VS880EX digital audio xfer into PTLE via Digi001

Brent's method worked fine for me. Are you getting a message of no digital signal to lock to? Are you sure you've got the VS set correctly. Have you been able to see the digital output of the VS with any other audio device?

Hi Burton. Yeah, I THINK I've got the VS set right. I've gone over it's set up a few times, looking for where I messed up. I'm going to try again after a nap --- FWI, over 7 hours to transfer 48 5 minute tracks via "Import Audio From Other Movie". *yawn* Guess I'll give another call to Roland support... AND, I'm seriously considering shelling out $200 for the Airworks VSLink software!! ooops, that should be

Hey, I've never seen that software before. Do you know if it's been developed with Roland's authorization? It also doesn't specify whether compressed data files (such as MT1 and MT2 modes) can be converted to .aiff. The software that I've seen thus far, has only been able to handle non-compressed source files because the Roland RDAC data compression is proprietary and Roland has been unwilling to share it with any developers. Thanks for the info.

Looking at that page again, I'm pretty sure that the software is outdated and not going to work with the 880ex. The page is copyrighted in 1999 and mentions PowerPC o/s 7.5.

Make sure that your 880EX's digital output 1 (i think that's the s/pdif) is mirroring the master buss. Or, you can configure it as direct out's for tracks 1/2, 3/4, 5/6, or 7/8. If you hit shift/fader edit (I think) you get to some master system-like options. Cursor all the way to the right and you'll start seeing options like direct outputs, digital output 1, digital output 2, etc. This is where you choose which outputs get what.

Ha! I knew it had to be something simple and stoopid! After chasing my tail for over a week with this, I finally called Digi Tech Support. Matt was very helpful, walked me through the steps that are already outlined in various DUC threads, then said, "RESET YOUR I/O TO DEFAULT" Under Setups-> I/O Setup, click Input tab, click Default. Do the same for Output, Insert, and Bus. TAA-DAAA! Everything works fine now. Thanks, Matt! I'm tacking on all the related advice I found in the DUC while trying to figure this out, so a future user can see it here in one spot. Sorry, I didn't get all the user names of the advisers, but y'all have been very helpful! The Roland VS1680 has two SP/DIF interfaces and you can use both to output four tracks at the same time. It's a bit fiddly, but it can be done. Two possible scenarios: 1) The VS1680 has 2 effects boards incorporated: On the 1680, go to the Master page, assign digi1 to AUX1. Assign digi2 to the master bus. Now say you want to transfer tracks 1-4. In the track mixer page of ch1 set AUX1 to Pre and value 100 (unity), pan hard left. Channel 2: AUX1 to pre, AUX volume 100, AUX pan hard right Channel 3: pan channel hard left Channel 4: pan channel hard rigt Now you need to mute all channels not used (5-16), otherwise they will show up on the main bus. Also pull the faders down for channels 1 and 2. Depending on your I/O situation, you might need a optical to coax converter for one of the digital outs on the 1680 (it has one optical port and one coax port). 2) The VS 1680 has only 1 effects board or none This is the easiest solution. If only one board is installed, you get an extra AUX in the Track mixers. So, in the master page, assign AUX1 to digi1 and aux2 to digi2. In the same example (channel 1-4 transferred), set Ch1 AUX1 PRE 100, HARD LEFT, Ch2, AUX1 PRE HARD RIGT, Ch3 AUX2 PRE HARD LEFT... you get the picture. One last note on MTC: The VS really really likes to be the master, it's a terrible MTC slave. I always use a combination of MTC synchro and the aforementioned bleep. Once there, just set sync points on the exact start of every bleep waveform (ya know, with the Command-,). Now set the playhead at a certain location (e.g. Bar 2-00), select the region to align and press J (snap syncpoint of selected region to playhead). Using this technique you line up the 16 tracks in a minute! --------------- ADAT Optical and TOSLINK (aka S/PDIF) Optical are two different formats. As far as I know, Roland VS and the Akai DPS-series recorders are equipped with S/PDIF Optical. While the ADAT Optical format allows you to transfer 8 tracks at-a-time, S/PDIF Optical devices are only capable of transferring 2. When transferring from a S/PDIF Optical device into Pro Tools: -Open the Setups>Playback Engine>Other Options window and select "S/PDIF" from the Optical Format pop-up menu. -Open the Setups>Hardware window and select "Optical (S/PDIF)" from the Sync Mode popup menu -Create 2 tracks, set their inputs to "Optical" rec-enable the tracks and fly the material into the session. ------------Brent I do this all the time. You have to make the VS-880 the master. (check the v's manual for syncing 2 880's together it's the same procedure) Be sure that your PTLE is in S/PIDIF (sync mode) your tracks should be set to input from s/pidif left on one track, right on the other. In the transport window enable the midi clock and hit the rec. In the 880 press and hold shift, then hit the fader/edit button. Scroll through the parameters till you see dig out 1 or 2(which ever you are using)to assign it to what ever 2 tracks you are starting on. Then go to sys parameters and be sure its set to internal sync. Hit play on the vs880 and it will transfer the first 2 tracks. You have to go 2 tracks at a time because the 880 is not ADAT digital. You cant transfer an entire session at once. It's early and I just woke up. So if I am not clear, shoot me an e-mail and I can be more specific. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I frequently dump 880 sessions into PTLE, all 8 channels at once. 2 analog, 2 s/pDif Optical, and 2 s/pDif RCA. Since PTLE can't use the s/pDif protocol on both connections at once, I just use a CD Burner as a optical to analog converter. When I'm doing things that are important, I too do two tracks at once, but make sure to put a Timing spike at the beginning of ALL tracks whether you synch the two up or not. IT WILL NOT SYNCH UP PERFECTLY. They seem to always synch up a few frames apart, but after synching they are rock steady so nudging the tracks a little fixes the problem completely. create 2 new tracks in protools. Hook your s/pdif IN to your 1880's digital OUT. Make sure to set the input of the two tracks you are creating as s/pdifL and s/pdifR. On your 1880 pan the two tracks you want to send over hard left and hard right. Or you can import a two track stereo mix if you like. On thing you need to do is sync the time code so you protools is controling the transport of the 1880. I found this works best because there is a small amount of lag time when I go to record on the digi. Then the time is different on the two machines and damn near impossible to link up again.