Topic: some questions | Allen & Heath Digital Community

some questions

This topic contains 5 replies, has 5 voices, and was last updated by ahjeff 12 years, 11 months ago.

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2011/05/18 at 5:16 pm #22788

peterwit
Participant

I apologize in advance, i’m sure most of my questions have been discussed before, but i’ve spent a few hours browsing the forum and haven’t really found the answers i need.

I’m looking at installing an iLive at a church, and haven’t worked much with digital before. iLive seems like a really good fit due to its price point and the surface/rack flexibility. I also really like the concept of the xDR expander, seems perfect for stashing under drum risers.
But I’m a little confused by the way control is done.
It looks like for ACE, you can only do point-to-point connections between devices. Is this actually true? Because the documentation talks a lot about IP addresses and such, which makes it sound like its all TCP/IP. Why can’t I just connect both the mixrack and the surface to my network infrastructure and call it a day?
I ask mostly because I really want a Dante card for virtual soundcheck. However, its not clear if you can use both a Dante card and an xDR in a fixed-format system. The documentation asserts that you must install an ACE card into the mixrack, but then there is an extra slot in the xDR. can the Dante card go in there?
Upgrading to the modular mixrack just to be able to use Dante and an xDR doesn’t quite seem worth it.

I’m also interested in the mixPad app. Can multiple iPads talk to the mixrack at the same time? Because it would be an incredibly elegant personal monitoring solution, especially since proPresenter can now use iPads as confidence monitors as well.

thanks for any help

2011/05/18 at 6:32 pm #28294

letmefix
Participant

I can only answer your second question.

Yes, you can use multiple editors, ipads/iphones simultaneously.

I don’t have a surface, so I usually deal with 2 ipads, and 1-2 editors on tablet PCs.

Somewhere in the documentation I remember reading you can connect up to 18(?) devices to mix engine. It all depends how robust is your wired & wireless network. Multicasting is also another long topic when dealing with multiple network devices.

I also remember reading somewhere the inability to control xDR gains from mixpad. I don’t think it applies to editor.

IDR32
Motion Computing LE1700
idontPad1&2
Where is my DANTE?

2011/05/18 at 8:48 pm #28295

kentlowt
Participant

Yes ACE is point to point. You can’t run ACE into a router however, the ANet ports allow you a way to hook up via a router various editors be it iPad,iPhone, or editor.
To use the xDR you need an ACE card but, the XDR has a card slot to replace the one you have taken up with your ACE card.

That is exactly the way we use our iPads now except that it does not pass audio to the iPad(too bad )

112T/IDR48/IDR16

2011/05/19 at 5:42 am #28304

peterwit
Participant

So the expansion card in the xDR is exactly the same as the one in a mixrack? Does that hold even with 2 xDRs? so I could connect 2 xDR units to a mixrack and instantly get one more expansion card than I started with? I would be using wireless IEMs so im not worried about passing audio through to the iPad, though that would seem like a biggie for PAFL use. Thanks for these replies, very helpful!

2011/05/19 at 9:11 am #28306

woutert
Participant

quote:

Originally posted by peterwit

…It looks like for ACE, you can only do point-to-point connections between devices. Is this actually true? Because the documentation talks a lot about IP addresses and such, which makes it sound like its all TCP/IP. Why can’t I just connect both the mixrack and the surface to my network infrastructure and call it a day?…

If your switches support layer 2 switching, it could be possible to connect ACE over your existing network. ACE does require a stable network link however.

check this older thread with an explanation from ahjeff:
https://www.allen-heath.com/iliveforum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1027&SearchTerms=layer+2

Wouter

2011/05/19 at 9:16 am #28307

ahjeff
Moderator

Hi Peterwit

The xDR-16 does have a Port B slot, so yes, adding two xDRs does give you two Port B slots where you used to only have 1. There are some limitations associated with the Port B slots on an xDR. The 64 possible channels you can route to your main rack will be output by both of the xDR-16 Port B cards (the same 64 channels). These 64 channels also overlap with the physical output socket on the xDR-16, although you can choose where they overlap. For inputs, the first 16 channels of the Port B card in an xDR-16 are routeable to the system. The xDR-16 getting started guide should help you (https://www.allen-heath.com/dl/iLive%20Series/System%20User%20Guides/xDR-16%20Getting%20Started%20Guide%20AP8331_1.pdf), feel free to ask if you have any more questions.

Cheers

– Jeff, A&H
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