!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 1 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM User Guide MIDI Express XT MIDI Express 128 micro express micro lite 1280 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02138 Business voice: (617) 576-2760 Business fax: (617) 576-3609 Web site: www.motu.com Tech support: www.motu.com/support Mark of the Unicorn, Inc.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 2 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM SAFETY PRECAUTIONS AND ELECTRICAL REQUIREMENTS WARNING:TO REDUCE THE RISK OF FIRE OR ELECTRICAL SHOCK, DO NOT EXPOSE THIS APPLIANCE TO RAIN OR OTHER MOISTURE. CAUTION: TO REDUCE THE RISK OF ELECTRICAL SHOCK, DO NOT REMOVE COVER. NO USER-SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE. REFER SERVICING TO QUALIFIED SERVICE PERSONNEL. WARNING: DO NOT PERMIT FINGERS TO TOUCH THE TERMINALS OF PLUGS WHEN INSTALLING OR REMOVING THE PLUG TO OR FROM THE OUTLET.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page iii Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM Contents Part I: For All Users 7 Packing List and Computer Requirements 9 Hardware installation 17 Software Installation and Setup 23 Using MIDI Software Part II: For XT & micro Users 27 ClockWorks 49 Front Panel Presets 55 Synchronization 65 MIDI Machine Control Part III: Appendices 75 Glossary 81 Time Code Basics 87 Troubleshooting and Customer Support 91 Index III
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 0 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM About the Mark of the Unicorn License Agreement and Limited Warranty on Software TO PERSONS WHO PURCHASE OR USE THIS PRODUCT: carefully read all the terms and conditions of the “click-wrap” license agreement presented to you when you install the software. Using the software or this documentation indicates your acceptance of the terms and conditions of that license agreement. Mark of the Unicorn, Inc.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 5 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM All Users Part I For All Users 5
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 6 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 7 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM CHAPTER 1 Packing List and Computer Requirements THANK YOU FOR CHOOSING MOTU Thank you for purchasing a MOTU USB MIDI interface. Please read the important information in this chapter before using it. PLEASE REGISTER TODAY Please visit www.motu.com/registration or fill out and send in the registration card included with your MOTU MIDI interface.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 8 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM PC Your MOTU MIDI interface will run with any USBequipped PC compatible running Windows 7/Vista/XP (SP2). MIDI SOFTWARE COMPATIBILITY Your MOTU USB MIDI Interface works with all Mac and Windows MIDI software. GETTING STARTED Follow the directions in the next few chapters of this guide to successfully install and begin using your new MOTU USB MIDI interface.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 9 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM CHAPTER 2 Hardware installation OVERVIEW Connecting the power cord . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Connecting the computer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Connecting MIDI gear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 MIDI connections worksheet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 10 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM CONNECTING MIDI GEAR Connect each MIDI device’s MIDI IN jack to a MIDI OUT jack on your MOTU MIDI interface as shown by Connection A below. Conversely, connect the MIDI OUT jack on the MIDI device to one of the MIDI IN jacks on your MOTU MIDI interface as shown by Connection B.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 11 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM interface. This means that they share the same set of 16 MIDI channels, so try to do this with devices that receive on only one MIDI channel (such as effects modules) so their receive channels don’t conflict with one another. MOTU MIDI interface rear panel MIDI OUT MIDI Device MIDI IN MIDI THRU MIDI cable MIDI IN Additional device MIDI CONNECTIONS WORKSHEET Here’s a suggestion.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 12 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM SMPTE TIME CODE SYNC CONNECTIONS If you own a MIDI Express XT or micro express, it is both a SMPTE time code converter and generator. As a converter, it locks (slaves) to incoming longitudinal SMPTE time code (LTC) and converts it to MIDI Time Code (MTC) and reshaped LTC. As a generator, it produces both LTC and MTC time code, either running under its own internal clock or while slaved to external time code (or other time base).
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 13 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM Connecting a SMPTE time code destination Connect the SMPTE OUT port of your MOTU MIDI interface to the SMPTE time code input of any destination device that accepts SMPTE time code as shown in Figure 2-6. For example, time code can be recorded on an outside track of a multitrack tape recorder so that everything can subsequently be synchronized to the multitrack.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 14 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM CONNECTING A FOOT SWITCH CONNECTING MULTIPLE USB INTERFACES If you own a MIDI Express XT or micro express and you would like to use a foot switch with it, connect it as shown below in Figure 2-7. For more information about how a foot switch can be used, see “The Pedal tab” on page 46. The USB (Universal Serial Bus) specification allows you to connect multiple MOTU interfaces to a single computer.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 15 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM The USB (Universal Serial Bus) specification allows many USB devices — theoretically up to 127 — to be connected to a single computer. However, many USB devices, including all MOTU USB interfaces, reserve USB bandwidth, so the theoretical and practical limits for MOTU interfaces are considerably fewer. In theory, the maximum number of MOTU USB interfaces you can connect to one computer is just over 30 interfaces.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 16 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM 16 HARDWARE INSTALLATION
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 17 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM CHAPTER 3 Software Installation and Setup OVERVIEW Software installation for mac OS X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Software installation for Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Daisy-chaining MIDI devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Where to go next. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 18 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM ☛ If the interface does not appear, or if it is grayed out, check your cable connections and click Rescan MIDI. 2 Drag on its input and output arrows to draw connections to the MIDI interface that match its physical connection. Figure 3-1: In this example, a MOTU MIDI Express XT interface as it appears in the MIDI window of Audio MIDI Setup.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 19 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM 3 Double-click the device to make settings, such as input and output channels, that further describe the device. 4 Repeat the above steps for each MIDI device connected to the interface. 5 When you are finished, quit Audio MIDI Setup. Your configuration is automatically saved as the default configuration, and it is shared with all MIDI-compatible software.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 20 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM SOFTWARE INSTALLATION FOR WINDOWS Your MOTU interface requires software drivers. It also includes ClockWorks™, a setup program that gives you convenient access to your MOTU interface’s numerous features. Software installation will go a little more smoothly if you turn off your interface before switching on your computer. Don’t worry, however, if you’ve already done so. Just follow the directions below.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 21 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM DAISY-CHAINING MIDI DEVICES In general, daisy-chain MIDI devices (as shown in Figure 3-4 on page 21) should be avoided because it is more complicated to set up than connecting each device directly to your MOTU interface. If you have no choice but to daisy-chain, you need to configure each device such that it doesn’t share any MIDI channels with other devices in the chain.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 22 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM Configuring your Windows setup for daisy-chaining To avoid unwanted instrument layering (as explained earlier), go to the front panel of each MIDI instrument itself and program it to respond to a unique set of MIDI channels. Each device should have its own MIDI channel(s), to which no other device connected to that MIDI port will respond. Refer to the documentation for the device for details.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 23 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM CHAPTER 4 Using MIDI Software MAC SOFTWARE WINDOWS SOFTWARE Once you’ve completed the installation for your MOTU MIDI interface/synchronizer as described in the previous chapter, the devices you’ve specified in Audio MIDI Setup will appear in the MIDI input and output menus of your MIDI software. You’ll also see a MIDI port called All Cables.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 24 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM THE MIDI DATA PATH (MAC AND WINDOWS) As for MIDI data arriving and leaving your computer via the MOTU USB MIDI interface driver, imagine it coming and going from the MOTU interface as shown in Figure 4-3. All channelizing and filtering is applied before the input data arrives at the computer and after it is sent from the computer. Figure 4-2: MOTU MIDI Express XT and micro express interface ports in Cakewalk SONAR™.
Part II For XT & micro Users All Users !USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 25 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM 25
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!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 27 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM CHAPTER 5 ClockWorks OVERVIEW ABOUT CLOCKWORKS About ClockWorks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 The File menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 The ClockWorks window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 The Routings tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 28 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM Sync and MIDI Machine Control section Tabs Figure 5-1: Click the tabs to access the settings in ClockWorks.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 29 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM Familiarity with your computer In explaining how to use ClockWorks, this chapter assumes that you are already familiar with the standard computer interface conventions, such as how to select options using menus, check boxes, radio buttons, etc. and how to type and edit text, and so forth.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 30 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM Save Configuration The Save Configuration menu item saves all the current MOTU interface settings in ClockWorks as a document on disk. You can restore the settings by opening it with the Load Configuration command. Refresh ClockWorks always reflects the current state of your MOTU interface.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 31 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM THE ROUTINGS TAB The Routings tab provides an easy and powerful way for you to route MIDI data from any device connected to your MOTU interface to any other device connected to it. This window provides you with complete control over the flow of MIDI data through the interface. Cable routing to and from the computer In MOTU USB MIDI interfaces, all MIDI inputs and outputs are always connected to the computer.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 32 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM Selecting a connection To select a connection, click the connection’s input cable icon on the left or one of its output cable icons on the right. Deselecting all connections To deselect all connections, click anywhere in the middle of the window between the two columns of cables. Breaking a connection To break a connection, select the connection by clicking its cable icon, and press the delete key.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 33 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM connection is not necessary, however, if you intend to send MMC transport commands directly from computer software (or a MMC hardware device) to a MMC device. Routing MMC from the computer to the interface The MMC In port in the right-hand column in the Routings tab represents MIDI Machine Control input to your MOTU interface itself.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 34 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM 2. or send the MMC transport commands to the MOTU interface instead and have it redistribute them to the other MMC device(s) If you would like to bypass the interface and control a MMC device directly from your computer software (choice #1 above), remove the connection from the computer icon on the left to the MMC icon on the right.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 35 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM THE MUTINGS TAB The Mutings tab is a sophisticated MIDI data filter that controls what types of data will be sent and received by each MIDI OUT and MIDI IN cable. You can filter out any type of MIDI data on any channel on any cable. In addition, each MIDI channel can have its own unique muting setup.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 36 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM Whenever you would like to mute data, begin with the following procedure: 1 If you have more than one MOTU interface, select the box you want to mute in the File menu. 2 Click the Mutings tab. 3 Select the type of data to be muted from the Mute menu. Doing so makes the check box grid control the type of MIDI data you choose. 4 Choose Input or Output from the cables menu.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 37 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM Muting MIDI beat clocks When MIDI beat clocks are transmitted to your MOTU interface (via a MIDI device or the computer) they are redistributed to all cables. If you do not want MIDI beat clocks sent to all your MIDI devices, mute real-time data on the output cables for those devices. Here’s another example: Let’s say you are mapping all channels to channel 1, and you are muting channels 1-8.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 38 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM MDI IN Muting filter THE MAPPINGS TAB The Mappings tab controls the channelizing of MIDI data on all MIDI IN and MIDI OUT cables. With complete flexibility, this window can switch data from its current MIDI channel to any other channel immediately when the data either enters or exits your MOTU interface.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 39 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM Mapping basics A simple way to think of channel mapping is this: imagine that each MIDI IN or MIDI OUT port connected to your MOTU interface has a filter just inside the socket. MIDI data enters the filter on one channel and as it passes through the filter, it gets switched to a different channel. On a MIDI IN port, data enters on a given channel.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 40 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM SYNCHRONIZATION AND MIDI MACHINE CONTROL The Sync tab and the sync-related controls at the top of the window (Figure 5-8) give you control over your MOTU interface’s sync and MMC transport control features. Transport controls The transport controls are just like standard tape deck transports. These buttons control the time code generated by your MOTU interface when it is in Internal mode.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 41 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM Transport controls Frame rate and sync mode menus SMPTE readout and Locate buttons Clock mode menu This setting determines the clock mode for your Express interface. The choices are: Internal The Express interface operates under its own clock and ignores incoming time code. MTC Allows your Express interface to sync to MIDI Time Code from another device. For complete details, see “MTC Mode” on page 63.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 42 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM LTC QuickLok Allows your Express interface to sync to SMPTE time code received on its SMPTE input jack and convert it to MIDI Time Code to be sent to the computer and other devices. This mode provides fast lockup to LTC, but it doesn’t provide as many other features as LTC mode (above). Frame Rate menu The Frame rate menu lets you choose the overall time base and time code frame rate for your MOTU interface.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 43 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM Frame lock The Frame lock check box is only available when your MOTU interface is locking to external SMPTE time code (in any form — MTC or LTC). It is not available when your MOTU interface is in Internal sync mode. To understand the Frame lock option, you first need to know that your MOTU interface continuously monitors incoming time code to detect any possible discontinuity in the frame times as they advance.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 44 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM Turning off Frame lock can be a life saver if you find yourself in a situation where you have time code on tape (or other source) but the frame locations jump around to different times (because of overlapping SMPTE striping, edits, or whatever). By turning off Frame lock, you can sync continuously to this type of time code without glitching or stopping.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 45 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM Still-frame sensitivity This option lets you control how many frames in a row your MOTU interface needs to receive to consider incoming SMPTE as being parked on a single frame. While lowering this value makes your MOTU interface more responsive when you pause your video deck, it is also more likely to misinterpret ordinary transport shuttling.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 46 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM THE PEDAL TAB The Pedal tab lets you program the pedal input on your MOTU interface. ■ Route the data from the pedal to any device Pedal type menu You have two choices: ■ None ■ Normal The Normal setting requires a momentary foot pedal (switch). Polarity Negative polarity reverses the direction of the pedal, so that if it normally goes up when you press down, negative polarity will make it go down (and vice versa).
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 47 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM Adding and removing MIDI messages Use the Add and Remove buttons to add and remove MIDI messages to and from the list. Don’t worry about the settings to the left of the list when adding items. You specify the settings afterwards.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 48 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM Sending sysex data with a pedal A pedal can transmit a sysex message up to 27 bytes long. To program the sysex message: 1 Set up the knob or pedal as described in the previous sections. Once you have selected system exclusive as the type of data, you’ll see the sysex data entry window. 2 Click inside the sysex data entry box and type in the bytes necessary.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 49 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM CHAPTER 6 Front Panel Presets OVERVIEW FACTORY VERSUS USER PRESETS This chapter describes your MOTU Express interface’s eight factory presets and explains how to: Your Express interface provides eight factory presets and eight more user presets. Factory presets are “hard-wired” and cannot be permanently changed.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 50 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM SELECTING A PRESET ON A MICRO EXPRESS To select a preset from the front panel: MIDI Express XT front panel preset controls 1 Repeatedly press the SELECT button until the LED for the program you want lights up. 2 The SELECT button cycles through both the factory and user presets, as indicated by the red User LED and the green Factory LED.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 51 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM Sequencer 30 fps This preset is designed for MIDI software, especially sequencing software, that supports multi-cable interfaces such as your Express interface. Use this preset if you have Digital Performer, Pro Tools, Logic, Cubase, or any other MIDI software that supports multi-cable interfaces. This preset connects all inputs and outputs to the computer.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 52 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM correctly, and you can then focus your efforts on other possible causes, such as bad MIDI cables, volume settings, etc. Use this troubleshooting technique if you cannot successfully record data into your sequencer on the computer.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 53 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM MIDI data only to outputs 6, 7 and 8. Input 7 routes MMC to the MIDI Express XT only. Input 8 does a combination of inputs 6 and 7. MIDI Machine/for the micro express This preset provides MIDI data, time code, and MIDI Machine Control settings for using MIDI Machine Control between devices without a computer. Inputs 1-2 are reserved for non-MMC devices being routed to outputs 1-4, as well as the computer.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 54 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM when your Express interface’s MIDI processing features are enabled. This mode disables the processing features, which solves the problem. If you experience trouble with sysex, try this preset. ☛ ClockWorks cannot communicate with your Express interface when it is in Direct mode. To restore communications, use the front panel controls to choose another preset.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 55 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM CHAPTER 7 Synchronization OVERVIEW IF YOU ARE NEW TO SMPTE SYNC This chapter explains how to use your MOTU Express interface to synchronize computer software and other devices to an audio tape recorder (ATR), video tape recorder (VTR), or other time code sources using SMPTE time code. It also explains how to generate time code (a process commonly referred to as striping).
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 56 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM When your Express interface locks to the time code, the green “LOCK” LED on the front panel glows steadily and the red “TACH” LED blinks regularly. In addition, the green computer OUT LED glows steadily, indicating that MIDI time code (MTC) is being sent to the computer.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 57 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM If the LOCK and TACH lights do not behave as described, your Express interface is not successfully locking to the SMPTE time code. This could be a problem with the audio connections between the tape deck and your Express interface. It could also be that the SMPTE level is not high enough. See Appendix C,“Troubleshooting and Customer Support” page (87).
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 58 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM your Express interface freewheels at the frame rate it is reading at the time it begins freewheeling — except for 29.97 drop and non-drop. If you intend on reading 29.97, be sure to manually set the SMPTE format to 29.97 so that freewheeling will occur at the proper rate. When you increase the freewheel amount, you also increase the amount of time that your Express interface keeps converting when you stop tape.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 59 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM We recommend that you do not pass the time code output from your Express interface through a mixer or any form of signal processor. If you must go through a mixer, be sure equalization is flat. 2 Launch Clockworks. 3 In the Sync tab set the sync mode to Internal. 8 Roll tape. 9 Click Start. Striping will begin at the frame you specified in ClockWorks. The time code display will begin to roll.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 60 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM There are several ways to handle this. One way is to leave an empty track on your multi-track tape deck as a buffer between the time code and other tracks. With a buffer track, time code can be recorded at very strong (“hot”) levels (above 0 VU) without risk of bleedthrough. If your tape deck has no tracks to spare, a good level at which to record is around –3 VU.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 61 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM The solution to this problem is to use your Express interface to regenerate fresh time code that matches the original time code while you are copying the tape. Some people refer to this process as jam syncing.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 62 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM your Express interface automatically creates fresh time code that matches the original time code and its relation to the other tracks on the tape. In addition, your Express interface freewheels over drop-outs in the old time code so that the new, clean code has none. Regeneration and time code bits Except for when it is in LTC QuikLock mode, your Express interface always regenerates fresh time code from its SMPTE out jack.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 63 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM MTC MODE Choose this synchronization mode when you want your Express interface to slave to MIDI Time Code (MTC) being sent from a device connected to one of its inputs. This mode offers the least amount of time base stability, so it is recommend that you try to set things up so that you can use one of the other modes.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 64 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM 64 SY NCH RO NIZ AT I ON
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 65 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM CHAPTER 8 MIDI Machine Control OVERVIEW HOW MMC WORKS Your Express interface can serve as a MIDI Machine Control (MMC) transport control “hub” for all MMCcompatible devices, allowing you to manipulate the transport controls of everything from one master set of controls: either an MMC hardware controller device or from MMC-compatible MIDI software on the computer.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 66 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM Other MMC scenarios In the recommended scenario described in the previous section, your Express interface receives MMC transport commands and serves as the time code master for everything else.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 67 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM SETTING MMC DEVICE ID’S Each MMC device requires a unique MMC device ID, including your Express interface itself. The factory default ID of your Express interface is 19. If needed, you can change it as shown in Figure 5-8 on page 41. SETTING UP OTHER MMC DEVICES If you have an MMC-compatible device, you can slave it to your Express interface. But first, you need to make your Express interface send MTC (or LTC for some devices).
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 68 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM This can be accomplished with an MMC-compatible sequencer, MMC applet, or any other software that transmits MMC transport control commands. Your MOTU MIDI interface has the ability to serve as a MMC transport slave, while at the same time generating time code for other devices in your studio.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 69 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM Once you have successfully established overall MIDI communication between your software and your Express interface, follow these steps to set up your software to serve as the MMC transport controller: 1 Set up your software to sync to MIDI Time Code as described in the previous section (“Preparing software for MMC” on page 67) 2 Tell your MMC software what the MMC Device ID is of your Express interface.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 70 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM Routing time code to other devices Once you have successfully established MMC control of the MOTU Express interface as described in this chapter, you can route MIDI Time Code (MTC) from the MOTU Express interface to other devices in your studio to control them remotely from your sequencer, as shown in Figure 8-1 on page 68.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 71 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM USING OTHER DEVICES AS A CONTROLLER We recommend trying to set up MMC as described in “A recommended setup for MMC” on page 65. However, you may have an MMC device, such as an MMC-equipped reel-to-reel tape deck, that does not have the ability to be a time code slave and therefore needs to be the time code master.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 72 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM 72 MIDI MACHINE CONTROL
Part III Appendices All Users !USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 73 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM 73
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 74 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 75 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM APPENDIX A Glossary Address Track: A third audio track, used for time code, located on the edge of the video signal on a 3/4” VTR. Because of its proximity to the video signal, the address track cannot be recorded by itself; it must be recorded simultaneously with the video signal. ATR: Audio Tape Recorder. A device that can record an audio signal on audio tape.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 76 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM Flywheeling: Another name for Freewheeling. See Freewheeling below. House Sync: A process in which all video equipment in a studio is connected to and genlocks to a single video sync generator. Freewheeling: A process in which a synchronizer, such as the MIDI Express XT, continues to generate time code even when it encounters drop-outs in a time code source.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 77 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM MIDI: Musical Instrument Digital Interface. An NTSC: National Television Systems Committee Format. A information protocol developed in the early 1980’s by synthesizer and electronic instrument manufacturers to allow devices to communicate musical performance data to one another. system of coding color information for broadcasting television formulated by the NTSC. NTSC uses 30 frames per second for black and white and 29.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 78 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM SMPTE: Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers. The acronym SMPTE is often used in audio production as a shorthand expression for SMPTE Time Code. SMPTE Time Code: A series of binary impulses that express the location of each frame on film, video, or audio tape in hours, minutes, seconds, and frames.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 79 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM User Bits: 32 unassigned bits in the 80-bit SMPTE time code word that have been set aside by the Standards Committee of SMPTE for users to place their own information in the time code, such as the shooting date, take identification, reel number, and so on. that describes the location of each video tape frame in hours, minutes, seconds, and frames.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 80 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM 80 APPENDIX A: GLOSSARY
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 81 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM APPENDIX B Time Code Basics OVERVIEW WHAT IS SYNCHRONIZATION? What Is synchronization?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 What is SMPTE? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Two forms of time code: LTC versus VITC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 What is LTC? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 82 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM developed for film and video work but has proven to be very useful in normal audio work as well. It is an absolute time code, expressing hours, minutes, seconds and divisions of a second in digital form. WHAT IS LTC? Because of its accuracy and wide-spread acceptance, SMPTE is the most powerful of the time code formats that are used in audio production. Longitudinal Time Code (LTC) is the audio form of SMPTE Time Code.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 83 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM You can actually see VITC in the vertical blanking segment portion of a video picture by adjusting the vertical hold on a video screen. The 90-bit binary VITC signal appears as a series of white dots in the black strip between the top and bottom of the picture. VITC is part of the video signal; it does not have its own “track” on the video tape. It is therefore not possible to stripe VITC by itself onto video tape.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 84 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM 60. 23.976 and 24 are the standard frame rates for film in the US; 25 is the European format for film; 30 is the US standard for audio; and 29.97 drop and non-drop are used for video. 60 is used for HD video. Drop frame, explained in detail in the next section, allows SMPTE time code numbers to precisely match the actual elapsed time. Keep in mind that only numbers are skipped, not actual frames of the picture.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 85 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM Now, if we play a color version of the same program, it actually runs slower at 29.97 frames per second so that the actual elapsed time is 60 minutes and 3.6 seconds! Here’s where the discrepancy arises: the time code that counts the frames shows that one hour’s worth of frames has gone by, which is 01:00:00:00 on the final frame.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 86 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM Certain phrases are often used to describe synchronization. The tape deck to which the MIDI device is synchronized is called the synchronization master; the MIDI device, which follows, is called the slave. The MIDI device is slaved to the master. The converter, which reads the time code on tape, is locked to tape, or when using SMPTE time code, locked to SMPTE.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 87 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM APPENDIX C Troubleshooting and Customer Support COMMON PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS On my Mac, my MOTU USB interface just won’t show up in Audio MIDI Setup, no matter what I do. If it’s not an obvious problem like cables or power, do a fresh install of the latest Express interface driver installer downloaded from www.motu.com. On my PC, my MOTU USB interface ports don’t show up in my Windows MIDI software, no matter what I do.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 88 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM My MOTU interface will not sync to time code. Make sure that the SMPTE IN cable is firmly seated and connected to the appropriate output on the tape deck. Observe the LTC LOCK light. Is it flickering quickly and steadily? If so, the MOTU interface is locked to tape and the syncing problem is probably related to MIDI.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 89 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM TROUBLESHOOTING CUSTOMER SUPPORT Troubleshooting is always simplest and most effective when the exact problem can be specified clearly and concisely.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 90 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM If you decide to call, please have your MOTU interface manual at hand, and be prepared to provide the following information to help us solve your problem as quickly as possible: ■ The serial number of your MOTU interface. This is printed on the bottom of the unit. You must be able to supply this number to receive technical support. ■ The version of ClockWorks you are working with.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 91 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM A Index 0 frames 45 23.
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 92 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM Input quarter frame phase lock 42 Internal (clock mode) 40, 41 JJam sync 60, 76 continuous 60 K Keyboard controller connecting 10 L Live keyboards preset 51 Load Configuration 29 Locate buttons 40 LOCK light 56 Longitudinal Time Code 58, 82 LTC 58, 76, 82 clock mode 41, 60 output slider 44 QuickLok 42 LTC Output Level 44 M Mac connecting 9 system requirements 7 Mac OS X Audio MIDI Setup 17, 29 MIDI software (using) 23 software instal
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 93 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM Registering your product 7 Remapping 38 Reset to Factory Settings 30 Reshaping time code 62 ROM version 30 Routings tab 31 breaking connections 32 making a connection 31 S Save Configuration 30 Sequencer syncing to time code 58 Sequencer 30/25 fps preset 51 Sequencing using the Express MIDI ports 24 SMPTE connections 12 display 40 display in ClockWorks 40 drop-outs 57 explained 81-86 frame rate setting 42 freewheeling 57 global offset f
!USB Interfaces Manual Book Page 94 Tuesday, August 16, 2011 11:21 AM system requirements 8 Z Zero frames (freewheel) 45 94 I N D E X
