18R2 and SMPTE - Do I still have Stereo Sound?

[SystemXpert]

I have a question. I have the 18R2 controller with the SMPTE option installed. If I use Cobra show creator along with the sound card, the soundtrack plays through the left channel and the time code feed goes through the right channel to the 18R2. Does this mean I am only getting mono or half the Stereo channel if I use Cobra Show creator to fire my show? Should I use a Y splitter on the left channel to send audio to both channels of the sound system I plan to use in a show?

[bigmike06]

I have a question. I have the 18R2 controller with the SMPTE option installed. If I use Cobra show creator along with the sound card, the soundtrack plays through the left channel and the time code feed goes through the right channel to the 18R2. Does this mean I am only getting mono or half the Stereo channel if I use Cobra Show creator to fire my show? Should I use a Y splitter on the left channel to send audio to both channels of the sound system I plan to use in a show?


Is stereo really necessary? Most people including myself only use mono anyway, time code or not. To run true stereo you have to wire from the sound board to each speaker individually. You can't daisy chain the speakers together.

In audacity after loading you music merge it to mono, that way any sounds that are only on right channel in the music track will not be lost. Then before exporting on the track, slide the L-R slider all the way to the Left on music track, and the time code track all the way to the Right.

P.S. I don't know your knowledge level, so take what you need disregard the rest. :cool:

[WithReport]

What @bigmike06 said is correct, but if you wanted to have stereo, you would need more than two channels of audio - most setups just have two channels, left and right, and one needs to be dedicated for timecode.

This is fairly well detailed out in all the diagrams on the cobra website: https://www.cobrafiringsystems.com/smpte


While I think if you purchased CSC it will handle most of this, if you are interested in combining audio tracks in Audacity, controlling different segments with audio files and playing on just about any audio player, or just getting a better understanding of timecode, I have some videos that run through a hypothetical show with some small song files. I go through combining multiple songs into one track, adding timecode, and then splitting up the track into separate files for each song so that you can individually control each song and associated script with each file played on just about any audio device. I created these videos last year and used my fireTEK devices, but the concept of timecode is not unique to the system and wholly applicable to Cobra, too (I've recently updated my 18R2 to TC, too. I could synchronize both fireTEK and the 18R2 with similar TC files). This was part of a series of videos on ways to setup and control a show so there are some references to other videos.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOTPZ6r8EdU

On the above video, which is lengthy, there are chapters and the following might be most interesting for you or someone interested in TC. There are quicker ways to accomplish some of this, but I wanted to go through detail so people got a better understanding of what is going on with timecode.

2:17 Starting in Audacity and loading songs
6:25 Adding Timecode File to Audacity
8:04 Exporting audio track into single audio file without timecode
18:27 Mixing mono track in Audacity and adding timecode
19:03 Cutting master track down to 3 separate files.
24:35 Summary of files
27:56 Demonstration



The following video is just focused on adding TC in Audacity: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhCK27PgPwA

[SystemXpert]

Is stereo really necessary? Most people including myself only use mono anyway, time code or not. To run true stereo you have to wire from the sound board to each speaker individually. You can't daisy chain the speakers together.

In audacity after loading you music merge it to mono, that way any sounds that are only on right channel in the music track will not be lost. Then before exporting on the track, slide the L-R slider all the way to the Left on music track, and the time code track all the way to the Right.

P.S. I don't know your knowledge level, so take what you need disregard the rest. :cool:

Good Point...there is really no reason to attempt Stereo outside in a show setting. I did in fact use audacity, but I forget to merge to mono before exporting to a single sound file. Thank you for the advice!

[SystemXpert]

What @bigmike06 said is correct, but if you wanted to have stereo, you would need more than two channels of audio - most setups just have two channels, left and right, and one needs to be dedicated for timecode.

This is fairly well detailed out in all the diagrams on the cobra website: https://www.cobrafiringsystems.com/smpte


While I think if you purchased CSC it will handle most of this, if you are interested in combining audio tracks in Audacity, controlling different segments with audio files and playing on just about any audio player, or just getting a better understanding of timecode, I have some videos that run through a hypothetical show with some small song files. I go through combining multiple songs into one track, adding timecode, and then splitting up the track into separate files for each song so that you can individually control each song and associated script with each file played on just about any audio device. I created these videos last year and used my fireTEK devices, but the concept of timecode is not unique to the system and wholly applicable to Cobra, too (I've recently updated my 18R2 to TC, too. I could synchronize both fireTEK and the 18R2 with similar TC files). This was part of a series of videos on ways to setup and control a show so there are some references to other videos.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOTPZ6r8EdU

On the above video, which is lengthy, there are chapters and the following might be most interesting for you or someone interested in TC. There are quicker ways to accomplish some of this, but I wanted to go through detail so people got a better understanding of what is going on with timecode.

2:17 Starting in Audacity and loading songs
6:25 Adding Timecode File to Audacity
8:04 Exporting audio track into single audio file without timecode
18:27 Mixing mono track in Audacity and adding timecode
19:03 Cutting master track down to 3 separate files.
24:35 Summary of files
27:56 Demonstration



The following video is just focused on adding TC in Audacity: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhCK27PgPwA

Thank you for the information. I am going to watch the video and see what changes I need to make.

[ssmith512]

No need to do anything special with the audio file in Audacity - if you dont want to. Upload the stereo track to CSC as you normally would. When you use CSC interface to add the timecode, CSC converts your stereo file to a combined mono track on the left channel, timecode on the right channel. Left channel output is plugged into your mixer or amp or speaker. Sounds just fine. Keep in mind you are outdoors with a bunch of really loud fireworks going off, which is a completely different environment than a music hall or orchestral auditorium. :-)

[Scotty Rockets]

You can only get mono when using smpte because of the way stereo smpte works... it puts both the left and right audio track onto one channel and then adds the smpte time code (fax machine beeps) onto the other channel. You likely will get a very slight bleed through of the smpte beeps into your audio track playback, this is a problem with stereo time code.

[Scotty Rockets]

I think you loose some fidelity when merging left and right into mono. Is it proven I don’t know, but it’s my concern and I’m no longer using time code for other reasons. It’s a great option if you are going to run multiple fire system brands in sync. The most recent use of multi brand systems was a few years ago when Cobra smpte was still in beta, along side Starfire at WWB.