Tascam Digital Audio Production Environment SX-1 Reference Manual

							Part VIII–Data Entry, System & File Management
 TASCAM SX-1 Reference Manual 181
Drives This window shows the drives that are cur-
rently mounted.
RESCAN Press this key to rescan all connected 
devices (removable media such as DVD-RAM, etc.).
EJECT Press this key to eject media (such as, a CD-
R or other removable media).
FORMAT Press this key to format a drive. This 
erases all information on the drive, so be sure there is 
nothing you need to save on it. Format choices are (for external SCSI drives): 
Fat 32 (PC), HFS (Macin-
tosh), 
HFS Plus (Macintosh). A choice of a Low Level 
Format
 is also available for external SCSI drives. 
Check this box to zero all data on the external drive.
TIP
Performing a low level format whenever you erase a 
hard disk (or other such media) can help to keep the 
drive working at peak efficiency. Also note that the only 
way to format the internal drive is to reinstall the soft-
ware from the CD-ROM.
LCD Drives Screen
.From the MAIN DISPLAY MODE, press PROJECT. 
Then press the 
DRIVE soft key to reach this screen.
FORMAT Press this soft key to format the selected 
drive’s media. This erases all information on the 
drive, so be sure there is nothing you need to save on 
it. Format choices are available for external SCSI 
drives: 
Fat 32 (PC), HFS (Macintosh), HFS Plus (Macin-
tish).
EJECT Press this soft key to eject the selected 
drive’s removable media. 
						

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Chapter 22 – System Settings
Preferences
Preferences deal with general operational and 
appearance settings.
Preferences Screens
There are preference controls available from both 
VGA and LCD screens. However, there are several 
more LCD screens for setting preferences than VGA 
screens. Many of the LCD screens have parameters which are only accessible via that screen. Preference 
controls are for customizing the operation of your 
SX-1 and its appearance.
VGA UI Settings Tab
This screen allows you to set the way the SX-1’s 
VGA screens look. To reach this screen, from the MAIN DISPLAY MODE section, press SETTINGS/ 
PREFS
. Then click on the UI Settings tab.
Keymap If you are using a PS/2 keyboard which is 
not the North American QWERTY standard, you can 
set the type of keyboard you are using here.
Color Use these color settings to customize the look 
and feel of the VGA screens to your requirements 
and personal taste.
Background Color Selects the background color in 
the 
Tracks screen and associated tabs.
Normal Data Color Selects the track’s data color 
(like waveforms and MIDI notes) in the 
Tracks screen 
and associated tracks tabs.
Selected Data Color Chooses the select (highlight) 
color in the 
Tracks screen and associated tracks tabs.
Ghost Data Color This setting selects the color of 
Ghost data, most often seen when accessing a track 
on the Automation screen that pertains to an HDR 
track, or when dragging an audio event somewhere 
that is illegal (like over a MIDI track).
Grid Color This setting determines the color of the 
SX-1’s Grid display. To lighten the Grid against the 
background color, choose a color for the Grid that is 
very near the shade of the background itself.
Miscellaneous Color This setting chooses the color 
for items such as the outlines of Waveforms in the 
Tracks screen.
VGA Refresh Rate Set the refresh rate of your 
VGA monitor (available from your monitor’s docu-
mentation) using this pulldown menu. 
						

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LCD Meter Screen
Several LCD screens are available for setting prefer-
ences. Many of these screens have parameters that 
are only accessible via the LCD.
The 
METER screen is such an example. This screen is 
used for setting the responsiveness of the SX-1’s 
LED meters.
Press 
SHIFT on the Keypad. Then, from the MAIN 
DISPLAY MODE
 section, press SETTINGS/ PREFS, 
and use 
NEXT PAGE (or PREV PAGE) soft key to scroll to 
the 
METER screen.
PANEL METER TYPE This parameter is for the 
front panel LED Master Meter. Use it to select 
between 
Average (meters reflect an average of signal 
levels), 
Peak (the peak LED holds for a few seconds), 
or 
Both (shows peak and average meters at the same 
time).
PEAK HOLD TIME Here, you can choose how 
long you want the meters to hold peaks (from 9 ms to 
infinity).
AVE COEFFICIENT This parameter determines the 
first part of meter ballistics – the speed of attack. At 
smaller values, the amount of data passing through 
the meter is lower than it is at higher values, speeding 
up the meter’s performance.
BAR DECAY RATE This control deals with the 
second part of meter ballistics – the decay rate. The 
value refers to the number of db (decibels) the meter 
falls every second. The higher the number in db per 
second, the faster the meter recedes after a peak.
MIXER MT POINT This sets the Mixer Metering 
Point—that is, the point in the signal chain that is 
depicted by the meter. The choices are: 
Sig (directly 
after the A/D conversion), 
Pre (pre-fader), and Post 
(post-fader).
MASTER MT POINT This setting determines the 
metering point for the Master L/R Buss. The choices 
are: 
Sig (pre-buss trim), Pre (pre-fader), and Post (post-
fader).
BUSS MT POINT This setting determines the 
metering point for the Busses. The choices are either 
pre or post fader.
AUX/CUE MT POINT This setting determines the 
metering point for the Cue buss and the Aux Sends. 
The choices are pre- or post-fader.
LCD Miscellaneous Screen
This screen allows you to set a variety of different 
preferences: the foot pedal jack’s performance, dim attenuation, and Control Room and Studio Out atten-
uation. 
						

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Press SHIFT on the Keypad. Then, from the MAIN 
DISPLAY MODE
 section, press SETTINGS/ PREFS, 
and use the 
NEXT PAGE (or PREV PAGE) soft key to scroll 
to the 
MISC screen.
FOOT PEDAL Allows you to set the foot pedal 
jack’s operation to 
Normally Open or Normally Closed.
FOOT PEDAL ASSIGN Allows the assignment of 
the footswitch function.
NOTE
The foot pedals default operation is as a punch-in 
pedal for recording. In future versions it will have 
expanded capabilities
REG DIM LEVEL Here, you can set the amount of 
level attenuation (–50 to –3 dB) for the 
DIM key of 
the 
CONTROL ROOM section.
TB DIM LEVEL Use this control to set the amount 
of Main Output level attenuation (–50 to –3 dB) asso-ciated with the 
TA L K B A C K key of the STUDIO 
section.
CTL ATT LEVEL Use this parameter to adjust the 
starting level for the Control Room outs. The default 
of 
0 is equivalent to +4 dBu.
ST ATT LEVEL Use this parameter to adjust the 
starting level for the Studio outs. Again, the default 
value of 
0 is equivalent to +4 dBu.
FADER SENSITIVITY Adjusts the touch-sensitiv-
ity of the faders. The values are expressed in scan 
cycles, with higher values denoting faster (and there-
fore more accurate) scanning of the faders.
Note that the SX-1 faders’ touch-sensitivity depends 
somewhat on the environment; chiefly temperature 
and humidity, and body pH—as these all affect con-
ductivity.
VGA REFRESH RATE Use this dial to select your 
VGA screen’s sync rate (60 to 87 Hz).
LCD Time Screen
Everything you do on the SX-1 is time and date 
stamped. This is essential for event history and undo/
redo operations. Use this screen to set the SX-1’s 
internal time.Press SHIFT on the Keypad. Then, from the MAIN 
DISPLAY MODE
 section, press SETTINGS/ PREFS, 
and use the 
NEXT PAGE (or PREV PAGE) soft key to scroll 
to the 
TIME screen.
SET TIME Once you have adjusted the time and 
date, press this soft key to set the SX-1’s internal 
clock.
SELECT MONTH and SELECT HOUR Turn 
this soft knob to adjust the month or hour, depending 
on the field that is selected.
SELECT DAY and SELECT MINUTE Turn this 
soft knob to adjust the day or minute, depending on 
the field that is selected.
SELECT YEAR and SELECT SECOND Turn 
this soft knob to adjust the year or second, depending 
on the field that is selected.
About your SX-1
There are no editable parameters on this screen—it 
simply provides information about some of the SX-1 
hardware components. 
						

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The SX-1 Menu
Many preferences can also be reached from the SX-1 
menu that is found on the VGA’s Main Menu Bar.
Show Error Log The SX-1 keeps a log of all 
events it classifies as errors (for example, losing 
clock sync). This command shows the error log read-
out.
This error log is also available by pressing the sur-
face 
EDIT key, and then pressing the Error Log soft 
key.
Toggle User Names Use this command to toggle 
between the default/factory name for a routing loca-
tion and the user name.
Toggle Cue Use this command (shown as Cue 
Enabled
 or Cue Disabled) as a shortcut for pressing the 
CUE key on the Virtual Channel Strip. It simply tog-
gles the Cue bank on and off.
Clear Peaks Clears the current meter peak hold.
About the SX-1… Provides information about 
the SX-1’s current operating system version and its 
hardware and software developers.
Shut Down This command duplicates the 
SHUTDOWN key’s function. The only difference is 
that you don’t have to hold the physical key down for 
3 seconds, as shutdown begins immediately upon 
releasing the mouse.
System Settings
System Settings are global operating parameters, 
such as sample rate, bit depth, and digital clock set-
tings.
System Settings Screens
There are System Settings controls available from 
both VGA and LCD screens.
VGA Global Tab System Settings
Here, you can set several system parameters that 
affect the global operation of the SX-1. Press 
TRACK in the 
MAIN DISPLAY MODE section, and then click 
on the 
Global tab to reach this window.
Surround Mode Select the type of output config-
uration for the mixing console: 
Stereo, Quad, LCRS, and 
5.1 Surround. Surround is discussed in “Surround” on 
page 41.
HDR Depth The SX-1 has the ability to play back 
multiple bit depths in the same project. This parame-
ter determines at what depth audio will be recorded. 
The choices are 16 or 24-bit. 
						

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Cross Fade Length (ms) The SX-1 will auto-
matically generate crossfades during recording and 
editing audio in order to achieve the smoothest possi-
ble transitions. This field sets the default length for 
for these crossfades.
Gapless Punchout Check this box to allow 
immediate switching between monitoring input 
audio to previously recorded audio. This function 
affects monitoring only (actual audio punching is 
always gapless).
Volume Events Playback There are other 
machines in the TASCAM family (such as the MX-2424 and MMR-8) that have the ability to generate 
clip based Volume events. While the SX-1 cannot 
generate these events, checking this box will allow 
them to play back correctly.
Mute Events Playback The SX-1 cannot gener-
ate Event Based Mute automation. However, check-
ing this box will allow proper playback of this data.
TIP
The MIDI parameters on this tab are covered in Chapter 
“Global Controls” on page 136, and the Mixdown 
parameters in “Mixdown, Author, Backup” on 
page 170..
LCD Hard Drive (HDR) Screen
This LCD screen reflects the parameters of the Global 
tab found on the 
Tracks screen of the VGA. Most of 
the parameters on this screen are identical to the 
parameters found in the VGA 
Global tab and are 
explained on the previous pages. Only those parame-
ters that are unique to this LCD screen are explained 
here.From the 
MAIN DISPLAY MODE section, press 
SETTINGS/ PREFS, and use the NEXT PAGE (or PREV 
PAGE
) soft key to scroll to the HDR screen
AUTO MONITOR Turns the Auto Monitor mode 
for the HDR On or Off. When this mode is active, 
recording will automatically switch from monitoring 
the HDR to the record input channels.
ALL INPUT This control sets the SX-1 to monitor 
the inputs of record-enabled tracks, regardless of the 
state of the transport. 
						

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VGA Clock Settings Tab
This screen is where you set the SX-1’s clock set-
tings. If you wish to have the SX-1 communicate 
with other digital audio devices, you must have the parameters on this tab set correctly. From the MAIN 
DISPLAY MODE
, press SETTINGS/ PREFS, then 
click on the 
Clock Settings tab.
Cur., Prim., and Sec. The SX-1 can set up two 
different clock master scenarios, displayed as 
Primary 
and 
Secondary, utilizing any of the available I/O on the 
left side of the screen. If the first clock source is not 
available (
PRIM.), it will automatically shunt to the 
next available clock source (
Sec.). If the clock source 
selected as 
Secondary is not available, the SX-1 will 
shunt to 
Internal clock and mute its output to let you 
know something is wrong.
Internal This displays the SX-1’s internal clock 
state.
Word Clock In This displays the sample rate of 
data coming in the SX-1’s rear panel 
WORD CLOCK 
IN
 jack. 
An added feature for this and the following I/O clock 
displays is the error readout. Any variance from the 
normal sample rate detected in the clock stream will 
be shown in -/+ percentages, which can be an impor-
tant tool when troubleshooting clock errors.
ADAT In This register displays the clock rate of the 
audio coming in the SX-1’s stock Lightpipe™ optical 
ports (on the unit’s rear).
Digital In 1 & Digital In 2 This register dis-
plays the clock rate of the audio coming in the SX-
1’s stock SPDIF Digital In 1 and 2 jacks (on the 
unit’s rear).
Video This displays the clock rate of the data com-
ing in the SX-1’s stock video sync ports (on the unit’s 
rear).
Slot 1 Input 1 to Slot 3 Input 3 These regis-
ters display the clock rate of the audio coming in the 
option cards installed in the SX-1’s expansion slots.
Auto Retry Knowing that the SX-1 can switch to 
another clock source if the Primary selection 
becomes unstable, this setting determines whether or 
not the master clock will be switched back to Pri-
mary if that clock again becomes stable.
MANUAL RETRY Pressing this soft key causes 
the SX-1 to manually search for a valid clock on the 
Primary selection’s port.
Mixer Sample Rate This pull-down tab sets the 
desired sample rate for the SX-1’s mixer. If the 
desired mixer sample rate differs from the selected 
clock master, the 
SAMPLE RATE indicators on the 
slanted front panel will flash.
Word In Setup There is no industry standard for 
word clock polarity; this field lets you choose to use 
the rising edge or the falling edge of the word stream 
when syncing to external word.
Word Out Setup Determines whether the SX-1 
outputs word clock that is referenced to the rising 
edge or falling edge of its own clock reference.
Video Pull Up/Down Use this tab when the SX-
1 is syncing to an external souce that is pulled up or 
pulled down. These settings are used when syncing 
to timecode (generally produced from film) that is 
running at a different rate from the standard. In gen-
eral, pull ups and pull downs are only used in certain  
						

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stages of post-production and should not be used 
unless absolutely necessary.
Frame Rate Use this tab to set the frame rate for 
the timecode used in the project. Frame rates from 24 
through 30 are supported.
NOTE
To access 30-drop-frame (usually grayed out as this is 
not a common frame rate), hold down the SHIFT key on 
the PS/2 keyboard while left-clicking this tab.
SMPTE/TIMECODE OFFSET This parameter 
determines the amount of offset from incoming and 
outgoing timecode. Values can be entered by using 
the PS/2 keyboard.
FRAME RESOLVE Use this setting to resolve 
timecode to the frames received through the video 
sync input.
LCD Clock Settings Screen
This LCD screen reflects the parameters of the Clock 
Settings
 tab found on the Settings screen of the VGA.
From the 
MAIN DISPLAY MODE section, press 
SETTINGS/ PREFS, and use NEXT PAGE (or PREV 
PAGE
) soft key to scroll to the CLOCK screen.
SELECT Fs This soft knob selects the mixer sample 
rate.
SELECT SOURCE This soft knob opens a menu 
where a clock source can be chosen.
SELECT PRI CLK This soft key sets the source you 
have selected as the Primary clock master.
SELECT SEC CLK This soft key sets the source you 
have selected as the Secondary clock master.
SET TO DEFAULT Pressing this soft key sets the 
selected control in question to the factory default 
value.
AUTO RETRY Knowing that the SX-1 can switch 
to another clock source if the Primary selection 
becomes unstable, this setting determines whether or 
not the master clock will be switched back to Pri-
mary if that clock again becomes stable.
MANUAL RETRY Pressing this soft key causes 
the SX-1 to manually search for a valid clock on the 
Primary selection’s port. 
						

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LCD EXTERNAL DEVICES Settings Screen
Use this screen to manage the SX-1’s transport com-
munication with external devices. See “P2 Remote 
Machine Control in the SX-1” on page 34 for more 
details..
From the 
LCD ACCESS section, press 
TRANSPORT
, then press the EXTERNAL DEVICES soft 
key to reach this screen.
CHASE MODE Selects the SX-1’s time code 
source. You should use 
Internal if the SX-1 is not syn-
chronized to external timecode. You should use 
LTC if 
the SX-1 is synchronized to external timecode. Use 
MTC if the SX-1 is synchronized to MIDI Time Code 
coming in its MTC port. If the time code Source is 
either 
MTC or LTC, the transport will automatically 
locate and begin playing when the SX-1 receives 
incoming time code. See “Working with External 
Timecode Sources” on page35 for more details of 
these operations.
INT TC Rate This is where you choose the time 
code (SMPTE/EBU) frame rate that the SX-1 will 
use and output.
WORD IN SETUP There is no industry standard 
for word clock polarity; this field lets you choose to 
use the rising edge of the word stream or the falling 
edge when syncing to external word.
WORD OUT SETUP Determines whether the SX-
1 outputs word clock that is referenced to the rising 
edge or falling edge of its own clock reference. 
						

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Digital I/O Settings
When you have another digital audio device hooked 
up to the SX-1 via its 
DIGITAL I/O jacks, you want to 
make sure that the SX-1’s I/O matches the other 
device’s I/O settings. These parameters can be 
adjusted from the LCD screen.
TIP
The SX-1 can perform sample rate conversion (SRC) in 
real time via the SDPIF inputs. For example, if your 
project is at 48 kHz but you want to input something 
that was recorded at 44.1 kHz, set the SX-1’s digital 
input to 48 kHz.
LCD Digital I/O Screens
From the MAIN DISPLAY MODE section, press 
SETTINGS/ PREFS, and use the NEXT PAGE (or PREV 
PAGE
) soft key to scroll to the DI /O screen. Then, use 
the appropriate soft keys to jump to the Digital I/O 
you want to set. The default screens for the onboard 
S/PDIF jacks are shown below.
FS CONVERT Turns the input sampling frequency 
conversion on or off. When on, sampling frequencies 
from 32 kHz to 48 kHz are automatically converted to 
the current mixer sample rate.
FS OVERRIDE Overrides the current mixer sample 
rate, if sample rate of the source at this jack is 
different.
MUTE DEFEAT Normally, when the SX-1 detects 
a clock outside its limits of tolerance (±6%) from the 
nominal sample rate of that source (e.g. a varispeed 
source), the console mutes. This setting allows you to 
defeat this operation.