Steinberg Cubase 5 Operation Manual

							421
Export Audio Mixdown
Activate the “Auto Update Name” option (so that a 
checkmark is displayed before it) to add a number to the 
specified file name every time you click the Export button.
Path Options pop-up menu:
Select “Choose…” to open a dialog in which you can 
browse for a path and enter a file name. 
The file name will automatically be shown in the File Name/Prefix field.
Select an entry from the Recent Paths section to reuse 
a path specified for a previous export.
This section is only shown after an export has been completed. With the 
“Clear Recent Paths” option you can delete all entries from the Recent 
Paths section.
Activate the option “Use Project Audio Folder” to save 
the mixdown file in the project’s Audio folder.
6.Choose an entry from the File Format pop-up menu.
7.Activate the Split Channels option if you want to ex-
port all sub-channels of a multi-channel bus as mono files, 
or activate “Mono Export” if you want to export a channel 
as a single mono file.
Ö“Mono Export” is not available if “Channel Batch Ex-
port” is activated.
8.Make additional settings for the file to be created.
This includes selecting sample rate, bit depth, etc. The available options 
depend on the selected file format – see “The available file formats” on 
page 422.
9.If you want to automatically import the resulting audio 
files back into Cubase, activate any of the checkboxes in 
the “Import into project” section.
If you activate the Pool checkbox, a clip referring to the file will appear in 
the Pool. Activating the Audio Track checkbox as well will create an au-
dio event that plays the clip, and place it on a new audio track, starting at 
the left locator. If you activate the Create New Project option, a new pro-
ject is created that contains one audio track for each of the exported 
channels. Note that if this is activated, the Pool and Audio Track options 
will be disabled.
ÖThe Create New Project option is only available if you 
have selected an uncompressed file format and the Use 
Project Audio Folder option is deactivated.
10.If you activate Realtime Export, the export will happen 
in realtime, i.e. the process will take the same time as reg-
ular playback.
Some VST plug-ins, external instruments and effects require this in order 
to have enough time to update correctly during the mixdown – consult 
the plug-in manufacturers if uncertain.
Cubase only: When Realtime Export is activated, the 
exported audio will be played back via the Control Room.
The Audition Volume fader allows you to adjust the Control Room volume. 
Note that if the Control Room is deactivated and for channel batch exports, 
there will be no Audition Volume fader in the dialog.
Depending on the CPU and disk speed of your com-
puter, it may not be possible to export all channels simul-
taneously if Realtime Export is activated. If an error occurs 
during the realtime export, the program will automatically 
stop the process, reduce the number of channels and 
start again. Afterwards the next batch of files is exported. 
This is repeated as often as needed to export all selected 
channels.
Due to this splitting of the export process in “runs”, the realtime export 
might take longer than the actual playback would.
11.If you activate Update Display, the meters will be up-
dated during the export process.
This allows you to check for clipping, for example.
12.Click Export.
A dialog with a progress bar is displayed while the audio file 
or files are being created. If you change your mind during 
the file creation, you can click the Abort button to cancel 
the operation.
If the option “Close dialog after export” is activated, the 
dialog will be closed.
If you have activated any of the “Import into project” op-
tions, the file or files will be imported back into the same or 
a new project.
When playing back the re-imported file in the same Cubase project, re-
member to mute the original tracks so that you really hear the correct file.
About the Channel Selection section
The Channel Selection section shows all output and au-
dio-related channels available in the project. These chan-
nels are organized in a hierarchical structure that allows 
you to easily identify and select the channels you want to 
export. The different channel types are listed below each 
other, with channels of the same type being grouped in a 
node (e. g. Instrument Tracks).
You can activate/deactivate channels by clicking on the 
checkboxes in front of the channel names.
If Channel Batch Export is activated, you can also acti-
vate/deactivate all channels of the same type by clicking 
on the checkbox in front of the channel type entry. 
						

							422
Export Audio Mixdown
If Channel Batch Export is activated, you can select/de-
select several channels in one go using the [Shift] and/or 
[Ctrl]/[Command] modifiers and then clicking on any of 
the checkboxes for the highlighted channels.
Note that this toggles the activation status of a channel, i. e. all selected 
channels that were previously activated will be deactivated and vice-
versa.
If your project contains a large number of channels, it 
might get difficult to find the desired channels in the 
Channel Selection section. To remedy this, and to simplify 
the process of selecting several channels, you can filter 
the display. Simply type in the desired text (e. g. “voc” to 
show all tracks containing vocals) in the Filter field below 
the tree view.
About the Import Options dialog
If you activate any of the options in the Import into project 
section, the Import Options dialog will open for each ex-
ported channel when the export is complete. For a de-
tailed description of the options in this dialog see “About 
the Import Medium dialog” on page 268. 
File naming conventions
The exported files on the hard disk are being named ac-
cording to the following convention:
 -  -  - .
This could, for example, result in the following file names:
“mixdown - 3 - Audio - Elec Guitar.wav” or “surround mix - 
Output - 5.1 Out 03 (LFE).aiff” for a surround channel.
The available file formats
The following pages describe the different export file for-
mats, as well as their options and settings. 
 AIFF files (see “AIFF files” on page 422).
 AIFC files (see “AIFC files” on page 423).
 Wave files (see “Wave files” on page 424).
 Wave 64 files (Cubase only, see “Wave 64 files (Cubase 
only)” on page 424).
 Broadcast Wave files (see “Broadcast Wave files” on page 
424).
 MP3 files (Cubase only, see “MPEG 1 Layer 3 files (Cubase 
only)” on page 424). Ogg Vorbis files (see “Ogg Vorbis files” on page 424).
 Windows Media Audio Pro files (Windows only, see “Win-
dows Media Audio Pro files (Windows only)” on page 425).
ÖMost of the settings described below for AIFF files are 
available for all file types. Where this is not the case, you will 
find additional information in the corresponding section.
MP3 Export (Cubase Studio only)
This version of Cubase provides a function for exporting 
your audio mixdown as mp3 files. This function is limited to 
20 trial encodings or a trial period of 30 days from the in-
stallation date (whichever ends first). After this period, the 
function will be disabled until you purchase the mp3 en-
coder for Cubase.
When the mp3 format is selected, and you click the Ex-
port button, a window opens showing you how many trial 
encodings you have left. You can upgrade to an unlimited 
mp3 export function by clicking the “Go to Online Shop” 
button in the dialog.
This will take you to Steinberg’s online shop where you can purchase the 
upgrade. Note that a working internet connection is required.
AIFF files
AIFF stands for Audio Interchange File Format, a standard 
defined by Apple Inc. AIFF files have the extension “.aif” 
and are used on most computer platforms.
For AIFF files the following options are available:
Option Description
File Name In this field you can enter a name for the mixdown file.
Naming options 
pop-up menuThis allows you to define how your project should be 
named. If you select “Set to Project Name” the project 
name will be used for the export file. If you activate the 
“Auto Update Name” option a number will be added to 
the specified file name every time you click the Export 
button.
Path Here you can specify a path where you want the mix-
down to be saved.
Path options 
pop-up menuThis allows you to specify where the file should be 
saved. If you select “Choose…” a file dialog will open 
and the file name will automatically be shown in the File 
Name/Prefix field. If you already have exported a file, the 
Recent Paths section will be shown where you can 
choose to reuse a previous path. If you activate “Use 
Project Audio Folder”, the mixdown file will be saved in 
the project’s Audio folder. 
						

							423
Export Audio Mixdown
AIFC files
AIFC stands for Audio Interchange File Format Com-
pressed, a standard defined by Apple Inc. These files sup-
port compression ratios as high as 6:1 and contain tags in 
the header. AIFC files have the extension “.aifc” and are 
used on most computer platforms. 
AIFC files support the same options as AIFF files.
Insert Broadcast 
Wave ChunkThis allows you to include information about the date 
and time of creation, a timecode position (allowing you 
to insert exported audio at the correct position in other 
projects, etc.) along with author, description and refer-
ence text strings in the exported file.
Some applications may not be able to handle files with 
embedded info – if you get problems using the file in 
another application, deactivate the option and re-export.
Edit button By clicking this button the “Broadcast Wave Chunk” di-
alog opens where you can enter additional information 
that will be embedded in the exported files. Note that in 
the Preferences (Record–Audio–Broadcast Wave 
page) you can enter default text strings for author, de-
scription and reference that will automatically be dis-
played in the “Broadcast Wave Chunk” dialog.
Don’t Use Wave 
Extensible 
Format (Wave 
files only)The Wave Extensible format contains additional meta-
data, such as the speaker configuration. It is an exten-
sion to the normal Wave format that some applications 
may not be able to handle.
If you get problems using the Wave file in another appli-
cation, activate this option and re-export.
Insert iXML 
chunkThis allows you to include additional project-based or 
sound metadata (e. g. scene and take information) in the 
exported file.
Some applications may not be able to handle files with 
embedded info – if you get problems using the file in 
another application, deactivate the option and re-export.
Sample Rate 
(only uncom-
pressed file for-
mats)This setting determines the frequency range of the ex-
ported audio – the lower the sample rate, the lower the 
highest audible frequency in the audio. In most cases, 
you should select the sample rate set for the project, 
since a lower sample rate will degrade the audio quality 
(mainly reducing the high frequency content) and a 
higher sample rate will only increase the file size, with-
out adding to audio quality. Also consider the future us-
age of the file – if you e.g. plan to import the file into 
another application, you should select a sample rate 
supported by that application.
If you are making a mixdown for CD burning, you should 
select 44.100 kHz, since this is the sample rate used on 
audio CDs.
Bit Depth (only 
uncompressed 
file formats)Allows you to select 8, 16, 24 bit or 32 bit (float) files. If 
the file is an “intermediate mixdown” that you plan to re-
import and continue working on in Cubase, we recom-
mend that you select the 32 bit (float) option.
32 bit (float) is a very high resolution (the same resolu-
tion as used internally for audio processing in Cubase), 
and the audio files will be twice the size of 16 bit files.
If you are making a mixdown for CD burning, you should 
use the 16 bit option, as CD audio is always 16 bit.
In this case, we recommend that you activate the UV-
22HR dithering plug-in (see the separate PDF document 
“Plug-in Reference” for details). This reduces the effects 
of quantization noise and artifacts from being introduced 
when converting the audio down to 16 bit.
8 bit resolution should only be used if required, since it 
will result in limited audio quality. 8 bit audio may be 
suitable in some multimedia applications, etc. Option DescriptionRealtime Export If you activate this option, the export will happen in real-
time, i.e. the process will generally take the same time 
as regular playback. Some VST plug-ins, external instru-
ments and effects require this in order to have enough 
time to update correctly during the mixdown – consult 
the plug-in documentation.
Cubase only: When Realtime Export is activated, the ex-
ported audio will be played back via the Control Room.
Update Display If you activate this option, the meters will be updated 
during the export process. This allows you to check for 
clipping, for example. 
Mono Export 
(only for single-
channel export)If you activate this option, the exported audio is mixed 
down to mono.
Split Channels Activate this option if you want to export all sub-chan-
nels of a multi-channel output bus as mono files.
Pool Activate this option if you want to import the resulting 
audio file automatically back into the Pool. A clip refer-
ring to the file will appear in the Pool.
If this option is activated, the Import Options dialog ap-
pears on export. For a description of the available set-
tings, see “About the Import Medium dialog” on page 
268.
Audio Track If you activate this option, an audio event that plays the 
clip will be created and placed on a new audio track, 
starting at the left locator.
Furthermore, the Import Options dialog appears on ex-
port. For a description of the available settings, see 
“About the Import Medium dialog” on page 268.
Create New 
Project (uncom-
pressed file for-
mats only)Activate this option if you want to automatically create a 
new project that contains one audio track for each ex-
ported channel. The tracks will have the corresponding 
mixdown file as audio event. The track names will be 
identical with the export channel names.
Note that the new project will be the active project.
Close dialog 
after exportIf this option is activated, the dialog will be closed after 
the export, otherwise it will be left open.
Audition Volume 
fader (only for 
single-channel 
export)Cubase only: During a Realtime Export, this fader is dis-
played in the progress dialog after you clicked the Ex-
port button. It allows you to adjust the Control Room 
volume. Note that this fader is only available if the Con-
trol Room is activated. Option Description 
						

							424
Export Audio Mixdown
Wave files
Wave files have the extension “.wav” and are the most 
common file format on the PC platform. 
Wave files support the same options as AIFF files.
Wave 64 files (Cubase only)
Wave 64 is a proprietary format developed by Sonic 
Foundry Inc. In terms of audio quality, Wave 64 files are 
identical to standard wave files, but in the file headers 
Wave 64 files use 64-bit values for addressing where wave 
files use 32-bit values. The consequence of this is that 
Wave 64 files can be considerably larger than standard 
Wave files. Wave 64 is therefore a good file format choice 
for really long recordings (file sizes over 2 GB), e.g. live sur-
round recordings. Wave 64 files have the extension “.w64”.
Wave 64 files support the same options as AIFF files.
Broadcast Wave files
Concerning audio, Broadcast Wave files are the same as 
regular Wave or Wave 64 files, but without compression. 
To create a Broadcast Wave file, select either Wave or 
Wave 64 as the file format and activate the Insert Broad-
cast Wave Chunk option. Click Edit if you wish to edit the 
chunk information, otherwise the defaults as specified in the 
Preferences (Record–Audio–Broadcast Wave page) will 
be used. Broadcast Wave files have the extension “.wav”.
Broadcast Wave files support the same options as AIFF 
files.
MPEG 1 Layer 3 files (Cubase only)
MPEG 1 Layer 3 files have the extension “.mp3”. By use of 
advanced audio compression algorithms, mp3 files can be 
made very small, yet maintaining good audio quality.
Apart from the Sample Rate and Bit Depth options, MPEG 
1 Layer 3 files support the same settings as AIFF files in the 
sections File Location, Audio Engine Output and Import into 
project. The File Format settings are different, though.For MPEG 1 Layer 3 files the following options are avail-
able in the File Format section:
Ogg Vorbis files
Ogg Vorbis is an open source, patent-free audio encoding 
and streaming technology, offering compressed audio files 
(extension “.ogg”) of small size, but with comparatively high 
audio quality.
Apart from the Sample Rate and Bit Depth options, Ogg 
Vorbis files support the same settings as AIFF files in the 
sections File Location, Audio Engine Output and Import 
into project. 
In the File Format section you will find only one setting: the 
Quality fader. The Ogg Vorbis encoder uses variable bit 
rate encoding, and the Quality setting determines between 
which limits the bit rate will vary. Generally speaking, the 
higher the Quality setting, the higher the sound quality but 
also the larger the files.
Other file formats
Steinberg also offers optional Dolby Digital (AC3) and 
DTS encoders for export directly to AC3 or DTS format 
(Cubase only). Please go to www.steinberg.net for more 
information.
Option Description
Bit Rate fader By moving this fader, you can select a bit rate for the 
mp3 file. As a rule, the higher the bit rate, the better the 
audio quality and the larger the file. For stereo audio, 
128 kBit/s is often considered to result in “good” audio 
quality.
Sample Rate 
pop-upOn this pop-up menu you can select a Sample Rate for 
the mp3 file.
High Quality 
Mode optionWhen this is activated, the encoder will use a different 
resampling mode, which can give better results de-
pending on your settings. In this mode, you cannot 
specify the Sample Rate, but only the Bit Rate for the 
mp3 file.
Insert ID3 Tag 
optionThis allows you to include ID3 Tag information in the 
exported file. 
Edit ID3 Tag 
buttonWhen you click this, the ID3 Tag dialog opens, in which 
you can enter information about the file. This additional 
information will be embedded as text strings in the file, 
and can be displayed by most mp3 playback applica-
tions. 
						

							425
Export Audio Mixdown
Windows Media Audio Pro files (Windows only)
This is a continuation of the Windows Media Audio format 
developed by Microsoft Inc. Due to the advanced audio co-
decs and lossless compression used, WMA Pro files can 
be decreased in size with no loss of audio quality. Further-
more, WMA Pro features the possibility of mixing down to 
5.1 surround sound. The files have the extension “.wma”.
When you select “Windows Media Audio File” as the file 
format, you can click the “Codec Settings…” button to 
open the “Windows Media Audio File Settings” window.
Windows Media Audio File Settings
Note that the configuration options may vary, depending 
on the chosen output channel(s).
General tab
In the Input Stream section, you set the sample rate (44.1, 
48 or 96 kHz) and the bit resolution (16 bit or 24 bit) of the 
encoded file. These should be set to match the sample rate 
and bit resolution of the source material. If no value matches 
that of your source material, use the closest available value 
that is higher than the actual value. For example, if you’re 
using 20 bit source material, set the bit resolution to 24 bit 
rather than 16 bit.
ÖThe setting in the Channels field depends on the cho-
sen output and cannot be changed manually. 
The settings in the Encoding Scheme section are used for 
defining the desired output from the encoder, e.g. whether 
it should be a stereo file or a 5.1 surround file. Make set-
tings appropriate for the intended use of the file. If the file 
will be downloaded or streamed on the Internet, you might 
not want too high bit rates, for example. See below for de-
scriptions of the options.Mode
The WMA Pro encoder can use either a constant bit rate 
or a variable bit rate for encoding to 5.1 surround, or it can 
use lossless encoding for encoding to stereo. The options 
on this menu are as follows:
Bit Rate/Quality
This menu allows you to set the desired bit rate. The avail-
able bit rate settings vary depending on the selected 
mode and/or output channels (see above). If the Variable 
Bitrate mode is used, the menu allows you to select from 
various levels of quality, with 10 being the lowest and 100 
the highest. Generally, the higher the bitrate or quality you 
select, the larger the final file will be. The menu also shows 
the channel format (5.1 or stereo).
Advanced tab
Dynamic Range Control
These controls allow you to define the dynamic range of 
the encoded file. The dynamic range is the difference in 
dB between the average loudness and the peak audio 
level (the loudest sounds) of the audio. These settings af-
fect how the audio is reproduced if the file is played on a 
Windows XP computer with a player from the Windows 
Media series, and the “Quiet Mode” feature of the player is 
activated to control the dynamic range.
The dynamic range is automatically calculated during the 
encoding process, but you can specify it manually as well.
Mode Description
Constant Bitrate This will encode to a 5.1 surround file with a constant 
bit rate (set in the Bit Rate/Channels menu, see be-
low). Constant bit rate is preferably used if you want to 
limit the size of the final file. The size of a file encoded 
with a constant bit rate is always the bit rate times the 
duration of the file.
Variable Bitrate Encodes to a 5.1 surround file with a variable bit rate, 
according to a quality scale (the desired quality is set 
in the Bit Rate/Quality menu, see below). When you 
encode with variable bit rates, the bit rate fluctuates 
depending on the character and intricacy of the mate-
rial being encoded. The more complex passages in the 
source material, the higher the bit rate – and the larger 
the final file.
Lossless Encodes to a stereo file with lossless compression. 
						

							426
Export Audio Mixdown
To manually specify the dynamic range, first put a check-
mark in the box to the left by clicking in it, and then enter 
the desired dB values in the Peak and Average fields. You 
can enter any value between 0 and -90 dB. Note, how-
ever, that it is usually not recommended to change the Av-
erage value, since this affects the overall volume level of 
the audio and therefore can have a negative effect on the 
audio quality.
The Quiet Mode in a Windows Media player can be set to 
one of three settings. Below, these settings are listed to-
gether with an explanation of how the Dynamic Range set-
tings affect them:
 Off: If Quiet Mode is off, the dynamic range settings that were 
automatically calculated during the encoding will be used.
 Little Difference: If this is selected and you have not manually 
changed the dynamic range settings, the peak level will be 
limited to 6 dB above the average level during playback. If you 
have manually specified the dynamic range, the peak level will 
be limited to the mean value between the peak and average 
values you specified.
 Medium Difference: If this is selected and you have not manu-
ally changed the dynamic range settings, the peak level will be 
limited to 12 dB above the average level. If you have changed 
the dynamic range, the peak level will be limited to the peak 
value you specified.
Surround Reduction Coefficients
Here you can specify which amount of volume reduction, if 
any, should be applied to the different channels in a sur-
round encoding. These settings affect how the audio is re-
produced on a system incapable of playing back the file in 
surround, in which case the surround channels of the file 
will be combined into two channels and played back in 
stereo instead.
The default values should produce satisfactory results, but 
you can change the values manually if you wish. You can 
enter any value between 0 and -144 dB for the surround 
channels, the center channel, the left and right channels 
and the LFE channel, respectively.
Media tab
In these fields you can enter a number of text strings with 
information about the file – title, author, copyright informa-
tion and a description of its contents. This information will 
then be embedded in the file header and can be displayed 
by some Windows Media Audio playback applications.
ÖFor more information about surround sound and en-
coding, see the chapter “Surround sound (Cubase only)” 
on page 180. 
						

							33
Synchronization 
						

							428
Synchronization
Background
What is synchronization?
Synchronization is said to exist when you make two pieces 
of equipment agree on time or tempo and position info. 
You can establish synchronization between Cubase and a 
number of other types of devices, including tape recorders 
and video decks, but also MIDI devices that “play back”, 
such as other sequencers, drum machines, “workstation 
sequencers”, etc.
When you set up a synchronization system, you must de-
cide which unit is the master. All other devices are then 
slaved to this unit, which means they will adjust their play-
back speed to the master’s.
Cubase as slave
When a synchronization signal is coming in to Cubase, 
from another device, this device is the master and Cubase 
is the slave. Cubase will adjust its playback to the other de-
vice.
Cubase as master
When you set up Cubase to transmit synchronization in-
formation to other devices, Cubase is the master and the 
other devices are the slaves; they will adjust their playback 
to Cubase.
Cubase – both master and slave
Cubase is a very capable synchronization device. It can 
operate as both master and slave at the same time. For ex-
ample, Cubase might be slaved to a tape recorder trans-
mitting timecode, while at the same time transmitting MIDI 
Clock to a drum machine, acting as a master for that.
Synchronization signals
Basically there are three types of synchronization signals 
for audio: timecode, MIDI clock and word clock.
Timecode (SMPTE, EBU, MTC, VITC, etc.)
Timecode appears in a number of guises. No matter which 
“format” it has, it always supplies a “clock on the wall” 
type of synchronization, that is, a synchronization related 
to hours, minutes, seconds and two smaller units called 
“frames” and “subframes”.
 LTC (SMPTE, EBU) is the audio version of timecode. This 
means that it can be recorded on the audio track of an audio 
or video recorder.
 VITC is the video format timecode, stored in the actual video 
image.
 MTC is the MIDI version of timecode, transmitted via MIDI ca-
bles.
 ADAT sync (Alesis) is only used with the ASIO Positioning 
Protocol, see “About the ASIO Positioning Protocol (APP)” on 
page 434.
For the ASIO Positioning Protocol, other high precision 
timecode formats may also be supported.
Format recommendations for timecode – without ASIO 
Positioning Protocol
 When using synchronizer to synchronize your system to exter-
nal timecode, the most common timecode format is MTC. 
Contrary to some reports you might have heard, MTC delivers 
good precision for external sync. This is due to the fact that 
the operating system can “time stamp” incoming MIDI mes-
sages, which increases precision.
Format recommendations for timecode – with ASIO 
Positioning Protocol
 LTC and VITC are the formats with the highest precision and 
are recommended when available.
 MTC is the next best option and probably the most common 
choice, since few audio hardware solutions have built-in LTC 
or VITC readers. However, LTC and VITC offer even higher 
precision when available.
!For a description of the VST System Link feature 
(with which you can synchronize separate computers 
running Cubase or Nuendo for example), see “Wor-
king with VST System Link” on page 438. 
						

							429
Synchronization
MIDI Clock
MIDI Clock is a tempo-based type of synchronization sig-
nals, i.e. it is related to the number of “beats per minute”. 
MIDI Clock signals are suitable for synchronizing two de-
vices that agree on tempo, such as Cubase and a drum 
machine.
Word Clock
Word clock is basically a replacement for the sample rate 
clock (e. g. in an audio card). Word clock hence runs at 
the same rate as the sample rate in the audio, 44.1kHz, 
48kHz, etc.
Word clock does not contain any position information, it is 
only a “simple” signal for clocking the audio at its sample 
rate.
Word clock comes in many formats, analog on coaxial ca-
ble, digital as part of an S/PDIF, AES/EBU or ADAT audio 
signal, etc.
Synchronizing the transport vs. 
synchronizing audio
How timing is handled in a non-synchronized 
system
Let’s first look at the situation where Cubase is not syn-
chronized to any external source:
Any digital playback system has an internal clock that ulti-
mately affects the playback speed and stability, and PC au-
dio hardware is no exception. This clock is extremely stable.
When Cubase is playing back with no external synchroni-
zation, all playback is internally synchronized to the inter-
nal digital audio clock.
Synchronizing Cubase’s playback
Let’s assume now that we use external timecode synchro-
nization with Cubase. For example, we might synchronize 
playback to a tape recorder.
Timecode coming from an analog tape recorder will al-
ways vary slightly in speed. Different timecode generators 
and different tape recorders will also supply timecode with 
slight differences in speed. In addition, the shuttling of 
tape mechanisms due to overdubs and re-recordings can 
cause the physical tape to wear and stretch, which affects 
the speed of the timecode.
If you use a synchronizer that generates word clock and set 
up Cubase to sync to incoming timecode, it will vary its 
overall playback speed to compensate for such fluctuations 
in the speed of the timecode – that’s the whole purpose of 
synchronization.
What happens with the digital audio?
The fact that Cubase’s playback is synchronized to the 
timecode does not affect the playback of the digital audio. 
It still relies on the perfectly stable, built-in clock in the au-
dio hardware.
As might be expected, problems will appear when the per-
fectly stable digital audio gets related to the slightly vary-
ing speed of a system synchronized to timecode.
The playback timing of each event will not be in total ac-
cordance with the tape or the MIDI playback, since the 
playback speed of the audio is determined by the digital 
audio hardware’s built-in clock.
Resolving to word clock
The solution to this problem is to use one external clock for 
all components in the system. One master clock is used to 
derive whatever type of clock signal each component in 
the system needs. For example, something called a house 
clock can be used to generate sample rate clocks for the 
digital audio hardware and timecode for Cubase. This en-
sures that all components in the system use the same ref-
erence source for their timing.
Synchronizing digital audio to external clocks running at 
sample rate is often called “resolving” or “synchronizing to 
word clock”. 
!MIDI Clock is not suitable as a master sync source 
for an application like Cubase. Therefore Cubase will 
transmit MIDI Clock signals to other devices, but it 
will not receive MIDI Clock. 
						

							430
Synchronization
If you aim to perform synchronization to external signals, 
we strongly recommend that you obtain proper synchroni-
zation equipment. This encompasses:
 An audio card that can be slaved to external word clock.
 A synchronizer that can read timecode (and possibly house 
clock) and generate the required sync signals from that, such 
as the Steinberg TimeLock Pro.
or…
 An audio system with complete built-in synchronization possi-
bilities, preferably supporting the ASIO Positioning Protocol 
(see “About the ASIO Positioning Protocol (APP)” on page 
434).
Using timecode without word clock
Of course, it is possible to set up a synchronization system 
where you lock Cubase to timecode without using word 
clock. However, please note that the timing of audio vs. 
MIDI cannot be guaranteed and that fluctuations in speed 
in the incoming timecode will not affect the playback of au-
dio events. This means that synchronizing to timecode may 
work in the following situations:
When the timecode was originally generated by the au-
dio card itself.
When the source providing the timecode is extremely 
stable (such as a digital video system, a digital tape re-
corder or another computer).
When you remain synchronized to that same stable 
source throughout the entire process, both while record-
ing and playing back audio.
Making basic settings and 
connections
Setting the Frame Rate
The frame rate is the number of frames per second in a film 
or on a video tape. However, the frame rate used varies with 
the type of media (film or video), which country the video 
tape has been produced in, and other circumstances.
In the Project Setup dialog are two settings for frame rates:
The Frame Rate pop-up is automatically adjusted to the 
frame rate of the incoming timecode.
There is an exception to this when you are synchronizing Cubase to MIDI 
Timecode: If you have selected 29.97 fps or 30 dfps as Frame Rate in Cu-
base, this selection will be kept, since these frame rates are not included in 
the MTC format.
The following frame rates are available:
The Display Format pop-up contains a number of for-
mats that function as the “master” setting for the display 
format used in the various rulers and position displays.
The item “60 fps (user)” on this menu represents a user-definable frame 
rate. To make editing with frame accuracy correspond to the actual frame 
rate in an external sync source, you need to set this frame rate to the 
same value as on the Frame Rate pop-up menu.
Frame Rate Description
24 fps The traditional frame rate of 35 mm film.
25 fps The frame rate used for all video and audio in Europe 
(EBU).
29.97 fps Straight 29.97 frames per second.
29.97 dfps “Drop frame” code running at 29.97 frames per second, 
most often used in the United States of America for work 
with color video.
30 fps Straight 30 frames per second. This is often used in the 
United States for audio only work.
30 dfps Very rarely used.