Connecting VF-16 to computer and burning CDs with PC

  • Thread starter Thread starter RobC
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RobC

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I have a chance to buy a used Fostex VF-16 digital recorder. I plan to use the CD burner on my home PC to burn CDs from the recordings I make on the VF-16. I know the process is not as simple as plugging the VF-16 into the PC, but beyond that I don't really know what the options are for doing this.

My computer is a 2003 Dell with standard audio card from the factory and USB outlets.

Down the road, I'd also like to try using my PC to mix tracks recorded on the VF-16. (I have N-Tracks software, which I can't get to work quite right, and a copy of Cool Edit on CD that a friend gave me).

I'm a newcomer to digital recording, so I'd greatly appreciate any advice ...

Thanks!
 
Connecting VF to PC

There are a number of options:
1. Get a zip drive for your VF, and another for your PC (you could switch one drive between VF and PC but it's more messy)
2. Get a SCSI CD burner for your VF.
3. Use an optical connector. To do this you will need an interface for your PC. You can use S/PDIF or ADAT. S/PDIF is cheaper, and could be used for transferring stereo tracks, but not much good for transferring multiple tracks - too slow. See the other thread with a similar title.

'Orc
 
I have a friend who bought a SCSI Jaz drive....you connect to your VF16 and save your tracks as "wav" files.

You then need a SCSI card for your PC. You take the Jaz drive and connect to your PC, and upload the wav files into your music editing software. Mix down to stereo and burn CDs from there.

Tube

PS: or in step one, you can mix your tracks in the VF16 down to a stereo master. Then burn the stereo master as 2 wav files to your Jaz drive.....then transfer to the PC.
 
SCSI CD burner vs. Zip/Jaz drive

Thanks for the advice, 'Orc and Tube. Sounds like my best options are the Zip drive/Jaz drive solution or the SCSI CD burner solution. (I'd like to have the option of loading separate track files from the VF-16 to the PC, and it sounds like the optical conector method would not be so good for this purpose.)

Could you guys (or anyone else out there) advise me on the pros and cons of the Zip/Jaz drive solution versus the SCSI CD burner solution?

SCSI CD BURNER SOLUTION
The SCSI CD burner seems like a nice simple solution. If I understand it correctly, that would allow me to burn my mixed down tracks onto the CD from the VF-16, then simply plop the CD into my PC's CD drive and burn copies with the PC's CD burner. Or I could upload the separate tracks from the VF-16 to CD, then plop the CD into my PC's CD player and load them into n-Tracks or Cool Edit, right? (Is it really that simple or am I being naive?)

Also, what's the cost I'd be looking at for an SCSI CD burner. (A cursory Google searched turned up the Plextor Plexwriter 40x12x40x SCSI External CD-RW cd burner for $319. Is that representative of what's out there?)

ZIP/JAZ DRIVE SOLUTION
How complicated/reliable/economical is the Zip/Jaz drive solution? My girlfriend has an old Zip drive that I could use (model number Z100P2 -- would that work for this purpose?). But I would still need to purchase and install an SCSI card on my computer, right? And I would probably want to get a second Zip drive, right?
 
zip drive

the one you have will work, there is absolutly no reason two buy two of them it might take you 5 seconds to unhook the zip and move it to the pc.

jazz disks are too expensive stick with the zip-
reliability, zip and jaz drives and disks tend to fail, but no more then any other product, i have 6 zip drives and two jaz at work , had them 7 years now and no problem... lost some disks to the dreaded click click syndrom...

get to the n track forum at ntrack.com and post your problems with the program those guys will fix you right up...
 
vf to pc transfer

Seems to me you've got it about right.
When I had a VF16 I used zip drives: SCSI on the VF and a second USB drive on the PC. (By the time you've bought and fitted a SCSI card you might as well have the second drive, and it speeds things up). Worked well using a few disks to shuttle WAV files back and forth. You can move tracks, including stereo mixes as dual mono wavs, and you can do Fostex format backups (which save scene info) but these cannot be transferred to PC.

I think the SCSI burner is probably the most elegant solution, and probably cheaper on running costs, especially if you use CDRW disks. I don't have the SCSI burner, but on my VF160 I have the internal CDR.

Some users of Zip and Jaz have reported reliability problems, but a couple of used drives could be much cheaper than the Plextor burner.

You pays your money and takes your choice, I guess!

As for the VF itself - go for it!

Mike
 
how much storage do you get from a zip drive? is it 100mb or 250mb?

one three minute song with 16 tracks of audio will be approximately 240mb @ 16/44.1

a Jaz drive is 1gb
my friend picked up a second hand one on ebay for like $25 AUD !

but any of the above solutions will be cool, the 2 x zip with a USB one on the PC would seem to be the most cost effective and easiest.....good luck!
 
Fair point about Zip disk capacity: I use 250 Mb disks and get about three minutes of 16 track, but I often use less than 16 tracks. But spreading a song over two disks is not too bad, 'cos you can be uploading WAVs from disk #one to the computer while the VF writes the rest of the WAVs to Disk 2 (if you have 2 drives).
1 gig Jaz sounds useful.

It just occured to me, some folks have reported using a SCSI hard drive for transfer of files (switching it between VF and PC) but I've not done it.

'Orc
 
Zip/Jaz drives questions

The more I learn the more questions I have ...

Closer examination of my girlfriend's old Zip drive reveals that it has parallel ports, NOT SCSI ports. Is there a way to still use this with the VF16, or would it better just to buy an SCSI Zip drive?

And regarding the Jaz drive option ... My PC has only USB ports, while the VF16 has an SCSI port. Does this present any complications/problems that I would need to address?

Thanks again for the advice ...
 
Yeah, there were several versions of zip drives, the originals were parallel port for pc and scsi for mac... You'd need to find a scsi version of the zip drive. On the plus side, you can grab those (AND zip scsi cards) on ebay for CHEAP.

Tell you what, though - I've been through that method, and it becomes a headache really quickly! The cd burner route was the way to go, for me, anyways. The best part is that, once I've transferred the files over to my hard drive, then I can just file away that cd and I already then have the files backed up for safety, know what I mean?

And yes, it really is just as simple as transferring your wav files from the fostex to the cd and then over to your hard drive - you'll then be able to use the files with any program, cool edit, sound forge, nuendo, etc., etc.
 
cd

sure there is no doubt that a cd burner is the way to go, but he already has a zip drive.....
im just kind of cheap that way hahahahah
 
'course you could just forget all about it and buy a new VF160.... ;)

SCSI CD drives were damn expensive last time I looked, but like everything, that could change in a month or two. Compare what you would have to pay to get the vf16 and a SCSI CD drive with a new VF160!

T
 
Man, I'M cheap, but after shuffling zip disks around for hours one afternoon, I had HAD it. It was worth the cash for the cd drive, just for my own sanity.

Whatever the latest vf-160 is, the silver looking one I saw in the catalog, has the latest high-speed cd burner, too. It's definitely worth spending the cash to upgrade the whole thing, I totally agree.
 
Thanks for the information, everyone. It has been extremely helpful. I feel like I thoroughly understand the options and feel confident spending money on a VF16 or VF160 now.

If I could afford to spend $200-300 more, I think I would go with a used VF160, just for the internal CD burner.

Unfortunately, even $200-300 is a large chunk of money for me right now and I don't see my bank account getting much larger in the near future, so I'll probably go with the VF16.

After reading the posts and checking out eBay over the past few days, I'm thinking that the Jaz drive data-transfer solution is a good compromise between cost and efficiency/speed. (True, the Zip drives are going really cheap on eBay, but it looks like I can get a Jaz drive for $25-50 as well. Can anyone out there tell me the following:)

Are there any special considerations/complications when using the Jaz drive solution?
 
only how you intend to interface it with your computer....budget for a SCSI card for your PC as well
good luck

Tube
 
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