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Educational Articles
DEVA Product Review
by Mark Ulano
Reprinted with permission from the March 1998 issue of Pro Audio Review
The name may just be appropriate for this device as something with a unique and glorious voice.
Zaxcom's DEVA is the first concrete step we have seen in a long time that is capable of breaking the technological logjam for motion picture sound recording. Till now, our two choices have been the ubiquitous, 40 year old family of analog Nagras or the more recent but intrinsically flawed time code RDAT format dominated in the market by HHb and Fostex (with Sonosax’s Stellidat an unavailable and pricey third option). True, there are some other items out there forming a cul de sac, e.g., 2 from Nagra themselves: the elegant, Nagra D, a superb 4 track SDAT (at about $35,000.00 a copy and with proprietary design, it has failed to gain industry acceptance), and the Nagra ARES-C, a flash card recorder with limited frequency response (30Hz to 7Khz), and very audible compression, it's primary intended use is as a journalism device with each flash card costing about $400.00. for approximately 20 minutes of record time. Clearly no help here.
In addition to Nagra’s non starters, we can see slowly smoldering on the horizon, a pitched battle in the format wars of several new, non-compatible, digital audio field acquisition devices:
Tascam is preparing a battery powered 4 track recorder using 8mm tape and compatibility with their successful line of DA-88 and DA-98 8-track recorders, Fostex is about to launch a DVD recorder designed along the lines of their PD-4 DAT machine, trading out the DAT transport for the DVD drive. There are rumors of HHb having a field recorder using the MO format of their Genex 8000 studio machine, Denon is planning a SMPTE time code version of their portable MD machine. I was even assured at the NAB show in February by a Digidesign rep. that they were already producing as an available product a PC (PCMCIA) card for porting ProTools into the Macintosh 3400 laptop, although in a recent forum, one of his seniors in the company claimed no awareness of any such thing. Oh well.
Ironically, all this deliciously non-compatible R&D and creativity is being centered on a high profile yet extremely small niche market where the sale of two or three thousand units is considered an enormous success. Not exactly the numbers that these companies usually aim at. All these feints and jabs of the big guys have become little more than background noise to the physical reality of little DEVA's production model. So far, when it comes to selling stuff over the counter, these other companies have decided to wait and see what happens.
Zaxcom has not done this. They have advanced into the fray, a David to the industry's Goliaths, with a practical device. By taking this step, Zaxcom seems to have gotten some important support from one of the industry’s giants, Sony. This is in the form of ordering several machines for their own studio sound department and more importantly the link with Sony’s corporate commitment to marketing certified Jaz drives. We will see how important this is later. Support is also turning up at MatchFrame, a well respected post production sound facility in Los Angeles where they are handling the post sound for CLUELESS, a show currently being recorded on DEVA. MatchFrame claims a minimum 25% savings in transfer and telecine time because of the non-linear DEVA.
But what has Glen Sanders and his company, Zaxcom really built? Apparently, DEVA is the only professional hard disk, non-linear portable audio field recorder in the world. Zaxcom's intent is no less then to set the new standard for film sound field recording and become the Nagra of the 21st century. They have gone a long way to make a very smart little black box that goes a long way to meet that goal.
Its diminutive, industrial appearance belies some very powerful capabilities. With the internal NP-1 style battery, the DEVA weighs in at a mere 5 lb. 2 oz and has dimensions of 8"x3"x7.25". The impression is one of all business and complete portability.
For the most part, people who do what I do, location sound recording, have a pretty specific list of needs in this area. Most of our concerns have to do with reliability and quality. In no particular order, our wish list might go something like this:
- · It has to work in hot places (at least 120f)
- · It has to work in cold places (at least 0f)
- · It has to work in humid places
- · The media must be archivally stable to a minimum of 100 years.
- · At least four tracks with flexible end-user configuration capability
- · 20/24 bit capability
- · Signal to Noise and Dynamic range both comfortably above 100db
- · Frequency response of 20 to 20K
- · User selectable sampling rates
- · instant cueing for playback
- · on board time code flexibility with all the bells and whistles
- · The media needs to be cost effective and reasonably available with running times appropriate for an average day’s work.
- · Power consumption and configuration to be practical and flexible.
- · A standard industry wide file format commonly used in the post production process.
- · Intrinsic simultaneous field archiving. (dual drives?)
- · Confidence delay monitoring
- · Sufficient buffering for handling the G forces commonly encountered doing film sound.
- · Software driven protocol for easy feature updates
- · A Nagra like analog interface including 48 volt powering, quality on board mixer with some basic processing and Eq. capability
- · Great tech support and responsiveness to end-user input.
- This list is probably incomplete and I am sure every production sound mixer out there will have some other item he would want to add to it, but I think it gives a pretty good idea of what our needs are in the present work environment.
How does DEVA stack up against such a wish list? In my opinion pretty damn good on most points:
In the environmental categories; Zaxcom assures me that the machine will function from 10 degrees to 120 Fahrenheit with the caveat of running the machine for 10 or 15 minutes to warm it up at the cold end of the spectrum. As far as humidity is concerned, the box is pretty well weatherproofed and will be even more so now that the PCMCIA slot has been replaced by a sealed SCSI connector. Zaxcom also told me that they are beefing up the rubber gasketing at the battery and hard drive doors. As far as the one moving assembly is concerned, the hard drive, it is hermetically sealed and is shockmounted to handle jolts above 125G’s(try that on DAT!)
I have spoken with several mixers who are using DEVA on trial or continuous basis and in comparing their reactions to my own, some common themes seem to surface:
Zaxcom originally wanted to introduce the idea of having a set of hard drives that would get traded out to the transfer house every day after shooting was done, at which point the sound files would then be archived. Once the material was saved in more affordable permanent media, the hard drive would then be erased and recycled back to the production mixer for reuse. This concept had met with resistance because it goes counter the Mixer’s intuitive sense that you never erase an original master recording. (Each drive costs around $500.00 with 1.3 and 2.2 gig versions available). Also, just doing a file transfer rather than a real time monitoring of the sound recording could potentially eliminate one of the most important protections in the chain of evaluative feedback, the transfer engineer’s ears. We need to know that everything is OK with what we recorded after we have sent it in for dailies or else we are working in the dark.
Zaxcom has responded ingeniously to these issues by redesigning the DEVA to incorporate a SCSI port, replacing the PCMCIA slot and allow the user to be non-media dependent. Simply put, you are able to plug in any drive you want, Jaz, MO, etc.
In one fell swoop, Zaxcom has removed the preordained obsolescence of being dependent on the SeaGate drive and solved the affordable, archival media question. The down side of this creative solution is that you now have an outboard drive mounted to the main box but if this is seen in the light of a selectable redundancy to the hard drive file storage as compared to what many mixers (myself included) do, which is DAT with Nagra 1/4" recorded simultaneously then you realize that everything is about one fourth the size of the present footprint on your sound cart with superior results.
This solution has also handled many other issues.
First, you can choose one of the 3 available file formats from the DEVA’s software menu, i.e., Broadcast Wave file, Sound Designer2 or Sony Certified Jaz and save in these formats, at will, to whatever outboard drive you have chosen for dailies travel. This is in conjunction with the DEVA’s proprietary MARF file format going onto the SeaGate drive, which becomes the field back-up if anything should be problematic at the transfer stage and is readable as a wave file. This means you can send your disk directly to the avid suite where they are using ProTools and be in the resident file format as is true for the other 2 choices if that should be the need of your production. Remember, these software options are all included with the purchase price, not as add-ons or pricey upgrades. Maximum archival stability is available by use of MO with estimates of 100 years or better for an MO disk. However who is to say what will be best next year? Your choices are unlimited by the use of the SCSI buss. DVD, CD-R, MO, Jaz, etc. Also, since none of these drive technologies address the needs of vibration or movement you have the internal drive to cover you there with the choice of simultaneous file storage on the outboard drive or subsequent 8x real-time dumps to the outboard if the ride is too bumpy during your car tow shot. Now that Sony is diving head first into the certified Jaz drive business and building their own hardware for Jaz sound dubbers, it begins to become clear how important the friendly relationship between Sony and Zaxcom can turn out to be.
Let me jump in here and mention that this thing sounds incredible. It is the best sounding little watchamacalit to come down the digital road in a long time. With 20 bit analog A/D and 24 bit digital D/A, 105dB S/N and 110dB dynamic range it is in a class of its own for devices made for this application. Not bad for around $10,000.00. It is also easy to use. After you slide the power switch on, the software boots very quickly and lands you at the home screen right away. Mainly controlled by shift button menus, it is a simple matter to be up and running in a matter of minutes. There are record, stop and play buttons, as well as easily accessible screens to configure the tracks, gain structure, time code, etc. Almost all the menus are looping multiple choices or toggles. Controlling the box is simple and intuitive. In fact, it is no more difficult than running a home VCR. There is a current manual but this is temporary documentation. The noted mixer and technical author, Jim Tannenbaum is currently writing the new owners instruction manual and if Jim’s other work, the seminal USING TIMECODE IN THE REEL WORLD, 3rd edition, is any indicator you can expect the documentation to be clear and thorough. That being said, the handy half page cheat sheet is a great quick start to get you up and running to experiment right away.
The DEVA also enters new ground for the Production Mixer in that this is truly a non-linear technology. You can cue for playback anywhere based on a time code address and still instantly be in the ready to record mode without fear of overwriting precious data. And get this, no pre-roll necessary. DEVA has the option of up to ten seconds of TC pre-roll stamp with out the preroll and this along with other important options can be configured and remembered by the machine regardless of being turned off or not. The time code clock is powered by an internal lithium cell and will keep TC running along with other parameters for up to 5 years!
The multitrack set up is also very flexible. You can choose from take to take how many tracks you need, thus dramatically effecting your memory usage. you also have complete control over the playback and combinations of tracks and track assignments for that playback allowing submixes and other set up to be completely user controllable.
The DEVA also has complete RS422 editor control implementation for external machine control essential in transfer and postproduction.
I know I am raving on here but it is appropriate. Now there are some choices that have been made in the DEVA’s design that I wish were different and I have openly discussed them with Glen Sanders, DEVA’s designer. He had some really good answers for most but not all of these choices.
The power arrangement is, all in all, a good design, you power the DEVA internally with an NP-1 style battery and externally you plug in your power source. Now most people I have spoken with have been under the impression that the internal battery is continuing to be drawn on even if external power is being used. This is incorrect as per Sanders. He says that the machine auto selects the higher correct voltage to minimize any potential to crash the machine. So if you are using an external power battery block and it’s voltage should drop below 11.9 volts, DEVA will automatically go to the internal cell but if the internal battery should go below par voltage the machine will go back to the external source. Glen told me that the current models have had a minor hardware fix that lowers the trigger voltage threshold for this auto change and that it is a 5 minute free retrofit for any current owners. One of the reasons this has been confusing is that the battery level meter only reads the internal battery’s voltage. If you want to know the voltage of the external battery you need to meter it outside of the DEVA. I consider this a real but minor annoyance. The battery charging method is a bit inconvenient. When using an external power source you, unfortunately, are not charging the internal battery at the same time you are using the external source. You need to do that separately one of two ways, either while the NP1 is in the DEVA with a separate wall wart for charging only or put the NP1’s in a conventional external charger.
I also find the confidence scheme a little disconcerting. Since it is coming from the buffer, it is direct or simultaneous. There is no apparent delay (actually there is a 100Ms delay). The idea is that if you hear it, then you have got it. This is a little hard to take when your whole professional life has taught you to hear delay as confirmation since that is actually the recording. In practice, you just need to get used to this and occasionally spot check with play back to soothe your anxiety. I have not heard of a single instance of record failure from anyone I spoke to who is using this machine.
You cannot hot swap the hard drives and so this requires a shutdown and reboot when you have to put in a new one. This is no big deal really since the lithium cell is saving your parameters. Also now, with the 2.2 gig drive you can record 1 hour and 20 minutes of 2 track, if you use one and two track configurations most of the time then you are not likely to need to change drives very often during the day. Glen felt that the growth of drive size is nowhere near finished and that certain advances in the computer industry at IBM and other companies was continuing to drive up capacity and lower cost. This will only improve already good options in the future.
I wish that one could save more than one user preset default when turning off the machine. Actually you are not so much saving the default as that the machine keeps whatever your last settings were in memory.
The current models do not have any active equalization available and Zaxcom has told me that they will limit these features to low cut and limiter/compressor. I am of the opinion that this makes sense and I don’t normally find myself using a gate in the field and I won’t miss it here. However, in the mean time there is no EQ implementation at all. Again not a big issue, since most people are using a mixer at the front end.
Due to space constraints on this tiny box some of the in and out options have been placed on a D connector with a bundle or fan of XLR cables, The timecode I/O is included with this and it being such a commonly used item, I do wish that it was chassis mounted on the machine itself, Glen’s response was so did he but he was out of room.
There is so much going on and available that I find that the display screen tends to get a bit cluttery or crowded. This may be picking nits but I am encouraged by the general capacity to revamp such issues quickly via software changes. This capacity for quick response and update to end-user feedback is becoming a hallmark of the company’s philosophy. It is clear that they are into this thing and will not quit until they make it right by the customer. This isn’t hype. I have heard this from anyone who has had contact with the company or their product. With this in mind, I wouldn’t be surprised if Zaxcom didn’t eventually offer a variety of user choosable screen display options.
When cueing, you lose meter modulation on the display and must depend on time code frame address and audible cueing information to get there. It would be helpful to see modulation in this mode and Zaxcom told me that it is a very easy change to make and they would if enough people wanted it. They feel that less clutter for the cueing screen was a better option. Considering my prior point, it is hard to argue the issue, yet, I would like to see modulation for this task.
This is representative of how updatable this device is. It seems every time I brought up a similar concern I rarely got a no-can-do. This is one of the great benefits of having something so software oriented in its design. It will be difficult to make this thing out of date.
The most primitive aspect of the DEVA is the on board mixer. The four pots are actually only attenuators and should normally be set wide open. Gain structure can be set internally in the software. The idea here was to give the user the option of a totally self-contained over the shoulder device, however, everyone I talked to had never considered using it this way, and rather, used external mixers, whether small or big, all the time. I am of the same mind and although it is nice to have the capability it is less likely method of use.
IN CONCLUSION
Once Zaxcom let go of the idea of swapping out hard drives, they jump started the usabilty of the DEVA. Now that they are making a non-media dependent box that will create files in all of the dominant post production file formats as well as handling any environmental challenges to the unit. All this in a 5 lb box. Although originally skeptical, I have come around to the notion that this is a great tool and will be with us for a long time.
FEATURES
PRO’s
Here are some of the great features DEVA has:
20 bit analog I/O
24 bit digital I/O
105dB S/N (in the specs - I haven't bench tested this)
110 dB dynamic range
up to 4 non linear tracks that are user configurable
4 channel digital mixer
EQ and Compressor (still being finessed but soon to be implemented)
RS422 editor control port for external machine control for transfer or post production
Automatic preroll stamp settable up to 10 seconds
random access instant playback and cueing allowing immediate replay of any cue point without delay or need to reset to the next blank tape spot.
durability of hard drive in conjunction with unlimited alternate media
full assignment capability to outputs allowing submixes and other choices to be completely user configurable
2.2 gig hardrive will do 1 hour 20 min of 2 track
WaveForm, Sound Designer2 and Sony Jaz compatible
good response from company for software problems and development input from end users and beta testers
CON’s
Non delay confidence monitoring, (buffer driven)
must power down and reboot to change drives
no power monitoring on ext. power.
ext. dc doesn’t charge battery or read on bat. meter on screen
wall wart only charges battery without powering machine
screen clutter can be problematic at times
when cueing, screen has no display of modulometer or amplitude like it does when in the home screen (potentially changeable in software)
no dedicated XLR TC out only on the D connector harness potentially annoying for so often used feature
level pots are labeled as if they set gain structure since they are pure attenuators without gain and need to be run open all the way and set gain stage internally. just pad down.
when you are recording with preroll and stop prematurely and then start again you must wait the actual preroll period for the buffer to fill.
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