MOTU PCIe-424 ™ User’s Guide for Windows 1280 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02138 Business voice: (617) 576-2760 Business fax: (617) 576-3609 Technical support: (617) 576-3066 Tech support fax: (617) 354-3068 Tech support email: techsupport@motu.com Web site: www.motu.
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Contents 5 6 10 Quick Reference: PCIe-424 Audio Card About the PCIe-424 System Packing List and PC System Requirements 11 Installing the PCIe-424 Hardware 13 Expanding Your PCIe-424 System 3
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Quick Reference: PCIe-424 Audio Card Connect additional MOTU PCI audio interfaces here. You can connect up to four I/Os to a PCIe-424 card for a maximum of 96 possible active inputs and outputs. Connect the first (core system) interface to the PCIe-424 card here using the Audio Wire cable included with your core system. If you use a custom cable, it should not be longer than 50 feet.
CHAPTER 1 About the PCIe-424 System OVERVIEW The PCIe-424 core system is a computer-based hard disk recording system for Mac OS and Windows that offers 24 simultaneous inputs and outputs per Audio Wire cable, expandable to 96 inputs/outputs. A core system consists of a PCI card connected to a standard 19-inch, single-space, rack-mountable audio interface.
transfer a single track of material from the ADAT via light pipe into the 2408mk3’s Macintosh workstation software, and then transfer the track back to the ADAT, it will be recorded exactly at its original location, down to the sample. Analog bank The analog inputs are equipped with 24-bit, 96 kHz 64x oversampling A/D converters. The analog outputs have 24-bit, 96 kHz 128x oversampling D/A converters.
input to receive SMPTE time code. Any active channel, digital or analog, can be chosen as a SMPTE time code output. Level Meters The front panel of the 2408mk3 I/O displays several banks of status LEDs. On the left are three banks of eight LEDs (A, B and C) that show audio signal on the 2408mk3’s three ADAT/TDIF digital I/O buses. On the right are eight vertical, five-segment LEDs that show input level from the eight analog inputs measured from -40 dB to 0 dB.
AES word clock in A BNC Word clock input connector is provided for independently synchronizing the AES/EBU output of the HD192 to a standard input clock. Level Meters The front panel of the HD192 I/O displays several banks of status LEDs. On the right are two banks of meters for the twelve analog inputs and twelve analog outputs. For each channel, there is a 19-segment meter that measures from -42 dB to 0 dB, along with two red ‘over’ lights.
CHAPTER 2 Packing List and PC System Requirements PACKING LIST PC SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS A MOTU PCIe-424 core system ships with the items listed below. If any of these items are not present in your core system box when you first open it, please immediately contact your dealer.
CHAPTER 3 Installing the PCIe-424 Hardware OVERVIEW Install the PCIe-424 software first! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Install the PCIe-424 audio card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Connect the audio interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 INSTALL THE PCIE-424 SOFTWARE FIRST! We recommend that you install the PCIe-424 software before installing the PCIe-424 card itself.
CONNECT THE AUDIO INTERFACE 1 Plug one end of the Audio Wire cable (included) into the Audio Wire socket next to the 9-Pin ADAT Sync connector on the PCIe-424 card as shown below in Figure 3-1. 2 Plug the other end of the Audio Wire cable into the audio interface as shown below in Figure 3-1. Step 1 Connect the Audio Wire to the socket closest to the ADAT SYNC port. Step 2 2408mk3 interface 24I/O interface HD192 interface Figure 3-1: Connecting the audio interface to the PCIe-424 audio card.
CHAPTER 4 Expanding Your PCIe-424 System OVERVIEW CONNECTING EXPANSION INTERFACES Up to four MOTU PCI audio interfaces can be connected to a single PCIe-424 card for up to 96 simultaneously active inputs and outputs. For example, if you connect four 2408mk3 interfaces, you get a total of 232 and 248 physical input and output connections (respectively) and up to 96 input and output channels.
outputs. You can route any input to any output, create multiple mix busses and mix inputs to outputs across all interfaces. SYNCHRONIZING MULTIPLE INTERFACES The entire PCIe-424 system gets its clock from whatever you choose from the Clock Source menu in the MOTU PCI Audio Console window. Synchronization across all connected interfaces is sample-accurate. All available sync sources on all connected interfaces are displayed in the menu as demonstrated below in Figure 4-4.
