Qlab trigger through Dante

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This topic contains 4 replies, has 4 voices, and was last updated by Profile photo of peterlanders peterlanders 4 years, 5 months ago.

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  • #86962
    Profile photo of MJPA Hire
    MJPA Hire
    Participant

    Hi

    Would it be possible to trigger a QLab file Cue with a soft key on my SQ7 with the Laptop connected to Dante on the SQ7 via Cat5e.
    If so could ~I have step by step instructions on connection and procedures please

    Many thanks

    #86971
    Profile photo of peterlanders
    peterlanders
    Participant

    You won’t be able to do it via the Dante connection, which is for Dante audio only. But you should be able to set up a MIDI hotkey to control QLab. I haven’t tried this myself (or any MIDI on the SQ) yet, but I *do* know that if you want to use MIDI over the control Ethernet connection (not the Dante card, the console port) you’ll need the DAW Control Driver. But if you set up a hotkey to send an appropriate MIDI note on/off associated with your cue in QLab, and patch the file in QLab to play through the desired Dante virtual soundcard channel, you should be all set.

    I’d suggest looking at the MIDI Protocol document, linked from the DAW Control download page, for information about how to set things up. It’s pretty detailed and explains your connection options and the sorts of commands you can assign.

    On the QLab side, look at the Triggers tab for your sound cue, it’s pretty self-explanatory.

    #86978
    Profile photo of Alex A&H
    Alex A&H
    Keymaster

    Hi MJPA,

    You can do this!

    Some things to note:

    – You will need enable the Control Network Bridge on the SQ, as this routes any data that is normally sent to the onboard network port via the Dante card (in this case).
    – You will also need to download the DAW Control Driver to connect to the SQ via TCP/IP using the MIDI Thru map. This will create a virtual MIDI port for QLab to interface with.

    Here are the steps for setting this up:

    1. Connect the SQ Dante card to the computer and in Setup > Audio > IO Port, turn the Control Network Bridge on.

    2. On the computer, launch the DAW Control Driver and then show the preferences (Right click on the icon and select Show Preferences).

    3. In the DAW Control Driver, select SQ as the Mixer, match the MIDI channel to the desks MIDI channel (Utility > General > MIDI) and select the MIDI Thru protocol.

    4. Select the TCP/IP option and check if the SQ appears in the drop down. If not, select custom and go to Setup > Network Setup to get the mixers IP Address. Enter the IP address and connect.

    5. In QLab, select the cue you would like to control and view the Triggers tab. Enable MIDI Trigger, set the MIDI channel and then press on the Capture button.

    6. On the desk, go to Setup > Surface > Soft Controls to setup a soft key. You can use Note or Program change messages via soft keys and both will work. You can also select any MIDI channel here and it may be worth making it different to the desks MIDI channel to avoid conflicting messages, but make sure the selected MIDI channel in the QLab MIDI Trigger setting matches the soft keys MIDI channel.

    7. Once you’ve set up the soft key, press it so that QLab captures the message.

    You should now be able to use that soft key to trigger the cue in QLab.

    I hope this helps!

    Alex

    #86986
    Profile photo of titoen
    titoen
    Participant

    Alex,

    What is the Control Network Bridge or how does it work? I see that option on my Waves card in the I/O port page but haven’t messed with it due to not knowing what it does or how it will impact the working of the IO card.

    #86992
    Profile photo of peterlanders
    peterlanders
    Participant

    What that setting does is turn the port on the I/O card into an internal network bridge, so you can use a single network cable for both the audio interface and the SQ’s built-in app/MIDI (control) port.

    The Dante card docs warn that this could result in unexpected changes to IP addresses, but really, unless you’re running an entirely separate network for Dante or Waves, you can probably just save the cable.

    Or you could just run a network cable to both ports and leave the setting as is.

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