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Hi!

I have a Pulsar1 on 2pc's, Win2k and Win98.
Midi doesn't work i think, Word clock sync has improved though, I can switch Pulsar mode without having sync problems on the slave machine.
What I cannot establish is ASIO2 or even MTC sync. Would be nice if that would work... I have Cubase VST & VST32 each on a pc with
Pulsar1, ASIO drivers work ok.

...(skipped on edit)

atomic

(not planning to get 2 SyncPlates).

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: atomic on 2001-10-01 09:59 ]</font>

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: atomic on 2001-10-03 14:53 ]</font>

as far as i know asio2 is only possible with a pulsar 2 card.

felix

I quote the Cubase manual page 613:

"About Sample Accurate Positioning
When transferring audio digitally between devices, it is important that synchronization
is established on two levels:
• Level 1 : Sample Rate (word clock sync)
If this type of sync isn’t established, you may run into problems with for example clicks and pops or distortion.
• Level 2 : Sample Position (time code sync)
If the two devices do not agree on time positions, inaccuracies in positioning of the material will occur.
When performing audio transfers between devices, you need both types of sync
(word clock and time code). Furthermore, the two need to be completely correlated.
If not, the audio will not be recorded at the exact intended (sample accurate) position, which can cause various types of problems.""


Here's my solution. I found the explanation from above right after the sync was accomplished ) So it was rather a confirmation.

1.I have ASIO sample rate sync between 2 Pulsar1 cards, one in each pc.

2.I have a midi connection (non-Pulsar, those apparently do not work for me, nor Win98 nor Win2K) between two pc's. Both Comp's are synced in time via MTC.

Both are based on the same audio clock. So all is sync -)woooha!
Too bad I cannot get the transport to work 100%. Then I'll need Z-Link. Z-Link looks like only improvement for now.
ASIO2 I cannot directly transfer, I think so too... Any other type of connections/setups known?
The slaved Cubase follows the master perfectly, throughout my 10min's test.
When I change an MTC time manually on master transport bar, slave follows. But the transport does not follow ffw/rew (I think only when playing the song, not on idle).

Is that normal MTC behaviour?
I can live with that setup
But of course, any improvements or hints are always welcome

atomic.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: atomic on 2001-10-03 14:52 ]</font>

If you watch the tempo of a midi device which is slaved through midi timeclock you can see a lot of variation in the tempo. According to Jim Aiken the only way to get sample accurate audio transfers is through ADAT sync.

I don't use Midi Clock, which indeed is very unstable. It's a metronome, so the slave might miss a tick and run away.
But using MTC clock (which indeed is a midi sygnal, but totally different from midi clock)and ADAT clock using a Pulsar in master pc, all clocks are based on the same audio clock, so they must be identical.

Because midi requires no processing for your pc/cards/... it will have very low latency, no matter what card u connect it to.
I did have to do compensate for MTC off-set. That took me an hour or so, but after testing the setup, I stick to it that I have perfect sync. I emulated ASIO2

Anyways, it's sync enough to transfer 8st tracks 44kHz/16b from one Cubase to the other. I can play songs with mostly VSTi/VST/Rewire, record and monitor them on another pc while my friend uses the monitoring pc to write midi for his samplers without offset/runawayz.
His midi is sent the opposite way of my master sync channel. It enters the AMT8, goes to my Cubase, and is there througput to samplers via the AMT again.

We've never enjoyed playing as we do now. Of course, you have to take into account full sync setup, but now I know how I to do the setup

Keep in mind that, although slaved, the BPM settings from master and slave Cubase most be equal, cos MTC clock will only determine 'how long the minutes are in which the beats will be played'.
Then all quantize, bars and clock will be equal.

tHE fREAKS cOME oUT :0

so what do I need to buy to get two computers to sync. I already have wordclock, midi and ADAT sync on one computer and on the other I don't yet have anything to sync not even an audio card yet. I was thinking of using a USB SP/DIF i/o for audio.

On 2001-09-30 15:30, felix o. wrote:
as far as i know asio2 is only possible with a pulsar 2 card.

this is false, i use asio2 with my pulsar I

"""I already have wordclock, midi and ADAT sync on one computer and on the other """

So then put them both together and make sure your cards are in sync, your sequencer gets timebase from card and MTC via midi, based on that audio clock.

Read the manuals, it's quite hard to find out all this, but it's in there

atomic

I just read that Alesis is adding PC ASIO to their soundcard. It has ADAT i/o and word clock and ADAT sync. With the syncplate I already own I imagine that would be a good way to sync two computers for audio. The Alesis card is pretty cheap around $300 I think.