ALESIS M20 REFERENCE MANUAL 1.06 4-1

CHAPTER 4

TAPE FORMATTING
Formatting is essential to the ADAT system. It creates a sample-accurate time reference (i.e.,
it’s accurate to 1/48,000th of a second when recording at 48 kHz) on each tape, in addition to
block ID codes, linear control track, and other essential markers. This provides tight
synchronization ó far better than SMPTE sync ó between ADAT-compatible devices, as well
as precision tape counter readings and intelligent autolocation functions.
The format process first records 15 seconds of leader (the display shows LEAd), followed by
two minutes of data (the display shows dAtA), then ABS time code starting at 00:00:00.00
and continuing to the end of the tape.
Caution: formatting a tape erases all material on all tracks. Always check that the tape is either blank
or contains unwanted material before formatting.
You can either:
• Format a tape completely before recording (recommended)
• Format while you are recording, for as long as needed
• Extend the format of an incompletely formatted tape
Before formatting a blank tape, you must select:
• The sample rate (44.1 or 48 kHz)
• The word length (20-bit for Type II tapes, or 16-bit for compatibility with Type I
ADAT and ADAT-XT tapes)