At NAB 2008, Sound Devices (Booth N7235) will introduce a powerful new addition to its 7-Series line of digital audio recorders – the 788T eight-track recorder.

Designed specifically for multi-track on-location productions, the eight-track 788T features a significant expansion of input and output capability-eight full-featured microphone inputs and eight tracks of recording. The eight inputs, together with a thoroughly revised digital architecture, provide unprecedented recording flexibility.

The added I/O, new digital architecture, and full feature-set of the 788T hasn’t compromised the compact size that has become a trademark of the 7-Series recorders. In a stainless-steel and aluminum chassis weighing less than 4 pounds and roughly the size of a hard-backed mystery novel, the 788T accommodates individual controls and connectors for each of its eight inputs, plus numerous additional I/O and data connections.

“Our production sound customers are using more isolated tracks and have been asking for a machine with more than four tracks without a size, weight, and cost penalty,” says Jon Tatooles, managing director of Sound Devices. “The 788T brings a substantial increase in flexibility while taking advantage of all the strengths of our current 7-Series recorders.”

To accommodate the larger data storage requirements of multi-track recordings, the 788T comes equipped with a 160 GB 2.5-in. internal SATA hard disk drive. This on-board storage provides up to 30 hours of 8-track, uncompressed 24-bit audio recording of industry-standard Broadcast Wave files. Additionally, CompactFlash cards with UDMA support and external FireWire mass storage volumes can be used for recording and playback. All three storage mediums can be selected for simultaneous, redundant recording.

With the 788T, transitioning from the field to the studio is easy. To transfer recorded audio, the 788T features high-speed access to both the internal hard drive and connected CompactFlash medium. Disk-to-computer and card-to-computer transfers are limited only by the drives themselves, with transfer speeds greater than 40 MB per second with fast, 266x CompactFlash media.

For fast, accurate setups in the field, the 788T visually indicates level information of both inputs and track assignments. Each of the eight input controls has a corresponding tri-color circular LED, making level adjustments simple in fast run-and-gun environments. The 788T’s Input Control Toggle allows for quick access to common settings such as input type, limiter engagement, high-pass filter activation, and phantom powering. Its LCD display is viewable in all lighting conditions, including direct sunlight.Additionally, the LED’s are dimmer-adjustable for any lighting condition, including a lights-out setting for blacked-out sets.

As with the 702T and 744T’s time code recorders, the 788T has a high-performance, full-featured time code generator. It is also equipped with selectable word clock sync source, including numerous video sync sources. The 788T is powered by 7.2 V Li-ion batteries or external DC (10-18 V) and offers an on-board Li-ion battery charger.