Help needed to configure Omni to monitor non-PT files

[jasonkalman]

Hi All,
I just hooked up the Omni HD to my core PCIe card and am trying to figure out how to hear audio via the Omni. I can hear PT files, but I can't hear any other sound sources, such as Mp3s etc.

What do I need to do in order to get Omni to Monitor these additional audio files? I read the HD, Omni, DigiCoreAudio manuals to no avail. Before the Omni, I was using the Apogee Duet and it was a one-stop audio interface for all audio files. I had no problem playing Logic9 files, Mp3s, etc. Now it seems the Omni either can't or needs to be manually configured somehow to be able to.

Any Help would be much appreciated.

cheers,
jason

Mac Pro, 8-core, 2.26GHz, 12 GB RAM, OS X 10.6.6
HD Omni, HD3 PCIe, PT 9 HD v9.0.1

[SDDP]

Well after a COMPLETE thorough reading of every avid pdf file. The HD OMNI is extremely versatile. I've hooked up a Korg Triton Studio keyboard via lightpipe, my mac, and a few other devices and feeding a 5.1, and 2 Stereo speakers and 3 headphones, Digital mic pre and still have the 2 mic pre's available on the OMNI. Nifty!

Okay, to hear your Mp3, I am assuming from playing it on your mac? like from iTunes or quiktime?

there are 2 ways out of the mac, one is the digital/optical connector or what I did was ( and yes monster cable actually does sound better and louder for some reason) use a stereo 1/8" to a Y stereo 1/4" and connect the 1/8" from the mac and the 1/4"s to the back of the OMNI. On the back of the OMNI right under the microphone XLR inputs there are RTN 1 and RTN 2, connect the 1/4" into those respectively. Then open up protools and then go to SETUP and open "Hardware Setup" then click on the "Mixer" tab and where it says Analog 1-2 highlight both the left and right "MON" and left and right "HP" (HP enables you to hear it also using headphones) and click on Label and label them Mac L & Mac R. Now under the Main tab make sure Input 1-2 is set to Analog 1-2.

Next on your HD OMNI far left section under PREAMP you'll see a button for INSER (right under LINK 1&2), click on that so it is highlighted.

WHALLAH!
You can now hear everything from your mac!

Let me know if you have any questions.

[the dude]

( and yes monster cable actually does sound better and louder for some reason)

shoot if I paid the monster $ I'd swear it sounder better as well

but your talking 1's & 0's and getting a louder signal based soley on a optical cable.... it makes absolutely no logic in the digital world

[SDDP]

Originally Posted by the dude

shoot if I paid the monster $ I'd swear it sounder better as well

but your talking 1's & 0's and getting a louder signal based soley on a optical cable.... it makes absolutely no logic in the digital world

Lol, I had a feeling that statement was going to get me. Okay, let me clarify what I ment by that. For one, I know monster is mostly hype, $$$, and marketing. However, I wasn't using it for digital, I was using from the analogue out of the mac.
Now here is my defense for saying it sounded better.

As some of you here might remember the noise issues the G5 dual 2G's had about 4-6 years ago. The power supply made a very slight beeping/whining noise that you can hear in the air, but it isn't any problem at all under normal circumstances. The problem is that this beeping/whining noise comes out of the analog line out -- i. e., you can easily hear it in a pair of good headphones and definatly in a good speaker system in a quiet room. And, for pro audio users, it was extremely annoying. Some described it as a chirping or squeaking sound. And I tried various cables, and the Monster DID make an audible difference.
Not a %100 though. Apple knew about this and finally after getting my power supply fixed (or what ever else they did) they finally just gave me a new one after the 3rd time. This was a HUGE issue back then.

[jasonkalman]

Originally Posted by SDDP

Well after a COMPLETE thorough reading of every avid pdf file. The HD OMNI is extremely versatile. I've hooked up a Korg Triton Studio keyboard via lightpipe, my mac, and a few other devices and feeding a 5.1, and 2 Stereo speakers and 3 headphones, Digital mic pre and still have the 2 mic pre's available on the OMNI. Nifty!

Okay, to hear your Mp3, I am assuming from playing it on your mac? like from iTunes or quiktime?

there are 2 ways out of the mac, one is the digital/optical connector or what I did was ( and yes monster cable actually does sound better and louder for some reason) use a stereo 1/8" to a Y stereo 1/4" and connect the 1/8" from the mac and the 1/4"s to the back of the OMNI. On the back of the OMNI right under the microphone XLR inputs there are RTN 1 and RTN 2, connect the 1/4" into those respectively. Then open up protools and then go to SETUP and open "Hardware Setup" then click on the "Mixer" tab and where it says Analog 1-2 highlight both the left and right "MON" and left and right "HP" (HP enables you to hear it also using headphones) and click on Label and label them Mac L & Mac R. Now under the Main tab make sure Input 1-2 is set to Analog 1-2.

Next on your HD OMNI far left section under PREAMP you'll see a button for INSER (right under LINK 1&2), click on that so it is highlighted.

WHALLAH!
You can now hear everything from your mac!

Let me know if you have any questions.

Thank you so much for your reply! I wound up calling AVID support. Waited on the phone (no joke) 2 1/2 hours until tech support finally answered. They were able to remotely connect to my computer and solve the issue. The main thing I learned is that is that if you change any settings to sound or with Pro Tools, you have to close out of the program or even in some cases turn off your computer to reset settings in order for them to take effect. Once the right settings were inputed on my MAC, I was able to hear audio. The correct settings were as follows:
On your Mac:
System Preferences; sound; click on PCI HD for input and output.

Seems simple and it is, but you have to close out of all programs and better yet restart your computer for everything to kick in. I didn't know that. I tried the actual solution, but didn't close out of safari, so when I tried audio it still didn't work...yep! If I had closed out of Safari and reopened, it would've worked. This kind of stuff really needs to be in the manual. I am not computer engineering inclined, I'm a musician. So please AVID, stop writing your manuals, assuming we (your customers) are all audio engineers, some of us are just left brain musicians. I would be more than willing to be your beta tester. If I can figure it out, it's GTG