Routing

Understanding the Routing Matrix

The routing matrix consists of three primary sections: A list of sources (A) in the left column, a list of destinations (C) in the right column, and a cross-point matrix (B) used for connecting sources to destinations in the middle column.

Figure 1 - Routing matrix principle

A Source can be any of the following:

• A physical input from the main PCB, such as AES3, analog, MADI, tieLight, and AoIP

• A physical input from interface slots 1-4, such as SDI, AES-3, analog, MADI, and Dante/AES67

• The output of one of the DSP processing blocks, such as Level Magic Channel Strip - Stereo or Program + Spectral Processing Strip - 5.1

A Destination can be any of the following:

• A physical output from the main PCB, such as AES3, analog, MADI, tieLight, and AoIP

• A physical output from interface slots 1-4, such as SDI, AES-3, analog, MADI, and Dante/AES67

• The input to one of the DSP processing blocks, such as Level Magic Stereo or SpectralSignature Level Magic 5.1

Example routing of a processor from and to physical I/Os

Getting a signal from one of the physical inputs to a DSP processing block and then ultimately to a physical output is a two-step process.

First, one of the physical inputs must be connected to the input of a DSP processing block.

This is accomplished by selecting audio channels of a physical input from the source side of the matrix (A) and then selecting audio channles of DSP processing blocks from the destination side of the matrix (B). Pressing the Link (New) button (C) will create the connection.

In Figure 2 below, channels AES 1 and AES 2 of the AES3 input are being routed to the Level Magic Channel Strip - Stereo processing block L and R for loudness control:

Figure 2 - Routing of audiochennels from a physical input to a DSP processing block

Second, the output of a DSP processing block must be connected to one of the physical outputs.

This is done by selecting the DSP processing block from the source side of the matrix and selecting the physical output from the destination side of the matrix.

In Figure 3 below, the processed output of the Level Magic Channel Strip - Stereo L and R is being routed to EMB1 and EMB 2 of the Slot 2: SDI embedded SDI output. Pressing the Link (New) button (C) will create the connection.

Figure 3 - Routing of a porcessed audio signals to audio channels of a physical output

Note - You may select multiple sequential sources by holding down the "Shift" key and then selecting the first and last sources. To select multiple non-sequential sources, hold down the "Control" key (Windows) or "Command" key (Mac), then select the desired sources. Note that each source can be simultaneously routed to multiple destinations, but not vice versa.

Useful Tools for Easy Routing

The Routing pane provides tools needed to make connections. They span from organizing the source and destination columns to several methods of creating connections (crosspoints).

On top of the Source column (A) you will find the symbols to expand and collapse the view of the audio channels that belong to sources. The symbol toggles the view of enabled sources (sources that have connected audio channels). The symbol toggles the view of the sources column. A Search field (B) will show only sources that include only the specified search criteria. The Destination column operates in the same manner.

If you have marked audio channels of a specific source (C), you can move them to the matrix by pressing the bluish arrow (D). This will prepare them to be assigned to their destinations.

The greenish center bar (F) indicates successful connections. Unrouted entries have no marks, while unsuccessful routes will be marked red. The icon (G) is a powerful tool used when highlighting one or multiple entries of the matrix and offers several options to manage the connections. You may Delete connection(s), Clear the source(s) and/or the destination(s) of existing connections, and Move sources or destinations up and down to other connections. The icon above the Destination column (K) toggles the view between unused and all destinations.

Grabbling the icon (H) on the left side of a highlighted connection allows you to move such connection up or down to organize the list to your taste.

Figure 4 - Routing tools