EK-DZ ILDA to ADAT Converter
Hi everyone! I am very proud to announce the EK-DZ ILDA to ADAT Converter!
The ILDA to ADAT Converter provides a simple solution for recording laser images either to ADAT or as a wave file to your PC. For many years recording to ADAT has been a standard however, as the ADAT evolved the ability to modify them changed. The original Alesis "Blackface" ADAT was as simple as shorting out a few caps on the input and output stage to allow DC recording. DC recording is a requirement for laser show content. Today, the Alesis HD24 doesn't allow any easy method to modify either the input or output stage to allow DC. Making it very difficult to record laser shows. This became a bit of a problem with the introduction of the Z-5 analog console. In a collaborative project with Ed Keefe (ekeefe) and I, we were able to come up with this solution to greatly ease the process of recording laser shows.
The ILDA to ADAT Converter will convert the input of your ILDA cable (along with left/right audio and an auxiliary channel) to ADAT optical light pipe. You can then use the output of the light pipe to connect to an ADAT IN on an HD24, Echo Layla 24/96 or any other device that supports ADAT Optical. When using a device such as the Layla 24/96, the laser show can be recorded to your PC as a multi-channel wave file. From there, the wave file can be manipulated and stored in several different ways.
Ok, so lets cover some of the basics:
Recording - The ILDA to ADAT Converter incorporates differential receivers to help eliminate noise from long ILDA Cable runs. The channels recorded are X, Y, Red, Green and Blue. Audio is recorded via the two RCA jacks. The Aux jack allows for several different types of content. This is user selectable via a jumper inside the converter. If you wish to record one of the additional color channels (Deep Blue, Yellow or Cyan) the jumper can be set to this position. There are also AC coupled and DC coupled jumper settings. The Aux channel can also be used to record MIDI*, DMX* or SMPTE data. The ILDA Passthru is to connect your laser projector to see what's actually being recorded.
SMPTE recording test pic:
Playback - Content recorded as wave files can be played using a simple sound card DAC or a converted Echo Layla 24/96. You will need an audio player capable of supporting multichannel wave files. Spider Player is a free program that supports this. Spider Player can be downloaded from from CNET at this address: http://download.cnet.com/Spider-Play...-10531622.html
Storing content - Recorded content can be stored as a wave file or a FLAC file. Alternatively, you can use Pangolin's LC-ADAT software to convert the wave file to an ILDA frame file.
Manipulating Content - Wave files can be easily manipulated using the free Audacity program. Fade in/out, add/delete sample points to manipulate the color channels and copy/paste are some of the powerful tools within the Audacity software to improve the recorded material. Audacity does not play back multichannel wave data, for this you would need to use something like the Spider Player. Alternatively, if converted to ILDA files using LC-ADAT, the files can be manipulated with any laser show software that properly reads the ILDA file format. Audacity is available from: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
Options for Recording - Recording to an ADAT XT has been tested and works without issue. Recording as a wave file to PC, we have discovered a few things you need to know about. When using the Echo Layla 24/96 (no need to modify a Layla for recording, only if used to playback content) under Microsoft Windows Vista, Audacity works perfectly to record 8 channels. When using Audacity under Microsoft Windows 7, there are issues. Steinberg owns the ASIO driver that's needed by Audacity to record multichannel wave files. Since Audacity is free, this ASIO driver is not included in Audacity for Windows 7. There is detailed information for obtaining the ASIO driver from Steinberg and compiling your own version of Audacity for Window 7 to support multichannel recording. This is all available for free but takes a good bit a time and effort to get this done. And, the licensing for the ASIO specifically states that when you do this that you CANNOT distribute the newly compiled version of Audacity. So if you are using Windows 7 and don't want to run thru this lengthy procedure, there is an alternative called N-Track. N-Track is not free ($49), it can be evaluated for 10 days and then purchased if you find that it works for you. N-Track is fully capable of recording and exporting 8 channel wave files. N-Track is available from: http://ntrack.com
So what will all this cost, you ask? $300 plus shipping. This will include the converter, a power supply and an ADAT optical cable. Payment via paypal, PM me for details. Thanks!
* - A note about DMX and MIDI. While it's possible to record these signals, they will need to be converted prior to recording. The ILDA to ADAT Converter will only record a single ended, 0-5 volt signal on the Aux input channel. DMX and MIDI signals are differential and need to be isolated from any connected device, including this converter. DMX is natively a differential signal and MIDI is generally terminated with an opto-coupler. Conditioning of the signal would need to be done external to the ILDA to ADAT Converter.
*2 - As a side note, the number of people I know who I consider brilliantly gifted I can count on one hand. Ekeefe is one of them and I wanted to add a sincere thank you for all your amazing work! You are a wealth of knowledge and I appreciate the opportunity to work with you!
ILDA to ADAT Converter Manual.PDF
EK-DZ ILDA to ADAT Converter OEM Board now available!
The ILDA to ADAT Converter is now available as an OEM. The price is $200 shipped in the USA (outside of USA shipping available at additional cost). The OEM version will include a fully populated and tested circuit board, ready to be placed in your enclosure. The OEM version will not include the enclosure, front/back panels, optical cable or 9V DC power supply. It will arrive ready to run.
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Originally Posted by DZ
Bradfo69
