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The heart of every VS workstation is the hard disk recorder, which stores data on a hard drive. The VS workstations use standard internal IDE hard drives. However, the disk drives need to conform to certain specifications in order to work with the VS workstations. For best results, consult Roland's VS-Series Digital Studio Workstation Compatible Media Guide. Disk PartitioningThe VS architecture requires that the hard drive be partitioned into multiple logical drives. Each VS workstation limits the maximum size of a partition and the number of partitions that can be used, as shown in Table 2.2. The maximum usable size of a hard drive is calculated by multiplying the maximum partition size by the maximum number of partitions. Table 2.2. Hard Drive Partition Limits
One thing to keep in mind about this calculation: The resulting size of the hard drive is the maximum that the VS workstation will recognize. In other words, you can install hard drives that are larger than the maximum, but some of the hard drive will end up being wasted . For example, the VS-880EX will only use a maximum of 4GB on a hard drive. If you installed a Roland-approved 8GB hard drive in a VS-880EX, it will work, but 4GB of the hard drive would not be accessible by the VS-880EX. Recording TimeA common question for new VS users is "How many songs can I record?" Technically, the answer is "unlimited," since you can always back up your songs, delete them, and record new songs. What new users really want to know is how many tracks they can record. When we look at recording in the digital realm, we need to think in terms of available track minutes. The available number of track minutes depends on the size of the hard drive, the size of the partition, the sample rate you record at, and the recording mode you choose. We've already looked at the hard drives and partitions, so now we'll take a look at the recording modes and sample rates available on the VS workstations. Recording ModesAll VS workstations, other than the VS-2000CD, provide the ability to record data in either linear or compressed mode. Table 2.3 shows a list of the various recording modes. Linear recording modes can record 16-bit audio or 24-bit audio, depending on the VS workstation. The compressed recording modes use Roland's proprietary R-DAC compression scheme. The original version of R-DAC found on the VS-880 was a 16-bit routine. When Roland introduced the VS-1680, it included a new version of R-DAC written as a 24-bit routine. Table 2.3. Recording Modes
Today, Roland's flagship VS-2480DVD workstation supports both 24-bit and 16-bit linear recording modes, as well as both 24-bit R-DAC and 16-bit R-DAC recording modes. Roland continues to supply the older 16-bit R-DAC recording modes in order to support import and export functionality between older and newer models of VS workstations. Table 2.4 shows the available recording modes for each VS workstation. Table 2.4. Available Recording Modes
Sample RatesThe original VS-880 supported three sample rates: 48kHz, 44.1kHz, and 32kHz. All subsequent VS workstations also supported these three sample rates, except for the VS-2000CD, which only supports 44.1kHz. With the introduction of the VS-2480, Roland provided three additional sample rates: 64kHz, 88.2kHz, and 96kHz. The VS-2400 also provides these three additional sample rates. Now let's get back to the question of how many track minutes can be recorded on a VS workstation. Table 2.5 shows the amount of track minutes available on a 1GB partition for the various recording modes. If you are using a different partition size and/or sample rate, you can easily calculate the appropriate track minutes based on the values shown in Table 2.5. Table 2.5. Available Track Minutes Per 1GB @ 44.1kHz Sample Rate
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