Luddite needs IT assistance......

Dick Rees

Dick Rees

Curmudgeonly Scandihoovian
Jan 11, 2011
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St Paul, MN
So I've decided to cut to the chase and go wireless to control a StudioLive. I've tried it with my PC, but it's just not stable enough to count on. I want to go Mac/Ipad and am trying to keep it as simple, compact and inexpensive as possible. What I'm wondering is this:

Can I use a MacMini at the board? Why or why not?

TIA for any assistance.
 
Re: Luddite needs IT assistance......

andrew gissing said:
This should be possible. Load the presonus software on the mac mini and use rowmote or other VNC software to connect to the mac mini.

Andrew
Click to expand...

IIRC there is a specific Presonus iPad app that connects to the Presonus program running on the computer - no need to remote desktop.

Dick, what is unstable about your PC setup?
 
Re: Luddite needs IT assistance......

Silas Pradetto said:
IIRC there is a specific Presonus iPad app that connects to the Presonus program running on the computer - no need to remote desktop.

Dick, what is unstable about your PC setup?
Click to expand...

The user!!!!!
 

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Re: Luddite needs IT assistance......

There is a specific ipad app yes. Never having used the presonus I assumed (perhaps wrongly) that Dick was experiencing the same sort of issues you can get with studio manager for the yamaha series; ie, you want a computer hardwired and then remote onto the computer.

Dick if you're not having that sort of issue, it would probably be cleaner to use the ipad app directly to the console or (not knowing the presonus) if there is no inbuilt wireless, to a wireless access point attached to console.
 
Re: Luddite needs IT assistance......

I'm currently using the StudioLive 16 channel, with a MacBook pro 13" and iPad 1st generation, and loving it. I use an Airport Express to create a private network at shows. Only major problems I have with dropouts using all my own gear I suspect are due to wireless gear, like mics and iem's. That an one time in an old hall with installed lighting - I suspect maybe the dimmer packs? A word of advice....be careful of which mac OS you're intending to use because anything before SnowLeopard will be obsolete soon....at least to be able to use upgrades to the mixer that Presonus has been releasing. If you search the Presonus Forum you should find other guys using the computer you're thinking of, sans display.... Regards, Greg
 
Re: Luddite needs IT assistance......

Hi Dick,
You can go headless with the Mac Mini, but you will need to set it up ahead of time to automatically launch the Universal Control application when it boots up, as the iPad app needs Universal Control to be running on the computer that is connected to the board via firewire. Therefore when doing this you will also need to ensure that the firewire cable is connected between the mixer and the Mac Mini BEFORE you turn on the Mac Mini.

Here is how to set up a program to launch at startup on OSX
http://osxdaily.com/2006/11/29/how-to-launch-application-on-system-start-in-mac-os-x/

Also, here's a video from Presonus that walks through the setup process.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1enkzuX-Z5A

Cheers
Jeff
 
Re: Luddite needs IT assistance......

Yeah, Dick - a separate router vs. an ad-hoc network makes things much more stable and only one WiFi link makes it that much better...
I'm using this
300 Mbps WiFi Router + 1-Port Switch – ZuniDigital : Smart Innovative Technology
Just gaff tape it to the top of the laptop.
Power it via the computer USB port, one foot ethernet cable between laptop and router, and WiFi to the IPad.
Laptop is still portable (as long as the firewire cable)
 
Re: Luddite needs IT assistance......

Dick Rees said:
So I've decided to cut to the chase and go wireless to control a StudioLive. I've tried it with my PC, but it's just not stable enough to count on. I want to go Mac/Ipad and am trying to keep it as simple, compact and inexpensive as possible. What I'm wondering is this:

Can I use a MacMini at the board? Why or why not?

TIA for any assistance.
Click to expand...

Dick,

I've got a studiolive 16.4.2 hooked up to a Mac Mini running 10.7 in just this manner at church. I use the mini headless (i.e. no display). I use Pocketcloud for VNC, and have ARP binding set up on the router so that it issues the same idea to each MAC address every time. That way I always know the IP address of the mini when I connect to it via iPad.

I wish the studiolive had native transport controls for capture available from the board. That would be great for this use case.
 
Re: Luddite needs IT assistance......

Jeff Babcock said:
Here is how to set up a program to launch at startup on OSX
How-to: Launch Application on System Start in Mac OS X
Click to expand...

To chime in on this point (and this is also mentioned in the comments of the thread you're referencing here, Jeff), the better way to ensure that a certain item starts at STARTUP (as opposed to at LOGON) is to use a cron '@startup' entry.

The good news, for any luddite whose eyes are glazing over, is that there's a great freeware utility named Cronnix which gives an easy GUI for managing cron on OS X. I can attest that it's rock-solid.

cronnix - OSX crontab editor - Google Project Hosting

best,
waldo
 
Re: Luddite needs IT assistance......

Good tips above.

In regards to a headless mini, if you plan on using Capture (recording software) or Studio Live (DAW) you will be better served having a head IMO.

To reapeat what others have said, the most important thing is a stable network.
 
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