[Ardour-Users] Saving disk space

[Ralf Mardorf]

On Sat, 1 Oct 2016 13:30:05 +0200, Axel 'the C.L.A.' Müller wrote:
>> In short, floating point for the file format allows you not to think
>> about your work-flow, while using integer for the file format could
>> cause issues, you need to care about your work-flow.  
>
>As noted earlier you could still swich to a float format after the
>import has been done.

As already pointed out, I'm not talking about import, I'm talking about
not thinking about the work-flow. Recording (exporting) a track after
editing to integer requires rounding, this not necessarily is an
issue, but could become an issue, if you start editing this recorded
(exported) track. Even if the source is an integer, the processing is
done floating point. If you keep everything within the production
floating point, you don't have to worry about your work-flow. Do what
ever you want to do. If you are using integer, you sometimes need to
take care about how to do things.

Btw. the more features are added to a DAW, the more bloated it becomes
and the less straightforward and self-explaining it becomes. The more
features an engineer is using for something that quasi could be done
without any special feature, the more likely accidents could happen.

IOW keeping everything during production floating point makes live much
easier.

On Sat, 1 Oct 2016 13:57:34 +0200, Lukas Pirl wrote:
>On 10/01/2016 01:18 PM, Ralf Mardorf wrote as excerpted:
>> Wrongheaded hard ware solutions are not a valid argument. Disk space
>> nowadays is not an issue, if you chose your hardware task-oriented.  
>
>Very valid point that the tools should be adequate for the job.
>Nevertheless, it is possible that some people face special
>requirements. Be it very long recordings (maybe even close to the DAW,
>so you have to use a SSD), low financial resources, no time to to
>acquire hardware and what not.

Even on a small sized SSD you could record several very long
productions. You do not need to archive hundreds of very long
productions on this SSD. If you want and/or need to archive all raw
production data, you could copy it to an external drive, after you
finished the production and you could copy it back, if you want to use
the raw data again, e.g. to remix it. This could be done with low
financial resources, less time and what not. We anyway need backup
drives, right? So my point still remains valid, nowadays disk space
isn't an issue anymore. If it should be an issue, than just regarding a
defect of planning.

Regards,
Ralf