Transport (recording)
Encyclopedia
A transport is a device that handles a particular physical storage medium (such as magnetic tape
, audio CD
, CD-R
, or other type of recordable media) itself, and extracts or records the information to and from the medium, to (and from) an outboard set of processing electronics that the transport is connected to.
A transport houses no electronics itself for encoding and decoding the information recorded to and from a certain format of media. It only extracts and records information to the media, as well as handling mechanical operations for accessing the media itself, such as playing or rewinding a tape, or accessing the tracks on a disc.
An example of a transport for a storage medium would be an audiophile
-grade audio CD
transport, which houses no D/A converter, unlike most ordinary audio CD players. Instead, the audio CD transport is connected to an external D/A converter via a coaxial (SPDIF) or optical (Toslink
) digital audio connection to convert the digital audio information to analog for interfacing to most audio equipment.
Here are some other examples of transports for recorded media:
Magnetic tape
Magnetic tape is a medium for magnetic recording, made of a thin magnetizable coating on a long, narrow strip of plastic. It was developed in Germany, based on magnetic wire recording. Devices that record and play back audio and video using magnetic tape are tape recorders and video tape recorders...
, audio CD
Red Book (audio CD standard)
Red Book is the standard for audio CDs . It is named after one of the Rainbow Books, a series of books that contain the technical specifications for all CD and CD-ROM formats.The first edition of the Red Book was released in 1980 by Philips and Sony; it was adopted by the Digital Audio Disc...
, CD-R
CD-R
A CD-R is a variation of the Compact Disc invented by Philips and Sony. CD-R is a Write Once Read Many optical medium, though the whole disk does not have to be entirely written in the same session....
, or other type of recordable media) itself, and extracts or records the information to and from the medium, to (and from) an outboard set of processing electronics that the transport is connected to.
A transport houses no electronics itself for encoding and decoding the information recorded to and from a certain format of media. It only extracts and records information to the media, as well as handling mechanical operations for accessing the media itself, such as playing or rewinding a tape, or accessing the tracks on a disc.
An example of a transport for a storage medium would be an audiophile
Audiophile
An audiophile is a person who enjoys listening to recorded music, usually in a home. Some audiophiles are more interested in collecting and listening to music, while others are more interested in collecting and listening to audio components, whose "sound quality" they consider as important as the...
-grade audio CD
Red Book (audio CD standard)
Red Book is the standard for audio CDs . It is named after one of the Rainbow Books, a series of books that contain the technical specifications for all CD and CD-ROM formats.The first edition of the Red Book was released in 1980 by Philips and Sony; it was adopted by the Digital Audio Disc...
transport, which houses no D/A converter, unlike most ordinary audio CD players. Instead, the audio CD transport is connected to an external D/A converter via a coaxial (SPDIF) or optical (Toslink
TOSLINK
TOSLINK is a standardized optical fiber connection system. Also known generically as an "optical audio cable," its most common use is in consumer audio equipment , where it carries a digital audio stream from components such as MiniDisc, CD and DVD players, DAT recorders, computers, and modern...
) digital audio connection to convert the digital audio information to analog for interfacing to most audio equipment.
Here are some other examples of transports for recorded media:
- A 16-track magnetic reel-to-reel tape recorder (using 1" wide tape) manufactured by HoneywellHoneywellHoneywell International, Inc. is a major conglomerate company that produces a variety of consumer products, engineering services, and aerospace systems for a wide variety of customers, from private consumers to major corporations and governments....
that was originally designed for recording instrumentationInstrumentationInstrumentation is defined as the art and science of measurement and control of process variables within a production, or manufacturing area....
data, which was adapted for the SoundstreamSoundstream-The Company:Soundstream Inc. was founded in 1975 in Salt Lake City, Utah by Dr. Thomas G. Stockham, Jr. It was the world’s first audiophile digital audio recording company, providing commercial services for recording and computer-based editing...
digital audio recording system developed in the mid-70s. It was in this case connected to external digital audio processing hardware designed by Soundstream, - The S-VHSS-VHSS-VHS is an improved version of the VHS standard for consumer-level analog recording videocassettes. It was introduced by JVC in Japan in April 1987 with the HR-S7000 VCR and certain overseas markets soon afterwards...
videocassette mechanism utilized by ADATADATAlesis Digital Audio Tape or ADAT is a magnetic tape format used for the simultaneous digital recording of eight analog audio or digital audio tracks at once, onto a Super VHS tape that is used by consumer VCRs.- History :...
-format multi-track digital audio recorders made by AlesisAlesisAlesis is a company based in Cumberland, Rhode Island, that designs and markets electronic musical instruments, digital audio processors, audio mixers, digital audio interfaces, recording equipment, drum machines, professional audio and electronic percussion products...
, - The Hi8 videocassette mechanism utilized by DTRS-format multi-track digital audio recorders made by TascamTASCAMTASCAM is the professional audio division of TEAC Corporation, headquartered in Montebello, California. Tascam is credited as the inventor of the Portastudio, the first cassette-based multi-track home studio recorders. Tascam also introduced the first low-cost mass produced multitrack recorders...
such as the DA-88DA-88The DA-88 was a digitalmultitrack recording device introduced by the TASCAM division of the TEAC Corporation in 1993. This modular, digital multitrack device uses tape as the recording medium and could record up to eight tracks simultaneously. It also allowed multiple DA-88 devices to be combined...
, and - A standard video cassette recorder (particularly using U-maticU-maticU-matic is an analog recording videocassette format first shown by Sony in prototype in October 1969, and introduced to the market in September 1971. It was among the first video formats to contain the videotape inside a cassette, as opposed to the various Reel-to-Reel or open-reel formats of the...
cassettes) used for recording digital audioDigital audioDigital audio is sound reproduction using pulse-code modulation and digital signals. Digital audio systems include analog-to-digital conversion , digital-to-analog conversion , digital storage, processing and transmission components...
with a PCM adaptorPCM adaptorA PCM adaptor is a device used for recording digital audio in the PCM format, which in turn connects to a video cassette recorder for storage and playback of the digital audio information.-How a PCM adaptor works:...
.