Ultralite AVB

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bluebell
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Re: Ultralite AVB

Post by bluebell »

baptiste wrote:
bluebell wrote: I am running "MOTU AVB 1.3.4+558" for UltraLite AVB and Stage-B16.update" that a nice person gave me, that's a beta version and includes the touch console. It doesn't fix the modulo-8-jumping ofthe input channels when changing jackd's bufsize on the fly but it seems to be as stable as "MOTU AVB 1.3.2+520 for UltraLite AVB and Stage-B16.update".

If you want to try it drop me a note.
Interestingly, my Ultralite AVB runs with this 1.3.4+558 since yesterday and i did not witness any channel hopping nor any progressive decimation. So far so good !
Change the buffer size on the fly (jack_bufsize XXX) and try to record the source that goes to "To Computer 1". You'll find it at 9 or 17.

Linux – MOTU UltraLite AVB – Qtractor – http://suedwestlicht.saar.de/

redplastic
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Re: Ultralite AVB

Post by redplastic »

bluebell wrote:
redplastic wrote:
bluebell wrote:
When using Ethernet then you have to know the ip-Adress of the interface. Your router can tell you the address and most routers allow setting a fixed address when you enter the mac address of the device.

If you simply plug the interface with a cable into your PC then you have tu run a dhcp service on your PC.
Yeah, thank you!
It works quite well with latency around 3ms and the old driver (2017). Great conversion, very clean mic pres. I'll add an Audient ASP800 as soon as possible, I'll let you know how it works!
I am running "MOTU AVB 1.3.4+558" for UltraLite AVB and Stage-B16.update" that a nice person gave me, that's a beta version and includes the touch console. It doesn't fix the modulo-8-jumping ofthe input channels when changing jackd's bufsize on the fly but it seems to be as stable as "MOTU AVB 1.3.2+520 for UltraLite AVB and Stage-B16.update".

If you want to try it drop me a note.
I'm sorry, I think I saw the private message too late, I can't find the .update
redplastic
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Re: Ultralite AVB

Post by redplastic »

redplastic wrote:
bluebell wrote:
redplastic wrote:
Yeah, thank you!
It works quite well with latency around 3ms and the old driver (2017). Great conversion, very clean mic pres. I'll add an Audient ASP800 as soon as possible, I'll let you know how it works!
I am running "MOTU AVB 1.3.4+558" for UltraLite AVB and Stage-B16.update" that a nice person gave me, that's a beta version and includes the touch console. It doesn't fix the modulo-8-jumping ofthe input channels when changing jackd's bufsize on the fly but it seems to be as stable as "MOTU AVB 1.3.2+520 for UltraLite AVB and Stage-B16.update".

If you want to try it drop me a note.
I'm sorry, I think I saw the private message too late, I can't find the .update
Ok I've tried but it doesn't work and I can't install it on the 828es...thank you, we've tried...
tkcomposer
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Re: Ultralite AVB

Post by tkcomposer »

HI all,

I got MOTU UltraLite AVB a few weeks ago and went through some very frustrating experiences; I'm planning to return the unit. Hopefully this information will help somebody else make their decision.

Right out of the box, my unit has the channel hopping problem (therefore LTC doesn't work for this reason).

Following this thread, I thought I could just revert my firmware to 1.3.2+520, or request for 1.3.4+558 and flash it, and have a smooth USB experience. However, I got this error message when I tried to flash 1.3.2+520.
Error message received from server: This update applies to ULTRALITE AVB and STAGE-B16. Please select an update that applies to your ULTRALITE AVB ES. (Code 403)
MOTU support informed me this:
Motu has recently updated the hardware (and DAC convertors) of the UltraLite AVB. Unfortunately, this means that older firmware versions cannot be installed on newer models.
and offered the older model for exchange. I asked whether the older model will keep getting new firmware support, and whether the new model's sound quality is better or the same, and they stopped responding. (It's not even Linux questions!)

I've been a long time MOTU fan (on Windows and Mac) since the late 90s. I even had a very good Linux experience with MOTU 8M (old firmware) (integrated into a streaming service); that's why I bought UltraLite AVB. However, it looks like the honeymoon period of MOTU+Linux has passed.

I understand I can go with drumfix's network AVB route (and settle on 8 channels instead of 24) -- btw great job -- but this makes the setup not very portable for me (compared to a pure USB solution).

Anyway, if you are on the fence about buying MOTU UltraLite AVB for linux, know that the unit you will be getting is actually UltraLite AVB ES, which will not work for Linux.
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Re: Ultralite AVB

Post by bluebell »

tkcomposer wrote: Anyway, if you are on the fence about buying MOTU UltraLite AVB for linux, know that the unit you will be getting is actually UltraLite AVB ES, which will not work for Linux.
Uh, that's bad. And I thought MOTU would fix the problem with the next firmware. Instead they messed it up even more.

Linux – MOTU UltraLite AVB – Qtractor – http://suedwestlicht.saar.de/

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Re: Ultralite AVB

Post by bluebell »

bluebell wrote:
tkcomposer wrote: Anyway, if you are on the fence about buying MOTU UltraLite AVB for linux, know that the unit you will be getting is actually UltraLite AVB ES, which will not work for Linux.
Uh, that's bad. And I thought MOTU would fix the problem with the next firmware. Instead they messed it up even more.
I asked MOTU if they'll release a new firmware this year that fixes the modulo-8 output channel hopping and maybe the modulo-8 input channel hopping (when changing sampling rate on the fly) so the AVB ES can be used with Linux, too.

Linux – MOTU UltraLite AVB – Qtractor – http://suedwestlicht.saar.de/

tkcomposer
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Re: Ultralite AVB

Post by tkcomposer »

About the exchange they had offered, it turned out they had a BIOS change that broke the Linux support, even before the ES version. See the response (they responded after two weeks):
Please note, not all UltraLite AVB (non-ES) units will work on Linux, it turns out. The change that unintentionally broke Linux support was a change to the bios. The bios was changed before the AVB ES models were released.
So @bluebell, I doubt MOTU will give you a positive answer.

This is an excellent piece of hardware with great sound/features, and I would really like to be able to make it work for me and our clients. Those of you with units before the BIOS change, hoard them! For me, I need something easily replaceable when it breaks. (I now worry about those 8M units we installed in the fields; we'll have no easy way to replace them when they break.)

My deadline of returning the unit for free is approaching so I'm packing it for returning. I gave it a good try. Good luck folks!
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Re: Ultralite AVB

Post by tkcomposer »

My previous response didn't show up -- perhaps it was being vetted?

Anyway, I want to add another piece of info -- I did get a Intel i210 Ethernet card, and compile @Drumfix's patched kernel (both onto RT and regular, on Arch) for the AVB route. It didn't work for me -- Ultralite AVB switched itself to 100MB/s and it didn't show up in jack. Perhaps it simply doesn't work in peer-to-peer private mode? If I have to buy another AVB switch, then the total cost doesn't make sense anymore.
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Re: Ultralite AVB

Post by raboof »

tkcomposer wrote:My previous response didn't show up -- perhaps it was being vetted?
Yes, unfortunately to combat spam the first few posts for each user need to be manually approved - we prevent quite a bit of spam reaching the forum that way. We try to do it quickly and after a couple of posts it'll be automatic ;)
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Re: Ultralite AVB

Post by bluebell »

tkcomposer wrote:About the exchange they had offered, it turned out they had a BIOS change that broke the Linux support, even before the ES version. See the response (they responded after two weeks):
Please note, not all UltraLite AVB (non-ES) units will work on Linux, it turns out. The change that unintentionally broke Linux support was a change to the bios. The bios was changed before the AVB ES models were released.
So @bluebell, I doubt MOTU will give you a positive answer.

This is an excellent piece of hardware with great sound/features, and I would really like to be able to make it work for me and our clients. Those of you with units before the BIOS change, hoard them! For me, I need something easily replaceable when it breaks. (I now worry about those 8M units we installed in the fields; we'll have no easy way to replace them when they break.)

My deadline of returning the unit for free is approaching so I'm packing it for returning. I gave it a good try. Good luck folks!
They answered that the bugs are known and that my request is forwarded to the developers. That's not much - but better than "We don't support Linux".

I hope that they release a fixed firmware this year so I can recommend the UltraLite AVB ES to other Linux users.

Linux – MOTU UltraLite AVB – Qtractor – http://suedwestlicht.saar.de/

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Re: Ultralite AVB

Post by Drumfix »

There are no kernel patches for AVB. There is the AVB driver and support tools at https://github.com/Drumfix/avb4linux.
And you have to precisely follow the instructions (including editing the avb-config.h file!) to get AVB working.
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Re: Ultralite AVB

Post by tkcomposer »

@drumfix, thanks for the clarification. That makes sense. I did put the hardware addresses in the header file, but I encountered some compilation error due to Arch having different convention for header/source locations. I had to return unit soon, so I didn't spend too much time on that; besides, I need this unit to work on the road so having USB working is crucial.

That said, I would still like to figure this out. Who knows? Perhaps one day MOTU would decide to make it compatible with Linux again and I'll buy/spec their products again. Anyway, let me try to solve this path problem, and get back to you for help should I need some.

Just to confirm, you use peer-to-peer connection between your linux machine and Ultralite, correct? You are not using an AVB Switch, correct?

By the way, I made a package (attached) for Arch users who are interested in applying your kernel patch (attached). I don't have the hardware anymore so I can't test them, but they should work. (I had to make some manual changes to some diff sections where it failed but your magic is kept).


@bluebell Thanks for contacting MOTU.

@raboof, thanks! That makes sense. Thank you for keeping this forum clean.
Attachments
linux-avb-kernel.7z
Files to compile a patched kernel for Arch Linux
(54.93 KiB) Downloaded 79 times
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Re: Ultralite AVB

Post by Drumfix »

Yes, i use a direct ethernet connection, no switch, the connection set to "link-local", i.e. no dhcp.

Btw your patch (in pcm.c) is set for the proprietary mode, not the class complient mode, and that is why it didn't work:

Code: Select all

iface = usb_ifnum_to_if(dev, 5); // 2 for UAC, 5 for USB2
2 = class compliant, 5 = proprietary mode. Most people would just want the calss compliant mode.
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Re: Ultralite AVB

Post by tkcomposer »

@Drumfix, thank you so much. I wish I had been smarter to have asked you earlier.

About the AVB module: thanks! This is good news. I may come back to ask for more help on how to properly compile a kernel module. BTW, is it possible to use module parameters instead of header files?

About the USB patch: I hope that indeed was my problem, and this patch would work with the new BIOS and the new ES model can work. Can anybody with an ES version confirm that this patch works?
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Re: Ultralite AVB

Post by GraysonPeddie »

Is the Ultralite AVB the ES version or non-ES version in Amazon?
https://www.amazon.com/MOTU-UltraLite-A ... NrPXRydWU=

There's a lot of discussion going on in this thread and I do appreciate the community a lot. I am wondering about the difference between ES and non-ES version of the audio interface. If there's a discussion about the differences between the two, I'll have to do some reading to find out unless anyone is kind enough to list the differences between them.
--Grayson Peddie

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