Metric Halo is proud to announce that the +DSP system for Mobile
I/O has been released.
This version of MIOConsole adds a new Panel to the Console window.
The main Panels are now:
1) Analog I/O Control
2) Mixer
3) Mix/Output Routing
4) +DSP
The functions of 1 and 2 have not changed. The "Mix/Output
Routing" Panel (3) now has Process busses available in the
Patchbay router, and we have added (4) the +DSP Panel.
The +DSP Panel is the heart of the plug-in system in Mobile I/O:

The +DSP Panel includes a number of new elements. The large dark
area with the grid is the "Graph area". To the left
of the Graph area are the input ports from the primary DSP (the
primary DSP is the DSP that has been providing the mixing, metering
and routing services on Mobile I/O since the beginning). On the
right are the output process bus ports that return the processed
signal to the primary DSP. Along the top of the Graph area are
a number of controls that you use to configure the DSP signal
processing. Right next to the "Inputs" label is the
Plug-in pop-up menu. Next to that is the Patch library popup menu.
The header then has a spacer, followed by a DSP load meter. Next
to the DSP load meter is a DSP popup menu. These are all described
below.
DSP pop-up menu
We'll start with the DSP pop-up menu. This lists the available
DSP's in the system. There should be one for each +DSP box you
have attached to your computer. They will be listed by box type,
serial number, and DSP number. All the +DSP units have one available
DSP (DSP #1). The software is capable of addressing any number
of boxes, so if you have more than one 2882+DSP, you can work
with multiple DSP graphs.
Plug-in pop-up menu
The Plug-in pop-up menu contains all of the available instantiable
plug-ins. When you select a plug-in from this menu, a new instance
is created on the selected DSP, and you may drag the instance
to a convenient location in the Graph area.

Selecting
a new instance from the Plug-in Menu

Positioning
the new instance in the Graph
Once you have added the Plug-ins you want to use, you can wire
them up. To make connections, click on a port (one of the small
gray triangles next to the port name), and then drag the connection
to the target. When you have made a valid connection, the connection
line will switch from Gray to Green. You can make as many mults
as you like of a signal source but only one connection can be
made to a processor input or process bus port. If you make a new
connection to an input that already has a connection, the old
connection will be automatically disconnected. To remove a connection
without establishing a new one, <control>-click on the input
port to which the connection is made.

Starting
a connection
Completing
the connection
Making
a mult
After everything is placed and wired up, you will need to ensure
that you have routed the output of your signal processors to the
appropriate process bus on the output side of the graph. When you
are done, you will have a complete graph. For example:

A complete
+DSP Graph
This graph shows the routing of Analog 1+2 into a M/S Decoder,
and mults Analog 1 to a Mono MIOStrip. The output of the M/S Decoder
is routed into the inputs of a Stereo MIOStrip. The outputs of
the MIOStrips are sent to Process Busses 1, 2, and 3. It is important
to connect both the input and output of a plug-in if you want
to use it. The +DSP system is very intelligent about scheduling
resources, and will only run plug-ins when they have at least
one input and one output connected.
The graph is continuously modifiable. You can drag the plug-ins
around as you like, and you can add new plug-ins, even while you
are processing audio with the existing graph. You can make and
break connections as you please.
There is no routing delay within the plug-in graph. So if you
make mults with different plug-in paths on each side of the mult,
the two paths will remain time-aligned. This allows you to configure
parallel processing paths without the virtually impossible task
of time-aligning the parallel paths. The graph itself has a 16
sample delay from input to output, so signals routed through the
graph get back to the primary DSP 16 samples after they leave
it.
At this point, you will want to be able to control each plug-in's
parameters. We will describe the Plug-in UI's below, but, in order
to open a plug-in's UI, all you have to do is double click the
plug-in in the graph.
Patch Library Pop-up Menu
The Patch Library pop-up menu allows you to save the complete
state of the plug-in graph. This menu works like all the other
Library popup menus in MIOConsole.
DSP Load Meter
The DSP Load Meter shows you the current active, measured load
on the DSP that is selected in the DSP pop-up menu. Since the
plug-ins in Mobile I/O are dynamic, this is the best way to determine
if you are close to overloading the DSP. The Plug-ins in Mobile
I/O only use the resources they need to accomplish the job that
you have selected with the plug-in settings. So, if the compressor
in MIOStrip is not enabled, it will not use up DSP cycles. This
means that you can instantiate more plug-ins if you do not use
all the features of each instance. The Load Meter shows you the
actual dynamic load, and will vary with the settings of the plug-ins
and may vary with the audio program material (depending on the
DSP algorithm; e.g. the compressor uses more DSP when the signal
is above threshold than when it is below threshold).
Plug-in UI's
To open the UI for a plug-in, double click the plug-in in the
graph.

The M/S decoder uses a generic interface -- one that is automatically
created from the parameters in the plug-in. The MIOStrip uses
a custom interface -- one generated by us with a specific layout
and special UI elements. All of the plug-in UI's share the plug-in
bar at the top of the window. This bar provides generic services
for managing the state of any plug-in.
Every plug-in window has a parameter library popup, 5 setup registers
and a master bypass button. The parameter library popup is like
all the other parameter library popups in the console. The parameter
library is automatically shared amongst all instances of a particular
plug-in type. Actually, it is automatically shared amongst all
instances of compatible plug-in types, so MIOStrip Mono and MIOStrip
Stereo automatically share preset libraries.
The 5 setup registers are a unique feature of +DSP. Each button
corresponds to a set of parameters. If the button has not been
activated, the register will be clear, and nothing will happen
when you click on the button. When you click onto another register
button, the current plug-in parameters will be saved into the
register button. This allows you to make multiple alternate setups,
and instantly switch between the setups. Sort of an A/B/C/D/E
switch.
Finally, the bypass button in the header bar is a master bypass
for all processing in the plug-in.
The processing in MIOStrip is a completely new set of algorithms.
While we worked to stay within the original spirit of ChannelStrip,
the algorithms are radically different. We believe that you are
really going to enjoy the sounds you can get out of these processors.
The Compressor, especially, is a dramatically different beast.
While you can still get the kinds of sounds that you could from
ChannelStrip (for those of you who loved that aspect of ChannelStrip),
you can get many new sounds that ChannelStrip could not create,
and, in particular, you will find that it behaves like a standard
compressor in its controls and behaviors, unlike ChannelStrip
(for those of you who hated that aspect of ChannelStrip).
Finally, here is a gallery of configurations:


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