What’s A Project? 40 What’s A Playlist? 40 How You Should Organize Your Projects 40

Project Operations 41

New Project 41 Using the Template 42 Open Project 42 Save Project 43 Project Manager 43 Rename a Project 43 Delete Project 44 Copy a Project (Back-up and Restore) 44

Playlist Operations 45

Save Playlist As… 46 Playlist Manager 47 Playlist Applications 49

Transport Operation 50

The Virtual Play Head 50 Basic Transport Controls 50

PLAY 51 STOP 51 REWIND 52 FAST FWD 52

Off-speed Transport Controls 52

Shuttle 52 Scrub 53 Jog 53

The Autolocator 54

What is an Autolocator? 54

Setting and Editing Times 54 Locate Points 56

LOCATE (GUI LOC) 57 Numbered Quick Locate Points 58 Transport Looping (LOC 1 and LOC 2) 60

HDR 24/96

Auto Punch (LOC 3 and LOC 4) 62 Capture Region 91

Cues 62

Creating New Cues 63 Locating to a Cue 63 Cue Parameters 63 Cues in the GUI 64 Cues on the Remote 48 66

Number Pad and Calculator on the Remote 48 68

Choosing Time Units 68 Entering Numbers Directly 68 Editing Times 68 Adding and Subtracting Times 68

Storing Times on the Remote 48 70

What to Store 70 Where to Store It 70

Recalling Times on the Remote 48 71

Previewing 72

Pre-Roll 73 AutoPlay mode 74 Time Code Chase 75 Lock Out 76

Recording Operations 77

Recording Procedure 77 Track Arming 77 Recording 77 Punching In and Out 79

One Button Punch 79 Direct Track Punching 79 Slaved Recording 79

Record Safe 80 Delete Last and Undo 80 Rehearse 81

Capturing Punch Points in Rehearse 81

Auto Punch (PUNCH) 82 Auto Take 83 Record Time Left 83

Monitor Modes 84

All Input 84 Auto Input 84

Auto Input On 84 Auto Input Off 85

Solo and Mute 85

Metering 86

GUI Meters 86

GUI Meter Ballistics – Peak and Average Modes 86 Clip (Overload) Indicator 87

Front Panel meters 87

Regions and Audio Files 88

Regions 88

Region Appearance 89 Region Names 89 Region List 90

Render Tracks 92 Importing Audio Files 94 Purge Unused Files 95

Backing up and Restoring Audio 95

Editing Operations 96

Track and Region Editing Tools 96

Working with the History List Open 97

Selection 97

Region Selection (Hand Tool) 97 Volume Envelope (Node Tool) 98 Area Selection (I-Beam Tool) 98 Scrub Wheel 100 Looping the Selection 101

Nudge Tools 101

Nudge Resolution 102 Nudge arrows 102 Selection Start (left), Selection End (right), Selection (center) boxes 102

Display Controls for Editing 102

Magnifier 102 The Dive Key [Z] 102 Cursor Location Display 103

Clipboard Editing 103

Cut 103 Delete 104 Copy 104 Paste 105 Paste Repeat 106

Editing Modes 107

Splice Mode 107 Snap Mode and Snap-to Functions 108

Region Editing 110

Split 111 Crop 111 Moving Regions- Clicking and Dragging 111 Insert Time 112 Fades 112 Auto X-Fade (Cross-fade) 113 Volume Envelope 114 Region Editor 116

History List and Undo / Redo 120

What is included in the History List 120 What is not included in the History List 120 Accessing the History List 121 Moving Around in the History List 121 History List and Playlist Relationships 122 History List Caveats: 122 Versions 123

System Setup 124

General 124

Date and Time 124 Window Frames 124 Mouse Speed 124 Waveform colors 124 Footswitch and Footswitch Remote 125

Technical Reference 3

HDR 24/96

Network 125

TCP/IP 126 Turbo FTP 126 MDS Network 126 RUN FTP Network 127

Digital I/O 127 MIDI 128 Sync 130

Sample Clock 130 Sample Rate 131 Bit Depth 131 Time Code Source 131 Time Code Frame Rate 131 Time Code Offset 131 Generate SMPTE (MTC) 132 SMPTE Output Level 132 Half Speed Clock 132

Appendix A – Menu Tables 133

GUI Menus 133

File 133 Edit 136 Options 139 Transport 141 Playlist 142 Windows 142

Hot Keys 143

Setup (from the Windows menu) 146

Front Panel Setup and Utility Buttons and Menus 151

DELETE LAST 151 TRACK (EDIT) 151 PROJECT 154 BACKUP 157 DISK UTIL 157 SYSTEM 158 DIGITAL I/O 160 SYNC Options 162

Appendix B – List of Parameters and How They’re Saved 164

Setup Parameters – What’s Saved and When 164 Global Preferences 164 Project-Based Parameters 165 Project-Unique Parameters with Defaults for New Projects 165 Parameters Saved with the Project AND in the Template 166 Parameters Not Saved (with a Project or otherwise) 166

Appendix C - Disk Directory Organization 167

Project Files & Folders: 167 System Files & Folders: 169 Project Files & Folders Hierarchy: 170

Appendix D – Networking (FTP) Setup 171

Your Studio Network 171 The Client Computer 172

Hardware Required 172 Computer Software Required 172

Peer to Peer Networking Configuration 173

Cables and Routing Hardware Required 173 HDR24/96 TCP/IP Settings 173 The Client Computer’s TCP/IP Settings 175 FTP Client Configuration 177

Making The FTP Connection 178

Accessing Files on the HDR24/96 External Hard Drive 179

Clever FTP Tricks 179

Labeling Your Drives 180 Session Notes and Track Sheets 180 Making Tracks Easier to Locate 180

FTP Turbo Mode 180 Troubleshooting 181 Connecting Your HDR24/96 In A Larger Network 182 Networking Glossary 183

TCP/IP 183 FTP 183 IP Address 184 Hub 184 10BaseT vs. 100BaseT 184

Appendix E – 48-Track Configuration 185

Synchronization Setup 185

Sample Clock Synchronization 185 Time Code Synchronization 185

MDS Network – Data and Control Interconnection 186

Other considerations 188

Pre-flight Check List 189

Appendix F – Synchronization 190

What Makes the HDR24/96 (and Other Devices Like it) Tick? 190 How can you Sync to Word Clock and Time Code at the Same Time? 192

Jam Sync 193 Trigger Sync 193

More about Time Code 194 Video Synchronization 195 Working with Time Code 198 A Word or Three about Pull-Ups and PullDowns 201 Safe Synchronization 204

Appendix G – MIDI Implementation Chart 205 Appendix H – Gozintas and Gozoutas 207

AIO-8 Analog I/O 207

Inputs and Outputs 207 Signal Polarity 208

HDR 24/96

Throughput Delay (Latency) 208 Patchbays 208 Connector Pin-out 208

OPT-8 8-channel ADAT Optical Digital I/O 209

Inputs Outputs 209 Signal Polarity 210 Throughput Delay (Latency) 210 Word Length 210

PDI-8 AES/EBU Digital I/O 210

Inputs and Outputs 210 Signal Polarity 211 Throughput Delay (Latency) 211 Word Length 211 Channel Status Bits 211 Sample Rate Conversion 211 Connector Pin-out 212

DIO-8 Combination ADAT Lightpipe and TDIF Digital I/O 212

Inputs and Outputs 213 Signal Polarity 213 Throughput Delay (Latency) 214 Word Length 214 Firmware Versions 214

D-Subminiature Connectors – A General Note 214 MIDI IN/OUT 214 Ethernet Jack 215 Remote Jack 216 Footswitch Jack 216

Accessory Slots 216 Remote 48 Connections 216

Remote Cabling 216 Footswitch Jack 216 HDR24/96 & Remote 24 Connections 216

Appendix I – Working with A Digital Audio Workstation 217

Rendering 217 Getting There (is half the fun) 217

FTP via Ethernet 217 Removable Disk Drives 218 Play it in 218

What To Do When You Get There 219 Bringing It All Back Home 220

Direct File Replacement 220 FTP or Copy to an IMPORTED FILES Folder 220

Appendix J – Specifications 223

Rack Unit Specifications 223

Physical 223 Electrical 223 Motherboard/CPU 223 CPU I/O 223 Hard Drive 223 Video 223 Analog (with AIO-8 cards) 223 I/O Options 224 Synchronization 224

Remote 48 Power 224

Technical Reference 5

HDR 24/96

Foreword

Welcome Aboard! Thank you for choosing the Mackie Designs HDR24/96 Hard Disk Recorder -- a benchmark in affordable professional multitrack audio recording. Occupying only 4U of rack mount space, the HDR combines the familiarity of a multitrack tape recorder with a powerful, built-in DAWstyle editor.

About This Manual and How To Use It

Your HDR24/96 instruction manual comes in three parts. The Quick Start Guide is intended to help you get your HDR24/96 up and running quickly, and it serves as a handy reference to the most common operations. The Operation Guide provides details about interfacing, setup, and operation. It walks you step-by-step through the processes of recording, overdubbing, and editing, showing you the HDR24/96’s way of doing familiar tasks and introducing you to the power features that bring it capabilities far beyond those of a conventional multitrack recorder.

Finally, this Technical Reference gives detailed explanations of all the controls, displays, and menus. Keep it handy while you’re learning your way around. Here’s where you’ll find more detailed information on controls, indicators, and functions, files and file management, the complexities of clocking, synchronization, and interfacing unique to the world of digital recording. You’ll also find some shortcuts to frequently and infrequently used features.

If you haven’t already done so, install your I/O cards (don’t forget to read their instructions!) break open the Quick Start Guide, hook up your recorder, connect the optional monitor, keyboard, or remote controller, and get rolling. This is a hands-on process.

Text Conventions

The following conventions are used throughout this guide:

Keyboard Keys – [S

Key combinations – [C

Key sequences – [ALT

Key modified mouse actions – [CTRL

Mouse button actions – right-click

Functions or type of button group– Record

LCD Display text (and associated SELECT button) – Audio New Open Save Delete

Names of front panel or Remote buttons – TC CHASE

Names of GUI objects (buttons, arrows) or panel controls – TC CHASE

Names of GUI Menus, Menu Items, & Dialog Responders – File | Open

] - [A] - [a]

HIFT

TRL+SHIFT

+f], [o]

+6]

+click]

Window / Menu Navigation Conventions

This manual uses a shortcut notation that will lead you to a window in which a described operation is performed or a parameter is viewed. The various levels leading to the desired window are separated by a vertical bar “|”. For example: Windows | Setup | Locator-MMC means: Select

Windows from the top-level menu, then Setup from that list, then Locator-MMC from the Setup dialog box.

Technical Reference 7

HDR 24/96

Look in the margins!

Extending into the left hand margins, you will see certain icons that provide clues as to what is being discussed. In this way, as you search the technical reference for information, you may be able to skip more quickly to what you want, or conversely, realize when you need to read something before proceeding. These Icons mean the following:

PLEASE NOTE: This symbol may be a warning or perhaps just an amplification of something that is easily or often misunderstood. Or it may be both. If your area of interest is in the section where this icon appears, should probably read the text next to it.

HERE'S A BRIGHT IDEA: Or at least we think so. You can interpret this symbol as meaning Tip, Try This, Recommended Practice, Short Cut, or just Look Here! Often this will appear where a keyboard equivalent command is described, because such short cuts allow you to work quickly in the GUI without having to navigate menus, mouse-around, or switch over to the tactile controls.

Where/how are you working?

The HDR24/96 has three primary user interfaces; the front panel of the main rack-mountable unit, the optional remote control units (Remote 24 and Remote 48), and finally the Graphical User Interface (or GUI). There are three (actually four – keep reading) icons that appear in the left margin to denote which user interface controls are being explained. Most operations can be accomplished from more than one control surface, so in some cases there may be explanations for each interface in succession. After you have read the general feature description you can use these icons to jump ahead to the interface that you actually want to use. Some lengthy sections of this manual cover only one interface in detail. In cases where the operation is identical for both the Front Panel and the Remote 48, you’ll see the two icons combined into one (that 4th icon).

The front panel icon is shown to the left of this paragraph. The front panel is designed so that if you’re familiar with almost any multitrack recorder, you can operate the HDR24/96 almost exactly the same way. Other than the opening and naming of new projects, you’ll feel right at home. Using only the front panel controls, you can record, overdub, and play back, as well as back up your recordings to an optional removable hard disk. There’s more to the HDR24/96 than straightforward recording, however.

The Remote 48 icon shows up in the margin when features described relate to a remote control unit. Optional remote controllers bring the front panel controls closer to your workspace and often add more features. We’ll point out differences between operations on front panel and the Remotes, but for details on extensions that the Remote 48 offers, we’ll send you off to its manual. The Remote 48 is patterned after the autolocator remote controllers on many industry standard multitrack recorders, so if you are an experienced recordist you can probably just jump on and ride it.

Connecting a standard computer keyboard, mouse, and monitor brings the power of a Graphical User Interface (GUI) to the HDR24/96. When GUI interface features or functions are being described, you’ll see a computer terminal shown in the left-hand margin. The GUI is where you’ll find the visual editing tools as well as convenience features such as nameable cue points for quickly locating significant segments of your project.

In addition, the HDR24/96 responds to MIDI Machine Control (MMC), so you can perform many operations from another user interface such as a sequencer, mixing console, or dedicated hardware controller that sends MMC commands.

HDR 24/96

Hardware Interface Overview

Generally when we talk about Hardware we mean the HDR rack-mount unit. However this section is more accurately an explanation of how to interface with the HDR via hardware, so really we mean any tactile controls. In addition to the front panel, there is the Remote 24 and Remote 48. We will usually distinguish these interfaces from each other unless their controls are the identical as is the case with the front panel and Remote 48. If you do not find an explanation for some Remote 24 feature, read the Remote 48 and front panel explanations as the functionality will probably be common to one or both.

Front Panel and Remote 48 Common Interface

The core group of tactile controls is duplicated on the front panel and the Remote 48. These features include the System Controls, the LCD and its menu scheme, the Time Code window, the Transport and basic Track Controls. The Remote 24 includes the Transport and basic Track Controls. The Remote 48 has a complete locator, while the front panel has only two dedicated locates and looping. The Remote 24 adds two more locate buttons and the associated Auto-punch feature. Only the Remote 24 has the ability to pick out a take from any track and a single assignable meter.

Project Information Display

The LCD on the front panel and Remote 48, when not displaying a setup or utility operation, is an informative summary of the current project. A screen saver blanks the display after ten minutes of display inactivity. To re-activate it, press just about any button. The following information is displayed on the LCD after boot-up and whenever any menu operation is exited.

PROJECT: Name of the currently loaded project

PLAYLIST: The currently loaded playlist version

DRIVE: The disk drive containing the Project - Internal or External

AVAIL: The amount of recording time left on the disk

LCD and System Control

Originally we plopped all of the controls onto the HDR front panel and found that after a while, it was entirely filled with buttons. So we decided to lose a few along the way, and hide the ones that were used less frequently (as often as you visited Aunt Sadie) somewhere under an LCD menu. To make up for missing buttons and the need for a road map, we stuck in a few Go Here and Go There buttons and here's what we came up with:

You’ll find two rows of buttons directly beneath the blue LCD on both the front panel and the Remote 48. The four small SELECT buttons located directly below the display are soft buttons whose functions change depending on what you’re doing. A text label above the button in the LCD display indicates it’s current function. If no text appears above a button, that button is not active in that menu. A red LED appears over each active button, and if one button is the most likely choice (such as “OK”, “Exit”, or “Continue”), its LED will blink.

Some LCD menus have more than four options, so they’re on multiple pages. The two large buttons on either end of the SELECT button row scroll the display horizontally to display additional pages.

System Control buttons; DELETE LAST, TRACK, PROJECT, BACKUP, DISK UTIL, SYSTEM, DIG I/O, and SYNC are located in the row below the SELECT buttons. Each of these buttons opens a menu (-)DEC and (+)INC buttons to the far right of this row are used to edit or enter text in the LCD for functions such as naming projects or selecting a virtual take.

in the LCD, which contains the labels for the SELECT buttons. The

Technical Reference 9

HDR 24/96

You’ll find these System Control buttons in the same relative position on the Remote 48 except the (-)DEC and (+)INC buttons are found below on the next row of buttons. Since the Remote 48 is designed to control two recorders, a DECK 2 button on this bottom row selects which recorder you’re controlling.

Menu Navigation

System Control Buttons

Most of the buttons, located immediately above the transport section (“tape deck controls”), are used to open menus in the LCD interface. These buttons both launch the menu system and jump directly to designated entry points within the menu.

stem and menuing section of the HDR24/96 front panel

Page Left and Page Right Buttons

The large < and > buttons are page navigators. If a menu consists of more than one page, the top line on the 24 character by 4 line LCD readout will display a ← or → in the upper left or upper right corner to indicate the direction in which you may page to find more choices within that menu. The Page Left button can in many instances be used as an Escape key to exit the current menu level.

Select Buttons

The four SELECT buttons under the LCD are aligned under text describing the choices available within that menu. Examples include Exit, OK (confirmation), << >> (scroll through choices), or Next (move down a menu level). The example above lets you select which Digital I/O card to configure. Follow the signs, you won't get lost. A SELECT button is a "soft button" whose function changes depending on the overall operation you’re performing.

Pairs of SELECT buttons with << >> displayed above them are used to scroll through choices, or to move a V cursor through a text or numeric field. The V cursor points to the character you about to change with the (-)DEC and (+)INC (decrement and increment) buttons.

HDR 24/96

Pressing the SELECT button labeled “OK” in the display performs the menu operation in process. There’s usually a button labeled “Cancel” should you decide not to complete an

operation. Pressing any menu button will also back out without performing the operation.

(-)DEC and (+)INC Buttons

The (-)DEC and (+)INC (decrement and increment) buttons are used to modify an alphabetical or numerical parameter displayed in the LCD such as Project Name or Time Code Offset. If the red LEDs above the buttons are glowing, they’re active. Generally you can tell that a character can be edited with the (-)DEC and (+)INC buttons if it’s sitting above a pair of << >> characters. The Select buttons below the << >> characters move a V cursor through the text or numeric field, indicating which character will be changed by pressing the (-)DEC and (+)INC buttons.

Remote 48 Menu Navigation section (LCD and System

Controls)

button that does something within that menu. Some operations, particularly those that could be disastrous like deleting data that can’t be recovered, will offer you a Cancel option, allowing you to quit without changing anything.

Navigation Behavior

Any time you’re working in a menu, LED’s will illuminate above any

Depending on the menu and how many layers it has, Exit or Cancel may bring you back to a previous menu or all the way back to the top. You can also leave the menu by pressing the button that got you there (its red LED will be on to remind you where you are), or by pressing the Page Left < button when the ← symbol isn’t displayed on the LCD. You need not completely exit one menu before moving to another; just press another menu button to jump into a new menu.

NOTE: Whether or not a Cancel or Exit prompt appears above a SELECT button, it’s okay to jump directly to one of the other top-level menus without responding to a prompt. It’s a quick “bail out” in case you’ve discovered that you’re in the wrong menu for what you want to accomplish. Skipping an OK, Cancel, or Exit prompt will not harm or hang the HDR24/96.

The Front Panel Menu panel setup and utility controls.

Transport Controls

Transport operating controls are described in detail in other sections of this manual. Jump to

Transport Operation

advanced transport and Locator (which follows basic transport operation), or jump to the section on Recording Operations

table in Appendix A shows the menu structure for all of the front

(page 50) to see the basics of play head movement as well as the HDR's

(page 77). A Locator (or Autolocator), for those unfamiliar with the

Technical Reference 11

HDR 24/96

term, is a system for keeping track of points within your recording and providing short-cut mechanisms to return to those points quickly. The HDR front panel does not offer full locating features, but does offer two Dedicated Locate points which are also used in conjunction with the

looping features

corresponding Auto-punch features (page 82). The Remote 48 offers a fully featured Autolocator (page 54) with dedicated buttons for many of its mostly industry-standard functions.

Remote 48 Transport – Same as Front Panel but adds LOCATE button

Track Controls

Track Controls are used to arm each track for recording (In the GUI there are also separate monitoring controls for each track). The front panel buttons are labeled REC, while on the Remote 24 and 48 the Record Ready buttons are simply labeled with their track number 1 through 24 and 1 through 48 respectively. See the section on Recording Operations details.

(page 60). The Remote 24 adds two more Numbered Locates and the

(page 77) for more

Front Panel Track Controls

Track arming buttons interact with the Monitoring Controls, which are described in detail in other sections of this manual (page 84).

Remote 48 Track Controls

Current Time Display

Current transport time is always displayed on the front panel and Remote 48. In these LED displays the format will be either motion picture timecode or musical score position. If you want the BBT display, it must be selected through the GUI or the Remote 48 where the TIME UNITS button will toggle the formats.

SMPTE time in hours:minutes:seconds:frames ................................... HH:MM:SS:FR

•

Musical score (BBT) position in bars:beats:ticks ................................... BARS:BB:TT

•

HDR 24/96

NOTE: The GUI Current Time

NOTE: The GUI Current Time window can display two other time formats, samples and milliseconds. If you select one of these other formats from the GUI, the LED displays on the front panel and Remote 48 will revert to SMPTE time.

Front Panel Time and Status Display

In BBT mode, the front panel display only shows tick numbers when the transport is stopped. When running, the Ticks field contains hyphens (- -). Leading spaces in the Bars field are also filled with hyphens, as: - - 73:04:45. Bar numbers greater than 9999 are displayed as hyphens, however the display still counts beats (01 through 04) while the transport is running.

LOCATE TIME display (Remote 48 only)

Just below the Current Time on the Remote 48 work-surface is the Locate Time. Locate Time can be recalled from a cue list, entered directly, or edited from its current value. It’s used as a general “go to” time location, for entering and displaying stored cue times, or for doing time code calculations. See the Autolocator sections for further details. On the Remote 48 almost all of the Autolocator settings pass through the LOCATE TIME display. This differs from the GUI where the Locate Time is more like an auxiliary Cue.

. or the Remote 48 specialized controls

Status LEDs

The group of LEDs to the left of the time code display indicates the state of several of the current setup options.

• 44.1k, 48k and 96k LEDs indicate the selected sample rate.

• VARI indicates that the sample rate is controlled by an external word clock source or

video sync signal, and the resulting sample rate is not exactly 44.1, 48, or 96 kHz. VARI can also indicate that the Shuttle of Jog transport I operating.

• 16 BIT and 24 BIT indicate the selected word length.

• ERROR indicates a clock or synchronization error, for example, a word clock frequency

that is out of range.

• TC indicates that the transport is receiving acceptable time code. This LED is only active

when the HDR24/96 is set to chase time code. The LED blinks when time code is expected but is either not present or is at the incorrect frame rate. When everything is in order with time code synchronization, it will be on.

• CLOCK indicates that a proper data clock signal is being received. It blinks if the

HDR24/96 is expecting an external clock and it’s not present. If all is well with the External clock, or when the Internal clock is selected, the CLOCK LED will be on.

Technical Reference 13

HDR 24/96

Remote 48 Interface Additions

While the Remote 48 has some displays and controls in common with the front panel, the larger more elaborate remote unit also has some of its own additional and unique controls.

Jog/Shuttle/Data Wheel

The JOG button, the SHUTTLE button, and the Jog/Shuttle/Data WHEEL (simply referred to as the WHEEL in most cases) are found along the lower two-thirds of the right-hand side of the Remote 48.

The JOG button enables the Jog mode, which couples the transport playback speed in both directions directly to the movement of the WHEEL.

The SHUTTLE button also enables an off-speed bi-directional WHEEL control mode. However in Shuttle mode, the playback speed is governed by the amount of offset either forward or backward from the position of the WHEEL at the time Shuttle mode is engaged.

The Jog/Shuttle/Data Wheel itself has two functions on the Remote 48:

1) Transport Jogging (Scrub) and Shuttle as described above and as described in detail in the

Advanced Transport Controls

display of the off-speed rates is shown in the VARI indicator to the left of the TAPE TIME. See the following section.

section (page 52). When using these features, note that

2) Data entry. The data wheel becomes available for data entry in the Locate Time and Cues displays during certain Autolocator operations. Data entry mode is overridden whenever either the Shuttle or Jog modes are enabled.

LOCATE TIME display with Cue & Varispeed Indication

Just below the Current Time on the Remote 48 work-surface is the LOCATE TIME display. The Locate Time is a recalled, entered or edited time value that is used for the general Locate command, among other things. The Locate Time is so called because it is the target time for the next Locate command. A single press of the LOCATE button causes the Current Time to jump to the Locate Time. This is a primary operating characteristic of any tactile Autolocator the Remote 48.

In this operating paradigm, the locating sequence usually starts with getting the target location loaded into the Locate Time. This differs substantially from the locator built into the HDR 24/96 GUI, it should be noted. The GUI provides for click-activated locating to any displayed Cue or Dedicate Locate, and allows direct editing of the Current Time

Editing Times in the GUI

up values into a workspace such as the Locate Time is not really needed. From the standpoint of the GUI the Locate Time is really just another Dedicated Locate (only it doesn’t have a number). From the standpoint of the Remote 48, this dual time display is a highly integral part of its workings. You can get a more detail description of the Dual Time Displays in the Autolocator page 54.

, page 21). These computer-interface-style features mean that queuing

(page 24) and other times (see

including

HDR 24/96

Dual Time Display on Remote 48

While advantages exist in both paradigms, if you do have a Remote 48 attached to your HDR 24/96, you already know or will soon learn of its elegance. While the GUI seems more powerful for interacting with every parameter directly (and the HDR is particularly cool in this respect), it is often the tactile Autolocator that is faster, because its key sequences are short and closely clustered, and well, it’s just more tactile. Perhaps not as intuitive as drag-and-drop, but once learned, the Locate Time and its display are very flexible and powerful ways to work with precise times quickly.

Along with the dual display of TAPE TIME (Current Time) and LOCATE TIME, you will see that the Remote 48 provides a CUE display, a VARI (Varispeed) display, and a CAPTURE button in this same area.

Tape Time

The TAPE TIME display always shows the current position of the HDR24/96 “play head” (i.e. Current Time), and is the same as the Current Time displays on the HDR24/96 front panel and GUI.

Locate Time

The Locate Time window shows the time that the Transport will locate to when the Locate button is pressed, and is the same as the LOCATE TIME display in the GUI Cues List Locate Time also acts as a scratchpad or working display into which you can recall/preview stored time values (Cues, Numbered Locates, last Play, Pre-Roll, and Punch and Loop lengths), manually enter and Store specific times to one of these time values, or display the result of time code addition/subtraction operations.

The LOCATE TIME display window should be distinguished from the Locate Time (register) itself, because the display can also be used for previewing time values stored in various parameters. See the sections on Recalling/Previewing best use the LOCATE TIME display.

Cue

Cues are numbered locations, which do not have dedicated buttons and must therefore be recalled before locating. The Cue numbers range from 0 to 999. The CUE number display shows the number of the Cue that was last entered, stored, or recalled from the Remote 48. This Cue number is independent of the Cue Entry number in the GUI. When STORE or RECALL is pressed, the rightmost dot in the Cue display flashes until the operation is canceled or executed to indicate that the Cue display is the focus of numeric (Cue number) entry. During a preview, the CUE display will show the Cue number or name of the stored value being previewed:

(page 71) for clues on how to

PrE = Pre-Roll LoP = Loop Length PCH = Auto Punch L1, L2, L3, L4 = LOC 1 through LOC 4 respectively PLA = Last Play

Technical Reference 15

HDR 24/96

If the Preview is canceled, or a stored value other than a Cue is recalled, then the Cue display reverts to the previously displayed Cue.

When you begin to Recall TIME display) is cleared ( - - - ). As soon as a valid Cue number as been entered the corresponding time is previewed in the LOCATE TIME display. For this reason it is possible preview a single digit Cue with only a single digit key press. Continually pressing digits will rotate the digits in on the far right of the Cue number display and out on the left. Any combination of three digits that represent a valid Cue number will update the LOCATE TIME display. Note that the methodology for Creating, Viewing, and Storing Cue values on the Remote 48 differs considerably from that of the GUI and keyboard. Cues an integral part of the Autolocator page 66. Discussions of Cues in the GUI

Vari (Varispeed)

The Varispeed display is used to display the Transport speed whenever Shuttle or Jog is enabled. During Shuttle, the Varispeed display reads 0.0, 0.03, 0.06, 0.12, 0.25, 0.5, 1.0, or

2.0, depending on the Shuttle speed. During Jog, the display reads continuously between

0.00 and 1.00. Negative speeds are not expressed because the FF or REW LEDs indicate the

Transport direction.

Autolocator Displays and Controls

The other big addition to the Remote 48, as distinguished from the front panel controls, is the inclusion of an Autolocator section. The rack mount unit's front panel does have some locating features. It gives you access to two Dedicated (numbered) Locates, for example, as well as the looping features associated with those Locate points. The Remote 48 has those same buttons and features. Then the Remote 48 adds all of the rest of an industry standard Autolocator. In fact the Remote 48 borrows from well-established Autolocator philosophy, then adds even cooler stuff to that model. The Autolocator is discussed in detail later in this manual under Autolocator

54).

a Cue, the Remote 48 Cue display (to the left of the LOCATE

(page 62) are

(page 54), and Remote 48 Cue operations are found on

can be found on pages 63 and 32.

(page

Transport and LOCATE

The Transport within the Remote 48 Autolocator is of course very much the same as that found on the front panel (or the GUI for that matter), however, it does add one important key – LOCATE. The Locate Time and even the LOCATE button have been discussed just a few pages earlier, and you will find its use discussed in conjunction with many other operations throughout the manual. The LOCATE button acts as an instant “go to” command for the value appearing in the LOCATE TIME display. Essentially this button takes you where you wanna go. Check out the Transport Operation Transport and Locate Points

PRE ROLL

Pre-roll comes from the idea of rolling a tape back to a little bit before the point where you want to Play or Punch. When Pre-roll is turned on, then all Locate commands go to the time address minus the Pre-roll. The Pre-roll Time is the amount of time to “cushion”’ a locate point, and can be set like any storable value in the Autolocator.

AUTOPLAY

Auto Play is an Autolocator Play mode that causes the HDR to go directly into Play any time a Locate command is given. Push the button to toggle the mode on and off. When engaged any locate operation will immediately be followed by Play.

(page 50) for more information on the

(page 54).

HDR 24/96

Numbered (Dedicated) LocatesNumbered (Dedicated) Locates

The Remote 48 provides a button for each the four Numbered Locates (numbered LOC 1, LOC 2, LOC 3, and LOC 4). The function of these Locates has been discussed In conjunction with STORE and RECALL, these buttons allow you to set and recall looping (LOC 1, LOC 2) and auto-punching (LOC 3, LOC 4) points. Used by itself, each button acts as an instant “go to” command for the stored location. Note that the methodology for viewing and storing Locate values on the Remote 48 differs from the GUI and keyboard. For more details see Numbered Locates

LOOP

The LOOP button enables (toggles on and off) a mode in which the Play command causes the transport to Loop (Play through forward to the end of the loop then jump back and start again at the start of the loop) between LOC 1 and LOC 2. More detail is provided on page 60. The Loop LED is lit when enabled, and dark when disabled.

PUNCH

The PUNCH button enables an Auto Punch mode where the LOC 3 and LOC 4 are used for the punch in and out points. The earliest point will be the punch in and the later point will be the punch out. More detail is provided on page 82. The Punch LED is lit when enabled, and dark when disabled.

REHEARSE

The REHEARSE button enables a mode in which punching in and out can be practiced without actually recording anything. While in Rehearse mode the Punch In and Punch Out points are automatically stored to LOC 3 and LOC 4 (respectively). Generally, a recording pass can be rehearsed until the Punch points sound correct, after which the Auto Punch function can make use of the last punch points stored to LOC 3 and LOC 4. While in Rehearse mode the HDR will not record audio. Use PLAY, RECORD, and/or STOP to engage/disengage master Record and to capture the punch points. Only the last two punch in/out points will be remembered. Punching with a track’s RECORD READY buttons will not be automatically captured. The Rehearse LED is lit when enabled, and dark when disabled.

(page 58), Looping, and Auto Punch.

AUTO TAKE

Auto Take is a mode in which each subsequent recording pass on the same track(s) automatically increments the Active Take of the selected track(s). That means further takes can be recorded to the same track without discarding or covering-up previous takes. For the artist, a Take is just another run at playing it right, but on the HDR 24/96 technically means one of 8 tracks within each track onto which you can record. You can designate which take you wish to be active or you can turn on the Auto Take mode and let the HDR do the work. Once you have recorded on all 8 takes (or you reach the 8 started on number 6), the Auto Take system rolls over to take number 1 and continues on.

You should be very conscious of what you are doing in Auto Take mode if you are trying to collect several different versions of something without covering them up. If you stay in Auto Take all night you'll end up with only last 8 takes by morning! Go to manual mode, or move to new track if you need to preserve something.

The AUTO TAKE LED is lit when enabled, and dark when disabled.

Technical Reference 17

take for any reason – perhaps you

HDR 24/96

TIME UNITS

The TIME UNITS key toggles the time display mode between SMPTE and BBT. This also changes the display for the GUI and front panel.

The Remote 48 Autolocator section

EDIT TIME

The EDIT TIME key allows you to edit specific fields within the LOCATE TIME display. Pressing EDIT TIME once selects the Frames/Ticks field, a second time the Seconds/Beats field, and so on. The selected field flashes until the field is advanced (with the EDIT TIME button) or the Locate Time is set by pressing ENTER.

Time fields can be edited in three ways:

1) Numeric entry from keypad. Numbers shift left continually until field value is

2) + and – keys. Pressing + (+/NEXT) advances value by 1, pressing – (–/PREV)

3) Rotating the WHEEL. Numbers increment or decrement continually as WHEEL

+/NEXT and -/PREV

The +/Next and –/Prev keys perform three functions:

1) Act as math operators for adding (+) and subtracting (–) time code values from

2) Act as trim keys for incrementing or decrementing Locate Time field values

3) Act as keys for cycling through Cues in specific Autolocator operations.

The use of each of these keys is documented within the specific Autolocator

Numeric Keypad

The numeric keypad is used for entering time values or Cue numbers into the Locate Time or Cue displays, respectively. The specific use of the numeric keypad is documented within the

set with Time Field or Enter button

decrements value by 1; holding the + or – key scrolls the value up or down.

is rotated.

LOCATE TIME display

functions.

HDR 24/96

specific Autolocator functions. See the description of the Cue display above, and the section on Cues in the.

CLEAR

The CLEAR key deletes the last value entered into the Locate Time or Cue Number display by shifting all of the numbers right by one character. When entering time into the LOCATE TIME display, pressing CLEAR after the last character is deleted cancels the operation and restores the previous Locate Time value.

ENTER

The ENTER key is used for four functions:

The specific use of the ENTER key is documented throughout the various Autolocator functions.

STORE

The STORE button is used to store the value of the Locate Time or Tape Time into Cues, numbered Locates, Pre-Roll time, and the Loop and Punch lengths. The exact sequence of the Store operation will vary somewhat depending on what time is being stored where. Pressing STORE once selects the Locate Time, and pressing STORE twice (or CTRL+STORE) selects the Tape Time as the source time for the store operation. A flashing dot in the right of the TAPE TIME or LOCATE TIME display indicates which time is selected. The STORE LED blinks while the Store operation is in progress (armed for storing). Pressing STORE yet again (third time) will cancel the operation. The source time value is copied to the destination, and the STORE LED is turned off, when the last key in the sequence is pressed (ENTER for Cues, LOC n for Numbered Locates, or PRE ROLL, LOOP, or PUNCH respectively for these length parameters). The specific function of Store

70) is documented with the Autolocator functions.

1) Terminates the entry of a string of numbers when entering a time in the LOCATE TIME display

2) Executes the Recall of a previewed value (Cues, numbered Locates, Pre-Roll, last Play, etc.) from the LOCATE TIME display to the actual Locate Time value

3) Executes a Cue Store or New Cue operation

4) Acts as an equals sign (“=”) to complete time code calculator operations.

(page

RECALL

The RECALL key is used to call up the value of stored time locations/values into the LOCATE TIME display (for preview) and into the Locate Time register (when combined with ENTER). The RECALL LED blinks when Recall/Preview is in progress, and goes out after Recall is executed (ENTER) or canceled (by pressing RECALL again). If a valid Cue number is typed in during Recall/Preview the LOCATE TIME display will automatically present the time for that Cue. If the user types in the value of a non-existent Cue, then the Locate Time shows dashes (“- - –“) until a valid Cue or other stored value is selected. The specific function of Recall

CAPTURE

Pressing CAPTURE transfers the instantaneous value of Tape Time (Current Time) into the Locate Time. No ENTER key press is required as the Tape Time provides its own form of continuous preview.

(page 71) is documented with the Autolocator functions.

Technical Reference 19

HDR 24/96

Other Stuff

DECK 2

The Deck 2 button toggles control of the Remote 48 LCD display, Rates Display, and System Control buttons between the Master and Slave HDR24/96. The Remote 48 controls the Master HDR24/96 when the Deck 2 LED is off, and the Slave HDR24/96 when the Deck 2 LED is blinking.

EDIT

The Edit button is reserved for access to editing functions in a future software revision. No editing functions are implemented on the Remote 48 at the time of this manual writing (version 1.2 or earlier).

HDR 24/96

Graphical User Interface (GUI) Overview

After plugging the keyboard, monitor and mouse into the rear panel connectors and booting up the HDR, you'll find most of the MackieOS GUI is pretty darn similar to the rest of the music-computing world.

Typical paradigms of left and right mouse clicking, menu bars with pop-up or pull-down menus, dialog boxes, scroll bars and high resolution graphics all make for a familiar interface. One distinction is that you will see certain window areas described as "panels" in this manual. Panels are "docked" windows that do not resize and which the MackieOS carefully integrates for you

into an overall pleasing and usable view.

If you’ve never used a GUI before, the following section explains the basics of operation of the mouse, keyboard, and how to make selections. If you’re already familiar with computer GUI operation, there’s nothing new here other than to remind you that clicking in the top right hand corner closes HDR24/96 windows. And don't forget to try right-clicking!

GUI Conventions

Mouse Clicking

Left-click (or just "click")

Most of the time when we say “click”, we mean left-click, that is, a single-click of the left mouse button when the cursor is pointing to the text or object you want to change or move. The effect of the left-click will vary depending on where you are working in the interface. The cursor is always an arrow when selecting from menus, but changes shape in the audio tracks area to remind you which Tool is currently active.

Below is a list the left-click mousing "targets" each with a description of the behavior to expect for a given action.

o Buttons: Clicking once on any button will toggle the button’s function on or off

or perform the button’s function (split, loop, etc.).

o Text menu items: Select any menu item with a single point-and-click. o Editable text: Single-click in a text string to insert the cursor for further typing.

Double-click to highlight an entire word in a line of text.

o List Items: Single-click to highlight the item for your next action. Double-

clicking can be used as a shortcut to the default action such as Open. For

example, to open a project listed in the Open Project window, double-click on a Project name in the dialog list. This will sidestep the need to click on the Project then click on the Open button.

o Multiple items: An 'item" for example might be a region, a record-ready button

or line of text in a list of text items. Select multiple items by holding the [C

HIFT

or [S selects the contiguous group of items. [C (which need not be contiguous) from a list.

o Regions: Operations involving regions, such as selecting and moving them, are

performed with a combination of left-clicking, continuing to hold down the left mouse button, and dragging the cursor. The operation performed depends on the tool that is presently active.

o Time fields: Text indicating times, such as locate points and the time code

display, can be edited by clicking on a numeric field and dragging the mouse

] key while clicking. [S

HIFT

+click] on the first and last item in a list

TRL

+click] selects multiple items

TRL

]

Technical Reference 21

HDR 24/96

o Locator Times: A further fun fact is that holding down the [C

pointer up or down. Once clicked the numeric field is highlighted with a rectangle and the mouse cursor becomes an up or down pointing arrow. Subsequent single-clicks will increment or decrement (respectively) the field by one unit. Alternatively, when the field is highlighted with a single-click, a direct entry can be typed in from the keyboard. One exception is the editing of times in the Cue List. Here you must first double-click the Cue time field to make it editable. Then it works like everything else. All new time entries must be terminated with an ENTER key press (or by clicking outside of the field you’ve edited).

TRL

] control key

and clicking on any of the LOC time displays (including the four dedicated Locate points as well as the general purpose Locate) will capture the Current Time (the big display) into that LOC box - a nice feature for capturing punch and loop points, even on the fly. Also note that this method does not alter your general Locate Time.

Right-click Right-clicking the mouse usually brings up a menu of actions appropriate for whatever you’re

doing. Left-click to select from the menu. For example, right-clicking on the Current Time display brings up a menu to select the time units. Right-click on different areas of the screen to familiarize yourself with the pop-up menus - they are aplenty.

Double-click Double-clicking is the shortcut to both select and perform the default action on an item. Many functions of the HDR24/96 can be performed with a double-click.

Click-and-Drag Dragging is the process of clicking the left mouse button, then continuing to hold down on

the button while moving the cursor to a new location. You release the left mouse button at the end of whatever operation is being performed with the drag. The initial left-click may establish the selection area start point or it may just directly select an object. Typically dragging will select an area/range or it will move the selected object. It may "shape" (adjust) an object or some parameter associated with that object. In some instances we may simply say something like, "Drag the region to its new position," or "Drag the time value up to 12 minutes" without providing you any of the mechanics, i.e. click, hold, move, and release. In other instances we may say click-and-drag something just because that wording seems to make the actual operation more obvious. And even still we might say, "Click on the whatchamacallit and drag it on top of the thingamajig." Please forgive us if that happens.

Window and Dialog Box Paradigms

Much of the MackieOS windowing scheme will be familiar to computer users. The title or menu bar on an open floating window can be double-clicked to 'window shade' the rest of the window (that is to "roll-up" the window into its title bar). This will keep the title bar of a floating window visible so it will be handy, but clear the deck to give you a better view of your work area. Click- and-dragging the title bar allows the window to be placed elsewhere within the confines of the screen. Most windows will float and can be condensed to only the title bar with the exception of the primary GUI panel, which covers the screen, and any of its 'window-like' control or list panels.

In some windows, you’ll find a Zoom box on the title bar that expands the window to maximum screen size, and a resize tab (lower right hand corner) to tailor the size to your liking. A Close

HDR 24/96

button (the triangle in the upper right corner) puts the window to bed. You can also close most

button (the triangle in the upper right corner) puts the window to bed. You can also close most active windows with the ESC key.

active windows with the ESC key.

If you have more than one window open on the screen, one will be the topmost, or “active”

If you have more than one window open on the screen, one will be the topmost, or “active” window. The title bar of the active window will appear solid and you’ll see the Close button in

window. The title bar of the active window will appear solid and you’ll see the Close button in its upper right corner. Inactive windows, whether fully open or partially closed (window shaded)

its upper right corner. Inactive windows, whether fully open or partially closed (window shaded) will have their titles grayed-out. Clicking on the title bar of any inactive window makes it the

will have their titles grayed-out. Clicking on the title bar of any inactive window makes it the active window.

active window.

The

[TAB

] key as well as the mouse pointer can be used to navigate between fields within the

active window. Either way, when a field is highlighted, usually indicated by a surrounding box,

NTER

the field will be updated when you press the E

window, making it inactive. The [T

window, making it inactive. The [T a button is tab-highlighted, pressing the 'Enter' key performs the button’s action.

a button is tab-highlighted, pressing the 'Enter' key performs the button’s action.

Scroll bars with arrows and a scroll 'thumb' are found in list windows if the list is

Scroll bars with arrows and a scroll 'thumb' are found in list windows if the list is too long to fit into the current window size. The scroll thumb can be dragged

too long to fit into the current window size. The scroll thumb can be dragged directly to any position in the list providing you with a scrolling short cut.

directly to any position in the list providing you with a scrolling short cut.

ListsLists

] also navigates between the buttons. Once

Any window that contains a list needs a selection mechanism or two. As aforementioned, clicking on a list item selects it. After selecting one list item, [C item selects that additional item. You can continue to add items to the total selection with

TRL

multiple [C

+click] operations. Or select one list item, then [S

to additionally select that new item and all items in between it and the previously selected item. This is what we mean by selecting a contiguous range of items. [C already selected items will de-select them. Double-clicking an item is usually a shortcut and directly performs the expected operation, such as opening a listed Project or Playlist.

NTER

key, close the window, or click outside the

TRL

+click]ing on another

HIFT

+click] on another item

TRL

+click]ing on

Menus

Pull-down menus are used for choosing among two or more commands or options. Clickand-hold on the topmost menu heading, then drag the mouse pointer to the desired selection,

and let go of the mouse button to make the selection. Remember also, that if you want, you can click-and-release on the topmost menu heading, then just move the mouse down through the menu pull-downs until you finally click on the desired action to execute it.

Nested Menus: Menus items with 'depth', i.e. choices that lead to more choices, are tagged to the right of the menu text with a right-pointing triangle (►). When you drag to such menu items, another menu pops up to the right of it. You can drag horizontally to start navigating through the new menu. Within the new menu you may even find more nested menus. Keep dragging until you find the actual action you want to execute, then release the mouse button. Remember also, that if you want, you can click-and-release on the topmost menu title, then just move the mouse around through the menu pull-downs until you finally click on the desired action to execute it.

Radio Buttons

Radio buttons are used to make mutually exclusive selections, for instance selecting the active take within a given track (there can be only one Take active at a time). Clicking a radio button turns its function on, and turns off the previously selection.

Technical Reference 23

HDR 24/96

Keyboard

] key

Navigating between text boxes and/or time fields can also be accomplished by using the [TAB] key. [S complete a text or time setting entry or modification, and exits the fields as such.

HIFT+TAB

]bing navigates in a backwards fashion. [E

NTER

] is used to

Shortcut Key Combinations

Shortcuts are key combinations that accomplish some operation without having to click and/or drag through menus. The Shift ([S are the main 'buddy' keys - the keys that are held down simultaneously with the pressing of some other key to launch the command. For example, pressing the [C will start a New Project operation. See the shortcuts list in the Appendix A

Numeric Keypad

The numeric keypad (NumPad) can be used for any numerical entry that’s been highlighted with the mouse pointer. For example, you can click on a field in the Current Time display and use the NumPad to change the time, completing the entry with the ENTER key.

The ENTER, + and – keys on the NumPad have a special function relating to Cues. Typing a number on the NumPad and pressing the NumPad’s ENTER key will take you directly to that cue number. The + and – keys on the NumPad move you up and down the Cue List.

You may want to have the Cue List panel open when operating the NumPad although it is not necessary. In the very lower right-hand corner of this list display you will see the field labeled:

Cue Entry: _ _ _

This shows the Cue number as you enter it.

GUI Components

HIFT

]), Control ([C

TRL

]), and Alternative ([A

TRL

] plus the [n] key

])

MENU BAR

The GUI layout is easy to learn and is designed with minimal layering of windows and functions. The Menu bar atop the screen contains everything that can be accessed within the interface. Mouse click on the menu item, pull down, select and release (or re-click) will kick things into action or call up another window or dialog box. For the power users, keyboard shortcuts to most GUI menu items are available and are listed in the menu as a reminder for next time.

Remember to right-click - Right-clicking with the mouse is context sensitive in many areas of the screen. While everything is available with a left-click, right-clicking frequently offers a short cut to the operations you’re likely to need to perform next. While exploring the GUI, right-click and see what happens. It’ll probably give you just the choices you’re looking for. Left-click actions are usually dictated by which one of the 4 tool choices is currently selected.

TOOLS and METERS PANELS

The top portion of the screen contains the Tools/Meters panels and the Transport Controls. The transport control buttons will be used throughout all project operations, whereas Meters are typically used during tracking and Tools are typically used during edit operations. This is why that portion of the screen is shared between the two functions. Clicking either of the 'folder tabs' at the top right corner of the Tools/Meters window switches between the Tools panel and the Meters panel.

HDR 24/96

Technical Reference 25

HDR 24/96

TRANSPORT AND TIME DISPLAY

The Transport Control section is always visible (unless covered by a floating window). This is your “Tape Deck” including the usual Transport buttons and a Current Time display. The Current Time display here can show time in four formats:

SMPTE time in hours:minutes:seconds:frames ................................... HH:MM:SS:FR

•

Musical score (BBT) position in bars:beats:ticks ................................... BARS:BB:TT

•

Conventional time in hours:minutes:seconds:milliseconds .............. HH:MM:SS:MSS

•

Sample count in… well… samples.......................................................... 0123456789

•

NOTE: The GUI Current Time window can display all of these formats, but the Remote 48 and front panel cannot handle samples and milliseconds. If you select one of these two formats from the GUI, the LED displays on the front panel and Remote 48 will revert to SMPTE time. See the section on Remote 48 time displays

Also note that in the GUI, the Current Time and other time displays are directly editable, which means that the general Locate Time is not needed for certain common “Locator” operations. Just click on the time unit you wish to modify. For a full description of mouse-based editing of times see Time Field Editing

RECORD TIME LEFT

The Record Time Left display, in the upper left corner of the Tools panel, is like a virtual gas gauge telling you how much recording time you have left in the tank (on the disk, that is). This time available indication also appears on the Remote 48 and front panel, labeled as “AVAIL:” on the bottom line of the LCD status display.

(page 14) for more details.

(page 21).

While Editing doesn't take up much hard disk space, tracking sure does - so take a peek at this readout from time to time to be sure you don’t run out in the middle of the killer take. Notice that the “Time Available” follows the number of channels you’ve selected for recording, the sample rate, and bit depth. Clever!

TRACKS and the TRACK CONTROLS PANEL

The major action on the GUI screen is the Track Display window, an expandable 24-track view of the recorded regions. The tracks are bordered on the left by the 'Track Info, Record and Monitor' or more simply the Track Controls panel. This contains the track numbers 1 through 24, Record Ready buttons, the virtual track (“take”) expansion button, the active take selector, and Solo and Mute monitor buttons. Clicking on the Take number button brings up a list from which you can select the active take for recording or playback. Clicking on the take expansion button (→) displays the eight virtual tracks for the selected track. Clicking it again collapses the display to the single active take for each track.

LIST PANEL

The track display is bordered on the right by the retractable List panel. When opened with the stubby ← at the right of the track display, the List panel displays the Regions, Cues (including Locate points) and History List of editing operations. Clicking on the graphic 'folder tabs' at the top of the List panel selects the displayed list. Clicking on the stubby → puts away the List panel and extends the tracks to the full screen width.

Floating Windows

Floating windows (normally closed and out of view) are opened from the Windows menu. Floating windows include the multifunction Setup window, Region Editor, the Hotkey list

HDR 24/96

and the infamous About Box, which tells you what version of software you're using and who the heck is responsible for much of this wunderbox.

GUI Time Display and Controls

The following section introduces the different areas of the GUI screen that deal with time. References are made to certain items with which you may not yet be familiar such as Regions and Virtual Takes. Don’t worry; they’ll be described further on.

Project Information Display

The following project information is displayed in the upper right corner of the main screen:

Drive: [Internal/External] Project Name Version Time

Current Time Display

The Current Time display shows the time of the current transport position in SMPTE time (Hours, Minutes, Seconds, Frames) or in musical score position called BBT (Bars or measures, Beats and Ticks). The displayed time will always be the position of the Current Time line.

Since the transport position is ultimately related to absolute time, BBT is calculated for the purpose of display based on a known tempo. The default tempo is 120 beats per minute, but this can be adjusted from the Windows | Setup | Locator-MMC window. The working tempo is stored along with the Project.

A tempo map can also be extracted from a Standard MIDI file, and the BBT display will change dynamically to follow the MIDI file’s tempo changes. Tempo maps are loaded from the floppy disk using the LOAD button in the Windows | Setup | MIDI window.

Units for the time display are selectable from the GUI only, from the Options | Time Units window. As a short cut you can right-click on any time display window. A pop-up menu will allow you to change units directly. This is a global setting and changing time units from ANY time display will change the time units in ALL time displays.

Time Bar and Marker Bar

The strip immediately above the track area is split horizontally into the Marker (top) and Time (bottom) bars. The Marker bar contains graphic icons representing cues, punch or loop points. The Time bar contains the time scale, with major and minor divisions spaced according to the chosen SMPTE / BBT display mode and resolution.

Time Bar

At the highest resolution, the display is approximately 12 milliseconds wide, or about half a video frame. At the lowest resolution, full scale is 24 hours, the maximum recording time of the HDR24/96. The left and right arrow buttons to the left of the time/marker bar expand and contract the track display in time. Use high resolution when editing samples or small regions, use lower resolution to get the big picture of your project.

TIP: Track area overviews may be stored and recalled using the [F5] to [F12] keys ([Fn]). This is useful for jumping between high and low resolution views or switching between displaying the single active take or multiple takes. These keys store the track zoom level and the positioning and expansion of takes, but of course the content of the tracks changes with editing and recording. The current content is always displayed even when recalling a stored view. [C

TRL

+Fn] stores the view, [Fn] recalls the stored view.

Time is selected by click-and-dragging the I-Beam tool along the time/marker bar. This creates a selection area across all tracks, but does not specifically define any regions within

Technical Reference 27

HDR 24/96

the selection area. Regions on individual tracks may be selected afterwards. See Track and

Region Editing Tools for the details.

A single-click-and-release on the Time bar, using any one of the tools, repositions the Transport to that clicked-on time. The Current Time indicator bar will move to the point where you clicked and the new time will appear in the main transport time display.

Right-clicking on the Time / Marker bar pops up a shortcut menu with choices that include time units display, loop selection and snap-to options. All of these functions have been described elsewhere.

Marker Bar and Markers

The Marker Bar contains drag-able icons for Cues and LOC points that serve as jump-to points in a Playlist. Markers for Cues may be re-labeled, while LOC markers, since they have dedicated functions, have fixed labels. Dragging any marker will update the time field relevant to that marker. See the sections on Cue List

Operations for more details.

Song Offset

When the HDR24/96 is set to display in BBT, the Song Offset can be used to slide the entire time bar horizontally so that playback coincides with Bar 1. This does not affect anything other than the time display in the Time Bar, and has no effect when the transport position is displayed in SMPTE time.

, Punch, Loop, and Recording

To adjust the Song Offset, open the Setup Window (Windows | Setup or [C select Locator-MMC. The value displayed in the Song Offset window can be adjusted by click- and-dragging on the number fields, clicking and entering a number from the keyboard, or transferring the Current Time into the window by holding the [CTRL Offset window.

NEAT TRICK: To set the beginning of the song to BBT 1:1:000, position the Current Time to

TRL

the first beat of the song, then [C

+click] in the Song Offset window.

] key and clicking in the Song

TRL

+1]) and

Track Area

The track area, where all the audio action is, has three separate work areas. At the left is the Track Controls area, the center section contain the graphical display of recorded tracks, virtual takes, and

Regions

moment, contains the List Panel (see page 32).

. The right section, which can be opened or closed, depending on what you want to see at the

Track Area Scrolling Conventions

The vertical and horizontal scroll bars that frame the track area are standard GUI tools. Scroll thumb buttons (resembling console fader knobs) appear along the scroll bar whenever the track screen is expanded so that there are more tracks than are visible on the screen. Click and drag these buttons to bring another group of tracks or regions into view.

Small + and - buttons at the lower right corner of the track area (one pair on each axis) adjust the horizontal and vertical magnification of the track area. They duplicate the larger arrow buttons at the left edge of the Time/Marker bar.

Track View Controls

The Zoom Arrows at the left end of the time bar are used for adjusting the horizontal and vertical scale of the track view.

HDR 24/96

The Up and Down arrows change the vertical magnification, resizing so that the desired number of tracks are displayed on screen. A minimum of 2 and maximum of 24 track spaces may be displayed. Tracks are displayed contiguously (you can’t display just tracks 3, 8, 17 and 22), and the track display can be scrolled vertically through all the tracks (when fewer than 24 are visible) by using the scroll button at the right end of the track area. When a track is expanded to display Virtual takes, the eight takes follow the action of these buttons in the same manner as any single (collapsed) track view.

The Left and Right Zoom arrows expand or contract the time scale. The horizontal scroll button at the bottom of the display moves the tracks horizontally along the time scale.

Zoom Tricks

The Dive key, [z], is used to perform a quick zoom at the current cursor location. It only remains zoomed while the key is held down.

The magnifier buttons (the small + and - buttons) on the scroll bars framing lower right corner of the track area act in the same manner as the Zoom arrows. They are placed for convenience and as a normal GUI windowing convention.

Keyboard shortcut for the Zoom Arrows:

TRL

] + any of the keyboard arrow keys

A keyboard shortcut to the Scroll buttons:

] + any of the keyboard arrow keys

Watch out for the Lock Out on/off button that’s right next to those magnifier buttons. If you miss and click on the Lock Out button, your HDR24/96 will suddenly go dead, except for a little blinking button in the lower right corner of the screen. See the Transport Controls section for further details.

The Magnifier icon in the Tools panel changes the cursor into a magnifying glass. This Magnifier cursor can be dragged over the area of interest to zoom in to a highly detailed view of a small area. Click on one corner of your target viewing area and drag to the opposing corner and release.

Auto Scroll

When Auto-scroll is enabled, the Current Time line jumps to the center of the screen and the tracks scroll behind it as the transport plays. When disabled, the track area remains fixed on the screen and the Current Time cursor moves along the tracks as the transport plays. At lower resolutions, with Auto-Scroll off, when the Current Time cursor reaches the right edge of the screen, it jumps back to the left edge, the track area jumps one screen width, and the cursor makes another sweep. At high zoom resolution, the cursor will play off screen and remain out of view. The Auto Scroll button blinking indicates that a zoom level has been selected that the auto-scroll function cannot track.

Lock Out

Technical Reference 29

HDR 24/96

Screen Drag (Special Scroll) Mode

Holding the D key down when the cursor is in the track area temporarily changes the cursor into a hand icon with which to drag the screen in any direction (providing there is more to display in that direction). This time-saver can be used to push-and-pull the screen image horizontally, vertically, or some combination in one click and drag operation. Using the scroll bars would have required moving between horizontal and vertical controls with the mouse.

Track Control Area

The Track Controls area, the portion to the left of the main track area, includes the following controls and indicators:

Track Number button

Tracks are numbered 1 through 24. Clicking on a Track Number button (or the track itself) activates that track for editing operations and illuminates the Track Number button. This form of selection is inter-canceling, in that the selection of one track deselects other tracks. Multiple

TRL

tracks can be enabled by clicking with the [C key to select a range as described previously under multi-selection of items (See page 21).

Dragging the I-Beam Tool over the Time bar selects all Tracks and illuminates their Track Number buttons. Subsequently clicking on a specific Track Number button activates the selection area for only that track and deactivates the remaining Track Number buttons. If you want to just deselect one or a few tracks from the group, use the [CTRL

selection of items.

+click] operation as described under multi-

] key to individually add tracks or the [S

HIFT

]

Double-clicking on a Track Number button with either the Hand or I-Beam tool selects the entire track.

An illuminated number button designates the target track for the next Paste operation.

IMPORTANT: If multiple Track Number buttons are illuminated, the Paste is performed on the lowest numbered track of the group.

Record Ready buttons

The red R is the track-arming button, which enables tracks for recording. These buttons on the GUI screen correspond directly to their counterparts on the HDR24/96 front panel. Clicking on an R button arms the track for recording. The button blinks until the transport is placed in the Record mode, either by clicking on the RECORD button in the GUI transport control area, or by pressing the PLAY and RECORD buttons on the front panel.

As with the front panel controls, you can also start recording on a track by clicking on the master RECORD button, then clicking on the individual track’s R button.

If the record controls don’t operate as expected, Record Safe may be enabled. Check the Transport menu.

Take View and Active Take Number Buttons

The Active Take is the one that you’ll hear in playback or to which you’ll record. Since only one virtual take can be active at a time, the number displayed in the Active Take button indicates which of the eight takes is currently active. Clicking on a track’s Active Take button pops up a

HDR 24/96

list box allowing you to select the active take. The number within the button changes accordingly

list box allowing you to select the active take. The number within the button changes accordingly to match the selected take.

to match the selected take.

The Take View and Take Number buttons work hand in hand. When clicking on the Take View

The Take View and Take Number buttons work hand in hand. When clicking on the Take View button, the track expands downward so that all takes are displayed. Clicking on a take’s ACTIVE

button, the track expands downward so that all takes are displayed. Clicking on a take’s ACTIVE button makes that the active take. Each take has the boring default name of “Take ‘n’”, but this

button makes that the active take. Each take has the boring default name of “Take ‘n’”, but this can be modified by clicking on the yellow Take Name field when the takes are visible on screen.

can be modified by clicking on the yellow Take Name field when the takes are visible on screen.

When the virtual takes are expanded, the Take Number button to the left of the ACTIVE button

When the virtual takes are expanded, the Take Number button to the left of the ACTIVE button functions in the same manner as the Track Number button. For example, clicking on a Take

functions in the same manner as the Track Number button. For example, clicking on a Take Number button selects that Take as the destination for a Paste operation.

Number button selects that Take as the destination for a Paste operation.

When collapsing back to the one-take-pre-track view, the currently selected active take is

When collapsing back to the one-take-pre-track view, the currently selected active take is displayed in the track region.

displayed in the track region.

NOTE: You can switch between active takes during Playback (on-the-fly), but not during

NOTE: You can switch between active takes during Playback (on-the-fly), but not during recording. The Playback feature can be very useful for choosing the best parts for comping.

recording. The Playback feature can be very useful for choosing the best parts for comping.

TIP: The active take may be set to the same number for several tracks at a time. First multi-select

TIP: The active take may be set to the same number for several tracks at a time. First multi-select a group of tracks. Then [C choose the desired take number from the drop down list. All the selected tracks will change to that take. Handy when you have 10 tracks of drum kit overdubs! Note however, that for those tracks whose take numbers change in this operation, they will appear to become unselected, since the selected version of their tracks are no longer visible.

TRL

+click] on a take number button (on any of the selected tracks) and

Solo and Mute buttons

Track Solo and Mute (the S and M buttons) are output monitor functions. Mute turns off the output of the selected track. Solo mutes everything but the selected track. Clicking on these buttons activates the function and highlights the button. These are toggle buttons - click them to turn the function on or off. See the Monitor further details.

Track Name

The rightmost field in the Track Controls area contains the name of the track. Default names generated by the HDR software are simply “Track n”, where n is the track number. Tracks can be renamed using conventional text entry procedures - click and type, then press the E field to complete the entry.

Regions within a track inherit the name of the track at the time they are recorded. If you label a track “Lead Guitar” before you record the lead guitar part, its regions will carry that name. If you

record with the name “Track 19” and then think to change it afterward, your initial lead guitar recording (that’s always the one that’s the best) will have a number, not a name.

Your pet track names can be saved as a template using the

File | Save as a New Template

command from the main menu. Once a template is saved, the next time you open a new project, its tracks will carry the saved names. This is a useful feature if you regularly record the same tracks (name them for your band members or instruments) or if you are creating a new project for each song in a live session. If you work on a variety of projects, however, you’ll probably

section (page 84) for

NTER

key or click outside the

Technical Reference 31

HDR 24/96

have different track names for every project, so you might as well retain the old, boring defaults and enter new names as you work.

Lists Panel

The List panel is opened and closed by clicking on the List View arrow at the right end of the Time/Marker bar, by selecting one of the three lists from the pull-down Windows menu, or by using the keyboard shortcuts:

Regions List = [C

Cues List = [CTRL

History List = [C

Whenever the list panel is open, clicking on one of the three tabs at the top of the panel selects which list is displayed.

Region List

As you record into the HDR the actual audio is stored in audio files on the disk. Because each recording is punched in then out on a track, a Region is created on the track to show that the audio file should playback at that point. The Region on the track is NOT the audio file, and you can cover it up, even delete non-destructively, because Regions are just descriptions of what to playback where.

Along with a Region shown on the track, the HDR creates an entry in the Region List for each recording. Regions when recorded, automatically inherit the track name followed by the “take” number, a sequentially numbered recording punch-in/out on that track. The Region name shown on the track and in the list will initially be same, but either can be renamed without affect the other. Renaming the Region in the list is possible by double-clicking on the entry, typing the new name, then pressing ENTER.

The primary purpose of the Regions List is to give you access to previously recorded material. Click on the name(s) of a region or regions and drag the selection out of the Region list, and then drop it onto a track or tracks.

TRL

+5]

TRL

+4]

+6]

The Region List only shows regions create in this project by one of the following operations.

Recording into tracks Capturing regions from existing track regions Importing regions into the current project Rendering tracks

There is a considerable amount of information about Regions and how to use them elsewhere in this manual (on page 88 for example). More on the Region

List specifically can be found on page 90.

Cue List

The Cue List is a list of all cues set in the Project. The three columns of the list are the Number, Name, and Time. You can highlight any cue with a single-click. Double-clicking on either the Name or the Time opens that parameter for editing. Double-clicking on a cue number jumps the transport to the time of that Cue. See the Locator

HDR 24/96

section for more details on Cues.

, their purpose

HDR 24/96

New CuesNew Cues

Clicking on the NEW button at the top of the list creates a new cue at the current transport time.

Cue Numbers

Cues are auto-numbered sequentially using the lowest number available as each cue is created with the NEW button. Double-click on the Cue number to locate to that Cue.

Cue Names

New cues created from the GUI or the Remote 48 always get the default name “Cue”. You can rename a Cue here. Double-click on the name field; type a new name and press [E

Cue Times

The time (location) of the cue will be shown in the same time units you have selected for the Current Time. To changes a Cue Time double-click on the time field over the time units you wish to change. Then either drag the number up or down with the mouse pointer or enter a new number directly from the keyboard. Press the [E

]).

NTER

] key or click outside the field to complete the entry.

The Cue List and Marker Bar

Cue names and times as shown in the list are interactive with the Cue flags on the Marker Bar. When the Cue time is edited on the Cue List, the Cue is moved on the Marker Bar and vice versa.

Store Cue

Another way to edit an existing Cue time is use the GUI STORE button. Position the Current Time to the desired time, select a Cue and click STORE.

Renumber Cues

Cues appear on the list in order by time. However, the Cue numbers may appear in any order. If you want the Cue numbers to sequence starting at 1 as the earliest Cue and increasing by one with each later Cue time, then use the RENUM button. You will still have all the same Cues, but they will be numbered differently. If you are using the Remote 48 to locate to cues, you'll have to re-learn the cue numbers after a RENUM operation.

Delete Cue

Clicking on the DELETE button removes the highlighted cue from the list. This leaves a hole in the cue number sequence, but the Cue List doesn’t care. Use [S

TRL

+click] to highlight a group of cues to be deleted.

HIFT

+click] or

Technical Reference 33

HDR 24/96

History List – Undo and Re-do

The History List of the List window. The history list stores each editing operation while a project is open. As you split, copy, paste, move, or record a new region, the operation appears on the list.

In addition to providing information about the progress of the editing session, the History List lets you regress back through edits in the currently active Playlist. Clicking on any item in the list “undoes” all the operations that follow it on the list and bring you back to that former edited state.

The entries on the History List below the point to which you’ve returned change to a gray background color, but are still on the list. If, however, you then perform an edit operation, the following “grayed out” operations are removed from the History list.

is accessed by clicking on the HISTORY tab at the top

Undo and Redo

The History List is interactive with the Undo and Redo commands accessible from the top-level Edit menu or keyboard shortcuts:

Edit | Undo = [C Edit | Redo = [C

Performing an Undo command backs up one entry on the History List, Redo moves down one entry. See the section on Region Editing Tools for more about the History List.

The History List is only active for the current Playlist, while you’re in the process of building the list. Once another Playlist or Project is opened, the History List is purged . . . it's history, so to speak. A much more detailed explanation of the History List this manual (page 120).

TRL

+z]

TRL+SHIFT

+z].

is provided in the Editing section of

HDR 24/96

Media Management Media Management

Formatting Drives

Formatting a drive erases the drive contents and prepares the file system for use with the HDR24/96. All media must be formatted before it can be used with the HDR24/96. Normally you’ll format disk drives with the HDR24/96, but you can format removable media on another system. Mackie Media PROJECT disks use the FAT16 file system, and Mackie Media M•90 drives use the FAT32 file system.

The HDR24/96 will only allow you to format an External drive. This is for safety, since the recorder’s operating system resides on the Internal drive, as well as any Project files you may have created. Should you feel an urge to reformat the Internal drive, please contact Mackie Technical Support first.

Mackie Media M•90 drives come pre-formatted and ready to use, as do Mackie Media PROJECT disks (be sure to buy IBM formatted ORB disks). However, off-the-shelf UDMA IDE drives from the computer store do not come preformatted. If you decide to buy your own drives and install them into Mackie Media Trays, then you will need to format them, either on the HDR24/96 or off line. You can format PROJECT disks with any PC that has Windows 95, 98, 98 SE, NT 4.0, Millennium, or 2000 on it, or with any Mac that has File Exchange or PC Exchange installed (Mac OS 7 or later). You can format UDMA IDE drives with any PC that has Windows 98 SE, Millennium, or 2000 on it, or with any Mac that has OS X installed.

Mackie Media drives can also be read by any system that can Format them. So, for example, you can insert a Mackie Media PROJECT disk into your Macintosh SCSI or IDE ORB drive and copy your Projects’ Recorded (WAV) and Rendered (WAV of AIFF) files directly onto your Mac’s hard drive.

BEFORE YOU START: If you have a Project open on the external drive and you attempt to format that drive, you’ll get a warning message that you can’t format the drive containing your currently active Project. (You may have lost track of where you were working or you might even have the wrong drive in the bay!) So, before you start formatting, open a Project on the internal drive even if you have to create a new one. Remember that formatting the External drive will erase everything on the drive!

To Format media from the Front Panel or Remote 48

Make sure the currently open Project is on the internal drive.

• Press the DISK UTIL button.

• Select Format

• Select OK to do it, or Cancel to quit before formatting

Formatting is very quick, less than a minute in most cases. When the format operation is complete, if you’ve formatted a new hard drive or one that’s never been used for recording in a Mackie recorder, you’ll be prompted to Verify it for recording and playback. Select

Cancel if this is going to be strictly a backup drive (an ORB cartridge, for instance), or Continue to run the performance verification test (see Verify Drive Performance).

To format media from the GUI:

Make sure the currently open Project is on the internal drive.

• From the File menu select Format Drive.

• Click Ok to format, or click Cancel to quit before formatting.

Technical Reference 35

HDR 24/96

If you're formatting a new drive or one that hasn't been previously used for recording in a Mackie recorder, when the format operation has completed, another message will appear prompting you to Verify the drive for recording and playback.

• Select Cancel to exit the Format routine if this is going to be strictly a backup drive

(an ORB cartridge, for instance), or

• Select OK to run the performance verification test (see Verify Drive Performance).

If you’ve reformatted a drive that’s previously been verified for recording, you won’t be prompted to run the verification test. The HDR24/96 detects that this is a verified recording drive and will retain that information. The verification test should be run only on hard drives. It is a useless test on a Media PROJECT drive. Also look ahead for notes on Aftermarket Drives including jumper settings.

To Format Media on a Computer

Install the Mackie Media drive in your computer (simple if you have a matching drive bay – just plug it in and reboot) or insert a Mackie Media Project cartridge in your computer’s Orb drive. Consult your computer’s operating system instructions for formatting if you don’t know how. You’ll no doubt be warned several times that you’re about to format a hard drive and that you could lose data. That’s okay, it’s exactly what you want to do.

BE VERY, VERY SURE YOU KNOW THE DESIGNATION YOUR COMPUTER ASSIGNS TO THE MACKIE DRIVE YOU’RE ABOUT TO FORMAT. Most

computers assign " C: " to the drive that has the operating system and other essential file on it. If there's a second hard drive, that is going to be " D: " in most cases. Particularly in computers that are used in audio workstations a second disk drive is used for audio projects. And then there’s probably a CD drive, and maybe a JAZ or ZIP. Sometimes these drive assignment letters change when adding a new drive to the computer. DON’T FORMAT

THE WRONG DRIVE BY MISTAKE ! ! !

When you install a computer-formatted drive in your HDR24/96, it will be recognized, but only as a backup-only drive. If you want to use it for recording, you’ll have to run the Verify utility. When it passes, it will be “branded” as a recording drive and you’ll be good to go.

Verify Drive Performance

Verify Drive Performance tests the read/write speed and overall transfer rate of the external drive under simulated worst-case scenarios to determine whether it can sustain 24 tracks of recording and playback. Although any IDE drive can be used for backup, only UDMA IDE drives that pass the performance verification test can be used for recording and playback.

The verification test should be run only on hard drives. Don’t bother to run the test on Mackie Media PROJECT drives – the cows will come home before the test finishes, and it will fail anyway. A Media PROJECT drive is not intended for recording.

When a drive passes the performance verification test, a zero-byte file is written to the disk to identify it as a real time recording drive and it will be recognized as such by the HDR24/96 or any other Mackie hard disk recorder. Also if the drive is reformatted in an HDR24/96 or any other Mackie hard disk recorder, this “brand” is detected and restored after reformatting, so it still appears as a real time recording drive. Formatting on another computer of course erases this designation.

In fact, you can’t re-run the recording verification unless you reformat the drive outside of the HDR24/96 so that the recorder recognizes it as an unverified drive. You can start the verification, but once it sees that the drive has already been verified, the HDR just tells you that it’s OK without

HDR 24/96

actually writing or reading the test files. This is a safety measure. Otherwise, the verification process

actually writing or reading the test files. This is a safety measure. Otherwise, the verification process would clobber files that you have recorded on the drive.

would clobber files that you have recorded on the drive.

These instructions apply only to an unverified new drive or one that’s been formatted in another

These instructions apply only to an unverified new drive or one that’s been formatted in another computer. Mackie Media drives are formatted and verified at the factory, so there’s no need to repeat

computer. Mackie Media drives are formatted and verified at the factory, so there’s no need to repeat the process. Also typically you will verify new drives formatted on the HDR as part of the formatting

the process. Also typically you will verify new drives formatted on the HDR as part of the formatting process described above.

process described above.

To Verify the Performance of external media - front panel or Remote 48:To Verify the Performance of external media - front panel or Remote 48:

Press the DISK UTIL button.

Select Verify.

When the message appears asking you to confirm the operation, select OK.

After a couple of minutes, the result of the test will be reported in the front panel display.

After the performance verification is completed, select Continue.

To Verify the Performance of external media from the GUI:

From the File menu, select Verify Drive Performance

Click OK in the Verify Drive dialog box.

After a couple of minutes, the result of the test will be reported in the dialog box.

Click Continue.

If the removable drive installed in the recorder is not a verified recording drive, it will be identified with an asterisk on the GUI and the front panel LCD:

E: External*

Format or Verification Failure

Sometimes it happens – a drive simply won’t format, either because of a hardware failure or incompatibility. If it’s a Mackie Media drive and it’s still under warranty, call Tech Support and they’ll exchange it for you. If it’s a beat up old drive that you bought from someone off the Internet, use it as a doorstop and move on.

Some disk drives, even new ones, will format OK but fail the recording verification test. Such drives are quite safe for copying projects for backup purposes, but the HDR24/96 won’t allow you to record on one.

We know how tight time gets in the studio sometimes, but it would be a very, very good idea, after successfully formatting a new drive, to run a little test of your own. Record a few minutes and play it back just to be sure. Also, perform a backup to that drive. You can delete the backup after you know it works. Although it’s rare, we have encountered at least one drive, which passed the recording performance test, works fine for recording and playback, but chokes and reports that it’s full when attempting to use it as a backup destination.

Aftermarket Disk Drives

Of course we’d like you to purchase all of your external disk drives from Mackie, but we understand that you’re resourceful, that you know where the local computer store is, and that you know they’re open on Sunday.

The basic requirements for an HDR24/96 recording drive are:

• IDE ATA-100 interface

Technical Reference 37

HDR 24/96

• 5400 RPM minimum –faster will work fine, but won’t work any better and faster drives often

run hotter.

• The operating system at the time of this writing (Version 1.2) will not recognize a drive larger

than 32 GB.

Specific disk drives enter and the market so frequently these days that we can’t possibly keep up with them and maintain a list of “approved” drives. It’s not unusual for a manufacturer to make changes to a product and not change the packaging or model number. So even if you’ve found a drive that works well, chances are pretty good that when time comes to buy another, you’ll end up with something different. Something different that may or may not work. If you’re going to purchase non-Mackie drives, a good resource for finding out what other users are currently purchasing is the Mackie Online Users Forum. There’s a link to it from Mackie’s web page http://www.mackie.com/ guarantees that a specific model will work, even if it passes the performance verification test, so if you want to go this route you have to be willing to experiment and be willing to deal with the occasional dud.

Disk drives have jumpers for changing how the drive is seen by the host controller. Drives in the HDR24/96 must be configured as a Master, as if it was the only drive connected to the controller (because it is – the external drive is connected to the second IDE port on the mother board). Check the label on the disk drive, the instructions that came along with it, or the drive manufacturer’s web site for the proper jumpering.

. There are no

If you’ve installed a bay in your computer for reading a Mackie external drive, we suggest that you connect the bay similarly – to your computer’s second IDE port. Otherwise, you may have to change jumpers on the drive when you plug it into your computer – and change them back when you reinstall it in the recorder.

Mount/Refresh Drives

The Mount/Refresh drives command updates the HDR24/96 Project file lists to reflect the current status of both the internal and external drives. Use this command to mount a new Mackie Media PROJECT disk, or to view the size of files in a Project file list.

To Mount drives from the HDR24/96 front panel:

Press the DISK UTIL button. Select Mount.

Press the DISK UTIL button again to exit after the mounting operation is complete.

To Refresh the Project file lists from the GUI:

Select Mount/Refresh Drives from the File menu.

The Refresh command is also conveniently located in the Open Project, Project Manager, and Import Audio Files dialog boxes. If you have one of those dialog boxes open and you don’t see the files or folder you’re looking for or if the file size is not visible, click Refresh.

Backing up and Restoring Audio

A discussion of Backup and Restore operations appear here, because the back-up and recording media have been discussed and you may be wondering how to use them to save your audio for posterity. However it should be noted that Back-up and Restore are both accomplished by simply copying a Project from one disk drive to another, and this copy operation is covered in detail in the section on

Project Management

(page 44).

HDR 24/96

Here instead are some media considerations about backing up and retrieving audio. Here instead are some media considerations about backing up and retrieving audio.

• You cannot discretely save a single audio files or group of files. If you want to pick out a few

files for some specific purpose, then use the FTP services and pluck up the files from the

files for some specific purpose, then use the FTP services and pluck up the files from the network.

network.

• All of the audio used in a Project is included within the Project folders, even when you

import an audio file from another Project, in which case a new “imported” copy is made.

import an audio file from another Project, in which case a new “imported” copy is made. This means that copying the Project Folder truly means that your audio is backed up.

This means that copying the Project Folder truly means that your audio is backed up.

• When a Project is copied, the Project folder and all its contents are copied to the target

medium completely unaltered – no data compression or compacting.

• You can never have two copies of the same project on the same disk. The Project Copy

operation requires a different source and destination disk. After all, it's a back-up!

• Consider in advance which Projects should be combined onto media together, taking into

account their expected size and the media you are using. The HDR is remarkably flexible

account their expected size and the media you are using. The HDR is remarkably flexible and friendly about making copies of projects to different disks, but the process of shuffling

and friendly about making copies of projects to different disks, but the process of shuffling then deleting Projects to “make room” is an opportunity for inadvertently trashing the wrong

then deleting Projects to “make room” is an opportunity for inadvertently trashing the wrong thing.

thing.

• If you move other project-related files, such as session notes or mixer automation data into

the HDR24/96 Project folder via FTP transfer through a network, those will be copied along

the HDR24/96 Project folder via FTP transfer through a network, those will be copied along with the normal contents of the Project folder when you back up to another disk drive.

with the normal contents of the Project folder when you back up to another disk drive.

A DOUBLY IMPORTANT Reminder: It is extremely important that you make back up copies of

your Projects at the end of each session. While digital recording technology is extremely reliable and

your Projects at the end of each session. While digital recording technology is extremely reliable and hard disk media is durable, the unexpected occasionally happens. Further – if you back up your

hard disk media is durable, the unexpected occasionally happens. Further – if you back up your Projects onto two separate media before deleting them from your working drive(s) you will

Projects onto two separate media before deleting them from your working drive(s) you will dramatically reduce your risk of catastrophic data loss. It is extremely important that you make back

dramatically reduce your risk of catastrophic data loss. It is extremely important that you make back

up copies of your Projects at the end of each session.

Technical Reference 39

HDR 24/96

Project Management

Projects and Playlists – Recorder Housekeeping

What’s A Project?

A Project contains all the audio that you’ve recorded while that project name is active. It also contains all the Playlists for that project, as well as housekeeping data such as sample rate and bit depth.

What’s A Playlist?

A Playlist is a road map for playback of all the audio files recorded for a project. It can be straightforward track playback, or incorporate edits and decisions as to which take, or combination of takes, you want to hear. If you’re familiar with non-linear editing terminology you may understand that the Playlist is an EDL (Edit Decision List).

NOTE: You can create multiple Playlists from the material in one Project to save several different versions of the Project.

How You Should Organize Your Projects

If you’ve had experience working with tape-based recorders, you’ve probably just written the name of the CD, band, or artist on the tape box and track sheets and that’s that. Since the HDR24/96 can store considerably more material on its disk drives than would fit on a reel of tape, you may want to organize your “big reel” differently, depending on your working situation.

Many people new to hard disk recording are intimidated with file names, objects, folders, and the like. It’s common at first to be uncertain as to when you should create a new project or version, or to wonder at the naming of pieces of audio, or for that matter keeping track of "regions" of audio on each track in the first place.

Before we get on with a detailed explanation of disk files and data organization, you should know that there are automatic defaults built into the HDR24/96 that will let you ignore almost all of this computerese; push the buttons and go. While every Project needs a name, the HDR24/96’s operating system will automatically assign a unique and workable name each time you start a new project. In fact, within your Project everything that can be named will get an automatic name. You’ll still want to keep track-notes somewhere, either on a computer or on paper just as you would with tape.

NOTE: There is one new consideration, and that is you should save your Project frequently, something perhaps a little foreign to the seasoned tape-meister. But it's not the recordings you are saving. The HDR automatically saves your audio after each recording pass, but it’s up to you to save your Project to capture your editing. The HDR does remind you to do this whenever you run the Shutdown command from the GUI or start a new project. Whenever prompted to Save, you should assume that the Project is not yet saved to its current state.

So here are some hints that will help you make reasonable decisions about when to start new Projects or Playlists and how to name them.

Album Projects: If you’re working on an album of songs, it’s logical to envision the disk (either internal or external) as a reel of tape, one that’s probably long enough to contain the whole album. One approach is to simply have a single Project name for the entire album, separating the songs by their starting time, just as you would do with tape. Cues are stored along with the Project, so you can easily navigate from song to song by hopping among cues. The disadvantage to this approach is that each time you back up the Project (and you should!) you’ve backing up a

HDR 24/96

lot of data, more and more as you add more songs, more tracks, or more overdubs. That takes

lot of data, more and more as you add more songs, more tracks, or more overdubs. That takes time.

time.

Song Projects: Another approach is to make each song a new Project. It’s a little more

housekeeping work (though Templates simplify it by giving you most of the setup defaults) but

housekeeping work (though Templates simplify it by giving you most of the setup defaults) but shorter Projects mean less new data to back up each time. Having one Project per song makes it

shorter Projects mean less new data to back up each time. Having one Project per song makes it convenient to back up a single song on a removable Mackie Media PROJECT removable

convenient to back up a single song on a removable Mackie Media PROJECT removable cartridge, or hand off a song to your band mate who has an HDR24/96 so he can add his tracks to

cartridge, or hand off a song to your band mate who has an HDR24/96 so he can add his tracks to it.

it.

Client Projects: If you’re recording commercials, you may wish to create a new Project for each

client and make each commercial a Playlist. Now you can quickly pull common audio material

client and make each commercial a Playlist. Now you can quickly pull common audio material for that client, for instance a music bed, jingle, or sound effect, into a new Playlist and add the

for that client, for instance a music bed, jingle, or sound effect, into a new Playlist and add the voiceover with this week’s used car specials to it.

voiceover with this week’s used car specials to it.

Live Projects: If you’re recording a concert, you probably won’t have time between songs to set

each one up as a new Project. If you want to divide the concert up into songs for production, you

each one up as a new Project. If you want to divide the concert up into songs for production, you can pull those into Playlists later on.

can pull those into Playlists later on.

Default Project: If you’ve been working on a project and put it away for the night, the

HDR24/96 wakes up with the name of the project you last saved (hopefully the one you were

HDR24/96 wakes up with the name of the project you last saved (hopefully the one you were working on just before shutting down). If you’re starting out with a new or freshly formatted

working on just before shutting down). If you’re starting out with a new or freshly formatted hard disk, the default project name Startup will appear. If the HDR24/96 knows you were

hard disk, the default project name Startup will appear. If the HDR24/96 knows you were working on a project but can’t find it - for example, it was on an external hard drive, which

working on a project but can’t find it - for example, it was on an external hard drive, which you’ve removed, it won’t panic (though you might!), it’ll boot up with the default Startup project

you’ve removed, it won’t panic (though you might!), it’ll boot up with the default Startup project name.

name.

Current Project: The names of the current Project and Playlist are shown on both on the front

panel and Remote 48 alphanumeric displays and on the GUI screen.

Project Operations Project Operations

New Project New Project

New Project creates a new Project. The new Project inherits

New Project creates a new Project. The new Project inherits some if its settings (such as Sample Rate and Time Code Frame

some if its settings (such as Sample Rate and Time Code Frame Rate) from the current Project, and others from the Project

Rate) from the current Project, and others from the Project Template (such as Track Names and Snap settings). For

Template (such as Track Names and Snap settings). For information on which parameters are inherited from the current

information on which parameters are inherited from the current Project and which are inherited from the Template, see

Project and which are inherited from the Template, see

Appendix B

To create a new Project from the GUI:

Select New Project from the File menu or use the keyboard shortcut [C since the last save operation, the HDR24/96 asks if you want to save the currently open Project. Click No to discard the changes; click Yes to save them. In the New Project dialog box, select the drive you want to create the Project on from the Drive Select list box, then type your new Project name and click New.

TRL

+n]. If you have made changes

NOTE: You cannot use the following characters in Project names: / \ : * ? “ < > | . ; { } ~ They are reserved for use by the system.

Technical Reference 41

HDR 24/96

To create a new Project from the front panel or remote 48:

Press the PROJECT button, then select New. If you have unsaved changes in the currently

open Project, you’ll be prompted to save it before you open a new one. Select the drive for

the new project (External / Internal), then follow the prompts to select high or low (44.1/48 or

88.2/96 kHz) sample rate and finally, either accept the default project name or edit it using

the cursor and (-)DEC and (+)INC buttons.

Whether you’ve created the new project from the front panel or the GUI, be sure to check the

Status LEDs before you start recording and if necessary, adjust the Bit Depth and Sample

Rate from the SYNC menu.

Using the Template

The Project Template is a file that saves Project parameters. Use the Template as a timesaver to recall frequently used Project settings when creating new Projects. When you create a new Project, the new Project inherits the parameters saved in the Template. Conversely, when you save the Template, the Template inherits the parameter settings of the open Project.

Some of the parameters saved to the Template include Track Names, Time Units, and the Snap button Snap Grid settings. Not all Project settings are saved in the Template. For information on which parameters are saved to the Template, and the factory Default Template settings, see

Appendix B

+o]

To save current Project parameters to the Template (GUI operation only):

From the File menu, select Save As New Template. Click OK in the Confirm New

Template dialog box.

To reset the Template to the factory defaults (See for the default Appendix B

settings):

From the File menu, select Reset Template. Click OK in the Confirm Reset

Template dialog box.

Open Project

Open Project opens an existing Project that has previously been saved on disk.

To open a Project from the GUI:

Select Open Project from the File menu, or use keyboard shortcut

In the Open Project dialog box, if you don't already see the Project you want open, select

the drive on which the Project resides from the Drive Select list box.

Then simply double-click on the Project name. You can also navigate to the Project in the list

with the up/down arrow keys or highlight the Project with a single-click. Then open the

Project by pressing [E

To open an existing Project from the front panel or Remote 48:

Press the PROJECT button and then select Open.

NTER

] or clicking on the Open button.

TRL

If you have a Project open with unsaved changes, you’ll be prompted to save it before you

open another.

Select the drive where the project is located, then use the SELECT buttons to scroll through

the list of projects on that drive.

When the name of the desired project is displayed, SELECT Open.

HDR 24/96

Save Project Save Project

Saving a Project stores all changes that have been made in the Project since the last Save

Saving a Project stores all changes that have been made in the Project since the last Save operation. This includes changes to Track and Region names, Playlist Regions (edits), Cue and

operation. This includes changes to Track and Region names, Playlist Regions (edits), Cue and Locate points, and Project preferences and settings. At the end of every Record pass the

Locate points, and Project preferences and settings. At the end of every Record pass the HDR24/96 automatically saves the newly recorded Regions and the Project file, so that you need

HDR24/96 automatically saves the newly recorded Regions and the Project file, so that you need only to manually Save the changes you have made while editing. However, if prompted to Save

only to manually Save the changes you have made while editing. However, if prompted to Save assume that the Project is not yet saved.

assume that the Project is not yet saved.

Save operations do not clear the History List. Therefore it is possible to save the Project in its

Save operations do not clear the History List. Therefore it is possible to save the Project in its present state, and still revert to a state that existed prior to saving as long as the Current Project

present state, and still revert to a state that existed prior to saving as long as the Current Project and Playlist remain open.

and Playlist remain open.

To save the open Project from the GUI:To save the open Project from the GUI:

Select Save Project from the File menu.

- Or -

Use the

To save the open Project from the front panel or Remote 48:

Press the PROJECT button. From the Project menu select Save.

Project Manager

The Project Manager is a GUI utility for deleting, renaming, or backing up projects. These functions can also be performed from menus opened with the front panel and Remote 48 PROJECT and BACKUP buttons. The following project management operations can be performed from either the front panel or the GUI Project Manager.

TRL

keyboard shortcut.

+s]

The GUI Project Manager for renaming, deleting and copying Projects

NOTE: If file sizes are not displayed, clicking the Refresh button will bring them up. If you’ve swapped Mackie Media PROJECT disks, their files may not be visible. Click Refresh to update the file list.

Rename a Project

Renaming a Project changes the name of both the Project file and Project folder. The same rules of valid characters and length apply for Renaming Projects that apply to naming new Projects.

Technical Reference 43

HDR 24/96

You cannot rename the Current Project. You must open another one first, even if you have to create it first. Here's an instance where that pesky "Startup" project comes in handy.

To Rename a Project from the GUI:

Select Project Manager from the File menu, or use keyboard shortcut

Project Manager dialog select the Project to be renamed. Click the Rename button, type

the new name into the Rename Project dialog box, then click Enter when done.

To Rename a Project from the front panel or Remote 48:

If the Active Drive does not contain the Project you wish to Rename, press DISK UTIL and

select Set. Change the Active Drive to the target drive from the Select Active Drive menu,

and select OK.

Press PROJECT and then PAGE RIGHT one screen. Select Rename. Using the

<< and >> Select buttons, choose the drive where the Project is located, then select the

Project you wish to Rename and select Ok.

Use the Select buttons to move the cursor over each character in the file name, and use the

(-)DEC and (+)INC buttons to scroll through the characters. When you have finished

Renaming the Project, select Ok to confirm.

Delete Project

Deleting a project permanently removes the Project file folder, all recorded, imported, and rendered audio files, Playlist data, and waveform cache files from the hard disk. This is the end of the line. You can’t recover a deleted project.

To delete a project from the GUI:

Select Project Manager from the File menu, or use keyboard shortcut

Project Manager dialog, select the Project(s) to be deleted and click Delete. Confirm or

cancel in the “Are you sure?” dialog box.

+b]

. In the

TRL

To delete a project from the front panel:

If the Active Drive does not contain the Project you wish to delete, press DISK UTIL and

select Set. Change the Active Drive to the target drive from the Select Active Drive menu,

and select OK.

Press PROJECT and select Delete. First select the Drive, then choose the Project you wish

to delete from the Delete Project Menu using the << and >> SELECT buttons.

Select Del. Select OK to confirm the deletion or select Cancel, have a latte, and think

about it a while longer.

NOTE: You CANNOT Delete the open Project; you must open or create a different Project first.

Copy a Project (Back-up and Restore)

Backup and Restore operations consist simply of copying another. When a Project is copied, the Project folder and all its contents (including audio) are copied to the target medium completely unaltered – no data compression or compacting. A Project copied to a disk drive verified for real-time recording (see Formatting Drives can be opened directly from that drive and you can continue adding to or editing the Project. If you copy the Project to drives designated as Backup only (Project media and slower hard drives), it must be copied back to real-time verified drives in order to be opened for either playback or recording.

a Project from one disk drive to

, page 35)

HDR 24/96

If you include other project-related files, such as session notes or mixer automation data into the

If you include other project-related files, such as session notes or mixer automation data into the HDR24/96 Project folder via FTP transfer through a network, those files will be copied along

HDR24/96 Project folder via FTP transfer through a network, those files will be copied along with the normal contents of the Project folder when you back up to another disk drive.

with the normal contents of the Project folder when you back up to another disk drive.

NOTE: You can’t copy a project to the disk on which it currently resides – source and

NOTE: You can’t copy a project to the disk on which it currently resides – source and destination drives must be different. If the destination drive doesn’t have enough free space to

destination drives must be different. If the destination drive doesn’t have enough free space to contain the selected Projects, you’ll get an error message before the copying starts.

contain the selected Projects, you’ll get an error message before the copying starts.

A Copy operation can be either a Backup or a Restore, depending on what you’re doing. The

A Copy operation can be either a Backup or a Restore, depending on what you’re doing. The mechanics of the operation is the same going in either direction.

mechanics of the operation is the same going in either direction.

To Backup or Restore from the GUI:To Backup or Restore from the GUI:

Select Project Manager from the File menu, or use keyboard shortcut brings up the two-pane Project Manager dialog box. Verify that the two disks displayed side by side in the two list boxes are what you expect. One should be Internal and the other External. Click on the Project you wish to copy and drag it to the opposite pane in the Project Manager window. You can also click on the Project name to highlight it, then click on the arrow pointing to the opposite window.

To Backup or Restore a Project From the front panel or Remote 48:

Press the BACKUP button. Select Set Source to set the drive from which the Project is to be copied, and Set Dest(ination), for the drive where the backup copy will go. Select Ok to get back to the Backup menu.

Select Backup. Select the Project name to back up using the << and >> buttons. Select Ok to begin the copy, or Cancel to quit without copying.

Make sure when backing up or restoring that your destination drive is the one you meant to insert. Considerations for backing up your audio are also included in the section on Regions and Audio (page 95).

A DOUBLY IMPORTANT Reminder:

It is extremely important that you make back up copies of your Projects at the end of each session. While digital recording technology is extremely reliable and hard disk media is durable, the unexpected occasionally happens. Further – if you back up your Projects onto two separate media before deleting them from your working drive(s) you will dramatically reduce your risk of catastrophic data loss.

+b]

. This

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It is extremely important that you make back up copies of your Projects at the end of each session.

Now you have heard it twice. So, after you unthinkingly put the PROJECT disk with the only copy of that symphony you just recorded on top of that subwoofer with the 150 lb. magnet, you’ll need to stay after session and write “I will back all my Projects onto two media” 100 times on the chalkboard.

Playlist Operations

The Playlist is the glue that holds the Regions together for playback. An important concept to understand is that all editing operations are in reality changes to the Playlist, so Playlists, Regions, and editing operations are all closely related.

Contained within each Take of each Track of each Playlist is a chronological list of playable regions. The Playlist does not actually contain audio, instead it contains a set of instructions defining when to start and stop playing each piece of recorded audio used in the project. If for example you recorded a

Technical Reference 45

HDR 24/96

single take of lead vocals for the whole length of your song, then that Track will only show one Region of audio, i.e. one playback entry on the "play" list. Each punch-in, region split, cut, move, and paste adds another entry to the Playlist.

Playlists have two primary purposes in the Mackie HDR. One is to make all punching and editing non-destructive, since such actions only affect the Playlist and not the audio. Secondly, Playlists give you a way to hang on to versions of the Project as your session(s) progress.

Each Project can have one or several load-able Playlists. When a Playlist is loaded, it becomes active, and all other Playlists are made inactive. Each Playlist contains all of the tracks and all of the takes for that version of the Project. The GUI track display is a graphic representation of the active Playlist.

During the course of creating your Project, you can record different takes into separate Playlists, or place previously recorded audio into different Playlists, all without copying or changing the audio. Any audio you record within a Project will be saved as part of the Project and it will be available for use in any Playlist within that project. Initially, however, the audio will appear on the track view only for the Playlist that was active while you were recording. Project audio from all Playlists can always be accessed via the Region List.

You can also edit your takes in different ways in various Playlists, and you can continue recording into your various Playlists after editing. Well-conceived Playlist management gives you lots of options. You can use Playlists as a creative tool, deciding on the best version at only critical junctures or even right at the end. Or you can complete your Project with several final versions such that each version serves it's own purpose or target market (like a radio version and the longer dance mix version)

All Playlist operations are accessed from the GUI and not from the front panel or remotes. Use the Playlist menu.

Anytime you want to branch off a new version use Save Playlist As…

Save Playlist As…

As you work, you may want to leave behind versions of the Project like breadcrumbs down a path traveled. While the

History List

and edit within the open Playlist, the History List is gone once the Project has been closed or a new Project is opened.. To keep a history of different stages in your Project from session-to-session you need take snap-shots of the Project using Playlists. And… Playlists do not merely allow you to capture where you were, but they allow you to move forward from that point without throwing away other versions, something the History List does not offer.

Whenever you have created a good but still unfinished version of a Project that you think could go in several directions as you continue working, then you'll want to save the Project, then save the open Playlist to a new name.

Playlist | Save Playlist As…

provides you such a feature for each recording pass

When you select Save Playlist As… from the Playlist menu you will be presented with the Save Playlist As… window. Here you can provide a new name under

HDR 24/96

which to save the currently open Playlist. Click on ENTER (or press [E

which to save the currently open Playlist. Click on ENTER (or press [E to confirm the creation of a new Playlist with the name you typed in. Click on CANCEL to abort.

to confirm the creation of a new Playlist with the name you typed in. Click on CANCEL to abort.

This operation will create a new Playlist with the new name and make that Playlist the active

This operation will create a new Playlist with the new name and make that Playlist the active Playlist. The History List will be preserved as it was for this new Playlist.

Playlist. The History List will be preserved as it was for this new Playlist.

Freezing the version: When you want to freeze the current version of a Project and move on

without altering that version, you probably want to first rename that Playlist then save the Project,

without altering that version, you probably want to first rename that Playlist then save the Project, which saves that open Playlist including edits. Then you can use Save Playlist As… Your new

which saves that open Playlist including edits. Then you can use Save Playlist As… Your new Playlist will get the new name. Remember you can always rename any Playlist including the

Playlist will get the new name. Remember you can always rename any Playlist including the open Playlist or the Playlist you previously had frozen.

open Playlist or the Playlist you previously had frozen.

NOTE: After the Save Playlist As… command, the previously open Playlist will be left as it was

NOTE: After the Save Playlist As… command, the previously open Playlist will be left as it was at the time it was last saved, which was whenever the Project was last saved. This now-closed

at the time it was last saved, which was whenever the Project was last saved. This now-closed Playlist will lose its History List. If you have never saved the Project, then the version you are

Playlist will lose its History List. If you have never saved the Project, then the version you are leaving behind will contain all of its recordings and edits up the last time you performed a

leaving behind will contain all of its recordings and edits up the last time you performed a recording pass (because the Project is saved every time you record), but nothing after that (more

recording pass (because the Project is saved every time you record), but nothing after that (more editing, for example). Instead subsequent edits will only be in the newly created Playlist.

editing, for example). Instead subsequent edits will only be in the newly created Playlist.

NTER

] on the keyboard)

For more detailed information on the History List

Playlist Manager

The Playlist Manager is a GUI utility for creating, opening, renaming, or deleting, Playlists. There are no menu equivalent functions from front panel pr either Remote.

Playlist | Playlist Manager…

- or -

Press [A

When you select Playlist Manager… from the Playlist menu (or press [ALT+p]) the Playlist Manager window is launched. This window contains a list of Playlists already created for the currently open Project. The currently loaded (open) Playlist is shown with an arrow pointing to it from the left hand side of the list. One Playlist will be highlighted as well, but it may not be the currently open Playlist.

+p] on the keyboard

see pages 33 and 120.

Technical Reference 47

HDR 24/96

You can highlight any Playlist by clicking on it with the mouse or by using the [ the keyboard to move the highlight.

Each Playlist is displayed with its Name, Creation Date & Time, and a Description. The Creation Date and Time are not editable. The Description can be edited "in-place" by simply double- clicking on its field for the Playlist to be described. The Description field will open for typing

NTER

and remain the focus until you press [E window.

You can also rename a Playlist by first selecting it (highlighting it), then click on RENAME. Similarly you can delete a Playlist using the DELETE button.

New Playlist

The New button creates a new empty Playlist. Generally, once you have clicked on New,

you will first get a prompt asking whether you want to save the current playlist. Answer Yes

to keep your most recent changes the open Playlist, No to discard recent changes, or Cancel

if you're not ready for a new list yet. Remember that answering No cannot discard changes

that happened before the last time you saved your Project, which includes you last recording

pass.

The new Playlist retains characteristics that are global to the Project. Track names are

preserved for example. But the new Playlist will not automatically have any regions in place

on its tracks. Instead you are given a clean slate into which you can record or drop Regions

from the Region List onto the empty tracks. If this is not what you are trying to accomplish,

see the Save Playlist As… command described above for an alternate method for starting a

new Playlist.

] on the keyboard or click somewhere else in the

ARROW

] keys on

NOTE: You cannot use the following characters in Playlist names: / \ : * ? “ < > | . ; ,

{ } ~ They are reserved for use by the system.

Open Playlist

The currently open Playlist is indicated in the list by an arrow to the left of its entry. When a

Project is created it creates a default Playlist called "Playlist 1" and makes this Playlist the

active (open) Playlist. Until you Save Playlist As… or create a new Playlist from the NEW

command, the list will only show this default Playlist. When any Project is opened it

automatically loads the Playlist that was open when the Project was last saved.

To open a Playlist that already appears in the list, double-click on its name in the list. You

can also move the highlight using the keyboard [ARROW

single-click, then click on OPEN.

If the currently open Playlist has not been changed since it was last saved, the newly selected

Playlist will be opened and the Playlist Manager window will be automatically closed.

If the currently open Playlist has been changed since it was last saved, you will first be

queried whether to save it now or not. Answer by clicking on YES or NO (as you see fit), or

on CANCEL to abort the opening of a different Playlist.

Rename a Playlist

Select the Playlist that you want to rename with a mouse click or move the highlight using the

keyboard [

appear, providing you a place to type in the new name. Click on ENTER or press the

keyboard [E

New Playlist for disallowed characters in Playlist names.

ARROW

NTER

] keys or select a Playlist with a

] keys, then click on RENAME. The Rename Version window will

] to confirm the new name. Use CANCEL to abort. See the note under

HDR 24/96

NOTE: Remember that you CAN rename the open Playlist just as you would the other listed

NOTE: Remember that you CAN rename the open Playlist just as you would the other listed Playlists. We suggest that you do so early on so that your Playlist will have a meaningful

Playlists. We suggest that you do so early on so that your Playlist will have a meaningful name if you have more than one.

name if you have more than one.

Delete PlaylistDelete Playlist

Select the Playlist that you want to delete with a mouse click or move the highlight using the keyboard [ window will appear, providing you an opportunity to back out of the operation. Deleting a playlist permanently removes the Playlist from the Project. Your audio and waveform cache files for this Project are not affected, but you can’t recover a deleted playlist. Click on ENTER or press the keyboard [ENTER

NOTE: You CAN re-opened automatically. If there's only one Playlist and you Delete it, a new empty Playlist with the default name Playlist 1 will appear in its place. Take care to know what you are

deleting.

Playlist Applications

In this example you are doing a Project with a lead vocal track sung in three different languages for three different mixes. Record the music bed. Rename the Playlist to "Music bed only." Save the Project. Use the Save Playlist As… feature and name the new version "Cool Song – English." Then record the vocal on the Lead Vocals track in English. Save the Project (particularly if you do any editing). Use the Save Playlist As… feature and name the new version "Cool Song – Spanish," and so on for each of the three languages. Record on the same track in each example. Open the English Playlist and the Lead Vocals track will contain the English vocal, open the Spanish Playlist and the same track number will contain the vocal you recorded in Spanish.

If you want to make a bilingual version with the verses in English and the chorus in Spanish, simply drag the Spanish vocal track from the regions list into an empty track or virtual take in the English version (or vice versa), save that as a new Playlist, and then slice and dice as desired.

ARROW

] keys. Then click on DELETE. The Delete Version Confirm

] to confirm the deletion. Use CANCEL to abort.

Delete the open Playlist. If you do so, the previously open Playlist will be

Any audio you record within a Project will be saved as part of the Project and it will be available for use in any Playlist within that project. However, initially the audio will appear on the track view only for the Playlist that was active while you were recording.

Technical Reference 49

HDR 24/96

Transport Operation

The transport controls and time code display are two of the most important functions on the HDR. This is the part that looks and works most like a tape recorder. In this section, we’ll describe the basic transport controls as well as position location, monitoring, and metering

Transport operation can be controlled from the front panel, the GUI, or remote controller. Click on the GUI button or press the hardware button, whichever is more convenient. Most transport controls also have keyboard shortcuts.

The transport can also be configured to follow MIDI machine control (MMC) commands from an external device such as a mixing console or a sequencer, and to synchronize to incoming SMPTE or MIDI time code (MTC). Refer to Sync and MIDI reference sections for appropriate setup and operational information.

The Virtual Play Head

The HDR can be called a "non-linear" or "random access" recorder. This is because the HDR stores audio data on a disk drive and not on a continuous linear piece of media like tape. Any data on the disk can be accessed instantly by the HDR operating system regardless of its physical location or arrangement on the disk. This feature is known as random access. This does not mean the data is randomly placed on disk; what it really means is that you don't care where it is on disk, and further you can "randomly" select where in your time line you want to be recording and/or playing back. Because access is instantaneous, there is never any rewind or fast forward time (unless you want that!).

While recordings on the HDR are not necessarily organized as continuous pieces of data on the disk, the HDR does organize the data for you in a head-to-tail linear form within the user interface. In the HDR GUI, time flows from left (earlier) to right (later). Audio representations on tracks start on the left where for example, the intro leads into the verse, which is followed by the chorus, and so forth moving to the right. Every moment of audio recorded into your HDR bears a relationship to time, and will initially show up on a track in the GUI display. The point in time where the HDR is now playing or recording data is known as the Current Time (and in some cases - the Play Head Position, Tape Time, or the Now Line). In essence the HDR is providing a "virtual" play head, which it represents in the GUI as a vertical line across the Track area. As time progress from earlier to later, the virtual play head moves to the right across the "virtual tape" (representations of audio on tracks) beneath it.

NOTE: If the Auto Scroll feature is on, the virtual play head remains stationary in the center of the Track Area and the virtual tape (audio representations) scroll to the left underneath the vertical line.

Basic Transport Controls

The basic transport controls both look and operate the same on the HDR24/96 front panel, the Remote 24, and the Remote 48.

HDR 24/96

GUI Basic Transport

HDR 24/96

When the recorder is operating as a time code slave (TC CHASE On), many of the transport controls

When the recorder is operating as a time code slave (TC CHASE On), many of the transport controls behave differently than when it’s operating on its own or serving as the time code master. We’ll

behave differently than when it’s operating on its own or serving as the time code master. We’ll explain those differences in this section. Look for the Watch icon (shown to the left) for operational

explain those differences in this section. Look for the Watch icon (shown to the left) for operational difference when chasing time code.

difference when chasing time code.

To turn on the TC Chase mode from the Front Panel or Remote 48:To turn on the TC Chase mode from the Front Panel or Remote 48:

Press TC CHASE button to activates its LED (toggles On and Off)

To turn on the TC Chase mode from the GUI:

Click on the TC CHASE button in the Tools panel so that it illuminates (toggles On and Off)

Or from the Transport menu select Chase TC to set or unset the check mark (toggles check mark On and Off)

PLAY

Used for audio playback, or in other words, to “roll tape”. The time code display always advances while the HDR24/96 is in Play.

The [S

When in TC CHASE mode, the transport won’t run unless the recorder is receiving time code. Pressing the PLAY button will “arm” the HDR24/96 for play. The Play indicator will blink but playback won’t begin until the recorder begins receiving time code. As soon as valid time code is received, the transport will immediately jump to the incoming time code position and begin playing, at which time the Play indicator will stop flashing and become solidly lit. When in the Chase mode, stopping the incoming time code causes the HDR24/96 to stop.

PACE BAR

is the keyboard shortcut for Play if the transport is stopped.

]

Play on the Remote 48

Autolocator Action Remote 48 Key Sequence

Preview Last Play in LOCATE TIME display Recall Last Play to Locate Time RECALL  PLAY  ENTER Goto Last Play w/o overwriting Loc Time

Locate performed but Locate Time not overwritten

RECALL  PLAY

RECALL  PLAY  LOCATE

STOP

Do we really have to tell you what the STOP button does? Okay, when the recorder is running, this stops it. It halts recording, playback, or fast winding. You’ll know it’s stopped because the time code display (both on the front panel and GUI) stops changing, and the time bar and scrolling in the GUI will halt.

The space bar is the keyboard shortcut for toggling between STOP and PLAY. If the transport is moving, it will stop. If it’s stopped, pressing the space bar starts the transport in the Play mode.

If you’ve entered the Record mode with no tracks armed (by pressing PLAY and RECORD, but we’re getting ahead of ourselves here – see page 77), pressing STOP will take the master record button out of standby (flashing LED) status.

When chasing time code, the HDR24/96 pretty much ignores the STOP button. If there’s valid time code coming in, pressing STOP will pause the recorder momentarily, but it will pick up again with whatever it was doing once it realizes that there’s another Master, not you, controlling

Technical Reference 51

HDR 24/96

it. If you’re recording while chasing time code, pressing the STOP button on will stop recording and drop back to the record-ready mode, but as long as time code continues, the transport will continue to run in PLAY.

REWIND

Rewind moves back along the time line in the same manner as rewinding tape. Like a tape deck, Rewind starts out slowly and accelerates. The STOP button will halt the rewind. This ramping up of the rewind speed combined with stopping gives you the "feel" of a tape deck and you can rewind for a short duration to move back only a few seconds. If you DO need to get back really quickly, the HDR24/96 has two more rewind speeds. Each successive press of any Rewind button cranks the speed up a notch. Top speed is pretty fast, about 180 minutes of transport time per minute of real time. Stopping on a precise spot at this speed is hard, so it's better to use a Locate function if you know where you are going.

The keyboard shortcut for Rewind is [<] (i.e. [S

OME

The [H project.

FAST FWD

The Fast Forward function works exactly like Rewind only in the forward direction.

The keyboard shortcut for Fast Forward is [>] (i.e. [S

] key on the keyboard is a shortcut to take you all the way back to the beginning of the

HIFT

+,]).

HIFT

+.]).

Off-speed Transport Controls

Shuttle

The SHUTTLE button on the Remote 48 enables a playback mode where the speed and direction are set with the Wheel. Press this button to enable. Now turn the Wheel clockwise to go forward or counterclockwise to go backward. Press the SHUTTLE button again or any other Transport button to disable the mode.

On some machines Shuttle is controlled with a spring-loaded paddle, and thinking of it this way may help you control the Wheel more effectively. Before enabling Shuttle you might want to position the finger detent at the 12 o'clock position to more easily see how the Shuttle behaves. When Shuttle is enabled, the current Wheel position becomes the null (or 0 velocity) position. That would be the point where a spring-loaded paddle would naturally return. Turning the wheel to the right of this position puts the transport into forward play at 1/32, 1/16, 1/8, ¼, ½, 1, 2x speeds, depending on how far to the right you push it. 2x happens at about a half a rotation (6 o'clock). Turning the Wheel further has no effect (except to confuse you about where you left that Null point). Turning the Wheel back toward the null will slow down the playback until you reach null and the Transport stops. Continuing counterclockwise passed the null point puts the transport into reverse play at

-1/32, -1/16, -1/8, -¼, -½, –1, –2x speeds, this time depending on how far to the left you push it. Again the –2x speed will be reached at about a half a rotation (6 o'clock).

HDR 24/96

Because your audio content may or may not be very intelligible at these various speeds and

Because your audio content may or may not be very intelligible at these various speeds and directions, there are indicators of the Shuttle behavior built in to the Transport controls. First the

directions, there are indicators of the Shuttle behavior built in to the Transport controls. First the SHUTTLE LED is lit when Shuttle is enabled. When shuttling forward, the Play LED is lit and

SHUTTLE LED is lit when Shuttle is enabled. When shuttling forward, the Play LED is lit and the FF LED blinks (indicating forward motion), and when shuttling in reverse the Play LED is lit

the FF LED blinks (indicating forward motion), and when shuttling in reverse the Play LED is lit and the REW LED blinks (indicating reverse motion). When SHUTTLE is enabled and there is

and the REW LED blinks (indicating reverse motion). When SHUTTLE is enabled and there is no Transport motion, the Play LED blinks and the FF/REW LEDs are off.

no Transport motion, the Play LED blinks and the FF/REW LEDs are off.

On the Remote 48 the Varispeed display is used to display the Transport speed whenever Shuttle

On the Remote 48 the Varispeed display is used to display the Transport speed whenever Shuttle or Jog is enabled. During Shuttle, the Varispeed display reads [0.0, 0.03, 0.06, 0.12, 0.25, 0.5,

or Jog is enabled. During Shuttle, the Varispeed display reads [0.0, 0.03, 0.06, 0.12, 0.25, 0.5,

1.0, 2.0] depending on the Shuttle speed. Negative speeds are not expressed because the

1.0, 2.0] depending on the Shuttle speed. Negative speeds are not expressed because the Transport direction is indicated by the FF or REW LEDs.

Transport direction is indicated by the FF or REW LEDs.

Scrub Scrub

Scrub is a Tool within the GUI that for all intents and purposes works like Shuttling. You click

Scrub is a Tool within the GUI that for all intents and purposes works like Shuttling. You click and drag the mouse pointer to the right by a little to play forward slowly and by a lot to play

and drag the mouse pointer to the right by a little to play forward slowly and by a lot to play forward fast. Or move it in the other direction for reverse. Return the mouse to the center where

forward fast. Or move it in the other direction for reverse. Return the mouse to the center where you first clicked to bring it to a stop. However, Scrub and Shuttle are not identical and work

you first clicked to bring it to a stop. However, Scrub and Shuttle are not identical and work completely independent of each other. The Scrub Tool does not have any indication of speed in

completely independent of each other. The Scrub Tool does not have any indication of speed in the VARI display and never exceeds 1.0 times normal play speed. The Scrub Tool is used

the VARI display and never exceeds 1.0 times normal play speed. The Scrub Tool is used primarily for editing and is typically combined with the I-Beam Tool for selecting. To get more

primarily for editing and is typically combined with the I-Beam Tool for selecting. To get more details on its operation check out the section on editing and selection

details on its operation check out the section on editing and selection

(page 100)

Jog

The JOG button, like SHUTTLE enables Wheel-based off-speed transport control, but the two mechanisms differ substantially. The Jog mode couples the movement of the Wheel directly to the movement of the Play Head. So if the WHEEL is turned quickly then audio playback moves along quickly. At the very moment the WHEEL changes direction the audio playback also changes direction. In more technical terms the Transport plays at a speed that is directly proportional to the clockwise rotational velocity of the WHEEL. The Jog velocity is continuously variable between 0 and 1x the nominal playback speed. Rotating the WHEEL clockwise causes forward transport motion, while rotating the WHEEL counterclockwise causes reverse transport motion.

At mid-to-high Jog speeds, the Wheel velocity is low-pass filtered to smooth out the response of the system and produce a playback that is reasonably free of warble. At low Jog speeds, the wheel velocity is not filtered to allow very precise transport positioning.

Pressing the Jog button in any Transport State except Record or Record Standby enables Jog mode. Pressing the Jog button again, or pressing any Transport button other than Record disables Jog and Stops the Transport.

The Jog LED is lit when Jog is enabled. When Jogging forward, the Play LED is lit and the FF LED blinks (to indicate forward motion). When Jogging in reverse the Play LED is lit and the REW LED blinks (to indicate reverse motion). When Jog is enabled and there is no Transport motion, the Play LED blinks and the FF/REW LEDs are off.

On the Remote 48, the Varispeed display is used to display the Transport speed whenever Jog or Shuttle is enabled. During Jog, the display reads continuously between 0.00 and 1.00. Negative speeds are not expressed because the Transport direction is indicated by the FF or REW LEDs.

Technical Reference 53

HDR 24/96

Don’t confuse Shuttle, Jog, or Scrub with a variable speed function. While you can vary the playback speed manually in these modes, once you enter the Record mode, you’re back to standard speed. The HDR24/96 does not allow you to record off-speed.

Also note that you can't enable Shuttle, Jog or Scrub while in Record or Record Standby, and pressing the Record button will not disable any of these modes. You can enable Record while in Scrub mode, but not while scrubbing. If you start recording while in scrub mode, then try to actual scrub, it will end the recording pass.

The Autolocator

What is an Autolocator?

Essentially, an Autolocator is a transport control system, which keeps track of important "points" within the timeline of your project then allows you to easily and quickly move between such points. In addition to moving around within your project, the Autolocator provides integrated commands that combine the locating process with actual operation of the transport in some prescribed way. All of these Autolocating features are pointed toward doing audio productiontasks with the least amount of work on your part.

In the HDR 24/96 the Autolocator is a complete framework for operation. How much of it you use and how you access those features will depend greatly on your application and working style. When you operate the HDR from the Remote 48 you will find that the paradigm very closely matches that of previous tape-based Autolocator technology. In the GUI, certain things change slightly to accommodate the advantages of an interface that can present multiple values on various parts of the screen all at once. In many cases this makes the GUI easier. However, the GUI requires you to pick up a mouse and point the cursor at sometimes-small displays. So if you have a Remote 48 there are many instances where its key sequences are much faster.

The idea of an Autolocator was hatched in a time when tape ruled. Getting around on tape was a mysterious art, and getting the play head to a new location on the tape could be quite time consuming, particularly when the tape needed to travel a long way to get where you wanted it. Tape Counters and then Time Code striping made the locating process easier. But still when the necessary tape movement was time-consuming, the operator didn't really want to watch over it just to hit STOP at the desired point. So tape machines (and/or machine controllers) were designed to watch the time code and stop and reposition the tape to the point specified by the operator.

Autolocator technology was in those days an example of partially digital control over an analog medium. With refinement, Autolocating became quite effective, and a lot of engineers and recordists became well versed in its methods. In fact, a fairly extensive and well-conceived feature set for both the audio recording and mixing processes became somewhat standardized on the Autolocator. Fast forward to today; pardoning the pun, and we find that digital random access has eliminated the rewind times, so what do we get from an Autolocator? Well, the answer is "everything else." The paradigm for Autolocating was so well thought-out over so many years, that frankly it's hard to improve upon it (even though we did, just a little).

Setting and Editing Times

The two most compete implementations of the HDR 24/96 Autolocator are found in the GUI and on the Remote 48. However, these two interfaces differ considerably in the way that time values are entered and edited. The GUI displays most of its time values, all of the time, and any time can be directly entered and edited. The Remote 48 must Recall its times.

HDR 24/96

Editing Times in the GUIEditing Times in the GUI

1) Direct entry: Click on a displayed time (Double-click if the time is in the Cue List panel). The specific pair of digits upon which you clicked (hours, minutes, seconds or frames; or bars, beats, or ticks) will be highlighted with an outline box. Type in the desired time. Navigate between units of measure either by clicking on the next pair of digits or by pressing the back one field). Click outside the time field or press the [E entry.

2) Drag the value: down to increment or decrement the time.

3) Nudge the value: bottom of the highlighted box and click-and-release to decrement the value by one unit. Click-and-release in the top of the box to increment the value. As you position the cursor, you will see an up (increment) or down (decrement) arrow cursor to tell you where you are. Click outside the time field or press the [E the entry.

4) Capture the Current Time:

TRL

] key turns the pointer into a hand with which you can capture the Current

Time with a mouse click. You can do this with the transport stopped, or catch a loop or punch point on the fly. The feature does not apply to Cues.

5) Drag the Marker: it to a new position. You can do this while the transport is running so you can find loop points that aren’t musically jarring. (Remember to turn off the talent’s headphones or they’ll wonder what the heck you’re doing.)

Note that Markers for LOC 1 and LOC 2 are blue flags with an “L”, LOC 3 and LOC 4 are red flags with a “P”. These markers disappear when the Punch or Loop functions are turned off. In order to see the marker you wish to drag, you must first enable Punch or Loop.

The Remote 48 uses a Dual-Time display that includes the TAPE TIME (also called the Current Time or Play Head Location) and a second LOCATE TIME. The Locate Time is one of several times to which the HDR 24/96 can jump instantly (Locate means make the Current Time = target time). The LOCATE TIME display also acts a holding bin and workspace for entering and editing times so that those values can be stored or used. There are four ways in which values come into this display.

[TAB

] key on the keyboard ([S

Click on the time field as above, then drag the mouse pointer up or

Click on the time field as above, then position the cursor over the

With the mouse pointer over the time field, holding the

Click on the LOOP or PUNCH marker on the Time Bar and drag

HIFT+TAB

NTER

] key to complete the

NTER

] moves you

] key to complete

Bringing Times into the Locate display on the Remote 48

• Press CAPTURE to make the Locate Time = the Tape Time.

• Press the Numeric Keypad buttons to type in a new value.

• Press RECALL and the corresponding buttons for the previously saved time values

you want to see and/or use.

• Press the EDIT TIME button to change the current Locate Time.

After getting the value into the Locate display you will generally press ENTER, STORE, or LOCATE, or some combination of these buttons to make use of the value. Because the exact sequence varies depending on what time value is being set, the specific instructions for manipulating times on the Remote 48 appear where relevant later in this section.

The TAPE TIME and LOCATE TIME displays will always be in the same format and resolution. As with the front panel, the Remote 48 only supports SMPTE TC and BBT display formats. For milliseconds and sample count displays you must go to the GUI. While in those display modes on the GUI you will see SMPTE on the Remote 48.

Technical Reference 55

HDR 24/96

ote

OCs

Note that the Remote 48 and GUI share the use of the same Locate Time. However, other values that temporarily appear in the LOCATE TIME display on the Remote 48 will not appear in the LOCATE TIME display of the GUI – at least not until they are entered into the actual Locate Time.

Locate Points

First it should be mentioned that LOC and Locate are the same thing. The label LOC is used on certain tape machines and is used in the HDR GUI because it's brief and pixel thrifty. But when you see or say "LOC," the word is actually "Locate." Well, okay, you can say "Loke," if you really dig it. On the Remote 48, where space was less of a consideration you'll find the term LOCATE written out. In the subsequent discussion we may use either term.

There are five dedicated “go to” buttons that use stored transport location times. Pressing or clicking on any of these buttons sends the transport directly to the stored time location. These five locations are called "LOCATE (LOC), LOC1, LOC2, LOC3, LOC4." Not all five Locate Points are available from all control surfaces, however all are displayed in the GUI where they can also be directly edited.

visible directly below the Current Time in the Time Code display area. In the GUI however, the LOCATE TIME display is not constantly visible. It is necessary to open the Cue List panel (page 32) on the right side of the Track Display area. Reveal the List panel with the left pointing arrow, then select the Cues Tab.

The four Numbered Locates are used for general locating as well, but also in conjunction with

Front Panel LOCs

surfaces, Numbered Locates must be "Stored."

LOCATE is a general-purpose locator that’s a feature of the GUI and Remote 48 only. It has no equivalent button on the HDR24/96 front panel or Remote 24. On the Remote 48 it is set with the ENTER button.

The LOC button in the GUI and LOCATE on the Remote 48 are each directly to the left of the main Transport buttons. On the Remote 48 the Locate Time is always

looping and auto-punch functions. Numbered Locates are shown as LOC1, LOC2 on the Front Panel, as LOC1, LOC2, LOC3, and LOC4 in the GUI, and as LOCATE 1, LOCATE 2, LOCATE 3, and LOCATE 4 on the Remote 24 and Remote 48. On the tactile control

LOCATE display

LOCATE button

GUI Numbered LOCs

Beyond these five 5 location points (the general plus 4

Rem

1000 points can be stored (as Cues), but they can only be accessed with a "sequence" of button presses or by opening the Cue list panel, both explained later.

Remote 48 Numbered LOCs

HDR 24/96

24 Numbered L

Numbered Locates) another

HDR 24/96

Locate times and Cues are saved along with the Project, but there are not separate Locate times or

Locate times and Cues are saved along with the Project, but there are not separate Locate times or Cue Lists for each Playlist – one set per Project.

Cue Lists for each Playlist – one set per Project.

LOCATE (GUI LOC) LOCATE (GUI LOC)

The LOCATE button causes the Transport to jump directly to the currently displayed Locate

The LOCATE button causes the Transport to jump directly to the currently displayed Locate Time. The Locate Time can be captured from the Current Time, set explicitly, or recalled from a

Time. The Locate Time can be captured from the Current Time, set explicitly, or recalled from a stored cue. Each time you change the time shown in the LOCATE TIME display, you must also

stored cue. Each time you change the time shown in the LOCATE TIME display, you must also press the keyboard or Remote 48 ENTER key, respectively (depending on where you are

press the keyboard or Remote 48 ENTER key, respectively (depending on where you are working), to actually update the Locate Time. Until the ENTER key is pressed the Locate Time

working), to actually update the Locate Time. Until the ENTER key is pressed the Locate Time window on the Remote 48 is being used to preview time values. You can Locate directly to a

window on the Remote 48 is being used to preview time values. You can Locate directly to a previewed time, but using the time for locating does not update the Locate Time for any other

previewed time, but using the time for locating does not update the Locate Time for any other purpose. Once entered, the Located Time can be further edited using the Remote 48 EDIT TIME

purpose. Once entered, the Located Time can be further edited using the Remote 48 EDIT TIME button.

button.

The Locate Time defaults to a SMPTE time of 00:00:00:00 or BBT value of 1:1:0, but may

The Locate Time defaults to a SMPTE time of 00:00:00:00 or BBT value of 1:1:0, but may contain any time value within the 24-hour or 10,000-measure range of the Project. Once the LOC

contain any time value within the 24-hour or 10,000-measure range of the Project. Once the LOC position has been changed from its default value, the "current" LOC position is saved along with

position has been changed from its default value, the "current" LOC position is saved along with the Project.

the Project.

LOC is strictly a feature of the GUI and the Remote 48. It has no equivalent button or display on

LOC is strictly a feature of the GUI and the Remote 48. It has no equivalent button or display on the HDR front panel or on the Remote 24.

the HDR front panel or on the Remote 24.

Setting the Locate Time from the GUISetting the Locate Time from the GUI

LOC time can be set in several ways.

• Capture the Current Time position (either on the fly or with the transport stopped) by clicking on the CAPTURE button at the top of the Cue List window, or by holding the [C

TRL

] key and clicking in the LOCATE time window in the Cue list, or by using

the keyboard shortcut [C

• In addition, LOC time can be entered or edited in the LOCATE time window in the Cue list by clicking on the window to highlight a field, then either moving the mouse pointer up and down to change the value or by entering a value from the keyboard. See Editing GUI times

Observe that when the LOC time is set anywhere other than at the beginning of the Project, a marker labeled LOC indicating the LOC time appears in the bar above the time scale ruler at the top of the track display.

• The LOC time can be changed by dragging the LOC marker to a new point in the Project.

LOCATE is handy for marking a temporary working location in the project. If you’re working on an edit and want to be able to listen through it, drag the LOC marker to a couple of seconds before your edit point. Then with AUTO PLAY engaged, when you click the LOC button, the transport will jump back to your marked point and begin playing.

TRL

(page 55).

+l] (think L

ocate).

Setting the Locate Time from the Remote 48

The Locate Time can be set in several ways.

• Capture the Current Time position (either on the fly or with the transport stopped) by pressing the CAPTURE button to the right of the Current Time display on the Remote 48.

Technical Reference 57

HDR 24/96

• Press the various numeric keys to type in a new value. Each new digit is added on

the (least significant) right side, and previous digits are moved left to accommodate it. Press the ENTER button.

• Recall

• And don’t forget, you can also Edit

Using LOCATE from the Remote 48

Pressing the LOCATE button causes the Transport position (Current Time) to locate to the time displayed in the Locate Time window. The Locate button LED is lit whenever Current Time = Locate Time, and is dim at all other times. The Remote 48 LOCATE button corresponds to LOC in the GUI Transport. The Remote 24 does not have a general Locate function, but it does have the four Numbered Locates described below.

Previewing Times in the Remote 48 Locate window.

When you Recall a Cue or other stored time value, it will typically appear in the Locate window. The HDR24/96 however, requires an ENTER button press to confirm the Recall operation, so it is possible to recall values without actually overwriting the current value of Locate Time. Press RECALL, then simply avoid pressing ENTER. Once RECALL has been pressed you can successively query in any number of stored values (Cue numbers, Locate numbers, Punch Length, Loop Length, Pre-Roll, Last Play) in any order by pressing their respective buttons or button sequences. At any time during a Preview the displayed value can be committed to Locate Time by hitting ENTER, or the operation can be canceled by hitting RECALL once again. Once a Cue is recalled –

an existing value with the RECALL button. See page 71 for details. Press the

ENTER button.

whatever time value you manage to get into

LOCATE TIME display. See page 68 for further details. Press the ENTER button.

Press RECALL, then "0" "1" (for example)

You can then use the data Wheel to quickly scroll through all of your saved Cues. The specific implementation for previewing each parameter may differ. Refer to documentation on each specific parameter.

The Locate Time will remain as set, until set differently. However it should be noted that the Locate Time window on the Remote 48 is also used as a workspace for certain storing, recalling, and editing procedures. While LOCATE TIME display can “preview” stored values and even store new values without overwriting the general Locate Time, it is a good practice to assume that the general Locate Time will change occasionally. Values that really truly must stick around throughout an entire session or beyond should be stored from the Locate Time to a Cue or Numbered Locate for later recall.

Numbered Quick Locate Points

The HDR24/96 has four pre-numbered Locate points (LOC 1, LOC 2, LOC 3, and LOC 4) whose function and accessibility vary depending on your setup and what you want to do.

LOCs 1 and 2 can be accessed from the HDR 24/96 front panel, while all four Numbered LOCs can be accessed from the remote controllers and from the GUI. Numbered LOC times are displayed on the GUI Tools panel just to the right of center. Pressing any of

HDR 24/96

the LOC buttons on the front panel or the remote controllers sends the transport immediately to

the LOC buttons on the front panel or the remote controllers sends the transport immediately to the time set for that LOC point. Clicking on the Numbered LOC buttons in the GUI is the

the time set for that LOC point. Clicking on the Numbered LOC buttons in the GUI is the equivalent command.

equivalent command.

LOC 1 and LOC 2 do double duty as loop start and end points when the transport Loop function

LOC 1 and LOC 2 do double duty as loop start and end points when the transport Loop function is selected. LOC 3 and LOC 4 serve as punch-in and punch-out points when the Auto-Punch is

is selected. LOC 3 and LOC 4 serve as punch-in and punch-out points when the Auto-Punch is selected.

selected.

Note that the markers for LOC 1 and LOC 2 are blue flags with an “L”, LOC 3 and LOC 4 are

Note that the markers for LOC 1 and LOC 2 are blue flags with an “L”, LOC 3 and LOC 4 are red flags with a “P”. These markers disappear when the Punch or Loop functions are turned off.

red flags with a “P”. These markers disappear when the Punch or Loop functions are turned off.

LOC times are expressed in whatever time units you have selected, SMPTE or BBT. LOC times are expressed in whatever time units you have selected, SMPTE or BBT.

Setting the LOC Points - GUISetting the LOC Points - GUI

From the GUI Tools panel, the LOC points may be set by any of several methods. These methods, which are the same for changing any time value in the GUI, are described in detail at the beginning of this section and under GUI and mouse conventions manual:

• Click on a field in the displayed time and type in the desired value. Navigate between units of measure either by clicking on the next pair of digits or by pressing

[TAB

the

NTER

the [E

• Click on the time field as above. Drag the mouse pointer up or down to increment or decrement the time.

• Click-and-release in the bottom of the highlighted box to decrement the value by one unit, or above its center to increment the value. Click outside the time field or press

NTER

the E

• With the mouse pointer over the time field, holding the [C into a hand with which you can capture the Current Time with a mouse click. You can do this with the transport stopped, or catch a loop or punch point on the fly.

This is a convenient technique when listening through a part and deciding that you want to punch in HERE and out THERE.

• Click on the LOOP or PUNCH marker on the Time Bar and drag it to a new position.

You can do this while the transport is running so you can find loop points that aren’t musically jarring. (Remember to turn off the talent’s headphones or they’ll wonder what the heck you’re doing.) In order to see the marker you wish to drag, you must first enable Punch or Loop. Even if you are not currently looping or auto-punching, enable the function temporarily to make use of this cool feature.

HIFT+TAB

] or [S

] key to complete the entry.

key to complete the entry.

at the beginning of the

] key on the keyboard. Click outside the time field or press

TRL

] key turns the pointer

Setting the LOC points – Front Panel and Remote 24

From the front panel or Remote 24, the LOC points are set using a sequence of the STORE and LOC n buttons together. The sequence is slightly different on the front panel versus the Remote 48 as the feature is more limited from the front panel. The front panel does not display the Locate Time, so its STORE button always uses the Current Time as the source time for store operations.

Press STORE to arm for capturing the Current Time. This can be done either while the transport is stopped or running. The LED above the STORE button will blink indicating the armed state. The pressing of STORE does not capture the time when it’s pressed.

Press the Numbered LOC button to capture and store the Current Time to that LOC. The LED above the STORE button will extinguish, indicating that the time has been stored.

Technical Reference 59

HDR 24/96

If you press STORE a second time without storing a LOC time, the Store operation is cancelled.

You can capture the current time on the fly or with the transport stopped, but remember that after arming and capturing current time in one LOC, you must press the STORE button a second time to arm for another capture. If you’re trying to capture a pair of punch-in and –out points that are quite close together, you may not be able to do this quickly enough in one pass and you may have to make a second pass after setting the punch-in point to capture the punch-out point. Practice makes better.

Setting the LOC points – Remote 48

Enter, recall or capture the time you want into the LOCATE TIME display on the Remote

48. Press STORE once. Press the target Numbered Locate button (saves the

Locate Time) – or – Press STORE twice. Press the target Numbered Locate button (saves the

Tape Time)

Locate Points on the Remote 48

Autolocator Action Remote 48 Key Sequence

Goto Locate Time LOCATE Goto Locate n LOCATE n Preview Locate n in LOCATE TIME display RECALL  LOCATE n Recall Locate n to Locate Time RECALL  LOCATE n  ENTER Store Locate Time to Locate n STORE  LOCATE n

STORE  STORE  LOCATE n Store Tape Time to Locate n or CTRL+STORE  LOCATE n

Store Tape Time to Locate Time CAPTURE

Transport Looping (LOC 1 and LOC 2)

Loop is a transport mode to repeat playback or recording between two points in time (Loop Start to Loop End). Engage transport Looping by pressing either the LOOP button on either Remote, or the LOOP 1-2 button on the HDR24/96 front panel, or by clicking the LOOP button in the GUI tools panel.

With Loop mode enabled, once the PLAY button is pressed, the transport will play to the Loop End point, instantly locate back to the Loop Start, then play it

again, and again, and again . . . until you either press STOP (which of course stops the transport) or disengage LOOP, which allows the transport to continue running.

If the Current Time is between the loop points when the transport is started, it begins playing from the Current Time. However, if the Current Time position is outside the loop region when you press PLAY, the transport will

HDR 24/96

jump to the Loop Start time before starting playback. jump to the Loop Start time before starting playback.

The LOC 1 and LOC 2 times are used as the Loop Start and Loop End points. While it makes

The LOC 1 and LOC 2 times are used as the Loop Start and Loop End points. While it makes sense to have LOC 1 earlier than LOC 2, it doesn’t matter as far as looping is concerned. The

sense to have LOC 1 earlier than LOC 2, it doesn’t matter as far as looping is concerned. The transport will loop from the earlier point to the later one. On the Remote 48, it is also possible to

transport will loop from the earlier point to the later one. On the Remote 48, it is also possible to set the Loop Length, which will automatically edit the later of the two Dedicated Locate points to

set the Loop Length, which will automatically edit the later of the two Dedicated Locate points to create a loop of that length. See Storing Times

create a loop of that length. See Storing Times

Looping isn’t just for playback. For repeated punch-ins, use LOOP in conjunction with PUNCH times stored in LOC3 and LOC4 for auto-punching. In fact, if you want to record between loop points, you must use the Auto-Punch function. You cannot manually enter Record when looping.

You can’t engage the LOOP function when the transport is in the TC CHASE mode. It’ll remind you. You can of course loop the Master machine and the slave will follow it.

Looping on the Remote 48

Autolocator Action Remote 48 Key Sequence

Preview Loop length in Locate Time RECALL  LOOP Recall Loop length to Locate Time RECALL  LOOP  ENTER Store Locate Time to Loop Length

Value of Loop End Time = Loop Start Time+ Locate Time

(page 70) for more details.

STORE  LOOP

Looping the Selection

You can also set-up loops using the Selection Start and End points (instead of LOC 1 and LOC 2). In many ways the functionality is the same, but the application is different. If you are trying to loop something before deciding to Cut or Copy it, then you will want to look in the Editing section of this manual at Looping the Selection explanation.

The not-so-detailed explanation is that you can loop the selection by selecting an area with the I-Beam tool, then check-marking Loop Selection in the Transport menu or in the right-click Time Bar/Marker pop-up menu. The loop area will be highlighted with a yellow bar. Engage PLAY.

Note that Loop Selection does not activate the LOOP button in the Tools panel of the GUI or Loop LED on either Remote. Loop Selection is considered an extension of the Editing features and depends on the I-Beam tool. It is only available from the GUI.

NOTE: Loop Selection is a fast way to get a sonic picture of what a certain edits are going to sound like. If you need to keep editing, but want to continue looping on those same times, then you'll want to copy the Selection Start and End times into LOC 1 and LOC 2. Position the Current Time to the Selection edges, then hold down the keyboard [C clicking in the LOC 1 and LOC 2 fields within the Tools panel of the GUI

LOOPING COOLNESS: Both the standard Looping and the Loop Selection points can be adjusted while the Transport is moving. While looping on LOC 1 and LOC 2, use the mouse to grab their Markers on the Marker bar. Drag the Marker to a new position and drop it. The new loop parameter will take effect immediately. You can also Store a new value into the LOC 1 or LOC 2 from the Remote 48 while looping. Very cool! When looping on the Selection you can grab the Selection edges in the Time bar and drag them similarly.

(page 101) for a detailed

] key while

TRL

Technical Reference 61

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IMPORTANT: If you have some other studio device synchronizing to the HDR24/96’s (SMPTE or MIDI) time code output, be aware that a short loop might drive it bananas. When looping, the HDR's time code output cycles, following the loop. If the slaving device is a little slow on the uptake, or heaven forbid, flaky, you might want to turn off the Generate SMPTE or MTC function (or just unplug the sync cable) temporarily while you’re looping.

Auto Punch (LOC 3 and LOC 4)

Like the LOC1 and LOC2 buttons, the LOC3 and LOC4 can each be used to quickly locate to a precise point in the Project. And like the other two Numbered Locates, LOC3 and LOC4 have dedicated purpose. The PUNCH button enables Auto Punch, an automatic recording feature that switches a record-armed track (or tracks) into Record at a specified punch-in point, and takes it out of Record at the specified punch-out point. As this is an integrated part of Recording Operations, see Auto Punch

on page 81 under the Recording section for details.

Cues

Cues are a handy way of moving around in a project. First off, you can have up to 1000 of them; second, you can give them meaningful names (Verse 1, Chorus, Bridge, Sax solo, Guitar clunker, etc.); and finally, you can jump to the location of the Cue with a single mouse click or with a numerical entry from the keyboard or Remote 48. Because Cues can be named, they work well to flag specific sections of a song or to identify song titles in a long project, for example, a concert recording.

Cues are accessed via the Cue List panel and Marker bar in the GUI, and also via the DualTime display and associated Autolocator buttons on the Remote 48. Cues differ from Numbered Locates in that Cues do not each have their own dedicated buttons on the Remote 48, and instead must be stored/recalled through a sequence of button pushes. Cues are not accessible from the front panel or the Remote 24.

Although there is essentially one Autolocator system behind all the interfaces, the GUI and Remote 48 each display, edit, and use Cues in different ways. While the Remote 48 follows the industryrefined paradigm for a remote locator, the GUI would not be efficient emulating a tactile work surface. For one thing, a lot of different time values can be presented through the GUI all at once (not just two as on the Remote 48), and each can edited directly, even including the Current (Tape) Time. So the LOCATE TIME display in the GUI does not serve as a preview and editing workspace.

See Editing Times in the GUI GUI times, except that Cues must be double-clicked to start the editing procedure. Also note that Cues are named with the QWERTY keyboard, so the naming features appear only in the GUI along with a special feature for re-ordering the Cue numbers.

If you are using a Remote 48, you will also want to look at Entering Times

Editing Times on the Remote 48

in this section. Then see Storing Times and Recalling Times details on how the Remote 48 Autolocator manages Cues and other storable time values.

(page 70) for the

at the beginning of this section. The described methods apply to all

and

later

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Creating New Cues Creating New Cues

For the following methods, first locate the Current Time to the point in the project where you

For the following methods, first locate the Current Time to the point in the project where you want a Cue.

want a Cue.

From the GUI:From the GUI:

Click the NEW button at the top of the Cue List panel to add a new Cue to the list at the Current Time. The NEW button method works on the fly as well as with the transport stopped.

From the keyboard: Use the shortcut key combination [C

From the Remote 48

Press STORE

Press CAPTURE

These methods will create a new Cue using the lowest number available at the time of the Cue's creation. The Remote 48 will also allow you to store the Cue to a specific Cue number. This means that the numbering scheme can be used to organize your Cues. For instance, all “verse start” cues can be numbered 30-something. See Storing Cues.

Locating to a Cue

From the GUI:

Double-click on the cue number in the GUI Cue List.

From the keyboard:

Type the Cue number on the keyboard (the Number Pad is most convenient)

Press the [N

UMPAD ENTER

TRL

+m]. Think “mark”.

] key - the main [E

NTER

] key won’t do it.

The [+] and [-] keys on the number pad are shortcuts to move to the next Cue up or down on the list. Note that this may not be the next cue from where the transport is currently located.

Entering a cue number on the keyboard jumps to that cue, but doesn’t reposition the highlight on the Cue List. Therefore, the [+] and [-] key shortcut may not always jump you to where you expect.

From the Remote 48:

Press RECALL

Enter the desired Cue number using the Remote 48 number pad.

Press ENTER. This brings the Cue time into the LOCATE TIME window.

Press LOCATE

One more reminder: Pre-Roll time is subtracted from the Cue time when locating to a Cue. If you notice that you’ve jumped to a place ahead of where you were aiming, you probably have PreRoll engaged. Check the Transport menu or the LED indicator above the PRE-ROLL button on the Remote 48 or Remote 24. See Pre Roll for details.

Cue Parameters

Each Cue has a Number , a Time, and a Name. Names are not settable, nor are they used from the Remote 48. In the GUI the Cue List is displayed chronologically, while on the Remote 48 the list is organized numerically. Even if you are using the Remote 48, read Cues in the GUI for many details about Cue parameters.

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Cues in the GUI

First open the Cues List panel right of the Tracks area, then click on the (left-pointing) Lists Panel arrow in the upper right corner of the Tracks area. Then click on the Cues tab.

The three columns in the Cue list are Number, Name, and Time (for each Cue). You can highlight any cue with a single-click anywhere on its line.

Double-click on either the Name or the Time to start editing that parameter. Double-click on a cue number to jump to the time of that Cue.

When a Cue is initially set, it takes the rather unexciting name of “Cue”, but it can be renamed as several have been in this illustration.

. If there are no lists being presented on the

Each Cue has a corresponding flag on the Marker Bar. The two forms of Cue display interact. When a cue name is edited in the Cue List, its name changes on the Marker Bar. When the Cue time is edited in the Cue List, the flag on the Marker Bar moves to the new location. Similarly, when a Cue's marker is dragged along the Marker bar, its time also changes in the Cue List. The entry will even move up or down the list if its new time places it later or earlier than another cue.

Cue Numbers

Each Cue has a unique number – not duplicated for any other Cue (Cue names and times are not necessarily unique). You can’t edit a Cue number, but if cues get out of order as a result of moving or deleting, you can renumber the entire list from the GUI Cue List. You can also Recall an existing Cue number and Store it's time to a new number using the Remote 48.

Cues created with the New Cue sequences described above are given the lowest number available. If a Cue has been deleted, leaving a “hole” in the numbering, that number (if lowest available) will be filled when the next Cue is created.

When previewing Cues on the Remote 48, the list will always be in numerical order. On the Remote 48 the STORE button can either create a new or overwrite an existing Cue Number

If you’re using the Remote 48 to store specific numbered cues, those numbers will appear on the Cue List, and cues written with the NEW button will just skip over them. The converse is not always true, however. If you enter a specific cue number when storing a cue from the Remote 48, if that number already exists as a Cue on the Cue List, you’ll overwrite it.

Cue Names

Cue names only appear in the GUI. Every newly created cue is named “Cue”. To rename any Cue, double-click on the name field in the GUI Cue List to highlight it and enter new text (type name and press [E Bar will change also. There is no way to rename Cues from the Remote 48.

HDR 24/96

NTER

]). When you rename a Cue, the name on its flag on the Marker

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Cue Times

This is the time to which the transport will jump when you locate to the Cue. Cues are always listed in the GUI Cue List in order of time. A Cue's time can be changed by dragging the Cue flag in the Marker Bar, or by double-clicking in the Cue List time field and editing

the time using any of the standard methods.

Clicking the STORE button at the top of the GUI Cue List changes the time of the highlighted Cue to the Current Time.

Drag a cue pointer along the Marker Bar and you’ll see its time change in the Cue List. The Cue will also move up or down the list if its new time places it before or after an adjacent cue. If you’ve changed a Cue time by editing, it will move up or down the Cue List as required to get back in order when you complete the edit operation.

Delete Cue

Click on the Cue List DELETE button to remove the highlighted cue from the list. This will leave a hole in the cue number sequence, but the Cue List doesn’t care. Use [S

TRL

Renumber Cues

The Cue List displays your Cues in chronological order, regardless of the Cue number assigned to each Cue. If you've moved or deleted Cues, or assigned arbitrary Cue numbers from the Remote 48, you may see the Cue numbers listed in a confusing order. The RENUM(ber) button changes all the cue numbers so that from the earliest Cue to the latest Cue, the list is numbered starting from "1" counting up contiguously (no missing numbers as a result of deleted or arbitrary Cues).

Here’s the same Cue List before and after renumbering. Notice that the cues times are the same in both lists, but their numbers have been changed.

Note that LOCATE points are not affected by this operation, nor are Cue names or any times changed. However, you should understand that if you are using the Remote 48 to locate to Cues, a number-based scheme, you'll have to re-learn the Cue numbers after the RENUM operation.

+click] to highlight a group of cues to be deleted.

HIFT

+click] or

Original Cue List Renumbered List

Renumbering Cues can be useful if you are handing a Project off to someone else and you want to clean things up for clarity. It also makes using the Remote 48 easier, if you have lost track of which Cue number is where.

Store Cue

STORE changes the time of the currently highlighted Cue to the current transport time. This is an alternate to editing the time field or dragging the cue pointer. In the GUI the STORE button only updates the time on an existing Cue. Use the NEW button to create a new Cue. This differs from the Remote 48 where the STORE button can either update a Cue or create a new Cue if the Cue number specified does not exist.

Technical Reference 65

HDR 24/96

GUI Cue Store can be handy if you designate one cue number as the to go-to button for section of the project where you are current working. When you move on (position the Current Time) to work on a new section, just highlight (single-click on) your “working” cue and click on STORE.

Edit Cue

Double-click on the time field of the desired Cue in the list. You can then edit the time value using the combination of clicking, dragging, typing and tabbing that have been described elsewhere for time editing (see page 21). You can also double-click on the name field of the desired Cue in the list and retype the name.

Or if you want to update the Cue with the Current Time, then first position the Current Time. Then click on an existing Cue to highlight it. Click on the STORE button. The Current Time will be copied to the existing Cue's time value.

Cues on the Remote 48

As with other Locating time values, Cue time values are typically stored, recalled and edited using the Locate Time as a workspace, although there are certain shortcuts available for using the Current Time. See the following sections for detailed information.

Store Cue

To store the Current Time, press CTRL+STORE

To store the Locate Time, just press STORE

Then type-in the number of the Cue that you want to store (from 1 to 3 digits).

Press ENTER.

To prepare the Locate Time with the time you want to save you should first type in the time value directly, recall another stored time value, or do either and use the EDIT TIME feature. See the following.

Recall / Edit / Locate to Cue

Press RECALL.

Type-in the number of the Cue that you want to recall (from 1 to 3 digits).

Press ENTER.

The Locate Time is now equal to your recalled Cue. You can locate to the time by pressing LOCATE.

Or you can edit the time, before storing or locating. Press the EDIT TIME button. Use the Num Pad, the +/NEXT and -/PREV buttons, and/or the Wheel to modify each unit of time. Press EDIT TIME again to move between time units, and finally confirm the edits by pressing ENTER.

Quick Cue Set (New Cue)

If you find you just want to capture Cues quickly, and even on-the-fly, then you’ll like the Quick Cue Set command. This 2-key sequence captures the Current (Tape) Time into an automatically generated Cue. The number of the new Cue will be lowest available and the command will not overwrite existing Cues.

Press STORE.

Press CAPTURE.

HDR 24/96

Cues on the Remote 48Cues on the Remote 48

Autolocator Action Remote 48 Key Sequence

Preview Cue n in LOCATE TIME display RECALL  ### Recall Cue n to Locate Time RECALL  ###  ENTER Go-To to Cue n

• Locate performed but Locate Time not

overwritten

RECALL  ###  LOCATE

Store Locate Time to Cue n STORE  ###  ENTER

STORE  STORE  ###  ENTER Store Tape Time to Cue n or CTRL+STORE  ###  ENTER

Store Locate Time to a Cue in the Cue List STORE  +/NEXT, -/PREV, or

WHEEL  ENTER

• Press +/NEXT or -/PREV multiple times

or hold for more than 1 second to scroll

Store Tape Time to a Cue in the Cue List STORE  STORE 

+/NEXT, -/PREV, or WHEEL  ENTER

• Press +/NEXT or -/PREV multiple times

or hold for more than 1 second to scroll

• Cues displayed chronologically. Cue List

wraps to top/bottom when end is reached

Store Tape Time to New Cue

• Quick Cue Set !!!!

Preview Cue List in LOCATE TIME display

STORE  CAPTURE

RECALL  +/NEXT or -/PREV

• Press +/NEXT or -/PREV multiple times

or hold for more than 1 second to scroll.

• Cues displayed chronologically. Cue List

wraps to top/bottom when end is reached

• Press RECALL again to end Preview

or RECALL  WHEEL

• Cues displayed chronologically. Cue List

wraps to top/bottom when end is reached

• Press RECALL again to end Preview

Recall Cue from Cue List to Locate Time

RECALL  +/NEXT or -/PREV  ENTER

• Press +/NEXT or -/PREV multiple times

or hold for more than 1 second to scroll

• Cues displayed chronologically. Cue List

wraps to top/bottom when end is reached

or RECALL  WHEEL  ENTER

• Cues displayed chronologically. Cue List

wraps to top/bottom when end is reached

Preview Cue List, Go-To Cue in Cue List

• Locate performed but Locate Time not

overwritten.

RECALL  +/NEXT or -/PREV or WHEEL  LOCATE

• Cues displayed chronologically. Cue List

wraps to top/bottom when end is reached

Technical Reference 67

HDR 24/96

Number Pad and Calculator on the Remote 48

The Number Pad allows you to directly enter time values into the Locate Time (as shown in the LOCATE TIME window on the Remote 48). First you will want to decide what Time Units to use for your project. More than likely this will be set at the start of the project and not adjusted after that.

Choosing Time Units

Press the TIME UNITS button to toggle between SMPTE Time Code format and Bars and Beats format for time values. This setting affects how time is displayed and therefore also affects how you type in new times manually.

Entering Numbers Directly

When you press the first number button in the Number Pad, the LOCATE TIME display is cleared and that new number is shown in the first (right-most, least significant) digit position. You can type in one or several numbers. As you press additional number buttons, those digits are added to the right of the number displayed. So, just as you would write time values, the most significant time units are typed in first. They move left to make room for less significant numbers. You can stop pressing numbers as soon as the number displayed is the time value you want. Press ENTER to make the number stick (become the Locate Time). You do not have to fill in all the digit positions if your desired time value does not require it. However, you may have to add zeros onto the end of a time, even if you do not care about that level of precision, in order to move the most significant numbers into the hours or bars position, for example.

Editing Times

Press the EDIT TIME button to make changes to a number that has already been entered into the Locate Time. The least significant time unit (set of digits) will become editable first and will flash in the display. To move to a different time unit field to change those digits just press EDIT TIME again as many times as needed. You can increment and decrement the flashing digits with the +/NEXT and -/PREV buttons or with the Wheel. Or you can simply type in the numbers for the value you want. The new number presses are added to the right of the displayed time unit field. The whole point of the EDIT TIME feature is to be able to just modify a part of the number without having re-enter digits that are not changing, so typing more numbers than will fit into the editable time unit just causes the left most number to be discarded.

Adding and Subtracting Times

You can add or subtract a manually entered number from the Locate Time by preceding the entry with +/NEXT or -/PREV. Make sure the Locate Number is fully entered (or recalled, or edited as needed) then press the operand you need and follow with a time value as described in Entering Numbers Directly above. Follow as always with the ENTER button, and the Locate Time will be updated with the results of the calculation. It is not possible to add and/or subtract two recalled times. When the TC Frame rate is in drop frame, the operands are converted to non-drop frame, added/subtracted, and the result converted to drop frame.

HDR 24/96

Numeric Keypad on the Remote 48Numeric Keypad on the Remote 48

Autolocator Action Remote 48 Key Sequence

Enter Time into Locate Time

Enter Time & Locate w/o overwrite

Instant Locate to any time

• Locate performed but Locate Time not

overwritten.

Enter Time & Store LOC w/o overwrite

• Store performed but Locate Time not

overwritten.

Enter Time & Store Cue w/o overwrite

• Store performed but Locate Time not

overwritten.

Edit Locate Time value

######… ENTER

• LOCATE TIME display cleared when you

start entering numbers, and numbers shift left into the display.

• Rightmost dot in display flashes until the

sequence is terminated with ENTER.

• If an incomplete time code address is

entered (e.g. 10:22), the most significant digits are padded w/zeros after ENTER is pressed.

• Pressing CLEAR at any time while

entering numbers acts as a backspace. Clearing the last digit out of the display effectively cancels the operation, and the previous LOCATE TIME display is displayed.

######… LOCATE

• Same as above except that hitting Locate

immediately locates to the time you typed in, and old Locate Time re-appears

######… STORE  LOC n, Pre Roll, Loop, or PUNCH

• Number entry as described above

######… STORE  ###  ENTER

• Number entry as described above

EDIT TIME (one or more times)  ###, WHEEL, + /NEXT, or -/PREV  ENTER

• Press the EDIT TIME button to move

through the respective Time Unit fields

Entered Time +/- Entered Time

Time Code Calculator

• Adds or subtracts last value typed into LOCATE

TIME display to or from the next-to-last value typed into LOCATE TIME display.

Locate Time +/- Entered Time

Time Code Calculator

• Adds or subtracts last value typed into LOCATE

TIME display to or from the (previously displayed) Locate Time.

Locate Time +/- Previous Operand

Time Code Calculator

• Adds/subtracts previous operand to current

Locate Time value.

#####  +/NEXT or -/PREV  ######  ENTER

• Displays the results of the calculation

• ENTER is the equivalent of the Equals (=)

operator.

• CLEAR works as described above.

• If a number is typed in and then + or – is

typed, the next number pressed clears the display to start the next numeric entry sequence.

+/NEXT or -/PREV  ######  ENTER

+/NEXT or -/PREV  ENTER

Technical Reference 69

HDR 24/96

Storing Times on the Remote 48

The Autolocator is essentially a system for remembering and subsequently using certain important time points in an audio project. For the HDR to remember times you must store them:

Cues 0-999

Dedicated (numbered) Locates (LOC 1, LOC 2, LOC 3, LOC 4)

Pre-Roll time

Loop Length

Punch Length

On the Remote 48 the general Locate Time is actually the workspace where times are "prepared" for storing. Since times values can be brought into the Locate Time from direct entry or recalled values, then edited, this classic Autolocator scheme is very flexible and clever. It is also possible to store the Current Time with the HDR24/96, even without modifying the Locate Time. This feature is also very handy, but it does not allow for time value editing.

NOTE: Always remember that numbers displayed in the LOCATE TIME window may not actually BE the Locate Time. On the HDR, time values in the process of being recalled may be previewed in this display, or you could be seeing a time value that you typed-in but which has not yet been entered. Always conclude the setting of the Locate Time with the ENTER button before trying to store it.

What to Store

Press STORE once to select the Locate Time, and press STORE a second time to select the Tape Time (Current Time) for the store operation. Press CONTROL+STORE as a short cut for selecting the Current Time. A flashing dot in the right of the TAPE TIME or LOCATE TIME display indicates the time selected for the operation. The LED above the STORE button will also be flashing. You can also press STORE a third time to cancel the operation.

Where to Store It

Now you need to press the button(s) to indicate where to store the value. For the numbered Locates simply press LOC 1, LOC 2, LOC 3 or LOC 4. Press PRE ROLL for the Pre-Roll Time; press LOOP for the Loop Time; and press PUNCH for the Punch Length.

For Cues the entry involves a button sequence. You press from 1 to 3 numbers followed by ENTER. Cues can range from 0 to 999. Note that the Cue number appears in the Cue display and not in the LOCATE TIME window. It is not necessary to type in leading zeros for Cues as the input is concluded with ENTER. Pressing the last key in the Store sequence transfers the value of Locate or Tape Time to the destination register and turns off the blinking LED above the STORE button.

Note that setting the Loop or Punch Lengths means the HDR adds that length to earliest Loop or Punch point already set and modifies the value of the later point, generally LOC 2 or LOC 4, respectively. Subsequent editing of the Numbered Locates for looping or auto-punching will then modify the corresponding length. If you know the length of a loop or punch region, another way to set it is to recall the earlier numbered LOC value and add the length to it before storing the result to the second numbered LOC.

HDR 24/96

Store on the Remote 48Store on the Remote 48

Autolocator Action Remote 48 Key Sequence

Store Locate Time to Locate n STORE  LOCATE n

STORE  STORE  LOCATE n Store Tape Time to Locate n or CTRL+STORE  LOCATE n

Store Tape Time to Locate Time CAPTURE Store Locate Time to Punch Length

• Value of Punch End Time = Punch Start Time +

Locate Time

Store Locate Time to Loop Length

• Value of Loop End Time = Loop Start Time +

Locate Time

Store Locate Time to Pre-Roll STORE  PRE ROLL Store Locate Time to Cue n STORE  ###  ENTER

Store Tape Time to New Cue

• Quick Cue Set !!!! (New Cue)

Store Locate Time to Cue in Cue List STORE 

• Quick Cue Reset !!!! (Existing Cue Edit)

Enter Time & Store w/o overwrite ######… STORE  LOCATE n,

Enter Time & Store Cue w/o overwrite ######… Store  ###  ENTER

STORE  PUNCH

STORE  LOOP

STORE  STORE  ###  ENTER Store Tape Time to Cue n or CTRL+STORE  ###  ENTER

STORE  CAPTURE

+/NEXT, -/PREV, or WHEEL  ENTER

STORE  STORE  ENTER Store Tape Time to Displayed Cue

or CTRL+STORE  ENTER

PRE ROLL, LOOP, or PUNCH

STORE  STORE  STORE Cancel Store STORE  (+/NEXT, -/PREV, WHEEL, and/or ###)  STORE

Recalling Times on the Remote 48

Press the RECALL button to call up the value of stored time locations/values into the LOCATE TIME display. The LED above the RECALL button blinks while Recall is in progress, and goes off after Recall is executed or canceled. The following time values can be recalled:

Cues 0-999

Dedicated (numbered) Locates (LOC 1, LOC 2, LOC 3, LOC 4)

Pre-Roll Length

Loop Length

Punch Length

Last Play Start (PLAY button recall)

Each of the time values that have a dedicate button can be brought into LOCATE TIME display for preview with a single press of that button. For a Cue, press the necessary number button(s) without leading zeros. If you try to type in a non-existent Cue, then the LOCATE TIME displays dashes (“- - -“) until a valid Cue or other stored value is selected. Press ENTER to commit the recalled value to the Locate Time. Unlike the Store process, Recall must always be confirmed with the ENTER button. This is because Recall offers a preview feature, where stored values can be viewed without

Technical Reference 71

HDR 24/96

overwriting the Locate Time. When the ENTER button is pressed, the Locate Time is changed. To cancel, don't press ENTER, but instead press RECALL a second time. The LED above the RECALL button goes off after Recall is executed or canceled.

Recall on the Remote 48

Autolocator Action Remote 48 Key Sequence

Recall Locate n to Locate Time RECALL  LOCATE n  ENTER Recall Punch length to Locate Time RECALL  Punch  ENTER Recall Loop length to Locate Time RECALL  LOOP  ENTER Recall Pre-roll Time to Locate Time RECALL  PREROLL  ENTER Recall Last Play to Locate Time RECALL  PLAY  ENTER Recall Cue n to Locate Time RECALL  ###  ENTER Recall Next/Prev Cue to Locate Time RECALL  +/NEXT or -/PREV 

ENTER

• Press +/NEXT or -/PREV multiple times

or hold for more than 1 second to scroll

• Cues displayed chronologically. Cue List

wraps to top/bottom when end is reached

Recall Cue from Cue List to Locate Time RECALL 

+/NEXT or -/PREV, or WHEEL ENTER

• Press +/NEXT or -/PREV multiple times

or hold for more than 1 second to scroll

• Cues displayed chronologically. Cue List

wraps to top/bottom when end is reached

Cancel Cue List or Register Recall/Preview RECALL  +/NEXT, -/PREV,

WHEEL, ###, PRE ROLL, PUNCH, LOOP, PLAY (Last Play), and/or LOCATE n)  RECALL

Cancel Recall/Preview RECALL  RECALL

Previewing

Using Recall, the user can preview any stored time value from the LOCATE TIME display without overwriting the current value of Locate Time. After hitting RECALL, you can type in Cue numbers, press Numbered Locate keys, press PUNCH (for auto-punch length), press LOOP (for Loop length), press PRE ROLL (for Pre-Roll length), or press PLAY (for time of Last Play) in any order, for as many parameters as you are interested in seeing. If looking at multiple Cues, type in all three digits (with leading zeros if needed) and as each Cue number entry becomes complete the LOCATE TIME display will change. It is also possible with a Cue displayed to then “walk-through” all the Cues with the +/NEXT and -/PREV buttons, or simply scroll the list of Cues with the WHEEL. At any time during a Preview the displayed value can be committed to Locate Time by hitting ENTER, or the operation can be canceled by hitting RECALL once again.

Preview on the Remote 48 ~ Uses LOCATE TIME display

Autolocator Action Remote 48 Key Sequence

Preview Locate n RECALL  LOCATE n Preview Punch length RECALL  PUNCH Preview Loop length RECALL  LOOP

HDR 24/96

Preview on the Remote 48 ~ Uses LOCATE TIME display

Preview Pre-Roll Time RECALL  PRE ROLL Preview Last Play Start Time RECALL  PLAY Preview Cue n RECALL  ### Preview Next/Prev Cue RECALL  +/NEXT or -/PREV

• Press +/NEXT or -/PREV multiple times

or hold for more than 1 second to scroll

• Cues displayed chronologically. Cue List

wraps to top/bottom when end is reached

Preview Cue list, Go-To Cue

• Locate performed but Locate Time not

overwritten.

Cancel Cue List or Register Recall/Preview RECALL  +/NEXT, -/PREV,

Cancel Recall/Preview RECALL  RECALL

RECALL  +/NEXT or -/PREV, or WHEEL  LOCATE

• Press +/NEXT or -/PREV multiple times

or hold for more than 1 second to scroll

• Cues displayed chronologically. Cue List

wraps to top/bottom when end is reached

WHEEL, ###, PRE ROLL, PUNCH, LOOP, PLAY (Last Play), and/or LOCATE n)  RECALL

Pre-Roll

Pre-Roll is the amount of time by which the transport location is offset when jumping to a Cue or LOC point. If Pre-Roll engaged and set to something other than zero, the transport will locate to a point ahead of the Cue or LOC time by the Pre Roll amount.

For example, if Pre-Roll is set to 00:00:04:00 (4 seconds) and Pre-Roll is enabled, selecting a Cue at 00:02:54:15 would cause the transport to jump to 00:00:50:15.

Pre-Roll is particularly handy if you have set the Cue or LOC to a defined point in the song, such as where the guitar solo begins. Now you want to punch in over the guitar solo, but your player needs a bit of lead-in before the solo starts to get in the groove. By engaging Pre-Roll, you can jump to your Guitar Solo cue (perhaps you’ve set up an Auto Punch) and playback actually starts a bit earlier.

Pre-Roll time is always in SMPTE time, regardless of the time display selected.

Setting Pre Roll Time and Enabling from the GUI

Pre-Roll time is set from the MIDI section of the GUI Setup window:

• Windows | Setup or use the

keyboard shortcut [S

• Click the MIDI icon

• Use any of the standard time field

editing methods to enter the Pre-Roll time.

HIFT

+1]

Technical Reference 73

HDR 24/96

Once a Pre-Roll time has been set, you can turn PreRoll on or off from the Transport menu by selecting Use Pre-Roll.

Setting Pre Roll time and Enabling from the Remote 48

• Enter the desired pre roll time from the number

pad

• Press ENTER to transfer the time to the Locate Time display

• Press STORE and PRE ROLL to store the Pre Roll time.

There is no method for setting the Pre Roll time from the HDR24/96 front panel or Remote 24.

The Remote 24 and Remote 48 have a dedicated button for turning Pre-Roll on and off. An LED above the PREROLL button will tell you when it’s engaged.

Autolocator Action Remote 48 Key Sequence

Engage Pre-Roll mode PREROLL Preview Pre-Roll Time in Locate Time RECALL  PREROLL Recall Pre-Roll Time to Locate Time RECALL  PREROLL  ENTER Store Locate Time to Pre-Roll STORE  PREROLL

Pre-Roll on the Remote 48

AutoPlay mode

AutoPlay is a step-saving tool that automatically starts playback when you’ve jumped to a LOC or Cue point, or anytime you reposition the Current Time by clicking in the GUI Track

area.

AutoPlay is toggled on and off with AUTO PLAY button in either the GUI Tools panel or the Remote 48. The AUTO PLAY button is located at the lower right corner of the GUI Tools panel, next to the GUI transport buttons. The other AUTO PLAY button is located in the upper right of the MODES section of the Remote 48 (just to the left of the Wheel). AutoPlay can not be activated from the front panel or the Remote 24.

Auto Play is handy when you're jumping from Cue to Cue listening for something in particular, or when you want to listen to a Cue start repeatedly without looping. Restarting from a Cue repeatedly can also speed up multiple punching passes.

Auto Play can be combined with Auto Take for quickly building up a bunch of alternate takes from which you’ll edit a solid track. Set a LOC or Cue at a comfortable time before your punch-in point (or set up and enable a workable Pre-roll). Then anytime you jump to that start point, the HDR is rolling.

Use this function with discretion. It can get annoying when it's on, and you've forgotten about it. Generally it's best to enable Auto Play, use it, and turn it off.

(described in the Recording Operations section, page 83)

HDR 24/96

Time Code Chase Time Code Chase

Engaging the Time Code Chase mode causes the HDR24/96 transport to follow time code (MTC or

Engaging the Time Code Chase mode causes the HDR24/96 transport to follow time code (MTC or SMPTE) coming from an external master source. If disengaged, the HDR will go off line and will no

SMPTE) coming from an external master source. If disengaged, the HDR will go off line and will no longer follow the incoming time code. Time Code Chase will only work if the correct cabling is in

longer follow the incoming time code. Time Code Chase will only work if the correct cabling is in place to a generating time code source machine.

place to a generating time code source machine.

Engage the Time Code Chase mode in one of the following ways:Engage the Time Code Chase mode in one of the following ways:

• Click the CHASE TC button the GUI Tools Panel located in the

column just to the left of the Current Time display.

• Press the T. CODE CHASE button on the transport front panel. It’s

located at the far right of the row of buttons above the floppy disk drive.

• Press the T. CODE CHASE button on the Remote 48. Look to the left

of the Transport.

There is no access to this function on the Remote 24.

When Time Code Chase is engaged, pressing the PLAY button causes the PLAY button to blink, but the transport won’t start playing until time code is received. It is not actually necessary to first put the slave HDR24/96 into Play as it will take off by itself as soon as time code starts flowing. This is also true for the Stop, fast wind, and locate functions, which all follow the time code master. The STOP, fast wind, and LOC buttons also have no effect. Instead all transport control comes from the master (which is why they have the names slave and master),

Lock-once-only when using unreliable time code

You can disengage TC Chase on the fly, however, without interrupting the HDR's transport motion. This is handy if you're working with a poor quality or intermittent time code source, for example a stretched analog audiotape or an analog channel from an inexpensive VCR. By disengaging TC Chase after the HDR24/96 has locked to the external TC position, the HDR can freewheel from then on, unaffected by the unstable time code. Synchronization may not be perfect, but this is a means of working with problem time code.

NOTE: When operating in sync with external time code, you’d normally stop the HDR24/96 playback by stopping the time code master, not the recorder. If you’re recording when chasing time code, pressing Stop or Play will punch out of recording.

ANOTHER NOTE: The HDR24/96 does not resolve its sample clock to incoming time code. Although the HDR is constantly checking the status of the external TC when chasing, it only establishes the transport time at the initial lock-up. Once the HDR transport has jumped to the time code time and started running, it counts the passage of time on its sample clock (whatever source has been designated), while continuously monitoring the incoming time code. It will stay "locked" as long as the time code doesn’t drop out or otherwise become corrupt for longer than ten frames. During those ten frames the HDR will "freewheel," waiting for the TC problem to correct itself. If the TC returns the HDR will continue to chase. If not, it will drop out of time code chase mode and will stop.

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HDR 24/96

Lock Out

This is the “Keep your cotton pickin’ hands off the machinery” switch. Engaging Lock Out disables all the buttons on the front panel(s), Remote 24, Remote 48, footswitch, and all GUI selections and keyboard shortcuts. The only things you can do to a Locked Out HDR24/96 are unlock it or switch off its power. The Lock Out function can be accessed from the GUI or the Remote 48. Lock Out is not available from the front panel.

The GUI Lock Out button is hidden all the way down in the lower right corner of the screen. Click on this tiny Lock icon to lock or unlock all operations. The button blinks when Lock Out is in effect.

When the List Panel is closed (full-sized Track area), this button is very close to the Zoom buttons and the scroll buttons. A careless click can shut you down. If everything has stopped working all of a sudden, check this LOCK OUT button.

To engage the Lock Out from the Remote 48, hold down the LOCK OUT button for 1 second. The LED above the button blinks when Lock Out is enabled.

Shown above with Cue List Open

Vi deo Onl y

Lock Out isn’t totally foolproof. If Lock Out is engaged when the recorder is powered down, it won’t be locked out when you power on again. If you’re in the habit of locking your system but leaving it powered on in the studio. You’ll be happy that it won’t power up locked when you take it out to record a concert, sans Remote 48 or GUI gear.

Remote 48 Global

Controls

Upper Right Corner

HDR 24/96

Recording Operations Recording Operations

Recording Procedure

Initiating a recording requires two separate operations:

Arming the desired track(s)

Engaging Master Record

This scheme of dividing the overall operation into two tasks is a convention on multitrack recorders for several good reasons. Firstly, entering Record inadvertently is less likely. Secondly it gives the recordist precise control over which tracks go into or out of record and when. Finally it gives you visual cues to know that the right things are happening at all times.

Track Arming

Tracks are armed (enabled) for recording with the Record Ready buttons. On the front panel, these are the REC buttons numbered 1-24 (corresponding to the tracks) located directly below the meters. On the remotes, the Record Ready buttons are simply indicated with the Track numbers. On all of the hardware interfaces there is also a red LED corresponding to each Record Ready button. On the GUI, the button and the indicator are combined as a red "R" button in the Track Controls area at the left of each corresponding Track. A blinking Record indicator indicates than a track is armed, but isn’t presently recording. When recording commences, the blinking indicator glows steadily.

You can arm Tracks while the Transport is stopped or in motion, but the effect may be different.

Throughout the manual we use the terms "Armed' and "Record Ready" interchangeably, meaning the Record Ready buttons are engaged. Record Ready buttons may also be referred to as Track Control buttons (because they sometime do other duties).

Recording

The Master Record function can be engaged from the front panel, the remote controllers, the GUI, or the keyboard. The GUI RECORD button and its keyboard shortcut operate differently than the front panel or remote controllers. Further, the front panel and remote versions of the RECORD button have two different modes of operation explained below.

Start Recording from the GUI

Click on the RECORD button.

- Or -

+8] (the asterisk *) on the top row of the alphanumeric keyboard. The * on the

Press [S numeric keypad has a different function and does not double as a RECORD button.

If the transport is stopped – it will start running. If the transport is already running, it will continue running. If tracks are armed when Master Record is enabled, recording will begin immediately.

If no tracks are armed, Master Record Ready is enabled - indicated by a flashing RECORD button - but actual recording will not begin. With the transport running in Master Record Ready mode, clicking on an unarmed R (Record Ready) button will start recording on that track. Once recording, the RECORD button and the R button for the newly armed and now recording track will both light continuously.

HIFT

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HDR 24/96

CAUTION - Clicking on GUI RECORD button or using the keyboard shortcut begins recording immediately on the armed tracks. If you’re punching-in on a track, you’ll have no pre-roll (playback before recording starts). You might even record over an existing good part. While a sudden start in Record may be fine for what you are doing, usually you’ll want to roll a few seconds of “tape” by clicking the PLAY button prior to clicking on RECORD at the punch point. This will give you and/or the talent a chance to get in the swing of things. Then again, with the HDR24/96, you can always say “Oops! Wrong button!” and undo the recording, but better not to scare your talent.

Start Recording from the Front Panel or Remote

See One Button Punch to the method described in the following paragraphs.

If the transport is stopped and you want recording to start from that point, press and hold down the RECORD button then press PLAY.

If the transport is either stopped or already running (playing) and you want recording to start at a later point in time, press and hold the PLAY button just in advance of the desired recording point, and press RECORD at the exact recording point.

If the transport is already running (playing) and you have previously set-up you system for One Button Punch, press RECORD at the exact recording point. In One Button Punch there is no need to use the second PLAY press to engage Master Record.

In all the cases just described, the Master Record mode is enabled. If tracks are armed, those tracks will begin recording and their Record Ready lights will change from blinking to solid. If no tracks are armed, then the RECORD button will flash.

With the transport running in Master Record only mode, pressing any unarmed Record Ready button will start recording on that track. The newly armed and now recording track will then show a continuously lit R button in the GUI.

Stop Recording from the GUI, Front Panel, or Remote

Press or click on the STOP button or use the keyboard shortcut, [S recording and stops the transport, but armed tracks remain armed.

below for a description of an alternate recording method and a comparison

PACEBAR

].. This stops

Press or click on the PLAY button. This stops recording, but leaves the transport running and armed tracks remain armed.

Press or click on any (solidly lit) armed/recording Record Ready button. This stops recording on the newly disarmed track, but leaves the transport running.

NOTE: Stopping the transport, by any method including the STOP button, the [S the cessation of external time code, will cause the HDR to drop out of Record mode. To record again, you must again press the RECORD button.

If the recorder is chasing time code, pressing its STOP or PLAY button disengages the Master Record mode on the recorder, but its transport will continue running (locked to external code) and armed tracks will remain armed. Pressing STOP on the Time Code Master in your studio, or otherwise stopping the time code to the slaved recorder, stops the transport and drops it out of Master Record.

HDR 24/96

PACE BAR

], or

HDR 24/96

Punching In and Out

Punching in is the action of starting to record after the transport is already playing. Typically you’ll be listening to previously recorded tracks, and then when the time comes, enter Record and start pickin’. Punching out is the action of stopping recording after you’ve punched in.

You can punch in either by first arming a track then engaging Master Record at the punch point, or by engaging Master Record, then pressing the track arming button at the punch point. Which method to use depends on what you want to hear up to the punch-in point. See the Monitor Modes this manual (page 84) for a description of the differences.

When using the GUI for controlling recording operations, remember that the RECORD

button starts both the transport and the recording. If you have armed track(s), remember to allow some pre-roll and start the transport with the PLAY button, then click the RECORD button at the punch-in point.

One Button Punch

There are two modes of operation for the hardware RECORD button. This applies to both the remote controllers and the HDR24/96 front panel. The standard recording procedure requires that both the RECORD and PLAY buttons be pressed simultaneously in order to enter the Record mode. When One Button Punch is engaged, once the PLAY button has been pressed (“tape is rolling”) only the RECORD button need be pressed to begin recording on armed tracks.

Note that this is different from entering Record from the GUI, where pressing the RECORD button by itself starts the transport running. For the tactile interfaces both RECORD and PLAY must always be pressed, but in the One Button mode, they need not be pressed simultaneously.

section of

One Button Punch can only be engaged from the GUI. Select One Button Punch from the

Transport menu.

Transport | One Button Punch

The One Button Punch mode is really handy for doing punches. A foot switch can also be set up to act as a one-button punch switch, extremely handy when you’re both the player and the recording engineer. See the Setup section for more information on both of these features.

Direct Track Punching

You can also punch-in with the Track arming buttons, which works well if you are recording onto only a single track or if you need to punch into different tracks at different times. With Master Record engaged (PLAY + RECORD), press the desired Record Ready (Track Arming) button. Whether the HDR is Master Record armed or already recording on certain tracks, you can punch in on currently unarmed tracks or punch out on currently recording tracks using their respective Track Controls. On the front panel press the track's REC button. On either remote press the track's numbered button. In the GUI, click on the R button in the Track Control area.

Slaved Recording

When the HDR24/96 is operating in the Time Code Chase mode, recording operations work just as you’d expect. When Play begins as the result of the transport recognizing incoming time code, Record is entered with RECORD+PLAY, or with the RECORD button alone when One-button Punch is on. Similarly, if the HDR is in Master Record Ready, and the transport is chasing a moving external time code, then pressing the Record Ready buttons for any given track will engage or disengage recording on that track as explained in Direct Track Punching above.

In TC Chase mode, pressing the STOP or PLAY button on the slave recorder disengages Master Record on the slave, punching out on that machine but leaving the transport running with armed

Technical Reference 79

HDR 24/96

tracks remaining armed. Stopping the time code (which usually means stopping the time code master) causes the slave recorder to stop and drop out of Master Record.

If you have one Mackie HDR slaved to another using time code and you want to do a punch-in that spans both machines (the whole orchestra on more than 24 tracks), remember that the two Master Record buttons are independent. You must press both RECORD buttons to punch on both machines.

In this situation, pressing the STOP button on the master will stop recording on both recorders, and will also stop both transports. If you want to continue playback after the punch-out, you’ll need to press the PLAY button on both machines.

The HDR24/96 always receives MMC (MIDI Machine Control) commands that are sent to its device number. See the Setup section

Track Arming and Master Record commands (among others) will be transmitted from one recorder to the other. Arming a track on one will arm the same track number on the other. Entering Master Record on one will put the other in Master Record. You could be recording where you don’t want to record! This is not a normal setup, but if you connect MIDI cables and don’t check device IDs, you could find yourself in this situation. Device ID setting is found in the Setup | MIDI menu.

for more details. If you have –

• Two Mackie hard disk recorders running in tandem with their MIDI IN and

OUT ports connected together,

• The Send MMC option turned on, AND

• Both units are set to the same Device ID, then…

Record Safe

Record Safe locks out all Record Ready and Master Record switches. Any tracks that are armed become disarmed when Record Safe is activated. If the transport is running in Master Record mode (whether actually recording or not), the record operation is canceled.

In the GUI, the Record Safe mode is located on the pull-down menu under Transport. The menu item will be checked when on.

On the front panel, you’ll find the REC SAFE button above the floppy disk drive.

The REC SAFE button is located with the Global Track Controls on the Remote 48 (upper right), and just to the left of the Locate controls on Remote 24.

Delete Last and Undo

Remember that you have some flexibility with Record operations. From the front panel and either remote you can press the DELETE LAST button to toss away the recording you just made. This is a destructive operation so you are prompted with the obligatory “Are you Sure?” in the LCD.

Another way to get rid of a bad take is to Undo it in the GUI Edit menu.

Edit | Undo Recording Pass

Or just press [C

You can even Undo recordings by navigating back in time on the History

If you Undo a recording pass you will be prompted about what the HDR should do with the audio that was recorded. In the GUI you will get the following message:

TRL

+z]

list.

HDR 24/96

Probably you will want to ditch the record pass AND the audio, so you would answer Yes. But you may think the audio is marginal or even okay, and in that case answering No will get it off your track display, but leave it in the Region List for possible later use. No is the default to avoid disastrous goof-ups. Cancel will keep the recording pass intact.

Rehearse

Rehearse is a tool that you can use to determine if a punch-in at your chosen point will work, without

committing a recording pass to disk. In the Rehearse mode, upon entering Record (Track Record Ready and the Master Record button pressed), the monitoring switches from playback to input, just as in the

Auto Input On

is recorded. This is a carry-over from the days of destructive punch-ins, when you might want to check to see if the punch will transition smoothly before erasing the old track.

monitor mode. The difference is that no audio

Rehearse mode can be accessed from the GUI or the remote

controllers, but not from the front panel. To toggle Rehearse from the GUI, click on the REHEARSE button. You’ll find it at the top right corner of the GUI tools panel. From the remote controllers, press the REHEARSE button.

Some users may never use this function because it’s always possible to undo a recording pass if you make a bad punch on HDR. After all, why risk losing a take when it can be undone? But Rehearse mode has a second function – to capture Auto Punch In and Out times.

Capturing Punch Points in Rehearse

When the Rehearse mode is active, the times at which you enter and exit the Master Record mode are automatically captured in LOC3 and LOC4 respectively. If multiple punch ins and outs happen during a single pass, only the last punch points are remembered. You need not have a track armed to do this, but even if you do, you won’t actually record on that pass. Since the Record Ready buttons don't affect Master Record mode, pressing them does not capture punch points either.

Use this feature when you have the talent in the control room with you and you want to mutually decide on a punch-in and out point. You can roll in the Rehearse mode and say, “Let’s go in HERE, then go out THERE,” and those times will be captured for Auto Punch. When they get back into the studio to actually play through the part, both you and the players will be on the same page. There’s nothing that makes you feel dumber than to punch in when nobody’s playing.

Rehearse takes priority over Auto Punch or any other recording operation. Don’t forget to turn off Rehearse when you get ready to do the Auto Punch. Otherwise, you won’t record anything.

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HDR 24/96

Auto Punch (PUNCH)

In Auto Punch mode recording automatically starts and stops on armed tracks at preset punch-in and punch-out times, just as if you had pressed the RECORD button. Auto-Punch is frequently used in combination with the Loop

Typically this feature is used when you want to re-record a portion of a track. By setting up Autopunch points, you can be assured of punching in and out at the same spots every pass, protecting yourself from accidentally recording over a good section of the track. By setting Loop points surrounding the Auto-punch points, you can continuously repeat a punch until you get it right or decide you need to practice the part some more.

The Auto-punch times are stored in LOC3 and LOC4 (page 62). While it’s logical to set LOC3 to the punch-in time and LOC4 to the punch-out time, recording always starts at the earliest of the two times, and stops at the later time.

In the GUI, when Auto-punch is enabled, the two Auto-punch markers indicated by the letter P are displayed on the marker bar above the time bar. They disappear when Auto Punch is turned off. If you prefer to adjust the punch points visually, you can drag their markers with the mouse.

(page 60) and Auto Take (below) functions.

In order to perform an automatic punch, the PUNCH button must be engaged, the track on which you’re punching must be in recordready, and the recorder must be running in the Master Record mode (press RECORD and PLAY or click RECORD in the GUI).

When in the Auto-punch mode, the HDR24/96 will actually Record only between the two

Auto-Punch on

the Remote 48

manual control over punching. You can stop recording by pressing either the STOP or PLAY button. If you disengage recording with PLAY, you can re-enter Record mode by pressing the RECORD button (the Transport must still be running – see note below).

Always start a new recording pass in front of the punch-in point. You cannot start a recording from Stop within the Auto-punch region.

Automatic punching can only be set up, enabled, and disabled from the GUI or the remote controllers. Once the punch-in/-out points are set, you can use either the front panel, GUI, or remote controllers to control recording in the Auto-punch mode. PUNCH must be disengaged in order to manually control recording operations outside of the Auto-punch area.

Auto-punch markers. Pressing the RECORD button when the transport is outside of these markers has no effect other than to arm for auto-punching. Within the Auto-punch region, you actually have some

Auto-Punch in the GUI

Auto-Punch on the Remote 48

Autolocator Action Remote 48 Key Sequence

Preview Punch length in LOCATE TIME display Recall Punch length to Locate Time RECALL  PUNCH  ENTER Store Locate Time to Punch Length

• Value of Punch End Time = Punch Start +

Locate Time

RECALL  PUNCH

STORE  PUNCH

HDR 24/96

Auto Take

Auto Take automatically increments the Active Take (virtual take) of the selected track when recording multiple passes on the same track. Auto Take will increment all tracks that are enabled for recording. Check out page 30 for a descriptions of takes.

NOTE: You may want to manually establish that

all recording tracks are set to the same take number before engaging Auto Take. Otherwise

you may have trouble making sense of related takes.

NOTE: The Active Take is incremented when the next recording pass begins, not at the end of the

current recording pass. That means that the last Take Number will still be displayed at the moment when you engage Record, and it will change after the recording pass starts. It will not change if it has been set manually since the last recording pass.

BIG NOTE: Take 8 on any given track is the wrap around point for the Auto-take function. If you don’t stop recording after Take 8, your next recording pass will land back on Take 1. If you have a previous take on Take 1, you will cover it up. Even though that take is still in the Region List, it will be messy to re-discover it and get it into sync where you had it. Better still, if you have any previous takes you might want to save, then stay aware of the Take Count on each track is even while letting the Auto Take system do its work.

Auto Take mode is often used in conjunction with looping and Auto Punch for convenient repeated recording of alternate takes of a section. Establish the Numbered Locates for the loop, and the punch in and out. Arm the desired Tracks, ideally starting on the same take number. Then engage the Loop, Auto-punch, and Auto Take modes and hit PLAY+RECORD. Make sure the talent is ready!!!

Record Time Left

This readout (the Fuel Gauge) displays the remaining recording time in hours, minutes, and seconds available on the active disk drive. This lets you know if there’s enough remaining disk space for your next take. On the GUI, it’s located in the upper left corner of the Tools panel. On the front panel, it’s the last line of the main display in the LCD (you may have to press a button to wake-up the LCD).

The calculation of available recording time takes into account the sample rate and bit depth as well as the number of tracks armed for recording. With no tracks armed, the time is calculated for the worst

case, as if your next record pass will be on all 24 tracks. Once a track is armed, the available time displayed changes, dividing the total amount of free drive space by the number of tracks armed.

Try it. Look at the time with no tracks armed, then arm one track and you’ll see the available time increase dramatically. Now, arm a second track and

you’ll see that the time has been cut in half. Arm two more tracks and it’ll

Fuel Gauge in GUI

cut in half again. You’ll get the idea.

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HDR 24/96

Monitor Modes

The all important record monitor function has three operating modes. The HDR24/96 switches its output between playback and the input source as appropriate for the particular task you’re performing – setup, rehearsal, tracking, or punch-ins.

When we say that a track “monitors” input or playback, we’re talking about what comes out the recorder’s output connector. This terminology, as well as monitor input and playback switching, makes a whole lot of sense if your console is configured so that you’re always monitoring the recorder’s outputs.

On the GUI, the All Input and Auto Input monitor mode buttons are located below the track information area, at the lower left corner of the screen. They can also be selected from a pull-down menu under Transport.

On the front panel, the ALL INPUT and AUTO INPUT buttons are located in the area above the floppy disk drive. On the Remote 48 they're next to the Track Arming buttons, and on the Remote 24 they're just above the STOP button.

All Input

All Input is most often used for rehearsal and level setting. When All Input is on, both armed and unarmed tracks monitor their inputs, and the Auto Input setting has no effect. When All Input is off, the output monitoring is determined by the Auto Input function.

Auto Input

Auto Input is used for recording. Auto Input affects only tracks that are in Record Ready (i.e. “armed”). Tracks that are not armed monitor the playback of previously recorded audio. To use Auto Input mode, the All Input mode must be turned off.

Auto Input On

When Auto Input is on, any time the transport is not in Play only (i.e. in Stop, Fast Forward, Rewind, or Record), tracks armed for recording have their inputs routed directly to their outputs for monitoring. When the transport is in Play, you will hear a playback of the recorded tracks regardless of their armed status. Auto Input monitoring mode is used primarily for tracking and overdubbing in a music studio. Any time other than during actual playback, you can hear and set recording levels for the talent in the studio. Engage Play and the talent can hear material previously recorded on the track up to the punch-in point, or you and the talent can quickly review what's been recorded without having to fiddle with the monitor mode.

When punching-in to an existing track with Auto Input on, you’ll hear the old track up until you punch (actually begin recording), then you’ll hear what you’re recording until you drop out of record. If you want to listen to what you’ve just recorded, all you need to do is rewind and play. This is the handiest mode most of the time, and it’s the default mode when you power up the HDR24/96.

HDR 24/96

Auto Input Off

When Auto Input is off, armed tracks always monitor their Inputs. This mode is used primarily for rehearsing an overdub to locate a good punch-in point. It’s also useful for punching in when you don’t want to hear the recording on the track leading up to the punch-in point, but prefer or need to hear what's live in the studio. For example, you're punching in at the middle of a section, but the player want to start at the top and hear himself live, not his previous recorded version of the track.

Solo and Mute

Solo is normally a one track at a time function, but if you want to hear a duet or the whole rhythm section, [S with a single-click be selecting Solo Latch from the Options pull-down menu. If your solos appear to be misbehaving, check this option to be sure it isn’t engaged.

HIFT

+click] on the solo buttons to solo multiple tracks. You can also solo multiple tracks

Mute turns off the output of selected tracks. [S

Mute is also accessible from the front panel by pressing the TRACK button. Select Mute from the second page of the TRACK menu. Track numbers (units digit only) will be displayed.

The << >> SELECT buttons move the cursor (underscore _) to select the track to mute or unmute. The (-)DEC and (+)INC buttons toggle the Mute status on the track indicated by the cursor. An asterisk (*) is placed below the number of a muted track in the LCD.

NOTE: When only one track is soloed, clicking on its Solo button again un-mutes all the other tracks and returns monitoring to normal. If more than one track is in Solo, clicking on any soloed track will change its status to Mute. Tracks only un-mute when the last Solo is turned off. When any track is in Solo, the muted tracks cannot be un-muted by clicking on their Mute buttons. Also, Mutes override Solos. It’s possible to have a track in both Solo and Mute status at the same time, in which case you won’t hear that track. If this all sounds confusing, experiment. You’ll catch on.

Solos and Mutes are the last link in the monitoring chain, so the don’t affect metering, and can be used during recording. Most recording consoles have solo and mute controls so be sure you are aware of which ones you’ve used.

HIFT

+click]ing does not apply to muting.

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Metering

Monitoring the recording level is essential to the success of any recording session. The HDR offers a number of options for indicating recording levels at a glance. The front panel 12-step LED meters present a peak-reading display, while the GUI high resolution, on-screen meters emulate a plasma-type display with some cool ballistic response options. The REM24 remote controller lets you take your meters with you to keep an eye on one selected track’s level.

Each meter always displays the output level of its associated track, therefore the meters follow the monitor mode. When you’re monitoring the input (All Input or Auto Input with tracks armed and transport idle or recording) the meters display input level. When monitoring playback, the meters display the recorded signal level. In short, if you’re hearing it, the meters are displaying it. Almost – the meters ignore track Solo and Mute settings, and just go about their business even if you can’t hear what they’re indicating.

Nominal reference level for the meters is -18 dBFS. In other words, a meter will read -18 when a signal level of +4 dBu RMS is applied to the analog input. When the meters are indicating peak level, the output is a whopping +22 dBu. Be sure the rest of your system has sufficient headroom to handle this level.

GUI Meters

Meters are generally displayed while tracking, though they’re rarely needed during editing operations. That’s why, to save screen real estate, the meters share space with the Tools panel. The Meters panel is opened by clicking on the Meters tab or by selecting Windows | Meters from the pull-down menu. The meter panel displays 24 meters with a 50 dB range. The GUI meters have higher resolution (fewer dB per step) than the front panel meters.

Optimum signal to noise ratio and resolution is achieved when recording levels hover somewhere between -15 and -2 dBFS most of the time. Remember, though, that music is supposed to have some dynamic range. Don’t worry if the meters go below –30 during the quiet parts, as long as they get pretty close to 0 during the loud parts.

GUI Meter Ballistics – Peak and Average Modes

There are several variations for GUI the metering display. The two selections pertaining to metering are Meter Mode and Peak Hold. You’ll find them under the Options menu. Peak Hold is an on/off toggle. Meter Mode offers choices for meter ballistic response.

Options | Meter Mode | Peak / Average(VU) / Both Options | Peak Hold

When Peak Meter Mode is selected, the meters have a fast response time and jump upscale quickly in response to transient sounds.

Average Meter Mode has a slower response, somewhat like an analog VU meter. The meters move more smoothly than in the Peak mode, representing the average signal level.

Which to use? Most people like watching VU meters, but in the digital world, peak-responding meters are really more informative. Since they inform you of every peak as it comes along, you have a reliable warning that you’re recording too hot or not hot enough. The choice is yours. You can learn to set levels accurately either way.

But wait! You can have it both ways! Selecting the third metering mode, Both, adds a second vertical bar representing the average level, just to the right of each peak-responding meter.

HDR 24/96

This is really quite an informative display. By observing the difference between the peak and average levels, you can get a sense of the apparent loudness of a track. We perceive loudness based on average, rather than peak level, yet we are restricted, by the nature of digital recording, to a peak level of 0 dBFS. The closer the average level comes to the peak level, the louder the track will appear to sound. A track that has its average level riding near its peak level will sound loud and dense, while one that has peaks consistently and considerably higher than the average level will sound quieter.

Lastly, under the Options menu you’ll find Peak Hold. When this is option is ON, the fall time of the top segment of the peak-reading meter display is slowed to a crawl, so you can more easily see how high the peaks reached even after they’ve gone away. Peak Hold functions even when you’ve selected the Average metering characteristic. Think of it as a hidden peak meter behind the averaging meter, with just its top segment visible.

Get familiar with all the meter modes. Use the one that gives you the best results based on the type of material you’re recording.

Clip (Overload) Indicator

The numbers above the GUI meter columns not only indicate the track to which the meter corresponds, but also indicate, by changing from white to red, that one or more samples recorded on that track has reached full scale digital level, and that clipping may have occurred. Unlike some peak indicators which self-clear after several seconds, these remain red and blinking until you attend to them.

Reset a Clip indicator by clicking on the red number. Click and drag across the numbers to clear multiple indicators. The Clip indicators clear automatically upon entering Play since they are only significant when recording.

Front Panel meters

Like the GUI meters, the 24 front panel LED meters cover the range of –50 dBFS to 0 dBFS (clip). Like a conventional VU meter, the scale has greater resolution (fewer dB between steps) the closer you get to full scale. The upper LED in each column is marked OL (Overload) and when that flashes, you’ve reached digital full scale, with possible clipping.

The dynamic response of the meters has been designed so that they indicate peak levels of very short duration, yet will give you a good indication of average recording level. If the OL light goes on very rarely, that’s probably OK, but you should check for clipping. If you see one flashing regularly, like keeping time along with the beat of a drum, back off on the recording level. Your tracks will be cleaner.

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Regions and Audio Files

Regions

Regions can be pieces of audio, recordings, sound segments, files, or about fifteen other things. In fact, they have been called many different things in different systems.

Technically, a region is a text or graphic representation of an entire audio file or some portion thereof. Each region contains editable start and end boundaries (or borders), that define where within the audio file, playback is to start and end (or where Region Looping is to start and loop). Essentially these boundaries are used to trim off any sludge at the head and tail of the region.

A Playlist is a playback schedule (chronological list) of regions on all the available tracks within a Project. Each region in the Playlist has a start time (or position) at which it begins playing on its track as measured from the start of the Project. As mentioned, only the portion of the original audio file that falls within the editable boundaries of the Region will play at that time.

So the audio is in a file, but the know-how to play it back is in the "region." Thus, the Region in the HDR is the fundamental unit for recording, playback, and editing.

Whenever a recording pass is made, a Region consisting of the entire audio file is created. Visually, this appears as a block (or “occupied region”, hence the name) in the Track area of the screen, extending horizontally from the beginning to the end of the recording. Right after the recording pass, playback of the new Region will include the entire originally recorded audio file.

Simultaneously, the name of the Region is added to the Regions List. The list is a bookkeeping system which allows you to access any recorded region in its entirety – no edits, with all its warts – at any time, should you wish to re-edit it or use it in another place in the project, or even in a different project. Its name is inherited from the Track upon which you recorded it, so it is still (at this point) quite clear that the two regions refer to the same recording.

Block Regions on the Track display and the Region List shown at the right

Any Region on the Track can be trimmed to represent and playback only a portion of the audio file for playback. Grab and slide the edges of a Region with the mouse to modify its playback boundaries (this does not, by the way, stretch or compress the actual time to play the whole file). Or "open" the Region into the Region Editor where various parameters can be modified. Further, you will create new regions (still using the same recorded audio) by cutting, copying, and/or pasting sections of an

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existing region. You can split Regions as well. These editing tools and procedures are covered

existing region. You can split Regions as well. These editing tools and procedures are covered primarily in the Clipboard Editing

primarily in the Clipboard Editing

Since the region boundaries are merely pointers indicating what portion of the original recording to play, any region can always be expanded all the way back to the original size of the complete audio file.

You’re free to move regions anywhere in the playlist. Just because the tuba was recorded on Track 23 doesn’t mean it has to remain there forever. You can move or copy that region to a different track and that’s where it will come out when you play the project.

Region Appearance

Regions caught in the act of being recorded are drawn as red rectangles, but are shortly transformed into either the waveform display or solid filled rectangular blocks after recording has ceased depending on whether or not View Waveforms is enabled (Options menu). The various visual shades of unselected, selected, locked, and cross-faded regions will become apparent to you after working within the track area for a while.

When a region is Locked, (which prevents editing or moving until unlocked) its background changes to a dark gray. A red border appears around a locked region when you click on it to select it for copying.

Region characteristics can also be viewed and modified from the Region Editor, which will be discussed in detail further on (page 116). Other graphics representations within a region’s boundaries include fade curves, region loop points and the volume level envelope, all explained in Region Editing.

(page 103) and Region Editing (page 110) sections.

The region's name appears in the upper left corner of the block, provided the screen resolution is high enough to display the text. The name also appears in the Regions list.

Region Names

Regions are automatically named upon creation using the Track name followed by the “take,” a sequentially numbered recording pass on that track. Still you may want to rename a region to help keep your sanity when getting into heavy duty editing.

If the track name was Track 1 when you made the recording pass, the region name would be Track 1_tk1. If the track name was Bass, the region name would be Bass_tk1. Each time you make another recording pass on that track, the “tk” number increments.

Double-clicking on a region with the Hand tool pops up the Region Editor dialog box, where you can rename the region. Note, however, that when renaming a Region, its original name on the Region list does not automatically get updated. You are renaming a copy of the Region not the source Region.

You can also rename your Tracks, to get meaningful Region names. Just note that renaming a track after a region has been created does not automatically change the region’s name similarly. The link between track and region names exists only when the region is originally created. Because of this, it's usually good practice to name your tracks before you begin recording if you want to be able to identify regions easily for editing purposes.

If your recording sessions are going to laid out similarly; for instance, if you’re recording several sessions with the same band, then you can name your tracks and save the set-up as a Template using the command:

Files | Save As New Template

Technical Reference 89

HDR 24/96

In this way, each new Project that you start can already have the instruments or Mic names as the Track names. From there newly recorded regions will get sensible names as well.

Note that some Tracks were named before recording

and some were left with default names.

Region List

The Region List is a list of all recorded passes, imported audio files, captured regions, and rendered tracks within a Project. It represents the library of recordings on disk. Note that only recordings are placed in the Region List, not segments of a Region that have been split up for editing purposes. Even if you have deleted a region from a track, it’s still on the region list, so you can easily recover it (place it back onto a track somewhere).

The Region List is shown in alphabetical order. This may be another consideration in your track/region naming scheme.

A region can be placed onto a track by clicking on its name in the Region List and dragging it into the Track Display area and on to the desired track. See adjacent figure.

A Region in the Region List can be renamed by double-clicking on its name field and typing the new name. This does not automatically change the name of that region as already used in the Playlist (the track area). However, when any renamed region is dragged from the Region List on to a track, it will carry the new name.

An Audio Region is dragged from the list

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HINT: It is fairly easy to give a region in the track area the same name as you have given it in the

HINT: It is fairly easy to give a region in the track area the same name as you have given it in the Region List (a very good idea when it gets to be 2 AM and nobody’s made more coffee), you can

Region List (a very good idea when it gets to be 2 AM and nobody’s made more coffee), you can

TRL+C

use the keyboard Copy [C

use the keyboard Copy [C clipboard) from the Region List to the Name field in the Region Editor.

clipboard) from the Region List to the Name field in the Region Editor.

TRL+C

] and Paste [C

TRL+V

] commands to carry the new name (on the

To Rename a Region in both the Region List and Tracks display (GUI only)To Rename a Region in both the Region List and Tracks display (GUI only) Enter a new name in the Region List, and with it highlighted, press [C

TRL+C

] to copy it to the

clipboard.

Double-click on the region in the track area to bring up the Region Editor.

Double-click on the Name field in the Region Editor to highlight it.

TRL+V

Paste the name from the clipboard to the Region Editor by pressing [C

]

Close the Region Editor

NOTE: Edit functions such as copying and pasting, or drag-copying regions create new copies of the region or portions of it in the track area but even if you’ve renamed them, they won’t appear on the Region List since they are already there as part of other regions.

DOUBLY IMPORTANT! The Region List and the actual file names on disk are independent. Renaming a Region doesn’t change the raw file name. Why is this so important? Because there may be occasions when you’ll need to work directly with files. One is when you’re importing audio recorded in another Project; another is when you’re moving files over the Ethernet to another computer. When you’ve finally nailed the guitar solo, even though you’ve named it “Guitar – This is IT” in the Regions list, the file will still be named the old, boring “Guitar_tk27”.

Capture Region

The Capture Region command creates a new Region in the Region List (but not a new audio file) from a portion of an existing Region.

This is a convenient way of handling a segment of a track that you wish to use in multiple places. It differs from copying in that it does not use the clipboard, and while it doesn’t create a new audio file, it places the name of the captured segment on the project’s Region List where it’ll be handy. One example might be to grab various bars of a drum track to have them available for constructing different loops for the verse, chorus, and breaks.

Capture Region doesn’t work across region boundaries; the selected area must be from a single region. If you have an edited section (for example a composite vocal track), which you want to handle as a unit, use the Render Tracks command to create a single region from the edited section before you Capture it.

Capture Region doesn’t work across region boundaries in the Playlist but it carries fades and volume envelope changes that have been applied to it. The selected area must be from a single region. If you have an edited section, for example a composite vocal track, which you want to handle as a unit, use the Render Tracks command to create a single region from the edited section.

To Capture a Region

Use the I-Beam tool to select the area of a region for capture

Select Capture Region from the Edit menu

Edit | Capture Region

…or use the keyboard shortcut [C

TRL

+r].

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HDR 24/96

You will be prompted to enter a name for your new Region. When capture is complete, the selected area will appear on the Region List and can be dragged into the current project.

Capturing a Region

Render Tracks

The Render Tracks command is the functional equivalent of re-recording an edited track so that it becomes a single region rather than a group of sequentially played regions on a playlist. Rendering incorporates all fades, cross-fades, and volume envelope changes.

Rendering can simplify handling of a project’s tracks by replacing a track that has many complex edits with a single, contiguous Region. Rendering is also useful when transferring a Project’s tracks to another system. Since rendering tracks as a group creates a set of regions, which all have the same start and end times, aligning the start of each file with a common marker (usually the beginning of the song), assures that tracks will be synchronized.

A Rendered track is placed in the Project’s Rendered file folder and on its Regions List, from where it can be dragged into the project track area, imported into another project, or exported to a workstation.

When exporting files for further processing, Rendering all edited tracks, then exporting the rendered files assures that tracks will be transferred with all edits intact. For compatibility with other systems, tracks can be rendered either as WAV or AIFF files.

From the Render Tracks dialog box, you may choose to render all tracks or selected tracks, and set the start and end times of the rendering operation. If you select a portion of a track or tracks using the I-Beam tool, the Rendering start and end times default to the beginning and end times of

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the selected area. If no area selection is made, default start time for rendering is the beginning of the first recording in the project, usually around 0:00:00:00. Default end time is the end of the last region displayed in the Track area, usually the end of the song. Using the defaults will assure that the entire song will be rendered. Start and end times in the dialog box can be edited by any of the standard time field editing methods.

Rendered tracks inherit their current track names, with “_Rendern” appended to the track name where "n" is the number (starting with 1) of rendering operations performed on that track. Rendered tracks can be renamed in the Region list or after being dragged into a track.

To Render Tracks (access from the Edit menu only)

There is no keyboard shortcut.

Optionally, start this operation by selecting a time range on a target track with the I-Beam tool.

Optionally, [C well.

Open the Render Tracks dialog

Edit | Render Tracks

Click on the radio button to indicate the Source Tracks for the Render Operation.

All or Selected Tracks

If you selected a time range before opening the Render Tracks dialog then the Start At: and End At: times will already be set. You can also edit these times directly.

Select the output file format, either WAV or AIFF

Click on OK.

+click] on the Track numbers of any other tracks you want rendered as

TRL

Technical Reference 93

The Render Tracks Dialo

HDR 24/96

If you select AIFF format for rendering, the rendered file will be saved in the Project’s Rendered folder, but since it is not in the HDR24/96’s native WAV file format, it will not appear in the Region list. Should you wish to use a rendered AIFF file in a project, you may Import it (see page 92).

Rendering creates new files. That means it requires disk space, often a lot of disk space. Make sure you have enough space for those rendered files before you start. If you get into a bind, you can render one track, delete all of its regions from the Playlist (delete them from the Track area), drag the rendered track in to replace them, then Purge, then render another track. But everyone knows bingeing and purging is no fun.

To see if you have enough disk space to render all your tracks, check the gas gage. Arm the number of tracks for recording that you intend to render and check the Recording Time Available. If it’s greater than the length of your song, you have enough space for the rendered tracks.

Importing Audio Files

In the HDR24/96, Regions are accessible only from the Region List belonging to the Project in which they were originally recorded; you cannot view or directly access another Project’s Region List. To bring recordings from another Project into the current Project, you must first Import the audio files into the open Project. When you import an audio file, the HDR24/96 places a copy of the original file in the Project’s Imported folder to keep the original recorded audio intact and safe from deletion if you delete or purge another Project. Imported audio files appear in the Regions List with their original file names. If multiple copies of the same source file are imported, the names of the duplicates are appended with numbers (1,2, etc.).

You can import both mono and stereo interleaved WAV and AIFF files. When an AIFF file is imported it is automatically converted to a WAV file. Stereo interleaved AIFF and WAV files are converted to two mono files.

To Import audio files into the open Project (GUI operation only):

Select Import Audio Files from the File menu, or use keyboard shortcut

In the upper right use the Drive Select list to pick the drive containing the Project from which you want to import files.

Use the Location list box to navigate down to the Project folder on that disk. You can go back up a level with the Up Arrow button next to the list box.

If you’re importing files from a Mackie Media PROJECT drive and have changed cartridges since booting the HDR24/96, you will need to click on the REFRESH button in order to view the directory of that disk.

Double-click on the Project name to open its folder (or single-click and use the OPEN button). You will probably be importing from the "AudioFiles 1" folder, so double-click on that to display the list of audio files.

The File Types list box is a list display filter, allowing All file names, only WAV files, or only AIFF files to appear on the list. If you’re working with HDR24/96 files, they’re all WAV, so you’ll see nothing if you select AIFF.

Once you've navigated the HDR24/96 directory tree, and located the folder containing the files you wish to import, then select the source file(s) from the file list.

[ALT+I]

Click Open. You can import WAV and AIFF files at the same time.

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Purge Unused Files Purge Unused Files

The Purge Unused Files utility compares the contents of the Project’s AudioFiles folder(s) with

The Purge Unused Files utility compares the contents of the Project’s AudioFiles folder(s) with the Project’s Playlists, and deletes any audio files, which do not appear on any Playlist for the

the Project’s Playlists, and deletes any audio files, which do not appear on any Playlist for the Project. This is a cleanup tool can be used to recover some disk space after you’ve recorded

Project. This is a cleanup tool can be used to recover some disk space after you’ve recorded several takes and decided that there are some definite non-keepers. Purge works on originally

several takes and decided that there are some definite non-keepers. Purge works on originally recorded audio files, rendered files, and imported files

recorded audio files, rendered files, and imported files

If you’ve imported files from another project on the HDR24/96 and you haven’t used them in the

If you’ve imported files from another project on the HDR24/96 and you haven’t used them in the current project, Purge will delete the copy in the current project folder, but will leave the file in

current project, Purge will delete the copy in the current project folder, but will leave the file in the folder from which you imported it. That’s a good thing.

the folder from which you imported it. That’s a good thing.

Bear in mind that if you’ve used even the tiniest bit of a Take in an edit, the entire file for that

Bear in mind that if you’ve used even the tiniest bit of a Take in an edit, the entire file for that Take is exempted from the Purge operation. If you want to economize on disk space and have

Take is exempted from the Purge operation. If you want to economize on disk space and have heavily edited tracks, Render those tracks, replace the edited track in the Track area with the

heavily edited tracks, Render those tracks, replace the edited track in the Track area with the Rendered version, and then allow the original tracks to be purged.

Rendered version, and then allow the original tracks to be purged.

To Purge Regions from the Project (GUI only):To Purge Regions from the Project (GUI only):

Select Purge Unused Files from the File menu.

The Purge Audio dialog box appears, asking whether you want to clear the History list and Save the Project before proceeding with the Purge.

Select No to:

Preserve all of the recording and editing you have done since you last Opened (or Purged) the Project and purge only Recorded Regions that were not present in the Playlist at the time the project was Opened.

Select Yes to:

Clear the History list and Save the Project, allowing you to delete all Recorded Regions that are not present in the Playlist. This is what you’ll normally want to do when cleaning house.

The Purge Current Project dialog appears containing a list of all Recorded Regions that qualify for purging (aren’t on any Playlist for that project). By default they’re all selected, but you can de-select or re-select if you're having seconds thought about some of them.

Optionally, select the specific Regions you wish to Purge.

Click OK to delete all the highlighted files.

We really, really suggest, unless it’s absolutely necessary to free up disk space, that you save Purge operations until you’ve finished mixing and are ready to put the project into hibernation. Disk space is cheap. Studio time to re-record something you’ve purged by mistake may not be so cheap.

Backing up and Restoring Audio

Backup and Restore operations appear here, because regions refer to audio and you may look here for a way to copy the actual files. However Backup and Restore operations are both accomplished by simply copying a Project from one disk drive to another, and this copy operation was covered in the section on Project Management

• You cannot discretely save a single audio files or group of files. If you want to pick out a few

files for some specific purpose, then use the FTP services and pluck up the files from the network.

(page 44).

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HDR 24/96

Editing Operations

Audio editing used to mean slicing up a recorded tape into pieces then re-assembling those pieces as desired. So typically "editing" was about rearranging the order of what would play, or perhaps cutting out some bad parts. In some instances it meant adding a part. Today, editing is all of those things and a whole lot more. Working with audio data on random access media means that recorded material can be edited (even copied) without degradation of the sonic quality, that the same recorded material can be used more than once (even repeatedly), that edits can be made with remarkable precision at very detailed levels, and that edits can be tried, discarded, or kept without destroying the original recording.

Editing on the HDR24/96 comes in two flavors, which are distinguished primarily by how things are selected for manipulation. First there is the linear tape-recording view of the audio to be edited. In this mode, Track Time is selected, that is, a range of time from here to there is selected on a given track or tracks. This is not much different than choosing two points, a start point and an end point, on a tape.

The second mode of selecting is to work with audio objects that are defined by the punch-in/out operations of the recorder or by other editing operations. If you’re an old hand at audio workstations, you’re probably already familiar with the concept of Regions. Region is the term used on the HDR24/96 for an audio playback object. If on the other hand, you are an old hand at tape recording, imagine that every time you punch in and out, Cue points are automatically created to mark the boundaries (head and tail) of the recording. To work with that recording it is not necessary to select from-here-to-there on the tape, because the recorder has already memorized where and what that region of audio is. Once you begin treating that bit of audio as its own beast, then you can consider trimming its length, adding fadein/out characteristics, cutting it out of its track, or making and using copies of it elsewhere, for example.

Whichever way you look at it, remember that editing is the process of moving or modifying regions, and regions are what the Playlist is all about. So when you edit, you’re really editing the Playlist. This is why saving the Project (with its Playlist) is so important – that’s where your edits are! It’s also how you can have differently edited versions of the project – by saving multiple Playlists.

It should be mentioned here that almost all editing operations are performed only on screen through the GUI, so with the notable exception of Cut, Copy and Pasting edits, all the discussion in this section applies to GUI operations and displays only.

Track and Region Editing Tools

Your tool kit includes the I-Beam, Hand, Volume Envelope, Magnifier, and Scrub tools.

The I-Beam and Hand Tools are the primary tools for the linear cut-and-paste and region-based clickand-drag editing paradigms respectively. These are mutually exclusive modes. The Volume Envelope editor is special Region manipulation tool that adjusts the volume of the Region over time.

The Magnifier and Scrub wheel aren't really editing tools per se, but instead are aids in the editing process. Use the Magnifier to zoom in on the area of interest. Use the Scrub Wheel to position the transport and to find precise edit points. Note: the Scrub tool interacts closely with the I-Beam tool. We’ll discuss this later.

An editing tool is selected by clicking on its button in the Tools panel. Alternately, right-clicking in the track area of the screen brings up a pop-up menu with a Tools option. Select Tools, then select the tool

you want to use. By using the pop-up menu, you can dig around in your tool box without taking your eyes and hands off your work.

There are also keyboard shortcuts for the editing tools, which will help you to keep your eye on the ball, and your nose to the grindstone:

HDR 24/96

[t] – Toggles between the I-Beam and Hand tools.

[F1] – Selects the I-Beam tool

[F2] – Selects the Hand tool

[F3] – Selects the Volume Envelope tool

[F4] – Selects the Magnifying tool

Working with the History List Open

The History List contains a chronological list of all your editing operations, which can be viewed occasionally or continuously, as you are editing, or recording. We’ll explain the History List in detail further on, but we suggest that you open it and watch it grow as you experiment with editing. Toggle it open or closed by clicking on the List View arrow at the right end of the Time/Marker bar and selecting the History tab, by selecting History from the pull-down

TRL

Windows menu, or by using the keyboard shortcut, [C

+6].

You can find more information on the operation of the History List

34) describing the various List Panels section on editing under History List and Undo / Redo

Selection

Region Selection (Hand Tool)

is particularly handy for stereo tracks, or all of the drum kit’s tracks.

A region is selected for editing by clicking anywhere in the region with the Hand tool. The Hand tool’s function changes, depending on where it’s placed in the active region area, with its cursor shape changing to indicate its function.

Every region starts and ends with a fade-in or fade-out and we’ll talk about them in more detail later in this section. When the Hand Tool cursor is placed on either end boundary and above the region's centerline its shape changes to a quarter-circle and it becomes a fade adjustment tool, allowing you to extend or reduce the fade time by dragging the boundary of the fade region.

When the Hand Tool cursor is placed on an end boundary below the region's centerline, it changes to a double-ended arrow and becomes a re-sizing tool to shrink or stretch (up to the full recorded length) the end boundaries of a region.

Within the region boundaries, the Hand Tool displays the hand cursor and is used for dragging the entire region.

The Hand tool is used for selecting (grabbing), moving, and resizing regions, plus changing fade-in and fade-out curves. The hand tool works on single or multiple regions, so it's possible to move or re-size a group of selected regions at one time. This

, and an even more detailed discussion at the end of this

(page 120).

in the GUI Overview (page

A region or regions (selected as group) may be dragged around with the Hand tool and dropped on top of blank track area, on top of other regions or a little bit of both. The Splice and Crossfade functions affect the way a region will intersect or overlay another region. These functions are described in the Nudge and Region editing tools sections, along with the other audio cookie cutting tools.

Multiple Region Selection

Regions follow the usual conventions of multiple selection and de-selection. Multiple regions can be selected and operated upon as a group (moving, deleting, resizing, or changing cross-fades) by [C

TRL

+click]ing on each region of the desired group with the hand tool.

Technical Reference 97

HDR 24/96

Alternately you can wire-frame select Regions by clicking in an empty part of the Track area, or by [A to select. This method selects every Region both inside and intersecting the wire frame.

Double-clicking on a track number selects all the regions in the active take of that track. If the track is expanded to show virtual takes, double-clicking on a take number selects all the regions in that take regardless of whether it is the active take or not. Selecting all regions in a take in this manner does not automatically make that take active.

Volume Envelope (Node Tool)

playback volume of the region. The Node tool edits the region's playback volume and is not active unless pointed at a region. It is not necessary however, to first select the Region with the Hand tool.

When the Node tool is active, holding down the [Ctrl] key turns the pencil-shaped cursor into an eraser used to delete nodes.

When View Envelopes is selected from the Options menu, any volume nodes that have been placed on a track will be visible. Like the light bulb in the refrigerator, View Options turns on automatically whenever the Node tool is selected, and unless you’ve turned it on manually, will politely turn them off when you put away the Node tool. We’ll cover Volume Envelopes in detail a bit later. See page 114.

+click]ing over a Region, then dragging a wire frame around the Regions you wish

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+a] selects all regions in the project.

The Node Tool allows you to adjust the playback volume of a region. When the Node tool is active, the cursor changes to a pencil with which you can place and move nodes in the volume envelope on any track. Lines connecting the nodes represent the relative

Area Selection (I-Beam Tool)

The I-Beam tool is used to mark the start and end times of an area for editing operations. It operates on a single track, a group of already "selected" tracks, or all the tracks.

Click-and-dragging the I-Beam across a track selects an area on that track. The same

selection can be made on all tracks by click-and-dragging the mouse pointer across the time bar.

Note that when you release the mouse button, the Current Time jumps to the end of the selected area.

Once an area has been selected, the area boundaries and position can be adjusted in several ways:

Placing the I-Beam cursor on either edge of a selection boundary turns the cursor into a doubleheaded arrow. When this arrow appears, click and drag the edge of the selection to move it. The selection boundaries can also be dragged from the time bar at the top of the track area. The selection is marked on the time bar by a gray band with its upper corners darkened. Those dark corners are “handles” by which you can drag the selection ends.

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+click] on the Start or End time field to capture the current transport time into that field.

This can be done either with the transport stopped or while playing, to select an area on the fly.

HDR 24/96

The entire selection (at its present length) can be repositioned by dragging the gray area on the time bar.

Selection area on a single track

Multitrack Area Selection

To make the same selection on multiple tracks, after an area is selected on one track,

TRL

+click] anywhere in another track’s area or on the track's blue selection button to

HIFT

duplicate the selection on the other track. [S

+click]ing on another track will duplicate

the selection on all the tracks between the first one selected and the one on which the mouse pointer is clicked.

Selection Range Display

The Selection Range Start and End time fields in the Tools panel show start and end times of the area currently selected via the I-beam tool. This time display is interactive with the selected area. The area boundaries can be updated by editing the numbers in the time fields. Conversely, as the selection boundaries are changed by dragging with the mouse, the time fields are updated.

The time fields in the Selection Range Display can be edited in the GUI Tools panel as follows:

Click on the desired field in the Selection Range display to highlight the pair of digits you wish to modify. Change the numbers by dragging the mouse up or down over the highlighted digits or by direct numeric entry from the keyboard. Navigate between hours, minutes, and seconds fields with the

[TAB

the data entry with the [E

] or [S

HIFT+TAB

] key or mouse. Complete

NTER

] key or by clicking

in the Tools panel background area.

NOTE: If you manually enter a Start time that is later than the current End time, or conversely if you enter an End time that is earlier, the two times will be swapped – i.e. the time you entered for End time will become the Start time and vice versa.. The switch does

Technical Reference 99

HDR 24/96

not occur until the operation is confirmed with the [E panel background area.

NOTE: Whenever you single-click in the track area the Start and End times are both set to the same value (as though you had dragged the I-Beam for zero length).

NOTE AGAIN: Okay this is just a little spooky. If you want to capture a selection on the fly during playback, start by clicking in the track area while stopped ahead of your target selection. As the transport progresses from that point, you can [C field as the beginning of your selection rolls by and again on the START field as the end rolls by. Remember that because of the swap feature, the latest time captured will always be the End time. Of course you can also [C without flopping the times. Repeatedly [C Selection End time progressively without affecting the Start time. However repeatedly

+click]ing on the START field uses the previous point you captured as the new Start

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time and the current time as the new End time. On-the-fly selection is cool because it lets you use your ears and your "feel" for the downbeat or rest instead of digging around visually through a waveform.

Scrub Wheel

The Scrub Wheel button is the round wheel at the right-hand end of the group of editing tool buttons. Its function is similar to “rocking the reels” of a reel-to-reel tape deck.

Scrubbing allows playback at slow speed, even in reverse, to locate an edit or punch-in point the old fashioned way - by ear. The Scrub function is engaged by clicking on the Scrub Wheel button to highlight it.

+click] on the END field to extend the selection area

TRL

NTER

] key or by clicking in the Tools

+click] on the START

TRL

+click]ing on the END field will extend the

The [s] key momentarily activates the Scrub tool, turning it off when you release the key.

When Scrub is engaged, click-and-dragging the mouse pointer horizontally along the Marker Bar at the top of the track screen starts the transport playing on all 24 tracks. Dragging it to the right plays forward, dragging it to the left plays backward. The mouse acts as a throttle - the further you drag it, the faster the transport plays, up to full speed. By using a side-to-side motion with the mouse and listening to the playback, you can zero in on a point in the track that you’re trying to locate.

Scrubbing on the Time bar plays all 24 tracks. If you want to scrub just a single track, with the I-Beam and Scrub tools both active, place the cursor over the track you want to hear, then click, and scrub.

The Scrub Tool whenever scrubbing, whether over the Time bar or on a single track, always adjusts the Selection Range. Even when the Hand tool is active and you are scrubbing in the Time bar, the Selection Range is adjusted for use when the I-Beam might be re-activated. If you want adjust the a specific selection edge in Scrub mode, then position the cursor over that edge to where you see a left-right dual-pointing arrow-cursor, then click and drag.

Caution: Selecting the Scrub tool does not automatically deactivate the Hand tool. If you scrub on a region with the Hand tool active, you won’t scrub, you’ll move the entire region. If something on the track suddenly highlights in Scrub mode when you click on it, check the Tools panel to see what tool(s) you're using. Scrubbing in the Marker Bar works the same regardless of the selected tool.

NOTE: Even though the transport time display follows the “tape head” position when scrubbing, there is no time code output. If you’re synchronizing other devices to the HDR24/96 using time

100

HDR 24/96

MACKIE HDR24-96 User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Foreword

About This Manual and How To Use It

Text Conventions

Window / Menu Navigation Conventions

Look in the margins!

Where/how are you working?

Hardware Interface Overview

Front Panel and Remote 48 Common Interface

Project Information Display

LCD and System Control

Menu Navigation

System Control Buttons

Page Left and Page Right Buttons

Select Buttons

(-)DEC and (+)INC Buttons

Navigation Behavior

Transport Controls

Track Controls

Current Time Display

LOCATE TIME display (Remote 48 only)

Status LEDs

Remote 48 Interface Additions

Jog/Shuttle/Data Wheel

LOCATE TIME display with Cue & Varispeed Indication

Tape Time

Locate Time

Vari (Varispeed)

Autolocator Displays and Controls

Transport and LOCATE

PRE ROLL

AUTOPLAY

Numbered (Dedicated) LocatesNumbered (Dedicated) Locates

LOOP

PUNCH

REHEARSE

AUTO TAKE

TIME UNITS

EDIT TIME

+/NEXT and -/PREV

Numeric Keypad

CLEAR

ENTER

STORE

RECALL

CAPTURE

Other Stuff

DECK 2

EDIT

Graphical User Interface (GUI) Overview

GUI Conventions

Mouse Clicking

Left-click (or just "click")

doing. Left-click to select from the menu. For example, right-clicking on the Current Time display brings up a menu to select the time units. Right-click on different areas of the screen to familiarize yourself with the pop-up menus - they are aplenty.

Window and Dialog Box Paradigms

ListsLists

Menus

Radio Buttons

Keyboard

Shortcut Key Combinations

Numeric Keypad

GUI Components

MENU BAR

TOOLS and METERS PANELS

TRANSPORT AND TIME DISPLAY

RECORD TIME LEFT

TRACKS and the TRACK CONTROLS PANEL

LIST PANEL

Floating Windows

GUI Time Display and Controls

Project Information Display

Current Time Display

Time Bar and Marker Bar

Time Bar

Marker Bar and Markers

Song Offset

Track Area