Sonic Studio Studio HD, HD-1000, HD-2000, HD-2100, HD-2200 Configuration Manual

©2002 SonicStudio. All rights reserved.
SonicStudio High Density User Guide - Sonic Part Number 800127A (4/99)
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SonicStudio HD Configuration Guide

This configuration guide is designed to give you detailed information on CPU configurations,
SCSI peripherals, fibre channel networking and High-Density Audio™ operation for
SonicStudio HD™ HDSP-based systems.

This document supersedes any previous information you may have received on these topics.
Sonic recommends that all HDSP upgrade customers spend time reviewing this information
prior to installing HDSP upgrades. This can help save time during the installation and may
eliminate problems that might otherwise arise.

If you have any questions about configurations or a customer installation, please contact Sonic
Studio Customer Support at [phone], or on the Web at [e-mail]

2

Supported Devices

CPU Platforms

SonicStudio HD is designed for use with PCI-bus CPUs. Owners of 9500/9600/G3 models are
urged to upgrade to a G4.

SonicStudio HD supports these Power Macintosh models:

• G3 266/300/333 (beige)

• G3 350/400/450 (blue and white)

• G4 400/450/500/533/633/733/867/933 (graphite)

• Dual-processor 500Mhz G4

MAC OS AND CPU RAM REQUIREMENTS

Use Mac OS 9.04 US (minimum) for all SonicStudio HD installations. SonicStudio HD requires
a minimum of 128MB of internal CPU memory with 256 MB or more preferred.

SonicStudio HD now supports Apples latest G4 733Mhz, 867MHz and 933MHz CPUs. These
CPUs ship with OS 9.2, which is qualified.

NOTE:

OS X.

OS 9.2 is not recommended for CPUs that are not also set up to run

S

UPPORTED DEVICES

SCSI Drives

SonicStudio HD supports a wide variety of SCSI peripherals. Previously-qualified hard disks
used with SonicStudio USP/SSP systems, that maintain a data-rate of 3.75 MB or higher, should
work with SonicStudio HD. Drives with lower data-rates may also be operable with SonicStudio
HD, however the data bandwidth may significantly reduce the number of disc channels
available.

Sonic recommends that the HDSP Workstation be configured with Seagate Cheetah drives
(ST118202LW – request LVD cables and terminators if using Adaptec 2940U2W and no
DLT/Exabyte/CD-R/ or DVD-R).

Sonic also recommends:

•

Rorke Galaxy i™:

Contact:
Rorke Data, Incorporated 9700 W. 76th Street
Eden Prairie, MN 55344
Tool Free: (800).328.8147
Tel:[phone]
Fax: [phone]

High Speed IDE to LVD Disk Arrays

3

•

Medea AudioRack LP

High-capacity Storage Systems:

The AudioRack LP packs up to 480 GB of high-performance, low-cost, audio
storage in only 1U (1.75") of rack space.

Contact:
End User Sales
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
email: [e-mail]

4

SCSI Adapters

Sonic Studio has qualified the following SCSI adapter cards:

• Adaptec 2930CU

• Adaptec 2940UW

• Adaptec 2940U2B

• Adaptec 2940U2W

• Adaptec 3940UW

• Adaptec 39160

• Adaptec 29160N

• ATTO ExpressPCI UL3D

• ATTO ExpressPCI DC

NOTE:

is using the latest firmware version. SonicStudio HD was qualified using
firmware version 1.02. See http://www.adaptec.com for further information.

NOTE:

UL3D/DC SCSI cards. This issue will be resolved in a future release.

If you are using the Adaptec 39160 SCSI accelerator, be certain that it

Dumps to Exabyte DDP are not currenlty supported with the ATTO

S

UPPORTED DEVICES

Peripheral Devices

SonicStudio HD supports the following peripheral devices:

CD-RS

• Plextor PX-R412C with firmware version 1.07

• Plextor PX-R820T with firmware version 1.07

• Plextor PX-RW4220T with firmware version 1.04

• Plextor PX-RW8220T with firmware version 1.04

• Plextor PX-W124TS with firmware version 1.07 [2x speed only]

• Plextor PX-W1210S with firmware version 1.01 [1x speed only]

• Sony CD900e with firmware version 1.16

• Microboards PlexMaster with firmware version 2.04

The PlexMaster represents "State of The Art" in CDR recorders. The handmade
mechanism is housed in a Dust Proof enclosure and offers special features like,
Reading/Writing of the Pre Mastered [PMCD] area, EFM Input for recording,
Read capability of Lead in area, Read capability of lead- out area, C2 error
reporting, 8X CD-DA data.

5

NOTE:

The PMCD information is only written to the disc when the Close

Session After Write option is selected for the dump.

Please contact a Sonic reseller for details on availability or contact Microboards
Technology at:

Microboards Technology
Phone: [phone]
Toll Free: 800-646-8881
Fax: [phone]
email: [e-mail]

6

c

website: www.microboards.com http://www.microboards.com

EXABYTE TAPE DRIVES

• Exabyte 8500

• Exabyte 8505

• Exabyte Eliant 820

PCI EXPANSION CHASSIS

HD-2100 and HD-2200 Workstations include 3 PCI cards and require a PCI expansion chassis,
since current Apple models have 2 slots free after the graphics card and a SCSI accelerator are
installed. Supported PCI expansion chassis are listed below:

Bit3 Operations

• SBS SS32 from Bit3 Operations. Seven slot ATX rackmount PCI Expansion Chassis with
integrated backplane.

SBS Technologies, Inc., Connectivity Products
1284 Corporate Center Drive
St. Paul, MN 55121-1245
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
http://www.bit3.com/

MAGMA

• MAGMA Four and Seven slot PCI Expansion Chassis. Both CardBus and Desktop
applications are supported.

MAGMA
9918 Via Pasar
San Diego, CA 92126

Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
http://www.magma.com/

S

UPPORTED DEVICES

7

NOTE:

The CardBus solution for Magma Chassis do not currently support CD-

R or DDP functions.

8

G3/G4 System Configurations

HD-1000 AND HD-2000 WORKSTATIONS

HDSP Processor

HDSP Processor or
Fibre Channel Adapter
(if applicable)

SCSI Accelerator

NOTE:

For clarity, the Macintosh video accelerator card (always installed in

slot 1) is not shown

.

Slot Card

1 Macintosh Video Accelerator

2 SCSI Accelerator

3 HDSP Processor or Fibre Channel

4 HDSP Processor

Adapter

G3/G4 S

HD-2100 AND HD-2200 WORKSTATIONS.

Mac Slot Card

YSTEM CONFIGURATIONS

PCI Bridge

Fast SCSI
Accelerator

SCSI Accelerator

9

1 Macintosh Video Accelerator

2 SCSI Accelerator

3 Fast SCSI Accelerator or Fibre

Channel Adapter

4 PCI Bridge Card

10

HDSP Audio Processor

HDSP Plug-In Processor

A-V Processor

1

2

3

4

Expander Slot Card

1 HDSP Processor

2 HDSP Processor

3 AV Processor

NOTE:

A non-integrated PCI Expansion chassis is not recommended for use

with high bandwidth audio for any model of G3 (B&W) or G4.

NOTE:

9500/9600/Beige G3 users should connect CDR and Exabyte devices to the

Mac SCSI bus and connect hard drives to the Adaptec card.

SCSI Configurations

Since the new Macintosh G3 and G4 systems do not have on-board SCSI, a SCSI adapter is
required for all SonicStudio HD systems. Each SCSI adapter listed here has a specific
configuration that must be followed, with slowest SCSI peripherals closest to the card (DLT,
DVD-R) and faster ones on the end (SCSI Wide and Ultra Wide drives).

SCSI C

ONFIGURATIONS

11

ADAPTEC POWER DOMAIN 3940 UW

This is the most versatile SCSI card for Sonic applications and our most highly recommended.
With two SCSI buses, one bus can be used for the DVD-R and DLT while the other is used for
the fast SCSI drives.

12

ADAPTEC POWER DOMAIN 2930 U

The Adaptec 2930U card provides only one SCSI bus but it will work with all SCSI peripherals:
CD-R, DVD-R, Exabyte, DLT 2000, DLT 4000, DLT 7000, SCSI narrow and wide.

ADAPTEC POWER DOMAIN 2940 U2W AND 2940 U2B

These cards are identical. The 2940 U2B is the Apple bundled version of the 2940 U2W. While
these are the fastest SCSI cards for the G3, they do not support narrow SCSI devices such as
the CD-R, DLT 2000, DLT 4000, or Pioneer DVD-R. In order to use these devices, a second SCSI
controller must be used.

NOTE:

The 3940 UW, 2940 U2W, and 2940 U2B SCSI controllers described above
require the latest device drivers from Adaptec. They will not work on the new G3
systems without this driver. Please download this software from the Adaptec web
site: www.adaptec.com/support/files/drivers.html#mac

NOTE:

The Adaptec 2940U2B is not compatible with drivers from FWB Hard Disk
Toolkit.

Fibre Channel Support

SonicStudio HD offers initial support for fibre channel networking. The only
software/hardware configuration that has been tested is described here. In collaboration with
Rorke Data, Sonic will continue to test SonicStudio HD with Rorke's StudioNet-FC product.
Please contact Rorke Data for specific hardware and software configuration information when
setting up a StudioNet-FC system for use with SonicStudio HD.

Item Detail

CPU Power PC G4/450 with Mac OS 9.0 and 512 MB of RAM

F

IBRE CHANNEL SUPPORT

Item Detail

CPU Board Order 1 — ATI Video accelerator

2 — Adaptec 39160 SCSI accelerator
3 — Rorke StudioNet-FC fibre channel adapter
4 — Sonic PCI Bridge

Expansion Chassis Board Order 1 — HDSP Processor

2 — HDSP Effects Processor

Hardware/Software Versions Rorke StudioNet-FC configuration

13

14

Rorke StudioNet-FC

fibre channel adapter

PCI Bridge

Installation of Cards in PowerPC G4 CPU

HDSP Processor

Adaptec 39160
SCSI accelerator

ATI video
accelerator

Installation of Cards in Expansion Chassis

HDSP Effects
Processor

Optical Fibre

Channel Cable

F

IBRE CHANNEL SUPPORT

Local FC

Connection

Vixel 8100

15

Rorke StudioNet-FC Adapter

Host CPU w/

Typical Fibre Channel Connections

FIBRE CHANNEL NOTES & KNOWN ISSUES

1

Do

not

use the

damaged beyond the possibility of repair in the field. Use the

2

Set the FibreShare Preference

Never.

3

Use the

Exclusive Read/Write

“FibreShare performs all of its network access control as a back-ground task of the computer.
If a user needs to have no interruptions happen to their storage or they are working on
mission critical data such as capturing Video or digitizing Audio, make sure these users or
groups have exclusive write access. This will ensure the storage will be accessed only on a
limited basis by the FibreShare system.”

Access privileges are set by the Administrator from within the FibreShare application. Refer to
the FibreShare documentation for complete instructions.

Format

Rorke StudioNet-FC

Switch

Rorke Rorke StudioNet-FC

Data Array

option to initialize fibre channel volumes; this leaves the volume

Initialize

Interval to update locked volumes in seconds:

option only.

to

option. Quoting from the FibreShare manual:

16

4

SonicStudio HD is not compatible with DAVE for SANergy 1.3 and earlier.

5

The following have

• Multiple fibre channel workstations accessing the same disks as a SonicStudio HD

workstation

• fibre channel fabrics with more than one switch or hub

• fibre channel arbitrated loops (in lieu of using a switch)

• Hardware RAIDs

not

been tested:

High-Density Audio“ Operation

SonicStudio HD supports 24-bit audio at 88.2, 96, 176.4 and 192 kHz sample rates using the
High-Density Audio™ I/O, I/O8, Lucid 8824, Sonic Audio I/O, and I/O4.

Connections

SINGLE-WIRE AES CONNECTIONS

The HD I/O supports up to eight input and output channels at 88.2/96 kHz (2x speed). The
I/O8, Lucid 8824, Sonic Audio I/O, and I/O4 do not support single-wire mode.

H

IGH-DENSITY AUDIO

“ O

PERATION

DUAL-WIRE AES CONNECTIONS

The HD I/O, I/O8, Lucid 8824 and Sonic Audio I/O support up to four input and output
channels at 88.2/96 kHz (1x speed) in dual-wire AES mode.

17

In Out1-2 In Out3-4 In Out5-6 In Out In

Channel 1 Channel 2 Channel 3 Channel 4

7-8

The I/O4 supports two channels at 88.2/96 kHz (1x speed) in this mode.

You can work with up to eight dual-wire channels of audio at 88.2/96 kHz (1x speed) by
connecting a second HD I/O, I/O8, Lucid 8824 or Sonic Audio I/O and assigning it to Port B in
the Audio I/O Preferences.

The HD I/O also supports four input and output channels at 176.4/192 kHz (2x speed) sample
rates in dual-wire AES mode.

QUAD-WIRE AES CONNECTIONS

The HD I/O, I/O8, Lucid 8824, and Sonic Audio I/O support two input and output channels at

176.4/192 kHz sample rates in quad-wire (1x speed) AES mode.

WS

Out Addr

124816

Sonic I/O

In Out1-2 In Out3-4 In Out5-6 In Out In

Channel 1 Channel 2

7-8

WS

Out Addr

124816

Sonic I/O

18

The I/O4 supports a single channel in this mode.

You can work with up to four quad-wire channels of audio by connecting a second HD I/O,
I/O8, Lucid 8824, or Sonic Audio I/O and assigning it to Port B in the Audio I/O Preferences.

Setting the Audio I/O Preferences

You must configure SonicStudio HD’s Audio I/O Preferences to accommodate high sample
rate digital audio signals.

To set the Audio I/O Preferences:

1

Be certain that your input/output connections are made in either the single speed or double
speed configuration, depending on your peripheral equipment’s requirements.

2

Launch SonicStudio HD. SonicStudio HD displays a new Project window.

3

Choose

Window > Audio I/O Prefs

Audio I/O Preferences window.

or press

OPTION

+A. SonicStudio HD displays the

H

IGH-DENSITY AUDIO

“ O

PERATION

19

4

Choose a clock source from the

5

In the Mode panel, choose

6

Select input and output speeds:

Clock Source

88.2/96 kHz

pop-up menu.

or

176.4/192 kHz

• If you are using single-wire connections at 88.2/96 kHz, choose 2x.

• If you are using dual-wire connections at 88.2/96 kHz, choose 1x.

• If you are using dual-wire connections at 176.4/192 kHz, choose 2x.

• If you are using quad-wire connections at 176.4/192 kHz, choose 1x.

from the pop-up menu.

20

7

Click

Update

. SonicStudio HD loads the microcode for your chosen configuration. All I/O

boxes connected to your system that support these rates will display.

8

Close the Audio I/O Preferences window.

H

IGH-DENSITY AUDIO

“ O

PERATION

A Note About Sample Order

Dual-wire and quad-wire AES connections achieve higher data rates than the standard single­wire AES/EBU interface by transmitting blocks of successive samples in the high-speed stream
simultaneously on different wires.

For example, in dual-wire AES, the interface clocks at double speed (88.2 or 96 kHz), and on
any given clock cycle the first sample in a block of two transmits on the A channel wire while
the second sample transmits on the B channel wire.

Quad-wire AES expands on this method by clocking the interface at single speed (44.1 or 48
kHz) but transmitting a block of four successive samples simultaneously on channels A and B
of two AES/EBU dual-wire cables.

Logically, there are two possible ways to assign samples to wires in this configuration, as
illustrated in this table:

Sample 1 Sample 2 Sample 3 Sample 4

Wire 1 Channel A Wire 1 Channel B Wire 2 Channel A Wire 2 Channel B

21

Wire 1 Channel A Wire 2 Channel A Wire 1 Channel B Wire 2 Channel B

No standard exists for which method should be used.

To accommodate the widest range of converters, SonicStudio HD employs the second method
(1A 2A 1B 2B). Before attempting to work in High-Density Audio™, confirm that your
converter conforms to this method of quad-wire transmission.