Nagra Nagra-VI User manual

NAGRAVISION SA, Kudelski Group, Rte. de Genève 22, 1033 Cheseaux, Switzerland. Tel :[phone] Web : www.nagraaudio.com e-mail: [e-mail]
OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS
AND
REFERENCE MANUAL
NAGRA-VI

GUARANTEE / WARRANTY
NAGRA/KUDELSKI certifies that this instrument was thoroughly inspected and tested prior to leaving our
factory and is in accordance with the data given in the accompanying test sheet.
We guarantee the Nagra VI products of our own manufacture against any defect arising from faulty
manufacture for a period of TWO years from the date of delivery.
This guarantee covers the repair of confirmed defects or, if necessary, the replacement of the faulty parts,
excluding all other indemnities.
All freight costs, as well as customs duty and other possible charges, are at the customer's expense.
Our guarantee remains valid in the event of emergency repairs or modification being made by the user.
However we reserve the right to invoice the customer for any damage caused by an unqualified person or a
false manoeuvre by the operator.
We decline any responsibility for any and all damages resulting, directly or indirectly, from the use of our
products.
Other products sold by NAGRAVISION / KUDELSKI S.A. are covered by the guarantee clauses of their
respective manufacturers. We decline any responsibility for damages resulting from the use of these products.
We reserve the right to modify the product, and / or the specifications without notice.

ABOUT THIS MANUAL
This instruction manual is broken down into several chapters. Each chapter covers different aspects of the
Nagra VI recorder, the settings, actual use, eventual problem localisation and technical specifications.
The operation section is divided into five different parts, the contents of each is listed below.
GUARANTEE / WARRANTY
ABOUT THIS MANUAL
INTRODUCTION TO THE NAGRA VI
Chapter I The “POWER” You need power first Page 5
Battery packs, charging and external DC power
Chapter II The “EXTERIOR” Panels Left (input), Front, Right (output) and Back Page 9
keys, switches, connectors and more
Chapter III The “INTERIOR” – OPERATION
Part 1 The “MENUS” Menu tree structure and menu navigation Page 20
Part 2 The “AUDIO” Settings > AUDIO, Inputs and input matrix, Limiters
Filters, Internal Mixer, Reference Generator,
M/S decoders, Outputs AES In / Out, Monitoring Page 22
Part 3 The “MEDIA” DRIVES, FOLDERS, FILES, DIRECTORY
Working drive, Directory functions, Index / take
iXML METADATA, False start, Wild track, Pick-up
COPY functions, Autocopy and copy manager Page 32
Part 4 The “SET-UP” SETTINGS > pots assignment, Pre-record,
clock ref., sampling freq., File type, File name / size,
Screen settings, Beep, Speaker, Auto skip,
Start stop polarity User keys, Meter programming. Page 49
Part 5 The “TOOLS” Media speed test, Re-formatting, Date / Time
(RTC), Auto folders, Name, Keyboard Selection,
Software Updates and Default settings, TEMPLATES Page 57
Chapter IV TIME CODE Time code system, Internal Chase synchronizer Page 64
Chapter V SOLUTIONS Error messages and problem solving Page 71
Chapter VI SPECIFICATIONS Full technical specifications Page 73
ANNEX I - Recording times Page 74
ANNEX II - iXML implementation Page 75
ANNEX III - The entire menu tree Page 76
ANNEX IV - Report example Page 84
ANNEX V - Template model Page 85
ANNEX VI - USB keyboard template Page 89
ANNEX VII - Conformity certificate CE Page 90
INDEX - Alphabetical index Page 91
Note: In addition to the alphabetical index at the end of this manual, the “footer” on the lower left
corner of each page indicates the section of the machine covered by the particular page.
This helps the reader navigate through the important areas.

Introduction to the Nagra VI
The Nagra-VI is a 24-bit solid-state 8-track digital audio recorder / player with built-in mixing functions
designed for classical music and film / TV location recording. It uses a 120GB internal hard drive (HDD) as
its principal storage medium and a removable Compact Flash card (CF) as a secondary media and file
transportation format. It is designed and built as an “on-location” recorder with the traditional Nagra
ruggedness. The audio information is stored as a digital linear Broadcast Wave file, and the recorded files
are iXML compatible. Equipped as standard with SMPTE/EBU time code generator and synchronizer, audio
limiters and filters (integrated into the microphone pre-amplifiers), high-speed USB-2.0 interface, a sunlight
readable 3 ½” TFT colour display and a detachable lithium-ion battery pack.
The front panel, chassis and features were all designed using the experience of previous NAGRA recorders
which render the Nagra-VI to very user-friendly and comfortable to operate even in harsh environmental
conditions. It is powered by a Lithium-Ion rechargeable pack (4.6 or 13.8 Ah). The record autonomy with the
standard 4.6 Ah pack is approximately 4 hours. With the optional high capacity pack this is increased to
more than 12 hours. It is equipped with two Hirose connectors allowing external RF receivers or digital
microphones to be powered from the battery box of the machine while on location.
The Nagra VI has six analogue inputs on XLR connectors, four of which are equipped with extremely high
quality microphone pre-amplifiers. They include, as one expects, +48V phantom powering and in-house
wound NAGRA transformers offering an improvement of +6dB in the noise floor when set to the 2.8mV/Pa
(for dynamic microphones) position. The other two connectors double up as AES A and B inputs for
connection to digital signal sources.
A system of user-friendly software menus are used for general machine configuation and for all internal
selections such as input sources, time code settings and the metadata entry or editing. Software updates
will be made available, from time to time, on our web site www.nagraaudio.com offerring additional features.
Explanations concerning the procedure for updating the software and the new features is covered under
“SOFTWARE UPDATES” in this manual.
Any questions you may have concerning the Nagra VI can be sent to us through the “Contact us” form on
the professional side of our web site www.nagraaudio.com
We’ve made it user
We’ve made it userWe’ve made it user
We’ve made it user-
--
-friendly!
friendly!friendly!
friendly!
KUDELSKI GROUP
NAGRAVISION
Route de Genève, 22
CH-1033 CHESEAUX
SWITZERLAND
Tel : [phone]
Fax : [phone]
[email protected]
www.nagraaudio.com
We would like to offer our special thanks to Peter Weibel, Los Angeles, USA for his assistance in the realization of this manual, and his
various inputs into the software ergonomics.

Chapter I (Power, batteries and charging…) July 20105
CHAPTER I THE P O W E R
YOU NEED POWER FIRST
Introduction
The Nagra-VI can be powered from one of the detachable Lithium-Ion battery packs or external DC through
the 4 pole XLR connector on the left side. It can also supply power to external equipment, such as RF
microphone receivers or a digital microphone, through the two Hirose connectors, each of which can supply
up to 500 mA at 12V.
Fuses
The power supply board is accessible in the bottom of the recorder by removing the lower panel and is
equipped with 4 fuses to protect various elements. These fuses are of the OMF 63 type and manufactured
by Schulter and do not require soldering. A pack of 4 fuses (2 of each) is included with each new recorder
and additional replacement fuses are available through your Nagra agent .
Fuse Value Protects
F1: 5A 4 pole XLR DC input connector
F2: 5A Detachable battery pack
F3: 500mA Hirose connector
F4: 500mA Hirose connector
Replacement fuse part numbers:
F1 & F2 # 54 82001 500
F3 & F4 # 54 82000 500
Detachable battery packs
The Nagra VI is delivered with a 4.6 Ah Lithium-Ion battery pack NVI-BB1 (KSA# 70 32110 000) weighing
800g (1.75 lb), it will power the recorder for approximately 4 hours of continuous operation. This pack will
take about 3 hours to be fully charged, and it is strongly recommended to fully charge the battery before
using the recorder for the first time.
As an option a heavier 13.8 Ah high capacity Lithium-Ion battery pack NVI-BB2 (KSA# 70 32115 000)
weighing 1.3 kg (2.8 lbs) is available as an option and this will power the recorder for up to 12 hours of
continuous operation. This pack will take around 5 hours to be fully recharged.
Both battery packs have identical external physical dimensions. However
the larger capacity pack with more internal Lithium-Ion blocks is heavier
and has a different identification label.
F4 F3
F2 F1