WHERES A PRACTICAL DAT TO LAPTOP COMPUTER INTERFACE?
All DAT decks have at least one way of digital input/output connection that’s either optical fiber or 75 ohm coaxial (video RCA type). Some DAT decks have both Optical Toslink and Coaxial S/PDIF input/output available. The Sony Mini-DAT decks that I planned to use on location have a proprietary 7 pin Digital I/O ‘connector that attaches to a family of digital interface accessories that include the two SPDIF types mentioned. But laptop computers, while having most the usual port interfaces found on desktops, have no means of using the available PCI (internal) slot type of soundcards that feature DAT compatible Digital I/O ports. Laptops (and the new iMAC) have no available ‘motherboard’ slots like most desktops and cannot use this moderate costing method of connecting digital audio. Anyway, when first assembling this portable recording to CD-R system last year, the reality of a DAT deck to laptop interface problem was not fully appreciated until I had exhausted finding any solutions sho
