M-Audio MIDISPORT 8x8/s [40/52] Smpte i o test

the same IRQ. Another possibility is a driver associated with another device

used on the same serial port is adversely affecting the IRQ. Yet one more

possibility is that your serial port IRQ is disabled in your computer’s BIOS

CMOS setup, and simply needs to be switched on.

If you are unsure what your port IRQ is or how to find out, please see the section

in this manual titled “Selecting a Host Serial Port,” or consult your computer

owner’s manual or computer manufacturer directly.

5. SMPTE I/O Test

This test makes sure that the SMPTE In and Out jacks are functioning properly.

If this test fails, make sure that the cable you have looped from SMPTE In to

SMPTE Out is good, and also properly connected.

SMPTE/MIDI Time Code Tutorial

This section gives a brief tutorial on various SMPTE topics. This section is not by

any stretch of the imagination an exhaustive treatment of time code or syncing.

Instead, it is included to make the MIDISPORT 8x8/s SMPTE functions more

understandable.

What is SMPTE (Time Code)?

SMPTE is a time coding standard, which was developed in 1967 by the Society of

Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) to be used in video editing.

SMPTE attaches a unique time stamp (80 bits of information) to each frame of

video or film. SMPTE readers may then extract that time information and

synchronize other devices to it. Because SMPTE may be encoded as an actual

audio signal, it also lends itself to audio applications and can be read from audio

tracks for synchronization purposes..

The SMPTE Time Code consists simply of: Hours : Minutes : Seconds : Frames.

Therefore a typical SMPTE time code reading would be: 01 : 25 : 42 : 17, which

represents the time 1 hour : 25 minutes : 42 seconds : 17 frames.

The original SMPTE Time Code was Longitudinal Time Code (LTC).

“Longitudinal” means that the code is laid down in a continuous audio stripe

along the length of the tape (longitudinally). The MIDISPORT 8x8/s is designed

to write this longitudinal time code (LTC) as well as read and convert it to MIDI

Time Code (MTC).

What is MIDI Time Code (MTC)?

MIDI Time Code (MTC) is the MIDI implementation of SMPTE. MTC was first

standardized in 1987 as a method of synchronizing MIDI software and hardware

sequencers, as well as drum machines. Later it was also adopted by digital audio

recording software and hardware manufacturers as a method of synchronizing