Yesterday I was in Paris checking out the SPQ implementation with a customer, I felt that a visit was necessary as the initial test were made long distance with me in London and the MTRX with SPQ card in Amsterdam! This timeI wanted to be in the same room as the TMC-1/2, MTRX and SPQ card, to check for myself that it is working correctly and that the documentation was understood by the customer, installer and myself!
When we designed the TMC-1-Penta the SPQ card did not exist, the SPQ card adds a lot of functionality to the NTP system, we want to incorporate this with the TMC. The SPQ is like any other card within the NTP rack unit and the SPQ channels are defined by the card slot and Channel number which can be assigned to any speaker channel using the TMC insert points.
The TMC-1 has been available for three years now, following suggestions from some users we have added the TMC-2. The TMC-2 has 13 more keys than the TMC-1 but it is only 20mm wider.
I have been asked several times how to calibrate the speakers using the TMC-1, you can find the answer buried in the reference manual or read this quick post.
There are two ways of calibrating the inputs and speaker outputs
We designed the TFT-422 remote at the same time as we designed the DFC-422 Remote. The DFC remote is designed to fit in the AMS Neve DFC console. A number of DFC-422 remotes were built for Twickenham Studios , Goldcrest and others. A prototype of the TFT-422 was made and photographed but none were sold at the time. . The advantage of the TFT-422 over the UR-422 or SR-422 are that the 3.5” TFT Display that allows for the status of multiple machines to be displayed and that the 7 LCD macro keys may be reprogrammed without the need to update a paper label.
The latest PD-1v2 update available from the PD-1 web page allows a maximum of 128 tracks on the Main Output and 64 tracks on the Aux Output. The diagram below shows how to connect the PD-1 with two protools and run the PD-2-win/mac software on one of the protools/
We have released the first version of the new PD-2 software for existing PD-1 users.
The main advantage of the new software is that you can record on up to 128 tracks on one protools or 2x64 tracks two protools. There are now 16 stems each of which can be up to 16 tracks wide. To access the extra stems/tracks the [Assign] key becomes a [Bank] key. To allow for object stems of greater than 16 tracks I am in the process of adding a link command that will allow multiple stems to be linked. Print Master Stems and Linked stems may be placed on the second bank as they do not need to be accessed as often.
The new Mac/Windows app. allows you to define the stem layout. The first version on this software is suitable for users with a single PD-1 and I am working on an new version that will allow users with two PD-1's to define different stem layouts on each PD-1. Here is a screenshot
After showing this to a PD-1 user they suggested an alternative layout which I worked on below
Whilst the traditional layout worked well with track counts up to 48, I can see that the alternative layout fits on a single screen with no scrolling required. When object stems of greater than 16 tracks are added they spill across multiple stems which are generated automatically.
You can download the first version of the Mac/Win app. now, if you decide to try it out you can install the firmware in your PD-1 and use it for about a week before it will demand that you pay for a License! I will issue a revised version of the app with a firmware upgrade before the end of the year.
For the future I am developing the PD-2. This includes a OLED display and Ethernet connection to allow both of the PD-1 serial ports to be dedicated to machine control and the possibility of 192 tracks or 2x128 tracks. A hardware upgrade should be available for existing PD-1 users.
The PD-3 which combines the PD-2 with a TMC-1 is available now
To Fit the PD-3 in an S-6 Module we had to make a compromise and lose the three keys on the left. The PD-2 will include these keys.
