AAton Cantar-X2 User manual

[phone] www.aaton.com User manual for Cantar-X1 & X2 v2.15 2008 March 28
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Aaton Cantar-X1&2
s o f t w a r e v 2 . 1 5
•ltc triggered
remote.roll p . 2 1
•the magic
auto.s l a t e p . 2 3
• m i c d i r e c t t o
track 7 p . 2 8
•wild & all built–in
pdf.reports p . 3 7
•editor friendly
poly.rotate p . 3 9
•stereo monitoring
soundfield-b p.43
• p l a y b a c k , a d r, r e m i x
rec&play p . 4 5
t a r k a n p. 4 7
c a n t a r e m p . 4 8
r.can-w p . 4 9
m a j a x p . 5 1
tarkan
the cantar mirror

[phone] www.aaton.com User manual for Cantar-X1 & X2 v2.15 2008 March 28
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Keep in Touch
Manuals & software p.3
Cantar User’s List, Photo Gallery p.3
The PostChain p.3
Software versions p.3
Cantar-X1 to X2 p.3
Description
Permanently accessible faders p.4
Bottom connections p.5
Swiveling front panel buttons p.6
In-Grids and Out-Maps p.7
Pan-pots p.7
Circular modulometers for T1–T6 p.8
Rectangular screen p.8
Triple crown p.9
Operating positions
MainSelector 'West' p.10
MainSelector buttons p.10
STOP Power
Starting and stopping p.11
Twin battery safety p.11
Minimum/Maximum voltage p.11
Battery check p.11
Power Consumption p.11
Lithium-Ion batteries p.11
Flight restriction rules p.11
STOP Files
Error-free filing system p.12
Project creation p.12
Workday p.12
Filename p.12
Operational Problem p.12
STOP Time & clocks
Calendar Time & Sync Time p.13
Internal Free-run master-clock p.13
Do not power down the master p.14
Internal rec.run clock p.14
Internal clock & clapstick p.14
Slaved to an external clock p.14
Sampling Rate vs. Audio-TC p.15
On planet Earth p.15
On the ‘Slow-planet’ p.15
A for Avid v11 p.15
B for Barebone p.15
C for Compensated (Fake) p.15
TEST
Mic Phantom power p.16
Limiters, Inversion p.16
Filters and attenuators p.16
Differential delays p.16
Mic Coupling p.17
Stereo pairs & Surround p.17
Tuning the balances p.17
Mixer panpots p.17
Mixer sliders & modulos p.17
M/S monitoring p.18
Track disarming p.18
Headphone level p.18
Line-out/Foldback level p.18
Rec&Play rehearsal p.18
PPR Pre-Post-Record
Pre-record buffer p.19
Metadata entry p.19
Track names p.19
After recording p.20
File splitting p.20
Last take erasure p.20
Remote Roll p.21
Remote control PDA/keyboard p.21
REC Record
Modulometers p.22
Solos of the inputs p.22
Solos of the tracks p.22
Locking all faders p.22
Reference Tone generator p.22
Talkback mic p.23
Warning beeps p.23
Take-type p.23
Record tally p.23
Record by LTC (remote roll) p.23
AutoSlate p.23
Markers p.23
Record with playback p.23
PLAY
Commands p.24
LTC for VTR chase p.24
Play-card creation p.24
BROWSE File Indexing
Metadata editing p.25
Wake up HDD ! p.25
Play-file indexing p.25
Operand positions
MainSelector 'East' p.26
IN-GRIDS Routing the Inputs
T1–T6 In-grid creation p.27
Track disarming p.28
T7 T8 In-grid selection p.28
16-Track by Word clock p.28
AES sample rate converters p.28
OUT-MAPS Routing the Outputs
Out-map creation p.29
Tracks to outputs p.29
Inputs to outputs p.29
The monitoring crown p.29
Digi 1to Digi 8 outputs p.30
AUDIO/TC
Audio parameters p.31
Timecode parameters p.32
TECHSET
Day-in, day-out 'technicals' p.33
Software install p.35
SESSION
Project selection/creation p.36
HDD formatting p.36
DVD-RAM formatting, Scan disk p.37
Sound-Report p.37
BACKUP
IdleCopy, Backup@Call, PolyStore p.39
File treatments p.40
File rescuing p.41
Tutorials
Burners, Media and Drives p.42
Routings examples, Surround 5.1 p.43
Video and Audio sync p.44
Record with Playback p.45
Companions
Tarkan p.47
CantaRem p.48
R.can-w p.49
OriginC, GMT p.50
Majax, IndawPass p.51
PostChain, Titan-3 p.51
Connectors & Accessories p.52
Table of contents

[phone] www.aaton.com User manual for Cantar-X1 & X2 v2.15 2008 March 28
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User Manuals and Software download
Manuals and tutorials are on http://www.soft.aaton.
com/swcantar/ Latest Cantar software is accessible to
registered owners only; beta versions are NOT to be used
for commercial assignments.
• on your first visit: click ‘create an account’, enter your
details, don’t forget the country. After a few seconds you
will receive an email with your password. Enter this pass-
word and your email address in the login page.
• on your next visits: If you forgot your password, click ‘lost
password’. Enter your email address; if it is found in the
Cantar database, the password is sent to this address.
Cantar Users’ Group
You can exchange tips with other cantarists on http://
blake.aaton.com/mailman/listinfo/cantar-users
Pictures on the road
Send your pictures to [email protected] for the
Cantar gallery, we will put the best ones on http://www.
aaton.com/gallery/on-location
Post Production helper
Read the ‘CantarPostChain’ and spread it around to Post.
http://www.aaton.com/files/cantar-post-chain-23.pdf
Keep in touch
Software versions – X1 & X2 + X2 only
v2.15 March 2008 – Direct routing of all inputs to T7T8.
– Mono mixdown of T1-T7 to T8. – T7T8 in-grid check with
T1–T6 banks. – Line-out/Foldback gain adjust moved from
AUDIO/TC to TEST for active level monitoring. – Monitoring
of the dynamic mix: Xa/Xb stereo, Xa+Xb mono, Xa only
mono, Xb only mono on the So position in PLAY as well as
REC. – One hand Solo/Filter adjust. – Latency protection
of the limiter button. – Storage of the project's PDF sound-
report headers. + Ethernet–Tarkan activation.
v2.11 Jan. 2008 – Creation of 'play-cards' with cue in/out for
selective play of current and archive 'play-files'. + Rec&Play can
play up to eight tracks from internal or external HDD, add nine
analog inputs while recording eight tracks on the internal HDD.
+ Remix of a prior recording with new dynamic mixdown and
addition of a commentary track. + ADR for 'hear it/say it' dialog
correction. + Incremental re-recording up to 8 tracks/file.
v2.06 Dec. 2007 – Talkback Mic sent to Line-out and/or
Foldback left (e.g. boom) or right (e.g. director). – Double beep at
REC stop. – Two PDF Sound-Reports (ALL for ‘t p w a n’ takes &
WILD for ‘w’ takes). – ALE and CSV lists added to backups.
+ Up to 85ms delay on analog inputs; differential alignment and
TC compensation. + Wordclock-sync at 48/96kHz (±0.1%) and
44.1kHz. + Autoslate detection on Mic1-5, Line-in1-4 and Track1-8.
v1.87/v2.00 June 2007 – ‘Remote Roll’ recording starts upon
receiving running LTC, and stops upon receiving frozen LTC from
camera or GMT-u (no TC overlaps, no record interruption on RF
transmission drop-outs). – Remote STOP, TEST, PPR and REC from
CantaRem, R.can-w or keyboard. – Line-out & Foldback levels can
be controlled by CantaRem sliders. – A new ALE/PDF page opens
on each header item change. – Blank columns are allowed in the
PDF Sound-Report. – In ‘Forced’ mode, CantaRem can put Cantar
on STOP. – Archive tags are ticked after Backup@Call, they allow
Cantar to finish filling a half full DVD-RAM. – IdleCopy is less prone
to bus hangs with slow external HDDs (see LaCie firmware update
p.42). – CSV file stored on internal HDD speeds-up PDF burning
to DVD-RAM.
note: in a Cantar-X1, v1.78 must have been installed
once as the key to current versions.
From Cantar-X1 to X2
X2 brings the following hardware improvements :
• a CM-5 motherboard carrying an FPGA (Field Programmable
Gate Array) which provides increased processing power for
functions which can’t be performed by X1,
• an analog-to-digital converter (AD-5) with nine program-
mable audio delay buffers (up to 85ms @ 48kHz),
• a 100BaseT Ethernet interface board (ET-1) with an RJ45
socket in a hinged HDD holder.
X1 and X2 both work under Aaton-OS in the same low
power consuming CPU, with the same software versions
but some features require the capabilities of X2 to operate,
e.g., Rec&Play; DVD-RAM playback; Ethernet connectivity;
Differential delays on Mic & Line-in; AutoSlate detection on
Mic, Line-in and Track; Wordclock sampling and synchro-
nizing of multiple Cantars.
note: All Cantar-X1s can be upgraded to fully featured X2s.

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Permanently accessible faders
The Cantar interface is the easiest to use under the most
technically demanding conditions:
• It offers the largest display surface of all portable
recorders, which simultaneously shows every critical re-
cording parameter.
• The custom designed high contrast displays remain view-
able under bright light (sun, sand, sea, snow, storm), and
at very low temperatures too.
• The swiveling front panel always provides the best view-
ing angle for both on cart and over the shoulder work.
• The large twelve position MainSelector eliminates diving
into numerous sub-menus.
• The unique three-crown turret gives instant access to
all recording and monitoring configurations, even while
wearing heavy winter gloves.
• Nine rotary faders (analog inputs) plus six linear faders
(mixdown), each entirely devoted to one specific task, are
faster to handle than multi-function knobs.
• An important consideration for those who work in
the desert or on the high seas, all of the mechanical actua-
tors (faders, sliders, buttons, selectors) are sandproof and
waterproof.
Description 1,
[lim-inv] (1) Limiter ON/OFF.
[shift] [lim-inv] Signal Inversion.
[so-fil-tom] (2) Solo & Filter. Balance access.
[shift] [so-fil-tom] Phantom 48V activation.
[link-lock] (3) Left (un)locks Mixer sliders
Right (un)locks Mic/Line faders.
[shift] [link-lock] Links Mic 1/2, Mic 3/4.
[Solo Mix Pan] pushed to the bAttery side:
.[routing] displays the inputs to trAcks.
.[track-solo] (end of slider button) shows pAn-pots.
[Solo Mix Pan] pulled to the Operator side:
.[routing] displays the outputs to mOnitors.
.[track-solo] (end of slider button) activates track sOlo.
track disarming
& track solos
Hard drive
quick access
Five mic-inputs w/ high
Q transformers
Four asymetrical
line-inputs
Solo Mix Pan
in & out routings Limiter/inverter (1) Link/lock (3)
Solo/filter/phantom (2)
Shift

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Protected ins & outs
To complement the waterproof design, all audio sockets
are pointed toward Earth, the same direction that rain
falls. This concept has the notable side effect that no plugs
protrude from the sides; this allows third party designers to
build very narrow 'Made for Cantar' carts!
• The SubD 15 (p.52) is used to connect CantaRem (p.48)
or a USB-PS2 keyboard adapter .
• The SubD 25 (p.52) is the AES in/out connector which
can loop playback signals when in "REC&PLAY" mode.
• The 3/8” screw is placed at the center of gravity
between three rubber pads, and is used to secure the Can-
tar onto a cart.
•The weep hole, underneath the phone-jack socket, is a
drainage port for water that has entered through the phone-
jack.
•To extract the internal DVD/DVD-RAM burner, first remove
its lateral retaining screw, then use a pencil or tooth pick in
the DVD extractor hole to push the drive out of the Cantar
housing (see the DVD burner extraction arrows on the picture
below).
Description 2,
Firewire Timecode in/out Headphones Foldback
Mini XLR 3
Firewire cable
retainer Ident label AES
in/out
3/8" cart
holder
XLR 5
Line-out
phones’ jack
water exhaust
DVD burner
extraction
SubD 15
'options'
Burner extraction
Please remember the following about the FireWire connection :
•• The cable retainer screw should be used at all times (use
gaff-tape if your Cantar is not equipped with it) to avoid intermit-
tent contact or sudden cable pull-out. A loose Firewire connection
can induce ‘bus hangs’ and can even stop recording on both the
external and internal disks.
•• DO NOT plug a cable into the Cantar Firewire socket
while it is powered. The Firewire 6 socket that powers external
disks and burners has a HOT 12V pin in it. If the plug enters
at an angle, it will produce a short between the +12V pin and
the in/out pins and DESTROY the Cantar Firewire driver. Please
follow the HDD formatting instructions (p.36).
•• Only use ferrite choke ring equipped high quality Firewire
cables.

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Front panel buttons
[routing] [Solo Mix Pan] battery side: In-grids.
[routing] [Solo Mix Pan] operator side: Out-maps.
[esc] pause/restart from there.
[shift] [esc] in PLAY, continuous play of files toggle.
in PPR, ‘comment’ line erasure.
[<] [>] prev/next play-card (p/n file if no card)
in 'Operands', other parameter value.
[shift] [<] [>] prev/next play-file.
[ok] start/stop playback; in ‘Operands' push
focus to bottom row; value validation.
[shift] [ok] digitization parameters and TC fps view.
[eye] in 'Operatings', toggle T5/6 & T7/8
on right screen; in 'Operands', ‘Help’.
[shift] [eye] toggle rectangular screen bottom row:
‘filetag&duration’ or ‘scene&take’.
[TC jam] in PLAY, absolute TC; in TEST, a 3 sec.
pressure sets Sync clock to incoming LTC.
[shift] [TC jam] in TEST, stops ‘int c’ reminder blinking.
[batt L] or [R] short pressure: battery voltage;
long pressure: battery on duty.
[shift] [batt] in STOP, turns ‘OFF’ Cantar.
Headphones
1/4" jack in an isolated compartment. The headphone am-
plifier is powerful enough to drive loudspeakers down to 8
ohms. The stored output level of the headphones is protected
by the [shift] button.
Talkback mic
Nested near the MainSelector, the automatic gain talkback
mic can be routed to Line-out, Foldback and tracks (p.10).
Circular and Rectangular screens
Always visible under the brightest light (p.7 & p.8).
TripleCrown and MainSelector
Easy to manipulate even with winter gloves on, they
give access to all operating actions and operands (p.9,
p.10 & p.26).
Mixer’s faders
Dustproof and waterproof, they are magnetically driven. The
black sliders can be easily replaced with colored ones.
DVD burner
The burner is protected by the swiveling front panel, to
replace it see p.5, p.42 & p.52. The currently installed
Matshita UJ-85J DVD-RAM /±R burner is a slot machine.
Eject
Status light
Description 3,
Solo Mix Pan Mixer sliders
Talkback mic
Shift
TC jam
Esc < - > Eye
Batt1(L), Batt2(R)
Headphones MainSelector
Ok
Line-in faders Mic faders
Routing

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Circular screens
These are the largest, easiest-to-read screens found on any
audio recorder. They provide the user with ongoing data
concerning every aspect of the machine's operation while it
is operating. It takes a few hours getting used to them since
five display paradigms are used for the many functions they
handle. Once you are familiar with these functions, you will
drive the fastest machine you have ever driven.
• input grids. The six primary tracks graphically display
their links at the push of a button, even while recording.
•• output maps. Thanks to the three screen lay-out emu-
lating the left, both and right ‘ears’, the monitor maps are
immediately understood.
••• progressive pan-pots. The contribution of each track
to the mixdown has never been so clear.
•••• circular modulometers. Their round shape makes the
signal level easy to appreciate in a wink.
••••• monitoring physical status. Permanent control of
the disks, tracks, and setups.
• Input grids
The available ‘Inputs’ are shown in each circular screen:
Line-in 1 to Line-in 4, Mic 1 to Mic 5, Digi 1 to Digi 6. The
six tracks to which they can be connected are grouped in
pairs, e.g. T1 T2, T3 T4, T5 T6 on the three screens.
The method of creating routing-configurations by linking in-
puts and tracks is explained in the section ‘Routing inputs to
tracks’, p.27.
With the [Solo Mix Pan] slider pushed toward the battery,
the [routing] button (top-left of the swiveling panel) instantly
displays the ‘inputs to tracks’ grid, even while recording.
In the picture above the middle screen displays ‘A4’, the
routing in use. Fifteen preset routing grids are stored in three
banks. Each of which holds five grids, to help you sort and
memorize your configurations, e.g. A1 to A5 for mic only
setups, B1to B5 when some line-inputs are on duty, C1to
C5 for complex setups that include digi-inputs. The [config]
crown gives instant sequential access to all of them.
•• Output maps
Here is where Cantar's three screen ’mapping’ is at its best.
Audio signals going to the left ear show on the left screen,
signals to be listened to in mono show on the middle screen
and those going to the right ear are on the right screen.
All inputs (recorded or not, very useful in Rec&Play), and all
tracks can be monitored along different configurations for
each of the eight independent outputs channels: Ph Phones,
Lo Line-out, Fb Foldback and Do Digital-out. 26 different
‘output routing’ maps are available; the black [monitor]
crown gives instant access to all of them, see p.29.
In the example above, the ‘Ph d’ phone routing indicates:
Track 5 goes to the left ear, Track 1 and Track 2 go to the
center (both ears) and Track 6 goes to the right ear. With
the [Solo Mix Pan] slider pulled toward the operator side,
pressure on the [routing] button instantly displays the current
monitor configuration.
note: the [routing] button is required to change from one
grid to another, it is a protection against wild and lethal
changes, but it is not required to change from one map to
another in the course of a recording.
••• Pan-pots to the mixdown
Push the [Solo Mix Pan] slider toward the battery side, press
the [track-solo] button next to the mixer linear fader: the pan-
pot of this track goes under [jog] control and indicates its
left/right contribution to either channel of the mixdown.
The spatial position of all pan-pots is visible on the circular
screens while the dBFS value of the selected pan-pot is dis-
played in the rectangular screen (see next page).
Description 4,
T1 & T2 left T3 center, T4 left T5 left, T6 right

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•••• Circular modulometers
Cantar’s large circular modulometers, visible under the
brightest light as well as in the dark, are the most accurate
metering tools found in any portable recorder. They feature
a non-linear scale with increased resolution (1dB) in the most
important range: -55 to -40dBFS (5dB per segment); -40 to -
32dBFS (2dB / segment); -32 to -12dBFS (1dB / segment);
-12 to 0dBFS (3dB / segment).
The peak level segment hold duration is adjustable from 0.5
to 5 seconds (see TECHSET.12).
The Tracks are grouped into ‘natural’ pairs: T1 T2, T3 T4,
T5 T6. When a track is momentarily dis-armed, its modu-
lometer appears dashed.
••••• Monitoring physical status
The center of each circular screen continually displays the
status of the main recording elements:
• activity of the internal HDD (‘three-platter’ icon on the left
screen), the external HDD (‘three-platter’ icon on the middle
screen), and the DVD (‘one-platter’ icon on the right screen).
Disk activity is highlighted by the presence of the track IDs
recorded on it.
• sync clock mode: either master int c or slave ext c.
• mic preamplifier status: Limiter on/off, Direct/Invert,
Phantom on/off.
• the current monitor map name (sent to the phones too) is
constantly displayed by large alphanumeric characters.
• the activation of the mixdown recording on T7 T8 is
indicated by the ‘mix’ icon next to the ‘7’ and ‘8’ black
squares.
note: the screens are visible in very bright sunlight, to save
backlight power, see TECHSET.03 ‘Backlight’ (p.33).
Rectangular screen
• 'Operating' functions control (p.10)
In STOP
top row : batt-L & batt-R voltage
middle row : system time
bottom row : system date.
In TEST or REC
top row : tracks T7 T8 modulome-
ters. With [jog], battery voltage,
available recording time, and
remaining disk space. The [eye]
button toggles display of tracks T5 T6 or T7 T8 on the right
modulometer.
middle row : the source and the TC stamped in the audio
files: ‘Atc’ (ASCII-TC), ‘Ltc’ (jam from LTC), ‘Stc’ (from the
system calendar), ‘Otc’ (operator entered TC), ‘Rtc’ (Record-
Run TC), and ‘Etc’ (slaved to an external clock).
bottom row: (in TEST) current project name; (in REC) ‘filetag
& duration’ or ‘scene & take’ by [shift] [eye]. While adjust-
ing a pan-pot, the track rank, plus the maximum gain value
of the whole mixer panel (0dB or +6dB) are displayed.
In PPR or BROWSE
scene, take, track-names, com-
ments, Sound-Roll/Shoot Day, for
their editing (p.19 & p.25).
In PLAY
player’s position, cue points, ab-
solute time, ‘filetag & duration’ or
‘scene & take’ (p.24).
•• ‘Operands’ functions control (p.26)
In IN-GRIDS, AUDIO/TC, TECHSET, SESSION and BACKUP, the
pathtree of each parameter is displayed.
top row: the ‘Operand’,
e.g. AUDIO/TC.
middle row: parameter name,
e.g. SampleRate.
bottom row: parameter value, e.g. 48048.
Description 5,
left screen
Internal HDD
right screen
CD/DVD
middle screen
External HDD
AUDIO/TC 01
SampleRate
48048
NEXT AX0490
Seq Sc Tk
121R/a12t06
A00* >00:00
02:15 02:17
CC2165 03:32
V16.2 V14.8
Sys 12:45:22
2007–11–24

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Triple crown
The large all weather triple crown is used to verify and select
the input routings and monitor maps with only one hand.
Monitor Crown
1 So Mic, Line-in and Digi-inputs, plus active tracks are
directly selected and sent to the headphones as ‘solos’.
2 Ph Mixer output and seventeen user configurable maps
(A to Q) to headphones.
3 Lo Mixer output and nine user configurable maps
(R–Z) to dual Line-out (XLR 5).
4 Fb Mixer output and nine user configurable maps (R to
Z) to dual foldback out (mini XLR 3).
5 Do Mixer and nine user configurable maps (R to Z) to
Digi-out on AES7&8.
note: the headphones also receive the signal sent to the
output being configured.
Config Crown
• [Solo Mix Pan] slider
pushed toward the bat-
tery, the [routing] button
displays the In-grids con-
figs on the three circular
screens.
• [Solo Mix Pan] slider
pulled toward the operator, the [routing] button displays
the Out-maps on the three circular screens. These screens
respectively become left, both and right ears.
In REC, since the Out-maps checking has no interaction
with the ongoing recording, it is possible to select anoth-
er map for any of the available outputs with the [config]
crown.
In TEST and PPR, the [config] crown browses the In-grids
(inputs-to-tracks routing) and selects the one shown when
the [routing] button is released.
In REC, the grids can be checked but not mistakenly
changed, see 'T1–T6 routing selection', p.28.
Jog Crown
The [jog] is used to move the cursor in the routing circular
screens, to edit the scene and take, to select high pass
filters, to adjust the backlight’s intensity, to control the pan-
pots, and to scrub the player in fast forward/reverse.
note1: [shift] [jog] accelerates the speed 10x.
note2: the Operand's middle and bottom rows of the rect-
angular screen can be browsed by the [>] [<] arrows just
as easily as with the [jog].
note3: as of v2.13, both the Jog and the Config crown are
incrementing all parameters in the same clockwise direction.
Description 6.
jog
config
monitor

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Operating positions.
MainSelector West positions
The MainSelector is easy to manipulate even while wearing
heavy winter gloves; it gives direct access to all essential
functions.
The six OPERATING (West) positions control the recording,
annotation and playback of audio files. To get access to the
Rec&Play BLUE-XX positions, press and hold the blue [shift]
button while rotating the [MainSelector], see p.45 & p.46.
(The six OPERAND (East) positions, which establish Cantar’s
operating parameters, are described on p.26).
Std. pos. Blue pos.
REC • BLUE-REC
PPR
(
TEST I I BLUE-TEST
STOP IIII
PLAY > BLUE-PLAY
BROWSE I< BLUE-BRWS
MainSelector buttons
[black], [silver] and [red]* buttons can be activated by
the thumb, while the blue [shift] button may be pressed
by the index-finger.
[silver] in REC, insert a marker on-the-fly.
in PLAY, go to operator record marker.
[shift] [silver] in REC, trigger AutoSlate detection.
in PPR, toggle take editor (PREV/NEXT take).
in TEST, open LEVEL&DELAY settings.
in PLAY go to AutoSlate marker.
[black] in REC, PPR, TEST, talkback mic activation**.
in PLAY, inserts a play mark.
in BLUE-PLAY, inserts a cue-in.
in IN-GRIDS, links an input to a track.
in OUT-MAPS, connects audio sources to outputs.
[shift] [black] in REC, PPR, TEST talkback mic to active tracks.
in PLAY, plays from start of take.
[red] in REC, PPR, BROWSE, changes take-type.
in BLUE-PLAY, inserts a cue-out.
in IN-GRIDS, unlinks an input from a track.
in OUT-MAPS, disconnects sources from outputs.
[shift] [red] in TEST, PPR,REC, 1kHz reference tone:
‘Off’ at [red] release, remains 'On' if [shift]
released first, press [shift] to turn 'Off'.
in BLUE-PLAY, hide play-card from Rec&Play list.
* The red button may appear red/gold
**AUDIO/TC.04, p.31

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Starting & Stopping
To turn ‘ON’ Cantar, set the [MainSelector] to STOP, press
the [batt L] or [batt R] button for a couple of seconds. The
rectangular screen lights up to confirm that Cantar is pow-
ered. On the left circular screen, the ‘three-platter’ icon
blinks for 3 to 5 seconds, the time it takes the disk to wake
up; it is surrounded by the icons of the currently routed
tracks. The rectangular screen displays batt-L and batt-R
voltages, plus the system day and time.
To shut down Cantar, set the [MainSelector] to STOP, main-
tain pressure on the blue [shift] button and [batt L] or [batt R]
until 'AU REVOIR' is displayed. As a safety measure, if you
are not in STOP, nothing happens.
Reminder: while in STOP, internal HDD sleeping, the current
drain is a mere 270mA. To keep the internal sync-clock run-
ning, do NOT turn ‘OFF’ Cantar during the workday.
Twin battery safety
Cantar’s low power consumption electronics offer the longest
operating time of all portable eight track audio recorders.
With a single set of on-board Li-Ion batteries, the eighteen
hour Cantar outperforms all other recorders. And with the twin
battery system you will never be taken by surprise. While
working on a cart from a mains power supply, leave a
battery onboard and activate both inputs: the battery will
buffer possible mains power problems or the power cord
being accidently disconnected. To avoid charging spikes,
the battery which remains on-board is not charged, just not
discharged while Cantar is connected to mains power.
Mains power supply
Only use a low ripple, 14V max, power supply able to sustain
a 4A surge at Cantar's start-up. If it is not able to deliver the
surge current, plug a NiMH (12V) battery on one side and con-
nect the power supply (14v) to the other. Activate both inputs:
the battery will supply the surge and then will be off duty thanks
to the power supply higher voltage. NEVER use a battery
charger, its idle voltage can go up to 24V; a Cantar killer.
Voltage
Minimum: when the active battery drops 300mv below the
operator entered Batt Alert level, both inputs are put on-duty.
This allows the simultaneous use of a 12.5V NiMH battery
with alert level set to 10.5V, and a 14.4V Li-Ion battery with
alert level set to 12.4V (see TECHSET.14-15, p.33); alert
level reached, a two beep alarm is sent to the headphones;
the rectangular screen displays BATT LEFT (RIGHT) LOW.
While in REC, both batteries are automatically put on duty,
in case you unplug one by mistake.
Maximum:16.6V is the maximum voltage which can be
applied to Cantar, including the Firewire socket. No prob-
lem with Mac laptops and PCs, they deliver a safe 12V.
Never connect MAC G3/5 desktops delivering 30V on
the Firewire socket, extract the HDD from Cantar and con-
nect it directly to the Gs (it can sustain up to 40V).
Battery check
In TEST, [jog] to display the battery voltage. It also
appears in all positions whenever you press the [batt L] or
[batt R] button. Pressing a battery button for more than two
seconds puts the battery on-duty.
Power Consumption
STOP: 270mA (sleep mode), 420mA (HDD running)
TEST: 600mA (AES Off, Phantom Off, Heater Off)
REC: 650mA (AES Off, Phantom Off, Heater Off)
AES:100mA; Phantom: 10 to 20mA per mic (60mA total); Heat-
er: 500mA (until reaching +4°C under screens); Ethernet: 50mA.
Lithium-Ion batteries
The 14.8V/4.2Ah Aaton Li-Ion R-Cells are more powerful and
lighter than their NiMH equivalent (61Wh vs 45Wh, and 560gr
vs 695gr). To avoid their destruction by NiMH chargers, the XLR 4
pin-4 is protected by an 80V reverse voltage diode; pin-3 is directly
connected to the cells.
• Charger LED status: red/orange, two hour charge to 85%
capacity; amber, three hour top-up; green, charged. Before con-
necting a battery, reset the Mascott charger 9940 (Li 4-cell 2A
@14.8V) by turning it ‘OFF’ for 4sec.
• Supply pin-out: +Batt current is either flowing through the pin-4
diode to film cameras and Cantars under #268, or through pin-3
to Cantars having an XLR 4 socket with pins 3&4 tied together.
IMPORTANT NOTICE
• Flight rules: "NO Lithium-Ion batteries in stowed luggage. Under
8gr of lithium content, carry on as many as you want within size and
weight limits. Between 8gr & 25gr, carry on no more than two bat-
teries with a total lithium content between them of 25gr max."
At 5.8gr, Aaton R-Cells fall within the first category.
STOP 1, Power

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Project, Day & Files
Error-free filing with NO disk partitioning!
When you cold-start Cantar, it assumes you want to con-
tinue working on your latest project, which is displayed at
the bottom of the rectangular screen.
When you rent a Cantar, its project memory should be
empty; the rectangular screen should display ‘No Project’.
Once created, a ‘project name’ regroups all data related
to it, such as the days of recording, the tracks and the disks
used. This name is stored in each audio file, there is no risk
of a file getting lost in a maze of terabytes.
Unlike other machines, the Cantar file sorting system doesn’t
rely on disk partitions. Instead, it uses the 'Project/Work
Day/Filetag' path tree, which allows for the intuitive and
safe retrieval of any audio file on unpartitioned disks, any-
where along the PostChain. It is not operator-error prone.
1. Project
If you are in a bind and have no time to select a project in
SESSION.01 ‘ProjectName’ (p.36), go directly to REC, your
audio files will be stored in a project named AACANTAR.
Later, with Majax you will move these audio files out of the
'AACANTAR' folder and into the project directory you would
have created in the mean time.
note: in their iXML chunk, the moved files still hold ‘AACANTAR’
as the Project Name. You will need to manually replace that
provisional name with the correct name.
2. WorkDay
At startup Cantar displays 'New Workday?' giving you the
opportunity to say ‘NO’. Note that going to TEST or REC
is a way to say ‘YES’.
The ‘workday’ is not the same
as the actual ‘time-of-day’ as
defined by the sync clocks, it is
an interpretation of the ‘human’
day (see next page).
The Cantar recorded files are
multi-monophonic, i.e. indepen-
dent files stored in a ‘workday folder’. That folder is auto-
matically created at the start of each day and is named
for the date, e.g. 20041206.AAD (see 'Calender Time',
p.13).
Because original multi-monophonic files sometimes have to
be interleaved into large polyphonic files for crippled
editing machines, Cantar also builds an .AAP suffixed
‘shadow folder’ which stores the associated polyphonic
files for the day, e.g. 20041206.AAP.
3. Filename
In 1997, the Aaton Indaw multitrack digital recorder
introduced the Aaton filename system. Each filename con-
sists of: a unique machine generated filetag; an optional
descriptor that displays the scene, take-type and take; a
suffix that indicates the type and sequence of the file.
The aim is to perform these tasks while remaining compatible with
EDL standards which only handle ‘8+3’ DOS filenames, and with
Mac OS 9 which is limited to 31 characters.
• The automatically incremented six character filetag
(AD1234), differentiates 6.7 million takes, a sound mixer’s
lifetime! ( Indaw generates a 3 letter and 3 number filetag
for 17.6 million takes). The filetag must remain untouched
all the way through the final mix. One filetag represents
a complete ‘file group’, e.g. AD1234 is the unique filetag
of eight monophonic files from AD1234_1 to AD1234_8
and of its associated polyphonic file, e.g. AD1234PR.
• The descriptor displays the scene, take-type, and
take #, e.g. scene A18:2a, take-type t, take 04.
• The suffix is used to flag the nature of the file, either multi-
monophonic (_1 .. _8), or interleaved poly-Native (PN), or
interleaved poly-Rotate (PR), or poly miXdown (PX).
See ‘Cantar PostChain’ http://www.aaton.com/files/can-
tar-post-chain-23.pdf
Filename examples
A short filename: AD1234_1.wav
A long filename: AD1234==A18:2a t04==_1.wav
STOP 2, Folders & files
A questionable file?
Ask Aaton to give you access to their file-repair FTP site.
If you don't have an ftp client, download the excellent
'Cyberduck' freeware from http://cyberduck.ch/
An operational problem?
Go to TECHSET.03 ‘Save Setup’, and create a Setup
file to be e-mailed to cantar-suppor[email protected], this will
help them solve your problem.
New Workday?
No = [esc]
Yes = [ok]
v13.5 V13.9
Sys 12:29:14
2005-03-22

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Calendar and Sync Times
Time is the essence of a digital audio recorder. Cantar uses
two kinds of time: ‘Calendar Time’ organizes folders and
files, ‘Sync Time’ links audio and picture.
Calendar Time
System date and time run on a medium precision clock
which automatically creates the workday folders. This clock
is powered for four to six years by a user replaceable 3V
Lithium CR1220 button battery located below the HDD
compartment.
In STOP, the system date and time displayed on the rectan-
gular screen must be checked for a ±5 minute consistency
with the time-zone you are working in; think of it when you
get off of a three-hour flight.
This clock is very important for the file management; go to
TECHSET.21 ‘System Time’ and press [ok], a triangle points
to the modifiable digit. Using [jog], select the desired
value, then press the [>] or [<] to move on to the next col-
umn, and so on, [ok] to exit. Power ‘Off’ then ‘On’ Cantar
for the CPU to acknowledge the new system time.
The Workday is related to the date defined by the calen-
dar clock but not totally a clone of it. The workday is an
interpretation of the ‘human’ day; its duration can be from
6 AM in the morning to 3 AM in the deep night next day.
If you turn ‘OFF’ the batteries after midnight, Cantar thinks
the operator has gone to sleep. But if your ‘workday’ is
continued into the wee hours after a midnight snack, you
would probably not want it to be considered a ‘new’ work-
day. That is why Cantar displays 'New Workday?', giving
you the opportunity to say ‘NO’. Note that going to TEST
or REC is a way to say ‘YES’.
Thus, if you stop working at 2 AM one day, the audio
files are technically still part of the previous workday.
Conversely if you want to start a new workday right after
midnight, just turn ‘OFF’ Cantar, then turn it back ‘ON’ and
answer ‘YES’ or go to TEST.
Sync Time
At startup you will notice a blinking int c or ext c icon,
depending upon the master (internal clock) or slave (external
clock) mode selected in AUDIO/TC.12 ‘TC Source’. This
blinking icon reminds you to verify that the same timecode is
running in all of the camera(s) and audio recorder(s).
Four syncing methods can be used:
Method 1
'int c’ internal Free-Run master-clock
Set AUDIO/TC.12 ‘TC Source’ to 'Int.Clock'. The internal
TCXO 1 ppm clock keeps the time accurate to within ±one
frame in nine hours; this time is used to stamp the sound files
with the very same TC as the one stamped on the camera’s
images. This is the AatonCode method. In the video world
they called it the ‘free-run’ mode. Once initialized (four
ways) Cantar behaves as an independent master-clock.
• System/Calendar initialization
At startup, Cantar uses the System/Calendar date and
time to immediately initializes its internal high stability,1ppm
TCXO, Sync clock, ‘Stc’ (System-TC) is displayed in the
rectangular screen. To remind you to sync other equipment
around to the Cantar Sync clock, the ‘int c’ icon keeps
blinking until you press [shift] [TC jam]. 'Confirm Sys time'
is displayed.
• Operator initialization
In case you don’t want to use the calendar date and time,
the TCXO clock can be set by the operator, see AUDIO/
TC.17 ‘OperTc Init’. ‘Otc’ (Operator-TC) is displayed in
the rectangular screen.
• LTC initialization (from Camera, VTR, GPS, etc.)
Cantar on TEST press [TC jam] for more than two seconds,
this makes the entered SMPTE LTC jam the Cantar TCXO
clock. ‘Jtc’ (Jammed-TC) is displayed in the rectangular
screen. [TC jam] has no effect if there is no valid timecode
on the LTC inputs, ‘Jam Failed No LTC’ appears in the rect-
angular screen and the ‘int c’ icon continues to blink.
• ASCII initialization (from Aaton OriginC)
Cantar on TEST, its TCXO clock is set by an Aaton OriginC
which also initializes cameras and GMT generators. ‘Atc’
(ASCII-TC) appears in the rectangular screen.
STOP 3, Time&Sync

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Cantar becomes a master-clock
As soon as the int c icon stops blinking, Cantar starts
generating timecode. This timecode is based on a TCXO
(Temperature Compensated (X)crystal Oscillator), accurate
to ±one frame in nine hours (1 ppm). This high accuracy
makes Cantar THE timecode reference on set.
If you turn ‘ON’ the LTC generator output in AUDIO/TC.14
‘LTC Gen Out’, the LTC output can be used to continuously
sync all equipment through cable or RF. You can also initialize
several Aaton GMTs (low power, high accuracy, timekeepers),
attach them to the cameras and digi-slates and have TC that
matches the Cantar’s TC.
Do not power down a master-clock!
Being on a job on which the free-run time-of-day TC is the
essence (AatonCode camera, HD camera with GMT refer-
ence generator, smart digi-slate), never power down Cantar
during the workday to avoid the loss of its 1 ppm reference
time! While the internal HDD is in sleep mode the total
power consumption is a mere 270mA! Set TECHSET.16
‘HDD Pwr Dwn’ to ‘Aftr 5min’, to have the HDD sleep five
minutes after STOP. If you still want to power down Cantar
at lunch time, the blinking int c icon at power up will remind
you to re-initialize its own sync clock and all other timekeep-
ing machines on the set.
Method 2
‘int c’ internal Record-Run driving clock
Go to AUDIO/TC.16 ‘RecRun Init', [ok]: 01:00:00 is pro-
posed as the first TC of the day (it can be modified). From
now on, at the beginning of each audio file Cantar will
stamp a start-TC incremented by 2 seconds later than the
preceding take’s end-TC. This clocking, called Record-Run,
produces audio files which appear as if they have been
recorded in continuity.
If for some reason Cantar is turned off, the rec-run TC must
be initialized again. To prevent any TC overlap, Cantar
proposes to start on the next hour integer, e.g. if the last
recorded take has been closed at 01:34:15, the next start-
TC proposed to the operator will be 02:00:00.
The Cantar record-run mode lets you use the pre-record buffer
without creating TC overlaps. For example, if the preceding
take ends at 01:45:00, and the pre-record buffer is set at
35 seconds, the next audio file will start at 01:45:02
(two second gap), but the LTC emitted by the generator to
the camera when hitting REC will be 01:45:37.
While Cantar is in ‘Rec-Run’ mode, its reference TC must be
continuously sent to all cameras on the set by wire or RF.
note: in TEST and PPR, the LTC output is frozen on the end-
TC value, it can thus be used as a master TC to start and
stop another Cantar (‘Remote Roll', p.19).
Method 3
‘int c’ internal clock, AutoSlate on clapsticks
If the same TC is not running in Cantar and cameras, the only
way to sync pictures and audio is to use clapsticks; forget
digi-slates, they have too many drawbacks. The Cantar
AutoSlate sample-accurate clapstick detection function puts a
timecode crown over the simplest piece of wood.
Method 4
‘ext c’ slaved to an external clock
An externally-slaved Cantar stamps the audio files with the
same TC as the one running in the video camera. This
requires a link from the camera to Cantar.
Set AUDIO/TC.12 ‘TC Source’ to 'Ext.Clock'; ext c blinks
in the circular screen, meaning that Cantar is waiting to be
slaved to an external LTC, e.g. a video camera. Cantar,
while set to ‘external clock’, will only jam when you go
to REC; pressing the [TC jam] button will do nothing.
Cantar is usually in REC before the camera, so it monitors
the Lemo 5/SubD 15 incoming LTC and grabs it when
coherent TC is received. That is why ext c keeps blinking
until the camera is up to speed.
Before closing the audio file, Cantar stamps the TC by using
the latest valid timecode so as to eliminate spurious transmis-
sion errors and false camera starts. If there is no external
timecode signal, an ‘LTC Not Detected’ warning appears in
the rectangular screen and a phone beep is triggered every
four seconds. The beep is muted during ‘w’ (wild track)
tagged takes (see ‘Warning beeps’, p.23). Nevertheless,
the external TC is grabbed if it is received before the take’s
end. Note that external LTC breaks can be used to slave
the REC start and stop (see ‘Remote Roll’, p.19).
STOP 4, Time&Sync

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Sampling Rate, Camera fps, Audio-TC
These parameters are theoretically not correlated. The
number of audio samples per Earth second (Hertz), is
called the sampling rate, e.g. 48000 is 48kHz.
48kHz and 96kHz are universal, The film/video ‘frames
per second’ value should have no influence at all on the
audio sample rate frequency.
The frame-rate used to express the audio time can be 30,
while images are filmed at 24 or 25fps! Unfortunately,
because of vintage post-machines, the NTSC drifting
fps forces engineers to use tricks to sync real-time audio
with drifting-time images, by using disgraceful 48048 or
47952 samples per second (Hertz).
On the planet Earth
Timecode handling is simple at integer speeds such as 24,
25 and 30fps. It is more complex at 29.97DF where a
drop-frame lookup table is used to keep the image frame
count in line with Earth’s time: the frame count jumps over
two images every minute except for every tenth minute.
Stored in the BWF metadata, the camera fps is a simple
reminder and can be changed later and then applied to the
audio LTC used in some audio-post sync operations.
[U] Universal : 24.00 ... 25.00 ... 30.00 ... 29.97DF
In a file digitized at 48kHz, the Format stamp indicates
the number of samples digitized in a real-second, i.e.
48000; the Time-stamp carries the number of samples since
midnight using the sample rate value found in the
Format stamp. Exactly the same logic is used in the
Barebone mode-B of the ‘slow-planet’ recording mode.
On the ‘slow-planet’
Unfortunately, NTSC-compatible 23.976fps HD cameras
cannot use anti-drift lookup tables because nobody ever
found a clever way to emulate the counting compensation
invented for 29.97fps.
When shooting HD in the U.S., the ‘slow-second’ still
imposes its rule. The slow-second is the time it takes to shoot
30 frames of NTSC video, i.e. 1.001 Earth second).
As soon as you enter Camera fps = 23.98NDF or
29.97NDF, Cantar knows it must work in the ‘slow-second’
world, its TCXO clock switches to a slower beat and the TC
separators change from ‘:’ to ‘*’, e.g.12*45*36;
you are on the slow-planet with its 24 lazzy speed (aka
23.98NDF on Earth) and 30 lazzy TC (aka 29.97NDF
on Earth).
Many nights of engineers’ time have been spent trying to
find a universal method to sync sound and images on the
slow-second planet but nothing came out. In the U.S. you
must ask your post-facility which one of these three sample-
stamp modes is requested:
(A) Avid v11: '23.98NDF–A', '29.97NDF–A'
In a file digitized at 48kHz, the Format stamp indicates the
number of samples digitized in a slow-second, i.e. 48048;
the Time-stamp is the number of samples since midnight,
using the 48048 value of the Format stamp.
Introduced on the AvidMC v11.3.2, the ‘A’ mode is
being replaced by the ‘C’ mode. See ‘Avid-Recording-
Rates’ www.aaton.com/files/avid-recording-rates.pdf.
(B) Barebone: '23.98NDF–B', '29.97NDF–B'
In an audio file digitized/recorded at 48kHz, the 'B' stamp
indicates the number of samples digitized in a real-second,
i.e. 48000; the Time-stamp is the number of samples since
midnight using the 48000 value of the Format stamp.
While images and timecode are beating the slow-second,
the audio remains on Earth! Since recent post-machines
(e.g. Indaw) perform high quality real-time sample rate con-
version, ‘Barebone’ and 48kHz should be THE choice.
(C) Compensated: '23.98NDF–C', '29.97NDF–C'
Mode for challenged post-machines: in a file digitized at
48kHz, the Format stamp indicates the number of samples
digitized per real-second, i.e. 48000, but the Time-stamp
is the number of samples since midnight as digitized in
slow-seconds, i.e. 48048 (no longer the Format stamp
value!), hence the ‘F’ suffix (for Fake or Faux) used by some
manufacturers.
If it is 02h00m00s on Earth at REC start, the Time-stamp
shows 345,945,600 samples (02h x 3600s x 48048).
STOP 5. Splitting the sec.

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TEST [BLUE-TEST] 1,
Audio tests
Analog inputs: M1 (XLR3) M2 (XLR3) M3-M4 (XLR5)
M5 (XLR3), L1-L2 (XLR5) L3-L4 (XLR5);
AES inputs: Digi1–Digi8 (Tascam SubD25 p.52).
Microphone preamps
Cantar's mic-preamps offer such a wide dynamic range
in one stroke that they don’t need any pre-conditioners or
trims.
Phantom power
Press [shift] [so-fil-tom] (2) to toggle that mic’s phantom
power ‘ON/OFF’. The default setting for Phantom
48V is ‘ON’ for all mic-inputs. When connecting a
dynamic microphone, turn ‘OFF’ the phantom power; the
mic-preamp gain will be boosted by 12dBu. When the
phantom power is disabled, the triangle below the mic
number disappears from the right circular screen.
Limiters
Press [lim-inv] (1) for one
second to toggle the limiter
‘ON/OFF’ (to protect the lim-
iters from mistaken fingers, a
one second pressure must be
applied). While the limiter
is turned ‘ON’, a triangle is
displayed below the mic number on the left circular screen.
If the signal level reaches the limiter zone (-8dBFS), the
triangle will start blinking. In 24-bit recording mode, it is
common practice to adjust the input gain so that a ‘normal’
signal does not go over the -20dBFS level. Limiter activat-
ed, the 32dBu head-room above the -8dBFS kick-in point
gives 24dBu above the ‘no-limiter’ full scale. The operator
can count on a 44dBu reserve over the normal -20dBFS
level. If the signal does reach the -1dBFS level, a ‘clip’
icon appears at the end of the modulometer scale and a
beep can be sent to the headphones (TECHSET.08 ‘Clip
Detect’). To maintain equilibrium between linked channels,
the same limiter command is applied to ganged preamps.
Inversion
Press [shift] [lim-inv] (1) to invert the phase of a mic-input
signal; a triangle appears below the concerned mic num-
ber on the middle circular screen.
High-pass filters and line attenuators
Click the [so-fil-tom] button (2) of a mic to open the filter
selection screen, another click on any [so-fil-tom] but-
ton closes it. In between these two clicks you can [jog]
through the filter selection screen... quite useful when
working over the shoulder with a boom in the other hand.
Continuously leaving the finger on the [so-fil-tom] button
simulates both clicks: when you remove it, the filter screen
closes itself.
Three high-pass filter banks are successively displayed in
the rectangular screen, they offer the same corner frequen-
cies/attenuation slopes (from 60Hz/-6dB to 180Hz/-
12dB and LFA).
Mic Level bank: ‘Mic Level - Linear’ is the default setting
on all mic-inputs.
High Level bank: an 8dBu firmware translation of the gain
command puts the fader knobs in the same angular position
as when a standard sensitivity mic is used.
Line Level bank: a 24dBu physical attenuator converts the
mic-inputs to line-inputs (available on SL1 preamplifier, i.e
all Cantars from #268).
Differential delays Cantar-X2 only
Delays inherent to sound propagation (3 ms/m) or induced
by signal processing (up to 3.8 ms in a digital wireless kit)
can induce ‘phasing’ interference between mics placed at
different distances (or time) from a sound source. In some
instances it is advisable that all other
audio inputs contributing to the onboard
mixdown wait in a buffer for the ‘late-
sound’ arrival. In TEST, press [shift] [silver], ‘Toggling to
LEVEL&DELAY' is displayed, [jog] from LVL&DELAY.03 'Mic1'
to LVL&DELAY.11 'Line-in4'; press [ok] on the one to set,
[jog] from 0.0 to 85.0 ms delay in 0.1 ms increments (1 ms
increments by [shift] [jog]). Fine tune the delay by listening
to the tracks in ‘double-solo’ (Soloing p.22). An ear protect-
ing mute is applied during delay modifications.
2
3
1
LVL&DELAY 03
Mic1 delay
78.8 ms

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The value of the longest delay is applied to all channels
except for the one being set; example: a digital wireless
lavalier (3.8ms processing delay) feeding Line-in1 must be
in-phase with a boom at 6m distance (18ms sound propaga-
tion time) feeding Mic5: set Mic5 at 18ms and Line-in1 at
3.8ms. All analog inputs are buffered by 18ms, Line-in1 by
(18 – 3.8) 14.2ms, and Mic5 by 0.0ms.
Since the delays can go up to 85ms (two film frames), the
TC stamp in each audio file is corrected accordingly; for this
reason, each input delay is noted in the iXML chunk and the
CSV Sound-Report file.
Mic Coupling
In AUDIO/TC.08 ‘Mic Links’, select ‘1+2 3+4’ (default), or
‘1+2+3’... Phantom, Limiter and Highpass-filters are applied
identically to the coupled faders. Phase inverters remain
independent. All of these couplings remain active when
the Cantar on-board faders are taken over by CantaRem's
sliders.
Stereo-pairs
Set AUDIO/TC.08 ‘Mic Links’ to ‘1+2 3+4’. Press
[shift] [link-lock] (3) between the Mic 1 and Mic 2 faders;
a dot appears between ‘1’ and ‘2’ in the bottom of each
modulometer; Mic1 becomes the master of Mic2. Press
[shift] [link-lock] (3) between the Mic3 and Mic4 faders;
a dot appears between ‘3’ and ‘4’ in the bottom of each
modulometer; Mic 3 becomes the master of Mic 4.
Surround sound
Set AUDIO/TC.08 ‘Mic Links’ to ‘1+2+3+4+5’. Press [link-
lock] (3) between Mic1and 2, Mic1 becomes the master.
Masters and slaves
Whenever you rotate a fader, all fader values are displayed
on the rectangular screen; the master(s) is ‘highlighted’ by a
black square, the slave(s) by a pipe. The slave tuning range
is ±12dBu of its master’s value.
Protecting the balance faders
The balances being locked in AUDIO/TC.07, the slaved
faders are protected against flying fingers (a key appears in
the rectangular screen), balance modification can only be
done while pressing the [so-fil-tom] button (2).
The memorized gain value is displayed in dBFS on the rect-
angular screen, the physical position of the fader is shown by
< > signs. There is no sudden level change if re-activation
takes place when the fader is positioned in such a way that
the ‘pipe’ sign is displayed.
The Mixer
Pan-pots
Push the [Solo Mix Pan] slider to PAN (battery side). Each
track can be sent to the left or right tracks of the mixdown.
Press the [track-solo] button and [jog] the marker to the left
or the right of the circular screen. When it is in the center it
provides a mono mix. The value in dBFS of what is left to the
other side is displayed on the rectangular screen.
When a track pair is declared ‘M/S’, the pan goes to the
middle and it is stereo L/R decoded into the mixdown, the
Phones, Line-out, Foldback and Digi-out.
Sliders
The pan-pots being set, each track’s contribution to the mix is
adjusted with the mixer’s sliders. The maximum gain can be
either +6dBu or 0dBu (AUDIO/TC.05 ‘MixGain Max’).
Modulos
To listen to the Xa Xb mixer outputs, set the [monitor] crown to
Ph and select the ‘MX’ config. Xa Xb levels appear in dBFS
on the rectangular screen bar-
graphs: -50 -45 -40 -38 -36
-34 -32 -30 -28 -26 -24 -22
-20 -18 -16 -14 -12 -9 -6 -3
0 Clip.
A higher precision way to display T7 T8 track levels: press
the [eye] button, this will swap T7 T8 with T5 T6 on the right
circular screen.
note: [jog] overwrites the bargraphs with battery voltage,
available disk space, or remaining recording time calculated
from the current track count, bit-depth and sample rate.
TEST [BLUE-TEST] 2,

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p.18
M/S monitoring
The ‘M/S Declaration’ of a track pair (see IN-GRIDS p.28)
allows them to be monitored as M+S and M-S, i.e. L/R
stereo.
If you pan the M track to one side or the other, it goes
100% to the right or left, and the S signal disappears
from the mix. That is the way to mono monitor an M/S
pair.
Track (dis)arming
One of the advantages of the Monophonic multi-track file
recording is to not waste disk space by recording empty
tracks as is the case with polyphonic files. It is wise to mo-
mentarily disarm a track when there is no use for it. In TEST,
press [shift] [track-solo] of the unwanted track. Its monitor
is muted, and to remind you it is disarmed, its square track
number icon is blinking and its modulometer is dashed to
make it less visible. Disarmed tracks are not rearmed by
passing through STOP, you must pass over IN-GRIDS, or
turn ‘OFF’ the power.
Headphone level
The headphone level is protected by [shift] and is displayed
on the rectangular screen. Rotating the fader makes ‘<’ and
‘>’ appear. There is no level change if [shift] re-activation is
done when the fader is put back in its ‘pipe’ ( | ) position.
The headphone amplifier can drive 8-ohm loudspeakers: a
helpful feature to send playback tracks to the stage.
To facilitate extraction of a right angle 1/4” jack plug,
the headphone socket is slant-
ed toward the bottom of the
machine. This makes a long
straight plug hit the table on
which you put Cantar.
Line-out and Foldback levels
In TEST, [shift] [silver] opens LVL&DELAY.01. The line-out
level is [jog] adjustable from 0 to -94dB
and Mute. A -18dBFS tone delivers a
-10dBu line-output compatible with HD
cameras' line-inputs.
LVL&DELAY.02 gives access to the Foldback level, [jog]
adjustable from 0 to -94dB and Mute.
CantaRem sliders (p.48) can be assigned to this level adjust-
ment too.
A +12dBu gain two channel accessory is available (p.52).
These new 'operating' entries replace the former AUDIO/
TC.05 & 06 'operand' entries.
Rec&Play rehearsal read p.45 & p.46
In BLUE-TEST, the playback tracks (Tp1-8) are sent internal-
ly to the Digi1–8 inputs, then routed in the standard way.
Select the In-grids (see below) & the Out-maps tailored for
the job. Rehearse the BLUE-REC navigation and adjust
the levels between the digi-inputs (play-cards being called)
and the analog inputs.
The last played card will be the first to be called when
going to BLUE-REC.
Examples of cloning in-grids
They are made of T1-T6* & T7T8** in-grids
• for 'Remix': RPM = B2 & 02.
• for 'Archive file update': RPA = B2 & 44.
• for 'Eight track Re-recording': RR1 = A1 & 01, RR2 = A2
& 01, RR3 = A3 & 01, RR4 = A4 & 01, RR5 = A5 & 01,
RR6 = B1 & 01, RR7 = B2 & 07, RR8= B2 & 45.
* T1–T6 operator created ingrids
A1 (Mic5/T1), A2 (Mic5/T2, Digi1/T1), A3 (Mic5/
T3, Digi1/T1, Digi2/T2), A4 (Mic5/T4, Digi1/T1,
Digi2/T2, Digi3/T3), A5 (Mic5/T5, Digi1/T1, Digi2/
T2, Digi3/T3, Digi4/T4), B1 (Mic5/T6, Digi1/T1,
Digi2/T2, Digi3/T3, Digi4/T4, Digi5/T5), B2 (Digi1/T1
Digi2/T2, Digi3/T3, Digi4/T4, Digi5/T5, Digi6/T6).
With 'TECHSET.03 (p.34), save this A1–B2 in-grid setup,
and rename it 'Clone1'. Loading it for your next cloning
session will be a great time saver.
** T7T8 ready-made in-grids (p.28)
01 None None 02 Xa Xb 11 Mic5 Xb
44 Digi7 Digi8 45 Digi7 Mic5
TEST [BLUE-TEST] 3.
LVL&DELAY 01
LineOut lvl
-20 dB

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p.19
The Pre-Post-Record position is unique to Cantar, it offers
three essential functions: pre-record buffer activation, meta-
data entering/editing and last take erasure.
Pre-record buffer
While the [MainSelector] is on PPR, the pre-record buffer stores
the audio in a First-in/First-out (FIFO) buffer memory and dumps
them to the HDD as soon as REC is activated. The ‘•rec’ icon
blinks under the disk(s) selected for recording.
Once the buffer is full, and it starts discarding the first-in
audio, the middle platter of the ‘three-platter’ icon disap-
pears. This is a quick way to verify the pre-record buf-
fer length. This length can be modified (up to 35sec.
@ 48kHz), in AUDIO/TC.06.
PRE-Record Metadata entry
While in PPR, press [shift] [silver] to enter scene, take, com-
ments, track-names and TapeRef before or after the record-
ing of a given take. (The use of R.can or keyboard speeds
up the process).
note: [shift] [jog] accelerates letter scrolling 10x.
1 Scene and Take
The first screen displays ‘Seq Scn Tak’. Press [ok] to go
down to the bottom line and use [>] or [<] to scroll along
the characters and modify them with [jog.] Press [ok] to
store and exit.
• The default template is nnnA/nnA.nn for ‘sequence,
scene, take-type and take #’. To accelerate [jog] action,
this template minimizes the set of letters to those most fre-
quently used:
- Sequence: three digits, followed by one character from
this list: ‘space’, A, B, C, D, E, F, R, S, T, a, b, c, d, e, f,
r, s, t, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.
- Scene: two digits, followed by one character from the
list above.
- Take-type: t = time sync audio, p = pick-up, w = wild
track, a = announce, n = no-good. This t p w a n is select-
ed with the [red] button.
- Take #: two digits.
• An open CCCCCCCC.CC template is also available,
(see AUDIO/TC.09 ‘ScTk Templt’, p.31). At each new
take, the sequence & scene is maintained and the take #
is incremented by one. Modifying the sequence or scene
causes the take # to reset to 1. The rectangular screen dis-
plays the filetag of the NEXT recording.
2 Comments
[jog] to ‘Tk Comment’ and press [ok] to activate the bottom
line where the former comment appears. Characters (max:
200) can be entered with [<], [>] and [jog] but it is much
easier to use a keyboard or a remote PDA with R.can.
Depending upon the keyboard [insert] key toggle status, a
flickering square (insert) or a flickering pipe (overwrite) is dis-
played. Enter your comments. and press [ok] to validate.
Note : To erase the comment line inherited from the
preceding take, press [shift] [esc].
3 Track-names
[jog] to ‘TrackName 1’, [ok] to go to the bottom row.
[shift] [jog] or keyboard’s [shift] [up/down] arrows show
the available list of track-names.
Track-name completion relies upon a library of the last thirty
track-names in use. This automatic process speeds up track-
naming by letting you pre-store the names of the film’s main
actors and swiftly recall them by their first two letters. Press
[ok] or [enter], and [jog] to ‘TrackName 2’, etc.
Note that track-names are modifiable at all times and are
stored in each and every audio file, this means that an iso-
lated file carries its own track-names.
Library cleaning
By [jog]-ing past 'TrackName 8' you reach ‘Del TrkName’,
[ok], select the track-name to be deleted, [ok]. If you decide
not to delete it, press [esc]. In a bind and no time to name
the tracks of the next take, it is better to remove the former
take’s track-names than to carry incorrect ones in the next
take.
PPR 1,

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Go to the track-name editing line (any track will do), and
press [shift] [esc]; the following generic names will replace
them : T1 to T8 on native monophonics; ms-M and ms-S on
M/S tracks ; MixRight and MixLeft on mixdown tracks.
Press a [track-solo] button to display that track’s name in the
rectangular screen.
Note 1 : To allow for a possible entry from a PDA, the
generic track-names above are only recorded upon comple-
tion of the take.
Note 2 : The default entry mode is ‘overwrite’, if you
change it by selecting ‘insert’ on a keyboard, it will revert to
‘overwrite’ on the tenth character since track-names are
limited to this number.
4 Prod TapeRef
The TapeRef (Production Tape Reference) overwrites the
automatic Cantar generated MMDD DayStamp and
replaces it with either the incremented “Shoot Day Number”
of the project, or something like the VideoTape ID, called
the “Roll Number” (see ‘Practice 2’, p.44).
POST-Record Metadata entry
After REC, go back to PPR: the scene, take and filetag to be
used for the next file recording is displayed. If you need to
modify the previous take’s information, press [shift] [silver],
the rectangular screen displays EDIT, the PREVious filetag,
and the scene and take of the last recorded file. Press
[ok] then [>], [<] or [jog] as explained in the preceding
paragraphs.
You can modify the take-type ( t p w a n ) with the [red] but-
ton. Press [ok] to confirm, then [shift] [silver] to close and
go back to displaying the NEXT take’s characteristics.
Scene and take can also be modified later by selecting the
file in BROWSE, and performing the same editing opera-
tions as described here in PPR.
Pazienza! paciencia! patience!
When editing metadata entries, you are modifying the
native files stored in the internal HDD. If you are working
in simultaneous (mirroring) mode, these modifications are
immediately applied to the external drive files as well. But
if you are working in IdleCopy mode, they will only be
applied later when Cantar is in TEST or STOP position.
So, at the end of the session, remember to not unplug the
external HDD nor to remove the DVD-RAM disk in haste;
wait until IdleCopy finishes its revamping work!
File splitting
Manual split
To divide a file into shorter segments, quickly go from REC
to PPR and back to REC. A new file is created; it carries the
same scene ID and the take # is incremented. You will not
lose a single audio sample. A short pre-silence is added at
the head of the new file to ease the splicing work in Post.
By setting the PPR buffer to a long enough duration you can
even enter new scene and take IDs and comments.
Automatic split
If you need to record audio during very long periods with-
out interruption but you don’t want files larger than 4GB,
Cantar automatically closes the file and starts a new one:
four settings are available: 260MB (e.g.1 track for 30 min
@ 24-bit / 48kHz), 690MB (700MB CD-R capacity), 2GB
(default setting), 4GB (FAT32 max. filesize). The filetag is
incremented but the scene and take IDs remain the same.
Last take erasure
Purposely, Cantar lets you delete the last take only, e.g. a
false start or bad remix. In PPR, open ‘Edit’ by [shift] [silver],
select ‘Delete Take’; toggle from ‘No’ to ‘Yes’; [ok]. As fur-
ther protection, the latest position must have been REC, and
the power must not have been turned ‘OFF’. If you want to
erase a complete disk, go to SESSION.04 ‘Disk Format’.
note1: ‘Take’ represents a ‘file group’ sharing the same
scene, take and filetag, e.g. CD2234 represents the mono-
phonic files CD2234_1 to CD2234_8.
note2: when poly files have been requested, they are cre-
ated in Cantar's idle state (PPR and TEST), after the record-
ing has stopped.
PPR 2,