Sound Devices 744T - Manual (Page 60)

744T User Guide and Technical Information
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v. 2.67 Features and specifications are subject to change. Visit www.sounddevices.com for the latest documentation.
Few CF cards can sustain write speeds for reliable 192 kHz recording. Sound Devices strongly recom-
mends against recording to CompactFlash if 192 kHz sampling rates are required.
Qualified CF Cards
Sound Devices does not specifically “qualify” CompactFlash cards for use in the recorder. From our
tests of numerous cards—including medium from Lexar Media, SanDisk, and Kingston Technolo-
gy—cards in capacities from 128 MB and above will successfully operate in the 744T. The unit will
support up to 2 TB of data. Small capacity cards may not format as FAT32 and may not be usable.
Use the CF transfer speed test to verify that an installed card can support the needed read/write
speed.
Storage Medium – External FireWire Drives
The FireWire port on the 744T can function in either “host” mode or “drive” mode (see File Transfer
Using FireWire for additional information on drive mode). In host mode an attached FireWire storage
volume such as a hard drive or DVD-RAM can be used to record and play back audio files. To acti-
vate host mode select EXTERNAL DRIVE via the Setup Menu item FIREWIRE: CONNECTION. Because
the 7-Series can write to all available mediums simultaneously the ability to write to an external
drive reduces the need for post-record copying of sound files.
External hard
drive is attached
and is selected
as the recording
destination
External FireWire drives require 2.0-ready 744T hardware. Only recorders specifically labeled 2.0 ready
are able to connect to external FireWire drives as an available storage medium.
When to Use External FireWire Drives
The key benefits of recording to external drives include:
• the choice of drive types include DVD-RAM optical drive or hard drive
• near limitless recording capacity when a large volume external hard drive is attached (up to 2
TB)
• fast, no-waiting simultaneous record option
• post-record copying to quickly back up internal hard drive or CF medium
Formatting
Identical to both the internal hard drive and CompactFlash, attached FireWire drives are formatted
as FAT32 volumes. Upon connection to an unformatted (or non-FAT32 formatted) external drive, the
744T will prompt the user to format the drive. If the drive is already formatted as a FAT32 volume
the drive will be ready to be selected as a storage medium. The front panel drive LED will illuminate
to show which drives are available for recording. To reformat an attached drive, follow the same
procedure as formatting the internal hard drive, substituting the external drive menu selection for
the internal hard drive.