Re: [linux-audio-dev] VST System Link

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Subject: Re: [linux-audio-dev] VST System Link
From: Paul Davis (pbd_AT_Op.Net)
Date: Sat Jan 19 2002 - 00:39:56 EET


>I came across this article (hopefully this isn't old news for most of you)
>about the new Steinberg VST System Link and found myself quite excited about
>the possibilities (assuming it will work well).

i had mailed something to LAD about this last week, but it never
showed up.

>I know this is Windows/Mac stuff, but I can't help but think how incredible
>it would be to have a linux box be one (or more) of the nodes. It appears
>to just use the digital outputs of an ASIO capable device so there is no new
>hardware to buy either (assuming you have such a device and the OS to run
>it).
>
>I suspect that it is some proprietary streaming protocol they've come up
>with, but I'm not sure. I'm also not sure if Steinberg would be willing to
>release that spec. I'd suspect not.

i doubt it too. but i've been thinking about this since i read about
VST Link, and here's how i think they do it. they say that it requires
a single bit of a single audio channel per node. all that needs to
happen is to provide sample "clock" sync between nodes. so, you
designate a master node. every time the master node processes N
frames, it sets a bit in the "interconnect audio channel" for each
node that should advance N frames. something like that. the slave
nodes watch that channel (notice the possible limit on the number of
nodes - this hasn't been documented), and when their bit ticks, they
move forward in time.

however, this isn't enough to provide temporal sync to a transport
control, so its not clear to me how the "single bit" method can work
for this as well. after all, the method i outline above is really just
a crude word-clock system (low resolution).

i'll ask on vst-plugins if they intend to make the technology open.

>The point of this post is that I could see JACK doing a similiar thing with
>LADSPA plugins on multiple linux nodes.

Why JACK? JACK is not a LADSPA host.

--p


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