DiGiCo Little Boxes User Manual

DiGiCo Little Boxes

Little Red and Little Blue Boxes

DiGiCo

Issue A - October 2010

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DiGiCo Little Boxes

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DiGiCo Little Boxes

Contents

1.1 Introduction................................................................................ .......1-4

1.1.1 Product Overview ................................................................1-4

1.1.2 Little Box Power ........................................................... .......1-4

1.1.3 Digital Audio Clocking in Little Box Systems ............ .......1-4

1.1.4 Little Box Modes .......................................................... .......1-4

1.1.5 Full Connect and Receive Only for Rack Sharing ............1-5

2.1 Application Examples................................................................ .......1-6

2.1.1 Two SD9s Sharing One D-Rack..........................................1-6

2.1.2 Two SD9s Sharing One MADI Connected Rack ......... .......1-7

2.1.3 SD9 and SD8 Sharing One D-Rack Setup 1 ......................1-8

2.1.4 SD9 and SD8 Sharing One D-Rack Setup 2 ............. .......1-9

2.1.5 Two SD9s Sharing Two D-Racks............................... .......1-10

2.1.6 SD8 and SD9 Sharing Two D-Racks ......................... .......1-11

2.1.7 SD8 and SD9 Sharing a D-Rack and a MADIRack ..........1-12

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DiGiCo Little Boxes

1.1 Introduction

1.1.1 Product Overview .................................................................

Little Red Box and Little Blue Box are the first in a brand new line of solution-based products from DiGiCo.
These boxes allow you to connect your D-Rack or MaDiRack (DiGiRack or MiNiRack) to two SD9s, or your SD9 and MADI console

(SD8, SD7 or even a D-Series) with a D-Rack.
The application examples in this manual show the connections and console settings necessary for a number of common setups.
In the diagrams, the following conventions apply:

Blue arrows = CAT5e connections
Green arrows = BNC MADI connections
Double headed arrows = Bidirectional connections
Single headed arrows = One way connections
Red Text = information on console Audio Sync settings

IMPORTANT NOTE:
The overall CAT5e cable length between any console and a connected rack should not exceed 100m
Little Boxes are provided with 2m CAT5e cables for connection to consoles.
Both 75m and 2m cables should always be one of the following recommended types:

Van Damme brand “Tourcat” CAT5e Shielded Twisted Pair (STP) cable
Or
Neutrik brand EtherFLEX CAT5e Shielded Twisted Pair (STP) cable

1.1.2 Little Box Power...................................................................

The Little Boxes are powered by USB and this can be derived from a number of different sources. The obvious source of power is the
SD Series console rear panel USB port but any computer USB port or other standard 500milliamp USB source can be used for this
purpose. USB Power should be connected to the square USB B Type port labelled USB Power on the Little Box.

There is also a USB THRU port on the Little Box which allows the port that has been used for the power connection to remain available
for normal use eg. A USB key can still be used on that port by connecting it to the USB THRU.

1.1.3 Digital Audio Clocking in Little Box Systems ...................

In multiple console and rack systems, care must be taken to ensure that there is a common digital audio sync source.
All SD Series consoles have the ability to sync to an incoming MADI or CAT5 port. These settings are available in the Master Screen /

Setup / Audio Sync Menu.
The SD9 Audio Sync panel looks like the image below and a green OK light indicates the presence of a valid sync source. The high-

lighted button indicates that the current source of sync is the device connected on the CAT5 1 port. To change the sync source, press
the on screen button for the port that you wish to derive sync from.

In general terms, one console should be set to Audio Sync Master and others should normally be set to derive sync from a port that is
also connected to that Master console. In each of the following application examples, please pay careful attention to the required Audio
Sync Settings.

1.1.4 Little Box Modes ..................................................................

The Little Red Box has a switch which has 2 different modes:

1) SPLIT MODE - This allows 2 SD9s to share one D-Rack on CAT5e connections

2) MADI MODE - This allows 2 SD9s to share one DiGiCo Rack that has MADI connections (MADIRack, DiGiRack or MiNiRack) or any
other MADI equipped device.

The Little Blue Box has a switch which has 2 different modes:

1) SD9 MODE - This allows an SD9 and another SD Series console to share a D-Rack with the SD9 as the controller for the analogue
gain settings on the D-Rack. A second BNC MADI Out is also available as an additional split of the D-Rack signals to a third console or
a Multitrack recorder.

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