Hello,
Currently planning out a show without access to our S3 board. How am I supposed to take timecode in? There is no software option to set an audio input, setting the default in Windows settings does not work, Google shows an old V2 guide explaining how to convert SMPTE to MTC and then loopback into Vista, but these are all clunky. I’m posting in releases but am currently running the V4 beta. If there is any way to do this for my programming efforts, I’m all ears.
This document has the answer to your question.
CQTB005_Midi_and_LTC_in_Vista_3.pdf (492.6 KB)
If you are interested in a hardware solution, I recommend using this product:
https://www.doremidi.cn/h-pd-49.html
Hey,
I’ve seen this document. It was the one i referred to when i said
Google shows an old V2 guide explaining how to convert SMPTE to MTC and then loopback into Vista, but these are all clunky.
The S3 has an XLR input, so there is definitely software support for a usb interface. Is there no way to use that? All the other places we are using timecode are on SMPTE so i dont want to have to translate.
The only way to make Vista understand LTC without a console with LTC input is to convert LTC to MTC. Vista will “see” your MIDI driver, but will not see any sound devices.
Showcockpit and Vista LTC to MTC conversion would be our advice when working without a console.
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The thing is with showcockpit is that it will randomly turn off if you don’t buy it, which isnt good. Espescially when i have a 512ch license and am running all other apps activated and working fine. Maybe there can be an included SMPTE to MTC converter, similar to the macOS usb driver installer.
Correct. Show Cockpit is not a free application. You would need to purchase the correct Show Cockpit plug in.
This method is the only way to do a LTC to MTC conversion on Windows.
The other methods could be Artnet or Midi Timecode, which can run over Ethernet with no conversion required, but this of course assumes your control source also supports these protocols.
The S3 and S1 consoles contained a hardware LTC chip. This was not just an audio interface but a specifically made chip that handled both LTC and MIDI. there was only one company that made these chips and they decided a number of years ago to stop. This is the reason why the last run of S1 consoles (and the current EX) no longer had either MIDI or LTC. There are the audio workarounds as noted in the technote which work, and more recently, the Dore Midi device previously linked.
Unless your timecode sending device can only output LTC, I strongly recommend looking into MTC over network instead. I have personally found it to be much more reliable over the analog LTC signal.
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HI !
I use and recommend such a device - it works very well