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eMotion LV1 Tutorial 2.1: Patch Window Overview

Mar 01, 2017 | 6,150 Views

Learn how to operate the basic functions of the Patch Window in the eMotion LV1 live mixing console in order to establish connections in your LV1 system.

Welcome to the patch bay. You are now entering the LV1’s ‘Grand Central Terminal’ or audio signal superhighway. This is the central audio connection area where all signals are routed to and from. All patches and configurations are savable, and fully-recallable for quick & easy, swap, switch, or recall.

The Patch Window the is where everything in an eMotion LV1 system connects to everything else in the system. It resembles a traditional analogue patch bay.

In this video you’ll learn what kinds of patches are available and how they are organized. Plus, you’ll learn the details of this window.

The Patch window connects between the mixer and assigned devices on the SoundGrid network. Plus, between these devices, and within the mixer. It also connects to mixer control groups. So the number of potential patches is very large.

To make patching manageable, sources and destinations are filtered according to the purpose of the desired patch. There are two levels of filters:

  • The Patch View Selector
  • Grid Filters

Use the Patch View Selector to establish a patching framework. This filter defines the correct category of channels or devices needed to make a patch.
There are five Patch Views:

  • Input – Patch between assigned I/O devices and mixer input channels.
  • Output – Patch channel direct outs and mix buss outs to any assigned I/O device.
  • Internal – Assign channels to Groups, Main Outs, and Matrix, as well Control Groups, such as Links and Mute Groups.
  • Device to Device – Patch between assigned devices anywhere on the SoundGrid network.
  • Delay – Assign I/Os to delay groups and set the delay of these groups.

Once you select a Patch View, use the Grid Filters to further refine your patch options. Each patch view has at least one Grid Filter button above and to the left of the patch grid. Use these to select specific sources and destinations that can be patched in that grid.

There are two types of channels displayed in the grid filters, depending on the patch view and the direction of the patch:

  • I/O devices and their channels
  • Mixer channels, Busses, and Control Groups

All I/O devices that have been assigned in the System Inventory page—hardware and software I/Os—are displayed on the filter frame, except in the Internal patch view.

Hardware and software I/Os are represented by icons in the horizontal or vertical grid filter bars, based on Patch View selection. Click on a device icon to display its channels.

Once you select a Patch View and a Grid Filter, the relevant channels are displayed in rows and columns. This is the Patch Grid, where all patches are made. Zoom in and out of the grid using these tools.

When the device icon is expanded, additional information is displayed:

  1. Add and manage your I/O devices
  2. Manage network ports, speed, and server preferences
  3. Assign and manage external control surface devices
  4. Configure sample rate
  5. Assign master/slave controls

If you’re using more devices than will fit in the window, use the scrolling arrows to navigate.

This arrow indicates the direction of the patch.

Mixer channels are shown in the left column. Only in the Device-to-Device Patch view are I/O channels shown here.

Input channels can be changed from mono to stereo by double-clicking on the M or L/R buttons.

To change a channel’s name, double-click on its Name field—and then type. The name is also displayed in the Mixer channel strips, and in the Top Bar name box.

A blue highlight identifies the selected channel.

In this video you’ve learned how the eMotion LV1 Patch window works, how it uses filters to organize patch options into meaningful categories, and how channel information is presented.

In the next lesson we’ll do some actual patching.

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