Playing Digital Audio Under Smpte/Mtc Sync - CAKEWALK SONAR User Manual

When SONAR is the slave, here's how things work:
• SONAR monitors for a SMPTE/MTC signal. You are able to perform other action in SONAR while
waiting for the signal.
• Start playback on the external device. It takes about two seconds for SONAR to lock from the time
it receives time code input.
• If the time code is earlier than the start of the project (based on the time code offset), another
message (Chasing...) is displayed in the status bar. When the time code reaches the start of the
project, SONAR starts to play in sync.
• If the time code is at or after the start of the project, SONAR starts playback as soon as it locks to
the time code.
• When the external device stops (or when the time code ends), SONAR will stop.
Note: If you want SONAR to switch its clock source to SMPTE/MTC automatically when SONAR
receives a SMPTE/MTC signal, you can choose this option on the Timecode tab of the Global Options
dialog.

Playing Digital Audio under SMPTE/MTC Sync

SONAR gives you two choices for controlling audio playback when using time SMPTE/MTC Sync:
Option...
Trigger and freewheel
Full chase lock
Some digital sound cards (such as the Frontier Design Wavecenter or the Antex Studio Card) have
external clock inputs. If you are using one of these cards, and an external clock source like a digital tape
deck is the master timing source for the project, choose the Trigger and Freewheel option. The clock
input on the audio card guarantees that there is no drift between the time code and audio playback.
To Set the Audio Playback Option
1. Choose Options-Audio, and click the Advanced tab.
2. Check the desired option from the Synchronization list.
3. Click OK.
Audio playback under time code sync is handled according to the setting you chose.
How it works...
Audio event playback is started (or triggered) at the exact time
code, but then the audio plays at its own internal rate (or
freewheels). When audio freewheels, it can gradually drift from
the time code due to variations in the time code signal.
The speed of audio event playback is continually adjusted to stay
in sync with the time code. If the external clock drifts or changes
rate, SONAR adjusts the audio playback speed to stay in sync.
This adjustment may introduce slight pitch changes, but those
changes will be negligible if the external clock is reasonably
steady.
535