US-based software developers ASC (Advanced Storage Concepts) have just released version 3 of their VirDIS program. A SCSI-device emulator, VirDIS (short for Virtual Disk Image Server) allows users of Roland VS-series multi-trackers, AKAI S5000 and S6000 samplers, Korg D8s and D16s, and Yamaha A3000 recorders to back up recorded audio files to a PC without using proprietary (and increasingly hard-to-find) SCSI CD and hard-disk drives.
The company’s founder, Bill Casey, has an impressive and varied list of achievements: a decorated US Army veteran, Casey had a hand in developing the original SCSI standard, wrote the software for Boeing’s AWACS (Airborne Warning And Control System) programme, and even assisted the Honeywell ground controllers in communicating with the International Space Station!
VirDIS, his latest and, arguably, more down-to-earth project, is a software and hardware package that comprises the VirDIS program and a PCI or PCIe SCSI adaptor, which allows audio files to be transferred from the aforementioned devices to your PC, in WAV or disk-image (ISO and BIN/CUE) formats. What’s more, ASC say that, with VirDIS, you can record directly to your computer, effectively eliminating your recorder’s disk-space limitations.
Development appears ongoing, with forthcoming support for DVD drive emulation, OS X and Windows Vista (at present, VirDIS is PC only, and will work on all versions of Windows from NT 4.0 to XP) apparently in the pipeline. A ‘stand-alone’ version is also being worked on, and ASC say that this won’t require a PC card — but they don’t say how your SCSI-equipped sampler or recorder will interface with your computer (Firewire or USB, perhaps?).
For more information, including details of where to buy VirDIS, check out ASC’s web site, below.
