Lance TDC-100 User manual

TDC-100
TD’S DISK CONTROLLER
Installation and Operation Manual
Software Version 3.4
September 2007
Lance Design / 27 Fairview Avenue / Ridgefield, Connecticut 06877
Tel: [phone] / Fax: [phone]
www.lancedesign.com

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CAUTION! HAZARDOUS VOLTAGES ARE EXPOSED WHEN THE TOP
COVER OF THE RACK FRAME IS REMOVED. DO NOT APPLY POWER
WITH THE UNIT DISASSEMBLED.
WARRANTY STATEMENT
This equipment is warranted to be free of defects in materials and workmanship for
a period of two years from date of delivery. Any necessary repairs resulting from
defects in materials or in manufacture will be made free of charge provided that the
equipment has not been subjected to mechanical or electrical abuse, or modification,
as determined by Lance Design, and also that the equipment is returned to Lance
Design with prior authorization.
No liability whatsoever is assumed for consequential damages resulting from the use
or failure of this equipment. This warranty is in lieu of all other warranties,
expressed or implied, including any implied warranty of fitness for purpose.
COPYRIGHT
All software and hardware designs are copyrighted to Lance Design,1999-2007.

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Table of Contents
Quick Operation Guide Page 4
General Description Page 7
Control Panel Description Page 7
Menu Items Page 9
General Operation Page 14
Trigger Function Numbers Page 15
Multi-Device Control Rules Page 17
Auto-dub From VTR Page 18
Multi-Point Loops Page 19
TBC Adjustment Control Page 20
Installation Page 21
GPI Inputs and Outputs Page 22
Dipswitch Functions and Connector Pinouts Page 22

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QUICK OPERATION GUIDE
To enable a device press the corresponding ‘device enable’ button
To enable more than one device, press multiple ‘device enable buttons at the
same time. The first one pressed will be the displayed machine, and will flash
To manually learn the ‘device enable’ data (gang) into the current register, select
the devices as above, and while still holding the ‘device enable’ buttons down, press
SET on the keypad. The display will say “Now Enabled: XXXX”, indicating the
enabled machines for this register.
To select a register, press REG #, then enter three digits on the keypad (000-299).
You can also press and hold the REG # key, and use the ‘+’ and ‘-’ keys to scroll
through the registers. The register number is indicated in the lower right corner of
the display.
To clear the current register, press and hold the REG # key, and press CLR. The
display will say ‘Register Cleared’. This clears all data from the current register.
To clear ALL registers (or a group of registers), press and hold the REG# button,
the MARK IN button, and the MARK OUT button at the same time (3 buttons at
once). The display will say ‘CLR To Clear All!’. If you press the CLR key (while
holding down the above three buttons) the TDC-100 will start clearing registers at
the current register, and ascending until you either press the STOP button, or it
reaches the last register (299). This operation is deliberately awkward in order to
minimize the chance of doing it accidentally. This function may be inhibited by
turning on Dipswitch #1 on the rear of the rack mount frame.
To copy the current register to another, press REG #, then SET. The display will
say “Copy Reg To?”. Enter three digits for the destination register. All register data
will be copied from the current register to the new register.
To mark an in time, press MARK IN. All enabled machines will be marked from
their current time code (or timer) values.
To mark an out time, press MARK OUT.
To enter an in or out time from the keypad, key in the time, press SET, and press
MARK IN (for in time) or MARK OUT (for out time). Note: if multiple machines are
selected, the time will be entered only on the currently-displayed machine. The
others will not be affected.
(continued)

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Quick Operation Guide - continued
To recall an in or out time to the display, press FCN, then MARK IN or MARK
OUT. The corresponding time value will be recalled to the display and the
scratchpad register, so you can do arithmetic with it if desired (add and subtract). If
you ‘double-click’ the REG # button it will recall the in time of the current register (or
clip name), for the currently-displayed machine. If there is no value stored in the
register, the display will be all asterisks, indicating no value.
To recall the stored clip name to the display, press FCN, then REG #. If there is
a stored clip name for the current device, it will be recalled to the second line of the
display, for the purpose of checking it.
To Trim an in time, recall time to display as above (FCN, MARK IN), press ‘+’ or ‘-’,
enter the trim value on the keypad, press SET, and press MARK IN to resave it.
Outtimes work the same way, with the MARK OUT key. You can set a known clip
duration the same way: recall the in time, press ‘+’, enter the desired duration, press
‘SET’, press ‘Mark Out’. This takes the in time, adds a duration value to it, and
stores it in the out register.
To display the duration of a register (difference between in point and out point),
press TM key. If either of the registers is clear, the display will be all asterisks,
indicating no value.
To manually learn a speed preset hold down the VAR button and press SET.
The display will confirm that the speed has been learned. This speed will be recalled
when the register is recalled. If you do a learn from the switcher, the current var
speed will be learned into the register.
To Cue Directly to a Keyed-In Time Value enter the time value on the keypad,
press ‘SET’, and press ‘CUE’. The device will cue to the entered time. The time
value will not be stored anywhere. Remember that you must press ‘SET’ before
pressing ‘CUE’. This validates the keypad entry before attempting to send the
machine to that position.
To Adjust TBC Levels press ‘FCN’, then ‘MENU’. This will put the controller into
the TBC adjust mode. Use the ‘+’ and ‘-’ keys to select the function, and the knob to
adjust. To exit this mode, press ‘FCN’ then ‘MENU’ again. The MENU button will
flash when in the TBC adjust mode. If there is no number value displayed after the
function, then the selected device does not support these commands.
(continued)

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Quick Operation Guide – continued
To Do a Loop Play define the loop by entering an inpoint and an outpoint. The
minimum duration is 1:15 [one and one-half seconds]. The loop play may be
initiated by either Pbus trigger 5, or by pressing <FCN> the <PLAY> on the front
panel. You may simulate the Pbus trigger by pressing <FCN>, then <5> on the
keypad. The loop will run until either a STOP, RECUE or RECALL command is
received. If you turn on LOOP PRESERVE in the menu, only a STOP command
will halt the loop. You can recall another register without disturbing the loop
playback.
To Do a Multi-point Loop Play set the initial start point in the inpoint of a register
number between 000 and 099 (first 100 registers). You may also set an outpoint if
desired, although it isn’t required. The ‘inner loop’ points should be entered in a
register 100 higher. For example, if your ‘outside points’ are in register 25, your
‘inside points’ should be in register 125. Minimum duration for the inside loop is one
and one-half seconds. The multi-point loop play may be initiated by Pbus trigger 8,
or from the front panel by pressing <FCN>, then <8>. The ddr will start at the initial
start point, then loop between the ‘inner loop’ points. If you send a Pbus trigger 9
[<FCN> <9> from the keypad], the controller will stop looping at the first opportunity,
and play to the ‘outside’ outpoint [register 25 outpoint in the above example].
To Do an Automatic Transfer (Dub) from a vtr: Set inpoints for both the vtr
(playback) and the ddr (record) channels. Press and hold the device button for the
ddr, then press the vtr’s device button. Both should be lit, with the ddr’s button
flashing. This is the recorder. Press <FCN>, then <REC>. The vtr will cue back 3
seconds from the inpoint and roll. The ddr will go into record at the proper time.
To Add an Offset to All Registers first select the register number where you’d like
to start [usually 000], and select the channels you want to modify [A, B, C, D] by
lighting up the device buttons. Press <FCN>, then <TM>. The controller will
prompt you to ‘Enter Offset Time’. Enter the time using the keypad. If you want to
offset by a negative number, enter a minus sign first. Press <SET>, then <TM>.
The TDC will start modifying both the inpoints and outpoints of all selected channels.
You can stop the process by pressing STOP.
To Display Pbus Data for diagnostic purposes, turn on Item 30 in the menu, PBUS
DATA DISPLAY. This will cause the ASCII Pbus data to be displayed on line two
of the panel. If the Pbus data is incorrectly formatted (invalid command) a ‘Pbus
Format Error’ message will be displayed. Note that this menu item is turned off each
time the TDC-100 is powered up.

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GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The Lance Design TDC-100 is designed to provide control of multiple channels of
video disk recorder(s) or other devices via P-Bus II interface to Grass Valley Group,
Sony, or other production switchers.
This combination allows the user to do the following:
1) Mark playback inpoints when learning an emem effect on the switcher.
2) Recall (cue) the playback device to these cues when effects are recalled.
3) Trigger (roll) the playback device in response to an emem timeline run, loop, or
other trigger.
In addition to these functions which are driven from the production switcher, the
control panel provides full manual control of the devices, providing normal shuttle,
jog, variable play, record, cue, and other commands.
CONTROL PANEL DESCRIPTION
The TDC-100 control panel provides the following controls (left to right on the panel):
Numeric Keypad - for entry of numeric data, register numbers, timecodes, etc.
Plus and Minus Keys - for timecode arithmetic, and for use as up/down keys for
scrolling through the menu items.
FCN Key - for selecting alternate functions of some keys. Press and release the
FCN key, then press the key whose alternate function you want.
SET Key - operates like an ‘equals’ or ‘enter’ key. To enter a timecode number
from the keypad, for example, you would key in the time, press SET, and press
MARK IN. The SET key tells the controller to use the keypad time instead of
marking from the current disk position
TM Key - used for displaying durations of registers (outpoint minus inpoint). If
you have both an inpoint and outpoint set, pressing TM will show you the duration
between them. This key is also used to enter time values into the timer or timecode
generator of the controlled device, if this capability is supported.
CLR Key - Clear function. Clears numeric entry and other modes. Functions
somewhat like a ‘cancel’ or ‘escape’ key. Also used to clear registers - see below.

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REG# - used to select the active register from the 300 available registers. Press
this key (it lights), and enter a 3-digit register number on the keypad. The active
register number is displayed in the lower right corner of the display as ‘R 299’, for
example. This key is also used to clear a register (all inpoints and outpoints). Hold
the ‘REG #’ key down and press ‘CLR’. The current register will be cleared.
MARK IN - pressing this key will put the current disk timecode into the IN
register, for all enabled devices. Pressing this key after pressing SET will put the
keyed-in timecode value into the IN register (for the displayed device only).
Pressing FCN, then MARK IN will recall the current in time to the display. The
MARK IN button will be lighted when ever there is an inpoint stored. If the inpoint is
cleared, the button will be dark. If CLIP STORE/RECALL is on in the menu, and
there is a timecode inpoint but no clip name stored in the regitser, the MARK IN
button will flash. This serves as an indicator of the missing clip name.
MARK OUT - same as above for outpoints.
MENU ON - turns on and off the menu mode. Menu items are displayed on the
lower line of the display. Use the knob or the +/- keys to scroll through the items.
Also selects the TBC Adjust function if pressed after the “FCN” key. In this mode,
the menu button light will flash.
MENU SET - used to change the menu items. Pressing this key will toggle the
menu choices if there are only two. If there are more than two, it will step through
them. If you hold this key down, you can use the knob to adjust the menu setting.
CLIP LIST - used to display the clip directory of the disk recorder. If supported
by the disk recorder, the clip names present will be displayed. The numbers on the
left side of the display provide an index, for example 04/12 means this is clip 4 of 12.
The names can be scrolled via the +/- keys or the knob.
CUR CLIP - Loads the displayed clip, when “Clip List” above is active.
ENBL PBUS - when this key is lighted, PBUS control from the production
switcher is enabled. If not lighted, control is inhibited. This button will flash each
time a valid Pbus command is received. If it’s off, it will flash on. If it’s on, it will
flash off.
ENBL LEARN - when this key is lighted, the LEARN function from the production
switcher is active; that is, when an emem effect is learned on the switcher, the disk
inpoints will be marked from the current positions. If you have the disk inpoints set,
and don’t want to mark them each time you learn an emem, you can turn this
function off (key dark). Recall and Trigger functions are not affected. The ENBL
PBUS (above) must be on for this function to operate.
PLAY, RECORD, STOP, CUE, SHTL, JOG, VAR - standard transport controls.
When in variable mode, the speed is displayed in the upper right corner of the
display. When pressed by itself, the REC button will put the device into EE mode.
Pressing REC again, or pressing STOP will cancel EE mode. The REC button
flashes to indicate that the device is in EE mode.

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DEVICE ENABLE (A,B,C,D) - four device enable keys corresponding to the four
control ports on the TDC-100. Any lighted key is enabled, and will be sent all
transport commands and PBUS commands. If more than one is enabled, the
one that is flashing is the currently-displayed one. The currently-displayed
device is also tallied by the letter (A,B,C,D) in the upper left corner of the display.
BIG KNOB - used for transport control (jog, shuttle, variable) and for scrolling
and setting menu, and for TBC adjustment of devices which support this
function.
MENU ITEMS
01 REGISTER LOCK (OFF/ON)
Prevents modification to any registers. The intention is to turn the register lock on
after all registers are loaded for a show to prevent inadvertent changes. If you try
to mark, copy, trim, etc. any registers with the lock turned on, you’ll get a ‘Registers
Locked’ error message.
02 PANEL RECALL (ONLY or w/CUEUP)
When set to ‘ONLY’, recalling a register from the control panel will only recall the
register information; it won’t cue the disks to those times. When set to ‘w/Cueup’,
the controller will recall the register and immediately cue the disks to the register
inpoints. P-bus recalls will always cue the disks, regardless of this menu setting.
This would normally be set to ‘Only’ when loading the times into the registers, and
perhaps to ‘w/Cueup’ if you’re checking the registers from the panel, or using the
TDC-100 to do manual playback.
03 OUTCUE ACTION (NONE, STOP, or RECUE)
This item tells the controller what to do when it reaches an outcue. If set to ‘None’ no
action is performed; the machines just keep playing past the outcue. If set to ‘Stop’,
the machines will stop when they reach the outcue, and if set to ‘Recue’ they will
immediately recue to the inpoint and stop.
04 CLIP STORE/RECALL (ON/OFF)
If this item is turned off, the TDC-100 cues machines based only on timecode (or
timer). The clip name isn’t relevant. If this item is turned on, the name of the
current clip is stored when you do a MARK IN, SET IN, or PBUS LEARN, and this
clip will be loaded and cued automatically when the register is recalled or cued.
Operation of the store/recall function requires that the controlled devices support
Odetics protocol. The manual clip list/load functions on the control panel operate
regardless of this menu setting.

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05 CLIP LIST MODE (INT / EXT)
This item selects the clip list mode that the TDC-100 uses to access the list of
available clips on the ddr. The INT mode builds the list within the TDC-100, and will
operate with any ddr which supports Odetics protocol. In this mode the list is limited
to 99 clips. In the EXT mode, the TDC-100 uses special commands added to the
Odetics protocol to directly access the clip list in the ddr itself. In this mode there is
no limit to the number of clips available. This mode does require that the additional
commands be supported by the ddr, and so only works properly on certain ddrs
(EVS Spotbox).
06 CLIP FILTER (Off, Char = 0-9)
The filter only operates in the INT list mode. When this item is off, all available clip
names will be listed, up to the TDC’s limit of 99 clips. When this item is set to a digit
(0-9), only clips whose names have a matching first character (0-9) will be listed.
07 RECALL DISPLAYS (NAME / TIME)
This item applies only if Item 04 is turned on. If this item is set to NAME, the clip
name will be displayed when a register is recalled. If this item is set to TIME, the In
Time is displayed when the register is recalled. This menu item only affects the
display, all other operation is the same.
08 TIME REFERENCE = (TC/TMR)
Selects ‘Tape Timer’ counter or timecode as time reference. May not be supported
by all disk devices. Global command selects mode for all devices. Note: Odetics
mode on the Profile makes the timecode numbers relative to the start of the clip. I
find this very confusing, and if the clips don’t start at 00:00, you might want to use
the TMR mode to avoid this confusion.
09 TIMER MODE = (12/24)
Selects 12 or 24-hour mode for timer.
10 PANEL RECORD LOCK = (ON/OFF)
When ON, prevents all devices from being placed into record mode from the
controller front panel.
11 P-BUS RECORD LOCK = (ON/OFF)
When ON, prevents all devices from being placed into record mode via a P-bus
command.
12 RECORD TRIM XX FRAMES
Used to set record timing for automatic dub operation. Typically set to 2 frames

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13 PANEL BUZZER (OFF/ON/ERR ONLY)
Enables or disables the panel buzzer. ‘Off’ is completely off. ‘On’ is on for both
error messages, and register changes like Marks and Learns. ‘Err Only’ is on for
error messages only, off for everything else.
14 PRESERVE LOOP CHA (OFF/ON)
When this item is turned on, a loop which is playing on channel A will not be
disturbed by a register recall. The loop will continue to play until it is explicitly
stopped. If the item is off, recalling a register will abort the loop, and cue the ddr to
the new time, if the new register has an intime for the looping channel. If no intime,
the loop will continue (starting with software version 3.2), even if Preserve Loop is
not turned on.
15 PRESERVE LOOP CH B Same as above for the other channels
16 PRESERVE LOOP CH C
17 PRESERVE LOOP CH D
18 DEVICE NUM FOR A = (00-23, --)
Sets PBUS device number (ID) for the A device. This machine will respond when
this number matches the device number sent from the switcher. For commands
involving multiple machines, if the device number(s) from the switcher match any of
the enabled machines, the commands will be sent to all enabled machines. Setting
this item to ‘—‘ assigns no device number to channel A, and disables Pbus control of
this channel (unless ganged).
19 DEVICE NUM FOR B = Same as above for the other channels
20 DEVICE NUM FOR C =
21 DEVICE NUM FOR D =
22 CH A STATUS (CHECKED / IGNORED)
23 CH B STATUS (CHECKED / IGNORED)
24 CH C STATUS (CHECKED / IGNORED)
25 CH D STATUS (CHECKED / IGNORED)
These cause the TDC-100 to either check or ignore the status returned from the
machine. If checked, the controller will make sure a machine is present before
trying to cue it, and will wait until cued before rolling in play (if a cueup command has
been issued). If set to IGNORE, the controller will send the commands regardless of
what the machine is doing. It may be useful to set one or more of these to
IGNORED if a machine is powered down, or disconnected. This would allow you to
rehearse your effects without modifying the registers. These menu items are set to
‘CHECKED’ each time the TDC-100 is powered up, and this is the setting that
should normally be used.

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26 GPI INPUTS (DISABLED/ENABLED)
Enables the (5) GPI Inputs available on the ‘RS-232/GPI’ connector on the rear
panel of the rack frame. These GPI inputs have the following functions:
GPI 0 - Stop
GPI 1 - Play
GPI 2 - Recue
GPI 3 - Recall Register 000
GPI 4 - Recall Register 001
27 GPI OUTPUTS (DISABLED/ENABLED)
Enables the (5) GPI Outputs available on the RS-232/GPI connector. The GPI
outputs are triggered when the TDC exits a multi-loop and begins playing the roll-out
(or tail) of a multi-loop animation. These GPI outputs have the following functions:
GPI Out 0 - Triggered when Channel A exits a Multi-loop
GPI Out 1 - Triggered when Channel B exits a Multi-loop
GPI Out 2 - Triggered when Channel C exits a Multi-loop
GPI Out 3 - Triggered when Channel D exits a Multi-loop
GPI Out 4 - Triggered when any of the four channels exits a Multi-loop
28 GPI OUTPUTS ACTIVE (LOW/HIGH)
Selects the polarity of the GPI outputs. If item is set to LOW, the outputs will rest
high, and will be pulled low when triggered. If item is set to HIGH, they will rest low
and will be pulled high when triggered. This item is generally set to LOW.
29 SWITCHER TYPE (GVG / SONY)
Selects type of production switcher TDC-100 is used with. Affects the trigger
function numbers (swaps functions 0 and 1).
30 P-BUS PARITY (NONE/ODD/EVEN)
Sets parity mode of P-bus port. Should be set to match production switcher. Baud
Rate is always 38.4K
31 PBUS DATA DISPLAY (OFF/ON)
Turning this item on enables a display of received Pbus commands on the TDC’s
display, to assist in troubleshooting Pbus problems. This item is always set to OFF
at power up.

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32 VIDEO FRAME RATE (25/30)
Selects the video standard being used, in frames per second. For NTSC, 525/60
SDI, and any high-def formats that use 30 frames/sec, or 29.97 frames/sec set this
item to ‘30’. For PAL, 625/25 SDI or other 25 frame/sec standards, select ‘25’. This
setting must match the video frame rate being used in the ddrs. The controller will
operate with the wrong standard selected, but all time calculations will be wrong, and
confusing things will happen.
There are two more items which may be selected in the menu. These are not menu
items, but are just information displays (they can’t be set by the users).
DEVICE: Displays the type of controlled device, to the extent that the TDC can
determine it. If a Profile or Fast Forward is in ‘BVW’ mode, this item will identify
them as ‘Sony VTR’. If they are in Non-BVW modes, the TDC will try to report what
protocol is selected. The frame rate of the controlled device will also be displayed.
TDC FIRMWARE VERSION: Displays the installed firmware in the TDC frame.
This manual applies to version 3.4 firmware.
With the exception of the Status Check items which are always turned on at power-
up, and the Pbus Data Display, which is always turned off, all menu items are
retained in non-volatile memory and will not change when the controller is turned off.

14
GENERAL OPERATION
WHAT IS A REGISTER?
In this controller, a register refers one set of these items:
Device A Inpoint Device A Outpoint Device A Clip Name (if enabled)
Device B Inpoint Device B Outpoint Device B Clip Name (if enabled)
Device C Inpoint Device C Outpoint Device C Clip Name (if enabled)
Device D Inpoint Device D Outpoint Device D Clip Name (if enabled)
Device Enable Data (which machines are enabled)
Variable-Play Speed Data (Global)
There are 300 registers, stored in non-volatile memory in the controller. They’re
numbered 000-299. The register numbers correspond to the switcher’s pbus
register numbers 000-299. When you do learn or recall operations from the switcher
(with P-bus enabled), these registers are automatically selected. On most switchers
these correspond directly to the switcher emem numbers. On TDC software
versions prior to 3.1, the pbus-accessable numbers were restricted to 00-99. With
version 3.1 all 300 registers are accessible for pbus recalls and learns, if the
switcher supports the larger range.
SWITCHER-INITIATED FUNCTIONS
The production switcher can do the following things:
1) Issue LEARN commands. This happens when you do a emem learn, with
learn/recall enabled in the ‘emem peripheral buss triggers’ menu on the switcher.
(‘Enable Pbus and Enable Learn buttons must also be lit on the controller panel).
When you do an emem learn on the switcher, here’s what happens in the controller:
- The controller selects the register whose number matches the emem number
- The inpoints of all enabled devices are marked (stored) from current positions
- The DEVICE ENABLE status is stored, so that when you recall the register, the
same machines will be selected
- The current VAR Speed value is stored in the selected register.
Important note: If you DON’T want these things to happen when you learn an
emem, but you want the rest of Pbus control to work, turn off ‘Enable Learn’ on the
controller. This might be useful when your disk cues are fine, but you just want to
modify an emem effect. Having this button off will prevent remarking the disk cues.
(continued)

15
General Operation - continued
2) Issue RECALL commands. This happens when you recall an emem, again
with learn/recall enabled on the switcher, and ‘Enable Pbus’ lit on the
controller. Enable Learn does not have to be lit for recall to work.
When you recall an emem on the switcher, here’s what happens in the controller:
- The controller selects the register whose number matches the emem number
- The DEVICE ENABLE status is recalled, so the right machines are enabled
- Each machine is cued to it’s respective inpoint, awaiting playback.
3) Issue TRIGGER commands. This happens when you have a pbus trigger
In an effect timeline, or push the ‘Fire’ button on the switcher menu, or
otherwise cause the switcher to send a trigger.
When the switcher sends a TRIGGER, all enabled machines are sent a command
corresponding to the ‘Function Number’ specified for that trigger in the switcher
menu. The function numbers are as follows:
When TDC-100 is in the GVG (Grass Valley) mode:
Function Number Command
0 Normal Play
1 Recue
2 Variable Play (using displayed speed, which
can be learned and recalled)
3 Reverse Play at 100%
4 Stop
5 Loop Play
6 Record
7 Normal Play
8 Multi-Point Loop Start
9 Multi-Point Loop Exit
10 Select Bank 0 [Registers 000-099]
11 Select Bank 1 [Registers 100-199]
12 Select Bank 2 [Registers 200-299]
13 and above Normal Play
When TDC-100 is in the Sony mode:
Function Number Command
0 Recue
1 Normal Play
All others the same as GVG above.

16
The SELECT BANK [0,1,2] triggers are new with version 3.0 software, and allow a
single emem effect to recall up to three different playbacks per channel. If you have
an effect in Emem 25 for example, register 025 will be recalled on the TDC when
you recall that effect. If you send a Trigger 11 from within that effect, register 125
will be recalled. If you send a Trigger 12 register 225 will be recalled.
Note that these recalls are just like normal register recalls, in that they affect all
channels. Most triggers affect only machines which have valid device numbers, or
are ganged. These do not – they recall the registers regardless of device numbers.
Only machines which have valid inpoints and valid device numbers will be cued.
Starting with version 3.2 firmware, all 300 registers are directly accessible from P-
bus, if the switcher supports this expanded access. This may make the use of
SELECT BANK triggers unnecessary.
The other new triggers are 8 and 9, which are related to Multi-Point Loops. Please
see the detailed operational information section for an explanation of these triggers.

17
MULTI - DEVICE CONTROL RULES
This section describes how the controller handles various combinations of multiple
machines and device enable numbers
The controller front panel controls enabled machines; ones with lighted Device
Enable buttons. Some front panel functions affect only the Displayed machine -
the one whose letter is in the upper left corner of the display. These single-
machine functions are Inpoint and Outpoint Setting (not marking), Clip Listing
and Loading, and TBC Adjustment.
When the controller receives a P-bus Recall command, it first recalls the gang
configuration for that register. It then attempts to cue all machines that have a
valid device number, whether they are part of the gang or not. In addition, as
long as at least one machine in the gang has a valid device number, all
machines in the gang will be cued. Non-ganged machines can be cued, so long
as their device number is enabled on the switcher. The only exceptions to the
above are any channels which are playing loops, and have PRESERVE LOOP
turned on in the menu (for that channel). These loops will be left playing during
a register recall.
Generally there is no need to send a ‘recue’ trigger on the first keyframe of your
effect, since just recalling the effect (and thus the TDC register) will cue the
machines. If you do put this trigger in your effect you may be causing two
‘cueup’ commands to be sent to the DDR at almost the same time, and this
might actually slow the cueing process, or cause other DDR problems.
Trigger functions work the same way as the Recall command. The command
corresponding to the function number is sent to any device with a valid device
number. In addition, the command is sent to all members of the ganged group,
so long as one member of the gang has a valid device number.
Note that non-ganged machines may be triggered independently. You can
control all 4 ports, even if they’re not part of a gang. You just need to send
appropriate triggers with the right device numbers enabled. Note also that these
triggers can come at different times. It’s easy, for example, to cue and play a
key/fill pair, and while they’re playing, cue and start a loop on another channel,
and while that’s all happening, cue and play another clip on the forth channel, all
independently, via the P-bus.
One consideration to be aware of is that if you send multiple triggers at the same
time (on the same keyframe), the TDC100 will stack them, and execute them as
it can. This means that you may see some delay in executing multiple
commands that are sent at one time. If you really want accurate control, it’s best
to send no more than one trigger per keyframe.
Outcue Actions are independent, and based on each machine’s individual
outpoints. If you want both a Key and a Fill channel to recue, you must set an
outpoint for each of them. This is a change from earlier versions of software.

18
Detailed Operational Information
Using Auto-Dub Feature to Transfer Material From VTR to Disk
1. Connect the vtr’s remote (9-pin) connector to one of the device control ports on
the TDC-100. (e.g. Device Port D)
2. Connect the DDR that you want to record onto to another port (it’s probably
already there. For the example, let’s say it’s on port A)
3. Load the tape, and route audio and video from the vtr output to the DDR input.
4. Mark an Inpoint for the VTR. This should be at the start of the material you want
to transfer, of course. Use the MARK IN button, as you normally would, or enter
a time on the keypad, press SET, then MARK IN.
5. Mark an Inpoint for the DDR in the same way. This will be the point where the
recording starts.
6. You can also set an outpoint on the DDR if desired. The recording will stop at
this point. If there is no outpoint, the recording will be open-ended.
7. Enable both machines using the device enable buttons, with the desired recorder
being the flashing button (current machine). Do this by first pressing down the
recorder enable button (A in our example), and while holding it down, press the
player (vtr) button (D in our example). THIS IS AN IMPORTANT POINT: the
controller determines which is the player and which is the recorder based on
which device enable button is flashing. Make sure that the device that you want
to record onto is the flashing one, or you can put the vtr into record! For this
reason, I STRONGLY recommend that you set the record lockout tab on the
playback tape or REC LOCK on the vtr, just in case of finger errors.
8. To start the dub, press FCN, then RECORD (by itself). The controller will cue
both devices (including a 3-second preroll on the vtr), play the vtr, and put the
DDR in record at the proper time. The recording will continue until the recorder
outpoint is reached, or until you press the STOP button.
That’s all there is to it. Note that it isn’t possible to record onto two channels
(two DDRs) at the same time - you’ll have to do it in two operations.
One other note: there is a menu item called RECORD TRIM. This allows
adjustment of the recorder timing relative to the playback. It is typically set at 2
frames, to compensate for various latencies. If your transfers aren’t frame-
accurate, you can adjust this value until they are.

19
Using Multipoint Loops
Version 3.0 software has the capability to do multi-point loops, where for example
you play a lead-in, loop an internal portion, then (upon receipt of a ‘exit loop’ trigger)
play a tail out. Doing this requires four time values.
Start Point --- Loop In --- Loop Out --- End Point
The way the controller accomplishes this is to use a pair of registers. The first
register must be in the range 000-099. This register contains the Start Point, and
the End Point (the two ‘outside’ times). The second register is in the range 100-
199. It contains the Loop In and Loop Out times (the two ‘inside’ times). You select
the lower register to run the loop. The controller will always look at that number +
100 for the two inside times, i.e., if the lower register is 025, the controller will look
at register 125 for the two inside times.
The inside loop must have a minimum duration of 1:15, just like a normal loop, and
must have both an inpoint and an outpoint. The Start Point must be at least as early
as the Loop In point. There are no requirements placed on the End Point. There
need not be a time in that register. If you do want to play a tail out (4-point loop) the
End Point must be later than the Loop Out.
Once the Start and Loop times are entered, you can start the Multi-point loop (or
MLoop, as it’s displayed on the TDC) by sending a Pbus Trigger 8, or by pressing
<FCN>, then <8> on the keypad. This will cue the disk to the Start Point, if it isn’t
there already, and begin playing. When the disk gets to the Loop Out point, it will
jump back to the Loop In point (the inner loop). It will continue to run this loop until
you do any one of the following:
Stop the loop with a STOP trigger or button press
Recue the loop with a RECUE trigger or button press
Recall another register (with PRESERVE LOOP turned off)
Send a MULTI-LOOP EXIT Pbus Trigger (trigger 9), or press <FCN>, then <9>.
If you send a MULTI-LOOP EXIT trigger, or press <FCN, then <9>, the disk will exit
the loop at the first opportunity, and play until it reaches the End Point. If there is no
End Point defined, it will play until stopped. Also, a GPI output will be triggered at
the time that the disk actually exits the loop. This GPI output may be used to trigger
a switcher effect timed to the tail out portion of the playback, if desired.
Multi-Point Loops do not automatically recue. To play the sequence again, you must
first issue a recue command, or recall the register again.
OPERATIONAL TIP: Setting up Multi-point loops requires entering times in two
registers, 0XX and 1XX. You can easily go between the two by pressing <FCN>,
then <+> to go up 100, and <FCN>, then <-> to go down 100. This prevents having
to enter the three-digit register numbers repeatedly.

20
TBC CONTROL WITH THE TDC-100
The TDC-100 can control VTR/Disk TBC or output video processor levels and
timing. This is possible only for vtrs or disk recorders which allow these levels to be
controlled via the standard RS-422 machine control port, via the standard Sony
protocol.
Machines which allow this include: Panasonic AJ-D350
AJ-D351
AJ-D360
AJ-D580
DVC PRO
Sony DVR-10
DVR-18
DVR-20
DVR-28
DVW-500
IMX VTRs
MAV-555
Any Sony VTR equipped with
Lance Design AIF-422 adapter
Drastic Technologies VVCR Disk
Fast Forward Omega (timing only)
To access this control, just select the device that you want to adjust, and press and
release the ‘FCN’ button, then press the ‘Menu’ button. Select the parameter that
you want by using the ‘+’ and ‘-’ keys on the keypad to scroll through the functions.
If there is no number displayed after the parameter label, then the selected device
does not support this control protocol.
Levels are adjusted with the jog knob, and may be set to UNITY by pressing the
“CLR’ (clear) button on the keypad. This sets only the selected parameter to unity.
This level adjustment data is stored in the device, not in the panel, so that there is no
need to re-set levels if machine assignments are changed.