Steinberg Cubase LE Operation Manual

							CUBASE LEVideo 26 – 491
Setting video output to external equipment (Mac OS X only)
For Apple computers equipped with a FireWire port, you can easily con-
nect external video hardware via this, as OS X has built-in video support 
for the most common formats (NTSC/PAL/DVCPRO). FireWire is ca-
pable of high data-transfer speed and is the most common standard for 
communicating with video-related peripheral equipment. 
•To play back a video file via hardware connected to the FireWire port, 
select “FireWire” in the Outputs pop-up of the Device Setup - Video 
Player dialog.
When FireWire is selected as output, a number of format options appear on the For-
mat pop-up, allowing you to select between various video formats and resolutions.
•When using the FireWire port for playing back a DV video file, a la-
tency is introduced by QuickTime. To compensate for this, the audio 
needs to be offset, to remain in sync when playing back.
This can be done using the value field below the Outputs pop-up menu in the Device 
Setup dialog. Set this to the desired value. A setting of 7 or 8 frames will most likely 
give the desired result. 
						

							CUBASE LE26 – 492 Video
Setting the window size
If you are playing back video in a window on your computer screen, 
you may want to adjust the size: Open Device Setup from the Devices 
menu, click Video Player in the list and use the Video Window buttons 
to select a size.
Project window editing operations
Video clips are played back by events just as audio clips are. You can 
use all the basic editing operation on video events, just as with audio 
events (see page 74). The following operations are not possible on 
the video track:
•Drawing, Gluing, Muting and Scrubbing.
•The video track has no editor and does not make use of parts.
Pool operations
For more about operations on video clips in the Pool, see page 290.
Options
In the Preferences dialog (Event Display–Video page), there are two 
options for video playback:
•Show Video Thumbnails. 
When this is activated, thumbnail frames of the video contents are shown in the track.
•Video Cache Size. 
This determines how much memory is available for video thumbnails. If you have long 
video clips and/or work with a large zoom factor (so that a lot of frames are shown in 
the thumbnails), you may have to raise this value. 
						

							27
ReWire 
						

							CUBASE LE27 – 494 ReWire
Introduction
ReWire and ReWire2 are special protocols for streaming audio be-
tween two computer applications. Developed by Propellerhead Soft-
ware and Steinberg, ReWire provides the following possibilities and 
features:
•Real-time streaming of up to 64 separate audio channels, at full band-
width, from the “synthesizer application” into the “mixer application”.
In this case, the “mixer application” is of course Cubase LE. An example of a “synthe-
sizer application” is Propellerhead Software’s Reason.
•Automatic, sample accurate synchronization between the audio in the 
two programs.
•The possibility to have the two programs share one sound card and 
take advantage of multiple outputs on that card.
•Linked transport controls that allow you to play, rewind etc, either from 
Cubase LE or from the synthesizer application (provided it has some 
kind of transport functionality).
•Automatic audio mixing functions of separate channels as required.
In the case of Reason for example, this allows you to have separate mixer channels for 
the different devices.
•Additionally, ReWire2 offers the possibility to route MIDI tracks in 
Cubase LE to the other application, for full MIDI control.
For each ReWire2 compatible device, a number of extra MIDI outputs will be made 
available in Cubase LE. In the case of Reason, this allows you to route different MIDI 
tracks in Cubase LE to different devices in Reason, having Cubase LE serve as main 
MIDI sequencer.
•Less total system requirements than when using the programs to-
gether in the conventional way. 
						

							CUBASE LEReWire 27 – 495
Launching and quitting
When using ReWire, the order in which you launch and quit the two 
programs is very important:
Launching for normal use with ReWire
1.First launch Cubase LE.
2.Enable one or several ReWire channels in the ReWire Device dialog for 
the other application.
This is described in detail on page 496.
3.Launch the other application.
It may take slightly longer for the application to start when you are using ReWire.
Quitting a ReWire session
When you are finished, you also need to quit the applications in a 
special order:
1.First quit the synthesizer application.
2.Then quit Cubase LE.
Launching both programs without using ReWire
We don’t know exactly why you would want to run Cubase LE and the 
synthesizer application at the same time on the same computer, with-
out using ReWire, but you can:
1.First launch the synthesizer application.
2.Then launch Cubase LE.
Please also note that the two programs now compete for system re-
sources such as audio cards, just as when running either with other, 
non-ReWire audio applications. 
						

							CUBASE LE27 – 496 ReWire
Activating ReWire channels
ReWire supports streaming of up to 64 separate audio channels. The 
exact number of available ReWire channels depends on the synthe-
sizer application. Using the ReWire Device panels in Cubase LE, you 
can specify which of the available channels you want to use:
1.Pull down the Devices menu and select the menu item with the name 
of the ReWire application. All recognized ReWire compatible applica-
tions will be available on the menu.
The ReWire panel appears. This consists of a number of rows, one for each available 
ReWire channel.
The ReWire panel for Reason.
2.Click on the green buttons in the “Active” column to activate/deacti-
vate the desired channels.
The buttons light up to indicate activated channels. Please note that the more ReWire 
channels you activate, the more processing power is required.
•For information about exactly what signal is carried on each channel, 
see the documentation of the synthesizer application.
3.If desired, double click on the labels in the right column, and type in 
another name.
These labels will be used in the Cubase LE Mixer to identify the ReWire channels. 
						

							CUBASE LEReWire 27 – 497
Using the transport and tempo controls
❐This is only relevant if the synthesizer application has some sort of built-
in sequencer or similar.
Basic transport controls
When you run ReWire, the transports in the two programs are com-
pletely linked. It doesn’t matter in which program you Play, Stop, Fast 
Forward or Rewind. However, recording (if applicable) is still com-
pletely separate in the two applications.
Loop settings
If there is a loop or cycle facility in the synthesizer application, that 
loop will be completely linked to the Cycle in Cubase LE. This means 
that you can move the start and end point for the loop or turn the loop 
on or off in either program, and this will be reflected in the other.
Tempo settings
As far as tempo goes, Cubase LE is always the Master. This means 
that both programs will run in the tempo set in Cubase LE.
However, if you are not using the Tempo track in Cubase LE, you can 
adjust the tempo in either program, and this will immediately be re-
flected in the other.
❐If you are using the Tempo track in Cubase LE (if Master is activated on 
the Transport bar), you should not adjust the tempo in the synthesizer 
application, since a tempo request from ReWire will automatically deacti-
vate the Master switch in Cubase LE! 
						

							CUBASE LE27 – 498 ReWire
How the ReWire channels are handled in 
Cubase LE
When you activate ReWire channels in the ReWire Device panels, 
they will become available as channel strips in the Mixer. The ReWire 
channel strips have the following properties:
•ReWire channels appear to the right of the track-based (audio and 
MIDI) channel strips.
•ReWire channels may be any combination of mono and stereo, de-
pending on the synthesizer application.
•ReWire channels have the same functionality as regular audio chan-
nels.
This means you can set volume and pan, add EQ, insert and send effects and route the 
channel outputs to Groups or Buses. All settings can be automated using the Read/
Write functions.
•All unmuted ReWire channels are included when you mix down to an 
audio file using the Export Audio Mixdown function (see page 451).
This allows you to “convert” your ReWire channels into hard disk tracks. If you want to 
mix down the ReWire channels only, make sure all audio tracks and VST Instrument 
channels are muted. 
						

							CUBASE LEReWire 27 – 499
Routing MIDI via ReWire2
❐This feature is only available with ReWire2-compatible applications.
When using Cubase LE with a ReWire2-compatible application, addi-
tional MIDI outputs will automatically appear on the MIDI Output pop-
up menus for MIDI tracks. This allows you to play the synthesizer ap-
plication via MIDI from Cubase LE, using it as one or several separate 
MIDI sound sources.
The MIDI outputs for a Reason song. Here, each output goes directly to a device in 
the Reason rack.
•The number and configuration of MIDI Outputs depends on the syn-
thesizer application. 
						

							CUBASE LE27 – 500 ReWire
Considerations and limitations
Sample rates
Synthesizer applications may be limited to audio playback in certain 
sample rates. If Cubase LE is set to a sample rate other than those, 
the synthesizer application will play back at the wrong pitch. Consult 
the documentation of the synthesizer application for details.
ASIO drivers
ReWire works well with ASIO drivers. By using the Cubase LE bus-
sing system you can route sounds from the synthesizer application to 
various outputs on an ASIO compatible audio card.