TL;DR I’ve you’ve ever wanted to make a redundant recording of an Avid S3L (i.e., record on two computers simultaneously), then I’ve got the video for you.
I’ve played around quite a bit with the S3L and found that it has capabilities beyond those mentioned by Avid. Specifically, the AVB protocol allows for much more, but for simplicity sake, the S3L does not expose anything other than that which is needed to meet common customer needs.
One common need that isn’t addressed though is making a redundant recording, like when one is recording a live performance and wants to insure against a computer crashing or something. As this requires extra hardware, it isn’t something supported “by default”, but with the purchase of an AVB Switch (e.g., the PreSonus SW5E, or the Netgear GS724Tv4 with additional AVB license), this becomes easily possible.
Please watch the video, and let me know in the comments what you think, and what other kinds of videos like this you might like to see.
Kate, thanks again for the work you have been doing regarding the S3L.
I tried testing this with a Netgear GS724Tv4 switch with EAV license using the info on your website. I cannot get audio to flow consistently to even a single computer through the switch. Pro Tools audio keeps dropping out and in the VenueSW under devices Pro Tools comes and goes. I am on a new version of switch firmware than you tested (6.3.1.34), but I am pretty sure that is the only difference. I have tried an MBP16 laptop with Catalina and PT 2020.12 and my older 17″ that is running PT 11.3.1 on top of El Capitan. Both systems work well in a direct connection.
Any suggestions? Feel free to email me offline.
Another question, as I mentioned in YouTube comment, I am interested in this not so much for redundancy, but having one system record and another running LiveProfessor for plug-ins. I have enough unused channels to double patch (Direct out to AVB ch on real input then back in via another channel). I want to use AVB since it would be a free solution (as opposed to buying a more robust USB interface) and the HW inserts are so limited. It works well enough, but I would like to keep my VSC on a separate computer. Have you been able to get two computers to work as input sources? I would like to have the VSC machine still work as a playback source while using the other for plugins/mixing. This may be a limitation of the VenueSW.
Thanks,
Scott
Hi Scott, I’m sorry that I’m just now replying. I didn’t get a notification of the comment so I hadn’t seen it yet. I’ll email you offline to see what we can figure out with your Netgear.
Regarding the plug-ins, I’d suggest starting by watching my next video https://youtu.be/9bkhsHlYF_g (which I just uploaded today) which covers connecting third-party AVB devices to the Avid S3L. It may help you out quite a bit.