Fostex VF-16 Dat File Conversion

[CST]

My father used a Fostex VF-16 for home recording for many years. I have the original Dat data as well as the final Audio files with one exception. I found a CD titled final mix down in a Dat file format. The information on the CD states it is a recording from 1956 of my Grandmother who was a very talented musician. I am looking for options on how to compile / resolve this fiile to a format I can listen to. My father has passed and the Fostex VF-16 no longer exists. Thanks in advance for any input.

 

[TalismanRich]

Have you tried using VLC (VideoLan) to play the DAT data files? VLC has multiple codecs and the ability to recognize a vast myriad of audio format headers. It may be able to recognize the raw audio data from the header and choose the right codec to decode the audio.


You might also be able to import the raw data into Audacity. You'll probably need to specify the bit depth and sample rate which should be 16 bit/44.1k for the Fostex. If Audacity can import the data, you should be able to export it to standard WAV, MP3, or Flac format. If it's something you want to preserve, I would use lossless WAV or FLAC, not MP3.

 

[PitchTempoAndriy]

Before trying more converters, I'd keep an untouched copy of the entire CD, including its folders and small companion files. Work on a second copy.

A .DAT extension alone doesn't identify the audio format. The VF-16 manual distinguishes its FDMS-3 song backups from ordinary WAV exports (page 92):

https://retronik.silicium.org/DOCUMENTS/Audiovideo/Fostex/Fostex-VF-16-Owners-Manual.pdf

If this is a Fostex backup rather than a playable mix, changing the extension to .wav won't convert it, and importing the whole thing as raw PCM may produce noise instead of the recording. That would not necessarily mean the recording is lost. Keep playback volume low if you try raw import.

Could you post the file extensions, approximate sizes and folder layout visible on the CD? You can redact personal filenames; no need to upload the family recording. Also, does the computer copy every file successfully, or report read errors? Those details would help separate a readable backup that needs Fostex-compatible recovery from an ordinary audio file or a damaged disc.

 

[TalismanRich]

If the data is on a CD, then you won't lose anything. It's read only media. Copy it to 10 devices, put it in 50 different programs, the original will still be the same. Don't do it with something like an SDHC card, unless the write lock is engaged, and even then I would still just copy the data to another device and work from there. That probably requires a bit-by-bit copy program, not just a file drag and drop on a computer

That is one of the issues with the use of proprietary formats when recording audio. I'm sure it's done to increase reliability to give the least amount of overhead when recording. My old Yamaha units did the same thing, but thankfully some clever people have deciphered the system and created software that will take the native .AWS file system and turn it into a standard format.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find anywhere that someone has done this with Fostex system. Otherwise the best way to get the info would be to find someone with a working VF16 and haven them dump the data. I had to do that for someone with computer tape backups years ago. I've chatted with others who had to do the same with other machines.

 

[ecc83]

Not often I have a good word for Microsoft but the other day I was trying to play an old file on a USB stick and Media Player popped up to ask if I wanted to download a codec for it. Laptops rarely have optical drives these days but a USB is only $50 or so? Then you could just copy the CD in its entirety to the hard drive...you might even get lucky and have Windows suggest an app to run it!

Meant to say! There is a guy called "James Peritte over at soundonsound forum and I believe he does a lot of transcriptions of old audio files? If not I bet he knows a man who can!
Dave.

 

[CST]

Thanks for the input everyone. I did try some of the various converters suggested with no luck. In regards to the folder, there is simply one 16 MB file with no supporting files etc. I am not quite desperate enough at this point to buy an old Fostex system and try my luck.

 

[TalismanRich]

One problem with proprietary disc formats is that they may not be readable by other systems. I remember when Mac couldn't read Windows discs, Atari and MSDOS weren't the same. Put a disc from an Apple II into an Atari and it says there's nothing there. I've had the same thing recently when I was setting up a Linux box. The USB stick with the Linux distribution on it goes into my PC and Windows asks if I want to format the stick.

That's the reason most companies now abide by standards like RedBook for audio, CD+G for Karaoke, Green Book for data (pics, data files, computer files), Orange book for CDR.

There's nothing to say that an operating system that is dedicated to a single process needs to adhere to a generic standard. However, I did find this:

AI Overview


FDMS-3 (Fostex Disk Management System-3) is a proprietary hard disk recording and file format developed by Fostex for their line of digital multitrack hard disk recorders and studio workstations. [1, 2]

Key Features of FDMS-3

• Uncompressed Recording: Allows direct, uncompressed audio recording (typically 16-bit or 24-bit linear PCM) without data compression. [1, 2]
• Space Efficiency: Only the actual recorded audio portions consume disk space on the storage medium. [1]
• Virtual/Ghost Tracks: Supports additional virtual or ghost tracks for alternative takes and non-destructive editing with unlimited undo capabilities. [1]
• Program/Song Management: Organizes audio data into 99 editable programs or songs with independent non-volatile locate memories. [1, 2]

Compatible Hardware
FDMS-3 was used across several classic Fostex hardware devices:

• Fostex FD-4 and FD-8 hard disk recorders
• Fostex D-160, D824, D1624, and D2424 / D2424LV digital multitrackers
• Fostex VF16, VF160, and VF160EX digital studio workstations
• Fostex VF80EX multitrack recorder [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]

Accessing FDMS-3 Data on Modern Computers
Because FDMS-3 uses a proprietary format rather than standard FAT or NTFS partitions on its internal IDE hard drives or backup media, extracting audio requires specialized tools:

• FDMS3-FS: An open-source FUSE filesystem driver for Linux and macOS that lets you mount FDMS-3 volumes so tracks appear as standard WAV files. [1, 2]
• FDMS-3 Ripper: A utility designed to scan and extract audio tracks directly from FDMS-3 disk images. [1]

If you are trying to recover or transfer tracks from a specific Fostex recorder model, let me know which device you have and what medium (IDE hard drive, CF card, or DAT) you are working with.

FDMS-3 Ripper review and download

FDMS-3 Ripper review and download.

nixbit.com

Unfortunately it doesn't seem to be a simple process.

 

[rob aylestone]

Could you post a link to it, and then many of us could try to see if we can make it play - it only takes one member with an unusual codec on their system to get success?

 

[PitchTempoAndriy]

Thanks, the single 16 MB file is a useful clue. One rough cross-check before spending money on hardware: at 44.1 kHz/16-bit, 16 MB would hold only about 90–95 seconds of plain stereo PCM, or around three minutes in mono. That doesn't identify the format, but if the label describes a much longer performance, it probably isn't simply a complete, uncompressed stereo mix waiting for a .wav extension.

If you'd rather not share the family recording publicly, a recovery specialist could first inspect the file header and disc layout privately. I'd ask them to identify what the file actually is before arranging access to a VF-16. The converters failing so far doesn't by itself establish that the recording is damaged.