Teac MMR-8 User Manual v4.6

TASCAM

TEAC Professional Division

MMR-8

Modular Multitrack Recorder

MMP-16

Modular Multitrack Player

MMR-8/MMP-16 Version 4.6
OWNER’S MANUAL UPDATE

73248

TASCAM MMR-8/MMP-16 Version 4.6

Table of Contents

MMR-8 / MMP-16 VERSION 4.6 UPDATE........................................................................................................2

INSTALLING THE MMR/MMP SOFTWARE UPDATE............................................................................................2

Downgrade Disk..........................................................................................................................................2

CHANGES IN VERSION 4.6....................................................................................................................................3

SUPPORT FOR HFS+ FORMATTED VOLUMES.......................................................................................................3

AUTO-REHEARSE/AUTO-PUNCH FEATURE ON M2 MMR-8S..............................................................................3

ABILITY TO WORK WITH "WIDE-NARROW-WIDE" SCSI SETUPS..........................................................................4

MISCELLANEOUS PRO TOOLS ENHANCEMENTS....................................................................................................4

MISCELLANEOUS ENHANCEMENTS.......................................................................................................................4

Renaming tracks:......................................................................................................................................4

Sync-II Idle On error:...............................................................................................................................4

Wide SCSI card operation:........................................................................................................................4

SoundMaster Compatibility:.......................................................................................................................4

HFS+ DVD RAM media:.........................................................................................................................5

OMF Exports:..........................................................................................................................................5

Old vs. New Hardware Sync:....................................................................................................................5

Special Alpha character support:................................................................................................................5

Random noise at Punch-In:........................................................................................................................5

Hardware Compatibility:............................................................................................................................5

VARIOUS NOTES..................................................................................................................................................6

RAM Upgrade..............................................................................................................................................6

Folder Hierarchy Rules..............................................................................................................................6

TASCAM MMR-8/MMP-16 Version 4.6 Owner’s Manual Update

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MMR-8 / MMP-16 Version 4.6 Update

This document details changes and new features in software Version 4.6 for the TASCAM MMR-8
and MMP-16 Modular Multitrack units and the MM-RC remote. This document only explains
features and enhancements that have been made to the MMR/MMP since release Version 4.5, the
last official release software version prior to Version 4.6. This documentation presumes familiarity
with basic operation of the MMR-8 and MMP-16.

Installing the MMR/MMP Software Update

To install software in an MMR-8 or MMP-16, first make sure the unit to be updated already has
Version 3.0 or higher software installed (software installed from the two Rescue Disks is also
acceptable). The most recent software update may always be downloaded from the TASCAM web
site at http://www.tascam.com. The Version 4.6 software fits on two floppy disks. To install the
software update, insert the 1st floppy disk into the front panel floppy drive while the unit is booted
and operating normally. Access Menu 995 (Load Software) and press STO. The system will ask
“Are you sure?” Make sure the floppy is properly inserted and press STO again to confirm. The
system will access the floppy drive for a few moments to copy the files to the internal drive. During
this time, the green LED on the floppy disk drive is the only indication provided by the system that
software is being copied from the floppy disk to the system’s internal disk drive. After a few
moments the machine will prompt “Insert Disk #2”. Remove the 1st disk and insert the second
floppy. Press STO. After the rest of the software update has been copied from the second floppy,
the system will display the message “Reboot required for new software”. This verifies that the
software has been successfully copied to the system drive.

To reboot the system after the software update, remove the floppy disk and recycle the
power on the unit. The first time the system boots after the update, it will go through a longer boot
procedure and will update various internal processors. The LCD will indicate the update procedure
status as these processors are re-programmed. After all these internal updates are finished, the LCD
will briefly show the message “New Software Loaded”, then mount all available SCSI volumes and
show the normal display. The unit is now ready for operation.

If an MM-RC remote unit is attached to the MMR/MMP when the software update is
performed, the system will update the MM-RC after the reboot. A progress display will be shown
on the MM-RC LCD during the update. The MMR/MMP will show the message “Programming
Remote” while the MM-RC software is updated.

Warning: Please make sure to disconnect ALL MMR-Bus and Ethernet cables before upgrading
each machine. Connection to an MMR-Bus chain or to an Ethernet network during software
upgrading will produce unreliable results.

Downgrade Disk

Please refer to the installation instructions accompanying the downgrade disk included with your
machine.

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Changes in Version 4.6

The following functional changes and bug fixes have been made to the MMR-8/MMP-16 software
in Version 4.6. These changes are explained in detail in this document:

Ø Support for HFS+ formatted volumes
Ø Auto-Punch feature on M2 hardware machines ONLY
Ø Ability to work with "Wide-Narrow-Wide" SCSI setups
Ø Miscellaneous Pro Tools Enhancements
Ø Miscellaneous Enhancements
Ø Various Notes

Support for HFS+ Formatted Volumes

In previous versions, the MMR-8/MMP-16 were not compatible with HFS+ formatted volumes,
and thus could not work with volumes larger than 9 gigabytes. With version 4.6, HFS+ volumes can
now be used, allowing operation with a larger range of drive capacities.

There are no new menus or operations on the front panel or remote to use this new feature. The
user simply formats their MEDIA as one complete HFS+ partition on their computer, and the
MMR-8/MMP-16 will now work with the media correctly.

The MMR-8/MMP-16 can not format disks as HFS or HFS+ from their front panel. The disk must
be formatted on an Apple Macintosh computer to format the disk in either of these formats.

NOTE: When switching between using an HFS and HFS+ formatted drive on the MMR-8/MMP-
16, the machine must be fully rebooted. The machine must also be rebooted when switching from
an HFS+ to a HFS formatted drive. Also at this time HFS+ format is not supported on Magneto
Optical drives.

Auto-Rehearse/Auto-Punch Feature on M2 MMR-8s

For owners of newer "M2" series hardware, the 4.6 software adds the ability to perform an "auto­punch" record function while chasing an external source. To implement this:

Press SHIFT and REH to place the MMR into auto-rehearse mode. Press SHIFT and REC to
place the MMR into auto-punch mode. The REC or REH key will flash depending on which mode
you have enabled. Once in this mode, the MMR-8 will automatically switch to input (auto-rehearse)
or punch into record (auto-record) when it passes through the designated IN point and will switch to
disk playback (auto-rehearse) or punch out of record (auto-record) when it passes through the
designated OUT point. Designated In and Out points are stored in the IN and OUT Registers. To
exit the auto-rehearse/punch mode, press the REC or REH key and it will stop flashing.

The auto-punch function will work when chasing SMPTE or Biphase, but it will not operate when:

-The MMR-8 is an MMR bus slave

-The MMR-8 is operating in "Dailies Mode"

-The MMR-8 is operating in loop mode

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Ability to work with "Wide-Narrow-Wide" SCSI setups

The MMR-8/MMP-16 now has the ability to work with a wide SCSI hard drive, enclosed in a
narrow SCSI carrier, that is in turn inserted into a wide SCSI receiving frame connected to the
internal wide SCSI card.

There are no special menu operations to allow this scenario. This combination of SCSI hardware
will now simply work reliably, whereas it would not with previous software versions.

Miscellaneous Pro Tools Enhancements

Version 4.6 improves upon several areas of Pro Tools compatibility:

Previously, users would have difficulty spotting MMR-8/MMP-16 generated SDII files into Pro
Tools 5.1. With version 4.6 software, the MMR-8/MMP-16's SDII files will now spot correctly into
Pro Tools 5.1.3. (Note: ProTools version 5.1 had spotting bugs that were fixed in ver. 5.1.3.)

Previously, users bringing Pro Tools projects over to an MMR-8/MMP-16 would occasionally
experience a loss of audio at the very beginning and ending of individual regions. This has now been
corrected with version 4.6

Miscellaneous Enhancements

Renaming tracks:

Previously, renaming of tracks caused unexpected behavior where a new project would be created
with the new name containing the track that was selected with the same name. Track renaming has
never actually been permitted on the MMR/MMP’s. Now an attempt to rename a track will result
in an error message that track renaming is not allowed.

Sync-II Idle On error:

With version 4.5, some users of older hardware would experience a "Sync-II Idle On" error when
loading the 4.5 software. This has been corrected and will not occur when loading version 4.6

Wide SCSI card operation:

Previously, machines with a wide SCSI card installed could exhibit sluggish transport and chase lock
behavior when chasing SMPTE Time Code or another MMR-8/MMP-16. This has been corrected
in version 4.6.

SoundMaster Compatibility:

Previously there were transport control and synchronization issues when using a SoundMaster
system to control the MMR-8 and MMP-16. These issues have been resolved in version 4.6. This
update applies to M-2 UNITS ONLY.

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HFS+ DVD RAM media:

Previously, the MMR-8/MMP-16 would have problems working with HFS+ formatted DVD-RAM
media. This has been corrected with version 4.6

OMF Exports:

Previously, some users would experience errors when performing OMF exports of a Pro Tools
project. The OMF export process has been improved and should now work reliably with version

4.6

Old vs. New Hardware Sync:

On rare occasions, users would experience a small loss of synchronization stability between "old
hardware" and "new hardware" MMR-8/MMP-16 machines. This has been corrected with version

4.6

Special Alpha character support:

Previously, users would experience difficulty-mounting disks containing Pro Tools projects that
utilized special alpha characters such as an "Umlaut" in file and session names. This has been
corrected with version 4.6

Random noise at Punch-In:

Previously, it was possible the “M-2” version MMR-8 could punch-in before the internal digital
clocks were locked. This would result in a “snat or click” at the punch-in point. This has been
corrected with version 4.6

Hardware Compatibility:

Version 4.6 will work on both old (M-1) and new (M-2) hardware versions of the MMR-8 and
MMP-16.

Please be aware that some of the enhancements included in version

4.6 are only available on new (M-2) Hardware as noted.

TASCAM MMR-8/MMP-16 Version 4.6 Owner’s Manual Update

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Various Notes

RAM Upgrade

NOTE: All users upgrading their machines to 4.6 software should make sure that their hardware has
64 megabytes of RAM inside.

If your MMR-8 has a serial number of 01649 or higher, the unit has 64 megabytes of RAM.
If your MMP-16 has a serial number of 01409 or higher, the unit has 64 megabytes of RAM.

If your serial number is below these values, your unit only came with 48 megabytes of RAM and
must be upgraded if you have not already done so.

For instructions on the ram upgrade procedure download the service bulletin titled MMR/MMP
RAM Upgrade Instructions at:

http://www.tascam.com/pdf/pdftl/z_tech_archive/TECH_MM_RAM_UPGRADE.pdf

Folder Hierarchy Rules

When the MMR-8 loads or creates a project, a project folder with the same name as the session is
automatically created, and is placed inside the "MMR-8" projects folder that is also automatically
created when the disk is mounted.

If the user has already placed a file with the same name in that location, the MMR-8 can not create
this project folder, and can not create the audio files folder it needs to. The user will get the
message "Mac audio folder creation failure".

In order to avoid this happening do not create any files that have the same name as the project that
contains them.

Replacing CPU fans in MMR-8/MMP-16 machines

The CPU cooling fans in the MMR-8/MMP-16 have a limited lifespan and should be replaced
every 6-9 months. A dusty environment will shorten this time. Keeping the fans for a longer period
of time can result in less than proper cooling of the Pentium chip inside the MMR-8/MMP-16.

An overheated CPU chip will cause extremely unreliable and

unpredictable operation in the dubber.

TASCAM MMR-8/MMP-16 Version 4.6 Owner’s Manual Update

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TASCAM

TEAC Professional Division

MMR-8/MMP-16

Version 4.6 Update

TEAC CORPORATION 3-7-3, Nakacho, Musashino-shi, Tokyo 180, Japan Phone: [phone]

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