Mitsubishi The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries. Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group traces its origins to the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company that existed from 1870 to 194 ...

's ProDigi was a

professional audio Professional audio, abbreviated as pro audio, refers to both an activity and a category of high-quality, studio-grade audio equipment. Typically it encompasses sound recording, sound reinforcement system setup and audio mixing, and studio mus ...

reel-to-reel Reel-to-reel audio tape recording, also called open-reel recording, is magnetic tape audio recording in which the recording tape is spooled between reels. To prepare for use, the ''supply reel'' (or ''feed reel'') containing the tape is plac ...

digital audio tape Digital Audio Tape (DAT or R-DAT) is a signal recording and playback medium developed by Sony and introduced in 1987. In appearance it is similar to a Compact Cassette, using 3.81 mm / 0.15" (commonly referred to as 4 mm) magnetic t ...

format with a stationary head position, similar to

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

's Digital Audio Stationary Head, which competed against ProDigi when the format was available in the mid-1980s through the early 1990s. Audio was digitally recorded linearly on the tape and is guarded by a powerful

error correction In information theory and coding theory with applications in computer science and telecommunications, error detection and correction (EDAC) or error control are techniques that enable reliable delivery of digital data over unreliable communi ...

scheme of

cyclic redundancy check A cyclic redundancy check (CRC) is an error-detecting code commonly used in digital networks and storage devices to detect accidental changes to digital data. Blocks of data entering these systems get a short ''check value'' attached, based on ...

s to ensure integrity of the signal even if data is lost during playback. ProDigi recorders were available in 2-track variations, which used 1/4" tape; 32-track variations, which used 1" tape, and a 16-track version using 1/2" tape. All of the machines require the use of metal particle tape. 2-track recorders (1/4"): *X-86 *X-86HS (capable of recording and playing back at 88.2 kHz and 96 kHz sample rates as well as the X-86's 44.1 kHz and 48 kHz) *X-86C (for "compatible"; the X-86C could play back 50.4 kHz tapes made on the X-80 as well as normal X-86 tapes) 16-track recorder (1/2"): *X-400 32 track recorders (1"): *X-800 *X-850 *X-880 * Otari DTR-900 (an X-850, rebadged for Otari). Mitsubishi and Otari collaborated on the design of the X-850 and X-880. The tape transport of both machines was derived from the Otari MTR90 Mk II, modified to handle 1" tape. Some mechanical parts were interchangeable between the X-850 and MTR90, the PC cards in the transport control section were manufactured by Otari and with two exceptions (the capstan servo and master CPU cards) were interchangeable between the Mitsubishi and Otari machines. The section of the X-850 service manual concerning transport adjustments was a verbatim reprint of the corresponding section of the MTR90 service manual. The ProDigi format was extremely popular for recording

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

. Specifically, at studios in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, where nearly all of the large recording studios used ProDigi machines. The format fell from favor by the mid-1990s with the popularity of Digidesign's

Pro Tools Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed and released by Avid Technology (formerly Digidesign) for Microsoft Windows and macOS. It is used for music creation and production, sound for picture (sound design, audio post-productio ...

hard drive-based multi-track recording, editing, and mixing system.

X-80

The Mitsubishi X-80 2-track 1/4 inch digital recorder from 1980 predated the ProDigi format and has many similarities, although it used an unusual 50.4 kHz sample rate, and is not directly compatible. However, Mitsubishi did build the capability to play back tapes created on an X-80 into the X-86 series machines. Only 200 X-80s were manufactured. {{DEFAULTSORT:Prodigi Audio storage Digital audio Audiovisual introductions in 1980 History of sound recording Japanese inventions