User's Guide Digiface AVB Network on the Go 24 Bit / 192 kHz 9 ™ TotalMix USB 3.
General 1 2 3 4 5 Introduction ...............................................................6 Package Contents .....................................................6 System Requirements ..............................................6 Brief Description and Characteristics.....................6 First Usage - Quick Start 5.1 Connectors – LEDs .................................................7 5.2 Quick Start ..............................................................
13.7 Settings 13.7.1 Mixer Page................................................... 40 13.7.2 MIDI Page .................................................... 41 13.7.3 OSC Page.................................................... 42 13.7.4 Aux Devices ................................................. 42 13.8 Hotkeys and Usage ............................................. 43 13.9 Menu Options....................................................... 44 13.10 Menu Window ............................................
User's Guide Digiface AVB © RME
User's Guide Digiface AVB General User's Guide Digiface AVB © RME 5
1. Introduction Thank you for choosing RME’s Digiface AVB. This compact, portable Windows audio interface is capable of transferring digital audio data into AVB networks. The latest Plug and Play technology guarantees a very simple installation. Numerous unique features as well as RME's robust drivers enable a quick, efficient and comfortable operation of the Digiface AVB. The package contains drivers for Windows 7 / 8 / 10. 2. Package Contents x Digiface AVB x Cable USB 3.0, 1.
5. First Usage – Quick Start 5.1 Connectors – LEDs The front of the Digiface AVB features the Gigabit Ethernet port, 2 BNC sockets for Word I/O, 2 status LEDs and the headphone output. The network connector, RJ45 format, supports both 100 Mbps and 1 Gbps. The integrated LEDs show the states connected (yellow) and data traffic (green). The two green LEDs between the network port and BNC light up separately when the device is configured for incoming and outgoing streams.
User's Guide Digiface AVB © RME
User's Guide Digiface AVB Installation and Operation – Windows User's Guide Digiface AVB © RME 9
6. Driver and Firmware 6.1 Driver Installation RME is constantly improving their drivers - the included Driver CD is most probably already outdated when unpacking the product. Please download the latest drivers from the RME website at http://rme.to/usbe. Unzip the downloaded file and start the driver installation with rmeinstaller.exe. If internet access is not available insert the RME Driver CD into your CD-ROM drive. The driver installer is located in the directory \Madiface_Net. Start rmeinstaller.
6.3 Firmware Update The Flash Update Tool updates the firmware of the Digiface AVB to the latest version. It requires an already installed driver. Download the latest version from the RME website at http://rme.to/usbe. Unzip the downloaded file and start the program fut_usbplus_avb_dante.exe under Windows, or USB Series Flash Tool under Mac. The Flash Update Tool displays the current revision of the Digiface AVB's firmware, and whether it needs an update or not. If so, then simply press the 'Update' button.
7. Configuring the Digiface AVB 7.1 Settings Dialog - General Configuration of the Digiface AVB is done via its own settings dialog.
Buffer Size The setting Buffer Size determines the latency between incoming and outgoing ASIO and WDM data, as well as affecting system stability (see chapter 7.1). USB Diagnosis shows specific USB transmission errors (CRC5, usually 0) and general errors. If the unit detects a record or playback error the number shown will no longer be 0. An audio reset is performed automatically. The counter is reset on start of playback/record. More information can be found in chapter 20.1.
7.2 Option WDM Devices The WDM Devices configuration has one button to enter the edit dialog, a status display showing the number of currently enabled WDM devices, and a listbox to select between Stereo or Multi-Channel devices. The number represents both record and playback devices, so ‘1’ means one input and one output device. The screenshot to the right shows the stereo WDM devices available with the Digiface AVB. Here the first four stereo devices had been activated. Any can be activated.
Changing to the tab Speaker presents a list of all currently activated WDM devices. Any of these can now get the Speaker property. Please note that defining more than one device as Speaker usually makes no sense, and the speakers also don’t get numbered or renamed in Windows, so it is impossible to find out which one is which. After leaving the dialog with OK the WDM devices are reloaded so Windows sees their new properties. In the Windows Sound control panel the modes Stereo and 7.
7.3 AVB Controller The network or AVB-relevant configuration of the Digiface AVB takes place via the RME AVB Controller, which must run permanently in the background. Stopping the tool in the systray terminates the AVB functionality of the Digiface AVB. The screenshot shows the basic functions of the AVB Controller, which appear as soon as a network cable is plugged into the Gigabit ethernet port of the Digiface AVB.
Menü File The configuration of the AVB Controllers is stored as XML file. It can be Saved, Saved As and Loaded through the menu. Menü Entity Name Opens a dialog to rename the current device. Configure Opens a dialog to configure the input and output streams of the current device. Using the example of the Digiface AVB: Input Streams Number of input streams, from 1 to 16. Input Formats Number of channels per stream. From Mono (1) to 32. Output Streams, Output Formats As Input.
8. Operation and Usage 8.1 Playback In the audio application being used, Digiface AVB must be selected as output device. It can often be found in the Options, Preferences or Settings menus, as Playback Device, Audio Devices, Audio etc. Increasing the number and/or size of audio buffers may prevent the audio signal from breaking up, but also increases latency i.e. output is delayed. Note: This is a network audio interface. In a network, clock definition is of particular importance.
8.4 Multi-client Operation RME audio interfaces support multi-client operation. Several programs can be used at the same time. The formats ASIO and WDM can even be used on the same playback channels simultaneously. As WDM uses a real-time sample rate conversion (ASIO does not), all active ASIO software has to use the same sample rate. However, a better overview is maintained by using the channels exclusively.
9. Operation under ASIO 9.1 General Start the ASIO software and select ASIO MADIface USB as the audio I/O device or the audio driver. The Digiface AVB supports ASIO Direct Monitoring (ADM). 9.2 Channel Count under ASIO In Single Speed Speed (44.1 and 48 kHz) 128 input and output channels each are available. Double Speed (88.2 and 96kHz) reduces the number of available channels to 64 each. Quad Speed (176.4 and 192kHz) reduces the number of available channels to 32 each.
9.3 Known Problems If a computer does not provide sufficient CPU-power and/or sufficient USB-bus transfer rates, then drop outs, crackling and noise will appear. Such effects can be avoided by using a higher buffer setting/latency in the Settings dialog of the Digiface AVB. Furthermore PlugIns should be deactivated temporarily to make sure they do not cause these problems. More information can be found in chapter 20.1. Another common source of trouble is incorrect synchronization.
11. DIGICheck Windows The DIGICheck software is a unique utility developed for testing, measuring and analysing digital audio streams. Although this Windows software is fairly self-explanatory, it still includes a comprehensive online help. DIGICheck 5.92 operates as multi-client ASIO host, therefore can be used in parallel to any software, with both inputs and outputs (!). The following is a short summary of the currently available functions: x Level Meter.
12. Hotline – Troubleshooting The input signal cannot be monitored in real-time x ASIO Direct Monitoring has not been enabled within the DAW, and/or monitoring has been disabled globally (TotalMix Options). Playback works, but record doesn’t x Check that there is a valid signal at the input. If so, the current sample frequency is displayed in the Settings dialog. x Check whether the Digiface AVB has been selected as recording device in the audio application.
User's Guide Digiface AVB © RME
User's Guide Digiface AVB TotalMix FX User's Guide Digiface AVB © RME 25
13. Routing and Monitoring 13.1 Overview The Digiface AVB includes a powerful digital real-time mixer, based on RME’s unique, samplerate independent TotalMix technology. It allows for practically unlimited mixing and routing operations, with all inputs and playback channels simultaneously, to any hardware outputs. Here are some typical applications for TotalMix: x Setting up delay-free submixes (headphone mixes). The Digiface AVB allows for up to 65 fully independent stereo submixes.
User's Guide Digiface AVB © RME 27
13.2 The User Interface The visual design of the TotalMix mixer is a result of its capability to route hardware inputs and software playback channels to any hardware output. The Digiface AVB has 128 input channels, 128 software playback channels, and 130 hardware output channels: TotalMix can be used in the above view (View Options 2 Rows).
13.3 The Channels A single channel can be switched between mono and stereo mode. The mode is set in the channel settings. Channel name. The name field is the preferred place to select a channel by a mouse click. A double click opens a dialog to assign a different name. The original name will be shown when activating the option Names in the View Options. Panorama. Routes the input signal freely to the left and right routing destination (lower label, see below).
The lowest field shows the current routing target. A mouse click opens the routing window to select a routing target. The list shows all activated routings of the current channel by arrows in front of the listed entries, the current one is shown in bold letters. An arrow is only shown with an activated routing. A routing is seen as activated when audio data is sent. As long as the fader is set to −∞ the current routing will be shown in bold letters, but not have an arrow in the front. Trim Gain.
A click on the tool symbol opens the channel’s Settings panel. The panel includes the following elements: Stereo. Switches the channel to mono or stereo mode. Width. Setting the stereo width. 1.00 equals full stereo, 0.00 mono, 1.00 swapped channels. MS Proc. Activates M/S processing within the stereo channel. Monaural information is sent to the left channel, stereo information to the right. Phase L. Inverts the phase of the left channel by 180°. Phase R. Inverts the phase of the right channel by 180°.
13.4 Section Control Room In the section Control Room the menu Assign is used to define the Main Out which is used for listening in the studio. For this output the functions Dim, Recall, Mono, Talkback and External Input are automatically applied. On the unit the button DIM also follows this assignment. Additionally the channel will be shifted from the Hardware Outputs into the Control Room section, and renamed Main. The same happens when assigning Main Out B or the Phones.
13.5 The Control Strip The Control Strip on the right side combines different functions that are either required globally, or constantly used, and therefore should not be hidden in a menu. Still using the menu entry Window, Hide Control Strip, the Control Strip is shifted out of the visible area to gain more space for other elements. The areas described in the following chapters can be minimized by a click on the arrow in their title bar. Device selection.
13.5.1 View Options The field View Options combines different functions of routing, the level meters and the mixer view. Routing Mode ¾ Submix: The Submix view (default) is the preferred view and delivers the quickest overview, operation and understanding of TotalMix. The click on one of the Hardware Output channels selects the respective submix, all other outputs are darkened. At the same time all routing fields are set to this channel.
13.5.2 Snapshots - Groups Snapshots. Snapshots include all mixer settings, but no graphical elements like window positions, window size, number of windows, visible EQs or Settings, scroll states, Presets etc. Only the state wide/narrow of the channels is registered. Moreover the Snapshot is only temporarily stored. Loading a Workspace causes the loss of all stored Snapshots, when these all had not been saved before in a Workspace, or separately via File / Save Snapshot as.
13.5.3 Channel Layout - Layout Presets To maintain overview within TotalMix FX channels can be hidden. Channels can also be excluded from being remoted. Under Options / Channel Layout a dialog lists all I/Os with their current state. Selecting one or several channels enables the options to the right: ¾ ¾ ¾ Hide Channel in Mixer/Matrix. The selected channels are no longer shown in TotalMix FX, nor are they available via MIDI or OSC remote control. Hide Channel in MIDI Remote 1-4.
After finishing those settings the whole state can be stored as Layout Preset. A click on Store and the desired memory slot makes the current channel layout recallable anytime. The button All makes all channels temporarily visible again. With a simple click on a button it will then be possible to easily switch views of only the channels involved with the mixing of the drum section, the horn section, the violins, or any other useful view.
13.6 Preferences The dialog Preferences can be opened via the Options menu or directly via F2. Level Meters ¾ Full scale samples for OVR. Number of consecutive samples to trigger an over detection (1 to 10). ¾ Peak Hold Time. Hold time of the peak value. Adjustable from 0.1 up to 9.9 s. ¾ RMS +3 dB. Shifts the RMS value by +3 dB, so that full scale level is identical for Peak and RMS at 0 dBFS. Mixer Views ¾ FX Send follows highest Submix. ¾ FX Send follows Main Out.
Graphics ¾ Use D2D (Change requires restart). Default on. Can be deactivated to use a compatible but CPU-taxing graphics mode, in case graphics problems show up. ¾ Brightness correction. Set TotalMix FX screen brightness to your taste, matching the monitor setting or the environment. Store Setting for (Windows only) ¾ All Users (Restart required). See next chapter. Special Options ¾ Lock User Interface. Default off. Can be activated to freeze the current mix state.
13.7 Settings The dialog Settings can be opened via the Options menu or directly via F3. 13.7.1 Mixer Page On the mixer page some typical settings for the mixer operation are set, like Talkback source, Dim amount when Talkback is active, the stored main volume or the input used for the External Input function. Talkback ¾ Input. Selects the input channel of the Talkback signal (microphone in control room). Default: None. ¾ Dim. Amount of attenuation of the signals routed to the Phones in dB.
13.7.2 MIDI Page The MIDI page has four independent settings for up to four MIDI remote controls, using CC commands or the Mackie Control protocol. Index Select one of four settings pages and thus remote controls. Settings are remembered automatically. To activate or deactivate any of the four remote controls check or uncheck ‘In Use’. MIDI Remote Control ¾ MIDI In. Input where TotalMix receives MIDI Remote data. ¾ MIDI Out. Output where TotalMix sends MIDI Remote data. ¾ Disable MIDI in background.
13.7.3 OSC Page The OSC page has four independent settings for up to four MIDI remote controls via Open Sound Control (OSC). This is a network based remote protocol that can be used for example by Apple’s iPad with the app TouchOSC or Lemur to wirelessly remote control TotalMix FX running on a Mac or Windows computer. Index Select one of four settings pages and thus remote controls. Settings are remembered automatically. To activate or deactivate any of the four remote controls check or uncheck ‘In Use’.
13.8 Hotkeys and Usage TotalMix FX has many hotkeys and mouse/hotkey combinations to speed up and simplify the usage. The below description refers to Windows. On Mac substitute Ctrl in the below list with the command key (u). The Shift key enables a fine-tuning of the gain with all faders and in the Matrix. On all knobs it will speed up the setting. A click on a fader with held down Shift key adds the fader to the temporary fader group.
13.9 Menu Options Deactivate Screensaver: When active (checked) any activated Windows screensaver will be disabled temporarily. Always on Top: When active (checked) the TotalMix window will always be on top of the Windows desktop. Note: This function may result in problems with windows containing help text, as the TotalMix window will even be on top of those windows, so the help text isn't readable. Enable MIDI / OSC Control: Activates external MIDI control of the TotalMix mixer.
¾ Total Reset. Playback routing 1:1 with mixdown to Main Out. Switches off all other functions. Operational Mode. Choice of Full Mode or DAW mode. See chapter 17. Network Remote Settings. See chapter 18. 13.10 Menu Window Zoom Options 100%, 135%, 200%. Depending on the size of the monitor and the current resolution TotalMix FX might be much too small and the controls too tiny to easily operate them.
14.3 Operation Using the Matrix is a breeze. It is very easy to indentify the current crosspoint, because the outer labels light up in orange according to the mouse position. ¾ If input 1 is to be routed to output 1, use the mouse and click one time on crosspoint In 1 / AN 1 with held down Ctrl key. Two green 0.0 dB field pop in, another click removes them.
15.5 Copy and Paste everywhere The above three tips use functions found in the right click context menu available on all channels of the TotalMix FX mixer view. These menus are also available in the Matrix, but only directly on the channel labels. They are self-explanatory and automatically adjust to where the click is performed. The input channels offer Clear, Copy input and Paste the input mix. On a playback channel Copy, Paste and Clear the playback mix are available.
The block diagram shows how the software's input signal is played back, and fed back from the Hardware Output to the software input. Recording a Software's playback In real world application, recording a software's output with another software will show the following problem: The record software tries to open the same playback channel as the playback software (already active), or the playback one has already opened the input channel which should be used by the record software.
16. MIDI Remote Control 16.1 Overview TotalMix can be remote controlled via MIDI. It is compatible to the widely spread Mackie Control protocol, so TotalMix can be controlled with all hardware controllers supporting this standard. Examples are the Mackie Control, Tascam US-2400 or Behringer BCF 2000. Additionally, the stereo output faders (lowest row) which are set up as Main Out in the Control Room section can also be controlled by the standard Control Change Volume via MIDI channel 1.
16.3 Setup Open the Preferences dialog (menu Options or F3). Select the MIDI Input and MIDI Output port where your controller is connected to. When no feedback is needed select NONE as MIDI Output. Check Enable MIDI Control in the Options menu. 16.4 Operation The channels being under Mackie MIDI control are indicated by a colour change of the name field, black turns to brown. The 8-fader block can be moved horizontally and vertically, in steps of one or eight channels.
16.5 MIDI Control The hardware output set up as Main Out can be controlled by the standard Control Change Volume via MIDI channel 1. With this, the main volume of the Digiface AVB is controllable from nearly any MIDI equipped hardware device. Even if you don't want to control all faders and pans, some buttons are highly desirable to be available in 'hardware'. These are mainly the Talkback and the Dim button, and the monitoring options (listen to Phones submixes).
Examples for sending MIDI strings: - Set input 1 to 0 dB: B0 66 68 - Set input 5 to maximum attenuation: B1 6A 0 - Set playback 1 to maximum: B4 66 7F - Set Output 3 to 0 dB: B8 68 68 Note: Sending MIDI strings requires the use of programmer's logic for the MIDI channel, starting with 0 for channel 1 and ending with 15 for channel 16.
17. DAW Mode Users that work exclusively with their DAW software, and don’t want to use TotalMix FX for additional routing tasks, need a way to be sure that TotalMix FX currently doesn’t change the DAW’s routing.
18. TotalMix Remote TotalMix Remote is a remote control for TotalMix FX v1.50 and up, to control the hardware mixer and effects in RME audio interfaces. TotalMix Remote mirrors the current state of the host system on the iPad and Windows/Mac computers - the entire mixing state, the complete routing, all FX settings, up to the level meters, and everything in real-time.
Tip The remotes have the option Sync Channel Layouts active as default (in Preferences). This option transfers the Layout Presets and the current Channel Layout state from host to remote. Apart from the channel width state this option makes a mirror-style setup most easy. But when using the remote as individual setup, make sure to disable this option to have independent Layout Presets on the remote. Limitations • Mixer View & GUI.
User's Guide Digiface AVB © RME
User's Guide Digiface AVB Miscellaneous User's Guide Digiface AVB © RME 57
25.
20. Technical Background 20.1 USB Audio USB audio is in several ways different from PCI based audio interfaces. Thanks to the high speed of USB 3, typical problems of streamed (isochronous) data transmission can be circumvented. RME’s proprietary USB 3 technology makes it possible to achieve performance similar to PCI Express, IF all participating components work perfectly.
The Digiface AVB also supports USB 2, where the number of record and playback channels are halfed due to the limited bandwidth (up to 48 kHz: 64 channels, up to 96 kHz: 32 channels, up to 192 kHz: 16 channels). The number of channels accessible via TotalMix FX, the network ins and outs, stays identical to USB 3 operation. Good performance and click-free operation even at low buffer sizes are indeed possible on current computers.
20.2 AVB Network Latency All devices in an AVB network share the same time. This allows the sending device (talker) to specify the precise point of time when its audio samples should be played out at the receiver side (listener). This is achieved by adding an offset to the current time and sending the resulting timestamp with each sample transmitted. The timestamp is called "presentation time" and has nanosecond precision. For comparison, a single sample at 48 kHz has a duration of over 20800 ns.
21. Warranty Each individual Digiface AVB undergoes comprehensive quality control and a complete test at IMM before shipping. The usage of high grade components should guarantee a long and trouble-free operation of the unit. If you suspect that your product is faulty, please contact your local retailer. Do not open the device by yourself as it may get damaged. It has been sealed with tamper-evident material, and your warranty is void if those seals have been damaged.
23. Declaration of Conformity CE This device has been tested and found to comply with the limits of the European Council Directive on the approximation of the laws of the member states relating to electromagnetic compatibility according to RL2004/108/EG, and European Low Voltage Directive RL2006/95/EG. FCC This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules.
