system timer vs soundcard timer

  • Thread starter Thread starter shackrock
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shackrock

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should i be using the system timer, or the soundcard timer for recording? for playback?

delta 44
system is a really fast one, windows xp, 512 ram, amd xp2000 (runs at 1800 i think?)...etc. etc.

for use with ntrack.
 
Ya got me here. What's a system timer? Are you refering to the sampling clock source?
 
I have no idea...which is why i questioned it. haha. I mean, do i want to have a fast timer (computer?) or maybe an accurate one (delta44)? haha.

i really have no clue, but by default it is checked to use system timer (computer). here is what the ntrack help says:

Use system timer for playback time: when this option is checked the program will calculate the current playback time using the computer timer. If the option is unchecked the program will use the playback time reported directly from the soundcard

Use system timer for recording time: when this option is checked the program will calculate the current recording time using the computer timer. If the option is unchecked the program will use the recording time reported directly from the soundcard
 
OK, that doesn't sound at all like a sampling frequency thing. Sorry, can't help you.
 
Well, I believe that those settings are just for the display clock (the one that you look at). They determine whether n-Track uses the system timer (the computer's RTC) or the soundcard's timer to tell you what time it is.

Not sure if there's any difference in quality, but I use the soundcard timer option. It seems to me that something like a punch in would be more precise if n-Track was deriving its time from the soundcard and not the system. That's just a guess though.

Slackmaster 2000
 
Interesting one.
Sonar has a system time option and in that case its recommended for midi only work. If you use Audio with or without midi, you should use the Soundcard timer.
My Sonar manual hints that the System Timer uses lower background CPU cycles (I guess because it already comes with a real time clock function). With audio, everything is synced to the soundcard sample rate and the sequencer then also has to calculate actual time in refererence to this rate.
This explanation makes sense (I think) but I wont promise its the whole truth ;)
 
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