HD Madi and RME ADI-648

[Digit Al]

I have looked around for an answer to this but have not gotten an answer from anyone either at Avid, RME or google.

I have an HD native card running on a mac, and HD Madi connected with both digilink connectors, and RME ADI-648 Madi to ADAT converter, connected via optical coax to the first output in the back of the HD Madi. This gives me 32 stereo pairs in the I/0 box of Pro Tools.

There is a second optical coax connector on the back of the HD Madi.

If I connect a another RME ADI-64 to the second optical coax connector on the back of the HD Madi, what will that do?

1. Nothing. Protools will not see the second RME box or its outputs.

2. Mirrored outs. The input and output audio from each RME will be mirrored in what is heard in Pro Tools.

3. Selective routing. I will be able to route various madi stereo pairs to either of the two RME in the I/O dialog box in Pro Tools.

4. Something else.

Thanks

[albee1952]

If I were a betting man, I would bet on #1

[remotedude]

A MADI box will only see 64 channels. 32 stereo pairs or 64 mono. So connecting a second RME to the 2nd port of the HD MADI will do nothing for you. If you wanted to mirror outputs from the PT system then you could use the 2nd HD MADI port as a mirrored output. If you were running 96k then the two ports accept 32 channels each. But 64 is the number.

[Digit Al]

Originally Posted by remotedude

A MADI box will only see 64 channels. 32 stereo pairs or 64 mono. So connecting a second RME to the 2nd port of the HD MADI will do nothing for you. If you wanted to mirror outputs from the PT system then you could use the 2nd HD MADI port as a mirrored output. If you were running 96k then the two ports accept 32 channels each. But 64 is the number.

What about the inputs, are they mirrored as well? For example, will the madi see inputs from channel 1&2 from both madi optical inputs at the same time?

in other words

RME ADI 648 #1 Adat input 1 to RME ADI 648 madi optical out ---------- to HD Madi Optical I/O 1

RME ADI 648 #2 Adat input 1 to RME ADI 648 madi optical out ----------to HD Madi Optical I/O 2

Audio from both optical I/O's are combine in Pro Tools to Madi inputs 1 to 8

Knowing Avid, probably not, but I thought I'd ask.

[remotedude]

No. The only time the second input becomes active is when you set the interface to split mode. But at 48k you'll get 32 from one port and 32 from the other. At 96k the same. The MADI stream is only (1) 64 channel stream. Two ports does not equal 128. If you want more inputs. You'll need more interfaces. And that means HDX cards. Native won't do it.

[Digit Al]

Okay then, this is good if I understand you correctly Remote. To be clear, in split mode, 32 channels will go out HD Madi Optical I/O 1, and 32 channels will go out HD Madi Optical I/O 2. Correct. If this is so, I can then use two RME's and use their routing to route it to the appropriate channels. I think. The problem is I have 9 sampler pcs that were using either rca or toslink spdif, and the rme's are all adat. So I need more physical inputs, not more audio tracks.

[remotedude]

In split mode whether 48k or 96k you get exactly what it says. 28/32 in the first port, 28/32 in the second port. You also get the same on the outputs. Split mode is primarily used for 96k, but if you wire your studio for that and have to use 48k they've made it easier so you don't have to re-patch. So essentially you could use (2) RME's connected to the HD MADI IO with 32 from the first and 32 from the second.

J

[Digit Al]

But again, and I confused myself, because in reading what I wrote I wasn't clear. What you mean is that:

One Native card in split mode can go to:

Option A:
via digilink port 01 -> Madi interface #1 -> 32 channels via Madi optical to RME ADI648 #1
via digilink port 02 -> Madi interface #2 -> 32 channels via madi optical to RME ADI648 #2

Option B:
Only one Madi interface, using both Madi optical connectors goes to

32 channels via madi optical port to RME ADI648 #1
and
32 channels via madi optical port to RME ADI648 #2

If I understand Option A is possible, but not option B. Or perhaps both?

Thanks

A

[remotedude]

Yes in Split mode you can use (2) RME with 32 of each RME going to the MADI HD on different connectors. MADI Port 1 will be 1-32 and MADI Port 2 will be 33-64. You are not setting the HD Native card into split mode but the interface in the Hardware settings in Pro Tools.

[Digit Al]

Hi Remote

Thanks for the info, but looking at the I/O matrix, I realized this doesn't solve my problem. Adding another RME will still only allow me to use 4 adat inputs on each RME box, instead of 8 adat inputs on each RME box and routing the needed tracks into pro tools

Some sample PC's need the 8 audio i/o of the adat lightpipe, some need only two.

Even in split mode, with one RME connected to each side, giving me 32 ins and outs on each side, I need to route the 8 adat inputs on each RME (64 audio channels, or 8 adat connectors) to the 32 available connected to the madi for each side. There's no way to do that.

Here's the real kicker. Everything is digital, from sampler's to mixer to audio stems. The only D/A that is done is the monitor. And I don't hear any difference between PT and my old hardware.