ADAT to PC

[flatrockrecordin]

With 2 ADATS and a sound card that supports ADAT optical, how do you get all 16 tracks into a computer multitrack system? Do you daisy chain the light pipes- out to in, then out to the PC? Would it carry all 16 tracks?

 

[Ora]

If you have a card that has 16 channels of lightpipe inputs, just connect the lightpipe outputs to your card's lightpipe inputs and record. I just did this...
If your card has less than 16 lightpipe inputs, then you need to record them in two passes (max 8 tracks at a time).
But now you need to consider track alignment..

1. If your sound card supports adat sync (NOT exactly same as word clock) and your sotfware allows for sample accurate sync then it is just a matter of connecting/configuring everything and recording those 8 passes. All should be in perfect alignment all the time.
2. If case #1 is not true then one way to do it is to record
a hit tone across all 16 tracks. Then record them in 8-track passes and manually align them using the hit tone as a cue.

What hardware do you have?

Regards
Ora

 

[LapTop006]

Clarification

I think I can explain this a bit better, I use 2 ADAT XT20's connected via. lightpipe to an O2R.

1. Each lightpipe can only send 8 chanels of 20 bit 48khz audio.

-- I'm waiting for 8chanels of 24 bit 96khz myself

2. You want the ADAT's synced to each other (they come with a cable to do that in the box)

3. DON'T MOVE ADAT's, for a whole year we were continuosly having ADAT's replaced due to a fried transport because of being moved around, find there place and leave them there -- don't move them between the studio and you pc.

4. You want a PC soundcard with 4 lightpipe connectors and either an ADAT sync or a workclok input. IE. 2 in, 2 out (if you want 16 channels out otherwise just 2 in), I suggest getting this in addition to your current soundcard.

5. for 2 or more ADAT's I reccoment getting a BRC and using that to control the recorders.

-- I put a LRC remote (transport remote) into one of the connectors on the back of the brc, then attatching it to a blank part of the O2R, helps a lot during recording sessions, I put the other in front of the ADAT's themselves to remind me to not use their controls (does bad things)

LapTop006