Joe Bleasdale Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 Timecoding a show on a lighting desk is no issue for me, usually the Audio or Video crew give me the desired timecode and off we go. However, there are a few instances where I want to timecode my show but it's not always possible to have an Audio/Video team around to give me the correct timecode. So - I want to generate it myself (painlessly). I'm not Audio guy, so I'm looking for a relatively simple solution. I am very computer savvy, so I am thinking that is going to be the best route. Mac & PC solutions would be gladly heard, but I'll probably lean towards the Mac! (Logic??) Anyone out there doing this, or able to offer any suggestions? Thanks, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pritch Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 Qlab now does MTC, if that's any help? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Bleasdale Posted July 4, 2011 Author Share Posted July 4, 2011 Yeah Midi works for me, I am looking for something that can do SMPTE too if possible? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shez Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 I believe Reaper can generate SMPTE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Bleasdale Posted July 4, 2011 Author Share Posted July 4, 2011 Ahh yes Reaper! I have hear of that, Martin used it to generate Midi for their Plasa stand. Does it run on Mac? Thanks, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomo Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 The real question is "What do you want the timecode for?" The classic purpose is to synchronise to audio and/or video tracks, and in that case the timecode should almost always come from the audio or video because it looks and/or sounds terrible if the audio/video has to 'catch up' or 'wait'. So if you don't have audio or video, what do you want the timecode for? If the timecode is just for the lighting console, then most timecode-capable consoles have an "Internal Clock" that you can use with no external devices at all, and that is usually the best choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kopy Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 If you use GrandMA onpc you can just stick in a cd and it'll use the track or cd elapsed time as the timecode source. If you use GrandMA onpc you can just stick in a cd and it'll use the track or cd elapsed time as the timecode source. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Bleasdale Posted July 5, 2011 Author Share Posted July 5, 2011 I know I can use the Internal clock/scheduler. However I cannot run Audio in sync on the desk easily - I want to keep it on a seperate laptop so when I hit play on my track, the timecode starts in the correct place and runs together. I don't use MA at the moment, Hog 3 can do it too. But it does strain the console. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mac.calder Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 MOTU Midi Timepiece. If you work with timecode a lot, I would say it is a must-have item. Have MTC, it'll rebuffer a number of outputs and spit out LTC. Have LTC, it will spit out MTC for you. Want a master clock that can do LTC and MTC? Well you can software trigger it, allowing it to act as the source for all timecode - awesome if your av systems will chase timecode ("Can we rehearse from 8m30s?" "Sure... Click!") The other way to do it is to generate an LTC audio track (using this command line app) and use any multi-track playback device (as I assume you already have multi-channel output, since you are playing back a track and want LTC as well...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbuckley Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 If all you want is MTC then MIDI-OX can do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomHoward Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 What are you planning to use to play the audio back - either this will need to sync to the SMPTE as well (so needs SMPTE / MTC in), or you could generate it at the same place, which would be easiest. If you're using QLab to play back, you can generate MTC in QLab, but for SMPTE the easiest way might be to record some SMPTE down as an audio file and then just play it out of another output direct from QLab - unless I'm drastically mistaken it should handle being striped down into an audio file. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Bleasdale Posted July 6, 2011 Author Share Posted July 6, 2011 I would ideally like something that can play a track of Audio side by side with the Timecode. I'll take a look at Midi-OX and Qlab. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grandMA_the_2nd Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 If you use GrandMA onpc you can just stick in a cd and it'll use the track or cd elapsed time as the timecode source. If you use GrandMA onpc you can just stick in a cd and it'll use the track or cd elapsed time as the timecode source. Sadly kopy, that is not accurate, it misses early cues and is never spot on... it is not true SMPTE... I also use a programme called Inqscribe which I use to notate my music, hit the insert key every time you want a cue and it will tell you the timecode point... perfect for timecode shows and also for notating any music or video file... I am programming Batman Live at the moment and use it a lot... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Bleasdale Posted July 6, 2011 Author Share Posted July 6, 2011 Cool thanks Tim! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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