Tascam Digital Multitrack Recorder DA-78HR Owners Manual

							1 - Introduction  to the  DA-78HR
 TA SCA M DA -7 8 HR 11
1.5.2 Available recording  and playback 
ti me
Depending on  whether the tape has  been purchased 
for us e with an NTS C (P6/E6) or a PAL/SECAM 
(P5/E5) television system, the same length of tape (as 
far as v ideo  len gth  is co ncerned ) will prov ide d iffer-
ent times for audio work, as shown below, due to di f-
f er ent fr am e r ates between televisio n sy stem s. T h e ind icat ion  P6 /E6 or P5 /E5 will b e p rinted o n the tape 
package:Time on tape 
labelP6/ E6 ( NTSC 
tape)P5/ E5 ( PAL/
SECAM t ape)
20 18 2 5
30 27 3 7
45 40 5 6
60 54 7 5
90 81 1 13
12 0 10 8 – 
						

							12 TASCAM DA-78HR
2 -  Front and rear  panel  features 
						

							2 -  Front and rear  panel  features
13 T A SC AM  D A- 78 HR
2.1 General controls and 
indicators
1Power switch
Turns the power to t he DA-78HR on and off. When 
th e DA-7 8HR  i s  turned  o ff, s etting s  will  be  retain ed 
in  memory.
2Ta pe  lo ad ing  s lot  an d EJ EC T k e y
Only use Hi8 ME or MP tapes as specified in 1.5, 
“Reco mmend ed tapes”. Th e DA-78 HR will au tomat-
ically  eject all oth er tapes .
NOTE—I MPORTANT
Do not use a tape which has been used for recording 
video. Always use either new tapes or tapes which 
have been used in a DTRS recorder.
The EJ EC T key eject s any loaded cass ette.  A cas sette 
can  o nly  be ejected  wh en th e trans po rt is sto pp ed.
3FO RM AT/F s ke y
The FORMAT/Fs ke y  c on tro ls  the  f or m att ing  of  ta p e s 
an d allows selectio n of the samplin g freq uency  u sed  
for reco rd ing  (s ee 5 .1 , “Fo rmatting  a tap e” for fu ll 
d etails). The cu rrent  samplin g frequ ency  is sh own on  
the s tatus indicators  
6.
4HR MODE key
Thi s key allows th e selectio n of the reco rdin g res olu -
tio n (16 -b it or hig h-res olu tion  24 -b it). See 5.1, “For-
matting  a tap e” for details.
The appropriate indicator 
6 will  lig ht if the HR 
mod e is   select ed .
5CLOCK key
Thi s is used to select the word sync source for the 
DA-7 8HR  (either internal, 
WO RD or  DIGITA L IN, as 
shown on the indicator 
6).
6Sta tus  in dic a tors
The status indicators show the current status  of vari-
ous DA-78HR functions. The legends of these indi-
cators  are abbreviated  for  reasons  of s pace.  Here  is  a 
lis t o f th ei r fu ll meani ng s, to geth er with the pag es on  
wh ich the fun ction s are mo re fully  described :
7Ta p e  c o u n t e r
Th e tape cou nter g iv es th e cu rrent tape time in ho urs, 
minutes, seconds  and frames.
I t is a lso  u se d  to  disp la y m e nu s,  s ub -m e nu s a nd  th e  
v alues of the p arameters of the u nit, as well as p ro -
v id ing  in formatio n on  the curren t status  o f th e un it.
8PB  C ON DI TIO N  ind ic ato r
There is one more indicator: PB CONDITION, w hi c h  
l ights if there are many errors  when reading or 
recording the t ape. It also flashes  when the block 
error rate is being checked (11.1.2, “Checking error 
rates”).
If this lig hts  frequ en tly, th e b lock  error rate can be 
checked and the heads cleaned (11.1, “Head and 
t ransport  cleani ng”).
2.2 Tape transport keys and 
controls
9REW key
Rewinds the tape at high speed.
If th is key is p res sed du rin g reco rd in g, recordin g will 
s top  an d th e tap e will rewin d.
AF FWD  k e y
Winds  the tape forward at high speed.
If th is key is p res sed du rin g reco rd in g, recordin g will 
s top  an d th e tap e will win d forward .
NOTE
When either RE W or F FWD is pressed for the first 
time after powering up, or loading a tape, the uni t first 
configures itself for the reel hub diameter of the tape 
in use, during which the tape advances at low 
speeds. This takes several  seconds. Ther eafter, the 
Legend Meaning Section
HRHigh-resolution (24-bit)  mode 5.1
Fs  (4 4. 1k )Ei the r  of  th ese  wil l  l i gh t to  sh ow 
the  cur r en t sa mpl i ng  fr eq ue ncy 5.1
Fs  (4 8k )
AB S
Ta pe  s u bc o de (A BS ) i s  bei n g 
us e d a s  t h e t im i ng  r ef e re nc e9.1
OFFSETMa chi n e o r  ti me cod e  offs et i s i n  
op er at i o n8.3. 1 and 
9.6. 2
C LOCK (WORD)
Wh en  b oth  of  th ese  ar e  l it , th e 
DA -7 8H R  i s  u s in g  in t e r na l  wo rd  
s y nc ,  an d w h en  ne i t he r is  l it ,  
wo r d syn c i s b ei ng  r ece i ve d 
t hr o ug h t he  
REMOTE IN/
SY NC  I N
  c on nec t or.  I f   on e i s  
lit , the word sync is being 
received through the appropri-
at e  c o nn ec t o r  (d i gi t a l  au di o 
(
COAXIAL) or  wor d sync) .3.2
C LOCK 
(DIGITA L IN)
TAPE TC
Li g hts wh en  th e DA- 78 HR i s 
re ad i ng  ti meco de  fr om th e  tap e9
Legend Meani ng Section 
						

							2 - Front and rear panel features
 TA SCA M DA -7 8 HR 14
transport momentarily goes into stop mode before 
the tape starts fast-wi nding.
BSTOP key
Cancels  any current  tape trans port  mode,  and  stops 
the tape. If pressed in chase mode, cancels the mode 
and stops  the tape.
CPLAY key
S tarts p layin g the tap e. If th is key pressed  while 
r e c or d ing  is  in  pr og re s s,  th e  DA - 78 HR  dr op s ou t of  
record mode.
DR E CO RD  k e y
If the PL AY ke y C is pressed  while the RE CORD 
k ey is held  d own , reco rdin g will start o n all “armed” 
tracks  (5.2.1, “P reparing to record”).
If t he DA-78HR is in play mode, and the 
RE C ke y  is  
p res sed, reco rd ing  will start immed iately on  any 
“armed” tracks .
The 
RE CORD  key  also   is u sed  to  s et p un ch-in  po ints  
during auto punch-in/out operations (5.6, “Punch-in 
and punch-out”).
EDATA/ LEVEL co ntro l
When the S HUTTL E/DATA ke y is pr e sse d , the  ind ic a -
to r will lig ht. The 
DATA/LEVEL co nt ro l will  th en be 
active as a s hu ttle co ntro l. Tu rn ing  the con tro l to th e 
rig ht prov ides  forward  cuein g and  tu rnin g it to th e 
left prov ides rev ers e cu ei ng, similar to  “ro ck  and  
ro ll” o n o pen-reel  tap e d ecks. For details, see 7.7, 
“Sh utt le o peration s”.
When the 
SHUTTLE/DATA ke y is p r es se d in c on jun c -
ti on  with   the 
SH IF T key,  the DATA/LEVEL con tro l is 
als o us ed as a data entry control to make various set-
ti ng s, in clud ing  the sub -mix er settin gs. See 4.3.7, 
“Us ing  th e DATA/LEVEL  kn ob  to   set  values”  and  
7 .4, “Sub -mixer” fo r details .
2.3 System control keys
The foll owing keys all provide acces s to more 
a d va nc e d  f u nc tion s of  the  D A- 7 8H R.  M an y o f the m  
are al so used in the menu sys tem to view and set s ys -
tem parameters. See 4, “Menu interface, etc.” for 
d etails.
M a ny  of  the m  a lso  se r ve  tw o  fu nc tio ns,  a s sh ow n by  
th e blu e “sh ifted” leg end s below th e u ns hifted leg-
ends (shown here in parentheses). See 4.2, “The 
SHIFT key” for details.
FSHIFT key and indicator
Controls  the  behavior of  the other keys (see 4.2, “The 
SHIFT key” for details).
GR H S L ( D E LAY )  ke y an d i ndi ca t or
Th is key an d ind icator allow s elect ion  o f th e 
rehearsal mode in auto punch-in and out (5.6, 
“ Pun ch - in a nd  pu nc h- o ut” ) .
Wh en  the DA-78 HR is in shi ft mo de, this  k ey  allo ws 
the settin g of track  d elays  (7.3 , “Track delay ”).
HAU TO I N/ OU T (O FFSET ) k ey  a nd 
i ndi ca tor
Th is key and  ind icator allo w au tomatic p un ch-in and  
pu nc h o ut f ollow in g r e he a r sa l  ( 5. 6 , “ Pu nc h -in  an d 
pu nc h- o ut” ) . 
Wh en  the DA-78 HR is in shi ft mo de, this  k ey  allo ws 
the settin g of chase offs ets (8 .3, “Machin e offset” 
and 9.6.2, “Timecode offs et”).
ICLEAR (PRE ROLL)  key
This  key  defeats the rehearsal and  auto modes during 
auto punch-in  and out  (see 5.6, “Punch-in  and  punch-
out”). It can also be  us ed to cancel  a format  operation 
(5 .1, “Fo rmattin g a tap e”).
Wh en  the DA-78 HR is in sh ift mo de, th is is u sed to  
set pre- and  po st-ro ll times (5.6 .4 , “Editi ng  th e p re-
ro ll and  p os t-roll times” and  7 .1.3, “Setting  the loca-
tion  p re-roll  time”).
JVARI SPEED /  PITCH key and  
i ndi ca tor
Used to  s et th e v arisp eed (pitch ) amo un t, an d to  tu rn 
the function on and off (s ee 7.6, “Vari speed (pitch 
control)”.
KALL INPUT (t) k e y an d i ndi ca tor
Th is key is  u sed to  s witch the mon itoring  mo de so  
that the o utp uts mirro r th e in pu ts (s ee 6 .1 , “ALL 
IN PU T ” ) .
LAU TO M O N  (s)  key and  indicator
Th is key is  u sed to  ch ang e th e mo nito rin g mod e to  
chang e au tomatically in  p un ch op eratio ns  (see 6.2 , 
“AUTO MON”).
In  menu  mod e  and  wh en  ed iting  p arameters ,  this  acts 
as a key to select and change (increment) parameters .
Wh en  used  wi th the 
SHIFT key, it acts  as  a cursor 
ke y. 
						

							2 -  Front and rear  panel  features
15 T A SC AM  D A- 78 HR
MREPEAT  (MENU) key and  in dicator
This key is used  to  provide a  repeat function between 
th e two  location  po ints  (see 7.2, “Rep eat fun ction ”).
W hen  the  DA-78 HR is  sh ift mo de, i t allows  selection  
o f th e  to p- le ve l me n us ( se e  4. 3,  “ Me n us  a n d su b-
menus”).
NCHASE (SUB MENU)  key  and 
in dic a tor
Thi s key is used t o set the DA-78HR to a s lave chas e 
mod e, eith er to an oth er DTRS un it, o r to  timecod e 
(see 8.2.3 , “Master/slave setting s (C HASE mod e)” 
and 9.6, “Chasing to timecode”).
W hen  th e DA-7 8HR  is  in sh ift mod e, it allows selec-
tio n o f th e seco nd  level o f men us  in  the men u tree 
( se e  4. 3,  “ M en us  a n d su b- m en us ” ).
OLO C  1  (MEMO 1) key
Thi s key  locates  the tap e to  the p os ition  set  by ME MO  
1
 (th is key u sed with  th e SHIFT key). See 7.1, 
“Autolocation” for details.
PLO C  2  (MEMO 2) key
Thi s key  locates  the tap e to  the p os ition  set  by ME MO  
2 
(th is key u sed with  th e SHI F T key). See 7.1, 
“Autolocation” for details.
QMIXDOWN (LEVEL /PAN) key and  
in dic a tor
T hi s ke y tur n s the  8 x 2  s ub -m ixe r  ou tpu t o n a n d of f 
from the  rear panel  outputs. See  7.4, “Sub-mixer”  for 
d etails.
W hen  th e DA-78 HR is in shift mo de, th is key is u sed  
to  set the lev el  an d the p an  po sitio n of each  track  in  
the s ub-mixer image (7.4, “Sub-mixer”).
2.4 Track controls
RR EC  FU NC TI ON  k ey s  an d i ndi ca tor s
Thes e eig ht switch es  an d in dicators allow th e settin g 
and viewing of the record status  on a track-by-track 
b asis. 
When one of these switches is pressed, the appropri-
ate  ind icator  will flash , th e t rack  is  “armed ”,  and  
g oin g in to reco rd  mo de will start recordin g o n that 
track. When recording  is being carried out on  a track, 
th e track’s  in di cato r will lig ht stead ily.
In ad ditio n, these key s are also u sed to  s elect tracks 
and channels for different operations , including the 
in pu t an d o utp ut p atc h ba y s,  t he  de la y a n d su b- mix e r f u nc tio ns.  Se e  7 . 3,  “Tr ac k  de la y” ,  7. 4,  “ Sub - mixe r ”  
an d 5 .3 , “Inp ut selectio n” fo r d etails of these 
operations.
SPeak meters
Th ese 1 5-seg ment  p eak meters sh ow th e inp ut level 
or the recorded signal level, depending on the moni-
t oring  mod e cu rrently  i n  op eratio n  (6 , “Mon itorin g”).
NOTE
When using digital recording equipment, there is no 
headroom above the 0 dB mark and no tape satura-
tion is possible. Any signal which causes the “OVER” 
se g men t to  li gh t wil l ca use  a u dib le di sto r tion . For  th is 
r eason you should take care not to let r ecording lev-
els exceed this level.
Th e b allistics  and  p eak  ho ld  times  are selectab le  (see 
7.8, “Meter modes”).
T h ey  ma y  a lso  be  us ed  to p rov id e a  qu ic k vis ua l 
g ui de to  th e statu s o f so me o f th e  settin gs  (s ub -mixer, 
patchbay, etc.). See 4.1.1, “Peak meters” for details.
2.5 Rear panel features
S ee 3 , “Co nn ection s” fo r full d etails  of h ow to con -
nect the DA-78HR to other units.
TREMOTE IN/SYNC IN
This connector is us ed to connect another “master” 
DTRS  unit  (e.g. DA-78HR ,  DA-98,  DA-88 or DA-
3 8). See 8 , “Sy nchro nizatio n with  o ther DTRS  un its” 
for further details.
A TASCAM remote con tro l un it may also  be con -
n ected here, b ut no t all fu nction s of the DA-7 8HR 
may b e available fro m th e remo te con tro l un it.
UMID I IN /OU T/ TH RU
These connectors  carry MIDI  Time  Code (MTC) and 
MMC  (MIDI Machi ne Cont rol)  commands as  well as 
MIDI System Exclusive mes sages. See 10, “MIDI 
co ntro l” for details o f h ow t hese facilities  are u sed  
wh en sy nch ro nizin g to  o ther un its.
VSYNC OUT
Th is is us ed  to con nect ano ther DTR S u nit  in  the 
“d aisy -ch ai n” or, if th is DA-78 HR is the last u nit in  
t he chain, to attach a terminati on plug.
WREMOTE IN
Us e th is to co nn ect an  o ptio nal RC -8 08  remote con -
trol unit.  Note  that not  all  features of the  DA-78HR 
c a n  b e  co nt ro lle d us ing  th e  RC- 80 8. 
						

							2 - Front and rear panel features
 TA SCA M DA -7 8 HR 16
XREMOTE PUNCH IN/OUT
Use thi s t o connec t an opt ional  RC-30P foot -
switc h to cont rol punch ope rati ons.
YTD IF -1 (DI GITA L I/O )
This connector carries the digital s ignals to and from 
the DA-78HR in TEAC Digital Interface Format 
(TDIF-1).
ZTIME CODE (IN,  OUT)
These RCA connectors are used to carry SMPTE/
EBU  timeco de to  and  from the  DA-78 HR. For d etails 
o f u sin g  the  DA-7 8HR  with  timecod e s yn chron iza-
ti on , see 9, “Operation s related  to  timecod e”.
aWORD SYNC  (IN, OUT, THRU)
These BNC connectors are used to carry the word 
clock  between the  DA-78HR  and  other types of digi-
tal audio equipment. The 
THRU  connect or is  auto-
terminated (i.e. th ere is no  need for a termin ator 
when this is unconnected).
bD IGI TAL  IN ,  OU T (C OAXI AL )
These RCA connectors provide an SP DIF stereo di g-
it al audio s ignal containing the submi x signal (
OUT) 
or accept an SPDIF s ignal (
IN)  fo r  r ec o rd i n g ( se e  7 . 4,  
“Su b-mixer” an d 5.3.1 , “Dig ital in pu t selection ”).
cANALOG  INPUTS (unbalanced)
These eight RCA connectors accept unbalanced ana-
log audio inputs at –10 dBV.
dANALOG  INPUTS (BALANCED)
Th is co nn e c tor  c a r rie s  8 ba la n c ed  in pu ts at a  n om ina l 
+4 d Bu level. Th is allows conv en ient an d reliab le 
sing le-cab le co nn ection  to   the  GROUP o utp uts  o f a 
suit ably-equipped console s uch as the TASCAM M-
16 00  s e rie s.
eA N AL OG  OU TPU TS (u nba la nc e d)
These eight RCA connectors output unbalanced ana-
log audio signals at a –10 dBV level.
fANALOG  OUTPUTS (BALANCED)
This connector carries 8 balanced outputs at a nomi-
na l +4 dB u lev e l. T his a llow s c onve n ie nt a nd  r e lia ble  
sing le-cab le co nn ection  to  the tape ret urn inp ut s of a 
suit ably-equipped console s uch as the TASCAM M-
16 00  s e rie s.
g~ IN
Use t he provided AC power cord to connect the DA-
78 HR to the AC power sup ply  throu gh  t his 
connector. 
						

							 TASCAM DA-78HR 17
3 - Connections
This section explains how to connect other equip-
ment to  t he DA-78 HR. It is no t inten ded  as a com-
plete reference to the use of the DA-78HR. See t he 
appropriate sections  for full details  of how t hese con-
nectors are used.
NOTES—IMPO RTA NT
W hen m aking connec tions  bet ween the DA-78HR  and 
ot her equipm ent,  w hether audio or cont rol, both the DA-
78H R  and t he ot her equipm ent  mus t  be t urned 
off, other-
w ise damage may  be caus ed t o t he DA-78H R and/or the 
ot her equipm ent.
Only  us e TASCAM -supplied  and TASC AM-approved 
c ables when m aking connec tions  to the DA-78HR . T hough 
t he c ables  and c onnect ors m ay res emble c omput er cables , 
t hey ser ve dif ferent purpos es,  and meet a dif ferent  s et of 
s pecif icat ions.  T he us e of  c ables  ot her t han TASCAM  
c ables will at best  c ause the equipment  t o wor k errat ically, 
and  at  wors t  caus e dam age t o t he equipm ent.
If the use of cables other than TASCAM cables 
causes or results in damage, the warranty is voided.
3.1 Audio connections
Other audio equipment can be connected to the DA-
78HR either using analog or digital interfaces.
S electio n  for th e in pu t s ou rce  (an alog  o r  di gital) o n  a 
global or individual track basis is made from the 
m e nu s.  Se e 5 .3 ,  “I np ut  s ele c tio n”  f or  de ta ils.
3.1.1 Balanced analog audio 
connections
All balanced analog input and output audio connec-
ti on s to the DA-7 8HR are made throu gh  25 -p in D-
s ub connectors. 
All th ese au dio  inp uts  an d ou tpu ts are b alan ced and  
are rated at a nominal + 4dBu level.
Th is allows conv en ient and  tidy  cab ling  between th e 
DA-78HR and  other units   such as  the TASCAM  M-
1600 series of mixing consoles.
I t is no t re c o mm e nd e d tha t yo u m a ke  up  y ou r ow n  
cables—consult your TASCAM dealer for avai labil-
it y of sui table ready-made cabl es  (and see 12.1.8, 
“Cables”). However, we recognize that every situa-
ti on has its own unique features , and there are occa-
s ions when a speci al cabl e must be made. 
Before starting to make the cable, we suggest you 
contact  your TASCAM dealer for full detail s of  cable 
s pecifications , etc.The pinouts  for  both the 
ANALOG OU TPU T an d 
IN PU T connect ors are as follows:
where 
G=g ro un d,  H=” h ot ”  (+ ) a nd  C=”cold” (–).
The i mpedance of the inputs  i s 20kW and that of the 
ou tpu ts is 10W.
3. 1. 2 U nb al an ce d an al og au dio  
connections
In  ad ditio n  to  the b alanced  analo g  set o f  con nectio ns, 
there are eight RCA jacks for i nput signals and eight 
for output. These are, of course, unbalanced, and the 
no min al s ign al level  is  – 10 d BV.
NOTE
On ly  c o nn ec t  an d u s e o ne  s et  of  an al og  inp ut s  a t a  
ti me. Th ere  is no  fa cility to switch b etwe en  th e  two  
s et s  of  an a log  inp u t c o nn ec t o rs .
3.1.3 Digital audio  connections
Mu ltitrack dig ital au di o inp ut and  ou tpu t sign als are 
carried on a s ingle 25-pin D-s ub connector. The s ig-
nals are in TDIF-1 format.
To carry signals between a DA-78HR and another 
unit equipped wit h TDIF-1 interfaces , such as the 
TA SC A M se r ie s of  dig ita l mix ing  c o ns ole s or  oth e r 
DTRS recorders,  use  a P W-88D cable (1  meter  long) 
or a PW-88DL cable (5  meters lon g). 
If you need to connect the DA-78HR to a digital 
audio s ource using a different format, we recommend 
the us e o f th e foll owing  u nit s:
• TA SCA M  I F-8 8A E  I nt e rf a ce   U ni t — co nve rt s 
be tw ee n the  TD I F-1  a n d AE S/E BU f or ma ts 
(8  c ha n ne ls).  It als o pr ovide s SPD IF f or ma t 
co nversio n facilities.
• TA SCA M  I F-A E 8—a lso  pr ovid e s s oph isti-
ca te d c onve rs ion fa cilities  b etween  the TDIF-
1 an d A ES/E BU  d a ta  fo rm a ts .
• TASCAM IF-88SD  Interface Unit—conve r ts 
be tw ee n the  T D IF- 1 a nd SD IF- 2 d igita l a ud io 
fo rm at s.
• Th e TA SC AM  IF- TA D —co nve rts be tw e en  
the  T D IF- 1 a nd A DAT da ta  f or ma ts,  using  a  
digital o ptical inp ut/ou tput  fo r  the ADAT data. 
						

							3 -  Connections
18 T A SC AM  D A- 78 HR
3.1.4 SPDIF connectors
The coaxial RCA digital audio connectors on the rear 
panel allow  connection of  an SP DIF-equipped device 
(e.g. a DAT recorder).
Thi s  dig ital u nit  sh ou ld  b e u sed  as  a  clock  s ou rce  if 
d ata is  to   be  read  from  it
When s ynchronizi ng to the signal received at the 
COAX IA L D IGITAL IN, set the CLOCK ke y  s o tha t 
th e 
D IGITAL IN ind icator ligh ts.
3.2 Synchronization connections
The DA-7 8HR h as  facilities for co ntro l an d sy nch ro -
n ization  with  oth er u nits. For fu ll details o f h ow to  
operate the DA-78HR wi th other units , see 8, “Syn-
c h ro niz a tio n w ith o the r  DT R S u nits ”  a n d 9,  “ O pe r a -
tio ns  related  to  timecod e”.
3.2.1 Word clock connections
This set of BNC connectors is used to synchronize 
the DA-78HR to other digital audio devices.
The 
CLOCK key is us ed to change between clock 
sources,  and should be set to 
WO RD w he n  s yn c hr o-
nizing t o an external word clock (the 
WORD ind ica-
to r will lig ht).
The 
IN jack should be connected to the WORD 
SYNC OUT o f  th e   dig ita l a u dio   de vic e   fr om   w hic h  
th e DA-7 8HR  is  to  receive  the  sy nchro nizatio n  cl ock.
The 
OUT outputs word clock information provided 
from the  DA-78HR, while t he 
THRU, to echoes  the 
s ignal s received at 
IN. 
No te th at if th e DA-7 8HR  is  co nn ected  to oth er 
DTRS u nits, th e 
WORD SYNC jacks do not need to 
be connected between the DTRS units.
3.2.2 MIDI  connectors  (IN ,  OUT and 
TH RU )
Thes e st andard 5-pin DIN MIDI connectors  are used 
to carry MIDI  Time  Code (MTC)  and MIDI Machine 
C on tro l (MMC) informatio n b etween  t he DA-78 HR 
a n d oth e r su ita bl y- e qu ipp ed  un its (f o r in sta nc e ,  
s equencers capable of being synchronized to MTC, 
an d capab le o f transmittin g MMC  co mmand s).
The MIDI parameters are set thro ug h the men u 
s ystem (see 10, “MIDI control”).
Note the  difference  between 
MIDI OUT an d MIDI 
TH RU
. The OUT connector outputs signals which 
o rig in ate fro m th e DA-7 8HR . The 
THRU connector 
echoes mes sages received at  the 
IN.
3.2.3 Timecode connections
The DA-78HR can be s ynchronized  to  externally-
generated timecode and is also equipped with an 
i nternal timeco de gen erato r. 
S MPTE/EBU timecode can be received at the 
TIME 
CODE IN 
RCA jack , an d can  be tran smitt ed  from th e 
T IM E CODE  OUT RCA jack. 
S ee 9 , “Operation s related  to timeco de” fo r d etails.
3.2.4 MIDI timecode connections
The three MI DI connectors, IN, OUT and THRU, con-
form to the MIDI standards for such connectors.
3.3 Connection to other TASCAM 
un its
By a “TASCAM unit”, we mean another DA-78HR, 
a DA-98, DA-88 or a DA-38 unit, or an optional 
remote control unit, which may als o be connected in 
a “chain ” with  mu ltiple DTRS un its.
3.3.1 REMOTE IN
This jack on the rear panel can be used to connect  a 
remote con tro l un it s uch  as R C-80 8 remote con trol 
unit.
B asic cont ro l can  b e carried ou t usin g th is un it, b ut 
mo re advan ced  op eratio ns will n ot be po ss ible.
3.3.2 Footswitch
A footswitch such as t he opt ional TASCAM RC-30P 
footswitch can be connected to t he 
RE MOTE PUN CH 
IN/OUT
 jack on the rear panel.
This footswitch allows hands-free punch-in and 
punch-out.
When a track  or track  is armed,  and the unit is  in play 
mo de, p ress ing  th e foo tswitch  on ce  will d rop  th e  un it 
i nto  record mod e, and  pressin g it again  will d ro p it 
back into play mode.
Th e foo tswitch , rather than th e trans po rt k ey s, can  
also be used to set punch points, as described in 5.6, 
“Punch-in and punch-out”.
3.3.3 Multiple DTRS units
Us e a  TAS CAM PW-88S cable when  connecting 
o th er un its to th e 
RE MOTE/S YN C IN connector or  to 
the 
SY NC OUT connector.
Th is sy nchro nization  cab le will carry the int ern al 
s ynchronization code and the transport s ignals, etc. 
There is no need to make any other connections,  
						

							3 - Connections
 TA SCA M DA -7 8 HR 19
ap art fro m th e au dio  co nn ection s (eith er d igital o r 
analog).
If mo re than  o ne DTRS un it is to b e u sed, the fi rst  
u nit  in  th e chain  mus t h av e its  Mach in e  ID set  to  “1”, 
(“0” in the case of DA-88s) and subsequent units 
mus t have their IDs set in  o rder with  no  g aps in  th e 
numbering sequence. Note that the diagram below 
d oe s  n ot sh ow  a ny a u dio  c o nn e cti on s.
S ee 8 .2 , “Machin e ID and  master/slave setting s” fo r 
d etails of settin g the Machin e ID usin g th e menu  
system
NOTE
T he l ast unit in the chain must be terminated (a 
TA SC AM  t e rm in at io n p lug  mus t  b e pl ug ge d in t o t he  
S Y NC OUT of the last machi ne in the chain. Once 
again, only use TASCAM cables for connection of 
equipment to and from the DA-78HR.
3. 3. 4 “ I ndi re c t ”  wo rd  sy nc
As men tion ed  earlier, there i s usu ally n o need  to  use 
a word clock  when  connecting  DTRS  units  t ogether. 
There is, however, an occasion when it is necessary 
to  carry external  word sync between  DTRS units.
Th is is wh en a slave DTR S u nit is reco rd ing  d igit all y 
from  another digital audio device:
Th ou gh  th e slave  will receive its word cl ock from the 
master  unit, the master i tself  mus t receive its  word 
c loc k f r om  th e  o th er  dig ita l au di o de vic e .
In  th is  cas e,  the  master u nit  will h ave its  clo ck  s ou rce 
set to 
WO RD,  and the  slave wil l receive its  clock 
from the mas ter un it throu gh  the 
SYNC IN.
M ach in e ID 1
(m as te r )M achine  ID  2
(sl ave  1)Machine ID 3
(s lave  2)
Termination
plug PW- 88 S PW- 88S
Machin e ID 1
(m aster, bu t
CLO CK se t to
WO RD)Mach ine ID  2
(slave 1)
Termin atio n
plu g PW- 88S
IF -88SD
TDIF -1  d igita l
aud io
Dig ital SDIF- 2
d evice
SDIF -2
digita l a ud io
Word clock sig nal 
						

							20 TASCAM DA-78HR
4 -  Menu interface,  etc.
R ead  this sectio n to  u nd ers tand  th e basic prin cip les 
of the menu operations. These menus are used for 
makin g settin gs  wh ich cann ot be mad e directly fro m 
d e dic a te d f ro nt p a ne l ke ys .
In ad ditio n, this  s ectio n g iv es a b rief descript ion  o f 
th e to p-level men u gro up s as  well as th e su b-menu  
items and  th e parameters. Th is is no t a d etailed  
d e sc ri ptio n of  the se  m en us  a n d p ar a m ete r s,  bu t m a y 
be consulted for quick reference. See the appropriate 
s ectio ns  o f th e manu al  fo r  d etail ed   informati on  
regardin g thes e menu  s et ting s.
4.1 The display
The  DA-78HR’s  menus  and their options  are  dis-
p layed  u sin g the time co un ter. Sin ce th e d isp lay is 
composed of 7-segment LED counters, a s pecial 
alphabet is  used to s how the letters of the alphabet.
The  characters  on  the DA-78HR time  counter are 
s hown  as  in  the table below:
W he n  a  m e nu  it em   or  a   va lue   is  give n  in  th is m a nu a l,  
we sh ow i t in  the fo llowin g way:
Pk . H ld (PK HLD).
Notice also that because there  are not  many character 
p os ition s on  th e time cou nter, the Eng lish  menu  
titles , etc. may b e ab brev iated so metimes.
4.1.1 Peak meters
In ad ditio n to th e ti me disp lay, th e b arg rap h meters 
are s ometimes used to s how a value. For example, in 
th e s tereo  s ub -mixer setting s, the meters act as  a bar-g raph d isp lay  to sh ow the “fad er” settin gs o f th e 
t rack levels.
Ty pically, th e h ig her th e v alue of the parameter, the 
mo re segments  o f th e meter are lit (at min imu m val-
u es, no  s eg men ts are lit, at  maximum values, all seg-
ments  are  lit).
P ress ing and  holding 
SHIFT and pressing any REC 
F UNCTION
 key in  t hese editin g mod es  wil l to gg le 
t he meters  between  data value display and the normal 
meter d isp lay.
4.2 The SHIFT key
The SHIFT key serves two fun ction s: first, to mo dify  
t he  a cti on o f a n oth er  ke y w h en  the  
SHIFT key  is 
p r e sse d a n d he ld  w h ile  the  oth e r ke y  is  p r e sse d,  a nd  
s econdly, to enter “shift mode”. Thes e two are 
e x pla in e d be low.
4.2.1 Shifted keys
Some keys of the DA-78HR perform two functions, 
l abels associated with the key. For ins tance, the 
LOC  
1
 (lo cate to  memory p ositio n 1 ) k ey, h as the altern a-
t ive “shifted” function marked as  
MEMO 1 (store  the 
cu rren t time into  memo ry locatio n 1).
When t he 
SH IF T k ey  is pr e sse d  a n d he ld  dow n , a n d 
one of these keys, as described in the relevant part of 
t his manu al, is p ress ed , t he shifted  fun ction  will b e 
performed.
The two keys can then be released in either order 
(eith er th e 
SHIFT key or  the other key can be released 
first).
4.2.2 Shift mode
By contrast, pressing the SHIFT key alone  and releas-
i ng  it will pl ace the u nit int o “shift mo de”. Th e 
SHIFT in dic a tor  f las he s to  s how  th is.
P ress ing  an y of the two-fun ct ion  k ey s while th e u nit 
i s in sh ift mod e will aut omat ically  enter th e shifted 
f u nc tio n.  
W hile th e u nit is in  s hift mo de, pressin g th e 
SHIFT 
k ey on ce ag ai n will turn th e in dicato r off an d exit 
SHIFT mode.
No te, h owever, th at pressin g and  ho ldin g the 
SHIFT 
key and pres sing another key to access the shifted 
fu nctio n of that key  will n ot affect th e cu rren t s hift 
mode.
A BCDE F GHI J K
A BCDE FGHI JK
L MNOP QRS T UV
L MNOP QRST UV
WXYZ0 1234 56
W XYZ0 1234 56
7 89- . x
a
a . Thi s  is  a lowe rc as e x, us ed t o denot e  a n 
unknown va lue. 7 89-. ;