[sdiy] Should I repair my Fostex, or should I go HD recording?

[john mahoney]

> I've been looking around for PCI cards that allow 8 track recording /
> playback, and
> I was surprised to find them quite expensive. And then I still need
> software?

Do you really need so many channels of I/O?

On the input side, you only need as many channels as you want to record
simultaneously. Will that ever be more than 2?

On the output side, you only need as many channels as you want to play
simultaneously. For some people that means 2 channels (stereo mix), for
others it means the ability to do a 5.1 surround mix, etc.

Sometimes you want more playback channels in order to use effects "live"
during mixdown. Since most digital recording software provides virtually
unlimited tracks, however, you don't really need that capability. Just
re-record each track with effects onto another track.

What I'm saying is that you may need "smaller" hardware than you think.
--
john