March 6, 1998, updated March 2001
This document is in response to the various requests we have received for information on "Year 2000 (Y2K) Compatibility" of our products. Unfortunately, there are far too many to respond to individually, and so we are providing this comprehensive statement. Eventide manufactures or has manufactured products in several product areas, and the following are the "Year 2000" considerations in these areas.
Eventide audio products, in particular our Harmonizer® brand special effects units incorporating pitch change, our sound reinforcement and obscenity delays, our compressors (the Omnipressor®) and other special effects units, do not keep or use time or date information. There should be no Y2K considerations for these products.
Eventide manufactures the Argus® line of moving map displays, as well as a number of data
format adaptors. The data adaptors do not keep or use time or date information, and there should
be no Y2K considerations for these products. The Argus series moving map displays incorporate
a time and date clock for the very limited purpose of showing the user when a database has
expired. We have identified the following minor issues:
In Argus monochrome (only) units with software versions 1.x,2.x,3.x, and 4.0 through 4.12, if the
Argus clock shows a date greater than 31 Dec. 1999, and the database has expired before 31 Dec.
1999, the database will not automatically be flagged as expired in inverse video, although the
effective and expired dates will be displayed correctly. While there is no planned software change
for this issue, simply updating the expired database will render the issue moot.
Also, in Argus monochrome (only) units the date shown on the disclaimer page is
incorrect after 2000. This has no adverse effect on Argus operation as the
date isn't used anywhere except in this display.
The Eventide logger series (VR204, VR240, and VR320) all store time and date internally and on
their recorded tapes. The logger keeps time in seconds since 01 January 1989, and the counter
won't "roll over" until approximately 2088, at which time there will be a "year 2088 problem."
There should be no Y2K problems as far as the loggers are concerned.
The Eventide DIR-911 Instant Recall recorder maintains a time clock and records time of
messages received. It has been tested to confirm that it will handle the century rollover correctly.
The DIR-911 records time using a two-digit year. However, the DIR-911 has no functions that
use time or date as a parameter. There is no chance of the unit working improperly on 1/1/00
simply because it has no functions that care what the date is. Time and date are stored only as
descriptive information; the actual values are irrelevant. The DIR-911 keeps track of message
sequence without using time or date.
The Eventide ECW-40 clock, a logger division product, uses an internal GPS receiver
manufactured by Rockwell. The GPS satellite system has a clock "rollover" scheduled for August
1999. Rockwell has issued assurances that their receiver will not output incorrect data as a result.
We have no way of independently verifying this assurance. We have tested our clock software to
verify that the clock itself, independent of the GPS module, will function properly at the century
rollover, and have discovered one problem that affects the display of the date.
On the front panel display (only) the century is always shown as "19" so
that dates in year 2000 will be displayed as "1900." The clock does handle
dates (leap year) correctly and the digital output from the clock to the
logger and/or DIR-911 will correctly synchronize these devices so that date
and time are correctly maintained. A software fix (ROM replacement) is
available to fix this problem. If you have not yet updated your ECW-40,
email us your details including the serial number of the unit and we will send
you a replacement.
Eventide manufactured various accessories and peripherals for Hewlett-Packard computers. None of these products kept or used time or date information. There should be no Y2K considerations for these products.
With the exception of the minor issue noted above, we have every reason to believe that there will be no Y2K problems associated with any of the Eventide products.* If it turns out that there is an unforeseen problem of sufficient significance as to prevent our product from working effectively or for the purpose intended, we will, of course, attempt to develop a remedy for the problem. Depending upon the nature of the problem, the cost of applying the remedy, and the age of the product involved, we will offer the remedy at no charge or at a commercially reasonable charge, at our discretion.
As part of the Year 2000 queries we have received, there have been many requests for guarantees
and even for legal indemnification. While we appreciate the gravity of the Y2K situation, have
addressed it in our software and hardware design, and believe we have adequately tested and
verified proper operation of our equipment, we are not in a position to guarantee absolute
compliance any more than we are in a position to predict the future. Moreover, we cannot
possibly agree to "indemnify" other corporations or government entities against third-party
lawsuits, for which it appears the lawyers are now gearing up. We are a responsible, small
business and have done and will continue to do our part to help prevent Y2K problems.
*As of March 2001 no new issues have arisen.