Setting up Synchronization for a Theatrical Mixing Stage

A theatrical mixing stage or a dub stage is a large theater-sized room used to create the final mixdown for feature films that will be presented in theaters with surround sound. These types of studios are very complex, dealing with hundreds of audio tracks at once through large mixing consoles along with high-quality video and film playback systems.

In this example, Nuendo is only one part of a very large system of devices that need to be perfectly synchronized with one another. An external master 9-Pin controller will operate the transport of the entire system remotely from the console and timecode will be handled via 9-Pin interface through the SyncStation. The audio clock will be referenced to tri-level HD video sync fed to the SyncStation which will output dedicated word clock to both Nuendo and the digital console.

  • Audio clock is generated out of the video reference signal.

    In this example, video sync is being fed to the SyncStation as both a speed reference and a phase reference. Word clock goes from the SyncStation to Nuendo and the digital console.

  • The console is the machine control master, sending 9-Pin control commands and status messages to the SyncStation.

    The console controls the playback in Nuendo via the SyncStation. Nuendo is the timecode slave. The SyncStation is acting as a machine control slave.

  • Timecode is fed to the SyncStation via 9-Pin and then via a USB connection to Nuendo (as MTC).

    The SyncStation 9-Pin interface is capable of using 9-Pin timecode effectively for accurate synchronization. Direct serial port 9-Pin connections should not be used this way.

To configure Nuendo for this example setup, proceed as follows:

Procedure

  1. Make the connections as shown in the diagram.

    In this example, the SyncStation handles many of the synchronization tasks. Please refer to the documentation that comes with the SyncStation for complete information on its operation.

  2. Select Transport > Project Synchronization Setup.
  3. On the Sources page in the Timecode Source section activate Steinberg SyncStation.

    SyncStation sends MTC over the USB connection to Nuendo. It uses its Virtual Master mode to generate timecode.

  4. Open the Machine Control page, and in the Machine Control Input Source section, activate Steinberg SyncStation.

    Provided that the SyncStation is set to route record and track arming commands to Nuendo, this will allow the digital console to record-enable audio tracks in Nuendo and enter record mode via 9-Pin commands sent to the SyncStation.

  5. On the Transport panel, activate Sync.

    Nuendo will await incoming timecode from the SyncStation.

  6. Test the record-enable buttons on the console.

    If configured properly, the corresponding audio tracks in Nuendo become record-enabled.

  7. Start playback on the console’s transport control.

    This will send the play commands to the SyncStation over 9-Pin and the SyncStation will start generating timecode to synchronize Nuendo.