Conference napalm::commusic_v1

    
    
      Yes I have looked through all the other EPS notes, Nothing
    
      Just in case somone was to ask.
    
      Traz
    

re: .0 and .1

    I have never seen anything to give any indication that the EPS's built-in
sequencer can sync to SMPTE without additional hardware/software.  I use a PPS-1
but sync to Master Tracks Pro on my Mac (which has documented ability to sync
to SMPTE) rather than the EPS's internal sequencer.  It could be that the EPS's
sequencer just wasn't designed with SMPTE in mind.

Sorry for the bleak outlook.

- John -

    
      Know problem.  Like I said I'm not sure it can either but there
    was that refrence to SMPTE Song Pointer on the Spec sheet.  and Jeff
    at Union the friend I mentioned before thought the EPS could, he could
    not help me but he thought it could.
    					Thanks for your input.  NEXT
    
      Tim
    

    What! *another* "Hastings" in COMMUSIC?
    Welcome aboard!
    
    	Mark

    
    	Yup another Hastings in COMMUSIC.  I guess we're gonna haf to have
      a show down.  Because this notes file aint big enuff fur the two of
      us.  At sunrise.  DON'T BE LATE!
    
        Thanks for the welcome.
    
        Back to the topic at hand.  I read the spec sheet and what it said
     about SMPTE is.  Midi song position pointers for use with SMPTE bark
     bark bark, bark bark.  It slipped my mind sorry.
    
       Tim or Traz
    

If the EPS supports MTC (Midi Time Code) then you can sync to SMPTE.

I almost went this way to sync video to CUBASE via the PPS1 (you open up the 
PPS1, flip a jumper and you're ready to either stripe/read FSK or 
stripe/read SMPTE - all explained in the manual). Doesn't your PPS1 have 
a "MTC Enabled" switch position ?  

Anyway, once this jumper is flipped, PPS1 uses a 30 frame/second SMPTE format
to stripe. It reads it back and converts to MTC.

The reason I didn't go with it was that the SMPTE rate used in Europe
is 25 frames/second. Got a MIDEX/Plus instead.

Zayed

    
      Yes the PPS-1 lets you switch between DTL or MTC.  I beleive DTL is
    the correct acronym. I'm hoping somone who has an EPS can tell me what
    functions must be turned on inorder for it to see SMPTE.  I know the
    basics, Clock source must be changed from INTERNAL to MIDI and that
    the midi cord needs to be plugged into the IN port.  Anything else?
    
     Traz
    

  I don't know of any inboard keyboard sequencers that actually sync to
  the SMPTE or FSK signal itself.  It would require a seperate input jack
  on the unit itself for the analog signal.  If this is not the case (and
  I don't recall my EPS having this feature) then you have to syncronize
  via MIDI, meaning that somewhere you must convert the signal to a time
  code that MIDI (and the sequencer) understand.  MIDI Time Code is such
  a time code, I believe it was developed by Mark of the Unicorn.  Their
  sequencer supports it, and their MIDI Time Piece will directly convert
  the SMPTE signal.  This is what we use for syncronizing our live MIDI
  music to our video.

  There are other time codes/variations of MIDI Time Code that some sequencers  
  support such as standard beat clocks and Direct Time Lock.  The latter
  is very nice, you can shuffle the video to any spot and within a second
  or so your sequence is syncronized perfectly with it.  I believe this is
  done via Song Position Pointer.  Basically this is an absolute translation
  of your SMPTE frame number to the current beat (resolution in ticks or ppq)
  in your sequence.  This is nice for adding sound effects to film, ie.

  SMPTE Frame #  01:23:15:06   (exact frame of fist contacting face)
  Sequence location 76|3|238   (exact tick (pulse) of sequence to trigger
				sample of knuckle-crunching jaw-breaking
				sound effect)


  Once again the signal itself must be converted.  Anyone know of any
  keyboard sequencers that do sync directly to SMPTE or FSK?

-TR

I agree with .8  If the EPS manual says the sync signal is coming into the MIDI
In port, then they are assuming you're going to sync to SMPTE with an external
box that decodes the taped "stripe" and sends it out its MIDI out port.

    At the surface this seems to be the same way I hook up Master Tracks Pro
on my Mac to the PPS-1.  If the EPS's MIDI IN port can be assigned to accept the
"Song Position Pointer" then it seems feasible that EPS can sync to SMPTE using
the PPS-1 as the "translator".  In case it helps, here's how I hook up my PPS-1
and sequencer:

	PPS-1 tape out	---->	track 8 tape in on tape deck
	PPS-1 tape in	---->	track 8 tape out on tape deck

	PPS-1 MIDI out	---->	Mac MIDI interface MIDI in

In this scenario, it seems that the EPS's MIDI In could be a direct substitute
for where I plug into my Mac/MIDI interface.

I've got a tape with PPS-1 SMPTE on it at home.  In the next few days, I'll try 
to get one of the "stock" EPS sequences to play along with it and report back.

Oh yes, one more thing.  On the PPS-1 that I have the SMPTE code starts dumping
at 30 minutes 00 seconds.  Pretty arbitrary but that's the way it is.  Perhaps
you have to tell the sequence that it starts at time 30:00.00 rather than the
more intuitive 00:00.00.  In Master Tracks Pro, there is a little menu that
lets you set the song "begin time", is there a similar setting on the EPS?

Hope this helps.  I'll try to report back soon on my experiments.

- John -

    The Ensoniq ESQ-1 and SQ-80 synch directly to FSK, they make use of the
    cassette port, which is also used for data dumps.  
    
    As far as I know, the EPS responds to MIDI clocks and MIDI song
    position pointer.  You would want the PPS-1 to spit this out to the EPS
    while it reads SMPTE off the tape.  I thought that was what that box
    was for.....????
    
    							Brian

    No, when the PPS-1 is reading SMPTE from the tape it outputs Midi Time
    Code, not beat clocks and SPP.
    
    Direct Time Lock is from Mark of the Unicorn.  They developed it before
    MTC was standardized.
    
    You don't need DTL to have the sequencer jump to match your tape
    machine.  Any sequencer that can follow MTC can do it too.  I do this
    all the time with Vision.  (Vision also allows you to set the MTC start
    offset so that it starts playing at 00:30:00.)

    
    
      Sorry to misslead, I'm new to the Midi field and sycronizers so
    I'm unaware of double meanings. I meant the sequencer synce to tape
    via the PPS-1, Midi.  It seems I'm doing the striping correctly but
    when I playback the EPS sequencer does not start.
    
     Traz

>>>    No, when the PPS-1 is reading SMPTE from the tape it outputs Midi Time
>>>    Code, not beat clocks and SPP.

    Oh yeah.  This would explain why Master Tracks Pro say "MTC" in the Sync
icon when it's in SMPTE mode.  Duhhhhh.  Can I claim that the cold weather has
affected my brain or should I use the "my daughter has chicken pox" excuse and
fade into the woodwork?  Now that the fog of the past 2 days is starting to
clear, I think I'll be able to try it out with my PPS-1 and EPS to see if I
can make some progress.

- John -

Try striping your tape with SMPTE from the PPS1 and then feed the track
directly to the EPS bypassing the PPS1. Provided your SMPTE "start time" 
is 30:00:00 (as in a previous note) the EPS should track the tape.

Zayed

    
    
      Okay I get the direct to EPS part.  I'm new at this so how
     do I acheive a start time of 30:00:00?  What does that mean?
     What does it affect?  What am I doing playing with SMPTE?
    
       Traz
    

>>>     Okay I get the direct to EPS part.    

    I'm not sure I get the direct part.  If one goes from tape to the EPS 
directly, where would I plug in the SMPTE signal?  The only audio in is the 
signal input for sampling.  When I looked in the EPS documentation last night,
I found no reference to using the audio in as a sync signal in.

>>> I'm new at this so how do I acheive a start time of 30:00:00?  What does 
>>> that mean?  What does it affect?  What am I doing playing with SMPTE?

    SMPTE time code encodes an absolute time (hours:minutes:seconds.frames, I 
think).  Thus, when you stripe a tape with SMPTE code, the stripe has a 
particular time associated with its start point.  It just so happens that the 
PPS-1 (at least the early model I have) writes out 30 minutes when you first
start the striping process and increments from there.  The purpose of this is to
be able to synchronize things (music, sound effects, etc.) with a particular
time in a piece (be it a movie, TV show, or a song).  I guess the reasons some 
of us have gone with SMPTE are (1) a standard with a known migration path from
simple sync to very complex sync and (2) you don't have to start the tape at the
beginning of a song in order to sync up.  You can start your tape (with the 
stripe on it) anywhere because it's ABSOLUTE time rather than RELATIVE time and
your sequencer can move to the proper place in the sequence and start playing.

    The potential bad news in terms of this PPS-1/EPS scenario is that I could
not find any mention of SMPTE sync (or MIDI Time Code) anywhere in the EPS 
manual last night.  The only setting I found related to sync was a sequencer 
menu choice that lets one toggle the clock source from internal to MIDI.  As I 
recall, the internal clock setting means that the EPS sequencer is generating 
the Master Clock signal for itself and other sequencers "down stream".  The 
MIDI setting seems to mean that the master clock is received as MIDI clocks at 
the EPS's MIDI In.  As someone mentioned yesterday, MIDI clocks are different 
from MIDI Time Code (which the PPS-1 sends out as it decodes the analog SMPTE 
signal).

    Seems to me that the mention of MIDI clocks coming in and the inability to
set a sequence "start time" (such as the needed 30:00.00) discounts the ability
of the EPS to sync with MIDI Time Code.  Sounds like a call to a dealer or to 
Ensoniq may be in store, however, since the documentation about this is pretty
sketchy.

Sorry this droned on for so long.

- John -

    
 

	I have a PPS-1 version 3.  It has a switch on it which lets me
	select DTL or MTC.  When I used FSK. During playback I would have
	the switch on MTC, worked fine.  The funny thing is even though
 	I was striping FSK I was able to start at any point in the song
	and have the EPS come in on time, until the other day when that
	did not happen.  So in refrencing "Midi clock notes are not the
	same as Midi Time Code",noter -1 Does your older PPS-1 have the
	ability to stripe SMPTE or FSK and does it have the above mentioned
	switch. If note what code if you will does it convert to, DTL or MTC
	or somthing else.

	I've been working with Jeff from Union and he's having trouble 
	figuring it out.  His belief is it should work.  One thing i'm
	going to try which he mentioned, is to let the stripe run about
	10 seconds before I hit the start button on the sequencer.  The studio
	Jeff works at does the very same thing even more than 10.  The thought
 	is to let the PPS-1 lock to the signal porperly.

	Last but not least.  I should have thought about the Direct to
 	tape deck option.  I was thinking there was know problem going
	from the mixer channel straight to the EPS. Ooops 1/4 inch plugs
	don't fit very well in a midi port.

	  Thanks everyone for the help your giving.  I've learned a few
	things from them.  Keep the ideas coming. I'll be doing more with
	it this weekend. The band and I are working a songs for the studio
	which does not leave me much time to investigate further.
	  My keyboardist don't like it either because its her board and
	she'd like to play it.

		Traz

>>> So in refrencing "Midi clock notes are not the same as Midi Time Code",
>>> noter -1 Does your older PPS-1 have the ability to stripe SMPTE or FSK and 
>>> does it have the above mentioned switch. If note what code if you will does
>>> it convert to, DTL or MTC or somthing else.

    I have an old PPS-1 (version 1 though it's just called PPS-1).  It allows
either FSK or SMPTE/Midi Time Code mode but there's no switch.  Out of the box,
it's in FSK mode.  To change it to SMPTE mode, you take the cover off the box
and move a small jumper from 1 set of pins to another.  I leave mine in SMPTE
mode all the time.  In this mode, the audio in/out expect/produce SMPTE time
code starting at time 30:00.00; the MIDI out port sends MIDI Time Code; I don't
use the MIDI in on the PPS-1 so I don't recall its purpose in SMPTE mode.  It 
sounds like the v3 model has the same functionality but added the switch to 
make opening the box unnecessary.

    Good luck in getting it to work.  If/when you get it figured out, please let
us know.  I'd like to try it on mine too to see if it works.

- John -

    
    
      Maybe were on to somthing here.  I use the midi in port when striping
    the tape. I connect the Midi out of my EPS to the Midi in of the PPS-1
    Then I take the audio out of the PPS-1 and plug into a channel on the
    mixing console.  Last I take the signal from the post send jack, on
    that channel and connect it to the 8th track input.  For playback I
    plug the 8th track into my mixer.  Take that signal from the post send
    into the PPS-1 audio in. Then from the PPS-1 Midi out to the EPS Midi in
    and switch the clock source from internal to midi.
    
      What is your settup Mr. Arnold ?
    
      Traz
     

    When striping with FSK, you need to be feeding your sequencer output
    to the PPS-1 so that it writes the correct tempos.
    
    When striping with SMPTE you do not need to feed anything to the PPS-1,
    as a SMPTE track contains nothing but absolute time codes.
    
    Another use for the Midi-in on the PPS-1 though is that anything you
    put in there during playback will come out the Midi-out merged with
    the timing information.  In FSK mode this works even if the PPS is not
    locked, but in SMPTE mode you have to have lock.  (At least that is how
    I interpret it - when I want to fool around with a controller without
    the tape moving I have to flip the PPS to FSK mode so it will pass the
    commands through.)

    
   "When striping with SMPTE you do not need to feed anything to the PPS-1,
    as a SMPTE track contains nothing but absolute time codes."
    
     I don't understand your meaning.  Even though it records absolute time
    codes how will the sequencer, such as in an EPS, no when to start or
    stop.  I was under the assumtion. When stiping the tape pressing 
    the start,stop or continue button marked that part of the tape as such.
     Please elaborate how the sequence would know when to start,stop or
    continue.
    
     A new discovery. I can stripe with SMPTE and have the EPS sync off DTL.
    However it acts like a continue command, kind of usless. But if
    you had good timing you could start the stripe while record live.
     It looks like I'm going to need an external squencer to run both the
    R8 and EPS.  Are squencers and syncronizers the same?  because the R8
    has a sync port.  Any recommendations in external sequencers / 
    syncronizers.
    
     Maybe I'm giving up to early. But I feel I've done enough hacking to
    say its not going to work.  I thank you all for your input.  If there is
    more to say please do, I'll be more than happy to try knew ideas.
    
      Traz
    

    SMPTE just records time.  Nothing else.  No start, no stop, no nothing.
    Just a bunch of signals that say, in effect,
    
    "It is now 0 hours, 30 minutes, 15 seconds, and 0 frames into the tape."
    "It is now 0 hours, 30 minutes, 15 seconds, and 4 frames into the tape."
    "It is now 0 hours, 30 minutes, 15 seconds, and 8 frames into the tape."
    
    The sequencer has to know what time it should start.  That information
    is stored as part of the sequence.  If your sequencer does not have a
    way to tell it this, then it very likely does not support MTC sync.
    
    A sequencer is not a synchronizer.  A synchronizer is a device that
    controls a tape transport so that the playback of a SMPTE track on the
    tape exactly matches time code coming from some other SMPTE source.

    
    
     Okay I just got off the phone with Jeff.  Yes its true the EPS
    cannot understand SMPTE directly, thus the PPS-1. The PPS-1 converts
    SMPTE into Song Position Pointers which the EPS can understand.  What
    it has boiled down to is. Either the Cooper box is broke or the EPS
    is broke.  Thanks for all your help I will let you know the outcome
    when I've had the two looked at.
    
      Traz
    

Sorry this is late in getting posted.  I'm settling into the land of Unix and 
am behind in my noting.

A while back, you asked about my setup.  From memory, it is the following:

	Mac MIDI interface in ============== PPS-1 MIDI out

	Tape deck track input -------------- PPS-1 sync (audio) out
	Tape deck track output ------------- PPS-1 sync (audio) in

	where === is a MIDI cable and --- are regular audio cables.

Whenever I switch the PPS-1 into "stripe" mode, the box starts sending the 
warbling SMPTE code out the sync out.  When I switch back to "sync" mode and 
start the tape deck, the PPS-1 reads the warbling SMPTE code from its sync in,
translates it to MIDI Time Code, and sends that MIDI Time Code out the MIDI out.
This last bit is where I get confused by the .-1 reply...
    
>>>    Okay I just got off the phone with Jeff.  Yes its true the EPS
>>>    cannot understand SMPTE directly, thus the PPS-1. The PPS-1 converts
>>>    SMPTE into Song Position Pointers which the EPS can understand.  What
>>>    it has boiled down to is. Either the Cooper box is broke or the EPS
>>>    is broke.  Thanks for all your help I will let you know the outcome
>>>    when I've had the two looked at.

    My belief is that, in SMPTE mode, the PPS-1 sends out MIDI Time Code.  
(In FSK mode, I think it sends out Song Position Pointer.)  It is also my
understanding that the EPS's sequencer can decipher SPP but NOT MIDI Time Code.
(This would explain why the PPS-1 works in FSK mode but not SMPTE mode.)

    For your sake, I hope I'm wrong.  Before plunking down money to have your 
equipment looked at, I'd take the PPS-1 with manual (where I think it's clear 
the SMPTE mode puts out MTC, not SPP) to Union and ask them to get it work on 
their EPS.  If you/they have a MIDIscope type program, you could also look at
the output of the PPS-1's MIDI out in both FSK and MTC mode to see of they are
the same.  That would solve the SPP/MTC debate once and for all.

Hope this helps.

- John -

	Funny thing, I went back into my studio and tried it. I'm running
	V2.4. Looked in the implementation chart, see an O where is says
	"SPP Transmitted", but an X where it sez "SPP RECEIVED".

	Lo and Behold, it doesn't work for me either. I know my sync box
	puts out SPP since Dr. T's listens and accepts it. But sequences
	loaded in the EPS always start at the beginning.

	Just wondering...

	/pjh

    
      I'm going down this Saturday to have at it with Jeff.  I'll post
    results on Monday.
    
      What operating system for the EPS supports SPP, I'm using V3.5.
    
    Traz

    
    
     What was found.  The Cooper box "does not" translate SMPTE code into
    somthing the EPS can understand.  What it does have is SMART FSK and
    for what I'm using it for it will work fine.
    
     The problem lies with which machine I use to lay the FSK.  It seems
    the internal clock on my HR16 varies from the EPS.  I've been laying
    FSK with the HR16 then running the EPS and the EPS would end up behind.
    
     Refrencing note -2, What operating system supports SPP. If you look at
    the spec. sheet in the Musicains manual under MIDI. Midi Song Position
    Pointers for use with SMPTE auto locators.  I guess that has nothing to
    do with sync tracks.
    
      Thank you all for you help.  I hope this note helps others.
    
    Traz
    

    
      Figured out the problem.  I had the EPS sequence countoff turned
    on.  So there is no problem to which machine I use to lay FSK.
    
    Traz
    

    
    Gotta watch out.  Ensoniq sequencers start sending clocks out during
    the countoff period.  Some other sequencers don't.
    
    							Brian

    Stumbled across this old note.
    
    In .27:
    
    > What was found.  The Cooper box "does not" translate SMPTE code into
    >somthing the EPS can understand.  What it does have is SMART FSK and
    >for what I'm using it for it will work fine.
    
    Now, this is interesting.  The MC50 also claims to use "smart FSK" on
    it's sync i/o.  This is apparently a feature that's been included in
    the MC50 specifically to support video work in that it allows you to
    sync with any part of the smart-FSK stripe.
    
    Question is, does anyone know if "smart FSK" has anything to do with
    SMPTE striping when done on the audio band (versus striping done on the
    video band)?  I would assume that what we otherwise have are two
    standards with overlapping features.  That is, SMPTE tells you position
    in terms of frames and "smart FSK" tells you position in terms of MIDI
    clocks.  No?
    
    Steve

    >SMPTE tells you position in terms of frames and "smart FSK" tells 
    >you position in terms of MIDI clocks.  No?
    
    Kind of.. it may seem like picking nits but there is NO 'position' 
    or tempo info at all with SMPTE.. you tell your sequencer when to 
    start/stop according to frame.. your sequencer also has to maintain
    its own tempo map (or download it into the sync unit- booo) for each 
    piece.  The tempo map is therefore disconnected from the striped signal
    and can be changed within the sequencer.
    
    Smart FSK has some advantages in that it tells the sequencer when to
    start and stop AND/BUT it contains (*unchangeable*) tempo info, and 
    sends SPP info to the sequencer which if it's so equipped will shuttle 
    to that place in the composition.  Not merely MIDI Clock, which is what
    'old' FSK did.
    
    >Question is, does anyone know if "smart FSK" has anything to do with
    >SMPTE striping when done on the audio band (versus striping done on the
    >video band)?  
    
    Different issues.  Two flavors of SMPTE, VTC. vertical time code, done
    in the interstices in the video frame, and LTC, what you and I might
    use, Longitudinal Time Code, converted to audio.. the only similarity
    is that LTC SMPTE and Smart FSK are recorded on audio tracks.  There's
    a lot of info on sync schemes and devices in an early 400-era topic
    with the name 'Syncing' in the title.
    
    >... "smart FSK" is apparently a feature that's been included in
    >the MC50 specifically to support video work in that it allows you to
    >sync with any part of the smart-FSK stripe.
    
    I doubt it.  The only video application for smart FSK is if it were
    recorded on a spare AUDIO track, like the SAP track, on a videotape.
    And I bet the audio quality of that track is too poor to carry the
    -3DB signal at a usable level.  We're talking below cassette speeds 
    with no noise reduction.
    
    karl

    Oooh.  You're right.  I forgot about the slow speed of a VCR tape on an
    audio channel.  I'll have to try out my lo-fi VCR with the MC50 to see
    if that combo works.  Otherwise, looks like if I wanna do video work
    I'll have to spring for something that does "real" SMPTE.  Is it
    correct that the PPS-1 does "real" SMPTE (even on an audio channel) or
    does it fake it and do smart FSK?  That was a bit unclear to me here.
    
    The real issue is that of working on a soundtrack for film or video
    at home with cheap equipment (lo-fi VCR and so forth).  I hope it's
    possible/feasible to have conversion done between SMPTE formats (say,
    between audio and video SMPTE striping) in an expensive studio so 
    that I can spend the long hours at home working with cheaper
    equipment.  What's the best (cheapest?) box for doing this kind of work?
    
    Steve

    Video Time Piece from MOTU supports all VTC formats, sends MTC (MIDI
    Time Code) or DTLe (Direct Time Lock/enhanced) to your sequencer.  It
    may also do SPP.. get some literature.  Dunno about 'cheapest'.
    
    karl

    Hmmm.  Thanks!  I'll have to check that out ...
    
    Steve

>>    I'll have to spring for something that does "real" SMPTE.  Is it
>>    correct that the PPS-1 does "real" SMPTE (even on an audio channel) or
>>    does it fake it and do smart FSK?  That was a bit unclear to me here.

   The PPS-1 has a mode that allows you to have it generate/read 30 frame-per-second
non-drop-frame SMPTE to/from an audio track.  I have never used my PPS-1 in `smart
FSK' mode but always use it in SMPTE mode.  With this, I have been able to sync
Master Tracks Pro (on Mac) to the SMPTE track on my 8-track.  The only consideration 
is that you have to remember that the tape is the controller and the sequencer is
the follower.

 re: your other question of whether formats can be converted...

   I assume that formats can be converted from one to another.  One thing I'd worry 
about (and maybe someone else has the answers):

	If you use an audio track on a multi-track for SMPTE master and then want
	to sync to video, you may need to have the video follow the audio SMPTE
	master.

	If you want to have some different format of video SMPTE become the
	controller, how does your audio know how to follow that SMPTE?  If your
	audio master tape can't be played on a machine that can follow SMPTE, you
	could be in trouble.  (I doubt that many of us here have tape decks that
	can be `slaved' to things like the Tascam MIDIizer.)  Of course, if you
	never put any audio on tape, this may not be a problem.

  re: cheapest...

    I'm not sure exactly what you meant by best/cheapest box for this kind of work.
For my needs (not having ventured into the video realm), the PPS-1 continues to suit
me for simple synchronization.  I got my PPS-1 from a dealer in Western Mass. who 
just couldn't move the thing.  (It had been superceded by the PPS-1 that has a slide
switch for switching from smart FSK to SMPTE mode.)  At a `clearance sale', I offered 
$25 for it and we compromised at $35.  Definitely worth that!

   I find the limitations I face with it having more to do with my lack of an audio 
tape recorder or video tape recorder that can be a SMPTE follower.  Thus, I can sync
my sequencer to SMPTE but NOT my VCR.  If I used an audio track of my VCR as the
SMPTE master, I think I could sync my sequencer to that but I'm not positive.

Hope this helps,

- John -

    $35!?! oooh ... <thud>
    
    I'll be doing some time at the studio in a coupla weeks.
    Now I at least have more info for asking questions.
    Thanks!
    
    Steve

    FOSTEX offers a complete line of open-reel tape decks that will lock 
    to SMPTE coming in from elsewhere, usually video.  Top of the line 
    pro video decks transports can also lock to SMPTE during record and
    playback thus allowing video mixing in a video studio.
    
    Re converting from one AUDIO sync format to another; I've written an
    article, soon to appear in EQ Magazine, about an automated method of 
    converting 'old' FSK synced pieces (tape>sequencer) to SMPTE.
    
    karl
    p.s. John, you must be using DECwindows Notes - your window is more 
    than 80 columns wide and thus truncates with the little diamonds...