Setting up Omni Monitor and IO paths help and tips please
 

Hey all. Just starting a new contract gig and need to set up for 7.1.

I am on an HDN which has been running an HD IO 16x16 and an input expanded 192 and monitoring through a console. I just added the Omni and everything seems to be good in the Hardware setup, all buttons are green on the interfaces but I have some IO/Monitor setup questions as the user guides are less than clear. I have a support ticket open but Avid are slow to respond.


I want to use the Monitor Controller section in the Omni but am unsure how to route the analog out of the Omni or how to configure the monitor output. There is a default 7.1 path set to output through a second set of 1-8 on the 192 but there are only 8 analog outputs on that. Only the input section has been expanded. The analog outs on the Omni are connected to the speakers (LR anyway). I can hear playback through phones connected to the Omni but nothing out of the speakers.

I also see there is a mixer tab in the Omni hardware setup. I take it I can run my computer output into a pair of the inputs and mix into the monitor outs?

Thanks in advance!

Re: Setting up Omni Monitor and IO paths help and tips please
 

Got on the phone with Avid Support and they can't resolve the issue... I did manage to get things working but have to create a physical output for the omni analog outs while bypassing the Omni CR Monitor because routing isn't working properly (creating bus/output subpaths speaker routing would not work with outputs setup for SMPTE channel alignment).


At least I can work...

Re: Setting up Omni Monitor and IO paths help and tips please
 

The monitor controller doesn't automatically apply to channels 1-8, your channels 1-8 have to be assigned as a monitor in the hardware. Is it? First set a 7.1 monitor, then assign the channels.

Re: Setting up Omni Monitor and IO paths help and tips please
 

I'll try and explain how I set mine up.

1. Go to setup -> hardware and click the 'monitor' tab. Choose your output format from the dropdown menu in the 'main' column, then configure your speaker order by dragging the L, R, C, etc boxes around. Mine is set to L, R, C, etc rather than the default L, C, R...

Note that the 'Alt' column can be used for a 5.1 stereo down mix. Select stereo in the format column, and drag the L and R boxes to match those of your main speaker outputs. Then select "fold down between CR Paths" under the Control Room Fold Down heading. If you hit the 'Alt' button on your omni, it will fold down your 5.1 mix to stereo.

2. Hit the "main" tab, and make sure your outputs are corrected assigned to Monitor 1-2, Monitor 3-4, Monitor 5-6, Monitor 7-8. And choose what inputs you want to plug in your OS system sound (ie. input 1&2 = analogue 1&2).

3. Hit the "Mixer" tab and make sure "Mon" and "HP" are selected under the channel labelled "Analogue 1-2". Doing this means you will hear your computer sounds through your omni even when Pro Tools is closed. I allso make sure the "record/input monitor enable:" dropdown menu is set to Mutes Mixer Inputs so that I don't hear the same audio twice if I want to record those inputs through Pro Tools.

4. Go to setup -> I/O. In the outputs tab you should see your new monitoring path with a greyed out "monitoring" written in the output assignment. From here, you need to assign your default output bus in the bus tab to that new output. Find your output bus and choose your new monitor path under the "mapping to output" column.

From there, you should be good to go. It is unclear from your post, but if you have a default output mapped to the HD I/O it is entirely bypassing your Omni and the monitoring controller. You need set your output bussing to the monitor outputs of the Omni.

Re: Setting up Omni Monitor and IO paths help and tips please
 

I will go back through and give this a try. When I was on the phone with Avid we were having issues when isolating channels and the tech couldn't determine why signals were coming out of the incorrect speakers. Only the left channel seemed to line up properly through the monitor despite having the channel output of the monitor section to be L R C Lfe Lss Rss Lsr Rsr. He said he would make a note to see if anyone else was getting this behavior. I ended up having to bypass the monitor section and going straight out of the Omni analog outs so I am not using the CR monitor control, but it is playing back 7.1 correctly that way.


Thanks guys!

Re: Setting up Omni Monitor and IO paths help and tips please
 

It was before it didn't work out. I changed the output order to L R C Lfe Lss Rss Lsr Rsr but was getting alignment problems while on the phone with the Avid support tech running a calibration session. Signal generator was outputting to incorrect channel when panning.

Re: Setting up Omni Monitor and IO paths help and tips please
 

I seem to remember that Avid wants the L/C/R outputs to be 1/2/3(so 2 is center and 3 is right). If you don't have the manual for the OMNI, you can download it in PDF form.

Re: Setting up Omni Monitor and IO paths help and tips please
 

I had the manual for the Omni before I bought it. Thanks though.

I was thinking of wiring for LCR... but having the Center channel being output 2 makes it hard to use with other software that use stereo pair couplings for L-R output. I just got Logic X for some of it's proprietary functionality and if the C was output 2 I couldn't have the stereo outs from Logic properly aligned because the stereo output choices were 1-2, 3-4, etc. The surround outputs are fully assignable in Logic's prefs.

Re: Setting up Omni Monitor and IO paths help and tips please
 

Mine is set up in smpte order
L
R
C
Lfe
Ls
Rs

You can do whatever order you want.

Re: Setting up Omni Monitor and IO paths help and tips please
 

That is how my system is wired (plus Lss and Rss for 7.1) but using the Monitor path of the Omni then trying to calibrate the channels would not align. I was on the phone with an Avid support tech who was remote connected to my computer and no matter what we did the Left channel was correct but as soon as we ran signal to the other channels they were all misaligned and we could not get where the disconnect was occurring. Once we removed the Monitor path the channels aligned properly so I have no actual monitor control. I got notification that my ticket is still open during the past week and that it has been "escalated" whatever that means.

I have been meaning to setup the PT Control app because there is allegedly some sort of monitor control functionality there but haven't been able to successfully connect using Eucon. I've been using the Neyrinck V-Control for years but it's pretty much a networked HUI controller.