Mbox 2 Mini - Laptop & Usb Hub?

[blizzard]

Hey All,

I am trying to get a simple laptop editing and VSTi rig setup and have a question about the Mbox Mini. Are there any working setups out there that incorporate a USB hub? I have two USB ports on my Macbook and need my midi controller, iLok, and Mbox Mini all hooked up at once.

Cheers,
Andrew

[blizzard]

I should mention that I do know that usb hubs are unsupported by Digi. But sometimes you savvy people have ways of making things work...just thought I'd check!

[tho3hite]

In their list of Do's and Don'ts Digi tells us not to use USB hubs (and not to do a lot of other stuff too). However in another thread on this forum a user representing DigiTech support suggested that he had fewer problems with his set up when he hooked his M-Box to a USB hub.

[blizzard]

I have searched for the thread you mention but can't seem to find it...do you have a link?

I'm thinking that I will just get a powered usb hub and use that for my iLoks and Midi Keyboard, and then my Mbox will have a dedicated usb port.

Anyone using both an iLok (or multiple iLoks) and a Midi Keyboard on a usb hub?

Does anyone foresee any problems with running this many usb devices alongside the Mbox Mini?

Andrew

[tho3hite]

http://duc.digidesign.com/showthread.php?t=194592

[Dism]

Originally Posted by blizzard

I have searched for the thread you mention but can't seem to find it...do you have a link?

I'm thinking that I will just get a powered usb hub and use that for my iLoks and Midi Keyboard, and then my Mbox will have a dedicated usb port.

Anyone using both an iLok (or multiple iLoks) and a Midi Keyboard on a usb hub?

Does anyone foresee any problems with running this many usb devices alongside the Mbox Mini?

Andrew

Always always always plug the MBox directly to a USB port. No hub, no anything in between. Everything else is fine. I run my MIDI devices, iLok, iPod, etc etc through a hub in the other port, just NOT the MBox. As long as you keep it on it's own port, you should be fine.

[getz76]

The iLok is fine on a powered hub. I would guess most MIDI devices will also be fine on a powered hub, but it really would depend on the device.

[Dism]

Generally, my rule for USB hubs is don't use them for system critical devices. I never use them for audio interfaces, and I tend to avoid using them with hard drives when possible, though most of mine are FW now. If you have USB video interfaces, and other similar devices, it is typically recommended that you don't use a hub. However, hubs are very useful for powered, low-data devices, i.e. MIDI devices.

I've used several different MIDI interfaces, be it control surface or input device, and they all seem to benefit from a powered hub, since most of them are powered via USB alone. MIDI is also a comparatively small amount of data to send/receive, so it is unlikely that a hub will mess with it. Typically, my hub will have my laptop cooler, ipod/cell phone, ilok and my AlphaTrack (HUI control surface) all plugged in. The MBox stays in it's respective USB port by itself. I've never had any related issues with this setup.

[blizzard]

Great!

I'm going to pick up a powered USB hub and plug my 2 iLoks, midi controller, flash drive, and usb mouse into the hub and my Mbox Mini into the other. This way I can also experiment with using the powered hub with the Mini and see what happens.

But first, I shall upgrade from 7.3.1 to 8!!! Been waiting for this one!

Cheers,
Andrew