HELP PLEAS!!!

[elijah]

i need to sync protools tdm to a
mci jh 24 track how do i start what do i do? help pleas im going madd
i hope i dont need to buy a sync box or can i just hook it up in to protools via 888? mix card? thanks
anyone

[Professor]

Oh boy, it has been a while since I worked with an 888 I/O but I seem to recall that they have a SMPTE I/O on the back - I hope. Ultimately that is probably what you are going to have to do is stripe SMPTE to one track of the 24 track and get the ProTools to chase it. It is really an easy process - if the I/O is available on the interface.
Send SMPTE out to one of the audio inputs, record enable the input and hit play on ProTools and the tape machine and let the time code get recorded. Once it is recorded send the SMPTE output back to the input on the interface and tell ProTools to chase the time code. It will see the signal coming and follow along.
There are other caveates to observe as far as level and placing the markers on the ProTools session, and somebody more familiar with the 888 and/or the MCI deck will likely chime in here with more detail, but it really is about that easy. If the syncronizing is super critical or will be running for a very long time, then take a little more care but otherwise, just dive right in and try it. And remember that the MCI will be the master and ProTools the slave. Let us know if that gets you going.

-Jeremy

[@?,*???&?]

I've done it with two Timeline lynx units and had time code striped first in the Pro Tools session then transferred to tape. Then run the MCI as a slave to a code only master. It's called a 'code only lock' Very easy to do.

[joel hamilton]

I found that with the timeline lynx it was easier to slave protools to the jh 24 because the capstan code for those is a little jerky, and I would (obviously) lose synch during shuttling, but protools would just hop to the time code location when the tape lifter dropped and we had code again.

The other way around was kinda wacky, because you hit return, and protools sits like a patient robot waiting for the old donkey to come up the hill...

I only did it like 4 or 5 times, though, then I was like " whay am I not just frikkin printing this stuff in to pro tools so I dont have to rewind???!!!???"

So I just go straight to protools now off tape, and if we really get crazy, print back to tape after editing. (rarely any more...)

[@?,*???&?]

Without a USD or SSD, you'll never lock Pro Tools to tape.

[elijah]

thanks guys for the help ill buy you all a beer looks like im going to sync
this monster to day ill post how i did and wht i used thanks verry muchoo!

[elijah]

yup it works fine whit the timeline lynx rock solid now do you guys think a midi timepiece mtp av from mark of the unicorn will work fine ? because the time linx is not myn so it kinda sucks when he gos home and im left hanging he only let me play a round whit it just to see if i can do it
any tips???

[j.hall]

Without a USD or SSD, you'll never lock Pro Tools to tape.

this is the best advice and here is why

as far as i know.....the USD for pro tools is the only box made that will vari speed pro tools on the fly

if you lock PT to code from a tape machine, the tape machine will never play back with digital accuracy or perfection

the machine will vari a tiny bit here and there.....if you lock using the USD, pro tools will continually stay sync'd to code.....

as far as i know, the other methods of syncing to PT are all JAM sync
which is a really bad idea when it comes to anything over 15 seconds

(FYI, if you don't know what JAM sync is, it's when the slave source sees code it will "go", and after that point it will never re-align to code, it just rolls. it will however stop once code is stopped)

i don't know anything about pro tools lockin gup with the third party device you guys were talking about

[@?,*???&?]

I'm anxious to hear from Elijah on this one and see what he did.

I'd have to disagree with Jim here. The best way to guarantee the integrity of the digital signal is to lock the tape machine to Pro Tools. With the digital clock and Pro Tools as the master, the sample rate will remain deadly accurate. The machine speed will vary and slew the tape to chase Pro Tools. Transport control (capstan speed/motor variation) will be negotiated by the Lynx units. If one Lynx is receiving steady code from the Pro Tools device as the 'code only master', the other Lynx will deal strictly MCI transport control and matching that to code.

[j.hall]

my name isn't "jim".....FYI

i've never used a lynx....so you could easily be right
and actually....i've never sync'd PT to tape any other way then tape being the master....so i haven't a clue as to what will yeild a better lock

just for my own information, how much are the lynx boxes?