Record Machines

Record Machines

DAD has four Record machines available for use with a full DAD Key. These decks can be used and configured for normal control functions with LED-style bar graph readouts displaying audio level information.

Stations can use the Timed Record function of DAD to automatically record program material for playback. The Timed Record function allows a user to define the time of day along with the day of week for each recording.

Once a recording has been made, it is instantly available to all other DAD workstations on the network. A workstation can also be configured to allow users to Play or Edit an audio file while a cut is actively recording.

Clicking on any of the icons on the top row of the Machine Icon Panel on the DAD desktop provides access to the Record Decks. They can also be accessed via a right click menu on the DAD desktop.

Record Deck Button Functions

The Record deck offers simple easy to use buttons.

The Title bar of the Record Deck shows it’s name ‘Record 1’ and the channel assignment for the record input (1) along with the Library drive location and Library name [S:][CUTS]. This refers to where the DAD Database is located, not where the audio file will be recorded to. To the far right of the title bar are a set of quick access icons. These buttons are as follows from left to right: Record Settings, Channel Assignment, Help and Minimize.
The Data fields are used to enter information about the audio cut that will be recorded. These fields can be modified while the deck is actively recording. When a cut has been Accepted one can press the CUT button to open the MODIFY screen allowing one to enter more information.
To being recoding a new cut, press Next Recording. When a cut number has been selected this button will change to Accept, Cancel and Append. After the number has been accepted, Next Recording and Modify Data appear. The Unload button clears the currently loaded audio cut from the record deck.
Meters display the input level of the audio.
Input level controls allow one to set the input level and adjust either Left, Right or Both channels.
A display gauge shows the amount of available space remaining on the drive. DAD will alert the user when either 2% of total space or 1 Gigabyte of space remains (whichever is smaller) on the drive.
Control buttons allow the user to Record, Play, Edit and Stop.
The Record deck settings for Audio Format and Sample rate are displayed on the Record desk settings button. This button allows users to define several defaults for each deck.

Entering New Cut Information

To begin the recording process, press the Next Recording bar in the center of the Record machine. The data fields will turn from blue to white. When the fields are white, users can enter information into the fields. Just below the cut information area, three record function buttons appear.

DAD will automatically enter a unique cut number and title, “No Title MM/DD HH:MM:SS,” for your recording, and will store it in the currently selected group of your library.

One can enter information into any of the fields at this time.

DAD will automatically enter a unique cut number and title, “No Title MM/DD HH:MM:SS,” for your recording, and will store it in the currently selected group of your library.

One can enter information into any of the fields at this time.

Note: If All Library Groups is selected in the library, this field will be set to the Temp Group. Otherwise, it will reflect the group name currently selected in the library.

The minimum action that you need to take in order to record a new audio cut is to press Next Recording, then press the Accept button.

In general, users should enter cut information to make tracking and organizing the Library easier. One can edit any field at any time during or after a recording has been made. The fields are as follows.

CUT	When one selects Next Recording, a number is automatically assigned a cut number. The number selection is based on the Record Setup parameters. Users can always enter a cut number of their choice. If the cut number chosen is currently in use a message will display and will prompt you to choose one of the following options: Overwrite the existing cut View the cut to determine if it can be over written Cancel and select another number
ALT	Alternate cut. Use of this field is thru DCL's. Use them as normal except use single quotes around the CUT# when you want to use the ALTCUT instead. I.E. LOAD CUT QUAD1 'A123 B456'
LENGTH	When one finishes a recording, the Length box displays the exact length of the recorded material. Users do not need to enter anything into this field, as the Length box is a read-only field.
TITLE	The title of the cut. If one does not assign a title, a title indicating the current date and time will be entered in the following form: “No Title MM/DD HH:MM:SS.”
S (SCRIPT DESIGNATOR)	The one-character SCRIPT DESIGNATOR box, next to the Title field allows one to enter a send text output channel (A, B, etc) to send script information during cut playback. For more information, see the Script machine
GROUP	Assigns the cut to a group within the library. Groups help organize the Library. DAD will automatically enter the Group currently selected in the Library, or if ‘All’ Library Group is selected, ‘TEMP’ will automatically be entered.
USERDEF	Any user-defined information can be entered here. If left blank, DAD will automatically enter the workstation’s name.
OUTCUE	Outcue is normally used to provide the operator with a description of how a cut ends.
AGENCY	Typically used to describe the origin or source of the material recorded.
ARTIST	Generally used to display the Artist of the cut being recorded.
START	DAD automatically enters the current date; if one wants to assign the cut a later start date, enter it here. Inactive cuts (cuts that have not yet reached their start date) may be blocked from playback. Dates must be entered in the MM/DD/YY format.
KILL	The expiration date for each recording. As an option, expired cuts (cuts that have past their kill date) may be blocked from being played back. Dates must be entered in the MM/DD/YY format.
ACCEPT, CANCEL, or APPEND	ACCEPT enters the current label data and enables record mode. CANCEL discards label data and exits record mode. APPEND will allow one to add new audio to the end of an existing audio cut.

Using the Record Deck

Recording a New Cut

The buttons on the record machine function, as most operators would expect.

To begin a new recording, press the Next Recording button. A cut number will be automatically entered into the CUT field. Users can manually enter a cut number if desired. All cuts entered into DAD use a five-digit number. The Record Deck will assume zeros for a cut entered with less than five digits. For example if a user enters ‘50’, DAD will automatically enter the cut as ‘00050’.

After a number has been entered, users can Accept, Cancel or Append.

Pressing Accept will create a new entry into the Library database with the cut number entered.

Pressing Cancel will clear the Record Deck.

Append is used to add audio to an existing audio cut. The new audio will be recorded at the very tail end of the existing cut.

After making a selection such as Accept, pressing REC will cause the button to flash. This can be considered a Record Ready state. Users can check input levels and make any adjustments necessary.

To begin recording, press the PLAY button (while REC is flashing). Pressing PLAY (without REC flashing) will play the audio file currently loaded.

STOP will stop the recording or playback.

EDIT enables you to perform a variety of editing functions on material immediately after recording it. Detailed information on the EDIT function can be found here.

Producers should get into the habit of pressing the UNLOAD button after they have recorded their file. Unload will clear the currently loaded cut from the record deck. This helps prevent accidental erasing or re-recording of an existing audio file.

NOTE: Not all audio cards or audio card drivers display levels in Record Ready mode, also some audio cards and drivers also do not allow the user to adjust levels directly within DAD.

Recording over an Existing Cut

To record over an existing cut, simple enter the desired cut number into the record deck after pressing Next Recording. DAD will display a prompt to confirm the operation. Choices are:

	Replace Data / Replace Audio - Select this to re-record an existing cut.
	Leave Data / Replace Audio - This option is grayed out and cannot be chosen.
	View Cut Only - This allows one to view the Library Modify information.
	Cancel Operation - Abandons the select cut and offers one an opportunity to select a different cut number.

Appending to an existing audio file

Users can add audio to an existing audio file by using the Append function. To add to an existing audio cut, press Next Recording and enter the cut number to be used, followed by the Append button. This will load the desired cut into the record deck. The red REC button will now change displaying APP for append. Pressing APP will place the record deck into record ready mode. Pressing PLAY will start the recording.

Note: Users should only append to an audio cut that is of the same sample rate, format, bit rate and mode (stereo or mono).

Playing or Editing While Recording

DAD allows a user to play or edit an audio file while it is still recording. This functionality is called ‘Play While Record’. To use this option, administrators should enable the Play/Edit While Recording switch found in Setup under the Miscellaneous (Misc.) Defaults screen.

This function is very useful for stations that have active background recordings and wish to either play the file or edit various components of the recording. In general, thirty seconds of audio needs to be recorded before an audio file will be allowed to play or be edited.

Turning this switch on will allow that workstation to play an audio file that is actively recording. If another workstation such as an On-Air machine needs to play the file that is actively recording on the Prod machine, one will need to activate the Play/Edit While Recording switch on both machines before the recording takes place.

When editing the active audio file, the editor will display the waveform of the audio file recorded up to the point the file was loaded. Users can press the REFRESH button in the editor screen to load any additional audio that has been recorded.