Ezbus And Ez8 Discussion, Continued from other thread... Options

[Levon River]

Or: how efforts at clarification become greater confusion.

First, there is a report from Yukele (in another thread) that BusError wrote some driver or drivers for the Event EZBus and/or the Event EZ8 PCI card for OS X. My efforts to get more information just resulted in greater confusion. So let me lay this out as simply and completely as possible.

Clearly and unequivocally, it's the Event EZBus (digital mixer, audio/MIDI interface, and control surface unit) that has *both* USB and digital (S/PDIF and ADAT Lightpipe) I/O capabilities. The only way to connect it directly to the Mac, though, is via USB, *unless* you have a supported S/PDIF and/or ADAT digital interface to your computer of some sort. Which is where Event's companion EZ8 PCI card comes in.

The EZ8 is a PCI card that has the same two DIGITAL I/O types that the EZBus has, allowing a user to connect the EZBus to the COMPUTER via S/PDIF and/or ADAT Lightpipe, in *addition* to the two-channel USB I/O that the EZBus unit has on board for direct connection to the computer.

So I am and have been all clear on that and don't need any info on what types of I/O either of the two units supports, because I know that going in. That fully established, here are my original questions from the other thread, and hopefully BusError can respond:

Official Request for Clarification: Okay, now, I just got it from what I will describe as "an unimpeachable source" that Event is planning to have Mac support for their EZ8 PCI card, which is the only way I know of that the EZBus can push 8 channels in and out of a computer. It sure ain't going to do it through USB.

So I am aquiver with questions (which I guess only BusError can answer, but probably only within the strictures of a non-disclosure agreement--which probably means not at all.) But of course I'm going to ask anyway.

1. When you [Yukelel] say buserror made "the driver for OS X," uh, what driver is that? Generally, the OS X driver for the EZBus itself, meaning, I guess, for the USB I/O? Or...

2. Is he doing the driver for the EZ8? Or...

3. Is he doing/did he do (sigh) drivers for both? Or...

4. Does it all mean something else altogether that somebody needs to walk me through without using big words?

BTW, these aren't just idle curiosity questions. I am about --><-- that far away from springing for the EZBus on the basis that I *will*, at some point, be able to push and pull 8 channels through the digital I/O, so any specific information would be greatly appreciated.

[BusError]

The EZBus doesn't need any particular driver for OSX. it works fine with Apple's driver, thats a blessing.

What I did is a driver for the EZ8 PCI card; you can plug both it's ADAT connectors in the EZBus 2 ADAT connectors, and you then have 8 24/48 channels both ways between the mixer and the mac; with tiny latency.
You also still have the 2*2 channels over USB, if you needed them ;-)

The driver is a prototype, there is no word from event as to when and how it will be available. It is not finished, anyway.

And to answer your questions about how it works, I'd say "damn well". I've hand coded in assembly language the sensitive audio path not to lose a microsecond for no valid reason.

For now I can present a 8 channels interlaced input and output to the system. it works perfectly with the system (as 'audio out') or in Peak.

I have a plan; if I have time; to also present 'shadow' devices for stereo 1&2, 3&4, 5&6 and 7&8 independantly, so you could assign a program to 2 channels independantly of it's capabilities.

There, that answer the questions?

As always, I reiterate I bought the EZbus before I worked for Event; just because I tought it was a really cool device; and well, with the EZ8, its amazing :-)

I have the EZBus in a mode that sends the main mix on ADAT 1&2, Alternate on 3&4, and the sends on 5,6,7 & 8.
If I want to record the mix, well, it's easy. If I want to record a pair of channels from the EZBus, I select them as 'Sends' with 0dB and record them on 3&4 for example.

I'm also preparing (iven time as always, no promise) a small tool that displays the status of the 16 channels as small vu meters in the Dock icon.