Requests for more user functions on the TMC-1

First an apology: There was a bug in the initial postings of the latest TMC-1 software. This has now been corrected, it was only up for a few hours.

As soon as I increase functionality on the TMC-1 or any other product I get requests for even more. I am not complaining though, I am happy that customers are using the unit and are providing feedback. Owen who runs The Bridge Sound and Stage has provided me with good feedback on using the TMC-1 in a stereo music environment. As I have not worked in music studios for 30 years I needed it! Below is a screenshot from the TMC-1 configuration tool showings Owen's current keyboard layout. Hopefully I will be able to update this in the future - Owen has also promised photo's of his studio.

RM-6 - Print Master function and TFT Remote

The RM-6 is an established design and it is unusual to make major upgrades after over 13 years.

The Print Master function was added to the PD-1 after about 1 year, the function is simple, define one or more stems as a Print masters. If any stem enters record the printmaster stems also enters record, the Print master stems go out of record when all other tracks drop out of record. Thus any modification made to a stem is also recorded on the print master stem.

Not all consoles include the print master function in their Pec/Direct panel, to overcome this problem I added the printmaster function to the RM-6. At the same time I had to add a Printmaster macro to CBServer, CBServer3, and the new TFT Remote control for the RM-6. To enable/disable the printmaster setting is very simple.

To Enable:
1) Stop
2) Arm the print master tracks
3) Depress the Print master Macro Key
 the Print master macro key will illuminate and  the armed tracks will turn off.

To Disable
With no tracks armed depress the Print Master key

TFT Remote
We have now supplied 7 TFT panels 5 to upgrade existing RM-6 installations and 2 with a new RM-6 installation. The TFT-Remote is very versatile and can be used with existing remote panels, with CBServer and CBServer3. Multiple remotes can be used with the RM-6. The panel below includes 18 TFT keys, there advantage is that not only can the text displayed be changed with function but the illumination intensity and colour are also prograable.

TMC-1 major s/w update

When showing the TMC-1 to possible customers it became evident that there were many different requirements from a stereo music studio,  7.1 and even 80 channel Atmos and Auro.

To cope with this we have made the TMC-1 keyboard and display more user programable as well as providing a new Mac/Windows programming tool. The reaction from beta testers is very favourable.

Here is the new meters screen, all 8 of the keys below the screen are programable, their function is displayed at the bottom of the screen. `you cam also see the new input selection indicator.

Here is the Mac/Windows user key and naming screens

USB422 Latency and Yosemite III - Solved

Today I posted on the USB-422 web page signed low latency drivers for Yosemite.

The certification from Apple arrived when I was on holiday and it took a while before I could update the software. I checked the driver on the Yosemite macbook air that I purchased for testing. I certified the driver on a separate computer so that I could be sure that the driver was certified for all computers.

The hardest part of the installation is to be sure that the Low Latency driver is being used. Please read the MacLow installation notes! You can use the Latency check program that I wrote to be sure.

You can see the two versions installed below.

 Please let me know if you have any problems!

Yosemite and Latency II - More Problems

Last week I had a customer report more problems with Yosemite so I tried to replicate my last results - and failed! I then re-installed Yosemite from scratch and still failed!

To help make tests I wrote a small test program which measures the total time to send and receive a message.
 http://www.colinbroad.com/cbsoft/usb422/latency-mac.zip
Note: It is the maximum time that is of interest.

On investigation I discovered with the help of others that Yosemite requires signed drivers, if you rename the kext files or edit the plist file it disables the signing and the driver will no longer install.

I am now waiting for certification from Apple which will take 7 - 10 days assuming that they approve my application. If I get certification I will build a certified driver.

There is one alternative if you need it now, you can run a uncertified driver by disabling the gatekeeper which will then allow uncertified drivers to run. Wolfgang at SMM has confirmed this works.  Note: this allows any uncertified program to run with out confirmation.

TMC-1 User Interface

You may have noticed the change in the description below the title. I have worked on the TMC-1-Penta design since the beginning of the year and I am now happy to release it on our customers. In the process I have updated the User Interface for both versions of the TMC-1 (XMon and Penta) a number of times.

I have to thank Owen Curtin at the Bridge Soundstage for his feedback, Owen was the first person to order a TMC-1-Xmon about 6 months ago. Although I have not always implemented his suggestions they made me look at his problems and come up with my own solutions. Owen also came up with solutions to two of the limitations of the X-Mon - Monitoring the Studio Loudspeakers in the control room and playing back into the Studio from a different source to the Control Room.

I hope that my existing users will find the time and patience to upgrade to the new user interface and will like the changes that I have made.  If there is anything that I have removed that you want back or anything else that you need, let me know and I will try and work out a way.

Unless I have an urgent request or bug fix I hope that this will be the last User Interface upgrade for a while.

The picture below shows the new Meters Page with the Sum source indication, user defined names and Meter layout, you can also see one of the new user key functions [SLS A/B].
Note: I disconnected XMon to stop the Meters.

Yosemite and USB-422 Latency

Having updated Mavericks for USB Latency I was still getting a few emails from customers about Yosemite.  Because I use my macbook as my main machine running Mac, Windows and DOS and do all my work on this computer I was reluctant to upgrade just in case of problems.

Whilst in the USA for NAB I bought a new macbook with Yosemite pre-installed I can now use this machine for trying out new programs. I followed the posted instructions and disabled the Apple driver. You can use the 'ls' command to check that the driver has been disabled (Renamed). I then went to the FTDI web site where I discovered that FTDI had posted a new driver for the Mac that very same week! Version 2.3 2015-04-15. I installed the new FTDI driver, used KextDrop to add the low latency driver and restarted the computer. Everything worked OK and the port was discovered correctly.

I had to wait until I got back to my office to measure the latency, as you can see below it measures at 1mSec s expected. The Yellow trace is the command from the Mac via the USB422 and the Blue trace is the reply from our RM-6 synchroniser. They are both set up to send a message immediately after receiving a message. The USB runs a 1mSec poll so that there is approximately a 1mSec delay on the Mac. The embedded software reacts a lot faster as it is not limited by the USB Poll.