PCM-F1
PCM-F1 tech specs
The PCM-F1 was a digital audio processor released by Sony in 1981. It encodes audio from analogue to digital, and decodes it back from digital to analogue. By connecting it to a videotape recorder, such as Sony's matching SL-F1 Betamax recorder, you can digitally record audio and play it back. And while you're at it, a TT-F1 radio would complete the rather stylish set.
Recording at a 14-bit sample resolution might well be the smarter choice, as the leftover bits are used to add error correction, in case there are any dropouts on the videotape.[5]
It's now very much obsolete — even my Edirol R-09 can do much the same thing using handy SD cards, and it's far more portable, even with its built-in pair of microphones — but it's pretty historic as using the exact same sample rate and resolution that would later be used by CDs... and for a consumer looking to record in that format, it was basically the only option.
References
- "PCM-F1 manual" Sony, p. 23
- "PCM-F1 service notes" Sony, p. 1
- "Digital Recording" Mike Skeet, Electronics & Music Maker, Oct 1982, pp. 37—39
- "Home Recording With Digital" Mike Skeet, Home & Studio Recording, Dec 1983, pp. 32—34
- "Sony PCM-F1 Digital Audio Converter" J. Gordon Holt, Stereophile, Sep 1982
External links
Reviews
- "Sony PCM-F1 Digital Audio Converter" J. Gordon Holt, Stereophile, Sep 1982
Features
- "Digital Recording" Mike Skeet, Electronics & Music Maker, Oct 1982, pp. 37—39
- "Home Recording With Digital" Mike Skeet, Home & Studio Recording, Dec 1983, pp. 32—34
- "Home Recording With Digital" Mike Skeet, Home & Studio Recording, Jan 1984, pp. 38—39
- "Home Recording With Digital" Mike Skeet, Home & Studio Recording, Mar 1984, pp. 56—57
Stereo recorders: DA-1 | HD-S1 | PCM-F1 | R-09
Sony: CD | DAT | MiniDisc | NW-A45 guide | PCM-F1