Tascam FW-1884 User manual

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TEACProfessionalDivision
FW1884/FE8
ProfessionalControlSurface/FireWireAudioMIDIInterface
README
032105

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UPDATES............................................................................................................................................... 4
REVISIONSTOOTHERDOCUMENTATION................................................................................... 4
THE IEEE 1394 STANDARDANDTHE FW1884...................................................................................... 4
MAKINGCONNECTIONS ........................................................................................................................ 4
SYSTEMREQUIREMENTS ....................................................................................................................... 5
PC................................................................................................................................................... 5
Mac................................................................................................................................................. 5
INSTALLINGTHE FW1884 DRIVERS..................................................................................................... 6
PC................................................................................................................................................... 6
Mac................................................................................................................................................. 6
EARLYG4............................................................................................................................................ 6
HIDDEN KEY FUNCTIONS ...................................................................................................................... 6
MACOSXCONTROLPANEL............................................................................................................. 7
ACCESSINGTHE FW1884 CONTROL PANELINMACOSX..................................................................... 7
WINDOWSFEATURES(V1.10&ABOVE) ........................................................................................ 8
QUICK START(WDM) .......................................................................................................................... 8
USINGTHEFW1884WITHTASCAMGIGASTUDIO(GSIF)......................................................... 9
96KADATI/O...................................................................................................................................... 10
INSYNCINDICATION(WINDOWS) ............................................................................................... 10
ANOTEABOUTCOMMONCONTROLPROTOCOLS ................................................................. 10
MACKIE CONTROL.............................................................................................................................. 10
HUI ................................................................................................................................................... 10
ProTools ...................................................................................................................................... 11
USINGTHEFW1884WITHLOGICAUDIO................................................................................... 11
USINGTHEFW1884WITHPROTOOLS....................................................................................... 12
ProToolsFree .............................................................................................................................. 12
ProToolsLE................................................................................................................................. 12
ProToolsTDM/ProToolsHD...................................................................................................... 12
Chart:ProToolsSoftwareCompatibility ....................................................................................... 13
MISCELLANEOUS ............................................................................................................................. 13
CHANGESFROMPREVIOUSREADMEDOCS ............................................................................. 13
SINCE 082203..................................................................................................................................... 13
UsingexternalclockingunderMacOSX........................................................................................ 13
InputCapabilityMatrix forDigitalPerformer ............................................................................... 14
MaintenanceItems ........................................................................................................................ 14
KnownIssues ................................................................................................................................ 14
V1.10DRIVERRELEASENOTES..................................................................................................... 15
INSTALLINGTHE V 1.10 DRIVER.......................................................................................................... 15
Windows....................................................................................................................................... 15
Mac............................................................................................................................................... 16
NEW FEATURES .................................................................................................................................. 16
AnalogtoADATRouting ............................................................................................................... 16
SixChannelSurroundMonitoring ................................................................................................. 16

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CONVERTER COMPENSATION (WDM) ................................................................................................. 17
FE8 SUPPORT .................................................................................................................................... 18
ADJUSTING FADER TOUCH SENSITIVITYON FE8................................................................................. 19
FE8 USE WITH SONAR...................................................................................................................... 19
FE8UseWithDigitalPerformer .................................................................................................. 20
FE8UseWithLogic ..................................................................................................................... 21
FE8WithMackieControlandHUIEmulationmodes................................................................... 22
SOFTLCD........................................................................................................................................... 22
MAINTENANCE ITEMS ......................................................................................................................... 22
KNOWN ISSUES................................................................................................................................... 23
Playbackofcertainsoundsourcesathighsamplerates ................................................................. 23
LogicPlugin ................................................................................................................................ 23
V1.20DRIVERRELEASE NOTES..................................................................................................... 24
INSTALLINGTHE V 1.20 DRIVER.......................................................................................................... 24
WHAT’SNEW..................................................................................................................................... 24
SOFTLCD........................................................................................................................................... 24
SONAR PLUGINV 1.20..................................................................................................................... 24
DIGITALPERFORMERPLUGIN............................................................................................................ 25
MACOS X DRIVER............................................................................................................................. 25
WINDOWS DRIVER.............................................................................................................................. 25
KNOWNISSUES ................................................................................................................................. 26
SHORTCUTKEYSINLOGIC .................................................................................................................. 26
CONTROL PANELKEYIN OSX ............................................................................................................ 26
MACG5 KERNELISSUES..................................................................................................................... 26
V1.30DRIVERRELEASENOTES.................................................................................................... 27
VIRTUALMIDI PORTS ........................................................................................................................ 27
GSIF2 SUPPORT................................................................................................................................. 27
MACOSX 10.4 (TIGER)...................................................................................................................... 28
MAINTENANCE ITEMS ......................................................................................................................... 28
V1.40DRIVERRELEASENOTES.................................................................................................... 29
CUBASELEAND CUBASESE SUPPORT ................................................................................................ 29
NEW FEATURES .................................................................................................................................. 29
SONAR.......................................................................................................................................... 29
MAINTENANCE ITEMS ......................................................................................................................... 29
OSX .............................................................................................................................................. 29
V1.50DRIVERRELEASENOTES.................................................................................................... 30
FIXED SINCEV1.50 PUBLICBETA ........................................................................................................ 30
INSTALLATION.................................................................................................................................... 30
SETUP................................................................................................................................................ 30
OPERATION ........................................................................................................................................ 31
ChannelStrips............................................................................................................................... 31
ChannelEncoders ......................................................................................................................... 31
Transport ...................................................................................................................................... 32
ShortcutButtons............................................................................................................................ 33
AutomationButtons ....................................................................................................................... 34
NUDGEasChannelViews ............................................................................................................ 34
UserProgrammableFunctions...................................................................................................... 35

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Updates
PleasevisittheTASCAMwebsiteathttp://www.tascam.com toensurethatyouhavethe
latestsoftwareanddocumentation.
Revisionstootherdocumentation
Thepointsthatfollowarethemostrecentandcorrectinformationandmaydifferfrom
informationpresentedintheOwner’sManual,SetupGuideorindividualAppNotes.
Pleaseusethisinformationinstead.
TheIEEE1394standardandtheFW1884
AdditionalNotes
· FireWiredevicesshouldneverbeconnectedina“loop”configuration.There
shouldonlybeonecablepathfromoneFireWiredevicetoanother.Ifyoucablea
FireWiresysteminaloopbymistake,itwillnotwork.
· Note:Useonlya6pinFireWireconnectiononthecomputer.
MakingConnections
TheFW1884andFE8donotpasspowerprovidedbythehostcomputerthroughtheir
IEEE1394ports.
Ifyouaredaisychainingdevicesonthe1394busaftertheFW1884orFE8,ensurethat
theyhavetheirownpowersupplyandarenotpoweredviathe1394connection,andthe
FW1884orFE8ispoweredon.
Alternatively,theFW1884orFE8canbeplacedlastinthechain. Ifyourcomputerhas
morethan 1IEEE1394port,otherdevicesshouldbeconnectedtoaport other thanthe
oneusedbytheFW1884orFE8
AlwaysmakeallconnectionsbetweentheFW1884,FE8andahostcomputerwith
powerOFFonalldevices.

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SystemRequirements
PC
· Reminder:TheFW1884requiresanOHCIcompliant1394port.
· Reminder:TheFW1884requiresanupdatetothe1394driverprovidedin
MicrosoftWindows.ThisupdateisautomaticallyinstalledfromtheFW1884
driverinstallationapplicationprovidedontheCDROM. Theupdaterequires
thatyouhavepreviouslyupdatedyourWindows2000systemtoServicePack
3or4,orthatyou’veupdatedyourWindowsXPsystemtoServicePack1.
ToseewhatServicePackisinstalledinyoursystem,gotoControlPanel|System
andlookinthe“General”tabunder“System.”YoucandownloadServicePacks
toyourmachineusingthe“WindowsUpdate”feature.
· AlsonotethatfutureversionsofWindows2000(startingwithService
Pack5)andWindowsXP(startingwithServicePack2)willincludethe
1394update.
Mac
· DuetoOSXandapplicationresourcerequirements,thefollowingperformance
guidelinesshouldbekeptinmind:
o AG4processorand512MBofRAMarestronglyrecommendedtousethe
FW1884asan18ChannelSoundDeviceinCoreAudio.
o AG3basedMacrunningOSXmayrequireveryhighbuffersettingswhen
theFW1884isconfiguredasanythinggreaterthana2ChannelSound
DeviceinCoreAudio.

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InstallingtheFW1884Drivers
PC
Reminder:WhenpresentedwiththeWindowsLogotestingwarning,click
throughitbyclickingonthe“ContinueAnyway”button.
o Note:DuetotherequiredinstallationofaMicrosoftHotfix(alsocalleda
“QFE”),driversmustbeinstalledusingtheprovidedinstaller.Separate
WindowsdriverfilesarenotprovidedontheCD.
o Note:AfterinstallationofthedriversoftwareitmaytaketheWindows
Plug&PlayprocessafewmomentstorecognizetheFW1884.
o Note:IntheeventthattheWindowsPlug&Playprocessdoesnotdetect
theFW1884afterrunningtheinstaller,thedriverinstallationmaybe
completedfromtheWindowsDeviceManagerasdescribedbelow:
1. GototheStartmenu,selectControlPanelthendoubleclick
System.
2. ClickontheHardwaretabthenclickontheDeviceManager
button.
3. YoushouldseeayellowiconrepresentingtheFW1884.Right
clickonitandchooseUpdateDriver.
4. FollowtheinstructionsintheHardwareUpdateWizard.
Mac
o Note:OMS2.3.8forMacOS9isincludedontheFW1884CD.
o Note:UsersofDigitalPerformer3.xshouldremovetheDigigramVX
ASIOdriverfromtheirPerformerASIOfolderasithasbeenshownto
conflictwiththeFW1884ASIOdriver.
o Note:SomeUSBMIDIinterfaceshavebeenshown tointerferewith
FireWireMIDI.IfyouexperienceMIDIcommunicationproblemswith
yourFW1884andyouhaveaUSBMIDIinterface,trydisconnectingthe
USBdevice.
EarlyG4
SometestershavereportedcomputerfreezeswhenusingtheFW1884withthe400MHz
G4.ThisearlyG4hadadifferentmotherboardthanlatermodels.LatermodelG4s
testedwithoutproblem. Atthetimeofthiswritingthereisnosolutionorworkaround.
HiddenKeyFunctions
Hiddenkeyshortcutsareincludedintheirappropriatemanualsections.Theyarealsoall
availableattheendoftheOwner’sManualinSection7.3.

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MacOSXControlPanel
AccessingtheFW1884ControlPanelinMacOSX
TheFW1884Managerapplication,locatedintheApplicationsfolder,launchestheFW
1884ControlPanel.
WhiletheControlPaneltabsforSettings,RoutingandMIDIProgrammingarethesame
betweenWindows,MacOS9andMacOSX,MacOSXaddstheCoreAudiotabshown
below.HereitispossibletoconfigurehowmanyI/OchannelstheFW1884presents to
thecomputer.Onslowersystems,itmaybenecessarytosetthisasa2Channelor8
ChannelSoundDeviceforgoodperformance.SeethenoteaboveaboutMacsystem
requirements.
Note:ChangingthissettingwillrestarttheFW1884inordertoconfigureitssystems.
Nodata(audio/MIDI/control)willpassthroughthedevicewhileitisrestarting.

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WindowsFeatures(V1.10&above)
QuickStart(WDM)
Thetabshownbelow,QuickStart,hasbeenaddedtotheWindowsControlPanel.This
allowsyoutospecifyasetofchannelswhichwillalwaysstreamwhenusingWDM/KS
DriverModeinSonar.This,forexample,speedsupthestartofaplaybackorrecord
operationinSONAR...especiallywhentherearealotofchannelsenabled.Ifthereisa
hesitationafterpressingPLAYorRECORDbeforetheoperationbegins,tryenablingthis
feature.
Touseit,checkthechannelsthatyouwillbeusinginyourWDMaudioapp.Whenthe
channelsselectedintheQuickStarttabmatchthechannelsactuallyusedbyyour
application,theFW1884willnothavetoresyncwhentheapplicationbeginstouse
thosechannels.Thishasshowntobemuchfaster,andlesspronetoproducean“audio
enginestop”message.

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UsingtheFW1884withTASCAMGigaStudio(GSIF)
TheWindowsdriverfortheFW1884implementstheGSIF(GigaStreamingInterface)
protocol,forhighperformanceoperationwithTASCAMGigaStudiosoftware.TheGSIF
driverisinstalledautomaticallywiththeFW1884driver;thereisnoneedforaseparate
installation step.
TheFW1884’sGSIFinterfacealwaysoperatesatfull24bitresolution,although
GigaStudiohassettingswhichcanditheroutputtolowerresolutionsinspecialsituations.
TousetheFW1884asyourGigaStudiooutputdevice,makesuretheFW1884is
pluggedinandturnedon,andthenstartGigaStudio.Whenthemainscreenappears,
selecttheSettings|Hardware/Routingpage.Usethedropdowncomboboxlabeled
“Hardware”toselecttheFW1884.IfyouwillalsobeusingtheFW1884’sMIDIInputs
toconnectakeyboardorothercontroller,youshouldselecttheFW1884’sMIDIInput
portsinthedropdownboxeslabeled“MidiInPorts.”
IMPORTANT:Besuretoclickthe“Apply”buttontoactivatechangesyou
havemadeinthisscreen!
AlleighteenoutputchannelsoftheFW1884maybeutilizedwithGigaStudio.Since
GigaStudioallowsindividualpairsofchannelstobeenabledviaitsSettings|
Hardware/Routingpage,it’seasytocontrolthenumberofactivechannelsthat
GigaStudioisusing.Channelsthataren’tselectedforuseinGigaStudioareavailableto
otherapplicationsviaMME/WDMorASIOsincetheFW1884isatrueMultiClient
device.
HereisachartthatshowstheassociationofGigaStudiochannelnumbers
withFW1884outputs:
Giga FW1884

1,2 Analog1:2
3,4 Analog3:4
5,6 Analog5:6
7,8 Analog7:8
9,10 ADAT1:2
11,12 ADAT3:4
13,15 ADAT5:6
15,16 ADAT7:8
17,18 SPDIF1:2

Page10 of 35
96kADATI/O
Note:Whenoperatinginhighsampleratemodes(96kor88.2k),theADATI/Oreduces
itschannelI/Ocounttofour.Becauseofthis,whenthesamplerateis96kor88.2k,the
FW1884isa14channelI/Odevice.
InSyncIndication(Windows)
Duetosignificantperformancedifferencesbetweencomputersathighsamplerates,the
computerandFW1884maynotbeabletoachievesyncwithsmallerbuffersizes.The
FW1884’sWindowscontrolpanelreports“InSync”belowtheSampleRateselection
boxwhentheFW1884andhostarecommunicatingproperly.Ifthistextdoesnot
appear,tryincreasingthebuffersize(AudioLatencyslider)orloweringthesamplerate
untilthe“InSync”indicationappears.”
ANoteAboutCommonControlProtocols
ByemulatingeithertheMackieControlortheHUI,theFW1884canprovidecontrol
overthemostusedparametersofyourDAWsoftwareuntilyourparticularDAW
implementsmorecompleteNativeModeparametermapping.Typically,oneorbothof
thesetwoprotocolswillprovidecontroloverfaders,mutes,solo,recordenable,pan,and
themaintransportfunctions.Otherfunctionsmaybeavailableoncertainkeysasnoted
inthedocumentscoveringtheseprotocols.
WhiletheseprotocolshavebeenimplementedbymanyDAWs,theirimplementationand
functionmayvaryfromDAWtoDAW.Belowisalistofknownissueswiththese
protocolsasofthiswriting:
MackieControl
AUX1:ThiskeyinvokestheMackieControlEditfunction.ForittoworkinCubaseor
Nuendo,anaudiopartmustbeselected.
SHIFT+UNDOinvokestheREDOfunction.
CTRL+RECORDisnotimplemented.
SET:ThiskeyinvokestheMackieControlZoomfunction.ForittoworkinCubaseor
Nuendo,theArrangewindowmustbeselected.
SHTL:NotimplementedinCubaseasofthiswriting.
HUI
NOTE:ThereisnodedicatedmasterfaderintheHUIprotocol.Achannelfaderis
typicallyassignedtofunctionasamasterfader.
AUX7:ThiskeybringsforwardtheDAW’sEditwindowpertheHUIprotocol.Thisis
notimplementedinCubaseasofthiswriting.
AUX8:ThiskeybringsforwardtheDAW’sMixerwindowpertheHUIprotocol.Thisis
notimplementedinCubaseasofthiswriting.

Page11 of 35
ProTools
ThefollowingkeyfunctionsareonlyavailableinProToolswhenusingtheFW1884in
HUIemulationmodeasofthiswriting:
ALT/CMD
CTRL
SHIFT+RECORD(QuickPunch)
LOCATE>>
SET(Online)
IN
SHIFT+IN
OUT
<NUDGE(AlsoavailableinNuendo)
NUDGE>(AlsoavailableinNuendo)
<BANK
BANK>
SHIFT+<BANK
SHIFT+>BANK
UsingtheFW1884withLogicAudio
ThecontrolsurfacepluginincludedontheCDROMhasbeentestedwithLogic
versions6.1and6.2.

Page12 of 35
UsingtheFW1884withProTools
ProToolsFree
ThissoftwareisavailableasafreedownloadfromDigidesign.Itrecordsandplaysback
uptoeighttracksofaudioand48tracksofMIDI,andhasmanyofthepluginand
editingpowerof themorehighendversionsofProTools.ItusesAppleSoundManager
onMacOS9andWindowsMMEdrivers.Asofthetimeofthiswriting,Digidesign
hasn’tannouncedaMacOSXversionoftheproduct.
TheFW1884functionsasacontrolsurfaceinHUIemulationmodewithProToolsFree.
Justadda“HUI”intheProTools“Peripherals”windowandyou’llhavefulltransport,
editingandmixingcontrol.SelectSoundManager(MacOS9)orMME(Windows)as
youraudiosystemtoget2channelinputandoutput.YoucanalsousethefourportMIDI
interfaceviaOMS(Mac).
ProToolsLE
ProToolsLEisaversionofProToolsthatrequiresoneofDigidesign’sinterfacesto
function,youcan’tusetheFW1884astheaudiointerfaceforthissoftware.However,
youcouldusetheFW1884’smicpreamps,lineinputsandADATinputs,submixedtoa
stereosignal,andrecordthisdigitallyintoProToolsusingtheFW1884’sS/PDIF
output.
HUIemulationworkswiththissoftware–allofthetransport,editingandmixing
commandssupportedinotherversionsofProToolsworkinLE.Youcanalsousethe
fourportMIDIinterfaceviaOMS(Mac).
ProToolsTDM/ProToolsHD
TheprofessionalversionofProToolsiscalledProToolsTDM.Currentlyatversion6.1,
thisistheversionthatshipswiththeirMixandHDserieshardware.Itoffers128tracks
ofplaybackat192kHz,TDMpluginsandmanyotherfeatures.
LikeProToolsLE,thissoftwarerequirestheusertohaveDigidesignhardwareto
function.Therefore,theFW1884can’tfunctionastheaudiointerfaceforthisProTools
system.YoucanstillusetheFW1884’smicpreamps,lineinputsandADATinputs,
submixedinternallytoastereosignal,andrecordthisdigitallyintoProToolsusingthe
FW1884’sS/PDIFoutput.
YoustillgetfullHUIcontrolsurfacefunctionalitywiththeFw1884,fromeditingand
transportcontrolstomixingandautomationcontrol.YoucanalsousethefourportMIDI
interfaceviaOMS(Mac).

Page13 of 35
Chart:ProToolsSoftwareCompatibility
ProToolsFree ProToolsLE ProToolsTDM
Audio 2channelI/O (n/a) (n/a)
MIDI 4MIDII/Oports 4MIDII/Oports 4MIDII/Oports
TransportControl ü ü ü
MixingControls ü ü ü
EditingControls ü ü ü
Miscellaneous
· Section5.1.3MIDIProgrammingTab(Owner’sManual)
o Pleasedisregardtheparagraphonthispageentitled“Here’saquick
scenario”.Somehowsoftwareengineernotesfoundtheirwayintothe
manual J
ChangesFromPreviousReadMeDocs
PleasenotethattheReadMedocsarestampedwiththeircurrentdateonthecoverpage.
Forexample,081903isAugust19,2003.
Since082203
UsingexternalclockingunderMacOSX
SelectionofexternalclocksourcesmaynotbepossiblefromwithinyourOSXDAW
software.PleasenotethatyoucanstillchangetheclocksourcemanuallyontheFW
1884orfromtheFW1884Managerapp.Whilethesystemwillbelockedtothecorrect
clocksource,theDAWsoftwarewillnotdisplayit.
· ThishasbeenfixedwithOSXdriverversion1.03 andhigher.

Page14 of 35
InputCapabilityMatrixforDigitalPerformer
ThishasbeenfixedwithDigitalPerformer4.12
DuetothemethodthatDigitalPerformerhandlesFireWireaudiostreams,onlyeight
inputsandeightoutputscanbesimultaneouslyaccessedontheFW1884whenusing
DP4inMacOSX.WhentheFW1884isconfiguredasan18channelinterface(inthe
FW1884Managerapplication),theeightanalogmic/lineinputsandoutputswillbeused
forI/O.IftheFW1884issettoactasan8channelinterface,youwillbeabletochoose
theeightmic/lineinsandoutsortheADATinputandoutput oracombinationofthetwo.
WhentheFW1884isconfiguredfor2channeloperation,youwillbeabletochooseany
pairofinputsandoutputsforusewithDigitalPerformer.
FW1884Mode AvailableI/O
18channel 8mic/lineinputs,8lineoutputs
8channel · 8mic/lineinputs,8lineoutputs
· ADATinput,ADAToutput
· 8mic/lineinputs,ADAToutput
· ADATinput,8lineoutputs
2channel Anypairofinputsandoutputs
MaintenanceItems
· SomeusershavereportedaudiodropoutsondualprocessorG4Macsrunning
OSX.ThisisfixedwithOSXdriverversion1.03andhigher.
KnownIssues
· OndualprocessorG4MacsrunningDP4andOSX,DAWfadersmaynotrespond
accurately.Ourtestinghasshownthattheissueismorelikelytopresentitselfin
benchtestingratherthanactualusage. Thisiscurrentlyunderinvestigation.

Page15 of 35
V1.10DriverReleaseNotes
InstallingtheV1.10Driver
Windows
TwoversionsoftheV1.10driverinstallerforWindowsareprovided.Theydifferonlyin
oneaspect:thelarger(~10MB)installerincludesarequiredupdatetotheMicrosoft1394
busdriver,whereasthesmaller(500KB)installerdoesnot.
Todeterminewhichversionyouneed,opentheWindowsControlPanelonyour
computer,andlaunchtheAdd/RemoveProgramsdialog.Scrolldownandlookforthe
presenceoftheWindowsHotfixQ819111.Ifthishotfixisinstalledyoucanusethe
smaller(~500KB)installer.Otherwise,usethefull(10MB)installer.
IfyouareinstallingthisdriverversionontoaPCthatdoesnothaveaprevious(V1.00)
FW1884driverinstallation,thefull10MBinstallermustbeused.Thisinstallationis
identicaltothatdescribedinthisdoc,theOwner’sManualandtheSetupGuide.
IfyouareinstallingthisdriverversionontoaPCthathasV1.00driversalreadyinstalled,
pleaseusetheapproximately500kupdater.
NOTE:WhenconnectedFE8expanderunits,eachunitwillrequireWindowstogo
throughtheplug&playdriverinstallationprocess.ThisisduetothefactthateachFE8
hasitsownuniqueidentitytoWindows.IfmorethanoneFE8isconnectedduring
driverinstallation,theirdriverswillbeinstalledsequentiallybyWindows.Itisnot
necessarytoreinstallthedriver.FE8driversareincludedintheV1.10FW1884driver
sowhenanFE8isconnected,itwillautomaticallybedetectedandinstalled.
IfyouareinstallingV1.10driversforthefirsttimefromtheCDincludedwithyourFW
1884thenyourdevicesalreadyhavethelatestfirmwarethatgoeswithV1.10.
IfyouareinstallingoverV1.00driversthenyouwill alsoneedtoruntheFirmware
Updater. TheFirmwareupdatermustbeinstalledafterinstallingtheV1.10drivers. The
FirmwareupdaterappisaseparatedownloadfilefromtheV1.10driverfileyou
downloadedfromtheTASCAMwebsiteandincludesinstructionstoguideyouthrough
thisverysimpleprocess. ThisupdatestheFW1884fromARM135/FPGA45toARM
145/FPGA49.TheseversionnumberscanbeseenintheFW1884controlpanel.

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Mac
If youareinstallingV1.10driversoverapreviousV1.00installation,theinstallerwill
automaticallyoverwriteV1.00fileswithV1.10files.
IfyouareinstallingoverV1.00driversthenyouwillneedtoruntheFirmwareUpdater.
TheFirmwareupdaterappincludesinstructionstoguideyouthroughthisverysimple
process.ThisupdatestheFW1884fromARM135/FPGA45toARM145/FPGA49.
TheseversionnumberscanbeseenintheFW1884controlpanel.
InMacOS9,theFirmwareupdaterisplacedintheFW1884Driversfolderwhichwill
appearonyourdesktop.
InOSX,theFirmwareupdateriscontainedwithinthe.dmg(diskimage)file. Double
clicktheimagefiletoseeitscontentsandruntheinstaller&updaterwithin.
NewFeatures
AnalogtoADATRouting
ThissettingintheRoutingtabforallplatforms(MacOS9,MacOSX&Windows)
allowsthesignalspresentattheanaloginputstoroutedirectlytotheADAToutputs.
ThisprovidesforuseoftheFW1884’smicrophonepreamps,controlsurfaceandMIDI
portswithanaudiocardthathasADATinputsbutlimitedmicrophoneinputs.An
examplewouldbetheDigidesign001.
NOTE:MostapplicationspermitseveralMIDIinterfacestobeusedsimultaneously.For
example,anappcouldsimultaneouslyreceiveMIDIinputfromakeyboardwhilealso
receivingsurfacecontrolviatheFW1884MIDIControlport.Ontheotherhand,most
audioappsdonotpermitmultipleaudiointerfacestobeusedsimultaneously.This
meansthatintheaboveexample,theDigi001audioI/OwouldbeusedwhiletheFW
1884wouldonlybeusedformicrophonepreamps,MIDIandcontrolsurface.Byusing
theAnalogtoADATroutingfeature,theADAToutputoftheFW1884couldbe
connectedtotheADATinputofaDigi001,providingitwith8additionalmicpre’s.
SixChannelSurroundMonitoring
PreviouslyitwasonlypossibletosettheMonitorLevelControlontheFW1884to
affectanalogoutputs1&2or18.ItisnowadditionallypossibletosettheMonitorLevel
Controltoaffectanalogoutputs16only,allowinganalogoutputs7&8tobeusedfor
otherpurposes,likesendstoexternalequipment,whilemixingin5.1. Thissettingis
madeintheSettingstabonallplatforms.

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ConverterCompensation(WDM)
Anewcheckboxhasbeenaddedin theControlPanelSettingstabon theWindows
platform called“Compensateforconverterdelay”. Whenenabled,thiscompensatesfor
theA/DandD/A converterchips'inherentdelayinWDMclientapps.In Sonar,enabling
thisswitchalsorequiresthenumberofBuffersinPlaybackQueuegetset toaminimum
of3in Sonar’saudioconfigurationwindowasshownbelow. Whentheswitchisnot
enabled,youcansetthenumberof bufferstoaminimumof2andyou'llgetlessabsolute
latency,buttheA/D,D/Adelayswon'tbecompensated.
Forexample:
· Enablingthisswitchwhensynchronizingtoexternaltimecodewillensureaudio
getswrittenintotheprojectatexactlythecorrectlocationrelativetotheincoming
timecode.
· Disablingthisswitch willallowthelowestpossibleperformancelatencyfor
virtualinstrumentsandaudiomonitoringthroughtheDAW.

Page18 of 35
FE8Support
Version1.10driverssupporttheFE8channelstripexpanderunit. Belowisascreenshot
oftheFE8tabintheWindowscontrolpanel.TheMacversionisthesame.
TheorderinwhichmultipleFE8sarereportedtoaDAWcanbechangedinthistabby
clickinganFE8NameAssignmentandusingtheMoveUporMoveDownbuttonsatthe
bottom.WhenclickingtheIdentifybutton,thehighlightedFE8willflashitsFireWire
(1394)LED.
ItmakeslaterFE8assignmenteasier(ifmorethanoneFE8isconnected)iftheyare
renamedatthispoint.Manyusers,forexample,willwanttorenametheFE8storeflect
theirphysicalpositionontheworksurface(forexample:“FE8Left,FE8Right”).After
renaming,theFE8smusthavetheirpowercycled,thenthenewnameswillappearinthe
DAWforeasyassignment.(InWindows,namesenteredinthisdialogalsobecomethe
namesoftheMIDIdevicenamesavailabletoyouraudioapplications.)

Page19 of 35
AdjustingFaderTouchSensitivityonFE8
SEL1+SEL3+SEL5+CH8Encoder
Adjusttouchfadersensitivity
FE8UseWithSonar
First,theFE8ControlPortsmustbeactivatedinSonar’sMIDIDeviceswindowinorder
forthemtoappearintheControlSurfaceswindow.TheFE8ControlPortswillbecome
availableafterWindowshasdetectedthehardwareandinstalledthedriverfortheFE8.
IntheControlSurfaceswindow(shownbelow)undertheOptionsmenu,Sonarprovides
multipleslots toinsertindividualcontrolsurfaces.IfyouhaveoneormoreFE8s
connected,eachonewillappearindividuallyintheAddNewControlSurfacepulldown
menuwhentheyellowstariconisclicked.Addcontrolsurfacesintheorder youwant
themtomatchupwithmixerfadersfromtoptobottomintheControlSurfaceswindow.
MultipleFE8swillbenumbered&namedaccordingtotheirorderandnamesintheFE
8tabofthecontrolpanel.
NOTE:Sonarmustberestartedforchangesin thiswindowtotakeeffect,eventhough
Sonardoesnotpromptforthis.

Page20 of 35
FE8UseWithDigitalPerformer
First,installtheDPpluginV1.10,includedontheCD(orseparatelydownloadedfrom
theTASCAMwebsite).
1. OpentheControlSurfacewindow(shownbelow)undertheSetupmenu.Select
FW1884undertheDriverpulldown.
2. SelectFW1884asthefirstUnitandchooseacontrolportfromtheMIDIpull
down.Anycontrolportmaybeused.
3. Clickonthe+signnexttotheFW1884controlporttoenableanotherunit.Do
notclickonthemaster+signoutsideoftheoutlinedbox –thatisusedforadding
aseconddrivertype.
4. SelectFE8asthesecondunitandchooseacontrolportforit.
5. Repeatsteps3&4forallFE8sconnected.
NOTE:V1.10DPpluginsonlyexistforDP3.1andDP4.DP2.7and3.0donot
supportmultiplecontrolsurfaces.