Software Monitoring On/Off

[guitardom]

Originally Posted by Soundtrack2life

I would really like to see Pro Tools be able to make use of RME FF800 Total Mix!
Joe

Like what?? You can use total mix as a virtual patchbay for pro tools, route everything in and out of pt w total mix. Pt see's all the I/o. You can use the headphone outs in total mix for rme. You can set your hardware latency settings in pt for using it for hardware inserts. I am impressed how well it is working.

[geetarpicker]

Today I did some latency testing of my Fireface 800 that is patched to an Apogee Rosetta 800 on adat. Using the Rosetta converters into the FF800 I am able to get live monitoring via the Totalmix panel with latency to the tune of only 1.6ms!

Dang it...if only PT9 had a live monitor "off" button...

I don't have PT9 (yet) but I also then tested my setup monitoring through my DAW software, that being Reaper. With a sample rate of 44.1 and the RME buffer set as low as it goes (48 samples) monitoring through the DAW application had a latency of almost 5ms. That is over 3 times the latency compared to live monitoring via the FF800 DSP. Sure some would say that is fast enough, but any way you look at it 1.6ms DOES feel better than 5ms.

I'm assuming that going through PT9 software for monitoring would net be about the same 5ms latency?

If so that's a hard pill to swallow, as a move to PT9 would triple my monitoring latency!

[wizprodux]

Put it on the list:

http://protools.ideascale.com/a/idea...ve&target=home

[katerkarlo]

Thanks for this thread. The direct monitoring problem is really the only issue I am having with the new Pro Tools.

Those who are saying just set the i/o buffer to 64 samples don't understand the problem. I want to be able to do overdubs in sessions with software instruments and plugins that cause latency. The 64 samples audio buffer doesn't help much there.

I am currently on Cubase with RME converters. I either use RME's total mix or an external mixer for monitoring.

Anyway I just cast my vote on Ideascale and I hope others will do the same:
http://protools.ideascale.com/a/dtd/...on-/23853-3779

Low latency monitoring 003-style (or like in PT HD Native) is not an option either, because it only allows for one stereo low latency monitor path. I need 2 independent monitor paths at least, cause drummers often need different settings that the other band members.

[carlone]

Have you tried something like a fader port or some type of control surface so you can at least quickly get to that mute button on the tracks you want to monitor.

[guitardom]

Originally Posted by geetarpicker

Today I did some latency testing of my Fireface 800 that is patched to an Apogee Rosetta 800 on adat. Using the Rosetta converters into the FF800 I am able to get live monitoring via the Totalmix panel with latency to the tune of only 1.6ms!

Dang it...if only PT9 had a live monitor "off" button...

I don't have PT9 (yet) but I also then tested my setup monitoring through my DAW software, that being Reaper. With a sample rate of 44.1 and the RME buffer set as low as it goes (48 samples) monitoring through the DAW application had a latency of almost 5ms. That is over 3 times the latency compared to live monitoring via the FF800 DSP. Sure some would say that is fast enough, but any way you look at it 1.6ms DOES feel better than 5ms.

I'm assuming that going through PT9 software for monitoring would net be
about the same 5ms latency?

If so that's a hard pill to swallow, as a move to PT9 would triple my monitoring latency!

How did you do your test exactly? I can try it for you w a ff 800 and pt 9.

[geetarpicker]

That would be awesome!

I tested it as such, wacky as it sounds. I set up a 2nd laptop computer and 2 channel interface to record two microphones live at the same time to a stereo track. I positioned a wood block with one of these mics right in front of it. I also put a Y cord on that 1st mic and at the same time sent this Y corded signal off to my other DAW. On that DAW I routed the signal through my API/RME/Rosetta/Totalmix setup and finally back out to a headphone laying on the floor. THEN I took my 2nd mic and put it right inside the headphone, and isolated it (with a pillow!) so as to not pickup the wood block directly. Hit the wood block with a stick... SO then my laptop was getting two signals one being the live wood block, the other signal the same wood block performance but running through Totalmix on a 2nd computer and out to a headphone which obviously was slightly delayed. Then by zooming in on the stereo WAV file all the way in Soundforge I could actually compare the two wave forms, mark the starting point of the wood block impulses, and actually count the difference in time in samples. Once zoomed all the way in Soundforge the samples are actually visible. I counted 70 samples difference, which IF my math is correct works out to about 1.6ms @ 44.1 sample rate.

I then did some tests running the signal through Reaper's monitoring, instead of Totalmix and came up with 4.7ms with the lowest buffer rates available being 48 samples. That was as quick as I could get live monitoring through Reaper, perhaps PT9 in LLM is quicker, but there are more factors involved in a full monitor loop the DAW program being only part of it.

I also did the same test with the RME converter instead of the Rosetta on ADAT. The Rosetta seems to be the slightly faster converter, and it appears that just about all of the latency though Totalmix is simply converter latency. The RME converter netted just a tad more latency in this test about 2ms round trip out to the phones, the RME/ADAT-Rosetta is more like 1.6ms.

Obviously overall Totalmix has the advantage here overall, as it routes the signal to the monitors BEFORE it goes down the Firewire cable and into the computer, DAW program and back.

That said it would be intesting to know how fast the LLM monitoring through PT9 is when using the RME FF800, using a similar test at the same sample rate and buffer settings I did which was 44.1 at a buffer of 48 samples.

[Bob Olhsson]

Originally Posted by wizprodux

Put it on the list:

http://protools.ideascale.com/a/idea...ve&target=home

I did but most people don't seem to get it and now I can't find it.

Vote for this one: http://protools.ideascale.com/a/dtd/...OFF/27200-3779

[geetarpicker]

Originally Posted by carlone

Have you tried something like a fader port or some type of control surface so you can at least quickly get to that mute button on the tracks you want to monitor.

Yes I can do it with my Frontier Tranzport wireless remote. I can hit mute and record at the same time on a track by track basis so that is an option.

IF mutes can be easily grouped in PT I could also do a punch in of multiple tracks when needed, for full drum kit punches for example.

[guitardom]

Originally Posted by geetarpicker

Yes I can do it with my Frontier Tranzport wireless remote. I can hit mute and record at the same time on a track by track basis so that is an option.

IF mutes can be easily grouped in PT I could also do a punch in of multiple tracks when needed, for full drum kit punches for example.

Select the tracks you want and hit cntrl g (apple g on Mac I think) and make it a mix group. Takes a couple sec max.