Zaxcom Maxx - Here's the latest

[Erik Loderstedt]

Hi folks, how do you set in your maxx the mirror? on/off/continuos ? and why?

thanks for your help...

Why? Well, if you want to mirror your recordings to BWAV directly, otherwise you have to use ZaxConvert to convert the MARF files to Wav later on. The ON option will convert your recordings during stop, and CONTINOUS will convert during record.

[Jack Norflus]

Continuous.

There is no reason not to do continuous. The processor is fast enough to keep up in real time.

[pindrop]

Why? Well, if you want to mirror your recordings to BWAV directly, otherwise you have to use ZaxConvert to convert the MARF files to Wav later on. The ON option will convert your recordings during stop, and CONTINOUS will convert during record.

Mirror is a process that can be turned on at any time in a Zaxcom recorder (minutes,days, months, years later if required) and creates broadcast wave files from the Zaxcom MARF recordings that are present on the card in the machine. The ON choice only mirrors after the recording has stopped and if you are in the habit of modifying metadata whilst recording, that metadata will then be mirrored, if set to CONTINUOUS chances are metadata modified whilst recording may not get mirrored.

It can be convenient to use Zaxconvert later as you can then be confident all metadata will be mirrored, and it's much faster (guesstimate at least 20x + on a reasonably fast machine) on a PC or Mac than on a native Zaxcom machine.

There are slight advantages to the mirror process that recording directly to FAT32 BWav's does not have, you can choose later whether to create 16bit or 24bit files and a timecode offset can be dialled in, but slight disadvantages as metadata modifications are not made directly to the BWAVs themselves.

 

I have some questions about mirror myself -

1. The Fusion has an option to mirror all folders (forward from the currently selected one), the Nomad can only do one at a time, (not sure about the Maax), why is this?

2. Could the Mirror process be made to auto-respond to 're-mirror' individual segments if the metadata is changed at any time.

3. Why is it called Mirror anyway as in many senses it's not a mirror, it's a translation from one format to another, if metadata is changed later this is not reflected.

[Jack Norflus]

Actually if changes to the meta data are made before you hit stop those changes will be made to the mirror files even in continuous mode.

[dominiquegreffard]

Actually if changes to the meta data are made before you hit stop those changes will be made to the mirror files even in continuous mode.

Good to know.

Also I think would be smart to have brighness adjust on hold down headphone button + turn menu button. That would be much faster and doable with one hand only.

[Wandering Ear]

Actually if changes to the meta data are made before you hit stop those changes will be made to the mirror files even in continuous mode.

Except the file name if using scene/take naming. The file name is generated at the start of mirroring and doesn't change if metadata is changed in the middle.

Personally I mirror between setups or between scenes on narrative projects because I change the metadata after the fact often. On everything else, I mirror continuously.

[dominiquegreffard]

Now that s a big detail to know.

[pindrop]

Except the file name if using scene/take naming. The file name is generated at the start of mirroring and doesn't change if metadata is changed in the middle.

Personally I mirror between setups or between scenes on narrative projects because I change the metadata after the fact often. On everything else, I mirror continuously.

Yes I've learned to do this for the same reason.

[Jack Norflus]

if you are using the scene take filename then that does not get updated

when you close the file - you have to re-mirror the file if you changed

the scene and take once the mirror file was created.

[glenn]

MAXX now offers a choice of pre or post fader iso tracks.

Software is available on the Zaxcom forum.

Glenn

[geluidswerken]

Thats good news Glenn.

Thanks a lot.

 

Best Ton

[studiomprd]

" a choice of pre or post fader iso tracks. "

selectable per track ?

[geluidswerken]

I ll do suposse its per track selectable. Have tomorrow to finnish an job wich I prefer to do without possible troubles, so I ll switch on saterday.

More important question to me is, will the AES outs 1234 be also postfader? Have not yet made the cable.

 

Ton

[studiomprd]

" I ll do suposse its per track selectable "

why ?

someone else supposes it is a global setting...

now, who would know for sure ?

[glenn]

It is per channel.

 

Glenn

[stefanosound]

Can someone suggest a simple program to read the multi-track recordings. only to do a check at the end of the day ...

thanks

 

Stefano

[Mark Orusa]

 

Can someone suggest a simple program to read the multi-track recordings. only to do a check at the end of the day ...

thanks

 

Stefano

 

Sound Devices makes Wave Agent, which has a playback feature with a mixer. You can mute and solo individual channels. Also split and combine polyphonic files, change metadata, etc.

 

http://www.sounddevices.com/products/waveagent/

 

Mark O.

[pindrop]

Sound Devices makes Wave Agent, which has a playback feature with a mixer. You can mute and solo individual channels. Also split and combine polyphonic files, change metadata, etc.

 

http://www.sounddevices.com/products/waveagent/

 

Mark O.

Be careful with simultaneous multitrack playback with Wave Agent though as it often does severe and very misleading things with some kind of phase cancellation of tracks within a poly wav for some reason. I've played back poly wavs mixed with Wave Agent that have dismayed me, only to play the very same poly wave file back with say Pro-Tools on the identical computer setup and monitor speakers for it to sound absolutely fine. Wave Agent is fine for quick checks of individual tracks etc. just be wary of any tracks mixed together I would say.

Anyone have any idea why this might happen with Wave Agent?

 

Sorry this is off topic is this a case where one might/should start a new thread?

[stefanosound]

thanks guys

[Mark Orusa]

Be careful with simultaneous multitrack playback with Wave Agent though as it often does severe and very misleading things with some kind of phase cancellation of tracks within a poly wav for some reason. I've played back poly wavs mixed with Wave Agent that have dismayed me, only to play the very same poly wave file back with say Pro-Tools on the identical computer setup and monitor speakers for it to sound absolutely fine. Wave Agent is fine for quick checks of individual tracks etc. just be wary of any tracks mixed together I would say.

Anyone have any idea why this might happen with Wave Agent?

 

Sorry this is off topic is this a case where one might/should start a new thread?

I only ever use this feature for soloing channels to see if I have all my audio. Pro Tools is a nice option too.

 

If you have Quicktime Pro you can turn on/off individual channels or pan them left/right. It's a little clunky, but at least you know you have audio on all your channels.

 

Mark O.

[macrecorder]

Can anybody enlighten me how to decode an MS pair and record them to two card tracks in Maxx? I can see how to decode in the headphones, and how to decode to the outputs, but this is not what I am looking for. I want to decode to two card tracks and then send the LR to the main outs, with the possibility of mixing any other channels into the mix. I was told this is possible, but am now wondering if this is another case of Nomad owners assuming that you could do this on a Maxx. Certainly there is nothing in the manual about it. Yes, I could decode to the outputs and record that, but that restricts me to not being able to mix anything else into the output bus without also recording that on the card tracks.

On a related note, if you maxed out Maxx with 4 analogue and 4 digital inputs how would you record all of these inputs - you might have 6 iso's and then decide to add the 2 remaining to two of the iso's, but I don't see a way to record multiple inputs to one card track, or indeed one input to 2 tracks, with one phase reversed, as you would need to for decoding MS.

[Zack]

I don't think having the eng menu exploded out at the bottom of the root menu was better. Instead, put it under the meta menu. ENG menu > playback menu IMO.

[Wandering Ear]

Can anybody enlighten me how to decode an MS pair and record them to two card tracks in Maxx? I can see how to decode in the headphones, and how to decode to the outputs, but this is not what I am looking for. I want to decode to two card tracks and then send the LR to the main outs, with the possibility of mixing any other channels into the mix. I was told this is possible, but am now wondering if this is another case of Nomad owners assuming that you could do this on a Maxx. Certainly there is nothing in the manual about it. Yes, I could decode to the outputs and record that, but that restricts me to not being able to mix anything else into the output bus without also recording that on the card tracks.

On a related note, if you maxed out Maxx with 4 analogue and 4 digital inputs how would you record all of these inputs - you might have 6 iso's and then decide to add the 2 remaining to two of the iso's, but I don't see a way to record multiple inputs to one card track, or indeed one input to 2 tracks, with one phase reversed, as you would need to for decoding MS.

I don't have a maxx, but it works on the nomad. Same as with hp, press the star key to access the phase inverted cross points. Again, i haven't tried on the maxx.

[soundslikejustin]

I don't have a maxx, but it works on the nomad. Same as with hp, press the star key to access the phase inverted cross points. Again, i haven't tried on the maxx.

There's no cross point matrix in the recording page on Maxx, it works like a Nomad Lite.

 

You would have to assign the M/S signal to an output (using the phase invert function) to get to stereo, then assign the outputs to record tracks.

 

I don't think it's possible to record what you assign to the Tape or Mono outs, but that might be an option that leaves your Main Outs free for the rest of your mix...?

[Jack Norflus]

If you want to assign multiple channels to a record track you need to assign those channels to a mix bus then record that bus.