Tascam Digital Multitrack Recorder DA-78HR Owners Manual

							8 - Synchronization with other  DTRS  units
 TA SCA M DA -7 8 HR 51
3
Press the C HAS E ke y o n all of  th e sl ave  D TR S 
u nits . Th e indi ca tor will fla sh.
4
P ress 
FORMAT/Fs twice within  five  seconds ,  on 
each of the DTRS units (m aster and all s laves) 
s o al l ma c hine s ar e  re a dy t o st ar t  fo rm at tin g.  
If you press the 
CLE AR key while the FORMAT 
in dicator is lit stea dily, yo u will cancel the fo r-
mat operation.
5
S elect the same samp ling rate (48 kHz or 
44.1 k Hz) on each DTRS unit.
Any slave DTRS  uni t which has  a different 
s ampl ing frequency selected  from that selected 
o n th e ma ster will dis play  a n erro r mes sag e.
6
P ress an d h old 
PLAY a nd p ress  RECORD on 
the master. All sl ave units’ 
CH AS E indicators 
will  lig ht s tea dily, a nd the tapes will start to  b e 
forma tted in sy nchro nization .
8 .5 .1 R ec or din g w hil e  for ma tting
As with a single-machine format (5.1.4, “Recording 
wh ile fo rmatting ”), it is po ssib le to reco rd  while fo r-
matting  on  multi ple machi nes.
You may want to use this feature when making a live 
multi-mach ine  reco rd ing ,  and  there h as  n ot b een time 
to  fo rmat all th e tap es  in  ad van ce of the performan ce.
R ememb er th at y ou  sho uld  let t he tapes run  to  the 
en d—y ou  s ho uld  n ot  h alt th e  fo rmatting /reco rdin g 
p ro cess part of the way throu gh  the tape.
8 .6 Ind iv id ua l clo ck  mo de
There are some circums tances where it may be nec-
ess ary to us e independent reference clocks on  a chain 
of DTRS units when TC ti me mode (see 9.2, “Tape 
timecode mode”) is selected.Th ere are two settin gs , 
AUTO and INDVID (individ-
ual). 
AUTO is the default, and  th e u nit b eh aves as fo l-
l ows when th is is selected.
In  in div idu al mod e, th e u nit  b ehaves  as  follows :
1
Press the 
SHI F T  ke y s o t hat  t he  SHIFT in dicator 
is fla shing , a nd press the 
MENU key,  until  the 
counter s hows 
SYST EM-- (SYST EM--).
2
Press the SUB MENU key  until the displa y 
briefly  s hows 
CLOk. MO DE (CLOK MODE) a nd 
then changes to the current s etting.
3
Use the s a nd t keys to change between the 
AUTO (AU T O) a nd INDViD (INDV ID) mo des.
8.7 Error messages
These error messages refer to DTRS 
s yn c hr on iz a tion :
E . DIO (E DIO)—ap pears  i f th e d igital cable is no t 
connected. Re-connect  the correct cable to the 
D IGITAL I/O connector.
E . CLOC (E CLOC)—appears  when the  sync cable  is 
not  connected, the master has been turned off, or the 
master’s sampling frequency is different from that of 
t he slave unit’s. Recheck thes e parameters.
If eit her of these messages appears, correct the fault 
t o retu rn to n ormal op eratio n.
Sl ave u ni t’s 
Time ModeMaster DA-78HR Slave DA-78HR units
ABSA ll  clo ck  so urces D TRS s yn c
TCIn tern al In tern al
Word sync DTRS sync
Sl ave u ni t’s 
Time ModeMaster DA-78HR Slave DA-78HR units
ABS
A ll  clo ck  so urcesDTRS sync
TCIn tern al, 
WO RD or 
DIGITAL IN 
						

							52 TASCAM DA-78HR
9 -  Operations  related  to timecode
The DA-7 8HR con tains  s yn chron ization  facilities, 
in clud ing  a SMPTE/ EBU timecod e g en erato r, wh ich 
allow it to act either as  a timecode master or a time-
code slave when connected i n a ti mecode chain.
If timecod e is  recorded   on  tap e,  a  sp ecial  d iscrete 
s ubcode track is us ed, which leaves all eight  tracks 
free for recording and playback of audio material. 
No te th at this su bco de is available bo th as analo g 
SMPTE/EBU timecode and  also as  MTC.
The DA-7 8HR is ab le to  syn chron ize with  ex tern al 
timecode devices, even if the DA-78HR tape has  not  
b e e n s tri pe d,  by c onv er tin g its inte r na l se rv o sub c od e  
(ABS) to timecode “on-the-fly”.
A full ran ge o f op tio ns is p ro vid ed fo r fu ll co mp ati-
b ility with  t he widest p oss ible ran ge o f oth er eq uip -
ment.
9.1 ABS and timecode
In so me p arts o f th is man ual we will u se the ph ras es  
“ABS ” and “TC”. Here, we explain these two differ-
ent ti ming  reference methods  and  the differences  
between them.
9.1.1 ABS time
“ABS ” stands  for “Absolute”, and is  the absolute 
time of t he tape as recorded on t he subcode of the 
tap e. This  timin g starts at th e begin nin g o f th e tap e 
with  a valu e o f 0 0:0 0:0 0:0 0. This is  th e ti min g refer-
ence used when the DA-78HR is not using timecode.
Timecode contains a fixed number of frames  per sec-
ond. However, the ABS method of ti ming works  in a 
s ligh tly di fferent  way.
In three seconds of time, t here are 100 frames. Thes e 
frames  are  allo cated  as  fo llows:
Thi s pattern is repeated every t hree seconds, as  you 
will  no tice  when  yo u s et frame values  us ing  the menu  
s ystem in  ABS  mo de. Wh en  mu ltiple DTRS  un its are 
connected  toget her in  DTRS s ync mode,  the master 
u nit always o utp uts ABS  timin gs to  th e slav e u nit (s).
9.1.2 Tape timecode
“TC” stands for timecode, and is shown whenever a 
timecod e valu e is used  rath er than  the ABS value. 
The timecode may be int ernal or external and can be received and trans mitted  v ia th e MIDI  con nectors,  or 
timecode synthesized from the ABS subcode (9.2, 
“Tape timecode mode”).
Whether the timecode is generated or synthesized, 
we will refer to  it as  “timecod e” in  t his manu al, to 
d istin gu ish  i t from AB S  timin g  valu es .
Timecode can be re-produced independently of ABS 
t imings  and can be of  any frame format  supported  by 
common timecode standards.
Timing information received and transmitted fro m 
an d to  ex tern al co ntroll ers will alway s be referenced 
t o timeco de values .
W hen  t he DA-78 HR is referen ced to its ab solu te 
t imecode, the 
ABS in dicato r to  th e left of the tape 
co un ter will lig ht, and  wh en referen ced to timecod e 
(internal or external),  the 
TC ind icator will ligh t.
9.1.3 Selecting TC or  ABS timing
NOTE
This procedure is fundamental to synchronization 
operations. If you select absolute timing mode when 
you want to synchronize with tim ecode, you wil l be 
unable to synchronize the DA-78HR. 
To change between  the  two  different  time reference 
modes, perform the following procedure:
1
Press the 
SHI F T  ke y s o t hat  t he  SHIFT in dicator 
is fla shing , a nd then p ress  the 
ME NU key so  
tha t  t he  displa y  sho ws 
SYSTEM- - 
(
SYSTEM--).
2
Press the 
SUB MENU key  until the displa y 
briefly  shows 
TIM E. MODE (TIME MODE) fol-
lowed by 
T. Md. ; ;; (T  MD  x xx)—the curren t 
setting  for this para meter, as described below.
3
Use the s a nd t keys to select either 
ABS 
(
ABS) or TC (TC) (the default  is ABS).
The appropriate in dicator by the time dis play 
will l ight. 
9.2 Tape timecode mode
The fol lowing procedure  allows  you t o  select  the 
source for tape timecode (including using ABS tim-
i ngs, which are used to synt hesize SMPTE/EBU 
t imecode. Thi s synthesi zed timecode is treated 
exactl y as if a tape had been striped wi th timecode).
1
Press the 
SHI F T  ke y s o t hat  t he  SHIFT in dicator 
is fla shing , a nd press the 
MENU key  u ntil  the 
displa ys  s how s 
TC-- (TC--).
SecondNu mbe r  of  
fr amesMaxi mum frame 
value displayed
00 – 01 33 32
01 – 02 33 32
02 – 03 34 33 
						

							9 -  Operations  related  to timecode
53 T A SC AM  D A- 78 HR
2
Press the S UB M ENU key  until the displa y 
briefly shows 
TAPE. T C (TAPE T C),  fo l l ow e d 
b y th e current setting.
3
Us e the s a nd t keys to change the value of 
this  parameter  between 
TC  TRK (TC TRK) a nd 
C ONV ABS (CONV  A BS).
TC TRK means  that timecode recorded on the 
ta pe will be used a s the so urce fo r the 
timecode.
CONV ABS mea ns tha t th e ABS time (s ubcode) 
will  be converted to  timeco de a nd output as 
timecode.
9.2.1 TAPE TC setting
You  sho uld  on ly us e th is settin g if y ou  have alread y 
s trip ed the d ed icated timeco de track  with timeco de 
(either from an external source or from the DA-
7 8H R ’s ow n inte r n al g e ne r at or ).
If you have selected 
TC TRK f ro m  th e  m e nu   ab ov e,  
any  timecod e reco rded  on  th e tap e  will b e u sed  as th e 
tape timecode source. 
9.2.2 ABS setting
If you have selected CONV  ABS i n the menu above, 
th e AB S sub cod e time from the tape will be us ed as 
th e timecod e,  with  th e s tart  o f  the  tape  h av ing  a  time-
c o de  va lue  of  00 :00 :00 . 00 , a s w ith  th e  AB S c od e 
its elf. 
The timecode frame rate used  will b e the frame rate 
as selected in 9.3, “Select ing the frame mode”)
NOTE
I f  yo u a re  u s in g A BS  ti min gs  a s  t im ec o de , t h e ho ur s , 
m inu tes a nd  se con d s of th e A B S  ti me  will  cor re spo nd  
to the converted ti mecode, unles s
 t he  fr am e ra te  is  
set to 29.97 non-drop or 30 drop. In these cases, the 
difference between ABS values and timecode values 
wi ll be  ab ou t  2 s ec o n ds  pe r h ou r.
9.3 Selecting the frame mode
The DA-78HR can use the following standards for 
timecode (including timecode synt hesized by the 
AB S to   TC  facility): When using the DA-78HR to chase to a timecode 
master, the system frame mode on t he DA-78HR 
mu st match th e frame mo de of the timeco de mas ter, 
otherwise chase operat ions are not possible.
The s ystem frame mode is automatically set when a 
tape which has been striped with timecode is 
i nserted, (o r if power is switched  on  with  a st rip ed 
t ape already inserted in the unit). The frame mode 
record ed  o n  the  tap e will  be u sed  as  the s ystem frame 
mode. 
However, the system frame mode may be changed 
f o llow ing  the  pr oc e d ur e  b e low.  
Th e s ystem frame mo de will determi ne the typ e o f 
t imecode out put, even if it differs  from the tape time-
code (the type of which can be viewed as described 
i n 9. 5 .8 , “Ch e c kin g th e f ra m e  mo de  of  str ipe d tim e -
code”). 
The DA-78HR als o outputs timecode synthesized 
from the ABS code (
CONV ABS) a s d e sc rib e d in 9. 2,  
“Tape timecode mode”) us ing the frame mode set 
here.
Th e DA-7 8HR ’s internal timeco de gen erato r also  
u ses th is frame mod e wh en gen eratin g timeco de.
To change the s ys tem  frame  rate:
1
Press the 
SHI F T  ke y s o t hat  t he  SHIFT in dicator 
is fla shing , a nd press the 
MENU key  u ntil  the 
displa ys  s how s 
TC-- (TC--).
2
Press the 
SUB MENU key  until the displa y 
briefly  shows 
FRM . modE (F RM MO DE),  fo l -
lowed by the current s ystem setting for this 
parameter (e.g. 
Sys 29d F (SYS 29DF)).
3
Use the s
 and t keys  to select the frame mode 
for your project.
9.4 Timecode input and output
Remember in this  s ection, “timecode” means 
S PMTE/EBU timecod e wh en referri ng  to  incomin g 
t imecode.  Outgoing t imecode  wi ll als o  refer to 
S MPTE/EBU timeco de, u nles s MTC o utp ut is  tu rn ed 
o n ( se e  9. 4. 4 , “M TC  ou tpu t”) .Frame mode (fps) Di spl ay
30 non-drop30ND (30ND)
30 drop
30DF (30DF)
2 9. 9 7 no n- dr op
29ND (29ND)
29. 97 drop (default)29DF (29DF)
25
25 (25)
24
24 (24)
Frame  mode (fps)
Di s pl a y 
						

							9 - Operations related to timecode
 TA SCA M DA -7 8 HR 54
9 .4 .1 Sh owin g i npu t tim e co de
There are two primary reasons  for the DA-78HR to 
receive ti mecode: when the DA-78HR is  chasing to 
ti mecode,  and  must receive the master timecode,  and 
wh en th e DA-7 8HR is  to  record  timecod e from 
another unit (but see 9.5.5, “External timecode 
s ources” below).
To view  incoming t imecode,  follow the  procedure 
below:
1
Press the 
SHI F T  key so that the SHIFT in dicator 
is fla shing , then press the 
MENU key   until  the 
displa y sho ws 
TC-- (TC--).
2
Press the 
SUB MENU key so that the display 
shows  
DI sp. ;;;; (DI SP  xx xx) where xxxx is  
the curren t settin g.
3
Use the s a nd t keys to change between 
TAPE (TAPE) (off-tape setting), EXT (EXT—
timecode received at the timecode input) a nd 
diff (DIFF—the  difference between the 
received  timecode and the actual  pos ition).  Use 
EX T to view th e received timecode.
NOTE
E ven  w he n  th e  DA- 78 HR i s in  A B S  mod e,  th is se tting  
has some effect. If TAPE is selected here, the ABS 
tape ti me i s shown. If DIFF is sel ected here, and the 
DA -7 8H R is  cha sing  u sin g D TRS  sync, th e d iffe re nce  
between the ABS time of the master unit and the 
slave unit is shown.
To  s how th e frame mo de of the inco min g timeco de:
1
Press the 
SHI F T  key so that the SHIFT in dicator 
is fla shing , then press the 
MENU key   until  the 
displa y sho ws 
TC-- (TC--).
2
Press the 
SUB MENU key so that the display 
briefly  s hows 
FRM . MODE (F RM MO DE ), fol -
lowed by the s ystem fra me mode a s described 
in 9. 3,  “Se le c t ing t he  f r a me  mo de ”.
3
Press a nd hold the 
SHI F T key a nd pres s the s 
key  so t hat  t he displa y sho ws 
E XT ;;;; (EXT 
xx xx
) where xxxx is the abbreviation for the 
external timecode fram e mode. I f no external 
timecode i s being received, the di splay shows : 
EXT -- (EX T  --).
9.4.2 Timecode  input timing
Because of the nature of analog-to-digital conver-
s ion , th e ti mecod e in pu t  to  th e  DA-7 8HR  mus t b e 
s ynchronized either to the audio from the digi tal  or 
analog out puts.1
Press th e 
SH IF T key s o tha t  the SHIFT indicator 
is flashi ng, then press the 
MENU key  until the 
displa y sh ows 
TC-- (TC--).
2
Press  the 
SU B ME NU key so that the display 
briefly  shows  
I N. TC. TMG (IN  T C  T MG) a nd 
th en  changes  to  the  cu rrent s etting.
3
Use the s and t keys to change between 
ANALOG (ANA LOG) and DIGI TAL(DIGITAL).
9. 4. 3 T im ec od e out p ut
The t imecode received at the timecode input jack, or 
the timecode recorded on tape (or s ynthesized from 
ABS), can be output from the timecode output jack.
When the DA-78HR is the timecode master, the 
timeco de it ou tpu ts sho uld  be off tape.
Howev er, wh en  the DA-78 HR is in th e midd le of a 
timeco de ch ain, y ou  wil l p ro bab ly  wan t to  retransmit 
the incoming timecode (the 
OUT  fu nc tio ns  a s  a  
THRU). This section explains how to perform these 
op e ra tio ns.
1
Press th e 
SH IF T key s o tha t  the SHIFT indicator 
is flashi ng, then press the 
MENU key  until the 
displa y sh ows 
TC-- (TC--).
2
Press  the 
SU B ME NU key so that the display 
sho ws  
OUT. TC. SRC (OUT TC SR C) briefly, 
and  then changes to the curren t settin g.
3
Use the s and t keys to choos e between 
TAP E 
tc
 (TA PE  T C), which  includes  o ff-ta pe  and 
sy nthes ized  timecode, 
REGE N (RE GE N), which 
is regenerated timecode, and 
RESHAPE 
(
R ES HAP E) which is fil tered and re-trans mit-
ted by  the DA-7 8H R.
9. 4. 4 M T C out p ut
It is p oss ible to s elect wheth er o r n ot the DA-7 8HR 
outputs MIDI timecode, and under what circum-
stances. The following functions  are available:
•MTC output
• MTC output in fas t modes (allows  sequencers , etc. 
to  k eep  track )
• MTC output when stopped
The last two of these are dependent on the first, i.e. if 
MTC is  s et to  be off, it can no t be ou tpu t i n fast  o r 
stop modes. All of these are access ed from the MIDI 
me n u:
1
Press th e 
SH IF T key s o tha t  the SHIFT indicator 
is flashi ng, then press the 
MENU key  until the 
displa y sh ows 
MIDI-- (MI DI --). 
						

							9 -  Operations  related  to timecode
55 T A SC AM  D A- 78 HR
To s et th e MTC ou tpu t on  o r o ff:
2
Press the 
S UB M ENU key  until the displa y 
shows 
MTC O N (MT C ON) or  MTC O FF (MT C 
OFF
).
3
Us e the s a nd t keys to change the setting to 
the requ ired value (on or off).
To s et th e  M T C ou tpu t w he n  f a st or  sto ppe d :
2
Press the 
S UB M ENU key  until the displa y 
s hows either 
FA ST. MTC (FA S T MTC) or 
S TOP. MTC (STOP MT C), followed by the cur-
rent s etting (on
 or of f
).
3
Us e the s a nd t keys to change the setting to 
the requ ired value (on or off).
NOTE
If MIDI i s turned off usi ng the MIDI menu (10.1, 
“ MMC e na ble  an d d is a ble ”),  MTC  o ut p ut  is  al s o 
disabled.
9.4.5 Fast  lin ear timeco de (LT C) o utpu t
The Fast LTC  fun ction  con tro ls the way in wh ich 
timecod e is  o utp ut wh en  fast win din g th e tap e, or if 
s hu ttling  i s carried ou t at  g reater than n ormal p lay -
back speed. 
1
Press the 
SHIFT key so that the SHIFT indicator 
is  fla shing , then pres s the 
ME NU key  un til the 
d ispla y sho ws  
T C-- (TC --).
2
Press the 
S UB M ENU key  so that the dis play  
shows 
FAST  LTC (FA S T  LT C) briefly, a nd 
then chan ges to th e current setting.
3
Us e the s a nd t keys  to make the appro priate 
setting.
There are three setting s:
The 
5FRM (5 FRM) s etting  means  th at t imecod e 
in fo rmatio n is no t ou tpu t co nt inu ou sly. Here, the 
DA-78HR reads the timecode from the tape as it i s 
s pooling, outputs 5 consecutive frames at normal  
s peed starting  with th e valu e wh ich h as  b een read  
from tape, then reads the tape again, outputs  another 
5  co nsecu tive frames based  o n the new tap e p os ition , 
and  so on.
The 
LEAP (LEAP) settin g mean s that timecod e is 
o utp ut con tin uo usly  du rin g fas t op eratio ns, and  will 
n ot b e co ntig uo us (it will l eap  between frames).
The 
OFF (OFF) s ett ing  means  th at timecod e is  n ot 
output during fast operations.
9 .4 .6 T im ec od e  outp ut ti mi ng
B ecau se of the natu re of the dig ital-to -an alog  co nver-
s ion , th e t imecod e wh ich is o utp ut fro m th e DA-
7 8HR  mu st be syn chron ized to  match the aud io  tim-
i ng  from eith er th e d igital o r th e an al og au dio  o ut-
p ut s, wh ichever s et o f o utp uts is  in  use at the time.
1
Press the 
SHI F T  ke y s o t hat  t he  SHIFT in dicator 
is flashing, then press the 
MENU key   until  the 
displa y sho ws 
TC-- (TC--).
2
Press the 
SUB MENU key so that the display 
shows  
OU T. TC. TMG (OU T TC TMG) briefly, 
and then ch anges to the current setting.
3
Use the s
 a nd t keys to select between  
ANALOG (ANAL OG) a nd DIGITA L 
(
D IGITAL).
9.5 Recording timecode
9.5.1 Selecting the timecode source
The DA-78HR allows  you to select one of three 
s ources for recording timecode: the DA-78HR’s 
i nternal gen erato r, ext ern al timecod e, or timeco de 
based on tape.
To s elect  the s ource  for recording  timecode:
1
Press the 
SHI F T  ke y s o t hat  t he  SHIFT in dicator 
is flashing, then press the 
MENU key   until  the 
displa y sho ws 
TCG. REC-- (TCG RE C--).
2
Press the 
SUB MENU key so that the display 
shows  
TC . REC. SRC (TC RE C SR C) br i e f l y, 
and then ch anges to the current setting.
3
Use the s
 an d t keys to select a source for the 
tim ecode recording from the followin g options: 
EXT (EXT),  TCG (TCG—ti mecode generator) 
and 
TAPE . TC (TAPE TC).
If  y ou  select 
TAP E. TC, the source of the tape 
tim ecode wil l be used , as determined in the 
ta pe  timeco de s electio n m en u (9 .2 , “ Tap e  time-
code mod e”).
NOTE
Generally speaking, timecode should be recorded 
from an external source only when audio tracks and 
timecode must be transferred together from external 
units. In all other cases, we suggest that you use the 
internal generator or the tape as sources for record-
ing timecode. 
						

							9 - Operations related to timecode
 TA SCA M DA -7 8 HR 56
If you are recording timecode only, we suggest  that 
you do not use external sources for recording time-
code.
S et th e s ou rce to 
TA P E T C a s de s cr ib e d imm e dia te ly  
a b ove ,  an d u se  
AB S  ( s e e  9 .2 . 2,  “A B S  s e t t i ng ”)   as  t h e  
tap e t imecod e sou rce. Th is will ensu re an  accurate 
match  between  th e timecod e an d  the  ABS  timing  ref-
erence (the fact that the generat or mus t be started 
manu ally mean s that there will n ot be a tig ht relation  
b etween timeco de and  th e ABS timin g).
Th is will als o allow yo u to  s yn chron ize multip le 
DTRS  units  accurately to  external  timecode, even 
though the slave units are not timecode-based.
9.5.2 Recording timecode using the 
generator
1
Insert a formatted tape into the DA-78HR.
It is  po ss ible to  forma t  a nd s tripe  a  new  tape 
simultan eo usly, by settin g up th e forma tting  
pro cedure a s described in 5 .1, “Forma tting  a  
tape” an d then following the instructions  
below.
2
Select ti mecode as the timin g referen ce (9.1.3, 
“Se le c t ing TC  or  A BS t iming ”) .
3
Select a frame rate (9.3, “Selectin g th e frame 
mode” ).
4
Press the 
SHI F T  key so that the SHIFT in dicator 
is fla shing , then press the 
MENU key   until  the 
displa y sho ws 
TCG. REC-- (TCG RE C--).
5
Select the source  of the timecode as the internal 
generator (9.5.1, “Selecting the timecode 
source”).
6
Press the 
SUB MENU key  until the displa y 
briefly  s hows 
STR T. TIME (ST RT  T I ME), fol-
lowed by the current s tart time of the 
generator.
7
Edit the generator s tart time as described in 
4. 3,  “M e nus and  s ub-m en us”.
8
To record the timecode, pres s the 
S UB ME NU 
key  un til th e displa y sho ws  
TC. R EC. EN 0 (TC 
REC  E N 0, 
i.e. disab led ). Us e the s and t key s 
to  ch ang e t he  se tt i ng  t o  1
 (enabled).
The 
TC indicato r will start fla shin g. T his set-
ting  will return to  
0 (disabled) when timecode 
recordi ng has finished.9
To  start  the generator, p ress  the 
SU B ME NU 
key until the disp lay  s hows 
TGc. S TOP (TC G 
ST O P
). Then use the s or  t key  to start  the 
generator runn ing.
The displa y will sho w 
T CG. RUN (TCG RU N).
10
Press  a nd  hold  the 
PL AY and  press the 
RE CORD
 key and th e tape will s ta rt reco rding. 
The 
TC indicator will  s tart flash ing faster 
while timeco de s tripin g is go ing  o n.
NOTE
You can also start recording (steps 8 and 10) and 
th e n s t ar t  th e t im ec o de  ge ne ra to r (s t e p 9 ).  
If the meth od  described  ab ove (arming  the timeco de 
track , and  then  s tartin g reco rdin g) is used , th e t ap e 
cou nter is u sed to sh ow th e o utp ut fro m the timeco de 
sou rce (the gen erato r) when  th e timecod e track is  
armed, flashing when the tape is  s topped, and steady 
when  th e tap e is  ru nn ing .
9. 5. 3 G en er a t or  m ode s
Wh en  the timeco de gen erato r is sto pp ed, us ing  th e 
sub -menu  comman d to restart  th e g enerator will 
either restart from the start t ime as set in 7, or to con -
tinu e from t he  time  when  i t was  sto pp ed.
1
Press th e 
SH IF T key s o tha t  the SHIFT indicator 
is flashi ng, then press the 
MENU key  until the 
displa y sh ows 
TCG. REC -- (TC G RE C--).
2
Press  the 
SU B ME NU key so that the display 
sho ws  
TCG. MODE (TCG MODE) briefly, an d 
th en  changes  to  the  cu rrent s etting.
3
Use the s and t keys to choose between 
RESet (RESET—re su me  st ar t  f ro m s e t  val ue ) 
and  
Co NT (CONT—continue from  currently 
rea ched valu e).
9. 5. 4 S y nt h es iz i ng t im ec od e f rom  A B S  
ti mi ng
When you are synthesizing timecode from ABS, the 
tape cou nter d isp lay beh av es differently  from t he 
way as described above. 
Th e t ap e co un ter will n ot flas h when  t he timeco de 
track  is  armed  an d th e tap e is sto pp ed, and  it will no t 
display all hyphens, since the ti mecode s ource is 
always available.
In this case, you can start recording the t imecode at 
any time (before or after) the tape has started 
mo vin g. 
						

							9 -  Operations  related  to timecode
57 T A SC AM  D A- 78 HR
9.5.5 External timecode sources
T he  f ollo wi ng  n ote s sh ou ld  h e lp yo u w h en  yo u mu st 
record timecode on the DA-78HR from an external 
source (analog or digital). 
As men tion ed earlier, yo u sho uld  o nly  n eed to record  
timecode from an external  source  when  the audio and 
timecod e tracks have to be tran sferred to gether, keep-
in g a strict relation sh ip b etween  th e au dio  and  time-
code tracks.
In all other cases, we s uggest using either t he DA-
78HR’s internal generator or timecode from tape. If 
y ou  u se thes e as so urces, there will b e n o jitter p rob -
lems, an d any  prob lems o f sy nch ro nizatio n with  th e 
digital audio clock are elimi nated
NOTE
When recording timecode from an external digital 
sour ce, make sur e the digital  cl ock of the DA-78H R 
and that of the external source are synchronized. A 
wa rn in g me ssa ge  w ill a pp ea r if the  tim eco de  sou rce  
and the DA-78HR are not synchronized, but time-
code can sti ll be recorded. However, the resul ti ng 
tim ecode recording wil l pr obably cause synchroniza-
tion problems in the future.
When recording timecod e from an other DTRS  
uni t,  syn c hr on iz e  the  tw o un its us ing  A B S ch a se  
(settin g th e timecod e/au dio  sou rce u nit to b e a slave 
u nit). After th e two  un its have been  s yn chron ized  in 
this way, timecode and audio can be transferred 
to geth er.
When recording timecod e from a digital source 
( au dio or  v ide o), make sure that the DA-78HR and 
th e o ther un it are lock ed  to a co mmo n word (aud io 
recorder) clock reference. After the two machines 
have been synchronized in this way, timecode and 
audio can be  transferred  together.
If your  analog recorder  cannot chase to external  time-
code, you must first record the timecode from the 
analog recorder  on an audio  track of the DA-78HR 
and then transfer the timecode to the dedicated time-
code track.
Timecode recorded on the audi o track i n this  way is  
s ynchronized to the audio clock, and can subs e-
q ue n tly be  tr an sf e rr e d ( thr ou gh  pa tc hin g)  to the  tim e-
code track.
9 .5 .6 R ec or din g ti me c ode  fr om  e xte rn al  
s our ce s
1
Set the time mode to TC (9.1.3, “Selecting TC 
o r AB S tim ing” ).2
Set the timecode record source to 
Ext (9.5.1, 
“Selecting the timecode s ource”).
3
To record the timecode, pres s the 
S UB ME NU 
key un til the displa y s hows 
TC. REC. EN . 0 (TC 
RE C E N 0
),  meaning that timecode recording  is 
disabled. Use the s an d t  ke ys  t o  c ha nge   t he  
se tt i ng  to  
1 (1 —enabled).
4
Start the external source to check the s tatus of 
the external timecode.
If no external timecode has  been received since 
the DA-78HR has been switch ed  on, the tape 
counter will s how all hyp hens. 
If external timecod e has been received since 
the DA-7 8H R ha s been switch ed  o n, but is not 
currently being received, the tape counter wi ll 
fl a sh.
If the external tim ecode is currently being 
received at normal (p lay) speed, the tape 
counter will s how the va lue of the timecode 
currently being received. If the external time-
code is being received from a s ource i n fast 
wind mode, the tape coun ter will fla sh.
If the tim ecode source is not clock-synch ro-
nized with the DA-7 8HR, a  warning will be 
shown on the displ ay s creen. I n this  case, 
althou gh you can record timecode, it is  not rec-
ommend ed , a s this  will prob ably  ca use prob-
lems later o n.
5
Sto p th e ex ternal timecode so urce, and rewind 
or reset it to a point prior to where you want 
re c o rd ing t o be gin.  
The ta pe co unter will no w s ta rt to flash .
6
Res tart the source.
The ta pe co unter will dis play  received ti me-
code.
7
Press and hold down 
PLAY an d press R ECORD. 
Timecode will now be reco rd ed  from the ex ter-
nal so urce o nto  the timecode tra ck.
If the tape counter was flashin g when the time-
code tra ck wa s armed, the ta pe co unter will 
now sho w a ll hy phens, an d n othing will be 
re c o rd ed .
9.5.7 Checking external timecode
You can check received timecode by using the time-
c o de  di spla y  f u nc tio n a s de sc r ibe d  in 9. 4 .1 ,  “Sh ow -
i ng  in pu t  timeco de”. 
						

							9 - Operations related to timecode
 TA SCA M DA -7 8 HR 58
9 .5 .8 C he ck in g th e  fra m e  mo de  of 
s tr ipe d tim ec od e
To view the frame mode of a tape which has  been 
s trip ed  with  timecod e,  follo w th e s teps  b elow:
1
Press the 
SHI F T  key so that the SHIFT in dicator 
is fla shing , then press the 
MENU key   until  the 
displa y sho ws 
TC-- (TC--).
2
Press the 
SUB MENU key so that the display 
briefly  s hows 
FRM  MODE (F RM MO DE ), fol -
lowed by the s ystem fra me mode a s described 
in 9. 3,  “Se le c t ing t he  f r a me  mo de ”.
3
Press a nd hold the 
SHI F T key a nd pres s the s 
key  twice so  t ha t t he d ispla y sho ws  
T APE 
;;;;
 (TA PE  xx xx) where  xxxx is  the  abbrevia-
tion for the frame m ode of  th e  tim ecode striped 
on the tape. If no  timeco de ha s been s triped o n 
the  t ape ,  the  di sp l ay  s how s:  
TAPE -- 
(
TA PE  - -).
9.6 Chasing to timecode
Th e foll owing  s ect ion s describe the o peration  o f th e 
DA-78HR when chas ing to external timecode.
The operation  of the 
CHAS E k ey  is similar to  th e 
way the 
CHAS E key is used when synchronizing 
DTRS  u nits , bu t in th is cas e, th e mach in e ID i s no t 
used.
9.6.1 Machine ID and timecode
S ince a  DA-78 HR with  machin e ID set  to  1  is  alway s 
a mas ter unit as regards DTRS s ync operation, there 
is  n o need to mak e any  settin g on  su ch a mach ine if it 
is  to be a timecode slave. As long as  timecode is  
received at the 
TIME CODE IN connector, a unit 
wh os e mach ine  ID  is s et to  1  will  auto matically  enter 
ti mecode chase  mode  when the 
C HAS E key is 
pressed.
However,  when a  DA-78HR  unit  has  its  machine ID 
s et to  a valu e  oth er  than  1, t here  is a  co nflict wh en  the 
C HAS E key is pressed. You must determine whether 
th e ch ase mo de refers to timeco de or to th e DTRS 
sync,  and  this is done using  the  Time  Mode  menu 
(9 .1 .3, “S electin g TC or ABS timing”). If 
ABS is 
s elected, when 
CHA SE is pressed , th e machin e will 
e n te r D T RS sy nc  mo de ,  bu t if  
TC is selected, the 
machin e will  attempt to  lo ck to external timecod e.
When the DA-78HR is in “chase-ready” mode (the 
C HAS E indicator is flashing) and t imecode i s 
received at the 
TIME CODE IN connector, the DA-
7 8HR  will  s tart  to  ch as e th e  timecod e. W hen  it  is locked  to the in co mi ng  timecod e, th e 
CH AS E indica-
tor  will li gh t s tead ily.
NOTES
The tim ecode frame rate used on t he DA-78H R mus t 
mat ch t he f rame rat e of  incom ing t imec ode (9.3,  “Selec ting 
the  fram e mode ”).  I f  they  do  not  mat ch,  t he DA-78H R  will 
not chas e t o t imec ode.  C heck  t he f rame rat e of  t he inc om-
ing t imec ode at  t he s ource  and of  t he t imecode  recorded 
on t he DA-78H R’s  tape  .
The tim ecode used internally  by  t he DA-78H R does not 
hav e t o be  an ac tual  tim ecode  st riped t ape.  Ins tead,  t ime-
code can by  “s ynt hesiz ed” f rom the ABS s ubcode tim ings, 
as desc ribed in 9.2,  “Tape tim ecode mode ”.
The exact ways  in which it chas es the timecode and 
handles transport functions , etc. are determined by a 
nu mb er of settin gs, as describ ed  below:
9. 6. 2 T im ec od e of f s et
When a DA-78HR is a  timecode slave, you may enter 
an offs et for the audio from the DA-78HR to match 
the audio (or video sequence) from t he timecode 
ma ste r.
As with the machine offset (8.3, “Machine offset”), 
yo u can either set this manu al ly, entering  the nu m-
bers, or set it “on-the-fly” by ear. In either case, once 
the offs et  has been entered, it can then be edited.
The offset  can be s et  to subframe  or s ample accuracy 
(4.3.6, “Sub-frame values”).
Th e way in which  the timeco de o ffset is s et is ex actly 
the same as for a machine (ABS) offset, except that  
the DA-78HR must first be s et up as a t imecode 
slave, as described above (9.6.1, “Machine ID and 
timecode”).
NOTE
If   y ou  c h an ge   an  o f fs e t  v a lue  ( t ime c od e  or  A B S) ,  a ny  
pu nch  po in ts, loca tio n me mo rie s, e tc. wi ll be  inva li-
dated. For example, if you change the offset to 
00:30:00.00 (30 minutes) from 00:00:00.00 (no off-
set), a punch point which was previously at 
00 :33 :0 0 .0 0 ( 33  m inu tes in to the  ta p e) wi ll still h ave 
th e  sa me  va lu e (0 0:3 3:0 0.00 ), bu t w ill n ow b e on ly 3  
minutes i nto the tape.
9. 6. 3 Settin g ti mecode o ffset 
1
Press th e SH IF T key s o tha t  the SHIFT indicator 
is flashi ng (shift mo de).
2
Press  the 
AU TO IN/OU T (OFFSET) key.
3
The displa y will sho w 
t c. ofst (TC OF ST) 
fo l l ow e d by t he  cu rr e nt  o f fs et  (i f an y has  be e n 
set ). 
						

							9 -  Operations  related  to timecode
59 T A SC AM  D A- 78 HR
4
Us e the s a nd t ke y s to  s e t t he  o f fs et  fo r  t he  
s lave  DA - 7 8H R,  an d t he  
SH IF Ted  s and  t 
k e y s  to  m ov e t h e  cu rs or  t o th e d i f f e re n t  fi e l d s .  
You  can also use the 
OFFSET key as a right 
curs or key.
The front panel 
OFFSET in dicator will light 
when an offs et value has been set.
S ee  4. 3 .5 ,  ““L ef t ” and  “ r ight ” ke ys ” fo r de t ails  
of setting values in a time field. You can set the 
offs et to sub-frame (percentage or sample) 
accuracy.
5
You can also change  the  sign of the offset  value 
to a minus value by moving the cursor to the 
a ppropria te po sition a nd using  the s a nd t 
key s.
9.6.4 Cancelling timecode offset
To cancel the offset, s imply set the offset value to 
00 :0 0:00:00.
1
Enter the offs et setting, as described above.
2
Press an d h old down the s key a nd pres s the 
t
 key to reset the valu e.
T imecode offset will now be cancelled and  the 
front panel 
OFFSET ind icator will go  o ut.
9.6.5 Setting timecode offset “on the 
fly”
As  well as  entering  an  ab solu te n umber,  it is  also  p os-
s ible to enter a number “on the fly” as the tapes are 
playing. 
1
L oc a te  t he  t w o de vic e s ( mas te r  and  s lave  DA -
78HR) s o th at they have the right offset, either 
b y pla yin g the tapes  and  paus ing  them  or ca rry  
out the next operation while one or both tapes 
is  being pla yed back.
2
O n the s lave DA-78 HR, pres s and ho ld the 
SHIFT key, a nd pres s the AUTO IN/OUT 
(
OFFSET) key at the correct offset tim e to cap-
ture and store the offset.
T he dis play  wil l briefly  sho w 
AT. OF FSET (AT  
OFFSET
), and the current difference between 
the mas ter unit and sla ve DA-78 HR will be 
stored as an offset.
9.6.6 Park position
When the DA-78HR is   slaved  to  an external  time-
co de so urce, it will take some t ime between th e mas-
ter un it s tartin g to  p lay and  starting  to  tran smit 
timecode for  the  DA-78HR  to read.These functions  allow  you  to measure  and tes t the 
o pt imu m pre-ro ll p os ition  for the DA-78 HR (wh en it 
i s a timecod e sl ave) to p ark  its elf relativ e to  the mas-
t er timecode device so t hat it wi ll lock up and s tart 
playing quickly.
1
Press the 
SHI F T  ke y s o t hat  t he  SHIFT in dicator 
is flashing, then press the 
MENU key   until  the 
displa y sho ws 
tc. chs-- (TC CHS --).
2
Press the 
SUB MENU key so that the display 
shows  
PA RK. POS (PARK  P OS) briefly, an d 
then changes to PRK
 (
PRK) followed by  the 
current setting, sh own in seconds  and frames.
3
Use the s a nd t ke y s to  adj ust  the  va l ue  
(ma xim um is 1 secon d a nd 29  fra mes)
9 .6 .7 A utom a tic  pa r k  pos iti on  se tting
When t he DA-78HR is act ing as a timecode slave, it 
can  au tomatically d etermine the op timum p ark  pre-
ro ll p os ition  to sy nc with th e master.
1
Turn the  DA-78HR’s 
CHAS E o n, if  it is  o ff  and  
make sure tha t the time mo de i s set to TC.
2
Press the 
SHI F T  ke y s o t hat  t he  SHIFT in dicator 
is flashing, then press the 
MENU key   until  the 
displa y sho ws 
TC. CHS-- (TC CHS --).
3
Press the 
SUB MENU key so that the display 
shows  
PK . POS. TST (PK POS T ST) briefly, 
and then ch ang es to  
OFF (OFF).
4
Play and stop the master tape.
5
Use the s or t key to turn the park test on.
The DA-78 HR will then  rewind so  tha t the rel-
ative difference is  zero. When the DA-78HR 
has  s to pped, g o  o n to  the  next  step  belo w.
6
Play the timecode m aster. 
When the value shown on the display has 
st oppe d c hang ing and  is st abiliz e d,  g o on to  t he  
next step belo w.
7
Use the s or t key to turn the park test off. 
The displa y sho ws done
 (
DONE), and  the 
optimum park p re-roll tim e for the timecode 
mas ter is now stored.
9.6.8 Absolute and  relative difference
The offset as set above (“Timecode offset” on 
page 58) can be called t he  “absolute  difference” 
b etween the two times. Ho wever, if th e s lav e 
machine “wanders” (actually, this is  unlikely), the 
o ffset (theoretical difference) will no t be eq ual to  th e  
						

							9 - Operations related to timecode
 TA SCA M DA -7 8 HR 60
absolute  difference.  The “relative difference” is  
expressed as below:
Relative difference = Absolute difference – Offset
Th us, if th e offset is set o n a s lav e machin e to  
+00:10:00.00 (10 minutes) and while chasing, the 
two machines’ counters  read as follows :
the slave is now 10 minutes and 4 frames behind the 
master.
S ince the slave is meant to be exactly 10 minutes  
behind the master, the difference, + 4 frames , is  the 
“relative difference” between the mas ter and the 
slave.
To view the and relat ive differences  between mast er 
and slave machines:
1
Press the 
SHI F T  key so that the SHIFT in dicator 
is fla shing , then press the 
MENU key   until  the 
displa y sho ws 
TC-- (TC--).
2
Press the 
SUB MENU key so that the display 
shows  
DI SP (DIS P) followed by the cu rrent 
sett ing .
3
Use the s a nd t key s to  make the 
di ff 
(DIFF) settin g—the di fference between the 
received timecode and the actual position.
9.6.9 Rechasing timecode 
When timecode is  received, the DA-78HR can ei ther 
co ns tantly  mon itor the in tern al o ff-tap e timecod e (o r 
the ABS equivalent as set i n 9.2, “Tape timecode 
mode”) and the external timecode, issuing “s peed-
u p” and  “slow-down ” messag es to the transp ort to 
keep itself in sync (rechasing), or it can s ynchronize 
once and run freely, ignoring the incoming timecode.
1
Press the 
SHI F T  key so that the SHIFT in dicator 
is fla shing , then press the 
MENU key   until  the 
displa y sho ws 
tc. chs-- (TC CHS --).
2
Press the 
SUB MENU key so that the display 
briefly  s hows 
REC HS. MD (RE CHS  M D) a nd 
then changes to the current s etting.
3
Use the s a nd t keys to choose between 
RECHASE (RE CHAS E) a nd FREE (FREE).
W hile  th e D A -7 8H R is  r e - syn c ing  ( sp e e din g up  an d 
s lowing  down ), play back  o utp ut will b e muted , 
u nles s th e clock  is  set to  
INT.  Us ua lly  y ou  sh ou ld find  
that the DA-78HR does  not need to rechase, however, 
and you can leave it in free-running mode. If the timecode master tape includes a break in the time-
c od e,  th ou gh ,  yo u  ma y  w a nt th e  DA - 7 8H R  to r e c ha se  
the mas ter.
As well  as selecting rechase, you can al so select the 
length of the “rechase window”. This means that  if 
the difference between internal and incoming time-
code is greater t han the value of this window (1 or 2 
seconds in t he cas e of the DA-78HR), the synchro-
nizer will st art to rechase.
1
Press th e 
SH IF T key s o tha t  the SHIFT indicator 
is flashi ng, then press the 
MENU key  until the 
displa y sh ows 
tc. chs- - (TC CH S- -).
2
Press  the 
SU B ME NU key so that the display 
briefly  shows  
R ECHS. WD. (REC HS  W D) a nd 
th en  changes  to  the  cu rrent s etting.
3
Use the s and t keys to  cha nge between 1 a nd 
2 seconds.
9. 6. 10 B y pa ss in g t i me c ode  e r ro rs
As timecod e is  received  from a  remote  master u ni t,  it 
may be subject to errors (dropouts on the timecode 
master tape, etc.). Thes e errors can cause synchroni-
zati on  failu re  (th e DA-78 HR wil l no  lo ng er b e lo ck ed 
to the timecod e o f th e master u nit).
You can set the DA-78HR to bypass and ignore 
incoming timecode errors of up to 30 frames in 
leng th, or up to  10  frames in len gth .
1
Press th e 
SH IF T key s o tha t  the SHIFT indicator 
is flashi ng, then press the 
MENU key  until the 
displa y sh ows 
tc. chs- - (TC CH S- -).
2
Press  the 
SU B ME NU key so that the display 
briefly  s hows 
ERR. BYPAS . (ER R BY PA S) a nd 
th en  changes  to  the  cu rrent s etting.
3
Use the s and t keys to change between 
10 
FRM
 (10  F RM) and 30 FRM (30 FRM).
9. 6. 11 I ndi vi dua l r e co rdi ng wh ile  cha s ing  
ti me c ode
If slave DTRS units are chasing a master DTRS unit, 
the default action  is fo r th e s lav es’ record statu s to 
follow that of the mas ter. If the s laves are connected 
with TC as well  as SYNC, and  have TC  rath er than  
ABS selected as the timing  referen ce, this  d efau lt 
be h av ior  ca n  be  ove r r idd en  usin g th e  f u nc tio n 
de sc r ibe d  h e r e.
1
Press th e 
SH IF T key s o tha t  the SHIFT indicator 
is flashi ng, then press the 
MENU key  until the 
displa y sh ows 
tc. chs- - (TC CH S- -).
Ma ster10 :15:12:12
Slave10 :05:12:08