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Topic: Info about error signalling in MADIface Settings

Hi all,

could anybody shed any light on exactly what these series of numbers means.

In the 'MADIface Series Settings' panel that I open from the bottom righthand corner of my windows laptop there are some numbers I'm curious to understand exactly what they mean.

There is 'USB Diagnosis -|0|-' on the top line. What does this reference? What does the value '0' mean here?

Under that there is a line which at the moment reads '0 crc5/16 err / 9.3 min'. However, the 'X.X min' part is counting up, I presume it is counting a period of time?

Anway, it would be great to know exactly what these numbers mean so that I can understand if I'm having any issues here. I think I read in the manual that crc5 is 'normal' but I've no idea what it's referencing.

Thanks for any help, Dave

Jonesd90's Website

  • ramses
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Re: Info about error signalling in MADIface Settings

It shows you USB transport errors (crc errors) if there are any.
The type of CRC error doesn't matter, only zero is acceptable.
This way you can validate whether USB between PC and recording interface (e.g. cable) is ok.
The check is running as long as you keep the driver settings window open.

BR Ramses - UFX III, 12Mic, XTC, ADI-2 Pro FS R BE, RayDAT, X10SRi-F, E5-1680v4, Win10Pro22H2, Cub14
  • From: London
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Re: Info about error signalling in MADIface Settings

Hi Ramses, thanks for the reply.

I'm still not exactly clear about what each bit of the data is saying/showing.
Is the top line showing the number of USB errors in the ' -|0|- ' part? Is that the error count? Showing that I have 0 errors?

Or, is the ' 0 crc5/ 16 err ' part the number of errors, in which case is it showing me that I have 5? or 16? errors?

and the last bit, the time. Is that just showing the amount of time the tracker has been running? My initial thought is that this was showing an average number of errors per minute. e.g. if it showed ' 2.5 min ' that might mean I was averaging 2.5 errors every minute.

I'd really appreciate a bit more detail to understand exactly what I'm looking at here.

Also, is there a section that keeps a log of sync between the MADIface and the optical source it is being clocked from? e.g. if there is a syncing error, does it keep a record of it? Or does it just flash on the MADIface for the duration of the loss of sync?


Many thanks, David

Jonesd90's Website

4 Reply by ramses (edited by ramses 2023-01-29 21:50:50)

  • ramses
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Re: Info about error signalling in MADIface Settings

On this page, you see error counters of different types of CRC errors that could arise.
crc5 and crc16 are possible types of CRC errors.
It doesn't matter which counter increases, only zero is acceptable.

Minutes should be clear … cross-check with your watch.
It's the amount of time the CRC check is running (how long you have the driver settings window open).

If there are CRC errors, the counters will increment.

BR Ramses - UFX III, 12Mic, XTC, ADI-2 Pro FS R BE, RayDAT, X10SRi-F, E5-1680v4, Win10Pro22H2, Cub14
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Re: Info about error signalling in MADIface Settings

Hi Ramses, which part, specifically, is the counter?

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  • Jeff
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Re: Info about error signalling in MADIface Settings

The counter is currently showing zero errors, it's the first digit here.

0 crc5/16 err / 9.3 min

Regards,
Jeff Petersen
Synthax Inc.

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Re: Info about error signalling in MADIface Settings

Hi Jeff, thanks for chiming in. Is it definitely that 0 you have highlighted in bold?
What's the '-|0|-' bit on the top line after it says 'USB diagnosis'? I was starting to think that was it, but I'm probably wrong.

Thanks all for the input! I'm looking at jumping over to a new laptop for my remote recording rig and I'm trying to stress test the I/O ports on the laptop; I'm currently in the world of USB3.1 Gen 2 and Thunderbolt 4 and, bleurgh... Why can't they just stick an old USB2 on it for me smile


David

Jonesd90's Website

  • ramses
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Re: Info about error signalling in MADIface Settings

These are also counters. And if they are zero all is fine.
Simply concentrate on counters which are usually "0", but do increase.
Only a counter value of zero is acceptable.

BR Ramses - UFX III, 12Mic, XTC, ADI-2 Pro FS R BE, RayDAT, X10SRi-F, E5-1680v4, Win10Pro22H2, Cub14
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Re: Info about error signalling in MADIface Settings

Thanks Ramses, i appreciate the info.

Out of interest, are these CRC errors something that is a standard to USB? I'd be interested to read a bit more into it. Is there somewhere that I can look into that sort of thing?

Dave

Jonesd90's Website

  • Jeff
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Re: Info about error signalling in MADIface Settings

I think it's unusual to use CRC in this way. It's more common for file transfers, where data corruption is somewhat expected.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclic_redundancy_check

Regards,
Jeff Petersen
Synthax Inc.

Jeff's Website

11 Reply by ramses (edited by ramses 2023-02-01 21:45:57)

  • ramses
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Re: Info about error signalling in MADIface Settings

I have never found such info on the internet. A reply from RME (some time ago) here in the forum gives the impression that such info is either only available via NDA or simply out of any interest (otherwise they would have told).

And I think you expect too much from such information. If you have CRC errors, it's not relevant what counter increases. Simply the fact that something bad happened during transport is the most important information here.
Then you need to find the root cause which is usually in these areas: cable too bad, too long, too bad connectors, bad solder joints, bad shielding, etc.

Just assume that such counters would be documented if it were helpful and made troubleshooting more efficient.

I would simply be glad that RME visualizes these error counters in the driver settings to have a clue that you have a concrete problem in the cabling and not only problems around DPC latencies or system load.

This is an invaluable advantage in contrast to other manufacturers who do not display such things.
You can at least rule out cable issues rapidly if you have clicks and pops.
That's what it's there for.

BR Ramses - UFX III, 12Mic, XTC, ADI-2 Pro FS R BE, RayDAT, X10SRi-F, E5-1680v4, Win10Pro22H2, Cub14