USB Audio

Site: QSC
Course: Q-SYS Level 1 Training
Book: USB Audio
Printed by: Guest user
Date: Monday, 6 May 2024, 8:43 AM

Description

Video Transcript

0:08
"Bring Your Own Device" functionality is a must-have in today’s meeting
0:13
and USB audio is a huge part of this equation for the Q-SYS platform.
0:16
It lets the user quickly interface their own laptop and other devices with the room’s systems for presenting,
0:23
teleconferencing and more. The Core 110f, for instance, features a Type B USB connection that
0:30
lets you simultaneously stream up to 16 channels of USB audio in and 16 channels out to a single device.
0:38
To enable this ability, go to the Core’s properties panel and change the USB Endpoint Count from 0 to 1.
0:46
This creates input and output components that you can drag into your Schematic that will either receive
0:52
or send audio across the USB connection.
0:55
Your PC and any appropriate applications should see a new device called "Q-SYS CORE 110f"
1:02
with a connection label based on your settings.
1:05
You can actually have up to 4 different Endpoints running across this USB connection
1:09
for use by different programs, but most users will probably only need one or two.
1:14
One common use for this connection would be for teleconferencing.
1:18
You could run the audio of a PC program such as Skype or Lync to the Core to play your telephone call
1:24
over a conference room’s high quality loudspeakers, and use the Core to process
1:29
the conference room’s microphones before sending them back to the PC.
1:33
Basically you’d be turning your Q-SYS system into an external echo-canceling speakerphone for your laptop.
1:39
In fact, if you have this USB Endpoint’s type configured as a "Speakerphone,"
1:46
then this USB connection will be identified as a Speakerphone by your conference application.
1:51
If you select it in the PC audio configuration menu as the "Default Communications Device",
1:57
you’ll connect quickly and automatically.
1:59
Since this type of telephone audio will be in mono,
2:02
you’ll notice that the components only have one input pin and one output pin.
2:07
You’ll want to use an Acoustic Echo Canceler to process the audio of this conference call.
2:12
For an example of a simple AEC setup,
2:15
check out our Training Quickstart video on the Acoustic Echo Canceler.
2:20
The other type of connection is called "Soundcard".
2:24
In this example, the PC will identify the USB Endpoint as a Line Out or Aux In channel.
2:31
By default this will provide you with 2 channels for a stereo connection.
2:35
You can increase the number of channels up to 8,
2:38
but be aware that Windows has a limitation that prevents it from handling more than two channels.
2:44
Fortunately you can correct this by installing a universal ASIO driver.
2:49
You can find these drivers for free online, such as this website, www.asio4all.com.
2:56
You could also change the Soundcard’s Input Mode from Line to Speaker.
3:01
You would use this option if your room has, let’s say, a PC with a blu-ray player connected to the Core via USB.
3:08
If you selected "speaker" the Core’s USB connection will self-identify as a speaker output from your PC.
3:15
This allows you to specify a stereo, quadrophonic, 5.1 or 7.1 system
3:21
so that the PC will appropriately deliver surround sound audio across the USB channels.
3:27
In this mode, the USB output in Q-SYS will be seen as a USB Line In to the computer.
3:34
The most important thing to keep in mind when configuring your USB connections
3:38
is that the USB Input in Q-SYS is the Output for the PC,
3:44
and the Output component in Q-SYS will be an Input to the PC. Just remember that the
3:49
terms "Input" and "Output" in Q-SYS are from the Core’s point of view, and you’ll be fine.
3:54
Thanks for watching, and we’ll see you next time.

Lesson Description

This module will show you how to configure USB devices so that they can be used in Q-SYS as an audio input or output.

Tips and Definitions

  • A USB device can be configured as a speakerphone or as a soundcard.
  • Windows devices will need a universal ASIO driver to play more then 2 channels out of a soundcard.