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Operation Manual
Cristina Bachmann, Heiko Bischoff, Marion Bröer, Sabine Pfeifer, Heike Schilling
Thanks to: Ashley Shepherd
The information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH. The software described by this document is subject to a License Agreement and may not be copied to other media except as specifically allowed in the License Agreement. No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced or otherwise transmitted or recorded, for any purpose, without prior written permission by Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH.
All product and company names are ™ or ® trademarks of their respective owners. Windows XP is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Windows Vista and Windows 7 are registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. The Mac logo is a trademark used under license. Macintosh and Power Macintosh are registered trademarks. MP3SURROUND and the MP3SURROUND logo are registered trademarks of Thomson SA, registered in the US and other countries, and are used under license from Thomson Licensing SAS.
Release Date: April 13, 2010
© Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH, 2010.
All rights reserved.
Table of Contents
9About this manual
10Welcome!
11System requirements and installation
12About this chapter
12 Minimum requirements
14Hardware installation
15Installing Nuendo
15Defragmenting the hard disk (Windows only)
15Register your software
16Setting up your system
17Setting up audio
22Setting up MIDI
23Connecting a synchronizer
23Setting up video
23Optimizing audio performance
27VST Connections
28About this chapter
28 The VST Connections window
28 Setting up busses
32 Setting up group and FX channels
32 About monitoring
32 External instruments/effects
36 Editing operations
38The Project window
39Window Overview
41 The track list
41 The Inspector
44The toolbar
45The status line
45The info line
46The overview line
47The ruler
48The Snap function
50Auto-Scroll
51Working with projects
52Creating new projects
52Opening projects
52Closing projects
53Saving projects
54The Archive and Backup functions
56Startup Options
57The Project Setup dialog
58Zoom and view options
61Handling tracks
66Audio handling
67Auditioning audio parts and events
67Scrubbing audio
67Editing parts and events
76Editing in Lane Display mode
77Range editing
79Region operations
79The Edit History dialog
81The Preferences dialog
83Playback and the Transport panel
84Background
85Operations
87 Options and Settings
89The Virtual Keyboard (Nuendo Expansion Kit only)
90Recording
91Background
91 Basic recording methods
93 Audio recording specifics
103 MIDI recording specifics
108 Options and Settings
111Recovery of audio recordings after system failure
112Fades, crossfades and envelopes
113Creating fades
115The Fade dialogs
116Creating crossfades
117The Crossfade dialog
120Auto fades and crossfades
121Event envelopes
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Table of Contents
122The arranger track
123Introduction
123Setting up the arranger track
124Working with arranger events
126Flattening the arranger chain
127Live mode
127Arranging your music to video
129The transpose functions
130Introduction
130 Transposing your music
133 Other functions
136Using markers
137Introduction
138The Marker window
142 Marker tracks
145 Marker key commands
145 Exporting and importing markers
151The Mixer
152Overview
154 |
Configuring the Mixer |
157 |
Basic mixing procedures |
160 |
Audio-specific procedures |
168 |
Routing |
171 |
Direct Routing |
174MIDI-specific procedures
175Utilities
176VST Mixer Diagrams
179Control Room
180Virtual Control Room – The concept
180 Configuring the Control Room
184 The Control Room Mixer
190 Studios and Studio Sends
193The Control Room Overview
194Direct Monitoring and latency
195Audio effects
196About this chapter
196Overview
197Insert effects
203Send effects
207Using the side-chain input
208Using external effects
208Editing effects
209Effect presets
212Installing and managing effect plug-ins
215VST instruments and instrument tracks
216Introduction
216 VST instrument channels vs. instrument tracks
216 VST instrument channels
218 Instrument tracks
220What do I need? Instrument channel or instrument track?
220Instrument Freeze
221VST instruments and processor load
221Using presets for VSTi configuration
225About latency
225External instruments
226Surround sound
227Introduction
229Preparations
230Using the SurroundPanner V5
237Using the MixConvert plug-in
238Exporting a surround mix
239Automation
240Introduction
240 Working with automation curves
240Enabling and disabling the writing of automation data
241Writing automation data
242Editing automation events
243Automation track operations
245 Virgin territory vs. the initial value
248 The Automation panel
260Automation Preferences
261Hints and further options
261MIDI controller automation
263Audio processing and functions
264Background
264 Audio processing
273 Applying plug-ins
275The Offline Process History dialog
276Batch Processing
277Freeze Edits
278Detect Silence
279The Spectrum Analyzer
281 Statistics
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Table of Contents
282The Sample Editor
283Window overview
287 Operations
292Options and settings
293AudioWarp: Tempo matching audio
297Free Warp
299Working with hitpoints and slices
302VariAudio
312Flattening realtime processing
314The Audio Part Editor
315Background
315Opening the Audio Part Editor
315Window overview
316Operations
318Common methods
319Options and Settings
320The Pool
321Background
322Window overview
324Operations
334The MediaBay
335Introduction
336Working with the MediaBay
337The Define Locations section
338The Locations section
339The Results list
342 Previewing files
345 The Filters section
347 The Attribute Inspector
351MediaBay aspects
352Preferences
353Key commands
353Working with MediaBay-related windows
354Working with Volume databases
356Working with track presets
357Introduction
357Types of track presets
358Applying track presets
360Creating a track preset
361Creating tracks from track presets or VST presets
362Track Quick Controls
363Introduction
363Setting up the Quick Controls tab
364Setting up quick controls on an external remote
controller
364 Quick controls and automatable parameters
366Remote controlling Nuendo
367Introduction
367Setting Up
368Operations
369The Generic Remote device
371Track Quick Controls
371Deactivating joysticks
371Apple Remote (Macintosh only)
372MIDI realtime parameters and effects
373Introduction
373 The Inspector – general handling
373 The Inspector sections
377 MIDI effects
379Managing plug-ins
380Using MIDI devices
381Background
381MIDI devices – general settings and patch handling
386 About Device panels
389 About Studio Connections
391MIDI processing and quantizing
392Introduction
392 The quantizing functions
397Making your settings permanent
398Dissolve Part
399Bounce MIDI
399Repeat Loop
400Other MIDI functions
6
Table of Contents
403The MIDI editors
404Introduction
404 Opening a MIDI editor
406 The Key Editor – Overview
408 Key Editor operations
422 The In-Place Editor
424The List Editor – Overview
425List Editor operations
427 Working with SysEx messages
429 Recording SysEx parameter changes
429 Editing SysEx messages
431The Logical Editor, Transformer, and Input Transformer
432Introduction
432Opening the Logical Editor
433Window overview
433 Setting up filter conditions
437Selecting a function
438Specifying actions
440 Applying the defined actions
440 Working with presets
440 The Input Transformer
442The Project Logical Editor
443Introduction
443Opening the Project Logical Editor
443Window overview
444Setting up filter conditions
448 Specifying actions
450 Selecting a function
450 Applying Macros
450 Applying the defined actions
450 Working with presets
452Editing tempo and signature
453Background
453 Tempo and signature display
455 Editing tempo and signature
457 Process Tempo
457The Process Bars dialog
458The Beat Calculator
459Merge Tempo From Tapping
459The Time Warp tool
470The Track Sheet
471Overview
472Printing the track sheet
473Export Audio Mixdown
474Introduction
474Mixing down to audio files
475The Export Audio Mixdown dialog
478The available file formats
482Networking
483Introduction
483What can I use the Networking functions for?
483Networking protocol and ports
484The network dialogs
484Selecting a user name
485Setting up a network
487Sharing projects
492Joining projects
493Working with shared projects
495Further options
496Synchronization
497Background
497 Timecode (positional references)
499Clock sources (speed references)
500Frame edge alignment (phase)
500 The Project Synchronization Setup dialog
508Synchronized operation
509Example scenarios
512 Working with VST System Link
514 Activating VST System Link
520Video
521Introduction
521 Before you start
523Preparing a video project in Nuendo
524Video files in the Project window
525Playing back video
527Editing video
528Extracting audio from a video file
528Replacing the audio in a video file
529About film transfers
531 Compensating for speed changes in Nuendo
534 Tips
464The Project Browser
465Window Overview
466Editing tracks
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Table of Contents
535 |
Audio editing to picture |
580 |
Key commands |
|
536 |
Introduction |
581 |
Introduction |
|
536 |
Video timeline and the grid |
581 |
Setting up key commands |
|
537 |
Conforming production audio |
586 |
Setting up tool modifier keys |
|
539 |
Adding sound design elements |
587 |
The default key commands |
|
541 |
Conforming to picture changes |
591 |
Index |
|
542 |
Synchronize tempo maps to picture |
|||
|
|
543Using standard Nuendo tools for postproduction purposes
548ReWire
549Introduction
549Launching and quitting
550Activating ReWire channels
550Using the transport and tempo controls
551How the ReWire channels are handled in Nuendo
551Routing MIDI via ReWire2
551Considerations and limitations
552File handling
553Importing audio
556Exporting and importing OMF files
557Exporting and importing AAF files
558Exporting and importing AES31 files
559Exporting and importing OpenTL files
560Importing XSend projects from Liquid
560 Exporting and importing standard MIDI files
562Exporting and importing MIDI loops
562Exporting and importing track archives
563Converting audio tracks (multi-channel to mono and vice versa)
566 Clip packages
570Customizing
571Background
571Workspaces
572Using the Setup options
573Customizing track controls
575Configuring the main menu items
576Appearance
577Applying colors in the Project window
579Where are the settings stored?
8
Table of Contents
1
About this manual
Welcome!
This is the Operation Manual for Steinberg’s Nuendo. Here you will find detailed information about all the features and functions in the program.
About the program versions
The documentation covers two different operating systems or “platforms”; Windows and Mac OS X.
Some features and settings are specific to one of the platforms. This is clearly stated in the applicable cases. In other words:
Ö If nothing else is said, all descriptions and procedures in the documentation are valid for both Windows and Mac OS X.
The screenshots are taken from the Windows version of Nuendo.
About the Nuendo Expansion Kit
The Nuendo Expansion Kit adds a number of music composition functions from Steinberg’s Cubase (the “Cubase Music Tools”) to the standard Nuendo application. The Nuendo Expansion Kit (NEK) is a separate product and can be purchased through your Steinberg dealer.
Whenever procedures in this manual use functions available only when the NEK is installed, this is indicated in the text by “Nuendo Expansion Kit only”.
Key command conventions
Many of the default key commands in Nuendo use modifier keys, some of which are different depending on the operating system. For example, the default key command for Undo is [Ctrl]-[Z] under Windows and [Command]-[Z] under Mac OS X.
When key commands with modifier keys are described in this manual, they are shown with the Windows modifier key first, in the following way:
[Win modifier key]/[Mac modifier key]-[key]
For example, [Ctrl]/[Command]-[Z] means “press [Ctrl] under Windows or [Command] under Mac OS X, then press [Z]”.
Similarly, [Alt]/[Option]-[X] means “press [Alt] under Windows or [Option] under Mac OS X, then press [X]”.
Ö Please note that this manual often refers to right-click- ing, for example, to open context menus. If you are using a Mac with a single-button mouse, hold down [Ctrl] and click.
10
About this manual
2
System requirements and installation
About this chapter
This chapter describes the requirements and installation procedures for the Windows version and the Mac version of Nuendo.
Minimum requirements
To use Nuendo, your computer must meet the following minimum requirements:
Windows
•Windows XP (Home or Professional, Service Pack 2, 32-bit), or Windows Vista (32-bit and 64-bit), or Windows 7 (32-bit and 64-bit)
•2 GHz processor (Dual Core processor recommended)
•1024MB RAM
•Windows DirectX compatible audio hardware; ASIO compatible audio hardware recommended for low latency performance.
•Display resolution of 1280x800 pixels recommended
•4GB of free hard disk space
•QuickTime 7.1 and video card supporting OpenGL 1.2 (OpenGL 2.0 recommended) required for video playback
•USB-eLicenser and USB component connector
•DVD ROM drive required for installation
•Internet connection required for license activation
Macintosh
•Mac OS X 10.5.8 or 10.6
•Intel Core processor (Intel Core Duo recommended)
•1024MB RAM
•CoreAudio compatible audio hardware
•Display resolution of 1280x800 pixels
•4GB of free hard disk space
•QuickTime 7.1 and video card supporting OpenGL 1.2 (OpenGL 2.0 recommended) required for video playback
•USB-eLicenser and USB component connector
•DVD ROM drive required for installation
•Internet connection required for license activation
General notes on how to set up your system
!On the Steinberg web site, under “Support–DAW Components”, you can find detailed information on what to consider when setting up a computer system dedicated to audio work.
•RAM – There is a direct relation between the amount of available RAM and the number of audio channels that you can have running.
The amount of RAM specified above is the minimum requirement, but as a general rule “the more the better” applies (see also “RAM” on page 24).
•Hard disk size – The size of the hard disk determines how many minutes of audio you will be able to record.
Recording one minute of stereo CD quality audio requires 10 MB of hard disk space. That is, eight stereo tracks in Nuendo use up at least 80 MB of disk space per recording minute.
•Hard disk speed – The speed of the hard drive also determines the number of audio tracks you can run.
That is the quantity of information that the disk can read, usually expressed as “sustained transfer rate”. Again, “the more the better” applies.
•Wheel mouse – Although a mouse without a wheel will work fine with Nuendo, we recommend that you use a wheel mouse.
This will speed up value editing and scrolling considerably.
MIDI requirements
If you intend to use the MIDI features of Nuendo, you need the following:
•A MIDI interface to connect external MIDI equipment to your computer.
•A MIDI instrument.
•Any audio equipment required to listen to the sound from your MIDI devices.
Audio hardware
Nuendo will run with audio hardware that meets the following specifications:
•Stereo.
•16 bit.
•Support of at least the 44.1kHz sampling rate.
•Windows XP – The audio hardware must be supplied with a special ASIO driver, or a DirectX compatible driver, see below.
12
System requirements and installation
•Windows Vista/Windows 7 – If there is no dedicated ASIO driver available, you can also use the Generic Low Latency ASIO Driver.
•Mac – The audio hardware must be supplied with Mac OS X- compatible drivers (CoreAudio or ASIO).
Using the built-in audio hardware of the Macintosh (Mac only)
Although Nuendo is designed with multi-channel input and output in mind, it is of course possible to use the program with “basic” stereo inputs and outputs. As of this writing, all current Macintosh models provide at least builtin 16 bit stereo audio hardware. For detailed information, refer to the documentation describing your computer.
Depending on your preferences and requirements, using the built-in audio hardware may be sufficient for use with Nuendo. It is always available for selection in Nuendo – you do not have to install any additional drivers.
About drivers
A driver is a piece of software that allows a program to communicate with a certain piece of hardware. In this case, the driver allows Nuendo to use the audio hardware. For audio hardware, there are two different cases, requiring different driver configurations:
If the audio hardware has a specific ASIO driver
Professional audio cards often come with an ASIO driver written especially for the card. This allows for direct communication between Nuendo and the audio card. As a result, audio cards with specific ASIO drivers can provide lower latency (input-output delay), which is crucial when monitoring audio via Nuendo or using VST instruments. The ASIO driver may also provide special support for multiple inputs and outputs, routing, synchronization, etc.
Audio card-specific ASIO drivers are provided by the card manufacturers. Make sure to check the manufacturer’s web site for the latest driver versions.
!If your audio hardware comes with a specific ASIO driver, we strongly recommend that you use this.
If the audio card communicates via the Generic Low Latency ASIO driver (Windows Vista/Windows 7)
If you are working with Windows Vista or Windows 7, you can use the Generic Low Latency ASIO driver. This is a generic ASIO driver that provides ASIO support for all audio cards supported by Windows Vista and Windows 7, thus allowing for low latency. The Generic Low Latency ASIO driver provides the Windows Core Audio technology in Nuendo. No additional driver is needed.
Ö Though the Generic Low Latency ASIO driver provides low latency for all audio cards, you might get better results with on-board audio cards than with external USB audio devices.
If the audio card communicates via DirectX (Windows only)
DirectX is a Microsoft “package” for handling various types of multimedia data under Windows. Nuendo supports DirectX, or to be more precise, DirectSound, which is a part of DirectX used for playing back and recording audio. This requires two types of drivers:
•A DirectX driver for the audio card, allowing it to communicate with DirectX. If the audio card supports DirectX, this driver should be supplied by the audio card manufacturer. If it isn’t installed with the audio card, please check the manufacturer’s web site for more information.
•The ASIO DirectX Full Duplex driver, allowing Nuendo to communicate with DirectX. This driver is included with Nuendo, and does not require any special installation.
13
System requirements and installation
Hardware installation
Copy protection
!Please read the following section before installing the Nuendo software.
Many Steinberg products use the USB-eLicenser (also referred to as a “dongle”), a hardware copy protection device. Nuendo will not run if there is no USB-eLicenser containing an activated license.
• Steinberg software products always come with a license activation code, but not always with an USB-eLicenser.
If you want to activate a license for such a Steinberg software (e.g. an update/upgrade, or a VSTi) on the USB-eLicenser you received with your original version of Nuendo, click the “Enter Activation Code” button of the eLicenser Control Center and follow the instructions.
More information on the transfer or activation of licenses can be found in the help for the eLicenser Control Center.
Installing the audio hardware and its driver
1.Install the audio card and related equipment in the computer, as described in the card’s documentation.
2.Install the driver for the card.
Depending on the operating system of your computer, there are different types of drivers that could apply: card-specific ASIO drivers, the Generic Low Latency ASIO Driver (Windows Vista/Windows 7 only), DirectX drivers (Windows) or Mac OS X (Mac) drivers.
The USB-eLicenser is a USB device on which your Steinberg software licenses are stored. All hardware-protected Steinberg products use the same type of device, and you can store more than one license on one device. Also, licenses can (within certain limits) be transferred between USB-Licensers – which is helpful, e.g. if you want to sell a piece of software.
The eLicenser Control Center (which can be found on the Start menu on Windows systems or the Applications folder on a Mac) is the place where you can check the licenses installed on your USB-eLicenser.
•If you are using other copy-protected Steinberg products, you may want to transfer all licenses for your applications to only one USB-eLicenser, thus using up only one USB port of your computer.
Please refer to the eLicenser Control Center Help for information on how to transfer licenses between USB-eLicensers.
•Nuendo is sold with an USB-eLicenser and an Activation Code, which is found on the Essential Product License Information card within the product package. The USB-eLi- censer already contains a time-limited license that allows you to use Nuendo out-of-the-box for a total of 25 non-con- secutive hours. However, to be able to make unlimited use of your version of Nuendo, you must activate your permanent license manually, using the activation code.
To do so, click the “Enter Activation Code” button of the eLicenser Control Center and follow the instructions.
Specific ASIO drivers
If your audio card has a specific ASIO driver, it may be included with the audio card, but you should always make sure to check the audio card manufacturer’s web site for the most recent drivers. For details on how to install the driver, refer to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Generic Low Latency ASIO Driver (Windows Vista/ Windows 7 only)
On Windows Vista and Windows 7 systems, you can also use the Generic Low Latency ASIO Driver if there is no specific ASIO driver available. This driver is included with Nuendo and does not require any special installation.
DirectX drivers (Windows only)
If your audio card is DirectX compatible, its DirectX drivers will most likely be installed when you install the card. If you have downloaded special DirectX drivers for the audio card, you should follow the manufacturer’s installation instructions.
Mac OS X drivers (Mac only)
If you are using a Macintosh computer, make sure that you are using the latest Mac OS X drivers for your audio hardware. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions to install the driver.
14
System requirements and installation
Testing the card
To make sure that the audio card works as expected, perform the following tests:
•Use any software included with the audio card to make sure that you can record and play back audio without problems.
•If the card is accessed via a standard operating system driver, try playing back audio using the computer’s standard audio application (e.g. Windows Media Player or Apple iTunes).
Installing a MIDI interface/synthesizer card
Installation instructions for a MIDI interface should be included with the product. However, here’s an outline of the necessary steps:
1.Install the interface (or MIDI synthesizer card) in your computer or connect it to a “port” (connector) on the computer.
Which is right for you depends on which type of interface you have.
2.If the interface has a power supply and/or a power switch, turn it on.
3.Install the driver for the interface, as described in the documentation that comes with the interface.
You should also make sure to check the manufacturer’s web site for the latest driver updates.
Macintosh
1.Double-click the file called “Nuendo 5.mpkg”.
2.Follow the instructions on screen.
Defragmenting the hard disk (Windows only)
If you plan to record audio on a hard disk where you have already stored other files, now is the time to defragment it. Defragmentation reorganizes the physical allocation of space on the hard disk in order to optimize its performance. It is done with a special defragmentation program.
!It is crucial to the audio recording performance that your hard disk is optimized (defragmented). You should make sure to defragment regularly.
Register your software
We encourage you to register your software! By doing so you are entitled to technical support and kept aware of updates and other news regarding Nuendo.
To register your software, proceed as follows:
• In Nuendo, open the Help menu and select the Registration option.
This option is an Internet link that will open the Registration page of the Steinberg web site. To register, simply follow the instructions on screen.
Installing Nuendo
The installation procedure puts all files in the right places, automatically.
Depending on your system, the Nuendo 5 Start Center program on the DVD may start automatically. If no interactive start screen appears, open the DVD and double-click the file “Nuendo 5 Start Center” to launch the interactive start screen. From there you can start the installation of Nuendo and browse through the additional options and information presented there.
In case you do not want to install Nuendo via the interactive start screen, follow the procedure below:
Windows
1.Double-click the file called Setup.exe.
2.Follow the instructions on screen.
• When you launch Nuendo, you will also be prompted to launch the registration process.
15
System requirements and installation
3
Setting up your system
Setting up audio
!Make sure that all equipment is turned off before making any connections!
Connecting audio
Exactly how to set up your system depends on many different factors, e.g. the kind of project you wish to create, the external equipment you want to use, or the computer hardware available to you. Therefore, the following sections can only serve as examples.
How you connect your equipment, i.e. whether you use digital or analog connections, also depends on your individual setup.
Stereo input and output – the simplest connection
If you only use a stereo input and output from Nuendo, you can connect your audio hardware, e.g. the inputs of your audio card or your audio interface, directly to the input source and the outputs to a power amplifier and speaker.
Multi-channel input and output
Most likely however, you will have other audio equipment that you want to integrate with Nuendo, using several input and output channels. Depending on the equipment available to you, there are two ways to go: either mixing using an external mixing desk, or mixing using the Mixer inside Nuendo.
• External mixing means having a hardware mixing device with a group or bus system that can be used for feeding inputs on your audio hardware.
In the example below, four busses are used for feeding signals to the audio hardware’s inputs. The four outputs are connected back to the mixer for monitoring and playback. Remaining mixer inputs can be used for connecting audio sources like microphones, instruments, etc.
A simple stereo audio setup
This is probably the simplest of all setups – once you have set up the internal input and output busses, you can connect your audio source, e.g. a microphone, to your audio interface and start recording.
A multi-channel audio setup using an external mixer
Ö When connecting an input source (like a mixer) to the audio hardware, you should use output busses, sends or similar that are separate from the mixer’s master output to avoid recording what you are playing back. You may also have mixing hardware that can be connected via FireWire.
17
Setting up your system
• When using the Mixer inside Nuendo, you can use the inputs on your audio hardware to connect microphones and/or external devices. Use the outputs to connect your monitoring equipment.
You can create very complex setups using external instruments and external effects, and integrate Nuendo seamlessly with all your external equipment using the Control Room feature (see the chapters “VST Connections” on page 27 and “Control Room” on page 179).
Mixing inside Nuendo
Connecting for surround sound
If you plan to mix for surround sound, you can connect the audio outputs to a multi-channel power amplifier, driving a set of surround channels.
A surround sound playback configuration
Nuendo supports a number of surround formats. The example connection above will work for mixing both LRCS (ProLogic for example) and 5.1, in which case the two surround speakers will be playing the same material (from the single surround channel). The difference between the two formats is the LFE channel, which is not used with LRCS.
Recording from a CD player
Most computers come with a CD-ROM drive that can also be used as a regular CD player. In some cases the CD player is internally connected to the audio hardware so that you can record the output of the CD player directly into Nuendo (consult the audio hardware documentation if you are uncertain).
•All routing and level adjustments for recording from a CD (if available) are done in the audio hardware setup application (see below).
•You can also grab audio tracks directly from a CD in Nuendo (see the chapter “File handling” on page 552).
Word clock connections
If you are using a digital audio connection, you may also need a word clock connection between the audio hardware and external devices. Please refer to the documentation that came with the audio hardware for details.
!It is very important that word clock synchronization is done correctly or there might be clicks and crackles in recordings that you make!
About recording levels and inputs
When you connect your equipment, you should make sure that the impedance and levels of the audio sources and inputs are matched. Typically, different inputs may be designed for use with microphones, consumer line level (-10dBV) or professional line level (+4dBV), or you may be able to adjust input characteristics on the audio interface or in its control panel. Please check the audio hardware documentation for details.
Using the correct types of input is important to avoid distortion or noisy recordings.
!Nuendo does not provide any input level adjustments for the signals coming in to your audio hardware, since these are handled differently for each card. Adjusting input levels is either done in a special application included with the hardware or from its control panel (see below).
18
Setting up your system
Making settings for the audio hardware
Most audio cards come with one or more small applications that allow you to configure the inputs of the hardware to your liking. This includes:
•Selecting which inputs/outputs are active.
•Setting up word clock synchronization (if available).
•Turning monitoring via the hardware on/off (see “About monitoring” on page 21).
•Setting levels for each input. This is very important!
•Setting levels for the outputs, so that they match the equipment you use for monitoring.
•Selecting digital input and output formats.
•Making settings for the audio buffers.
In many cases all available settings for the audio hardware are gathered in a control panel, which can be opened from within Nuendo as described below (or opened separately, when Nuendo isn’t running). In some cases, there may be several different applications and panels – please refer to the audio hardware documentation for details.
Plug and Play support for ASIO devices
The Steinberg MR816 hardware series supports Plug and Play in Nuendo. These devices can be plugged in and switched on while the application is running. Nuendo will automatically use the driver of the MR816 series and will re-map the VST connections accordingly.
Steinberg cannot guarantee that this will work with other hardware. If you are unsure of whether your device supports plug and play, please consult its documentation.
!If a device that does not support Plug and Play is connected/disconnected while the computer is running, it may get damaged.
Selecting a driver and making audio settings in Nuendo
The first thing you need to do is select the correct driver in Nuendo to make sure that the program can communicate with the audio hardware:
1.Launch Nuendo and select Device Setup from the Devices menu.
2.In the Devices list to the left, click on “VST Audio System”.
The VST Audio System page is shown.
3.On the ASIO Driver menu, select your audio hardware driver.
There may be several options here that all refer to the same audio hardware. When you have selected a driver, it is added to the Devices list.
!Under Windows, we strongly recommend that you access your hardware via an ASIO driver written specifically for the hardware. If no ASIO driver is installed, we recommend that you check with your audio hardware manufacturer if they have an ASIO driver available, for example, for download via the Internet.
!On Windows Vista and Windows 7 systems, you can also use the Generic Low Latency ASIO driver if no specific ASIO driver is available.
4.Select the driver in the Devices list to open the driver settings for your audio hardware.
19
Setting up your system
5. Bring up the control panel for the audio hardware and adjust the settings as recommended by the audio hardware manufacturer.
•Under Windows, you open the control panel by clicking the Control Panel button.
The control panel that opens when you click this button is provided by the audio hardware manufacturer – not Nuendo (unless you use
DirectX, see below). Hence it will be different for each audio card brand and model.
The control panels for the ASIO DirectX driver and the Generic Low Latency ASIO Driver (Windows Vista and Windows 7 only) are exceptions, in that they are provided by Steinberg and described in the dialog help, opened by clicking the Help button in the dialog. See also the notes on DirectX below.
•Under Mac OS X, the control panel for your audio hardware is opened by clicking the “Open Config App” button on the settings page for your audio device in the Device Setup dialog.
Note that this button is available only for some hardware products. If “Open Config App” is not available in your setup, refer to the documentation that came with your audio hardware for information on where to make hardware settings.
6.If you plan to use several audio applications simultaneously, you may want to activate the “Release Driver when Application is in Background” option on the VST Audio System page. This will allow another application to play back via your audio hardware even though Nuendo is running.
The application that is currently active (i.e. the “top window” on the desktop) gets access to the audio hardware. Make sure that any other audio application accessing the audio hardware is also set to release the ASIO (or Mac OS X) driver so Nuendo can use it when it becomes the active application again.
7.On the page for the driver, activate the Externally Clocked option if your audio hardware receives clock signals from an external sample clock source.
You should “tell” Nuendo that it receives external clock signals and therefore derives its speed from that source. It is essential that you set Nuendo’s project sample rate to the sample rate of the incoming clock signals for proper audio playback and recording, see “The Project Setup dialog” on page 57.
If you are using audio hardware with a DirectX driver (Windows only)
!If your audio hardware does not have a specific ASIO driver and your Windows version does not support the Generic Low Latency ASIO driver, a DirectX driver is the next best option.
Nuendo comes with a driver called ASIO DirectX Full Duplex, available for selection on the ASIO Driver pop-up menu (VST Audio System page).
ÖTo take full advantage of DirectX Full Duplex, the audio hardware must support WDM (Windows Driver Model) in combination with DirectX version 8.1 or higher. In all other cases, the audio inputs will be emulated by DirectX (see the dialog help for the ASIO DirectX Full Duplex Setup dialog for details about how this is reported).
ÖDuring the installation of Nuendo, the latest DirectX version will be installed on your computer.
When the ASIO DirectX Full Duplex driver is selected in the Device Setup dialog, you can open the ASIO Control Panel and adjust the following settings (for more details, click the Help button in the control panel):
• Direct Sound Output and Input Ports
In the list on the left in the window, all available Direct Sound output and input ports are listed. In many cases, there will be only one port in each list. To activate or deactivate a port in the list, click the checkbox in the left column. If the checkbox is ticked, the port is activated.
•You can edit the Buffer Size and Offset settings in this list if necessary, by double-clicking on the value and typing in a new value.
In most cases, the default settings will work fine. Audio buffers are used when audio data is transferred between Nuendo and the audio card. While larger buffers ensure that playback will occur without glitches, the latency (the time between the moment Nuendo sends out the data and when it actually reaches the output) will be higher.
•Offset
If a constant offset is audible during playback of Audio and MIDI recordings, you can adjust the output or input latency time using this value.
8.If your audio hardware and its driver support ASIO Direct Monitoring, you may want to activate the Direct Monitoring checkbox on the page for the driver.
Read more about monitoring later in this chapter and in the chapter “Recording” on page 90.
9.Click Apply and then OK to close the dialog.
20
Setting up your system
Setting up the input and output ports
Once you have selected the driver and made the settings as described above, you need to specify which inputs and outputs will be used and name these:
1. In the Device Setup dialog, select your driver in the Devices list on the left to display the driver settings for your audio hardware.
All input and output ports on the audio hardware are listed.
2.To hide a port, click in the “Visible” column for the port (deselecting the checkbox).
Ports that are not visible cannot be selected in the VST Connections window where you set up your input and output busses – see the chapter “VST Connections” on page 27.
!If you attempt to hide a port that is already used by a bus you will be asked whether this is really what you want – note that this will disable the port!
3.To rename a port, click on its name in the “Show as” column and type in a new name.
• It is a good idea to give your ports names that are related to the channel configuration (rather than to the actual hardware model)!
For example, if you are using a 5.1 surround audio setup, you could name the six ports Left, Right, Center, Lfe, Left Surround, and Right Surround. This makes it easier to transfer your projects between different computers, e.g. in different studios – if the same port names are used on both computers, Nuendo will automatically handle the bus connections properly when you open the project on the other computer.
4. Click OK to close the Device Setup dialog and apply your changes.
About monitoring
In Nuendo, monitoring means listening to the input signal while preparing to record or while recording. There are three ways to monitor:
External monitoring
External monitoring (listening to the input signal before it goes into Nuendo) requires an external mixer for mixing the audio playback with the input signal. This can be a classic mixing desk or a mixer application for your audio hardware, if this has a mode in which the input audio is sent back out again (usually called “Thru”, “Direct Thru” or similar).
Via Nuendo
In this case, the audio passes from the input into Nuendo, possibly through Nuendo effects and EQ and then back to the output. You control monitoring via settings in Nuendo.
This allows you to control the monitoring level from Nuendo and add effects to the monitored signal only.
ASIO Direct Monitoring
If your audio hardware is ASIO 2.0 compatible, it may support ASIO Direct Monitoring (this feature may also be available for audio hardware with Mac OS X drivers). In this mode, the actual monitoring is done in the audio hardware, by sending the input signal back out again. However, monitoring is controlled from Nuendo. This means that the audio hardware’s direct monitoring feature can be turned on or off automatically by Nuendo.
Monitoring is described in detail in the chapter “Recording” on page 90. However, when setting up, there is one thing to note:
• If you want to use the external monitoring via your audio hardware, make sure that the corresponding functions are activated in the card’s mixer application.
Ö If you are using RME Audio Hammerfall DSP audio hardware, make sure that the pan law is set to -3dB in the card’s preferences.
21
Setting up your system
Setting up MIDI
!Make sure that all equipment is turned off before making any connections!
This section describes how to connect and set up MIDI equipment. If you have no MIDI equipment, you can skip this section. Note that this is only an example – you might need or want to hook things up differently!
Connecting the MIDI equipment
In this example we assume that you have a MIDI keyboard and an external MIDI sound module. The keyboard is used both for feeding the computer with MIDI messages for recording and for playing back MIDI tracks. The sound module is used for playback only. Using Nuendo’s MIDI Thru feature (described later) you will be able to hear the correct sound from the sound module while playing the keyboard or recording.
A typical MIDI Setup
Setting MIDI Thru and Local On/Off
On the MIDI page in the Preferences dialog (located on the File menu under Windows and on the Nuendo menu under Mac OS X), you will find a setting called “MIDI Thru Active”. This is related to a setting in your instrument called “Local On/Off” or “Local Control On/Off”.
•If you use a MIDI keyboard instrument, as described earlier in this chapter, MIDI Thru should be activated and that instrument should be set to Local Off (sometimes called Local Control Off – see the instrument’s operation manual for details). The MIDI signal from the keyboard will be recorded in Nuendo and at the same time be re-routed back to the instrument so that you hear what you are playing, without the keyboard “triggering” its own sounds.
When “MIDI Thru” is active in Nuendo, MIDI data received is immediately “echoed” back out.
MIDI data coming in to the instrument is played by the “Synth” inside it.
“Synth”
When you press a key, it is sent out via MIDI to Nuendo
When Local Control is turned on in the instrument, the keys you press will be played by the “Synth” inside the instrument. When Local Control is turned off, this connection is cut off.
If you want to use even more instruments for playback, simply connect MIDI Thru on the sound module to MIDI In on the next instrument, and so on. In this hook-up, you will always play the first keyboard when recording. But you can still use all your devices for providing sounds on playback.
!If you plan to use more than three sound sources, we recommend that you either use an interface with more than one output, or a separate MIDI Thru box instead of the Thru jacks on each unit.
•If you use a separate MIDI keyboard – one that does not produce any sounds itself – MIDI Thru in Nuendo should also be activated, but you don’t need to look for any Local On/Off setting in your instruments.
•The only case where MIDI Thru should be deactivated is if you use Nuendo with only one keyboard instrument and that instrument cannot be set to Local Off mode.
•MIDI Thru will be active only for MIDI tracks that are record enabled and/or have the Monitor button activated. See the chapter “Recording” on page 90 for more information.
22
Setting up your system
Setting up MIDI ports in Nuendo
The Device Setup dialog lets you set up your MIDI system as follows:
Ö When you change MIDI port settings in the Device Setup dialog, these are automatically applied.
Showing or hiding MIDI Ports
The MIDI ports are listed in the Device Setup dialog on the MIDI Port Setup page. By clicking in the “Visible” column for a MIDI input or output, you can specify whether or not it is listed on the MIDI pop-up menus in the program.
If you are trying to hide a MIDI port which is already selected for a track or a MIDI device, a warning message will appear, allowing you to hide – and disconnect – the port or to cancel the operation and keep the MIDI port visible.
Setting up the “All MIDI Inputs” option
When you record MIDI in Nuendo, you can specify which MIDI input each recording MIDI track should use. However, you can also select the “In ‘All MIDI Inputs’” option for an input port, which causes any MIDI data from any MIDI input to be recorded.
The “In ‘All MIDI Inputs’” option on the MIDI Port Setup page allows you to specify which inputs are included when you select All MIDI Inputs for a MIDI track. This can be especially useful if your system provides several instances of the same physical MIDI input – by deactivating the duplicates you make sure only the desired MIDI data is recorded.
Ö If you have a MIDI remote control unit connected, you should also make sure to deactivate the “In ‘All MIDI Inputs’” option for that MIDI input. This will avoid accidentally recording the data from the remote control when the “All MIDI Inputs” option is selected as input for a MIDI track.
Connecting a synchronizer
!Make sure that all equipment is turned off before making any connections!
When using Nuendo with external tape transports, you will most likely need to add a synchronizer to your system. All connections and setup procedures for synchronization are described in the chapter “Synchronization” on page 496.
Setting up video
Nuendo plays back video files in a number of formats, such as AVI, QuickTime, or MPEG. QuickTime is used as playback engine. Which formats can be played back depends on the video codecs installed on your system, see the chapter “Video” on page 520.
There are several ways to play back video, e.g. without any special hardware, using a FireWire port, or using dedicated video cards, see “Video output devices” on page 522.
If you plan to use special video hardware, install it and set it up as recommended by the manufacturer.
Before you use the video hardware with Nuendo, we recommend that you test the hardware installation with the utility applications that came with the hardware and/or the QuickTime Player application.
Optimizing audio performance
This section gives you some hints and tips on how to get the most out of your Nuendo system, performance-wise. Some of this text refers to hardware properties and can be used as a guide when upgrading your system. This text is very brief. Look for details and current information on the Nuendo web site!
Two aspects of performance
There are two distinct aspects of performance with respect to Nuendo.
Tracks and effects
Simply put: the faster your computer, the more tracks, effects and EQ you will be able to play. Exactly what constitutes a “fast computer” is almost a science in itself, but some hints are given below.
23
Setting up your system
Short response times (latency)
Another aspect of performance is response time. The term “latency” refers to the “buffering”, i.e. the temporary storing, of small chunks of audio data during various steps of the recording and playback process on a computer. The more and larger those chunks, the higher the latency.
High latency is most irritating when playing VST instruments and when monitoring through the computer, i.e. when listening to a live audio source via the Nuendo Mixer and effects. However, very long latency times (several hundred milliseconds) can also affect other processes like mixing, e.g. when the effect of a fader movement is heard only after a noticeable delay.
While Direct Monitoring and other techniques reduce the problems associated with very long latency times, a system that responds fast will always be more convenient to work with.
• Depending on your audio hardware, it may be possible to “trim” your latency times, usually by lowering the size and the number of buffers.
For details, refer to the audio hardware documentation, or, if you are using a DirectX driver under Windows, the dialog help.
System factors that affect performance
RAM
Generally speaking, the more RAM is installed in your computer, the better.
!On computers running a Windows 32Bit operating system, a running application can address a maximum of 2GB of RAM. On a Macintosh computer running Mac OS X, this limit is 4GB.
This limitation is imposed by the operating system, and it is independent of the amount of RAM that you may have installed in your computer!
Ö Only Windows 64Bit is able to assign considerably more than 4GB of RAM to a running application.
Some program functions may “eat up” all the available memory, e.g. recording, the use of effect plug-ins, and the pre-loading of samples (see also “RAM requirements for recording” on page 94 and “Smart plug-in processing” on page 196).
!When a function has used up all the memory made available by the operating system, the computer will crash.
Always keep in mind the RAM limitation of your operating system when setting up your projects.
CPU and processor cache
It goes without saying that the faster the computer processor, the better. But there are a number of factors that affect the apparent speed of a computer: the bus speed and type (PCI is strongly recommended), the processor cache size and of course, the processor type and brand. Nuendo relies heavily on floating point calculations. When shopping for a processor, please make sure that you get one that is powerful in calculating floating point arithmetics.
Note also that Nuendo features full support for multi-pro- cessor systems. So, if you own a computer system with more than one processor, Nuendo can take advantage of the total capacity and evenly distribute the processing load to all available processors. For further information, see “The advanced options” on page 25.
Hard disk and controller
The number of hard disk tracks you can record and play back at the same time also depends on the speed of your hard disk and hard disk controller. If you use E-IDE disks and controllers, make sure that the transfer mode is DMA Busmaster. Under Windows, you can check the current mode by launching the Windows Device Manager and looking for properties of the IDE ATA/ATAPI Controller’s primary and secondary channel. DMA transfer mode is enabled by default, but may be turned off by the system should hardware problems occur.
24
Setting up your system
Audio hardware and driver
The hardware and its driver can have some effect on regular performance. A badly written driver can reduce the performance of your computer. But where the hardware driver design makes the most difference is with latency.
!Again, we strongly recommend that you use audio hardware for which there is a specific ASIO driver!
This is especially true when using Nuendo for Windows:
•Under Mac OS X, you can adjust the size of the buffers on the VST Audio System page in the Device Setup dialog.
You may also find buffer settings in the control panel for the audio hardware.
•Under Windows, you adjust the buffer size settings in the control panel for the audio hardware (opened by clicking the Control Panel button on the driver page in the Device Setup dialog).
•Under Windows, ASIO drivers written specifically for the hardware are more efficient than the Generic Low Latency ASIO Driver or a DirectX driver and produce shorter latency times.
•Under Mac OS X, audio hardware with properly written Mac OS X (Core Audio) drivers can be very efficient and produce very low latency times.
However, there are additional features currently only available with ASIO drivers, such as the ASIO Positioning Protocol.
Optimizing processor scheduling (Windows only)
To get the lowest possible latencies when using ASIO under Windows XP (on a single-CPU system), the “system performance” has to be optimized for background tasks:
1.Open the Windows Control Panel from the Start menu and select System.
2.Select the Advanced tab and click the Settings button in the Performance section.
The Performance Options dialog opens.
3.Select the Advanced tab.
4.In the Processor Scheduling section, select “Adjust for best performance of: Background services”.
5.Click OK to close the dialogs.
Making settings that affect performance
Audio buffer settings
Audio buffers affect how audio is sent to and from the audio hardware. The size of the audio buffers affects both the latency and the audio performance. Generally, the smaller the buffer size, the lower the latency. On the other hand, working with small buffers can be demanding for the computer. If the audio buffers are too small, you may get clicks, pops or other audio playback problems.
The advanced options
On the VST Audio System page you will find the “Advanced options” section. Here you find advanced settings for the VST Engine, including a Multi Processing option. When this is activated and there is more than one CPU in your system, the processing load is distributed evenly to all available CPUs, allowing Nuendo to make full use of the combined power of the multiple processors. See the dialog help for details.
About the VST Performance window
The VST Performance window is opened from the Devices menu. The window shows two meter displays: The ASIO meter, which indicates CPU load, and the Disk meter, which shows the hard disk transfer rate. It is recommended that you check this from time to time, or keep it always open. Even if you have been able to activate a number of audio channels in the project without getting any warning, you may run into performance problems when adding EQ or effects.
• The ASIO meter (at the top) shows the ASIO time usage, i.e. the time required to complete the current processing tasks. The more tracks, effects, EQ, etc. you use in your project, the longer processing will take, and the longer the ASIO meter will show activity.
If the overload indicator (on the far right) lights up, you need to decrease the number of EQ modules, active effects, and/or audio channels playing back simultaneously.
25
Setting up your system
• The lower bar graph shows the hard disk transfer load.
If the overload indicator (on the far right) lights up, the hard disk is not supplying data fast enough to the computer. You may need to reduce the number of tracks playing back by using the Disable Track function (see “About track disable/enable” on page 87). If this does not help, you need a faster hard disk.
ÖThe overload indicator may occasionally blink, e.g. when you locate during playback. This does not indicate a problem, but happens because the program needs a moment for all channels to load data for the new playback position.
ÖThe ASIO and Disk load meters can also be shown on the Transport panel (as “Performance”) and on the Project window toolbar (as “Performance Meter”). There they are shown as two miniature vertical meters (by default at the left side of the panel/toolbar).
26
Setting up your system
4
VST Connections
About this chapter
This chapter focuses on the settings you can perform in the VST Connections window. Here you can set up input and output busses, group and FX channels, external effects, and external instruments. Furthermore you can use this window to configure the Control Room and access the Control Room itself.
Since input and output busses are vital for working with Nuendo, a large part of this chapter concentrates on busses and this is also the reason why you find this chapter at the beginning of the Operation Manual. How to use the busses is described in detail in the section “Routing” on page 168.
Setting up busses
Nuendo uses a system of input and output busses to transfer audio between the program and the audio hardware.
•Input busses let you route audio from the inputs on your audio hardware into the program. This means that when you record audio, you will always do this through one or several input busses.
•Output busses let you route audio from the program to the outputs on your audio hardware. When you play back audio, you will always do this through one or several output busses.
Once you understand the bus system and know how to set up the busses properly, it will be easy to go on with recording, playing back, mixing, and doing surround work.
The VST Connections window
The VST Connections window is opened from the Devices menu. It contains the following tabs:
•The Inputs and Outputs tabs allow you to set up and configure input and output busses, see “Setting up busses” on page 28.
•The Group/FX tab allows you to create group and FX channels/tracks and to make output assignments for these, see “Setting up group and FX channels” on page 32.
•The External FX tab allows you to create effect send/return busses for connecting external effects which can then be selected via the effect pop-up menus from inside the program. For further information, see “External instruments/effects” on page 32 and “Using external effects” on page 208.
•The External Instruments tab allows you to create input/output busses for connecting external instruments. For further information, see “External instruments/effects” on page 32 and the chapter “VST instruments and instrument tracks” on page 215.
•The Studio tab is where you enable and configure the Control Room, see “VST Connections – Studio tab” on page 181.
Strategies
You can create any number of busses in Nuendo, in virtually any channel configuration – mono, stereo or a number of surround formats.
Ö The bus configuration is saved with the project – therefore it is a good idea to add and set up the busses you need and save these in a template project (see “Save as Template” on page 53).
When you start working on new projects, you start from this template. That way you get your standard bus configuration without having to make new bus settings for each new project. If you need to work with different bus configurations in different projects, you can either create several different templates or store your configurations as presets (see “Presets” on page 31). The templates can of course also contain other settings that you regularly use – sample rate, record format, a basic track layout, etc.
So, which type of busses do you need? This depends on your audio hardware, your general audio setup (e.g. surround speaker setup) and what kind of projects you work with.
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VST Connections
Let’s say you are using audio hardware with eight analog inputs and outputs and digital stereo connections (10 inputs and outputs all in all). Furthermore, you work with a surround setup in 5.1 format. In this scenario, you may want to add the following busses:
Input busses
•Most likely you need at least one stereo input bus assigned to an analog input pair. This will let you record stereo material. If you want to be able to record in stereo from other analog input pairs as well, you add stereo input busses for these, too.
•Although you can record mono tracks from one side of a stereo input, it may be a good idea to add a dedicated mono input bus. This can be assigned to an analog input to which you have connected a dedicated microphone pre-amp, for example. Again, you can have several different mono busses.
•You probably want a dedicated stereo input bus assigned to the digital stereo input, for digital transfers.
•If you want to transfer surround material directly to a surround track, e.g. from surround-configured location recording equipment, you need an input bus in that surround format – in this example, this will be a 5.1 input bus.
Output busses
•You will need one or several stereo output busses for routing stereo mixes to master recorders or other destinations.
•For digital transfers, you need a stereo bus assigned to a digital stereo output as well.
•You need a surround bus in the format of your speaker configuration (in this example, 5.1) assigned to the correct outputs. Only connect these outputs to the corresponding speakers if you are not using the Control Room (see the chapter “Control Room” on page 179). You may want additional surround busses if you tend to work in different surround formats.
!Different busses can use the same inputs/outputs on the audio hardware! For example, you may want a stereo output bus assigned to the same outputs as the front stereo channels in your surround bus – this enables you to listen to stereo mixes without having to reconnect your speakers.
Preparations
Before you set up busses, you should name the inputs and outputs on your audio hardware. For example, if you are using a 5.1 surround speaker setup, you should name the outputs according to which speaker they are connected to (Left, Right, Center, and so on).
The reason for this is compatibility – it makes it easier to transfer projects between different computers and setups. For example, if you move your project to another studio, the audio hardware may be of a different model. But if both you and the other studio owner have given your inputs and outputs names according to the surround setup (rather than names based on the audio hardware model), Nuendo will automatically find the correct inputs and outputs for your busses and you will be able to play and record without having to change the settings.
To assign names to the inputs and outputs of your audio hardware, proceed as follows:
1.Open the Device Setup dialog from the Devices menu.
2.On the VST Audio System page, make sure that the correct driver for your audio hardware is selected.
If this is the case, your audio card is listed in the Devices list on the left of the Device Setup window.
3.In the Devices list, select your audio card.
The available input and output ports on your audio hardware are listed on the right.
4. To rename a port, click on its name in the Show As column and enter a new name.
• If needed, you can also disable ports by deactivating them in the Visible column.
Disabled ports are not shown in the VST Connections window. If you attempt to disable a port that is used by a bus, you will be asked whether this is really what you want – note that this will remove the port from the bus!
5. Click OK to close the Device Setup dialog.
Ö If you open a project created on another computer and the port names do not match (or the port configuration is not the same – e.g. the project is created on a system with multi-channel i/o and you open it on a stereo in/out system), the Missing Ports dialog will appear. This allows you to manually re-route ports used in the project to ports available in your system.
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VST Connections
Mac OS X only: Retrieving channel names
For some audio cards, you can automatically retrieve the ASIO channel names for the ports of your audio hardware. Proceed as follows:
1.Open the Device Setup dialog via the Devices menu.
2.On the VST Audio System page, select your audio card on the ASIO Driver pop-up menu.
3.In the Devices list on the left, select your audio card.
The available settings are displayed.
4.In the settings section on the right, click the Control Panel button.
5.In the control panel for your audio hardware, activate the “Use CoreAudio Channel Names” option.
6.When you now open the VST Connections window to set up the busses in your system, you will find that the port names in the Device Port column correspond to the names that are used by the CoreAudio driver.
Ö If you want to use the project later on with an earlier version of Nuendo, you will have to re-assign the port connections in the VST Connections window (see below).
Mac OS X only: Port selection and activation
On the settings page for your audio card (opened via the Device Setup dialog, see above), you can specify which input and output ports are active. This allows you to use the Microphone input instead of the Line input or even to deactivate the audio card input or output completely, if required.
Ö This function is only available for Built-In Audio, standard USB audio devices and a certain number of other audio cards (e.g. Pinnacle CineWave).
Adding input and output busses
Depending on whether you have selected the Inputs or the Outputs tab in the VST Connections window, the corresponding busses are listed, with the following information:
Column |
Description |
Bus Name |
Lists the busses. You can select and rename busses by |
|
clicking on them in this column. |
Speakers |
Indicates the speaker configuration (mono, stereo, sur- |
|
round formats) of each bus. |
Audio Device |
This shows the currently selected ASIO driver. |
Device Port |
If a bus entry is expanded to show all speaker channels, |
|
this column shows which physical inputs/outputs on your |
|
audio hardware are used by the bus. If the bus entry is col- |
|
lapsed, only the first port used by this bus is visible here. |
Click (Outputs |
You can route the click to a specific output bus, regard- |
tab only) |
less of the actual Control Room output, or even when the |
|
Control Room is disabled. |
|
|
To add an input or output bus, proceed as follows:
1.Open the Inputs or Outputs tab depending on the type of bus that you want to add.
2.Click the Add Bus button.
A dialog opens.
3. Select a (channel) configuration.
The Configuration pop-up menu contains a Mono and a Stereo option as well as several surround formats. Additional surround formats are listed on the “More…” submenu.
• Alternatively, you can right-click in the VST Connections window and add a bus in the desired format directly from the context menu.
The new bus appears with the ports visible.
4. For each of the speaker channels in the bus, click in the Device Port column to select a port on your audio hardware.
The pop-up menu that opens lists the ports with the names you have assigned in the Device Setup dialog.
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VST Connections
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