Sound By Design has completed the first commercial recording using its recently constructed 112-channel MADIcorder, after multiple successful trials. MADI (Multi-channel Audio Digital Interface) is an established standardised audio format that can carry up to 64 channels of audio in a single cable connection, in this case either BNC coaxial cable or dual optical fibres with SC connectors.

The unit, based around a quad-core Pentium PC running Steinberg Nuendo 4, allows the simultaneous recording or playback of 112-channels of 48kHz audio through a dual RME HDSP MADI interface, with both timecode and wordclock daughter boards.  This allows the system to accept multiple standard MADI streams (such as from a DiGiCo worksurface or an outside broadcast unit) for recording and playback or send and receive signals to any MADI compatible convertor. It can record to either an internal 1TB RAID array or any number of available external devices due to multiple USB, Firewire and eSATA connections. These recordings (in Broadcast Wave Format) can either be edited within Nuendo or exported into many different industry standard editors such as Digidesign Pro Tools, Apple Logic Pro, Adobe Audition etc.

It is housed in an acoustically treated 4U 19” chassis within a foam sleeved 12U rack complete with a dual-slide 17” screen & keyboard and an uninterruptible power supply. It can be supplied with a number of accessories including the RME MADI Bridge for MADI distribution and input selection and the RME ADI-648 which offers format conversion from MADI to ADAT. Both these units also offer coaxial to optical conversion (and vice-versa) which allows MADI to be transmitted over distances of up to 2km, rather than approximately 100m over coaxial.