Timecode Out: LTC, MTC, Art-Net, TCNet
3 min readProtocols
Send the show clock to desks, media servers and playback in every edition: LTC on an audio output, MTC on a MIDI port, Art-Net timecode and TCNet.
Every Edition Sends Timecode
DJ, Theatre and Production all send the show clock, on four outputs:
| Output | Carries it on | Set it up in |
|---|---|---|
| LTC | An audio output | Settings → Timecode — choose the audio device |
| MTC | A MIDI port | Settings → Timecode — choose the port; Additional MTC Devices sends the same stream to more ports |
| Art-Net timecode | The network | Settings → Timecode — a host, broadcast by default |
| TCNet | The network | Settings → Timecode → TCNet |
Switch each one on in Output Routing: under Settings → Timecode in every edition, and on the Timecode screen (Connect group, ⌘ 0) in Theatre and Production. Every row shows its own state — LIVE, IDLE, NO DEVICE, OFFLINE, or SUSPENDED with a Reset button — and the header counts how many routes are live, the quick check before doors.
The frame rate is set on the Timecode screen: 23.976, 24, 25, 29.97 non-drop, 29.97 drop-frame, 30, and 48, 50, 59.94 and 60. MTC and LTC cannot carry the rates above 30, and CueSync warns when one is chosen with those outputs on.
Where the Clock Comes From
- A Theatre or Production show that is the Master (the TC role chip in the Show Editor) is the clock: its audio playhead, or CueSync's own generator when the show has no audio. Run Mode's TC OUT chip says whether it is being sent.
- The Timecode screen's generator has four modes: INT free-runs from a start position, JAM runs freely and re-locks to an input when it drifts, RELAY passes an input through frame for frame, and CHASE follows it with a fixed offset for gear that needs a delayed copy.
- A CDJ's own clock, in DJ and Production: a protocol row in Output Routing (a grandMA2 or grandMA3 timecode slot, for instance) has a Clock menu that can carry Deck 1 to Deck 6, that deck's own track time, or Deck N · set, a set clock that never runs backwards when the next track loads. Rows can carry different decks at once, so two desks can each follow a different CDJ.
Which System Takes Which
| System | Takes the clock as |
|---|---|
| grandMA3 | Art-Net timecode, MTC or LTC, or a grandMA3 output that runs one of the desk's own timecode slots |
| ETC Eos, ChamSys MagicQ, Avolites | LTC or MTC |
| QLab | MTC or LTC |
| disguise | LTC or MTC |
| TouchDesigner | Its own timecode row in Output Routing |
| Unreal Engine | The paired CueSync for Unreal plugin, which follows the show clock |
Rehearsals and Holds
DRY, Hold TC and a panic blackout park the outputs: MTC, LTC, Art-Net timecode and TCNet stop on the frame they were on, so a desk chasing CueSync reads a stopped clock and fires nothing. Release, and they carry on from the live position. Stopping the timecode output while a show is live takes a second press, because every desk chasing CueSync stops with it.
Run a whole act against each desk in rehearsal and read its clock against CueSync's before you rely on the route.
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