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Configuration       1

inputs and outputs, which is slightly different to its behaviour under 
Windows XP where each input/output pair had its own mixer device. How 
this will work with any particular application that uses the mixer API can 
only be determined by experimentation.

Audio Engine

The audio engine in Windows Vista / 7 / 8 runs at a fixed sampling rate 
and bit depth. The Digitorc 4 driver sets this to be the same as the card’s 
hardware sampling rate and with 24-bit resolution on all inputs and 
outputs. The Windows sampling rate converter is used whenever a different 
sampling rate or bit depth is requested by applications.

The Digitorc 4 supports the event-driven pull mode on Windows 7 and 8, 
providing lower latency and more robust performance.

DirectSound and WDM Kernel 

Streaming

Microsoft’s DirectSound and Windows Driver Model (WDM) are designed 
to work hand in hand to take full advantage of audio card hardware and 
provide kernel-mode software emulation of features not directly supported. 
Kernel streaming allows audio data to be passed directly between driver 
modules resulting in a robust, high performance integrated sound 
processing system.

With its WDM driver, the Digitorc 4 can play MIDI files and audio CD’s, 
in addition to Wave files. The kernel mixer allows multiple sounds from 
the same or different applications to be played simultaneously, while the 
kernel splitter automatically splits an input source to multiple applications. 
Sampling rate conversion is automatically inserted if any of the multiple 
playback or recording streams have different sampling rates.

Extended Bit Depth Audio

Traditionally, PC-based audio capture and playback has been restricted to 
either 8 bit or 16 bit encoding, with the WAVE_FORMAT_PCM descriptor 
used to define the audio parameters such as samples per second, bits per 
sample and number of channels.

With the advent of 24 bit A/D and D/A converters, there was a need to 
support extended bit depth. To achieve this, Microsoft introduced a new 
data format descriptor called WAVE_FORMAT_EXTENSIBLE. This provides 
additional information, including the number of valid bits per sample and 
support for specifying channel placement in multichannel streams.

The WAVE_FORMAT_EXTENSIBLE descriptor may be used in place of 
the normal WAVE_FORMAT_PCM in setting up playback and recording 
through either the Winmm (wave) API or the DirectSound API. For further 
information refer to the Microsoft DirectX 8 documentation.

 Some audio editing applications, such as Syntrillium’s Cooledit 2000 and 
Adobe Audition, support extended bit depth audio and work well with the 
Digitorc 4 using 24 or 32 bit recording.

Summary of Contents for PC-DIG4

Page 1: ...Manufacturers of audio video products for radio TV broadcasters PC DIG4 Digitorc 4 4 Stereo AES 3 I O PCIe Sound Card HANDBOOK ...

Page 2: ...chaser s personal use without the express written permission of Sonifex Ltd Unless otherwise noted all names of companies products and persons contained herein are part of a completely fictitious adaptation and are designed solely to document the use of Sonifex product Contents Product Warranty 2 Year Extended ii Sonifex Warranty Liability Terms Conditions ii 1 Definitions ii 2 Warranty ii Unpacki...

Page 3: ...o uk y Internet www sonifex co uk As standard Sonifex products are supplied with a 1 year back to base warranty If you register the product online you can increase your product warranty to 2 years and we can also keep you informed of any product design improvements or modifications To register your product please go online to www sonifex co uk register Register Online for an Extended 2 Year Warran...

Page 4: ...pt when the product has been registered at the Sonifex website when the Warranty Term is 24 months from the date of despatch the Contract means the quotation these Conditions of Sale and any other document incorporated in a contract between the Company and the Purchaser This is the entire Contract between the parties relating to the subject matter hereof and may not be changed or terminated except...

Page 5: ...e for any loss of profits or other economic losses The Company accordingly excludes all liability for the same e At the request and expense of the Purchaser the Company will test the Goods to ascertain performance levels and provide a report of the results of that test The report will be accurate at the time of the test to the best of the belief and knowledge of the Company and the Company accepts...

Page 6: ...d The product is shipped with the following equipment so please check to ensure that you have all of the items below If anything is missing please contact the supplier of your equipment immediately Item Quantity Product Unit 1 Handbook 1 Driver CD 1 If you require a different power lead please let us know when ordering the product Repairs Returns Please contact Sonifex or your supplier if you have...

Page 7: ...ited hereby certify that the following product with serial number shown has been designed and manufactured in accordance with the following specifications EMC EN 55103 1 1997 Electromagnetic Compatibility Limits of disturbance for audio apparatus for professional use For use in environments 1 to 4 EN 55103 2 1997 Electromagnetic Compatibility Limits of disturbance for audio apparatus for professio...

Page 8: ...l and electronic equipment RoHS The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive WEEE aims to minimise the impacts of electrical and electronic equipment on the environment during their life times and when they become waste All products manufactured by Sonifex Ltd have the WEEE directive label placed on the case Sonifex Ltd will be happy to give you information about local organisations tha...

Page 9: ... can be played Extended software bit depths of 32 and 24 bits are supported as well as 16 and 8 bits for playback and recording The playback topology consists of a master output level mute control and peak meter a wave level and mute control and input monitor level and mute controls for each of the line inputs The record topology consists of a master input level mute control and peak meter line in...

Page 10: ...pecify a driver location or file name Windows 7 8 Server 2008 R2 Server 2012 Windows no longer searches removable media for drivers Open Device Manager where the Digitorc 4 will be listed under Other Devices as a Multimedia Audio Controller Right click on it select Update Driver Software then click on Browse my computer for driver software and click on the Browse button to navigate to the driver s...

Page 11: ...itally mixed back into the input On Windows Vista 7 8 these inputs are only visible if Show Disabled Devices is checked on the recording device settings right click on any of the devices to set this The range on the input and output master controls is 96dB to 6dB while the individual line controls range from 96dB to 0dB To access the playback and record mixer controls on Windows 2000 XP and Server...

Page 12: ...4 driver is first installed these may be randomly set to any of the outputs and inputs To set the default endpoints right click on the loudspeaker symbol select Playback Devices or Recording Devices and then right click on the desired endpoint and select Set as Default Device The default device is remembered across reboots and should not need to be set again unless additional audio hardware is ins...

Page 13: ...o CD s in addition to Wave files The kernel mixer allows multiple sounds from the same or different applications to be played simultaneously while the kernel splitter automatically splits an input source to multiple applications Sampling rate conversion is automatically inserted if any of the multiple playback or recording streams have different sampling rates Extended Bit Depth Audio Traditionall...

Page 14: ... 1 Configuration Digitorc 4 Pinout Output 1 Output 2 Input 1 Input 2 Input 3 Input 4 Output 3 Output 4 1 14 2 15 3 16 4 17 5 18 6 19 7 20 8 21 9 22 10 23 11 24 12 13 25 Fig 1 1 Digitorc 4 Pinout Diagram ...

Page 15: ...tions for multi channel inputs the 8 channel input is simply defined as another line connector Requirements Digitorc 4 card with firmware revision 6 or later Digitorc 4 driver version 8 0 0 3512 or later Windows Vista or later the driver doesn t support surround sound on XP Setup The surround sound input and output subdevices are disabled by default so as not to disturb any existing applications e...

Page 16: ...r wave output and input monitoring Each fader has a Balance button which allows the eight individual channels to be adjusted The default master input and output levels correspond to a gain setting of 0dB When set to full scale a 6dB boost is applied Output Mapping The playback speaker mapping can be tested by opening the Windows playback devices selecting the Digitorc 4 speakers device and clickin...

Page 17: ...hannel 2 L R Note that when the card is configured for 7 1 there is some confusion as to whether the rear channels of 5 1 audio are mapped to the side speakers or back speakers with different players doing different things from the same source material Configuring the card as 5 1 will remove this ambiguity Limitations It appears that multi channel hardware peak meters are not yet properly supporte...

Page 18: ...ampling 32kHz to 96kHz via independent asynchronous Rate sampling rate converters Audio Resolution 24 bits Sampling Rate Accuracy 5ppm Software Resolution 32 24 16 or 8 bits External AES11 compliant synchronisation Frequency Response DC to 43 5kHz at 96 kHz sampling Connector 25 pin D type female Equipment Type PC DIG4 Digitorc 4 4 stereo AES 3 I O PCIe sound card Physical Specification Dimensions...

Page 19: ...Notes ...

Page 20: ...www sonifex co uk t 44 0 1933 650 700 f 44 0 1933 650 726 sales sonifex co uk ...

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