JoeCo BLACKBOX RECORDER User manual

BLACKBOX PLAYER - User Manual v 3.1 Page | 1
BLACKBOX PLAYER
User Manual
V 3.1 rev 2
Date: June 2014
Congratulations on your purchase of the JoeCo BlackBox Player. This
document will lead you through the basics of how to set up and use the
product. The BlackBox Player has been designed to be as simple as possible
to set up and operate but there are some relatively detailed concepts that
have to be understood to enable you to have a successful event. You will
find that this user manual is not a long document and can be read from
cover to cover in a short while. However, we strongly recommend that you
do read it just in case there are some aspects of the product that are not
immediately obvious.
This manual covers all variants of the BlackBox Player: BBP1U; BBP1B;
BBP1D; BBP1A; BBP64MADI and BBP64Dante.
Also remember that the BlackBox Player functionality can be temporarily
turned off leaving you with a fully functional BlackBox Recorder.
© JoeCo Limited 2009 - 2014. E&OE. All rights reserved. All trademarks and names are
recognised as the property of their respective owners

Page | 2 BLACKBOX PLAYER - User Manual v 3.1
Contents
BLACKBOX PLAYER ....................................................................................................... 1
Important Safety Information .................................................................................. 3
Copyright Warning ................................................................................................... 4
Opening the Box....................................................................................................... 5
Box Contents........................................................................................................ 5
Controls and Interfaces ............................................................................................ 6
Front Panel .......................................................................................................... 6
Rear Panel of 24 channel BlackBox ..................................................................... 7
Normal Operation .................................................................................................... 8
The Audio Files..................................................................................................... 8
File and Folder Names ......................................................................................... 9
The Playlist File .................................................................................................. 12
Control Methods................................................................................................ 16
Installation.............................................................................................................. 19
Enabling the BlackBox Player Software .................................................................. 22
BlackBox Player - In Use ......................................................................................... 23
Default Playlist................................................................................................... 23
Preloading Songs ............................................................................................... 24
Headphone Monitoring ..................................................................................... 26
Summary of Combined Front Panel Controls .................................................... 27
Using the Menu...................................................................................................... 27
Menu Structure and Operation ......................................................................... 28
Setting up Adjustable Parameters ..................................................................... 28
Playback Manage............................................................................................... 34
Software Updates .............................................................................................. 38
Troubleshooting ..................................................................................................... 40
Summary Of Alert Messages.............................................................................. 41
JoeCo Conditions of Use......................................................................................... 43
Software Licence Agreement ................................................................................. 45
Warranty Information ............................................................................................ 48
Product Returns ..................................................................................................... 50
Product and End User Registration ........................................................................ 52
Customer Support .................................................................................................. 52

BLACKBOX PLAYER - User Manual v 3.1 Page | 3
Important Safety Information
WARNING - Read the following before proceeding :
Read instructions: Retain these safety and operating instructions for future
reference. Adhere to all warnings printed here and on the equipment. Follow the
operating instructions printed in this User Guide.
Do not remove covers: Operate the equipment with its covers correctly fitted.
Refer any service work on the equipment to competent authorised technical
personnel only.
Power sources: Connect the equipment using the mains power adapter supplied.
Power cord routing: Route power cords so that they are not likely to be walked on,
stretched or pinched by items placed upon or against them.
Grounding: Do not defeat the grounding and polarisation means of the power cord
adapter or plug. Do not remove or tamper with any ground connection in the power
cord.
Water and moisture: To reduce the risk of fire or electric shock do not expose the
equipment to rain or moisture or use it in damp or wet conditions. Do not place
containers of liquid on it which might spill into any openings.
Ventilation: Do not obstruct any ventilation. If the equipment is to be operated in a
flight-case, ensure that it is constructed to allow adequate ventilation.
Heat and vibration: Do not locate the equipment in a place subject to excessive
heat or direct sunlight as this could be a fire hazard. Locate the equipment away from
any devices which produce heat or cause excessive vibration.
Servicing: Unplug the power immediately if the unit is exposed to moisture, spilled
liquid, the power adapter becomes damaged, during lightening storms, or if smoke,
odour or noise is noticed. Refer servicing to qualified technical personnel only.
Installation: Install the equipment in accordance with the instructions printed in
this User Guide. Use the equipment connections for their intended purpose only.
Precautions
Environment: Protect from excessive dirt, dust, heat and vibration both when
operating and storing. Avoid drinks spillage, tobacco ash, smoke, and exposure to
rain and moisture. If the equipment becomes wet, remove power immediately. Allow
to dry out thoroughly before using again.

Page | 4 BLACKBOX PLAYER - User Manual v 3.1
Cleaning: Avoid the use of chemicals, abrasives or solvents. The equipment is best
cleaned with a dry lint-free cloth. Do not remove the cover to clean the unit.
Damage: To prevent damage to the equipment cosmetics, avoid placing heavy
objects on the unit, scratching the surface with sharp objects, or subjecting the unit
to rough handling and vibration.
Transporting: The equipment should be transported in the original packing or
purpose built flight case to protect it from damage during transit.
Cables: Plan the location of the equipment so that the connecting cables are not
fully extended. Full extension of the cables can stress the equipment and cables and
may result in undesired performance. Ensure that all cables are located such that
they cannot be stood on or tripped over.
Copyright Warning
JoeCo BlackBox Player products are designed to enable you to reproduce
material to which you own the copyright, or material which the copyright
owner has granted you permission to reproduce.
It is illegal to record, reproduce, distribute, sell, hire, lend, perform or
broadcast all or part of a work (written or musical composition, broadcast,
performance or similar) whose copyright is held by a third party without
permission of that third party.
Do not use this Product for purposes that could infringe a copyright held by a
third party. JoeCo and its authorised distributors and resellers assume no
responsibility whatsoever with regard to any infringements of third-party
copyrights arising through your use of this Product.

BLACKBOX PLAYER - User Manual v 3.1 Page | 5
Opening the Box
Box Contents
Inside the box you will find the following:
BlackBox Player
Power Supply
User Manual
Quick Start Guide
The BlackBox Player has been designed specifically for Live applications and
will not necessarily be appropriate for use in other situations.
It will typically be used to replay from an external USB2 drive multi-channel
audio material that has been created or edited using a DAW. In this way it
allows all replayed material to be properly mixed in with Live sound during a
performance, or when used in a multi-speaker system setup.
A number of specific features have been added to make it suitable and safe
in a Live environment including quick changes to the order of playback, set
list changes, failover switching, etc.
Applications will include:
Backing track replay for live solo artists
Support material replay for live bands
Multi-channel replay in theatres, museums, theme parks, galleries,
cruise ships, conference centres, etc.
Multiple surround sound delivery
Synchronous multi-channel audio replay to video or for broadcast
applications using timecode

Page | 6 BLACKBOX PLAYER - User Manual v 3.1
Controls and Interfaces
Front Panel
The front panel of the BlackBox Player contains the user controls for the
unit. The buttons are all touch sensitive which prevents them wearing out
through constant use –just place the flat of your finger on the button to
operate.
The left hand side of the unit contains the metering section. On 24 channel
systems, each channel or Track has 3 rows of metering LEDs located above
the Track Present LEDs. The meters are positioned above a two colour LED
that indicates, when green, whether the particular track for the song being
replayed (or preloaded and ready to replay) contains audio for playback. (In
the BlackBox Recorder application this LED turns Red to indicate record
ready.) on 64 channel systems, there are 64 two colour LEDs which indicate
the same information alongside the two vertical meters which indicate the
levels on the PFL bus. There are also indicators for Disk activity and Playback
Lockout (which is only relevant to the BlackBox Recorder application).
To the right of the JoeCo logo is the control wheel which has a number of
functions explained later.
Then we have the main Transport controls [PLAY, STOP, RECORD] with the
four other control buttons above [L-R: BACK, MARK, LOOP, MENU].
Finally, at the right hand side of the front panel is the colour LCD display.
Metering Area
Transport
Controls
Control buttons
Display
Data
Wheel

BLACKBOX PLAYER - User Manual v 3.1 Page | 7
Rear Panel of 24 channel BlackBox
The rear panel will look slightly different depending on which style of audio
interface you have on your BlackBox Player. The areas indicated in the
diagram below are explained in more detail later in this manual.
The lower 3 D-type connectors are the main Unbalanced Analogue i/o
connectors on the BBP1U, BBP1A and BBP1D. The cable looms conform to
the TASCAM standard for analogue i/o.
On the BBP1B with Balanced i/o, these lower 3 D-type connectors are the
balanced inputs and the upper row are the balanced outputs. The BBP1B
does not have the loop through inserts, as the output cables can be plugged
into any external effects required before returning to the console.
On the BBP1A (Lightpipe i/o) version, the upper option area contains the
Lightpipe i/o connections and the lower row of D-types are unbalanced
analogue i/o.
On the BBP1D (AES/EBU i/o) version, the upper row of D-type connectors
provide digital i/o (normally configured to the Yamaha standard pin out) and
the lower row of D-types are unbalanced analogue i/o.
The rest of the rear panel is fairly self-explanatory, we hope, and is explained
in greater detail later in this manual. There are more technical details on the
JoeCo website (www.joeco.co.uk) should you require them. Please use the
Log In button and register your interest to download more information.
i/o options
Loop through insert points
Unbalanced Analogue i/o
Clocks
Disk
Keyboard
Headphones
Sync and
Control
Power

Page | 8 BLACKBOX PLAYER - User Manual v 3.1
Normal Operation
The most important information needed to use your BlackBox Player can be
broken down into a few key points: the individual audio files; the playlist file;
the control mechanism you want to use and how you want to wire it into the
rest of your system. There are other settings that may be necessary to
change, but fundamentally these points will get you most of the way to
being able to use the system.
The Audio Files
The BlackBox Player uses standard mono Broadcast WAV files (sometimes
called BWAV files). Most digital audio workstations (DAWs) can create these
files simply and efficiently and there is not enough space in this manual to
outline the operation of every workstation. Alternatively, these files can be
created using the BlackBox Recorder itself. Once the files have been created
and copied onto a suitable disk you should not have to revise them again.
Decisions to be made before you create your audio files:
What sample rate?
All files must be at the same sample rate:-
44.1kHz, 48kHz, 88.2kHz or 96kHz
What resolution?
24bit or 16bit
How many songs?
There is no practical limit apart from the size of
your disk. A folder can only contain a maximum
of 999 songs (though in practice you’d never
want to get close to that number as the machine
could become very slow).
How many tracks?
Each player can play up to either 24, or 64 tracks
(depending on the hardware version), but
multiple players can be used together to
accommodate larger track counts

BLACKBOX PLAYER - User Manual v 3.1 Page | 9
Which tracks have to
come out of which
outputs?
If there are multiple songs in the playlist you’ll
want to make sure that the bass guitar always
appears on the same console channel in each
song. Similarly, you’d want a “click track”to
always appear on the same channel of the
console so that it can be sent to the drummer’s
fold back mix. The same issue will affect
permanent installations when feeding surround
to multiple speaker systems.
How many playlists / set
lists?
These files are tiny but it’s wise to know before
you start whether you’ll need hundreds of
different playlists.
Once you’ve decided on the above criteria, you can start to create the
playback files you will require.
File and Folder Names
As a bare minimum, the BlackBox Player requires its audio files to be named
as follows:
nnn-tt.wav
Where nnn is the song number (between 001 and 999) and tt is the track
number (between 01 and 24). The “-“ (dash) and “.wav” extension are also
required and must not be omitted.
These parts of the file name are mandatory.
The Song Number tells the BlackBox Player which collection of files need to
be loaded up and replayed together to form the song. The Track Number
determines the output through which each file will be played.
The track number is not shown in the BBP’s user interface screen. It is vital
for these parts of the file name to be correctly filled in or the tracks will not
play back.

Page | 10 BLACKBOX PLAYER - User Manual v 3.1
There is no obligation to use consecutive numbers if you do not need a full
24/64 tracks of playback.
However, you will want to adopt a consistent scheme for track names
especially as you will not want a kick drum in one song becoming violins in
the next song. Nor would you want surround speaker left becoming the sub-
woofer on the next song.
Optional Song and Track names
To avoid mixing up file names when you create the files in your DAW, you
may find it useful to give each file a name that is easier for you to remember.
For example
001-02.Herringbone Waltz-Kick.wav
is easier to recognise as being the Kick drum track for the song called
Herringbone Waltz than merely
001-02.wav
To accommodate this it is possible to insert human readable names to the
mandatory part of the file name in this way.
nnn-tt.Song Name-Track Name.wav
where “Song Name” is the name of the song and “Track Name” is the name
of each track within that song. The separator “-“ (dash) between the song
name and track name is mandatory and you cannot use a dash anywhere
else in the song or track name.
001-01.Herringbone Waltz-Bass.wav
001-02.Herringbone Waltz-Kick.wav
001-03.Herringbone Waltz-Snare.wav
001-04.Herringbone Waltz-HiHat.wav
...
001-23.Herringbone Waltz-Daf stringsL.wav
001-24.Herringbone Waltz-Daf stringsR.wav

BLACKBOX PLAYER - User Manual v 3.1 Page | 11
The next Song might contain files named as follows:
002-01.Haddock Marsala Polka-Bass.wav
002-02.Haddock Marsala Polka-Kick.wav
002-03.Haddock Marsala Polka-Snare.wav
002-04.Haddock Marsala Polka-HiHat.wav
...
002-23.Haddock Marsala Polka-Daf stringsL.wav
002-24.Haddock Marsala Polka-Daf stringsR.wav
It is completely optional whether you give Songs and Tracks human readable
names - the BBP does not require you to do it; it merely helps you to find the
files later if you need to. The basic naming scheme and time stamping will
keep the files well organised anyway.
Permissible Characters in File Names
Any of the following characters can be used in files names; Upper and lower
case alphabet characters, numbers, and some extra characters including ‘ ‘
(space) as listed below
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
0123456789
$ % ’_ @ ~ ` ( ! ) { } ^ ~ &
Remember that you should not use the dash “-“ except as a separator
between the song number –track number and song name –track name
Folder Names
The BlackBox Player insists that all audio files are stored in folders with an
extension of “.bbr”
So for example, if your USB2 disk appeared on your computer as drive E:\
You could store all your broadcast wav files in a folder called:
E:\Elvis.bbr

Page | 12 BLACKBOX PLAYER - User Manual v 3.1
Or
E:\Birmingham.bbr
The BlackBox Recorder software automatically creates and records its files
into folders based on today’s date so folder names such as:
E:\2011-04-23.bbr
are perfectly acceptable as well.
The audio files you will use to create the playlist do not all have to be in the
same folder providing that all the tracks for each song are kept together.
The Playlist File
The playlist file is a simple text file written in an XML format and stored in
the root folder of the USB drive.
The file should be called “playlist xxxxxxxxx.txt”, where xxxxxxxxx can be any
name you want. There is one special file called “playlist default.txt” which
will load automatically on plugging the disk into the BlackBox Player. But you
can always load a different playlist file from the menu.
So what is XML format? XML is a very simple type of computer code and is
the basis of HTML which is at the heart of the World Wide Web. All
statements in XML are enclosed in tags which are key words surrounded by
triangular brackets. An opening tag looks like this <tag> and a closing tag
looks like this </tag> (i.e. the same word preceded by a backslash “/”) . In
the BlackBox Player playlist file there are just a few tags as follows:
XML tag and examples
Explanation
<f>folder name</f>
e.g. <f>2011-04-23</f>
this makes the folder with this name the
current folder for replaying songs
<s>songnumber</s> or
<s>songname</s>
e.g. <s>001</s>
The song number or song name that you
want to load next, ready for instant
playback. Number takes precedence,
names after numbers are ignored. Don’t
name songs with preceding digits e.g.

BLACKBOX PLAYER - User Manual v 3.1 Page | 13
“007 is dead.wav” will not work!
<c>comment</c>
Any comment that you want to add.
Comments are ignored by the BlackBox
Player and merely help you remember
things about the playlist. Comments can
straddle multiple lines and can be used
to temporarily cut out other commands
whilst debugging playlists.
An example playlist file –playlist example1.txt:
<c>Playlist example.txt</c>
<f>2010-09-06</f>
<s>002</s >
<c>load song 002 ready for playback and then play it when
triggered.
N.B. it is not necessary to use the full song name. By using the
song number, it is quicker to edit the order of play</c>
<s>021</s><c>note that songs can be in any order</c>
<s>001</s>
<c> temporarily cutting out the following two lines of the file
<s>007</s>
<s>004 I did it my way</s>
</c>
<s>009</s>
<c>another comment</c>
<s>011</s>
<s>008</s>
<c>N.B. Songs can be repeated in the same playlist</c>
<s>009</s>
<c>The end of this playlist file</c>
The following tags are optional and will normally only be relevant when
syncing to a source of external timecode

Page | 14 BLACKBOX PLAYER - User Manual v 3.1
XML tag and examples
Explanation
<tc>timecode override</tc>
e.g. <tc>10:02:39.21</tc>
By default, the BlackBox Player will use
the embedded timecode inside the
Broadcast WAV file when triggering to
timecode. This field, when placed after
the song name, will substitute and
override the timecode embedded in the
file. The timecode format should be
written HH:MM:SS.FF
(hours:minutes:seconds.frames)
<tctrim>trim</tctrim>
e.g.
<tctrim>10:04:35.12</tctrim>
or
<tctrim>+00:00:03.23</tctrim>
This tag will trim or edit the start of a
cue to remove unwanted audio
material. Absolute time is referenced
against the BWAV files’ embedded
timecode; Relative time (+) indicates
how much time to trim off the start of
the files (e.g. 3seconds 23frames).
<tcrate>timecode rate</tcrate>
e.g. <tcrate>drop</tcrate>
This field will change the timecode rate
setting in the BlackBox Player. It will
only be relevant when the playlist calls
for replay to be triggered by timecode. It
can only appear once and must be called
before any song is loaded.
Valid entries for <tcrate> are:
30 (= 30fps)
drop (=29.97fps drop frame)
29 (=29.97fps non drop)
25 (=25fps)
24 (=24fps)
23 (=24fps/1.001 i.e. 23.98fps)

BLACKBOX PLAYER - User Manual v 3.1 Page | 15
XML tag and examples
Explanation
<srate>sample rate</srate>
e.g. <srate>48000</srate>
This field will change the sample rate
setting in the BlackBox Player. It can
only appear once and must be called
before any song is loaded.
Valid entries for <srate> are:
44100 (=44.1kHz)
48000 (=48kHz)
88200 (=88.2kHz)
96000 (=96kHz)
An example playlist file - playlist example2.txt:
<c>Playlist example2.txt</c>
<srate>48000</srate>
<tcrate>drop</tcrate>
<f>2010-09-06</f>
<s>001</s><tc>01:02:03.04</tc>
<c>load song 001 and then play it when timecode = 01:02:03.04</c>
<s>012</s><tc>01:05:24.05</tc>
<s>003</s><tc>01:38:38.19</tc>
<c>note timecode does not have to be in chronological order but
the user must ensure that timecode values do not overlap. The BBP
will sort the list into timecode order with a warning</c>
<s>005</s><tc>01:08:36.17</tc>
<s>004 I did it my way</s><tc>01:11:07.27</tc>
<s>010</s><tc>01:14:05.06</tc><tctrim>+00:00:02.15</tctrim>
<c>trim 2 seconds and 15 frames off the start of song 010</c>
<s>011</s><tc>01:18:09.10</tc>
<s>009</s><tc>01:59:59.29</tc>
<c>The end of this playlist file</c>
N.B. Selecting a folder using the Song Select | Select Song Folder menu item
will create a basic playlist from the songs contained within a particular
folder. If Timecode is enabled this file will include <tc> flags. This can be a
useful starting point when initially creating a playlist. The resulting playlist
file can then be loaded into a text editor on a computer to be renamed, re-

Page | 16 BLACKBOX PLAYER - User Manual v 3.1
ordered or adjusted as required before being used as the playlist to control
the BlackBox Player.
Control Methods
There are a number of ways to control the BlackBox Player:
Using the front panel
Via a footswitch
Using a QWERTY keyboard
Using MIDI commands from a controller
Using the JoeCoRemote app
Timecode sync
Timed replay using the internal real-time clock
Each one of these methods is appropriate for a particular application and will
be explained in more detail here.
Control using the front panel
Having loaded the playlist file:
Playback may be triggered using the PLAY button
The STOP button will stop or pause playback
The MARK buttons will load the previous song ready for playback
The LOOP button will load the next song ready for playback
All other commands can be accessed via the menus
Wiring and control using a footswitch
To enable footswitch control, a footswitch must first be connected to the
Footswitch/ LTC input on the back of the BlackBox Player. You will need a
momentary contact closure footswitch (not an on/off switch) and it needs to
be wired between the Ring and the Sleeve of a ¼” (6.35mm) TRS jack plug.
To enable footswitch control, you must use MENU > SETUP > CONTROL and
then select the footswitch option and change it to Play/Stop. The BlackBox
will then be ready for footswitch control.

BLACKBOX PLAYER - User Manual v 3.1 Page | 17
The footswitch provides a very basic level of control, acting as a PLAY or
STOP button only.
All other commands can be accessed via the menus or via a separate
QWERTY Keyboard.
Control using a QWERTY keyboard
A PS2 keyboard plugged into the keyboard socket on the rear of the unit
gives comprehensive control of the Player. The numeric keypad provides the
following functions:
Enter
PLAY
Ins (0)
STOP
Del (.)
Pause
+
Load next CUE
-
Load previous CUE
*
Record (disabled when player active)
1 through 9
Load CUE 1 through 9 as the next song to
cue up
Alt + (numeric keypad) number
Load a specific CUE number next. Allows
quick change to set list
Right arrow
MENU
Left arrow
BACK
Up arrow
previous menu item
Down arrow
next menu item
By using the numeric keypad to enter a cue number while playing a cue, the
BlackBox Player will override the playlist sequence. The Player will jump to
the newly selected cue when the current cue finishes and will continue to
the following cue thereafter.
Control using MIDI
The BlackBox Player responds to MIDI Machine Control (MMC), MIDI
Program Change (MPC) and MIDI Show Control (MSC) commands, in
addition to MIDI timecode as explained below.

Page | 18 BLACKBOX PLAYER - User Manual v 3.1
Timecode sync
Feed a source of external linear timecode (LTC) into the LTC input, or a
source of MIDI timecode (MTC) into the MIDI input. The LTC input is on the
Tip of a TRS ¼” (6.35mm) jack plug with the Sleeve acting as the ground
return.
The BlackBox will indicate on screen how long it is before the next song is to
be loaded and played.
A few seconds before the start time is reached (determined by the Preroll
time setting), the BlackBox will load the audio files for the next song into
memory and will then commence replay exactly as the timecode is reached.
By default, the BlackBox will replay files with respect to the timecode
embedded into the Broadcast WAV file, but is it possible to override this
setting as seen in the example playlist file above –playlist example2.txt (see
page 15). Adding a timecode override allows very subtle adjustment of
replay timings with respect to video for lip sync, etc.
It is also possible to trim the start of a set of audio files by adding a timecode
trim. This feature will commence playback from the trimmed time thereby
editing the start of the cue non-destructively. Trim values can be entered as
an absolute or relative time.
Timed replay
Using the same format of time codes above, it is also possible to trigger
playback from the internal real-time clock such that specific multi-channel
songs are triggered for replay at specific times of day.
This could for example be used to replay different messages at different
times of day throughout a theme park, or to provide messages in multiple
languages at the top of every hour for different radio stations within a large
broadcaster. Use MENU > SETUP and set Timeline to Real time clock

BLACKBOX PLAYER - User Manual v 3.1 Page | 19
Installation
Deciding where to install
In a live situation, it depends on whether the live engineer, the musical
director, installation technician or a band member wants to be able to see
and control the Player. If touring, the Player will need to be easily portable,
whereas in a more permanent installation it may be in a machine room and
remotely controlled. It’s best to install it at eye level if possible for ease of
operating the menus and determining the status of the machine.
Wiring the BlackBox Player
As described above, different types of audio i/o are available on the various
BlackBox Players:
The BBP1U has Unbalanced audio connections
The BBP1B has Balanced audio connections
The BBP1A provides digital Lightpipe connections which are
supplemented with unbalanced analogue audio connections
The BBP1D provides digital AES/EBU connections which are
supplemented with unbalanced analogue audio connections
The BBP64MADI and BBP64Dante have dedicated outputs that
conform to their respective standards (BNC Coax or SC optical for
MADI and RJ45 Gigabit Ethernet for Dante)
Full details of the pin outs of each audio connector are available in the visitor
area of the JoeCo website www.joeco.co.uk
The analogue connections on the BlackBox Player provide audio that can be
switched between Low and Pro levels in the Setup Menu (page 33).
Setting
LOW
PRO
Nominal level
-10dBu
+4dBu
Headroom above nominal level
14dB
18dB
0dBFS (when digital clipping will occur)
+4dBu
+22dBu

Page | 20 BLACKBOX PLAYER - User Manual v 3.1
Deciding on a disk drive
The BlackBox Player is not particularly fussy about its Disk Drive. We cannot
guarantee that every drive in the world will work, but the ones we’ve tried
and approved so far have done. The core criteria that you need to follow are:
Up to 2TB with USB2 or USB3 interface
Formatted with FAT32 Filing System
Not “bus” powered (some bus powered drives may work but we cannot
guarantee it)
Does not perform off-line calibrations such as thermal recalibration
Uses standard 512byte sectors (a few large drives use larger non-
standard sector sizes to squeeze more space onto a drive)
This means that most drives that are both Mac and PC compatible will work
ok. USB2 can carry up to 480Mbits/s of data and for recording 24 tracks of
96kHz/24bit the maximum data rate we need is less than 60MBits/s so
there’s normally plenty of headroom. JoeCo has already tested numerous
USB2 drives from Western Digital, Glyph, Verbatim, Samsung, Buffalo,
Hitachi and others and found them to work well.
Some drives have power saving built into them which is particularly difficult
to turn off completely and some of these drives have gone into sleep mode
in the middle of being used. We had added routines to try and keep these
drives operational but as we cannot guarantee that they will work, we advise
users to avoid these drives.
USB or buss-powered drives often draw more current than the USB2
specification allows (limited to 500mA) and can therefore not be used
without providing a separate power supply.
Standard Flash RAM drives (aka thumb Drives) are not fast enough to take
the full USB2 data rates that the BBP requires. However, modern large fast
thumb drives (32GB and larger) are now fast enough to provide the data
rates that the BBP requires. Check with JoeCo or your local distributor for
latest recommended drives or ask your retailer to try before you buy.