Skip to content *** An important note – Newer MacBooks that have the M1 chip CANNOT receive audio via the 1/8th inch headphone jack. Because of this, Computer B will need an audio interface to receive the SMPTE signal from Computer A
*** (you may want to mute speakers, headphones or disable autoplay
after download in iTunes before you download timecode. Timecode is
loud and can damage your ears!
On Computer A, import the SMPTE signal into your preferred DAW (This example is Ableton)
On Computer A, set audio output within the DAW to the connected audio interface (Universal Audio Apollo Twin in example)
Set which output for the track that contains the SMPTE (output 1 from Universal Audio Apollo Twin in example)
On Computer B, if a Mac, check the audio input in system preferences and make sure that the audio interface is connected and set to input (iRig USB in example)
Making sure the audio interface is plugged in, select the AUDIO DEVICES button and select the desired audio device (iRig USB in example)
Select the audio interface, the channel and the frame count. Auto means that HiWirePrompter will automatically calculate the FPS
– Click the SMPTE Signal button to start listening
Here is the display if everything works fine
If FPS auto was selected, Auto will appear in red the time required to calculated the effective rate, so up to 1 second. Then it displays the actual rate, e.g. 30.
As long as the white dot at the bottom keeps running, it means the signal is 100% healthy.
If the signal is way too weak or there is a problem with the setup:
If the signal is strong but not consistent, there could be yellow (1 or 2 invalid frames in a row) or red dots (more than 2 invalid frames in a row)
RECORDING THE TIMELINE
While listening to the SMPTE signal, make sure to select the next line in the list and click either Slow, Medium or Fast at the right time. This choice means at which speed the prompter will move to the line.
Once you clicked a speed, the current SMPTE time stamp is assigned to the selected line and the next non-empty line is automatically select.
It is possible to edit the time stamp and change the speed by clicking on it in the list.
If the stamp is orange, it means that there is not enough time since the previous line to move to that line at the selected speed. It will work fine but at a fastest speed.
A red stamp means that the line is set in time before the highest time so far.
PLAYBACK
Close the Timeline Window and simply click the Sync button. SONG MUST BE IN THE SETLIST WINDOW IN ORDER TO BE READ BY SMPTE.
Download the 3 Demo audio tracks provided and import them into a DAW of your choice. (ProTools, Ableton, Logic, etc).
Once you have the Active SMPTE Version of HiWirePrompter, download the sample HWP Library (and unzip it).
Each stereo track contains the SMPTE signal –
PANNED 100% LEFT and the audio reference track – PANNED 100% RIGHT.
For each song, create 2 audio tracks within your DAW and pan one 100% to the LEFT and the other 100% to the RIGHT.
For instance, there should be two identical tracks, exactly lined up – Track 1 will be panned LEFT and Track 2 panned RIGHT:
Using an audio interface, route the track PANNED LEFT (SMPTE signal) out of the interface and into the computer you will use to prompt.
You will not need to listen/monitor this signal.
The track which is panned 100% RIGHT will be used for your reference and should be routed for you to listen via the interface (monitor speakers, headphones).
Now that your SMPTE signal track and audio track are lined up and routed correctly, you may begin to record the timeline with the prompting computer and reference the song with the playback computer.
Aftermath.mp3
Don’t Let Them Take you Down.mp3
NY Lights.mp3
Long story short, Jesse suffered something called a “spinal stroke” (I never heard of it either) in 2023 and is currently on the long road to recovery. He is trying several types of treatments with varying degrees of success, but it is safe to say his medical bills are overwhelming.
Years ago when I asked if I could use his tracks and lyrics on the website to help customers test the softwares features he gave a quick “absolutely” without any mention of compensation and just hoped that it would help.
