TerraTec PHASE 88 Rack Manual
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TerraTec PHASE 88 Rack Manual

24 bit/ 96 khz multi i/o recording interface
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TERRATEC PRODUCER PHASE 88 Rack
English Manual
Version 1.0, last revised: März 2004

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Summary of Contents for TerraTec PHASE 88 Rack

  • Page 1 TERRATEC PRODUCER PHASE 88 Rack English Manual Version 1.0, last revised: März 2004...
  • Page 2 CE Declaration TerraTec Electronic GmbH, Herrenpfad 38, D-41334 Nettetal, Germany hereby declare that the product: TerraTec Producer PHASE 88 Rack, to which this declaration refers is in compliance with the following standards or standard- izing documents: 1. EN 55013 2. EN 55020...

  • Page 3: Important Safety Information

    Please ensure that all analog devices are turned off before plugging them in. This will protect you from any possible—albeit weak—electrical shocks, as well as protecting your speakers and your hearing from sudden peaks. For digital devices, be sure to at least lower the volume on your playback equipment. PHASE 88 Rack (English)

  • Page 4: Table Of Contents

    Driver installation under Windows Me..............16 Installation under Windows 2000................17 Installation under Windows XP................18 Driver installation for Macintosh OS X................19 The connections of the PHASE 88 Rack audio system..........20 Analog outputs......................20 Analog inputs......................20 Intermezzo: a cable and signal primer ..............21 Digital interface (S/PDIF, RAW, AC3).
  • Page 5 Multiple audio cards in a single system..............42 About IRQs and other interrupts................43 Always right on time—digital synchronization............46 Dolby AC3 and DTS....................47 Useful information about digital cables (optical waveguides and AES/EBU)... 47 Appendix A—Technical Data ..................48 PHASE 88 Rack (English)

  • Page 6: Welcome

    Welcome! We're pleased that you've chosen a TerraTec Producer audio interface for your musical endeavors and would like to congratulate you on your decision. With the PHASE 88 Rack audio system, you've purchased a sophisticated piece of state-of-the-art studio equip- ment.
  • Page 7 For everything you need to know about the PHASE Control Panel, see Ü page 28. The drivers provided for the PHASE 88 RACK System, too, leave nothing to be desired. A highly developed software architecture guarantees problem-free use with all modern Windows and Apple operating systems.

  • Page 8: From Opening The Package To Installation

    This manual Service request form Registration documents Besonic Premium Account Please return the enclosed registration card to us at the earliest possible opportunity or register online at http://www.terratec.net/register.htm. This is important for support and hotline services. PHASE 88 Rack (English)

  • Page 9: The Setup-Short And Simple For Busy Professionals

    You will need one (1) IRQ (additional IRQ tips in the appendix, see Ü page 43). If you want to install multiple audio systems of the TerraTec range, you can do this in Win- dows without difficulty—all PCI cards operate in IRQ-sharing mode (please note the details on cascading here Ü...

  • Page 10: Notes For Macintosh Users

    The audio and MIDI connection using OS 10(X) is built exclusively on the OS10 core audio/MIDI concept. Multiple cards cannot be cascaded under the MAC OS at present. PHASE 88 Rack (English)

  • Page 11: Structure Of The Phase 88 Pci Card

    5. Sync-IN connection for cascading (5-pin, the jumper must remain set on the master card!) 6. Sync-OUT connection for cascading (3-pin) 7. Jumper for selection of S/PDIF source (only in connection with a PHASE 88 rack or Mic 2/8 module) PHASE 88 Rack (English)

  • Page 12: The Phase 88 Rack Housing

    The PHASE 88 rack housing 1. Microphone channel 7 (XLR) 2. Microphone channel 8 (XLR) 3. MIDI 1 IN 4. MIDI 1 OUT 5. Gain control, channel 1-6 (Line In) 6. Gain control, channel 7 + 8 (Line or Microphone) 7.
  • Page 13 PCI card in the computer. With a length of 4 meters, the cable is long enough to cover greater distances. An optional upgrade of the PHASE 88 rack module connection from PCI to FireWire (IEEE 1394) is planned for the near future. There's no need to worry, however: the unit can be upgraded easily when the time comes.

  • Page 14: Installation Of The Phase Pci Card-Step By Step

    Fasten the card in place using the screw you removed earlier from the slot cover (if there was one). After switching the system on and booting it, you can now install the drivers (see Ü page 15 for Windows, Ü page 19 for MAC OS X). PHASE 88 Rack (English)

  • Page 15: Driver Installation In Windows

    Driver installation in Windows. The PHASE 88 Rack system is shipped with drivers for the Windows 98SE, Windows ME, Windows 2000, Windows XP and MAC OS10 x operating systems. Windows NT 4 as well as MAC OS9.x are not supported. You should therefore determine which operating system you are using before installing the card.

  • Page 16: Driver Installation Under Windows Me

    Windows ME system. The Device Manager presents an overview of installed and recognized hardware components of your computer. The Device Manager can be found on the Control Panel under “System” > “Hardware”. Then click the “Device Manager” button. PHASE 88 Rack (English)

  • Page 17: Installation Under Windows 2000

    Windows extensions have to be installed. Please have your Windows CD ready for this purpose. After successful driver installation, the PHASE 88 control panel can be installed easily using the autorun option (<CD>:\autorun.exe). PHASE 88 Rack (English)

  • Page 18: Installation Under Windows Xp

    Close the wizard by clicking “Finish”. If contrary to all expectations an additional request should appear for you to perform some action and you are not sure about it, then pressing the Enter key is generally a safe action. PHASE 88 Rack (English)

  • Page 19: Driver Installation For Macintosh Os X

    During installation, you will be asked for the target drive; select the desired target drive. Follow the instructions of the installer and complete the installation by rebooting your system. After restarting the system, you can select the PHASE 88 Control Panel from the directory Macintosh HD -> Programs. PHASE 88 Rack (English)

  • Page 20: The Connections Of The Phase 88 Rack Audio System

    Analog inputs. The sensitivity of the Line inputs of the PHASE 88 Rack audio system can be adjusted with the gain controls on the front panel to ensure the optimal utilization of the 24-bit converters.

  • Page 21: Intermezzo: A Cable And Signal Primer

    Like those of the PHASE 88 Rack audio system. By the way: the old saying about a chain only being as strong as its weakest link also applies in the studio—especially there, in fact. In practice, that means that you shouldn't try to economize on quality cables with excellent shielding.

  • Page 22: Digital Interface (S/Pdif, Raw, Ac3)

    The cables for digital connections are always connected “crosswise”, meaning OUT to IN and vice-versa. Pulses are transmitted together with the audio data when the S/PDIF protocol is used. This is known as the sample rate. The interface of the PHASE 88 Rack system can send and receive up to 96 kHz.

  • Page 23: Midi Interface

    A Sub-D socket is located on the back for the included WordClock cable. The WordClock is used to synchronize the PHASE 88 Rack audio system with other devices that use this rather common studio format, such as digital recorders, digital mixers, other PCI cards and much more.

  • Page 24: The Drivers (Windows Operating System)

    The drivers (Windows operating system). The PHASE 88 Rack audio interface features a range of drivers for a variety of applica- tions. The drivers support all bit rates between 8 and 32 bits with all common sample rates between 8 and 96 kHz. As a rule, the sample rates are not “interpolated”. In other words, the system always automatically sets itself to the sample rate with which an application is recording or playing back.

  • Page 25: The Gsif Driver

    Practical tip: If MIDI files, which can be played back using Windows' media players, are also to be transferred to externally connected devices, open the “Sounds and Multimedia Properties” dialog window from the Windows Control Panel and set the “MIDI Music Playback” device to the driver mentioned above. PHASE 88 Rack (English)

  • Page 26: In Detail-Special Properties Of The Drivers

    The “32-bit unpacked” process fills the remaining bits with zeroes and the driver sends suitable 32-bit packets on their merry way. Most commonly-used applications currently support this process, which is particularly easy on the computer's resources (bottom of diagram). PHASE 88 Rack (English)

  • Page 27: Directsound & Wdm

    Redmond-based software manufacturer which involves a number of innovations in the audio sector. For example, the drivers are able to play back audio data streams from multiple applications in parallel (multi-client, a “luxury” that faithful TerraTec customers have enjoyed since 1997).

  • Page 28: The Control Panel

    An additional software solution would still be easy to realize, but there wouldn't be any point in it. PHASE 88 Rack (English)

  • Page 29: Digital Mixer

    Mixer” entry in the routing dialog (settings page) can be used to send the signals to the analog outputs 1+2 and to Digital Out. If you want to use the PHASE 88 Rack audio system and an “in-out card” only for your audio/MIDI sequencer, you don't really need the Digital Mixer. As described in several places above, in this case the software that you use controls the volume and panorama settings.

  • Page 30: Settings

    The Settings page of the Control Panel Master Clock. Here we're dealing with the sample rate used by the PHASE 88 Rack System. This is a very important point, as the card can be clocked by an external signal (External, e.g. from a DAT recorder) or it can set a sampler rate itself and provide this signal to other devices.

  • Page 31: The I/O Card

    Multi-Track mode all drivers (WavePlay 1/2, 3/4, 5/6 etc.) must not only be available simultaneously for the application but also start sample synchronously (absolutely simultaneously). An extremely important property, which is essential in professional recording use. PHASE 88 Rack (English)

  • Page 32: Digital Out

    Disabling this function sets the bit to 0—you can then copy to your heart's content. Non-Audio allows transfer of additional control information and thus enables playback in RAW format (e.g. for AC3 or DTS). PHASE 88 Rack (English)

  • Page 33: The Dma Buffer Transfer Latency (Windows Only)

    This should yield reasonable values that will be a pleasure to work with on appropriately configured systems. Note: the settings for the DMA buffer transfer latency do not affect the performance of the ASIO or GSIF drivers (see Ü page 24). PHASE 88 Rack (English)

  • Page 34: The About Page

    The About page. The About page of the PHASE 88 Rack Control Panel The About page contains some important system information, which could be helpful if you need to contact the help line or you need driver updates—as well as a picture of our company headquarters in Nettetal on the lower Rhine that looks like a potato stamp (unfortunately only Windows …).

  • Page 35: The Phase Control Panel In The Windows Taskbar

    Control Panel). Because the signals are sent directly to the hardware of the PHASE 88 without a detour, absolutely latency- free monitoring is possible. Exit..or Alt+F4. Done. Finished. Basta. Outtahere. That's all, folks. PHASE 88 Rack (English)

  • Page 36: Managing Scenes And Cascaded Cards (Windows Only)

    “Without problems” means that you will not detect any dropouts during audio recording or playback. If dropouts occur, increase the buffer size or the number of samples per buffer. The “conversion” into time values is displayed just below the menu. PHASE 88 Rack (English)

  • Page 37: Gsif/Asio Multi-Client

    Once saved, you can find your personal color settings in the dropdown menu, which already contains a number of examples. The “Windows System” color set uses only colors that display correctly at an 8-bit color depth. PHASE 88 Rack (English)

  • Page 38: Additional Tips On Using The Control Panel

    A mute switch silences the relevant signal completely, whereas it can still be heard faintly when the fader has been pulled all the way down. The stereo link function (enabled by default) permits the left and right signals to be adjusted simultaneously. PHASE 88 Rack (English)

  • Page 39: Cascading And Internal Synchronization

    (see illustration: “Master/slave operation—synchronization of multiple PHASE/EWS systems”). If you would like to use the systems in different applications (e.g. a PHASE 88 rack system under ASIO in Cubase SX and a PHASE 88 system under an MME application such as CoolEdit), we recommend not synchronizing the system via hardware connec- tions.

  • Page 40: Master/Slave Operation-Synchronizing Multiple Phase/Ews Systems

    Master/slave operation—synchronizing multiple PHASE/EWS systems PHASE 88 Rack (English)
  • Page 41 All interfaces will now run using the sampler frequency set on the master. If you would like to also use an external clock for the first card (using a DAT recorder, for example), set its master clock to “External” as well. The sync information are transmitted accordingly. PHASE 88 Rack (English)

  • Page 42: Tips, Tricks & Things Worth Knowing

    You have numerous connection options when using multiple audio systems from Ter- raTec. In short, all PCI cards of the TerraTec family can be operated together in a computer without any problems. This also applies for consumer products such as DMX 6fire 24/96 and others.

  • Page 43: About Irqs And Other Interrupts

    Please disable all devices that are not required (e.g. the COM ports are only rarely used) in the computer BIOS. See the documentation for your motherboard to do this. The “free” IRQs can now be used in the PCI bus. PHASE 88 Rack (English)
  • Page 44 PCI slot 1 and AGP slot share an IRQ PCI slot 2 and 3 share an IRQ PCI slot 4, 6 and USB controller share an IRQ PCI slot 5 and Raid controller share an IRQ PHASE 88 Rack (English)
  • Page 45 AC97 sound chip has its own IRQ. As you can see the installation position has a great influence on the IRQ assignment in the system, and to assign an IRQ to a device you can, for example, use the second PCI PHASE 88 Rack (English)

  • Page 46: Always Right On Time-Digital Synchronization

    The digital interface of the PHASE 88 audio system transfers all bit resolutions between 8 and 24 bits and all sampling rates between 8 and 96 kHz. Please note that not all devices PHASE 88 Rack (English)

  • Page 47: Dolby Ac3 And Dts

    48 kHz first. Dolby AC3 and DTS. The digital interfaces of the PHASE 88 Rack system can also be used independently of the S/PDIF standard (see also Ü page 30; S/PDIF Out at “Non-audio”). Various manufac- turers of software DVD players support playback of DVD studio material over the PHASE series of TerraTec Producer.

  • Page 48: Appendix A-Technical Data

    This information refers to the technical data of the converters being used. Audio systems with an EWS Connect connection can be cascaded and synchronized. You can control up to four systems in one PC with only one driver and only one Control Panel. PHASE 88 Rack (English)
  • Page 49 ULTRA DMA or SCSI controller VGA video card, 1024x768 / HiColor 256 MB RAM System recommendations – MAC G4 1GHz VGA video card, 1024x768 / HiColor > 256 MB RAM. MAC OS X Jaguar >/= 10.2. PHASE 88 Rack (English)

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