PT9 incompatibility with Madixtreme 128 in OSX

[wwerwath]

We just recently setup a neat Madi system in our studio, using Madixtreme 128 cards to get audio to/from our one live room to our 6 project studios over fiber lines. Unfortunately, PT9 is not compatible with the Madixtreme 128. Something about it's i/o limitation. I've tried to contact Avid support but my complimentary support code ran out 2 weeks ago and I don't feel like spending the money on a new code to contact them about a problem with there software. Anyone had experience with this and/or know whats going on with it? SSL says they are working on a fix, but I'm not holding my breath. I would really hate to have to switch all of our workstations over to Logic or DP, but at the moment I don't really have a choice...

[[email protected]]

We are having the same problems with our main control room equipped with a SSL MadiXtreme 128. Pro Tools crash on startup when trying to create DAE objects.

In our secondary control room where running on a MadiXtreme 64 which is working fine with Pro Tools.

I've been in contact with the SSL support which confirmed the problem to be caused by the large amount of inputs and outputs on the card. They are looking for a fix but since the card is using Core Audio and working fine with both Logic and Ableton Live (I've confirmed this on our machine) they claim they can't do much at the moment.

The problem seems to be in Pro Tools so it probably has to be fixed by Avid.

To bad since we're running 40+ machines with Pro Tools 9, all working fine, except for this one. Would be sad to have to do all major sessions in some other DAW.

[DigiTechSupt]

Originally Posted by wwerwath

We just recently setup a neat Madi system in our studio, using Madixtreme 128 cards to get audio to/from our one live room to our 6 project studios over fiber lines. Unfortunately, PT9 is not compatible with the Madixtreme 128. Something about it's i/o limitation. I've tried to contact Avid support but my complimentary support code ran out 2 weeks ago and I don't feel like spending the money on a new code to contact them about a problem with there software. Anyone had experience with this and/or know whats going on with it? SSL says they are working on a fix, but I'm not holding my breath. I would really hate to have to switch all of our workstations over to Logic or DP, but at the moment I don't really have a choice...

Are you experiencing crashes or the 32 IO limitation in Pro Tools?

The 32 IO limitation I can't do anything about, but crashes are another matter.

If you can provide all the details about your problem and system from the Help Us Help You sticky I'll see what I can do.

The same would go for [email protected]

[LanceK]

So is there a 32 track limit with MADI as far as how many tracks can go into record at once? I have the RME MADI interface and can't seem to get more than 32 tracks recording at once. If this is true, what is the workaround? TIA

[[email protected]]

I do indeed experience crashes every time I launch Pro Tools. The splash screen is displayed and everything seems to be okay until "Creating DAE Objects" is shown, where it halts and crashes after a second or two.

Zapping the PRAM or resetting SMC don't fix the issue. Even in a clean install of OS X 10.6.7 with just OS X (first with and then without patches through Software Update), MadiXtreme drivers and Pro Tools 9.0.3 the problem still occurs.

I have an almost identical setup running Pro Tools 9.0.3 HD with a MadiXtreme 64 which is working fine so the problem seems to be with the MadiXtreme 128 card.

Both Apple Logic Pro and Ableton Live as well as system audio is working fine with the setup so problem seem to be with Pro Tools.

My system specifications are:
Mac Pro (4,1) with Quad-Core Intel Xeon 2.26 GHz.
12 GB RAM (DDR3 ECC 1066MHz)
Nvidia GT 120 display card on PCIe slot 1
SSL MadiXtreme 128 on PCIe slot 2 (connected to two SSL AlphaLink through MADI cables)
Two HDD (both SATA, formatted with one journaled MAC OS Extended partition)
- Hitachi HDE721064SLA360 640GB for OS X
- SAMSUNG HD501LJ 500GB for audio
Both network port are used
- en0 for Internet access
- en1 for connection to our Avid ISIS 5000
USB only connects mouse and keyboard (through USB extender)

Software:
Mac OS X 10.6.7 (also tested with 10.6.3 and 10.6.6 and with and without latest software updates)
Pro Tools 9.0.3 HD (also tested with 9.0.2)
SSL MadiXtreme drivers


Here also is the conversation with SSL support:

Response (Vincent C) 21/07/2011 04.24 PM
Dear Mikael,

Sorry that you have encountered this problem.

In our experience Pro Tools should work with a MadiXtreme 64, but will choke on startup with a MadiXtreme 128, probably due to the high number of I/O.

This is entirely down to Avid, as other DAW software does not have any issue.

SSL may in future be able to provide a fix, but I cannot make any promises, let alone announce a release date.

Sorry that this is not very helpful. In this case contacting Avid may be a good idea, because if enough Pro Tools users ask for a solution perhaps they will fix their driver.

Best regards,
SSL Service.


Auto-Response 21/07/2011 03.06 PM
The following FAQs were automatically selected based on the question you asked:

Title: Why has MadiXtreme disappeared from the I/O page in Pro Tools 9?
Link: http://solid-state-logic-en.custhelp...ted=1310567003

Title: Is pro Tools 9 Native compatible with my SSL audio card?
Link: http://solid-state-logic-en.custhelp...ted=1291045412


Customer (Mikael Jorhult) 21/07/2011 03.06 PM
Hi,
We're are in the progress updating all our systems to Pro Tools for the semester this fall. While doing this we encountered a serious problem in our main control room - having MadiXtreme installed will cause Pro Tools 9 to crash on startup.

After doing some googling and reading up in the DUC I've come to know that this is a known issue but I haven't been able to find a suggested fix for it.

Is there a way to solve this?

Best regards,
Mikael

Technician
Dalarna University
Department of Media Studies
Falun, Sweden

[DigiTechSupt]

Originally Posted by LanceK

So is there a 32 track limit with MADI as far as how many tracks can go into record at once? I have the RME MADI interface and can't seem to get more than 32 tracks recording at once. If this is true, what is the workaround? TIA

There is no workaround - it's simply a limitation of Pro Tools 9. Only Native HD and HD TDM offer more IO with Pro Tools.

[DigiTechSupt]

Originally Posted by [email protected]

I do indeed experience crashes every time I launch Pro Tools. The splash screen is displayed and everything seems to be okay until "Creating DAE Objects" is shown, where it halts and crashes after a second or two.

Zapping the PRAM or resetting SMC don't fix the issue. Even in a clean install of OS X 10.6.7 with just OS X (first with and then without patches through Software Update), MadiXtreme drivers and Pro Tools 9.0.3 the problem still occurs.

I have an almost identical setup running Pro Tools 9.0.3 HD with a MadiXtreme 64 which is working fine so the problem seems to be with the MadiXtreme 128 card.

Both Apple Logic Pro and Ableton Live as well as system audio is working fine with the setup so problem seem to be with Pro Tools.

My system specifications are:
Mac Pro (4,1) with Quad-Core Intel Xeon 2.26 GHz.
12 GB RAM (DDR3 ECC 1066MHz)
Nvidia GT 120 display card on PCIe slot 1
SSL MadiXtreme 128 on PCIe slot 2 (connected to two SSL AlphaLink through MADI cables)
Two HDD (both SATA, formatted with one journaled MAC OS Extended partition)
- Hitachi HDE721064SLA360 640GB for OS X
- SAMSUNG HD501LJ 500GB for audio
Both network port are used
- en0 for Internet access
- en1 for connection to our Avid ISIS 5000
USB only connects mouse and keyboard (through USB extender)

Software:
Mac OS X 10.6.7 (also tested with 10.6.3 and 10.6.6 and with and without latest software updates)
Pro Tools 9.0.3 HD (also tested with 9.0.2)
SSL MadiXtreme drivers


Here also is the conversation with SSL support:

I'm looking into this now with our test group - initial information seemed to indicate that the 128 MADI Extreme should work without crashing (but still limited to the 32 IO...).

[wwerwath]

I too have been in contact with SSL, and they told me something quite different. They said they were working on a work around, probably something to do with disabling some of the inputs. I understand that PT9 native has limited I/O, but it would be nice if we could still use the program and be able to disable inputs and outputs instead of it just crashing. I actually don't need all 128 i/o, but I do need access to both madi ports. There has to be some kind of way to make this work...

[Park Seward]

Originally Posted by DigiTechSupt

There is no workaround - it's simply a limitation of Pro Tools 9. Only Native HD and HD TDM offer more IO with Pro Tools.

Doesn't the Toolkit offer more I/O?

"Playback of up to or a combination of playing back and recording up to 192 mono tracks or 96 stereo tracks (192 available voices) at 44.1 kHz and 48 kHz"

[wwerwath]

Perhaps, if we wanted to spend $2,000 per computer... although that is referencing tracks within a session. We are talking available inputs from a hardware device. Not sure if that actually means more i/o...