I recently acquired one of the new TASCAM DR-60d portable digital recorders for DSLR and video production. Lately, Teac TASCAM (now owned by Gibson guitars) has been slow in coming out with fresh products that are new solutions to old problems (their 8+2 multi-track field recorder was their last major innovation) -- but I believe that they hit the nail on the head with this new recorder.

Tascam recently released firmware update v.1.20 for their HS-P82 multitrack field recorder. Here is a brief summary of the improvements.

This Guide to the Tascam HS-P82 and companion RC-F82 is intended to provide the new user a concise review of the operation and setup of this portable multitrack recorder, along with explanations and a suggested workflow for professional film/video applications.

It is not meant to replace the comprehensive Owners Manuals provided with the equipment, but rather to supplement those documents.

Note: Please download the latest version of this guide, Users Guide to the Tascam HS-P82 v1.20 for Film/Video Applications by Ginsburg, which has been updated to reflect the changes & improvements brought about by firmware version v1.20. The new version of this guide also features better explanations of operation and real world workflow for professional filmmaking applications.

Today's Production Sound Mixer faces a choice: to record the production dialogue in single track (monaural), 2-track, 4-track, or even 8-12 track. In this article, based on Fred Ginsburg's popular live lectures during NAB 2010, the author presents a brief overview of multi-track recording for film and video production.