User manual

661
Synchronization
Working with VST System Link
Making connections
Below, we assume that you are connecting two computers. Should you have more than
two computers, it is still best to start with two and add the others one by one once the
system is working – this makes troubleshooting easier if you run into problems. For two
computers, you will need two digital audio cables, one in each direction:
1. Use the first digital audio cable to connect the digital output of computer 1 to the
digital input of computer 2.
2. Use the other cable to connect the digital output of computer 2 to the digital input
of computer 1.
• If a card has more than one set of inputs and outputs, choose whichever one that
suits you – for simplicity usually the first set is best.
Synchronization
Before you proceed, you need to make sure that the clock signals on your ASIO cards
are synchronized correctly. This is essential when cabling any kind of digital audio
system, not just VST System Link.
The clock mode or sync mode is set up in the ASIO control panel of the audio
hardware. Proceed as follows:
1. From the Devices menu, open the Device Setup dialog.
2. On the VST Audio System page, select your audio interface from the ASIO Driver
pop-up menu.
In the Devices list, the name of the audio interface now appears as a subentry to
the “VST Audio System” entry.
3. In the Devices list, select your audio interface.
4. Click the Control Panel button.
The ASIO control panel appears.
5. Open the ASIO control panel on the other computer as well.
If you are using another VST System Link host application on that computer, check
its documentation for details on how to open the ASIO control panel.
6. Now you need to make sure that one audio card is set to be the clock master and
all other cards are set to be clock slaves (i.
e. they listen for the clock signal coming
from the clock master).
The naming and procedure for this differs depending on the audio hardware –
consult its documentation if required. If you are using Steinberg Nuendo ASIO
hardware, all cards default to the AutoSync setting. In this case you must set one of
the cards (and only one) to “Master” in the Clock Mode section of the control panel.
• Typically, the ASIO control panel for an audio card contains some indication of
whether or not the card receives a proper sync signal, including the sample rate of
that signal.
This is a good indication that you have connected the cards and set up clock sync
properly. Check your audio hardware’s documentation for details.
!
All digital audio cables by definition always carry a clock signal as well as audio
signals, so you do not have to use a special word clock input and output for this
(although you may find that you get a slightly more stable audio system if you do,
especially when using multiple computers).
!
It is very important that only one card is the clock master, otherwise the network
cannot function correctly. Once you have set this up, all the other cards in the network
will take their clock signal from this card automatically.