Apr 1, 2005 12:00 PM

HARRISON TRION

Offered in versions specifically geared for film/video post, broadcast and live performance, Harrison's (www.glw.com) Trion digital console features a traditional surface rather than a central, shared-knobs control panel. Running on Harrison's IKIS^™ platform, Trion uses Linux and USB technology with Ethernet connectivity. All consoles feature a 15-inch monitor for every eight faders, offering a dedicated view of each channel's information, along with Harrison's PreView^™ waveform envelope display that provides a visual representation of channel names, stem assignments, EQ/dynamics, aux sends, metering and surround panning.

RØDE SHOTGUN MICS

RØDE (www.rodemic.com) debuts two condenser shotgun mics. The NTG-1 (pictured) has a lightweight design that boom operators will appreciate. It features standard 48-volt powering and a controlled polar response, wide-bandwidth capsule paired with low-noise SMT electronics. The mic is also available as the NTG-2, which is powered by an onboard AA battery. Both mics ship with mount and windshield for outdoor recording; options include an on-camera mount. Intended for DV camcorder use, RØDE's VideoMic shotgun has 9VDC powering, a switchable low-cut filter, a stereo mini-jack output, shock-mount and standard hot-shoe fitting.

ROLLS MX422 FIELD MIXER

The Rolls (www.rolls.com) MX422 is a 4-channel mic/line mixer with balanced XLR analog I/O, a ¼-inch stereo aux input and TRS stereo monitor input. Each input has trim, phantom power, low-cut filter, pan and level controls. Other features include dual VU meters, a 20Hz slate tone/mic, 1kHz setup tone, onboard limiting and ¼- and ⅛-inch stereo headphone outs. Main outputs are stereo XLRs with switchable -30dB pad. Power is via two 9-volts, and a set of backup batteries can be switched during operation without signal loss. Retail is $599 with canvas case.

GALLERY METACORDER

Gallery's Metacorder turns your Mac OS X laptop and CoreAudio interface into a full-function location recorder with sample rates up to 192 kHz and up to 20 inputs. Rather than featuring DAW software that's filled with functions that are irrelevant to field recording, Metacorder offers an intuitive, easy-to-use package with location sound-specific functions, such as 30-second pre-record metadata entry, dual-media recording and a background mirror that automatically copies recorded files onto slower media (such as DVD-RAM) once you push Stop. The system can also back up completed sound rolls to DVD-R or CD-R drives via FireWire while recording continues. Other features include M-S decoding, an LTC reader and writing next-generation iXML and Avid/Pro Tools-compatible “bext” metadata. Retail is $1,795; download a free demo at www.gallery.co.uk.

SOUND DEVICES 744T

The 744T timecode 4-track portable disk recorder from Sound Devices (www.sounddevices.com) is now shipping. Storing 16- or 24-bit uncompressed audio (.WAV or Broadcast .WAV formats) at any rate from 32 to 192 kHz onto hard disk or Compact Flash media, the 744T connects to PC/Mac DAWs via FireWire or AES3id outputs. Other features include two mic preamps with phantom power, limiters and highpass filters, two line-level inputs, two mic/line-level outputs, 256 possible input-to-track routings, sunlight-viewable LED meters, a data mode that simultaneously records to HD and CF media for RAID-1-level redundance of recorded material and more. Retail is $4,295; the 722 (a non-TC, 2-track version) is $2,650.