MOTU 1248 User Manual page 38

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We recommend that you run the software
installer before you connect your MOTU interface
to your computer and power it on. This ensures
that all driver components are properly installed in
your system.
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The latest Pro Audio drivers for your MOTU
interface require firmware version 1.2.7 or later. If
your interface is connected to a computer with
internet access, visit the Device tab in the web app
and scroll to the bottom of the page to view the
current firmware version installed in your interface
(item #27 in the Device tab on page 19). Also look
for the firmware update banner across the top of
the page (item #13 in the Device tab on page 18),
which includes one-click access to the firmware
update. You can also visit motu.com/proaudio to
download the firmware update file for off-line
updating.
AUDIO DRIVERS
The installer provides Thunderbolt and USB audio
drivers for Mac (CoreAudio) and Windows (ASIO
and Wave).
Thunderbolt support for Mac and Windows
You can connect your MOTU interface to a
Thunderbolt-equipped PC and access up to 128
channels of simultaneous audio input and output
using the MOTU Pro Audio ASIO driver. On OS X,
the MOTU Pro Audio Core Audio driver provides
similar high-bandwidth Thunderbolt I/O for Mac
audio applications. On both Mac and Windows,
you will enjoy access to very low buffer settings and
extremely low I/O latency performance from your
host audio software.
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Check motu.com/support for the latest
information regarding PC Thunderbolt compati-
bility, as some PC products are not yet qualified for
use with MOTU Thunderbolt-equipped audio
interfaces.
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Industry-leading I/O latency performance
On OS X and Windows, the MOTU Pro Audio
driver provides exceptionally low I/O latency
performance for both Thunderbolt and USB
operation. For example, with a 32-sample buffer
size, a 1248 interface operating at 96 kHz produces
round trip latency (RTL) performance of 1.9
milliseconds (ms) over Thunderbolt on Windows
and 1.6 ms on OS X. RTL is the measurement of the
time it takes audio to pass from an analog input,
through a high-performance DAW host such as
Digital Performer, to an analog output.
MOTU Pro Audio ASIO Driver
On Windows, to enable your MOTU interface in
your ASIO host software, choose the MOTU Pro
Audio ASIO driver.
Figure 3-1: Choosing the MOTU Pro Audio ASIO driver in Cubase.
WDM / Wave driver support
On Windows, the MOTU Pro Audio driver
includes stereo and multi-channel support (up to
24 channels) for WDM (Wave) compatible audio
software.
Host Buffer Size
When connected to a Windows host, the Host
Buffer Size menu (Figure 3-2) is available in the
Device tab (page 18). This setting determines the
amount of latency (delay) you may hear when live
audio is patched through your Windows audio
software. Smaller buffer sizes produce lower
latency, with sizes of 256 samples or less producing
virtually imperceptible delay. Many host
applications report audio hardware I/O latency, so
you can see what happens to the reported latency
when making adjustments to this setting.
S O F T W A R E I N S T A L L A T I O N