Advanced Music Systems in 1983 delivered the first AMS DMX 16E Digital Preview Editor System to Walt Disney in California (W.E.D. Enterprises) for use with their 3M digital 32-track recorders.
The unit offered 21 seconds of audio delay memory, allowing the capture of pre- and post-edit material from the two recorders, along with SMPTE time code from each.
Edits can be rehearsed at selected points at variable speeds or by reel rocking with programmable crossfade times, all while the tape remains stationary. The chosen optimum edit points can then be loaded back into the 3M digital recorders with an accuracy of one-hundredth of a frame if needed.
Control is managed via an RS-232 interface. The unit also supports forming loops, loading, playing back, and dumping digitally coded audio to a computer system, with a current maximum audio storage time of 32 seconds.
It is also compatible with other digital tape recorders that have SMPTE-controlled editing facilities.
It seems unlikely that many more units were produced, as it’s nearly impossible to find additional information or images of this system beyond what is available in the AMS news leaflet.
