Smpte Offset - M-Audio Portman 4x4 Manual

the MIDI application you are using. If your sequencer is capable
of displaying User Bits information, then you may read the User
Bits there as well.
The PORTMAN 4x4/S is capable of reading and writing SMPTE
User Bit groups U1 through U8. The values of the User Bits out-
put during writing may be set with the Remote Control software.
When reading User Bits from an incoming source, a MIDI User
Bits message is sent to the application each time sync is acquired
and whenever a change in User Bits is detected.

SMPTE Offset

An "offset" is the starting time of the first frame of time code and
may be set to any time value in the range 00:00:00:00 through
23:59:59:29. Usually, you can set your offset to any value in this
range, but sometimes the production environment will dictate the
offset requirements. The PORTMAN 4x4/S has a default write
offset of 01:00:00:00. If you need to change the offset time, you
may do so via the supplied Windows Remote Control software.
IMPORTANT: Try to avoid high offsets that may wrap around
(from 23:59:59:29 back to 00:00:00:00). Some programs become
confused by this wrap-around. Choose an offset that will allow
your entire session to be striped without rolling over the
24:00:00:00 time code value.
At times, you may be given a tape with SMPTE already on it. The
offset time on the tape you receive will affect the start time that
you set for your MIDI sequencing. For example, if the time code
on the tape starts at 02:00:00:00 (a 2-hour offset) and you need to
start your sequence playing 3 minutes, 30 seconds into the work,
you should set the sequencer start time to 02:03:30:00.
Because MTC requires 8 quarter-frame messages to send a full
frame of time code, a minimum of 2 to 4 frames will be needed for
a sequencer to first sync up to a running SMPTE. Therefore,
when syncing a MIDI sequencer or any program to time code, it is
a good idea to set your sequence start time to a few seconds later
than the offset of the time code on tape. In other words, give your
sequencer some time to acquire sync and stabilize before it begins
playing back. For example, if your tape starting offset is
01:00:00:00, then set the sequence start time to 01:00:05:00, which
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