Can this be done ?? (Locking two LE systems together)

[gtrplyr1]

Hi,

I'm interested in locking two LE systems together for the purposes of playing back some files in a live situation. I'd like to lock two systems together so that if one goes down I can switch in "real time" .... is there any possibility of doing this and what hardware is required ? (I've got the audio portion worked out already and can send 2 sets of 8 outs to a box that can be switched on the fly to either the A or B rig) I've seen it done with Digital Performer and it worked like a charm but I'd like to do it with pro tools.

Thanks,

PD

[DigiTechSupt]

Sure - all you would need to send MTC and sample clock (via SPDIF, ADAT, etc.) from one system to the other.

Hardware required - some kind of MIDI connection between the two, as well as the sample clock connection.

[gtrplyr1]

Thanks,

Would this require any additional software ? Such as the DV Toolkit ?

-PD

[DigiTechSupt]

In a word - no. Just send MTC from one system to the other, set one system to clock to the other systems SPDIF or ADAT signal and you're pretty much set. Finer details can be found in the Synchronization section of the Pro Tools Reference Guide.

[gtrplyr1]

Thanks once again for the reply. I still have a question ... the reason for locking two systems together would be to have a backup available "on the fly" ... so in the way you have described it one system is the master and the other would be the "slave" ... now if the master goes down for any reason (computer crash ....) then would the slave keep playing ?

So the idea is :

2 Laptops
2 003r's

Outputs of both 003's are sent to a master switcher that sends the output (either A or B) to FOH.

Thanks,

PD

[comprodman]

This has been discussed loads of times and the short answer is no 2 003's or 002's can't be linked even via two laptops as there is no way of actually locking them properly even via a MTC.

[jre3132]

Originally Posted by gtrplyr1

So the idea is :

2 Laptops
2 003r's

Outputs of both 003's are sent to a master switcher that sends the output (either A or B) to FOH.

Thanks,

PD

In this setup, the backup should stop when the master stops/crashes. If time code is generated from the master and it stops, the slave will too. For this type of situation you would probably need an external time code generator. That way all time code is independent of either computer. If either crash, the other will continue.

I'm not sure why the previous poster said it won't work. Digi has confirmed that it will.

[gtrplyr1]

Yeah , I thought the slave would stop as well. I don't really need them to be "sample locked" since it's not for tracking ... maybe there is a way for both of them to just "start" together .... that would probably do it ... I would load the exact same session on both computers and simply need a way for one button push to start both .... maybe connecting a footswitch with a Y connection to both interfaces ... that way we could just hit the footswitch and it "Should" start both at the same time ....

Any thoughts ?

Thanks to everyone who has responded.

PD

[jre3132]

that could work. I'm not sure if some type of diode would be needed on your footswitch or Y connection though. I guess if they're both set to internal and not looking for sync though, it wouldn't matter if it fed back through the Y.

I'm not sure how to run a footswitch without something to read it though. Most of the digi control surfaces have an input for that.

[SKI]

Originally Posted by gtrplyr1

Hi,

so that if one goes down I can switch in "real time" .... is

Realtime switching.

More like if one goes down you can use the other.