Formatting is a real-time process and must be done before any recording can occur. As it's doing this, the orange LED time display below reads 'LOAD' then displays the current absolute tape time in hours, minutes, seconds, and frames, assuming the tape has been formatted. 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.

Sony pcm 800 manual