E X P A N D I N G Y O U R P C I E - 4 2 4 S Y S T E M
14
Working with input and output menus
With multiple interfaces connected, input and output menus
show all available ports on all interfaces, as demonstrated
below in Figure 4-3. If interfaces are configured to share the
same type of I/O format (analog, for example), their outputs
are labeled with the bank letter (A, B or C) and interface
name, along with numbered suffixes (e.g. 2408mk3-1,
2408mk3-2, etc.) according to the order in which they are
connected to the PCIe-424 card as shown in Figure 4-1 on
page 13.
Figure 4-3: Input and output menus show the ports of all connected interfaces. In
this example, there are three 2408mk3 interfaces and one 24I/O interface.
CUEMIX DSP ROUTING AMONG INTERFACES
The PCIe-424 card, with its CueMix DSP engine, ties all
connected audio interfaces together, allowing them to act as
a massive audio routing matrix for mixing, merging,
splitting and routing to/from all connected inputs and
outputs. You can route any input to any output, create
multiple mix busses and mix inputs to outputs across all
interfaces.
SYNCHRONIZING MULTIPLE INTERFACES
The entire PCIe-424 system gets its clock from whatever you
choose from the
Clock Source
menu in the MOTU PCI Audio
Console window. Synchronization across all connected
interfaces is sample-accurate. All available sync sources on
all connected interfaces are displayed in the menu as
demonstrated below in Figure 4-4.
Figure 4-4: The entire PCIe-424 system can be clocked from any sync source on any
connected interface. After you choose a source from this menu, the entire system,
including all connected interfaces, synchronizes to it with sample-accurate preci-
sion. This example shows three 2408mk3 interfaces and one 24I/O interface.
Word clock connections are not necessary
Each MOTU PCI audio interface in the system gets its clock
from the Audio Wire cable connection to the PCIe-424 card
(unless it is the master clock itself). There is no need to make
word clock connections between interfaces.
SAMPLE RATE ISSUES
While the PCIe-424 card can operate at sample rates as high
as 192 kHz, not all MOTU PCI audio interfaces support the
higher rates. When choosing high sample rates (above 48
kHz) interfaces that do not support the rate will be
temporarily taken off line by the system.
2408mk3 #1
2408mk3 #2
2408mk3 #3
24I/O (on
Audio Wire
port #4)
