Reading SMPTE timecode with BEYOND

VexFX

VexFX

Member
I'm currently trying to get SMPTE timecode into BEYOND and running into an unexpected hurdle. I've watched the tutorial videos and read the wiki ( https://wiki.pangolin.com/doku.php?id=beyond:timecode ) but both only show SMPTE working with COM port connection of specific hardware.

SMPTE is just an audio signal, so why does the software not allow the selection of any audio capture device on the computer? Normally all you need to do is pick an audio capture device in any software that gets audio-based timecode. I see the recommended $750 TC4000, but that should not be required just to read an audio source of SMPTE.

Am I missing something? Please tell me I'm missing something!
 
Yes indeed, SMPTE is just an audio signal, but when we started the business 38 years ago, PCs barely had enough power to operate the keyboard, mouse and monitor, and so we've always relied on dedicated external boxes that perform the task of converting this audio into the actual timecode. So this is a kind of situation where "we've always done it that way". However these days with modern processors, and sound cards effectively built into the PC, we could do the decoding ourselves. Good point!

But now we come to a question of resource management, and relative benefit to the customer base. For each feature request we must ask the question -- if we invest our time into converting SMPTE audio into timecode, how many users will that help relatively speaking, as opposed to what we are working on now?

I know that what we are working on now will help literally hundreds of thousands of customers, while on the other hand this is the first time that anyone asked for the SMPTE audio to go directly into the PC instead of a dedicated external box. Since this is the first time it's being requested, this gives us the idea that this must not be very important, and I am not aware that a competitor offers this capability either, further signifying that it must not be all that important -- again, relatively speaking.

There certainly are several solutions available right now, insomuch as external hardware boxes that can be purchased to do the job. So there is a solution, but it is external, and costs a little bit of extra money. Typically the theaters and such who are using SMPTE timecode do not have a restrictive budget or space constraint, so this old tried-and-true model using external boxes does work for them.

Nevertheless you raise a good point. Indeed, these days PCs are powerful enough to process the audio directly into SMPTE and so we will keep this in mind for a future release.

Best regards,

William Benner
 
Thanks for the quick reply Bob and William!

In the VJ world, it's commonplace to carry a handful of cheap USB sound capture devices to get multiple timecode or performance streams into a computer, and I know LDs who do the same for some of their laptop/pc-based non-console software. ArtNet is an option in some but not all cases, though we've found getting reliable timecode into a computer under different circumstances at different venues and working with different artists that an audio feed is usually the fastest and easiest to implement.

I understand and respect that new feature development has to be prioritized based on the impact it will have and that this is an uncommon request, and I'm sure whatever functionality the team is focusing on next will be as amazing as the last few big features to roll out. That said, when implementing timecode it was the first thing we looked for, having done audio-based timecode in other applications, and finding it missing and replaced with an additional (and technically speaking superfluous) hardware purchase was a point of frustration. For now, we'll see if we can get ArtNet up and running for this project.

Thanks again!
 
Hi Vefx,

Timecode is crucial to a show both you leading it or recieving it off course.
There is trusted dedicated hardware to do this like the Timecore or the MIF4.. that will take the audio in that you want.

I wouldn't want to risk using a microphone jack or a cheap audio device which can interfere noise issues and also leave your pc unprotected for accidental phantom power along other issues with feeding into your computer.. That and volume issues causing erratic smpte.

Get yourself a rackmixer or a smaller equivalent and a mif4/or timecode (sold by pangolin) and never look back :).
 
Pangolin said:
Yes indeed, SMPTE is just an audio signal, but when we started the business 38 years ago, PCs barely had enough power to operate the keyboard, mouse and monitor, and so we've always relied on dedicated external boxes that perform the task of converting this audio into the actual timecode. So this is a kind of situation where "we've always done it that way". However these days with modern processors, and sound cards effectively built into the PC, we could do the decoding ourselves. Good point!

But now we come to a question of resource management, and relative benefit to the customer base. For each feature request we must ask the question -- if we invest our time into converting SMPTE audio into timecode, how many users will that help relatively speaking, as opposed to what we are working on now?

I know that what we are working on now will help literally hundreds of thousands of customers, while on the other hand this is the first time that anyone asked for the SMPTE audio to go directly into the PC instead of a dedicated external box. Since this is the first time it's being requested, this gives us the idea that this must not be very important, and I am not aware that a competitor offers this capability either, further signifying that it must not be all that important -- again, relatively speaking.

There certainly are several solutions available right now, insomuch as external hardware boxes that can be purchased to do the job. So there is a solution, but it is external, and costs a little bit of extra money. Typically the theaters and such who are using SMPTE timecode do not have a restrictive budget or space constraint, so this old tried-and-true model using external boxes does work for them.

Nevertheless you raise a good point. Indeed, these days PCs are powerful enough to process the audio directly into SMPTE and so we will keep this in mind for a future release.

Best regards,

William Benner
Click to expand...
Which solutions are available that aren't Pangolins TC4000? Beyond isn't recognizing a simple USB to SMPTE cable / Onyx NX Sync for example. Just looking to input SMPTE / LTC timecode into Beyond (as most big shows receive a simple LTC timecode audio signal via 3pin XLR).
 
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