I think it should work properly if: You make sure you connect everything digital, and make ptle the slave for the digital sync (windows/session-setup/digital sync), or do it the other way around and make the tascam a salve by selecting something like external sync or something on the tascam. Make sure you connect everything digital. To use the metaphores used by digidesign itself... MTC = were are we digital sync = how fast are we going MMC gives you the possibility to control your tascam with ptle (play/ff/rew etc...)

Sync and beer 

Ok, after about a year I finally got the MTC section of PTLE to work with my setup. Strangly the settings are the same as I've tried for almost a year...but what the heck. Now I have a few fairly simple questions. I know the subject has been talked over thousend of times, but looking through the posts is more confusing than releiving I must say. So I'll ask the questions here for my own situation. 1. Now I finally got the sync to work, should I tell my girlfriend I am a happy camper , or should I keep telling her we really need to cut some budget on the household because I'm saving for the HD-system that has the SMPTE. 2. The system I have: 4x Tascam DA-88 connected to Tascam TMD8000 console. I have a Mac G4 with PTLE, AM3 card and Steinberg USB2 interface. I have MTC working both ways. What are the best settings for me. I want to record some submixes into PT from the console. Eg drums on a stereo track, instruments on a stereo track and vocals etc. 3. If I record the submixes in different takes (remember I only got 2-track input), will the takes be absolute sync? I don't need more than 5 minutes of recording per song. 4. MMC makes sure the transports are triggered, but does it need MTC to stay sync? 5. Does MTC need MMC to get into play/record mode ? You guess I am a bit of a confused noodle here. What I'm actually asking is if somebody could explain in normal words to me what the deal exactly is with the whole MTC and MMC. Now if nobody responds to this post, that would be no big problem. It would just be another reason to convince my girlfriend cutting the budget and getting that SMPTE...... Cheers !

I am using the spdif in of the am3 card. It is connected to my TMD8000. Can I still use it as sync source? I guess it can so I'll try today.

I think SPdif (on AM III as on 001) is the only way you have to get digital sync, wordclocking the card to the Tascam desk and multitracks would secure sample-accurate sync, but... ; the only problem with SPdif sync is that it doesn't regenerates periodically, so if the clocking source isn't as accurate (or there's some kind of jitter in the signal due to bad cables or connections) there could be some drifting in long files. L.G.

A basic piece of trivia... I highly recommend that whatever device is the recorder ( IE the deiice your recording to) should be the master. Slave all others from there. If your recording originally to DA88 , then salve PTs . If your transfering to DA88 from PT, then salve from the DA88. It tends to be a un-spoken standard in post production, assuring that there is the least amount of potential offset issues. If you're Sync's with workclock or superclock, the problem goes away, but if you're clocking via midi or smpte only, you could find a minor (milliseconds) delay or functuation occasionally in speed that might cause a "feel" problem in tempo and groove. fwiw cheers georgia

After indulding in a bit of brew... " More Beer. Less Syncing." sorry georgia

Cut the girlfriend and throttle up the budget!

? Why don't you try it and tell US if it works ? 1/4 frame accurracy of MTC leads me to guess that they won't be in perfect sync, but may be good enough for your purposes. I have found phasing to be my friend until then end ... and by then phasing is just a memory, or a phase I went through. (couldn't resist)