Steinberg Cubase SE 3 Operation Manual

CUBASE SE
Synchronization 24 – 501
Setting Up
1.Connect the desired MIDI Outputs from Cubase SE to the device(s) 
that you plan to synchronize.
2.Open the Synchronization Setup dialog from the Transport menu.
3.Activate the sync outputs by using the corresponding checkboxes.
Some MIDI Interfaces will automatically send MIDI Clock to all MIDI out-
puts, regardless of the MIDI Clock Port selection you make in Cubase 
SE. If this is the case, you should only select one MIDI Clock Port (con-
sult the...

CUBASE SE
24 – 502 Synchronization
Options
Making Project Settings
About Frame Rates
The frame rate is the number of frames per second in a film or on a 
video tape. Just as there is always sixty seconds to a minute, there is 
always a certain number of frames to each second. 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...

25
VST System Link 

CUBASE SE
25 – 504 VST System Link
Introduction
VST System Link is a network system for digital audio that allows you 
to have several computers working together in one large system. Un-
like conventional networks it does not require Ethernet cards, hubs, or 
CAT-5 cables; instead it uses the kind of digital audio hardware and 
cables you probably already possess in your studio.
VST System Link has been designed to be simple to set up and oper-
ate, yet give enormous flexibility and performance gains in...

CUBASE SE
VST System Link 25 – 505
Preparations
Requirements
The following equipment is required for VST System Link operation:
•Two or more computers.
These can be of the same type or use different operating systems – it doesn’t matter. 
For example, you can link an Intel-based PC to an Apple Macintosh without problems.
•Each computer must have audio hardware with specific ASIO drivers, 
installed and working.
•The audio hardware must have digital inputs and outputs.
Of course, to be able to connect the...

CUBASE SE
25 – 506 VST System Link
Making connections
Below, we will assume that you are connecting two computers. 
Should you have more than two computers, it’s still best to start with 
two and add the others one by one once the system is working – this 
makes troubleshooting easier if you run into problems. For two com-
puters, you will need two digital audio cables, one in each direction:
1.Connect a digital audio cable from the digital output of Computer 1 to 
the digital input of Computer 2....

CUBASE SE
VST System Link 25 – 507
5.Now, you need to make sure that one audio card (and only one!) is set 
to be the Clock Master, and all the other cards must be set to listen 
for the clock signal coming from the Clock Master i.e. they must be 
Clock Slaves.
The naming and procedure for this differs depending on the audio hardware – consult 
its documentation if required. If you are using Steinberg Nuendo ASIO hardware, all 
cards default to the “AutoSync” setting – in this case you must set one of...

CUBASE SE
25 – 508 VST System Link
Minimizing the latency
The general definition of latency is the amount of time it takes any sys-
tem to respond to whatever messages are sent to it. For example, if 
your system’s latency is high and you play VST instruments in real 
time, you will get a noticeable delay between when you press a key 
and when you hear the sound of the VST instrument. Nowadays, most 
ASIO-compatible audio cards are capable of operating with very low 
latencies. Also, all VST applications...

CUBASE SE
VST System Link 25 – 509
Setting up your software
Now it’s time to set up your programs. The procedures below de-
scribe how to set things up in Cubase SE; if you are using another 
program on the other computer, please refer to its documentation.
Setting the sample rate
The projects in both programs must be set to use the same sample 
rate. Select “Project Setup…” from the Project menu and make sure 
the sample rate is the same in both systems.
Streaming digital audio between applications...

CUBASE SE
25 – 510 VST System Link
Settings for the audio hardware
When you send VST System Link data between computers, it is im-
portant that the digital information isn’t changed in any way between 
the programs. Therefore, you should open the control panel (or addi-
tional application) for your audio hardware and make sure that the fol-
lowing conditions are met:
•If there are additional “format settings” for the digital ports that you 
use for VST System Link data, make sure these are turned off....