How is ADAT considered digital?

[nddhc]

Assuming this would be the appropriate forum for this very naive question -

How is ADAT considered digital when it is recording onto tape?

 

[bennychico11]

because of the WAY it's stored on the tape.

 

[fraserhutch]

Adat isn't stored to tape - it's the transmission protocol for communicating between two devices.

Please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[Farview]

Back in the olden days (the mid '90s) hard drives were not big enough or fast enough to do 24 or 32 tracks of audio. So they stored digital information on tape. And no, ADATs are not warmer sounding than hard drives.

 

[fraserhutch]

Back in the olden days (the mid '90s) hard drives were not big enough or fast enough to do 24 or 32 tracks of audio. So they stored digital information on tape. And no, ADATs are not warmer sounding than hard drives.

So I have a question here, are the old ADAT machines called ADAT because they used lightpipe, or is lightpipe called ADAT because it was introduced on those devices?

 

[AlChuck]

The original digital audio tape recorders were generically called DATs. Alesis came out with their eight-track machine and added the A in front of it.

The tape is used to record digital information just like tape drives were (are) used to make backups of hard drives.

The lightpipe interface came later and was named for it.

 

[phaqu]

Ones and zeros are all its recording. Cant hit it too hard like a real analog tape machine, although you will get the better resolution if you track in the orange. The tape is just a storage medium like a hard drive.
The ADATS time has come and gone. They were cool when they first came out, but showed their limitations quickly. I know, I have 3 of them, and two are fucked up and not really worth fixing. But for the price now, they will get you started.
I wonder when ADATs and Mackie will be considered vintage? For that mid 90's sound?

 

[fraserhutch]

The original digital audio tape recorders were generically called DATs. Alesis came out with their eight-track machine and added the A in front of it.

The tape is used to record digital information just like tape drives were (are) used to make backups of hard drives.

The lightpipe interface came later and was named for it.

AH, thanks.

I had a DAT machine a long time ago, but missed the whole ADAT thing. I knew abnout them, but never used one. I am inimately familiar with lightpipe, but I wasn't clear as to what was named after what.

Thanks for the info.