Anyone using Vienna Ensemble PRO with PT?

[chuckbutler]

Originally Posted by John_Toolbox

it has an RTAS receiver

Would you mind explaining this a bit more? Specifically, suppose I want to run VEP and PT on the same MacPro. My impression is that I would want to run VEP in standalone mode (not as a plug-in) so that its RAM space is not limited. In that case, how does audio from VEP get back into ProTools? By RTAS somehow?

[Keybeeetsss]

Originally Posted by chuckbutler

Would you mind explaining this a bit more? Specifically, suppose I want to run VEP and PT on the same MacPro. My impression is that I would want to run VEP in standalone mode (not as a plug-in) so that its RAM space is not limited. In that case, how does audio from VEP get back into ProTools? By RTAS somehow?

It runs on its on RAM regardles... Like some VI's in PT... So yes, u must 1st run the VE Server, then Launch PT & from there u launch VEPro... Its a Plug in so therefore, when u instantiate it, & as with some VI's, u get multiple i/o's that u choose via the input on an audio or aux track...thatz how u would get the audio into PT; also, VEPro will give u 32i/o into PT...

[chuckbutler]

I'm sorry, I still don't get it. Look, I've worked in ProTools for a long time, so I understand how one normally instantiates an RTAS plug. I also have used standalone VIs that can get audio into PT via Rewire. And I know that VEP can run as an RTAS plug in PT in the "normal" way--however my understanding is that in that case the memory space available to VEP would be limited by PT (because PT is a 32-bit app). Maybe I'm wrong about that? So, again, what I'm unclear about is: if I want to run VEP as standalone so as to make maximum use of available RAM, how is the audio routed back into PT on a single machine? If someone could be more clear, I'd really appreciate it. Sorry to be so dense.

[Keybeeetsss]

Chuck, u are really over thinking it; I said it as plain as I could & that is how it works... It is it's own thing... If u r confused then its because u jus wanna be confused I guess

u realllly benefit if u hav a 64bit OS...

[chuckbutler]

Again, sorry to be so dense, but I'm not going to apologize for wanting to understand how a piece of (non-returnable) software will integrate with my system before I shell out any $. And yes, I am running Snow Leo, 10.2.6.

On the Vienna forum, someone was kind enough to outline the process of setting up PT and VEP to work together when VEP is running standalone:

1. In Pro Tools (PT), create one Instrument Track for each instrument.
2. In VE Pro (VEP), create the same number of channels.
3. In PT, set the MIDI Out of each track to the corresponding channel in VE Pro.
4. In VEP, set the Audio Out (at the bottom of each channel) to Net1/2, Net 3/4, etc.
5. In PT, set the Audio In of each track to the corresponding channel in VEP.

Nothing surprising there; it's similar to the way you use Rewire to bring the audio from another app (like Reason) into PT. My specific question is: *how* does step 5 work exactly? Is this a proprietary bussing system that Vienna has developed, or are they just using Rewire, or what?

It matters in my case, because I am actually using Digital Performer as a front-end for my PT HD rig. DP does not support Rewire under DAE, so if that's what VEP is using, I won't be able to establish a direct (software) connection between the two apps. But if Vienna has their own way of bussing audio into PT it may work just the same in DP/DAE. I'd just like to have reasonable expectation about whether it might work before I shell out the $ for VEP.

Please feel free not to answer if you've lost patience with me (and why would I bother with all this typing if I *wanted* to be confused?). Thanks for any help.

[Keybeeetsss]

Well honestly Chuck, I myself can't speak in terms of DP so I don't kno what to tell there.. I'm guessing u haven't really used many VI's & again I don't kno how DP works so maybe not.. but there are many VI's that hav OUTS that will show up when u hav an audio or Aux track open; when u click on the input of one of those, u get the choice of Input, bus or 'plug in' which is what step 5 is in regard to...

[chuckbutler]

Originally Posted by Keybeeetsss

I'm guessing u haven't really used many VI's ...but there are many VI's that hav OUTS that will show up when u hav an [I]audio or Aux track open

Sure, and I use many such VIs, including Kontakt, MachFive, Superior 2, Stylus RMX, etc., etc. The way these additional outputs are routed are similar in both PT and DP/DAE. But in all of those cases we're talking about an RTAS plug-in that is instantiated *within* the host.

The difference in this case is that I'm *not* talking about running VEP as an RTAS plug-in within PT or DP. I have no doubt that would work, but--unless I am mistaken--the host would limit the amount of memory space available to VEP. In other words, my understanding is that when a VI--even a 64-bit VI--is instantiated inside a 32-bit host, it is unable to access memory space outside of that which is allocated to the 32-bit host. Please correct me if I'm wrong about that.

If I'm right, then running VEP in standalone mode would allow it to address whatever RAM you may have in the machine (that's not being used by PT, the OS, or other apps), since it's a 64-bit app. This would be of great benefit to those of us who are scoring using a lot of VIs and have put a bunch of RAM into our new 8-cores running 10.6.2. But if VEP is running standalone and not as a plug-in within PT, the question is: how does the audio get back into PT. If the answer is "Rewire," I'm out of luck, because DP/DAE doesn't support that. But if it works some proprietary way that Vienna has developed, I might be OK. That's what I need to know.

And Keybeeetss, I really appreciate your trying to help. Thanks.

[Keybeeetsss]

So u hav then understanding on how it works; again, they are their own host... If u have 12g on on a 64bit OS then all ram needed would be used by PT & all other RAm would go to VEPro regardless to how u r using it.. Its RTAS so that it can work in PT.. thatz it.. It is its own "person"

[chuckbutler]

So you're saying that even when I run VEP inside of PT as an RTAS plug, it is able to address as much RAM as available outside of the memory space for the host (PT)? If that's true then everything I've been asking is a non-issue. But that's different info than I've gotten from other sources. My understanding was that 64-bits plugs running inside of a 32-bit host are limited to the memory space allocated to the host.

[Keybeeetsss]

Originally Posted by chuckbutler

So you're saying that even when I run VEP inside of PT as an RTAS plug, it is able to address as much RAM as available outside of the memory space for the host (PT)? If that's true then everything I've been asking is a non-issue.

That is exactly what I hav been sayin Charles Don't even consider VEPro a plug in(which technically it isn't|the plug in is Vienna Instruments-VSL)

Thatz why everyone is geeked about VEPro because of the fact u get to actually use these beast of a machine that are now available to us in regard to RAM & power... Otherwise, it'd be a pointless rave...