Choppy MIDI Time Code ETC Ion
- Thread starterTheTheaterGeek
- Start date
That's what I thought too. I closed everything else. Still laggy.
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Amiers
Renting to Corporate One Fixture at a Time.
Need to go into your Power Options and turn off USB energy saver(not the correct term but you will see it) Next you need to make sure that you have it on its own USB. A hub will try to split usage between all devices connected. After that update your USB midi driver to the current driver. If that still doesn't work then buy a PCI USB card so it gets its own power. IF that doesn't work then it might be your USB MIDI device. I run a USB Midi UNO. 40$ from guitar center and have one in back up in the package just in case.
You won't find USB power settings on a Mac. Desktop Macs output full power to all USB ports all the time. In the past, on some laptop models, there were USB ports that didn't always get full power, but I don't know if that has changed.
What model Mac are you using? What version of Logic? What version of the EOS software is your ION running, and what version was the GIO running? Has anything else in the setup changed (Cable, length of cable, etc)?
There are a handful of 2012 MBP models, but it is possible that if you have one of the i5 models you may be pushing the processor limits depending on what type of playback you are doing from Logic in addition to the MTC. Assuming you are using Logic for playback, it is kind of a beefy program for that.
Did you say which MIDI interface you are using? It could be a power issue or it could mean something else. You might check the manual for the interface and see if it has a section that tells you if blinking lights mean different things. It could be indicative of a transmission issue, but hard to know if it is on the USB side or the MIDI side. MIDI is a unidirectional transmission, so it would seem most likely that the issue is at the source and not the destination. An issue on the Ion side shouldn't have any affect on the computer or interface.
Of course, one thing that we never mentioned, was: have you checked to make sure that you are connected to the correct MIDI ports on all your devices? That you go out from the interface to the IN on the console? It is a simple thing that we often fail to check. (I am assuming you are trying to use MTC to fire lighting cues as opposed to having the lighting desk fire sound cues)
It's an über cheap one, but it has always worked for me in the past. Doesn't come with a manual. And costs about 4 bucks.
Oh. I want to clarify that the clock on the computer runs fine. It's just on the console that the clock lags.
And Ya. I have quadruple checked the setup. I am always making little goofs. It was the first thing I tried...haha.
And yes, one way conversation. Laptop to console.
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Oh. I want to clarify that the clock on the computer runs fine. It's just on the console that the clock lags.
And Ya. I have quadruple checked the setup. I am always making little goofs. It was the first thing I tried...haha.
And yes, one way conversation. Laptop to console.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Aside from different guts, the Ion and Gio run the same software, so unless your show (lighting-wise) is pushing the limits of the Ion (hard to believe), I can't think of a reason why the Ion would balk at the MTC. The latest Eos family software is version 2.2.1, and while theoretically, it shouldn't matter, if you are not running the latest software, it could help to update (just save your show first). You may also consider a call to ETC Tech Services, they may have some insight.
Another question is: do you have access to a different MIDI interface, just to test? I would hate for you to go out spending lots of money on hardware if it isn't the issue, but one of the next steps I would try is swapping out the MIDI interface.
MIDI data usually looks like a string of 8-bit hexadecimal numbers. I don't know offhand what MTC data is supposed to look like. I do know that on the Ion you can go to the Diagnostics screen and see what MIDI data the console is transmitting, so it stands to reason you should be able to see what it is receiving as well, I have just never done that).
Eos Family consoles will indefinitely freewheel when both External and Internal sources are enabled - you can adjust the range of timecode the console will internally generate by changing the First Time and Last Time. In this state, the console will need to see an external timecode source and have it go away for the internal clock to take over. To stop the freewheeling, toggle either External to Disabled and then Enabled, or disable Internal timecode. (Macro recommended).
