U-Matic-Inspector

U-Matic user interface The U-Matic-Inspector is the most advanced software for controlled transfer of U-Matic PreMaster tapes and session tapes to digital archives. The U-Matic-Inspector solution consists of a combination of three components:

  • U-Matic-Inspector Software
  • U-MaticDTA (Digital-Tape-Analyzer) (19" x 1U enclosure) monitors up to four U-Matic-Recorders (DMR 2000, DMR 4000) simultaneously
  • U-MaticCapture (19" x 2U enclosure) is the digital interface between U-Matic-Inspector and the PCM 1610 or 1630 (PCM 1610/1630 must have an AES output or an SDIF to AES converter).

The U-Matic-Inspector capturing process starts with reading the PQ-burst on the tape. If there is no PQ-burst present it can be loaded from diskette, or the tape can be read manually. After reading the PQ-burst, U-Matic-Inspector locates the U-Matic tape to approximately 30 seconds before TOC-Start, puts the machine into play, and starts capturing at TOC-Start. It creates a DDP-file set of the whole tape including the PQ-data or standard BWF or WAV files. The Timecode is supervised and CRC, MUTE, AVERAGE and HOLD errors are displayed with time stamps in the on-screen REPORT window, and are written into an XML file. U-Matic-Inspector is capable of managing this import process on up to four U-Matic machines simultaneously.

U-MaticDTA feeds the status (error output) of the U-Matic Recorder to the U-MaticCapture while the status is interpreted by U-Matic-Inspector software.

U-MaticCapture also captures the AES outputs of the PCM1610/30 and converts the workstations RS 232 signal to Sony 9-Pin protocol. Both 19" boxes are clocked to wordclock.

Supported U-Matic-Inspector Functions:

  • Supervision of digital transfer status
  • XML output / display of CRC, MUTE, AVERAGE and HOLD errors
  • Output formats: DDP, BWF, WAV plus XML metadata
  • Timecode monitoring
  • Output of PQ errors
  • Import of external PQ-data
  • Error report format is compliant with all other QUADRIGA modules