Delta TDIF ™ MANUAL Version: DTDIF-051601 Table of Contents Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 What’s in the Box? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 About the Delta TDIF PCI Audio Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Product Features & Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Introduction Congratulations on your purchase of the Delta TDIF PCI Audio Card designed and built by M Audio. Even if you are experienced in digital recording, please take the time to read this manual. It will give you valuable information on installing your new card and the supporting software, plus help you to fully understand the function and usability of the Delta TDIF.
receiving TDIF sync. The Delta TDIF PCI Audio Card’s included breakout cable provides the Analog and S/PDIF input and output connections, plus a BNC wordclock output. The wordclock out is always active, so that you may send a digital clock signal for synchronizing the sampling clock on other digital audio devices.
Minimum System Requirements • • • • • • Windows 95, 98, NT, 2000 or ME. Pentium III 500MHz for 96kHz operation. Pentium II 400 for 48kHz or less. 128 MB of PC100 RAM for 96kHz operation. Mac G3 or G3 accelerator with 128 MB of RAM recommended. UDMA EIDE or ATA 33/66. 1 2 3 Delta TDIF PCI Audio Card: 1. Delta TDIF Audio Card: This is the PCI “host card” that installs into your computer’s PCI slot. 2.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Delta TDIF PCI Breakout Cable: 1. S/PDIF Out RCA jack (sp O): This jack outputs digital audio to a variety of external sources. This jack is RCA female and is compatible with coaxial digital cables. 2. S/PDIF In RCA jack (sp I): This jack inputs digital audio from a variety of external sources. This jack is RCA female and is compatible with coaxial digital cables. 3.
. Analog In “Right” RCA jack (in R): This jack inputs analog audio from a variety of external sources. This jack is RCA female and is compatible with RCA male audio cables. 7. Analog Out “Right” RCA jack (out R): This jack outputs analog audio to a variety of external target devices. This jack is RCA female and is compatible with RCA male audio cables. Hardware Installation To mechanically install the Delta TDIF, do the following: 1. Turn off your computer. 2.
With your computer turned off: 1. Unwrap the Delta TDIF breakout cable. Locate the 15-pin D-sub connector on the Delta TDIF PCI Host card. 2. Connect D-sub end of the breakout cable to the 15-pin D-sub connector on the Delta TDIF PCI Host card that now resides in your computer. Delta Driver Software Installation The Delta TDIF system includes a driver CD for Windows 98/95/NT and Macintosh, containing all drivers, and Delta Control Panel software.
Click ‘Next>’. 4. The ‘Wizard’ reports that its Windows driver file search has found the M Audio Delta TDIF. Click Next>. 5. Windows is now ready to install the driver files from the specified location. Click Next>. Windows will start to copy the files and show you a progress report screen. 6. The Wizard reports that Windows has finished installing the software. Click ‘Finish’. Your Delta TDIF is ready for action. After completion of the driver installation, Windows may require you to restart Windows.
5. The ‘Install Driver’ box will prompt you to insert the driver disk, and the A: prompt will appear as the path. Insert the Drivers CD into your CD ROM drive. Type in the drive letter of your CD drive (we will assume here that it is D:\) and the path to the Delta drivers for your OS. Click OK. 6. The "M Audio Delta Interface Card" driver will appear in the Add Unlisted or Updated Driver dialog box. Click OK. 7. Windows NT will require you to restart your computer for the changes to take effect.
in the Delta TDIF “Control Panel Software” section for information on selecting Sound Manger inputs and outputs. Your Delta TDIF is now ready for audio input and output. Verifying Windows Driver Installation Windows displays the Delta TDIF driver status in the Device Manager page of the System Properties dialog box. The Device Manager page is opened via the Windows Start button: select Start | Settings | Control Panel | System | Device Manager.
Verifying Delta Control Panel Software Installation, PC and Mac In Windows, open the Windows Control Panel (do so via Start | Settings | Control Panel ). If your Delta TDIF hardware and Delta Control Panel software are properly installed, the Windows Control Panel should display an "M Audio Delta H/W" icon. By double-clicking on that icon, you can launch the Delta Control Panel software.
include digital multitracks, digital mixers, or a converter that turns 8 analog signals or ADAT 8-channel optical into a TDIF format signal. On the external breakout cable that connects to the PCI card, you will find connectors for all other inputs and outputs. Coaxial S/PDIF I/O on female RCA jacks accepts a digital input from a variety of sources, and sends a digital output from your computer via the Delta software.
with the mixer’s output recorded into the user’s application software. The digital audio mixer is configured and controlled by the included Delta Control Panel Software. The Patchbay / Router In addition to the built-in monitor mixer, the Delta TDIF PCI Audio Card includes an output patchbay/router. The patchbay/router allows each output (analog or digital) to be connected to a variety of input sources.
setting the master clock to "S/PDIF In" will synchronize the Delta TDIF card to the S/PDIF input data and its digital audio will be transferred properly. In situations where TDIF Clk is being used, such as a clock from a Tascam digital multitrack or digital mixer that has TDIF I/O, the Delta TDIF Audio Card should similarly be configured to get its master clock from the TDIF Clk data stream.
WINDOWS MME AUDIO INPUT DEVICES: All of the Delta TDIF card’s TDIF inputs, plus either the Analog or S/PDIF In, may be used simultaneously for a total of 10 input channels. Within your software application(s), the names of the Delta TDIF audio input devices are: PCM In 1/2 Delta-TDIF PCM In 3/4 Delta-TDIF PCM In 5/6 Delta-TDIF PCM In 7/8 Delta-TDIF SP/ANA In Delta-TDIF Mon. Mixer Delta-TDIF The “PCM In” devices allow recording a stereo stream directly from the specified TDIF input pairs.
stereo devices down further to "left" and "right" mono devices. Therefore you may see them as "Left WavOut 1/2 Delta-TDIF, Right WavOut 1/2 Delta-TDIF", or "Left WavOut S/PDIF Delta-TDIF, Right WavOut S/PDIF Delta-TDIF", etc. from within your music software. Other software will handle the outputs as stereo pairs, but allow you to pan audio left or right within the pair. Note that each device name begins with "WavOut.
TDIF In8 Delta-TDIF SP/ANA In L Delta-TDIF SP/ANA In R Delta-TDIF Mon. Mixer L Delta-TDIF Mon. Mixer R Delta-TDIF Notice the SP/ANA In and Monitor Mixer names include "L" and "R" characters. "L" indicates the left channel of the stereo stream, while "R" indicates right channel. ASIO DRIVER OUTPUT DEVICES: The Delta TDIF’s ASIO output devices appear in stereo pairs. Because each device is stereo, you may see "left" and "right" references within your software application.
ON THE MAC: The Delta Control Panel must be placed on the hard drive by dragging the application from the Drivers disk. Once this is done, an alias may be created by highlighting the Delta Control Panel on the hard drive and pressing the Apple key+M. Then, this alias may be dragged to the desktop. Double clicking either will launch the control panel. Once the Delta Control Panel software has been opened, you will see the main panel and its several tabs. To display a desired page, click on its tab.
The Monitor Mixer Page is essentially a collection of volume level faders, audio level (or ‘peak’) meters, and solo/mute controls. For each mixer output and input channel there is one of each: a volume fader, a peak meter, a solo control, and a mute control. LEVEL FADERS: Each volume fader may be controlled by dragging the fader ‘handle’ vertically with the mouse, or by clicking on the ‘handle’ to make it active and then adjusting it with the up/down cursor keys of your computer keyboard.
0dB. On the input level meters, a 0dB condition indicates overload and audio clipping may occur. Therefore be careful to adjust the incoming audio levels so that they do not peak in the red section too long (you might use the monitoring capability of the Delta TDIF to let your ears be the judge). On all output level meters, 0dB indicates full-scale output. Unlike the inputs, clipping is impossible on the outputs because of the 36-bit resolution built into the mixer hardware.
PAN: Each mixer input may be individually panned anywhere in the stereo output mix. A pan control is positioned directly under each input channel peak meter and has the appearance of a small vertical pointer. To make a coarse adjustment, click on the pan control with your mouse and drag it to the desired position. For finer adjustment (in 1% increments), you may click on the pan control to make it active, and then use the left/right or up/down cursor keys on your computer keyboard.
1. The default setting, "WavOut 1/2", connects TDIF ports OUT1 and OUT2 to your music software or Windows multimedia applet. In other words, when music software plays audio to the device named "WavOut 1/2 Delta-TDIF" it will be routed directly to the "hardware" TDIF outputs 1 & 2 of your TDIF 25pin connector. 2. The second option, "Monitor Mixer", connects TDIF ports OUT1 and OUT2 to the outputs of the Delta TDIF monitor mixer.
4. Options four through seven connect the hardware TDIF inputs 1 & 2, 3 & 4, 5 & 6, or 7 & 8 (respectively) directly to the card’s hardware TDIF outputs 3 & 4. For example, if "H/W In 1/2" were selected, any signal present at the IN1 port will be copied to OUT3, and any signal present at the IN2 port will be copied to OUT4. This same behavior applies to "H/W In 3/4", "H/W In 5/6", and "H/W In 7/8" when selected.
At this point, you may begin to realize the versatility of the Monitor Mixer and the Patchbay/Router, and the relationship between the two. You may want to re-read this section and make some practice adjustments within the Delta Control Panel software to become proficient in routing and mixing. If somewhere in the process you become confused, you may always restore the default settings to use the card as a straight 10-in 10-out device -- just choose the topmost option in each of the Patchbay/Router columns.
CODEC SAMPLE RATE: This section indicates the present board sample rate, as set by application software. The sample rate selected here will be used to drive the digital mixer and all outputs. The "Rate Locked" checkbox is used to force a sample rate upon the system. It is disabled by default to allow software access to all supported sample rates. When checked, it causes the driver to only operate at the selected sample rate.
frequency response will be directly related to the sample rate of the S/PDIF input data. MULTITRACK DRIVER DEVICES: The Delta TDIF drivers intelligently synchronize the beginning of recording and playback across all audio devices on the board. When using application software that is capable of using multiple channels simultaneously, select "Single and In-Sync" to ensure that all audio channels will begin playback and/or recording at the same time.
“SP/ANA Ports.” Selecting “S/PDIF” makes the S/PDIF hardware input the active input. Selecting “Analog” makes the the analog hardware inputs active. Remember that when S/PDIF is selected as the Input Audio Source, “S/PDIF In” must be selected as the master clock, otherwise no signal can be recorded at the S/PDIF input. “DISABLE CONTROL” CHECKBOX: When running a music program that utilizes the Delta ASIO drivers, the music program will take control of some of the Delta Control Panel functions.
S/PDIF Page The S/PDIF page of the Delta Control Panel configures the S/PDIF output format and displays the status of the S/PDIF input. To display this page, click the "S/PDIF" tab of the Delta Control Panel software. DIGITAL INPUT: This group box displays the current S/PDIF input status. The Delta TDIF’s S/PDIF receiver is capable of recognizing a valid input signal versus an invalid, corrupt or non-present one. When a valid signal is detected at S/PDIF In, this group box displays "Valid Input Detected.
to successfully record the audio data. Different manufacturers’ products may interpret these codes differently and require you to set these bits by "trial-and-error" until proper operation is achieved. CONSUMER FORMAT ADVANCED SETTINGS (Emphasis): This status bit is used to indicate if pre-emphasis has been applied to the outgoing digital audio signal.
the current configuration. Once you have done this, click ‘OK’, and your current configuration has been saved to disk. If you decide that you no longer need a particular configuration, click the ‘Delete’ button. Highlight the name of the configuration file that you wish to delete, and click the ‘OK’ button. To recall or reload a saved configuration, click the ‘Load’ button. Highlight the name of the configuration file that you wish to recall, and click ‘OK’.
Typical Setup #1 Let’s look at a setup that involves a typical transfer of information from TDIF to computer, and back to TDIF. Here, we’ll be using the Delta TDIF Audio Card’s 25-pin TDIF I/O, plus the analog output stereo pair for monitoring. NOTE: Because improper connections can potentially make very loud noises, it’s a good idea to have monitor levels down while hooking up audio equipment -- you may even choose to turn your computer off before making the connections.
for the analog outputs to be compatible with that sound system’s inputs (see section “Hardware Settings Page”). 3. Because you will be recording from the TDIF input, you will need to set up the Delta TDIF to synchronize its master clock with the TDIF input. To do this, open the Hardware Settings page of the control panel software. Under Master Clock, select "TDIF Clk." 4. Next, you will need to tell your application software the expected sample rate. We’ll use 48 kHz in this example.
6. In the Monitor Mixer page, scroll to the right until you see the H/W inputs for TDIF channels 1/2, 3/4, 5/6, and 7/8. Unmute tracks in succession, and raise the fader level until you begin to hear sound from the analog outputs through your sound system. You may choose to engage the “Stereo Link” switch, and raise or lower faders in stereo pairs. You may pan tracks, and basically set up a mix for monitoring purposes. These levels are “pre-fader,” and will not affect your recording levels.
If recording from the S/PDIF output, make sure the S/PDIF output format is correct. Open the S/PDIF page of the control panel software. Under Digital Output Format, choose "Consumer." Uncheck "Advanced" if it is checked previously. Now click on the "Restore Defaults" button to set the default S/PDIF outgoing status bits. This will disable copy protection and also set the emphasis to "none," allowing the DAT to accept and record the audio properly.
4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Consequently, you will need to set up your Tascam multitrack to receive external sync, since the Delta TDIF is now the master clock. In order to verify proper output routing, open the Patchbay/Router page of the control panel software. In the "H/W Out 1/2, 3/4, 5/6, and 7/8" columns, select the radio buttons named "WavOut 1/2, 3/4, 5/6, and 7/8.
Let’s say that we’re recording a band. We’ve got eight mics on the drum set, with the guitar and bass going ‘direct’ into the digital mixer. We’re going to combine some of the drums while recording, just to make it a little more interesting. We have 8-busses in our digital mixer, and the TDIF connection on the Delta TDIF PCI Audio Card is capable of eight audio input and output streams.
“returning” to the digital mixer (see Appendix B for suggestions on a bussing configuration). 4. Open the Delta Control Panel to the Patchbay/Router page. For the H/W Out 1/2 (the leftmost column), select H/W In 1/2 as the source. Doing so will allow you to monitor the digital mixer’s buss out 1 and 2 through the Delta TDIF hardware inputs, and back to the digital mixer’s tape returns.
settings in the Delta Control Panel. We’ll use the same settings as Typical Setup #1 for the Delta Control Panel’s ‘Hardware Settings’ page, i.e. "Internal Xtal", "Reset Rate When Idle" and 48kHz idle sampling rate. This makes the Delta TDIF the master clock, and therefore, you should set your digital mixer to receive external sync. See Appendix C for more information on this, and other choices you may have for synchronizing the Delta TDIF with your digital mixer.
NOTE: You could view the record levels from the Monitor Mixer page also. The levels appearing in H/W In 1/2 through H/W In 7/8 will represent the signal appearing at the hardware inputs. We are not monitoring via the Monitor Mixer, however, so no fader levels in this page will apply or are needed in this example. Once this is done, we are set up and ready to record. Close or minimize your software’s meter view at this point. 10.
In this example, we will connect a DAT to the Delta TDIF’s breakout cable using coaxial S/PDIF cables (75-ohm impedance RCA-to-RCA). We’ll also connect the Delta TDIF’s analog outputs to a sound system for monitoring purposes. A setup like this might be used to transfer a number of mixes from a DAT into an audio editing program, performing the appropriate edits, and then transferring the edited material back to DAT. Transferring from DAT to Computer 1.
5. In order to monitor the digital signal coming into the TDIF, switch to the Patchbay/Router page of the control panel software. In the "H/W Out SP/ANA" column, select the radio button named "SP/ANA In." This will copy all S/PDIF input audio directly over to the analog outputs – therefore in this example, the monitor mixer will be completely bypassed. Once this assignment is made, you may play the DAT material at any time and verify that the signal is making it into the Delta TDIF successfully.
6. Within your recording software, select "SP/ANA In Delta-TDIF," as the audio input device. The Delta input appears as a stereo pair, or as left and right inputs (see the section, “Using the Delta TDIF with your Music Software Application”). 7. Start your software recording and then start your DAT material playing. You should be able to hear the DAT material through your sound system. 8. Once you have recorded your tracks, set the music software’s output port to WavOut SP/ANA.
4. 5. 6. 7. Panel software and under Master Clock, selecting "Internal Xtal." Also, under the Codec Sample Rate section you may uncheck "Rate Locked" if it is previously checked. This allows for more flexible sample rate playback. In order to verify proper S/PDIF Output routing, open the Patchbay/Router page of the control panel software. In the "H/W Out SP/ANA" column, select the radio button named "WavOut SP/ANA.
1. Plug the guitar into the channel-1 Line input of the pre-amp. Plug the microphone into the channel-2 Mic input. 2. Plug the outputs 1 & 2 of the pre-amp into the Delta TDIF’s analog inputs. Use a high quality shielded cable with a 1/4” phone plug on one end, and a male RCA plug on the other. You’ll need to open the Delta Control Panel (when your computer is powered up) to the Hardware Settings page. Select “Analog” as the input (deselecting “S/PDIF”) to activate the Delta TDIF’s analog inputs. 3.
5. Open the Delta Control Panel by double clicking the icon in your Windows Control Panel (or, on the Mac, wherever you’ve placed your control panel), and then click on the ‘Hardware Settings’ tab. 6. Select ‘Internal Xtal’ as the master clock source. This allows the Delta TDIF to derive its sample rates from its internal clock oscillator. ‘Internal Xtal’ is the default setting for the Delta Control Panel, so selecting it may not be necessary (it may already be selected). 7.
Now click on the Delta Control Panel’s "Patchbay/Router" tab. In the very last column of the Patchbay/Router page, click the radio button "Monitor Mixer" to connect the monitor mixer’s stereo output directly to Delta analog outputs. Now, everything that we hear at the analog outputs will reflect our settings in the Monitor Mixer page. Select the "Monitor Mixer" tab of the Delta Control Panel.
9. In the Mixer Input column labeled "WavOut SP/ANA," click on each fader handle and drag it up to the 0dB setting. Also, deactivate (uncheck) each WavOut SP/ANA mute box to unmute the channels. This will allow us, once we’ve recorded into a music software program, to hear those software outputs upon playback. 10. Using the scroll bar at the bottom of the control panel, scroll to the right until you see the column labeled "H/W In SP/ANA.
microphone. If your software requires this, set the software’s clock source to ‘Audio.’ 16. Press record on your software’s transport bar. Record a take of your guitar and vocals. Understand that while recording, you are monitoring the Delta inputs by way of the Monitor Mixer settings for H/W In SP/ANA, and according to the selection of ‘Monitor Mixer’ within the Patchbay/Router page.
19. Back in your music program, set the ‘source’ or ‘input port’ to "Left PCM In SP/ANA Delta-TDIF" on track three, and "Right PCM In SP/ANA Delta-TDIF" on track four. Arm the tracks for recording. Track three is now set up to record the guitar, and track four the microphone. Usually at this point you would want to return to the Delta Control Panel monitor mixer to set up levels.
(WavOut 1/2, WavOut 3/4…). We continually monitor from the Delta analog outs, via the ‘Mon. Mixer’ setting as the monitor ‘source’ in the Patchbay/Router page, and adjusting our mix of the software outputs (and the way we monitor our guitar and vocal at the inputs) via the Monitor Mixer settings. Notice that if we continue to overdub past track 8, we run out of WavOut devices to assign to. In this case, you may want to do some of your level mixing within the software application if it supports it.
NOTE: When resolving conflicts between PnP and non-PnP devices, it is recommended to re-adjust the resource settings of the non-PnP device first. Typically, Windows is only aware of the resource settings of the installed PnP devices and has no information available to it for adjusting the PnP devices’ resources around those of the non-PnP devices.
"IRQ Holder for PCI Steering" along with an installed PCI device (such as the Delta TDIF) is normal. If you see another device showing up on the same IRQ as the Delta TDIF (such as a video card, SCSI adapter, or USB Host Controller), then it is possible that this is the source of the conflict. Typically, if you move one of the conflicting cards to another PCI slot, an IRQ conflict will disappear.
Troubleshooting Tips for Frequently Asked Questions Problem: No Sound. Possible Cause 1: The Delta TDIF hardware or software device drivers are not properly installed. See the installation sections of this manual for further information. Possible Cause 2: There is a resource conflict between the Delta TDIF and another device in your computer. Check the Delta TDIF configuration (Address, IRQ) against those of the other installed devices. If necessary, change the settings for the one or more of the devices.
sometimes completely locking up the computer. See the general troubleshooting suggestions at the beginning of this section. Problem: I’m getting some pops and clicks in my audio recording. Possible Cause 1: Input levels are too "hot," causing clipping or input distortion. Make sure you have the proper signal levels set on the inputs to the Delta TDIF. If you find that you are still clipping, you will need to turn down the audio at the source.
Problem: The sound from the monitor mixer is muffled. It sounds as if it were running through a mixer with the treble control turned all the way down! Possible Cause: The current Delta TDIF sample rate is too low. The monitor mixer is a digital device that runs at the current sample rate of the Delta TDIF board. The frequency response of the mixer is roughly one-half of the sample rate. There is no way to prevent this lost frequency response while playing back or recording at a low sample rate.
Appendix A - Technical Specs Analog Audio Peak Analog Signal: +2dBV(consumer setting), -2dBV(-10 setting). THD: less than 0.002% @ 0dBFS Freq. Response: 22Hz-44kHz, -0.4,-0.4dB (96kHz sample rate) Dynamic Range (a-weighted): D/A 104.0dB, A/D 100.4dB Input Impedance: 10k ohms minimum. Connectors: Gold-plated RCA female, on break-out cable. Digital Audio TDIF Sample Rate: 8kHz to 48kHz TDIF I/O Format: output. 8x8 simultaneous (parallel) input and TDIF Connector: DB25 female on PCI board.
Appendix B Please check our website, www.m-audio.com, for Appendix B. Go to the Tips and Tricks section and look for Delta TDIF. Appendix C Please check our website, www.m-audio.com, for Appendix B. Go to the Tips and Tricks section and look for Delta TDIF.
Limited Lifetime Warranty MIDIMAN warrants that this product is free of defects in materials and workmanship under normal use so long as the product is: owned by the original purchaser; the original purchaser has proof of purchase from an authorized MIDIMAN dealer; and the purchaser has registered his/her ownership of the product by sending in the completed warranty card. This warranty explicitly excludes power supplies and included cables which may become defective as a result of normal wear and tear.
