Digigram PCX881e, PCX882e User Manual

D i g i g r a m

PCX881e

PCX882e

Professional Multichannel

Sound Cards

User manual

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For technical support,

please contact your system supplier.

Digigram S.A.

82/84 Allée Galilée, 38330 Montbonnot-Saint-Martin, FRANCE

Tel: [phone]• Fax: [phone]• E-mail: [e-mail]

Digigram Inc.

2000 North 14th Street - Suite 530, Arlington, VA 22201, USA

Tel: [phone] • Fax: [phone] • E-mail: [e-mail]

Digigram Asia Pte Ltd.

350 Orchard Road - #19-07 Shaw House Singapore 238868, SINGAPORE

Tel: [phone] • Fax: [phone] • E-mail: [e-mail]

PCX881e & PCX882e

User’s Manual

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Table of Contents

INFORMATION FOR THE USER

..........................................................................................................4

IMPORTANT NOTICE

....................................................................................................................................5

CONTENTS OF THIS PACKAGE

..........................................................................................................5

FEATURES

..................................................................................................................................................................5

PCX881e main hardware features.....................................................................................................................6

PCX882e main hardware features.....................................................................................................................6

Main software features...........................................................................................................................................6

REQUIREMENTS

..................................................................................................................................................7

Minimum hardware requirements.......................................................................................................................7

Software requirements............................................................................................................................................7

Supported operating systems ................................................................................................................................7

HARDWARE INSTALLATION

................................................................................................................7

Installing the card.....................................................................................................................................................7

Interrupt and memory address.............................................................................................................................7

SOFTWARE INSTALLATION

...................................................................................................................8

Standard installation under Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, and Windows Vista.....................8

Parameterizing the ASIO driver ................................................................................................................. 10

Parameterizing the Wave driver................................................................................................................ 10

Removing the driver under Windows XP and Windows Server 2003...................................................11

Removing the driver under Windows Vista....................................................................................................11

HOW TO CHECK THE INSTALLATION

.....................................................................................11

THE ‘DIGIGRAM HARDWARE SETTINGS’
(‘DHS’) CONTROL PANEL

......................................................................................................................13

SPECIFICATIONS

.............................................................................................................................................14

Configuration................................................................................................................................................... 14

Inputs................................................................................................................................................................. 14

Outputs............................................................................................................................................................. 15

Connectors ....................................................................................................................................................... 15

Audio specifications ....................................................................................................................................... 15

Audio performance........................................................................................................................................ 16

Development environments......................................................................................................................... 16

APPENDICES

........................................................................................................................................................17

PCX881e schematic diagram..................................................................................................................... 17

PCX882e schematic diagram..................................................................................................................... 17

Layout................................................................................................................................................................ 18

PCX881e cable diagram ............................................................................................................................. 19

PCX881e wiring diagram............................................................................................................................ 19

Adapter cable Sub-D 62Ù SCSI 68 MDR ............................................................................................ 20

Connection cable PCX882e Ù BoB8...................................................................................................... 20

Sub-D 62Ù SCSI 68 MDR wiring diagram........................................................................................... 21

PCX882e cable diagram ............................................................................................................................. 22

PCX882e wiring diagram............................................................................................................................ 23

PCX881e cable pinout................................................................................................................................. 24

PCX882e cable pinout................................................................................................................................. 24

Copyright 2007 Digigram. All rights reserved.
No portion of this manual may be reproduced without prior written consent from Digigram. The copyright protection
claimed here includes photocopying, translation and/or reformatting of the information contained in this manual.
While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, Digigram is not responsible for errors and omissions, and
reserves the right to make improvements or changes in the products and programs described without notice.
Digigram and the Digigram logo, PCX882e, and PCX881e are registered trademarks or trademarks of Digigram S.A.
Other trademarks are property of their respective holders.

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INFORMATION FOR THE USER

This device complies with part 15 of FCC rules. Operation is subject to the following
two conditions: (

1) This device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) This device

must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired
operation.
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a CLASS B

digital device, pursuant to Part

15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to

provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation.
This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not
installed and used in accordance with the instructions contained in this data sheet, may
cause harmful interference to radio and television communications. However, there is
no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation.
If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which
can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to
correct the interference by one or more of the following measures:
* reorient or relocate the receiving antenna
* increase the separation between the equipment and the receiver
* connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that of the receiver
* consult the dealer or an experienced audio television technician.

Note: Connecting this device to peripheral devices that do not comply with CLASS B
requirements or using an unshielded peripheral data cable could also result in
harmful interference to radio or television reception. The user is cautioned
that any changes or modifications not expressly approved by the party responsible
for compliance could void the user’s authority to operate this equipment. To ensure
that the use of this product does not contribute to interference, it is necessary to use
shielded I/O cables.

Warning:
Electrostatic discharge (ESD) can damage several

components on the board. To avoid such damage in
handling the board, take the following precautions:

Bring the device and everything that contacts it to
ground potential by providing a conductive surface and
discharge paths. As a minimum, observe these
precautions:

• Disconnect all power and signal sources.

• Place the device on a grounded conductive work surface.

• Ground yourself via a grounding wrist strap or by holding a grounded

object.

• Ground any tool that will contact the device.

Due to the reduced length of the PCI EXPRESSTM bus connector and the
resulting lack of mechanical stability, we strongly advise against transporting
the card(s) installed in a computer, unless its chassis or case provides a
dedicated support to keep the card securely in place in order to avoid physical
damage.

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User’s Manual

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IMPORTANT NOTICE

This card has been tested and found to comply with the following standards:

• International: CISPR22 Class B

• Europe: EMC 89/336/CEE (1992) specifications

• United States: FCC Rules-Part 15-Class B (digital device)

In order to guarantee compliance with the above standards in an installation,
the following must be done:

• the provided cable must not be modified

• additional cables used must have their respective shield connected to

each extremity

CONTENTS OF THIS PACKAGE

Thank you for purchasing a Digigram PCX sound card.

The package consists of the following components:
* a PCX881e or PCX882e sound card

* the User’s Manual at hand

The cables are not part of this package. They are delivered separately.

Also available:
2U 19-inch breakout box allowing straightforward and secure connection to

all the cards’ I/Os.

FEATURES

PCX882e and PCX881e are audio cards for PCI EXPRESSTM (PCIe®) bus. They
are in PCI EXPRESS

TM

x1 format and can thus be plugged into any PCIe® slot

(x1, x2, x4, x8, x16, x32).

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PCX881e main hardware features

• 4 AES/EBU∗ stereo inputs, with hardware sample rate converters (up to 192

kHz)

• 4 AES/EBU∗ stereo outputs (up to 192 kHz)

• 1 AES/EBU∗ stereo sync input (up to 192 kHz in play and record)

• 1 standard Word Clock input (up to 96 kHz)

• 1 standard Word Clock output (up to 96 kHz)

• 1 video sync input

• 1 SMPTE/LTC (Linear Time Code) sync input

PCX882e main hardware features

All features of the PCX881e, plus:

• 8 balanced∗∗ analog mono line inputs, with software programmable

analog and digital gain

• 8 servo-balanced

∗∗∗

analog mono line outputs, with software

programmable analog and digital gain

• 192 kHz / 24-bit converters

• Maximum level on analog inputs and outputs: +24 dBu

Note: The digital outputs always play the digital version of the corresponding analog outputs.

The selection of an AES/EBU input excludes the selection of the corresponding analog
inputs. Nevertheless, it is possible to simultaneously record AES and analog inputs, as
long as the channels are different.

Main software features

• Real-time, simultaneous record and playback in PCM (8, 16 and 24 bits)

as well as in MPEG Audio Layer I, Layer II and Layer III

L

, Float IEEE754

conversion supported (with 24-bit fixed-point dynamic range)

• When using the np SDK, real-time mixing of several PCM and MPEG

audio streams, direct monitoring, level adjustment, panning, cross-fades,
punch-in/punch-out, scrubbing, time-stretching, pitch-shifting, 3-band
parametric equalizer, maximizer, format and frequency conversions

• Low latency DirectSound, Wave

∗ ∗∗∗

, and ASIO drivers. Under
DirectSound and ASIO, the cards operate in PCM mode only
(nevertheless, an application can integrate coders/decoders on the host
PC). Under Wave, the boards can operate in both PCM and MPEG (layer
1 and layer 2).

L

MPEG Layer III play-only on DSP;

∗ can be used as S/PDIF interface as well

∗∗

can be used with unbalanced signals

∗∗∗

Electronically servo-balanced outputs provide automatic level adjustment to accommodate

either balanced or unbalanced lines

∗∗∗∗

Windows XP and Server 2003 only

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MPEG Layer III recording on the host computer is available through Digigram’s PC
Codec option using the np SDK

Note: the HR Runtime package for Windows Vista does not include a Wave driver.

In case your audio application explicitly requires a Wave interface, a Wave
driver is available on request. In this case, please contact

Digigram.

REQUIREMENTS

Minimum hardware requirements

PC with one free PCI EXPRESSTM (PCIe®) slot (x1, x2, x4, x8, x16 or x32).
CPU power and memory required depend on the operating system and on the
audio application used.

Software requirements

To use your PCX881e or PCX882e, install the driver from the HR Runtime
package version 1.60 or higher. This package includes:

• a Digigram np driver enabling OEM applications to best capitalize

on the boards

• a low-latency WDM DirectSound Kernel streaming driver. Microsoft

DirectX 9 or higher must be installed on your computer

• a Wave driver

∗

(installation optional)

• an ASIO driver (installation optional)

Supported operating systems

PCX881e and PCX882e cards run under Windows XP∗∗, Windows Server
2003

∗ ∗

and Windows Vista∗∗.

HARDWARE INSTALLATION

Due to the reduced length of the PCI EXPRESS bus connector and the resulting
lack of mechanical stability, we strongly advise against transporting the card(s)
installed in a computer, unless its chassis or case provides a dedicated support to
keep the card securely in place in order to avoid physical damage.

The card has to be installed in the computer prior to installing its driver.

Installing the card

Gently plug the card in a free PCIe® slot and press it down to position it
firmly. Tighten the screw.

Interrupt and memory address

∗

Windows XP and Server 2003 only

∗∗

32-bit version

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Hardware interrupt and addresses are automatically set up at start-up by the
PCI PnP BIOS.

SOFTWARE INSTALLATION

Note: the installation of the software requires administrator rights on your

computer

Please visit the Digigram web site at www.digigram.com for the most recent
driver.

In case you run a specific application developed or installed by a Digigram
Partner, this application might require the use of a specific driver version. In
this case, make sure that the updated driver has been approved by your
supplier.

Standard installation under Windows XP,
Windows Server 2003, and Windows Vista

If the driver has been downloaded from our web site, it has to be expanded
prior to the driver’s installation as follows: double-click on the downloaded
file (self-expanding). You can use the default destination location (Windows
temporary folder) or select another directory.

Important note

: this default procedure installs the ‘Digigram Hardware Settings’
control panel. This application allows the configuration of the hardware resources of
Digigram cards for all audio applications. The DHS allows for instance to define the
clock of the card, the input source, input and output analog and digital gain,
Sample Rate Converters, digital output format, etc...

Please note that, with the DHS installed, controls available

through the DirectSound

control panel are limited to:

• Volume control for input and output

• Wave control

Under Windows XP and Server 2003 you may also install the driver without
installing the DHS control panel, and in this case more controls are available
through the DirectSound control panel:

• Volume control for input

• Wave control

• Monitoring control

• Analog input level

• Digital input level

• Clock selection: AES Sync, AES1, Word Clock

• Digital output format: professional, consumer