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Media Pro 4000 Brief                                    October 11, 1999

File: SONY9PIN_DRIVER_BR101199.TXT
Module: ICM4020, IMC4010, IMC4020, SEM4020
Title: MEDIA PRO 4000 STATEMENTS FOR SONY9PIN PROTOCOL
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c1999 Anitech Systems Incorporated

	   MEDIA PRO 4000 STATEMENTS FOR SONY9PIN PROTOCOL

Parameter types:
b = boolean
f = frame number
t = time in hh:mm:ss.ff
\x = defines hex value
\xCS = byte, checksum
\b = defines bcd value
\bHH = byte, BCD hours
\bMM = byte, BCD minutes
\bSS = byte, BCD seconds
\bFF = byte, BCD frames


SET 'Sony9pDevice' POLL b ;
	(does not transmit any message to device)
	Prevents/Enables the driver from polling the attached device.

SEEK 'Sony9pDevice' TO [f,t] ;
	\x24 \x31 \bHH \bMM \bSS \bFF \xCS
	Attached device moves to time specified; see below for caveats.

STOP 'Sony9pDevice' ;
	\x20 \x00 \xCS
	Attached device stops.

PLAY 'Sony9pDevice' ;
	\x20 \x01 \xCS
	Attached device plays.

RECORD 'Sony9pDevice' ;
	\x20 \x02 \xCS
	Attached device records.

UNLOAD 'Sony9pDevice' ;
	\x20 \x0F \xCS
	Attached device executes eject ;

RESET 'Sony9pDevice' ;
	\x20 \x20 \xCS
	Attached device executes rewind ;

SEND 'Sony9pDevice' "ArbitraryString" ;
	Transmits the specified string to the attached device.


CONSIDERATIONS ABOUT SEEK COMMANDS:

When the MP4000 compiler operates on a statement like:

         SEEK 'DR8' TO 00:01:15.00 ;

the hours/minutes/seconds/frames format is converted to an absolute
frame number for download into the ICM.  This conversion is based on
the assigned rate for the cue, selected in the 'Rate' dropdown window,
one of 24, 25, 29.97, or 30 fps.  For example, the above specification
would be
          at 24 fps:  1800 frames,
          at 25 fps:  1875 frames,
          at 30 fps:  2250 frames.

In the Sony 9-pin and HiDef protocols, the frame numbers delivered
in the cue download must be converted back into an hhmmssff format.
The conversion rate is not delivered to the driver, so it makes the
reverse conversion based on 30 frames per second.  If the cue in which
the SEEK statement appeared was at some other rate, the reverse con-
version will be erroneous; the 1875 frame item would be 00:01:02.15.

Therefore, when writing SEEK statements for the Sony 9-pin protocol:

a) put the SEEK statement in a cue running at 30fps, OR

b) don't use the hh:mm:ss.ff form -- calculate and insert the single
number frame specification required by the driver for your machine.

Note that the conversion from hh:mm:ss.ff is done at compile time, not
at run time.  Therefore, if you use any SET RATE commands on your cue,
or lock to SMPTE, the frame values calculated from the Rate in the
Cue Edit window will not change.

One possible workaround is to use another cue to issue the SEEK command
to the Sony 9-pin port.


CONSIDERATIONS WHEN USING AKAI DR8/DR16

We have noted two conditions that can confuse the DR8 under the IB-805R
interface card.  These were reported to Akai but we don't know if they
have fixed the problems.

a) if a break is received on the RS422 line (a break character, or even
disconnection and reconnection of the transmitting equipment in some
cases), the DR8 ceases to communicate.  The only recovery is to cycle
the power.  Note that if the baud rate is set too low on the
transmitting equipment, or too high on the DR8, that 'normal'
characters can be interpreted as breaks.

b) if a 'garbage' character is received between messages, it can
make the DR8 reject the subsequent correct message, or even additional
messages.

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Specifications subject to change at any time.

The data in this document incorporates proprietary rights of
Anitech Systems Inc., 25021 Anza Drive, Valencia, CA 91355 USA.
Phone (661) 257-2184     Fax (661) 257-2025
email Mail@Anitech-Systems.com     Web http://www.Anitech-Systems.com

Any party accepting this document does so in confidence and agrees that
it shall not be duplicated in whole or in part, without the consent of
ANITECH SYSTEMS.