TMC software continues to puzzle

[wm_b]

I replied to a pre-existing thread about this problem. . .
http://www.tascamforums.com/threads/tm-companion-not-working-dm4800-newbie.395/

and got a referral to this thread . . .
http://www.tascamforums.com/threads/migrating-to-windows7-tmc-sees-no-mixer.2241/

Both of these threads acknowledge my experience connecting my DM4800 to the computer that was previously connected to my DM3200 with full functionality. I get the splash screen and then nothing and the TMC service keeps running. I was never able to get anywhere with any of the advice.

Well, today I tried a few more things to get the DM4800 to work with TMC but had no luck. On a whim I decided to move the DM3200 close enough to reach a USB cable and see if it would still show up in TMC while the DM4800 was still connected. TMC launched fully and not only was the DM3200 available but so was the DM4800. I don't know why. I'm wondering what will happen if I disconnect the DM3200 while the TMC application is open and if now that it has successfully launched with the DM4800 connected if it will work from no on even without the DM3200. That would be handy. I don't necessarily have plans for the DM3200 so I guess I could use it as a crutch to launch the TMC software. Super excessive. And people think an ilok is bad, lol.

Cheers,

 

[cmaffia]

You made sure you're not in 3.0 USB port?

 

[wm_b]

Correct, it's in a USB 2 port, in fact it's the same cable used with my dm3200 before.

 

[cmaffia]

What's the status of your USB port in device manger.

 

[Rockum]

I couldn't get it to connect to my PC and just ended up connecting to a separate Mac even though the FireWire card is still connected to the PC. Kind of nice having the companion on a separate monitor.

 

[Rockum]

Oh and I send the MIDI back to the PC so I can use it as a DAW remote.

 

[cmaffia]

Then you're not using the remote layer?

 

[Rockum]

I use copperlan to give the PC access to all the Tascam MIDI ports. I did find however that for timecode I had to use a hardware MIDI in/out pair on both machines to get reliable transfer. The DM firewire in/out ports are paired with the main DM in/out ports as explained by Jasmire for remote layer.

 

[wm_b]

What's the status of your USB port in device manger.

Both mixers show up in device manager by name under the sound, video and game controllers. When I just had the DM4800 connected and it wasn't working the DM4800 was showing up the same way. Now both of them are in there.

 

[wm_b]

As an experiment I disabled the DM3200 in device manager although it remains connected and turned on. After a reboot I was able to launch TMC successfully. Later I'll try is without the DM3200 turned on.

 

[skier]

I also have a DM4800 and TMC works in my Win 7 machine as long as I start it first. If I start Pro Tools first, I receive the following error popup message:

"No compatible mixer was found.
There are MIDI ports already in use on this system.
Please check that the first USB-MIDI port for the mixer is not being held by another app.
TMC v1.51, Build 90372."

The foregoing strongly implies a USB conflict in that PT is grabbing a MIDI port that TMC needs.

 

[cmaffia]

Same here. With my 2 cascaded DM3200's, I can flip with the drop down between the 2 consoles while in Cubase provided that I load TMC prior to launching Cubase.

 

[wm_b]

I've always had to launch TMC first if I was going to use it.

Today I'll try to physically disconnect my dm3200 which I've disabled in Device Manager to see if the dm4800 will work with TMC.

 

[cmaffia]

Just make sure your settings in MIDI/USB settings in the DM are correct. If you inadvertently disconnected a USB connection in that setup menu it may be the cause of your issue. Not 100% sure but check anyway.

 

[wm_b]

Where are the midi/USB settings in the mixer?I don't remember ever seeing that menu.

 

[cmaffia]

ALT MIDI

 

[skier]

Just make sure your settings in MIDI/USB settings in the DM are correct. If you inadvertently disconnected a USB connection in that setup menu it may be the cause of your issue. Not 100% sure but check anyway.

In addition: Select USB:3 in TMC preferences for its transport window to display time code.

 

[WiscMusic]

I recently had problems with one of my DM4800 talking to TMC software on a FX8350 box. I followed all the things I could find to resolve the issue and finally just tried an EXTREMELY SLOW computer (i.e. NextBook running Windows10) which hooked up right off. It has not had connection problems each day I use it to talk to these two(2) DM4800. What this implies is... THat the TMC software may be expecting a response from the DM that runs on a loop timer rather than system clock. What this would then mean is that on faster machines the code needs other tasks to slow the loop down. Running other communications software, or DAWs, or the like may make the loop slow enough that the DM response timely. When I used the NextBook (which really could not be any slower) the TMC code if it has a loop timer had plenty of time to get the response and initiate communicates with the DM.

My suggestion is that if you are having trouble with TMC that you try an extremely slow PC or Mac before you chase down the rabbit hole. It certainly has worked for me.

 

[cmaffia]

@WiscMusic I'm not sure I agree. I've had no issues on fast or slow machines and I too cascade. Reading back on the thread, I still think the issue is isolated to a USB controller conflict on the machine that's having the problem.

 

[WiscMusic]

When you say machine do you mean the DM or PC ? If you mean DM, how would I troubleshoot that. Is there test/repair code for the DM available ? FYI, this is one DM with no Cascade at the time.