Re: Is it possible for two different computers to use the same audio interface?

[Chris Bakos]

First, let me answer the question. You cannot access 1 firewire interface from 2 computers at the same time.

Second, your workflow is about as optimized as it going to be. You could bring your own interface, and mirror the theater's interface on a separate set of channels for testing, but ultimately you are still going to have to create a cue, render an audio file, move the file to the theater's computer, assign the cue to speakers via Q-Lab on the theater's computer. Why do that work twice?

[raymond soly]

As Chris stated, this is not possible with firewire……so, why not take over the "booth's firewire interface, run Qlab/DAW  from your laptop  and only transfer the material to the booth's computer when you're done? 

or, have 2 Qlab rigs….one in the booth and one on the house….with 2 audio interfaces connected to the booth's console, still keeping your screen sharing  etc……

Or, if you are really determined to find another way you may try this…..., A Qlab/DAW rig  paired with an A&H ILive console with the madi card option… either computer could access the madi card at the same time !….if you wanted to run audio from the Booth just connect its computer to the ILive's madi card secondary link in redundant mode… your laptop's Qlab/DAW is assigned to the ILive's primary madi link on the madi card …..all you have to do to switch between the 2 feeds is to unplug the madi coax from your laptop's coaxial madi interface (I do this with digico's UB-MADI box), you will immediately switch the sends to the booth's computer (this can also be done thru a simple inexpensive video switcher)….it's instantaneous , no noise no pops and no rebooting and no readdressing ….when you're done just bundle your copy and send the whole thing to the booth thru the ILive's network (to which both computers would be connected thru cat5e ethernet )….and from there control the console from either computer ……….and I'd still keep the screen sharing 

Ray

On 2013-02-04, at 12:59 PM, Jimmy Garver <james...@gmail.com> wrote:

I've been searching for a solution to a situation that I run up against all the time and I'm wondering if any of you have thoughts on how to solve it. 

During a rehearsal and tech process I sit in the house with my laptop and share a screen with the computer in the theater's booth running Q-Lab and patched into the theater's sound system via a firewire audio interface. I can send to different speakers via the computer in the booth, but I cannot send to discreet speakers from my laptop because my laptop is not communicating directly with the theater's audio interface. 

So, the question is this: Is it possible for two different computers to use the same audio interface? This would allow me to create stuff with my DAW on my laptop and send directly to the theater's speakers. Right now my process is: create a cue, render an audio file, move the file to the theater's computer, assign the cue to speakers via Q-Lab on the theater's computer. The "work around" solution is to run an audio line from my laptop to the theater's analog mixer and assign to different speakers via the mixer. But, this requires another person in the booth moving faders which is cumbersome, inaccurate, and I don't always have an assistant working with me.

Anyone struggling with this? Any ideas? Thanks for any suggestions you might have!

Jimmy Garver

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[Mark Valenzuela]

This may or may not help, depending on your specific situation, and the size of the theater. But I find it much more efficient than the method you've described.

When I set up my table for tech, I remove the interface from the booth (or use my own if that's not an option) and set it up with my laptop on my table in the house. I then run lines from the interface up to the console in the booth. I own a 30' 1/4 snake and bring it to tech with me specifically for this purpose. Then I can build my entire Qlab sequence on my laptop in front of me, and on the same computer with all of my soundbanks, DAW's, etc. I can patch Qlab to my headphones and listen to cue sequences without running them over the house system, I can audition sounds from my DAW or other sources on my computer over the house system, and I can quickly and efficiently create and move cues in and out of Qlab without the hassle of sending them over to another computer. It is so quick and efficient, that under the few circumstances where I have to screenshare to tech a show, the extra time to do it the way you've described drives me crazy.

Once the show needs to move to the booth, it's as easy as bundling the show and transferring the bundle to the show machine, and moving the interface back to the booth. 

Obviously, there are many situations where it would be impossible to set up this way. But if there is ANY WAY to keep the interface at your table and build and run from your own computer, (even removing the console from the booth, if necessary), I encourage you to try it out. 

Good luck!

Mark 

[Charles Coes]

Depending on the interface, you could use a second interface on your computer and run a digital (ADAT or AES) signal into the show box, and use the internal DSP to mix them together. It would work with an RME or a Metric Halo, and might with a MOTU.

I usually just have a gigabit data connection and dump a file into the show computer quickly to play back...

[Jimmy Garver]

Hi. Thanks so much for thinking about this with me. The day after I received your responses, I took the motu out of the rack in the booth and carried it down the stairs to my tech table. There are 10 audio lines running from it back up to the mixer in the booth. I plug in each day when I go to the theater and I'm able to create, hand-in-hand with the system. I love it. I'm going to insist on doing this from now on. Thanks Mark!

[ra byn taylor]

And where I can't do that, I screen share with the booth Mac & transfer files when ever possible. Not as quick & flexible as actually locating the rig at the tech table but screen sharing is a useful tool none the less.