Upon insertion, the PCM-800 grabs the tape and loads it, closing the door behind. The small Hi-8mm tapes are about the size of a cassette and a little thicker. The front panel tour begins with the Power On/Off switch at the top left adjacent to the tape loading door and EJECT button. The optional DABK-801 Sync board fits into an empty slot on the back panel and provides SMPTE/EBU time code synchronization, a time code generator, MIDI machine control, and NTSC/PAL video synchronization. Finally, next to the AC power connector, a large heat sink occupies about one-third of the back panel. Four red LED Error Indicators light when the sampling frequency and emphasis settings of digital input signals don't match the settings on the PCM-800, or when there is no signal at the digital input.
The Machine ID rotary switch assigns an ID number to the machine and is used when two or more PCM-800s are synchronized. There are Word Sync I/O connectors and a remote Punch In/Out jack for a footswitch. Up to sixteen PCM-800s can be hooked together to provide up to 128 tracks. The Remote In/Sync In D-sub 15-pin connector is where the optional RM-D800 remote control is connected, and it is also used (along with the Sync Out connector) to hook up multiple PCM-800s. Other rear panel connectors include the Meter Unit 15-pin connector to drive external metering. Unlike the DA-88, the PCM-800 provides balanced XLR analog inputs and outputs (unbalanced RCA on the DA-88), and the PCM-800 offers AES/EBU digital I/O via two D-sub 25-pin connectors.
The PCM-800 is essentially identical to the DA-88 with most differences appearing on the rear panel, and Sony opted for a dark grey front panel as opposed to Tascam's beige. Both formats provide eight digital tracks with up to one hour of recording time on S-VHS format and nearly two hours on the Hi-8mm tapes. Late last year, Sony entered the Hi-8 format with the PCM-800. Then came the DTRS (Digital Tape Recording System) format, introduced with the Tascam DA-88, which records to Hi-8mm video tape. Alesis and Fostex offer the machines for this format. First came the ADAT which records to S-VHS video tape. In the world of digital multi-tracking, two tape-based systems have gained wide acceptance.
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