User manual M-AUDIO PORTMAN 4X4

[. . . ] 1 Portman 4x4 TM MANUAL 3 4 5 5 5 6 8 8 8 9 10 11 13 13 15 15 16 16 17 17 18 18 20 20 22 22 24 23 25 26 26 27 28 29 29 30 31 Table of Contents FCC Class B and CE Compliance Features Package Contents Basic Theory of Operation MIDI Modes SMPTE Modes Front and Back Panel Front Panel Dip Switch Settings Back Panel Mechanical Installation About the Parallel Cable About Your Printer Port Running the DOS Diagnostics 1. SMPTE I/O Test Drivers Windows 3. 1 and 3. 11 Driver Installation About the "<Advanced>" Button Windows 95 Driver Installation Remote Control Software Remote Control Software Windows Installation Remote Control Windows 95 Installation Typical System Set-up -- Fig. 1 Configuring Applications SMPTE/MIDI Time Code Tutorial What is SMPTE (Time Code)?About Frame Rates What Frame Rate and Settings Should You Use? [. . . ] The manner in which each application does this is different, so it is impossible to go over all possible scenarios here. However, most Windows MIDI applications have a configuration or settings dialog box (sometimes called "MIDI Devices") that specifies the MIDI input and output ports the program will be communicating with. If your PORTMAN 4x4/S drivers are properly installed, you should see the PORTMAN 4x4/S MIDI and SMPTE ports listed in this dialog box. In its factory default configuration, the PORTMAN 4x4/S looks like ten independent devices, 5 of which are inputs and 5 are outputs. From the application's configuration dialog, these devices are: Inputs IN1 - PORTMAN 4x4/S IN2 - PORTMAN 4x4/S IN3 - PORTMAN 4x4/S IN4 - PORTMAN 4x4/S SMPTE/Status - PORTMAN 4x4/S Outputs OUT1 - PORTMAN 4x4/S OUT2 - PORTMAN 4x4/S OUT3 - PORTMAN 4x4/S 25 OUT4 - PORTMAN 4x4/S Control - PORTMAN 4x4/S Inputs 1 through 4 correspond to the physical MIDI In connectors 1 through 4, and the SMPTE/Status corresponds to the 1/4" SMPTE Input connector. Outputs 1 through 4 correspond to the physical MIDI Out connectors 1 through 4, and the SMPTE Control corresponds to the SMPTE processor command port. Although the SMPTE/Status driver transfers time code data into the program, the SMPTE Control driver does not actually transfer SMPTE data out of the program. Instead, it is used by some applications to configure and control (Start Writing, Stop Writing, User Bits, SMPTE format, Patchbay User Programs, etc. ) the processor that resides in the PORTMAN 4x4/S. In order to route data between the application and specific ports on the PORTMAN 4x4/S, select (from within your application) the appropriate drivers of the above list. Many newer applications (Cakewalk for Windows for example) will allow you to select and access all the PORTMAN 4x4/S ports within the same session. Other applications (for instance, as of this writing, Master Tracks Pro 6. 0 can only handle two MIDI ports) will limit the number of input and output drivers you may select at one time. SMPTE/MIDI Time Code Tutorial This section of the manual gives a brief tutorial on various SMPTE topics. This section is not by any stretch of the imagination an exhaustive treatment of time code or syncing. Instead it is included to make the PORTMAN 4x4/S SMPTE functions more understandable. SMPTE is a time coding standard which was developed in 1967 by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) to be used in video editing. SMPTE attaches a unique time stamp (80 bits of information) to each frame of video or film. SMPTE readers may then extract that time information and synchronize other devices to it. Because SMPTE may be encoded as an actual audio signal, it also lends itself to audio applications 26 and can be read from audio tracks for synchronization purposes. The SMPTE Time Code consists simply of: Hours : Minutes : Seconds : Frames. Therefore a typical SMPTE time code reading would be: 01 : 25 : 42 : 17 which represents the time 1 hour : 25 minutes : 42 seconds : 17 frames. The original SMPTE Time Code was Longitudinal Time Code (LTC). "Longitudinal" means that the code is laid down in a continuous audio stripe along the length of the tape (longitudinally). The PORTMAN 4x4/S is designed to write this longitudinal time code (LTC) as well as read and convert it to MIDI Time Code (MTC). [. . . ] If you EQ a SMPTE signal it may turn to mush. Are you trying to use SMPTE mode with a sequencer that does not support MTC or is not set to chase to MIDI Time Code?With all sequencers you must set a SMPTE song/sequence start time. Make sure you set this SMPTE start time to a value at least a couple seconds later than what your SMPTE stripe starts at. [. . . ]