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MADI in Live Concerts / Recording This example shows the Front of House mixer, which most refer to as the heart of the set-up. The majority of the signal distribution is done via the MADI Bridge. For added convenience we’ve also put a second MADI Bridge somewhere in the stage area to simultaneously distribute all the audio channels to the monitor mixer. In this particular example we have 64 input channels, but the set-up could be expanded to 128 input and 128 output channels using 2 parallel MADI systems. The stage rack and FOH mixer are simply connected via 2 MADI optical cables. The stage rack itself contains the analog microphone, line or AES/EBU interface units in the specific combination required for the performance. The analog front end can also be combined with remotely controllable microphone front ends. In addition to feeding one or two 64-channel DAW computers on the side, the MADI Bridge in the FOH area also allows you to feed a mobile recording facility and/or an outside broadcast mobile – all at the same time if necessary! All I/O connections are made by simply using 2 MADI cables (of a few hundred meters in length). In a live performance and/or recording situation, the last thing you need is analog connection problems, so anyone who’s constantly “on the road” will really appreciate having one less thing to worry about. RME units have been out on many, many shows all over the planet, and our customers have now come to rely on both the quality and sound of the hardware. People also feel happy with the way that we write and support our hardware drivers – without which even the best hardware soon becomes obsolete! Life on the road is tough enough, so each minute spent solving software or hardware problems is a waste of precious time. That’s why RME supplies all-in-one software and hardware solutions. It’s worth mentioning that in this example, only 2 MADI cables (optical or coax) are used to connect from each area i.e. the stage to the MADI Bridge, the DAWs, or an outside recording truck. No messing with heavy analog multi-cores, extra patchbays and faulty connections. Using the MIDI Remote Control software, all signal routings can be digitally controlled with just a few mouse clicks. What's more, the MADI signal lines won’t pick up any unwanted electrical fields or interference from mobile phones, transformers, power lines etc. that could spoil the performance. No hum, noise or even crosstalk to ruin your day and your hard work. Theatre Installation This example shows aspects of "how and where" various RME PremiumLine and ProLine units can be included in a permanent installation, and what their job is. The central point of this installation is the Front of House mixer. In this example we took a digital mixer equipped with a MADI card. The stage signals are no longer fed through a multi-core cable - it’s all done with two MADI connections. An ADI-648 converts the analog/digital front-end units, which can be combined and routed as required, to the MADI audio stream. This in turn is connected to one MADI Bridge to mirror all signals to the monitor area and also to another MADI Bridge as the central routing unit in the machine room, or in the control room. The MADI Bridge also lets you set up a 64-track DAW on the side for recording each performance “on the fly”. In addition, it mirrors the 128 I/O channel audio stream to an outside broadcast facility and /or mobile recording studio. Note that the system can also be expanded to 256 I/O channels by doubling the MADI units and connections at certain points. The front end can be tailored to your needs, depending on whether you need more microphone ins, or line ins for wireless microphone stacks, or whether you simply want a flexible option to cater for different needs that might arise, by having several OctaMic D or ADI-8 DS units. In this example only 2 MADI cables are required between the stage (or other areas) and the MADI Bridge unit in the central machine room. This keeps both installation time and costs to a minimum, and future maintenance of the MADI installation will be practically zero compared with any kind of multi-core solution. Any electrical interference, noise or hum that might have affected previous audio connections will be a thing of the past. Broadcast Environment This example shows a typical broadcast environment with several studios in one building, or even several buildings located within a few hundred meters. Each of the studios can be connected using up to 64 input and 64 output channels and, with a few mouse clicks in the remote software, be routed to the central audio studio on the upper right. Each studio has an ADI-648 with router and patchbay option that converts the appropriate front-end devices to the MADI standard. The studio down has its own Live Mix facility for the public. Using its own MADI Bridge, up to 64 incoming channels from the ADI-648 can be mirrored to its live mixer, while the audio information is also sent to the main studio. From here the “hot channels” for the broadcasting studio are also routed and transmitted to that studio. It’s worth keeping in mind that each of the studios in this example only requires 2 MADI cables connected to the remote-controlled MADI Bridge unit in the central machine room. This keeps both installation time and costs to a minimum, and future maintenance of the MADI installation will be practically zero compared with other kinds of multi-core solutions. Any electrical interference, noise or hum that might have affected previous audio connections, will be a thing of the past. Recording Studio Are analog mixers and mixing a thing of the past? Maybe so…but maybe not to certain people. RME ProLine products, in particular the HDSP series, have helped to make the “all in one studio” DAW a reality, but a lot of our customers who know and want to create “their individual sound" have asked us at RME for some analog desk solutions. We now offer a state-of-the-art MADI system that not only meets their needs, but also creates the best symbiosis of the digital and analog worlds to make their “dream” come true. In this example we took a 96-channel analog recording console and connected 64 analog ins and 64 analog outs to 8 ADI-8 DS units, for conversion to the digital world. All the units are linked to the ADI-648 for converting the 128 I/O audio streams to the MADI format. The MIDI Remote software enables you to remotely control the MADI Bridge, and route any of the audio streams to and from the recording room, the DAWs, or even between the pre-production studio and your desk. Of course one of your “DAWs” can be still a DASH type recorder equipped with MADI, or any kind of multi-channel tape recorder retro-fitted with a MADI interface/converter combination. In this set-up you can enjoy all the advantages of digital mixing combined with the “sound and feel” of a traditional analog mix, while enjoying hassle-free connectivity and remote controlled digital routing. In this example, each of your rooms is linked to the machine room (or dedicated control room area) via just 2 MADI cables. This keeps installation time and costs to a minimum. Future maintenance of the MADI installation will be practically zero compared with other multi-core/patchbay solutions. Electrical interference, noise, hum and crackling on the connections will be a thing of the past. Your studio will be supercharged to a new hum- and noise-free level, and transformed in its versatility range within the digital domain, including all the advantages of a remotely controllable, maintenance-free digital routing system. 64-channel DAW integration, without losing any of the analog charm! One of our customers calls it the “balance of the Ying and Yang audio worlds" MADI in the Sound Stage / Dubbing Facility - MADI in Post-Production In this example we’ve directly interfaced an AMD Opteron or INTEL XEON-based computer with 2 MADI cards to a Euphonix System 5 desk, offering up to 256 I/O channel total for running your mixes. An additional TC Powercore card provides a cost-effective alternative, compared with other hardware-based post systems that have the same 256 I/O channel configuration. At the same time, the Powercore platform provides many of the same plug-ins only previously available in other dedicated hardware solutions. Interfacing YAMAHA Mixers to a MADI System A lot of customers have asked us how to interface a YAMAHA DM 2000/1000, O2r96 or even a PMD series mixer to a MADI system. The company Audio Service has developed the MY16MAD64 MADI card for YAMAHA mixers. This card is compatible with all RME MADI products. The MY16MAD64 card is the perfect solution for limited YAMAHA mixer card slots, offering one main slot while allowing several slave slots. With a DM 2000 i.e., this solution gives you full 128-channel I/O support, with two slots left over for additional I/Os. Solutions for the PM5D are also available. Please visit www.audio-service.com for more information, or ask your RME representative for a customized MADI solution. Multiple MADI Cards in One Computer As we’ve mentioned in the examples, multiple MADI cards or a combination of a HDSP MADI and HDSP AES-32 card can also be used in one machine to expand the total number of channels up to 256 I/O or even more. Although most current INTEL P4 or Athlon-based systems can handle two cards, the data throughput in high-speed computer systems powered with AMD Opteron or INTEL XEON machines will be even more powerful, depending on the chosen multiple PCI control options and hard disk (array) solutions. RME recommend INTEL and AMD dual processor systems for expanding the number of MADI cards and the full load of 256 I/O channels. At the time of this brochure going to press, we’re investigating the brand new generation of dual core processors and main boards. Please check our website for current info on this issue. The use of multiple HDSP cards in one computer not only makes sense in increasing the number of channels, it also allows you to expand the variety of interface connections to and from different sources like DAWs or digital patchbays, via the HDSP MADI cards. In reality, you might not actually exceed the 128 simultaneous II/O channels on one card. Interfacing Various DAWs Interfacing computer-based DAWs to a mixer via MADI is a convenient and powerful solution for running 128 channels back and forth using just two optical or coax cables, compared with other interface techniques. In contrast, 8-channel block solutions would need up to 16 connections for the same number of channels to be transmitted. In addition, interfacing a number of 64 input channel DAWs to one audio stream via the MADI Bridge for additional security set ups (Havarie systems) is easy, convenient and more reliable using MADI interface techniques. |
