Not really, just a small initialization timeout in our implementation. The special device mentioned here is indeed present within the firmware, but it is the second device, so not causing problems.

did the HD usage screen show errors? Did you scroll through any settings during that set?
Any chance of a power interruption/loose power cable to the external drive?
Just trying to brainstorm..
Mike

I do the same thing with Digicheck as a backup. Were those digicheck files OK?

It couldn't have been operator error within TMFX either because besides the fact that you were playing,the stop record function in TMFX will ask you if you really want to stop recording.

My best guest is maybe a hard drive power issue that forced a disconnect, but that's just a guess.
Anyone else had similar problems or observations?

The digicheck files were ok. I have a newer laptop and getting it to work right for audio has become a full time job! That's the main reason, I hope this new recording feature works. One day I can record for 2 hours with no errors and the next time, I'll get a few errors after 3 minutes.

Drag and drop it on to your Applications folder.

See the first post for update: firmware version 134 is now available, with the latest fixes and compatibility improvements. Enjoy!

Some more info:

http://www.rme-audio.de/forum/viewtopic … 152#p55152

Thanks for the feedback.

Unchanged and explained before. With a big drive like this one reading the content (necessary after deleting a file) takes so long. Nearly the same as unplug/plug. This function is there to help in emergency, not as replacement for a computer-based file manager.

Another update: TotalMix FX 0.94 pre-release 6 is now available, see link in first post. Lots of fixes and improvements. Obvious changes: New play channel dialog under Windows. New option (F3) to select submix from input and playback row. Extended font support. Better downward compatibility to non-record firmware 1.12. 0 dB Gain bug fixed for instrument input. User definable levels (like Dim) extended to -65 dB. Improved sync between TM FX and the UFX, so the 'Mismatch Warning' message will no longer show up when it shouldn't.

Note: when the option 'LCD support' is enabled under Mac, the faders tend to have a small after-jitter. This seems to be normal.

Hello Matthias,

Have tried the beta3 with the TMFX 094_6 and I had a crash on Win 7 - 64... then a beautifull BSOD! Got back to the précedent release.

Best.

Alain

That is normal. When the WD is not spinning it needs more than 20 seconds to come back to life. Differently to other drives that we tested it will play dead until then. In that time the UFX is waiting for the drive and can not be controlled from the front. The UFX will not 'hang' forever, but the spec says we have to give a drive up to 30 seconds time to react. After that the UFX would change its display to 'No Media'.

As explained in the Tips&Tricks, at 192 with 16 channels you run the UFX USB port in a worst case scenario, with limited buffer time to compensate/fix actions in between which might need a little bit more time. That said I think the  explanation for the errors and the stop is that the drive got fragmented from the different recording sessions. If you start with an empty one it should work ok until it's full. It should also work ok when you just stop and start recordings, in that case the files will build up without fragmentation. If you start to delete files in-between (or have recordings stopped or with errors) the drive might get fragmented, which then causes a higher response time from the drive for file actions, only in specific moments.

That does not mean that we think the current firmware is error-free. Especially the case when recordings just stop need more examination and (maybe later) a note why it happened. The displayed write time is of no help in that case, because when you look the problem has already passed and you see a different value.

Thanks. I figured it was the drive spinning up, now we all know for sure.

That's why I did it ! After all, it is a test, and with a finicky drive. If you can get past that, I think you're home free.

I'll wipe the drive and try again, then I'll  report.

The front USB is coming along nicely IMO. Just a few more tweaks ....

I have a few issues/comments to report with the front panel operation and TMFX rev6, using Windows XP SP3:

TMFX
When I overwrote the TMFX file, I couldn't get TMFX to show up after reboot. I finally rewrote the file again, and after reboot
I didn't get an open TMFX window, I got a minimized window that wouldn't open, so I shut it. I right clicked on the TMFX icon, and clicked "open new TMFX window". I got the same minimized window for a moment, then TMFX opened. I've never had this behavior with any revision.

My level meters in the inputs and outputs all show a small amount of signal,even though nothing is present.

Front USB
I'm locked out of some functions on my front USB. I'm not sure if this happend with the firmware flash, or after I updated TMFX.
In the setup/options menu, I can't operate clock menu function, such as sample rate. I can access it through TMFX.
I'm locked out of front panel functions in Hardware/diagnosis as well, such as trying to change the optical 2 in,AES pro etc.
Non clock related function like standalone midi and LCD contrast function properly.

Positive feedback:
I haven't played with the new TMFX too much yet, but so far I like the improvements.
I like what you did with the file channel selector function. I also noticed that the record lights flash now, like an armed tape machine
or DAW. I did notice that sometimes for no reason one of those flashing red lights will stop flashing and will stay lit solid instead of flashing. If you click on it, it will flash.

Overall these product revisions = :-)
Regards,
Mike

Hi everybody,

My Ufx now rans very smooth with the latest update.
32 samples over usb or fw with no problems :-)

The front usb does his job very well for recording.
I've tried it with a Macpoer/Inxtron 2,5" usb-enclosure with a hitachi 160gb;5400rpm,
wich is working very well (30ch,24bit hd load 30-35%, 0 err).

It works also with my transcend multi-card reader with a transcend 8gb sdhc!!!

The write time is high at the beginning of the recording (around 350-450ms)
and then falls down to around 100-130ms(depends on media). Is this a normal behavior?

The Playback feature only works with files i've recorded directly on the ufx.

win 7 x64 - Firmware 1.34 - USB 0.979 - HW 343 - TMFX 0.94 release 6

Hi,

As of the latest release, my UFX has become unstable. I have lost connection between the
computer TMFX and the UFX. IE: music playing in nuendo or any win app but no meters
at all in TMFX or on the UFX. Also moving the volume knob does not move the fader in TMFX and visa versa.
I reboot to get the info that I have blue screened.

It has blue screened 3 times since the update.
The next time it blue screens, is there something that you guys want me to send you?

Woke up this morning and opened up pandora to find the music was distorted and playing
at a high pitch like it lost clock or something. Rebooted and was ok, no blue screen but still
something was wrong.

On a positive note, the PNY 16 GB usb stick that i reported earlier as not working is now fine.

Bravo! All relevant info right at the start!

At this point please have a closer look at the TM FX window caption. Im am 100% sure it will say 'Disconnected'.

Check all driver, firmware and TM FX version numbers again. Effects like wrong play speed point to a different error, not related to TM FX or the DSP firmware. What does the Settings dialog say then - errors?

OK, I'll try that.

I wiped out my drive and did the 16ch 192k test again. this time I got to 3hrs 52 min before I got the "usb recording stopped" notice.
I'm running this test again with only 10 channels at 192K as to lessen the load on the buffer. I'll report back.

Update:
6hrs 12 minutes of recording for 10 channels @ 192K before getting the  "usb recording stopped" notice.
I'll wipe the WD USB3 and try a real world test with more channels at a lower speed.

Regards,
Mike

win 7 x64 - Firmware 1.34 - USB 0.979 - HW 343 - TMFX 0.94 release 6

Hello,

The strange distortion/playback speed change thing happened to me this morning again.
All I was doing was listening to MOG.com (streaming music site) and reading my email etc.
I had been listening for about an hour with no problems then all of a sudden the sound became
very distorted and running fast.

The Fireface USB Settings panel shows no errors, internal clock at 44.1 Khz

I have rechecked my drivers and firmware and they are all the latest.
No errors on the Settings panel.

P.S. Just a thought ... I recently went from a hardwired Ethernet connection to a USB wireless NIC Netgear WND3100v2.
Could the two USB devices be conflicting with each other in some way?
I think I will put my hard cable back on for a few days just to rule that out.

That indeed might be it. Good luck.

Hi,
first my config
driver 2.91; Unit vers 336; totalmix 0.94 pre6; osx 10.5.8

I had some time and tried out the new features.
Here my notes:

The delete function is working but after click yes in the popup window ("do you really want…") there is no status view.Only the delete button is grayed out. You don't see anything till the file is complete deleted (which can need 15-30 seconds).
is this long deleting time a normal behavior?

The info window of the recorder section is not updating his values during the recording progress.
So it is not possible to see the actual remaining rec time.
A switchable view from recording- to remaining time would really helpful …

here my personal wish-list:

user editable file name and numbering for the front usb recording's.
(at least with date and the possibility to see if it's a splitted file or new started recording)

repeat one/all loop-feature for the player

2 separated fx busses

mouse drawable eq graph's

these are just my 2 cent...
sorry for my bad english

thx for your time

Matthias,

I noticed that on my last drive test (post # 81, 6hrs 12 minutes of recording for 10 channels @ 192K)
The file that the recording stopped on was UFX02_99. I know that there is a 99 file limit for individual recordings,
but is there a 99 "section" limit as well?

Thanks,
Mike

It updates every time you open it.

No way, and the second one is obsolete. Have a look again how the files are named and numbered.

The recording is independent from the computer and doesn't affect the computer performance in any way. Only the sample rate has to be identical.

I tested the "redundant" mode when I first set up the USB under it's Alpha version release, and it worked great. In addition to testing the front USB in combination with my DAW (which was actually video NLE software) I used the Digicheck utility to do a "global record" at the same time that I used the front USB. Set up that way, you get redundant interleaved files, and you can also use digicheck to monitor the signal.

Very cool stuff indeed !

Regards,
Mike

I fully agree, with version 1.34 and a sense-making number of channels the recording should work. Nevertheless reliability is the key word for this feature, and the few posts here about stopped recordings without obvious reason have made us delay the final firmware and start searching again for such a pitfall. That's why we did not release anything so far. I hope tracking this down doesn't take more than a few more days. Fortunately I got a hard drive that shows this kind of error quite often (but only under extreme conditions, so like said you should be safe).

That's not a bug, it's a feature. You have to set the Level Meters to 'Post FX'.