Korg Forums

djcl.ear · Joined: 21 Dec 2008 Posts: 40

OK, Since learning about Zero line, I've then witnessed several mixers with Double Firewire connectors on them. This is not a Korg unique feature.

However, after reviewing their functionalities I have not found a use that really takes advantage of such... even less if we pretend to use them simultanouesly.

Sense I'm missing something, could anyone enlighten the possibilities?
I'd like to know, what would be the máximun attainable; two laptops, one laptop (also with double firwire) simultaneously connected full duplex, two different softwares? What that max would be?

Also what would be the limitations here? Are these in the double firewire connector itself, or depend on the actual model firmware, drivers, the recording/routing Software?
Thanks

DJ TBA · Joined: 07 Apr 2009 Posts: 37

You can't use two laptops at the same time.

bildeaux · Joined: 29 Jan 2007 Posts: 26

or chain a firewire drive to your computer that only has 1 firewire port.

b.

albertp · Joined: 08 Jul 2009 Posts: 3

i have the same question, is it really possible to use both laptops, i mean playing 2 guys his own traktor maybe also ableton??

thank you

X-Trade · Posted: Wed Jul 08, 2009 9:46 pm Post subject:

no.

almost all firewire devices have two firewire ports. it is for chaining devices so that you can use e.g. two Zero4s or a Zero8 and an external firewire hard disk, or anything else...
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0032 · Joined: 09 Mar 2009 Posts: 4

the firewire spec allows you to daisy chain up to 64 devices per channel, I believe. When i use my setup, i have had an ozonic plugged into the zero 8. There is no such thing as a firewire "hub" for multiple devices as there is for USB. Any firewire "hub" that you might find are actually just repeaters. Most devices that are firewire 400 and 800 have two ports just so you can connect other firewire devices.

You will never be able to get two computers to use (any) mixer at the same time over firewire. Best you can do with another computer connected to it is use IP over firewire.

djcl.ear · Joined: 21 Dec 2008 Posts: 40

Some wise advice found while zapping over Audiophile grade gear...
Enjoy & apply:

"Multiple FireWire Devices
If you have more than one external FireWire device, never “daisy chain” devices. That is, do not serially attach one device to another, then plug that second or third device into the host. Purchase a FireWire hub instead.

Remember that all FireWire ports on your host are the same logical bus, even though one may be FireWire 400 and the other FireWire 800. By running your external devices in parallel from a hub, you ensure two very important things: First, you physically isolate the FireWire devices, and their cables, from your motherboard. Should a catastrophic failure occur, not uncommon, the hub will be damaged, not your motherboard. Second, the hub allows you to more easily attach, detach and troubleshoot all your devices and cables without disturbing other devices."

Plus general Firewire etiquette:

"Powering Up
To prevent rare but expensive repairs to your equipment, always plug FireWire peripherals into your hub (see below) with the peripheral powered off, then apply power to the peripheral.

Cables
Though it may seem unbelievable , it is possible for a cable to work with the rather relaxed asynchronous mode used by hard drive but be unable to reliably pass the more rigorous isochronous data required for audio transmission over FireWire.

Do not fool yourself into thinking that a cable is “good” because it managed to move some data to and from your host to an external disk. Due to mechanical wear on the connectors and wire, FireWire cables simply wear out. However, because of the error correction built into the data stream, functional failure may be gradual and intermittent. A prudent practice is to keep a new FireWire cable in storage for troubleshooting. If a problem is found, put that new cable into service, dispose of the suspect cable, and purchase a new backup.

GIGO
GIGO stands for Garbage In, Garbage Out…Not all FireWire hubs and cables are created equal. We recommend Granite Digital for FireWire hubs. For cables, we recommend FirewireDirect’s ProSeries. We cannot recommend more “fancy” cables from either company.

As with any patch cables, airbourne salts and pollution can micro–corrode your connectors. A plain pencil eraser is an excellent tool for periodic cleaning of your FireWire cable connectors. Wipe with the eraser until the eraser no longer picks up dark deposits from the connector."

From
http://www.sonicstudio.com/support/supportfaq.html#peripherals