5.1 config with Motu Ultralite mk3

Hi,

im willing to evolve from stereo editing to 5.1 editing.

Im using Resolve and my soundcard is a motu ultra lite mk3, with of course, multiple outputs.

Problem is, only output 1 and 2 are available in the manual audio multichannel settings in DaVinci.

Where is it not working? Resolve? or my Motu Ultralite mk3?

What can I do?

Thanks for your reactivity.
Regards,

H.

reply from motu:

"Hi Hugo,

Thanks for writing. The Ultralite Mk3 uses Coreaudio to communicate with all the software on your Mac, so this must be a setting in Davinci. There aren't any settings you can make that would dictate which outputs appear to the software.
Best,

Travis Hagan"

@Blacmagic people: what's up with that?

Hello,

Unfortunately the problem is on the BM side… I have tried with different brand, RME, M-audio, Motu, Resolve recognize only the two first channel on each one. Perhaps they try to sale the Fairchild hardware?
I have wrote many times concerning this topic and never get an answer back. For the moment I stay with FCPX where you can output on any available channel.

Please Blackmagic, my three request for Resolve:
– Multichannel sound output
– Alpha channel output on entire project file (not only individual files)
– HAP encoder.
All the artist working for show and events are waiting for it!

Jacques

I am as well working with the Motu Ultralite mk3.

Whenever I need to mix in 5.1, I finalize, lock the video and mix audio in Nuendo.

For what it's worth, multichannel audio does work with BMD DeckLink and UltraStudio devices. No need to buy expensive Fairlight hardware if all you need is multiple outputs.

The 8 channels of my Intensity Pro 4K that are embedded in the HDMI are also assignable.
After I find a suitable audio de-embedder I might give it a try.

The problem is to find a de-embedder! Perhaps someone have experience with mini converter SDI to audio?
But only 4 analog channels so I need two and its 195$ each…

I bought the discontinued Denon DN-271HE 4K2K 7.1-Channel HDMI Audio Extractor for next to nothing on Ebay. It works fine together with a cheap SDI to HDMI converter, just be aware not to use the Denon HDMI output for critical video monitoring since it downgrades the image to 8-bit.


https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1133819-REG/denon_dn_271he_audio_extractor_7_1_channel_hdmi.html

There's also one from Gefen, the GTV-HDMI-2-HDMIAUD. I would prefer XLR outputs though, but haven't really looked for one.

I too just discovered my MOTU ultralite mk3 Hybrid won't work with 5.1 in DR, similar to the OP. It's incredibly discouraging that this all works fine out of the box in Adobe Audition CS6 (ca. 2012) on Win 7, but not in 2021 on the "all-new" DR17. And I upgraded my workstation to Win 10 just so I could run DR.

You might try this virtual audio mixer:
https://vb-audio.com/Voicemeeter/index.htm

Wow, that looks interesting. Do you use it? I saw someone else got the following to work as well, but I haven't had a chance to try it yet. https://nerds.de/en/loopbeaudio.html

It's disappointing we have to resort to such antics to output 5.1 from a program like Fairlight.

The best solution is to use either, as has been mentioned, Decklink or Ultrastudio, since in normal post audio you will need video output anyway, for a VO, ADR and general screening/client monitoring and is the major difference between a music and post daw. You can resort to complex de-embedders or just simply use av amps with hdmi input. But the best solution I've found is with SDI that can be provide up to 16 channels out:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/ ... l/overview

Wow, that looks interesting. Do you use it? I saw someone else got the following to work as well, but I haven't had a chance to try it yet. https://nerds.de/en/loopbeaudio.html

I am using it halfway with my Motu Ultralite mk3 but I do not use 5.1 output. I was using it because my Motu had all sorts of annoying noises after a while. Halfway only because I could not figure out how to use it and have the mic input routed to my headphones only during recording.

Cool Robert, thanks! I'll give it a try.

my Motu had all sorts of annoying noises after a while.

I don't know if this is the same problem, or if it is related to the MOTU or not, but just an FYI. After a while of watching videos or listening to music, seemingly randomly, my sound will start breaking up, getting progressively worse. This happens both on Win 7 and 10. I found that if I go into Sound Control Panel, click properties for my default device in Playback (MOTU Main Out 1-2), and in Advanced set the Default Format drop-down to something different than what it is, click Apply, then set it back to what it was (48kHz) and click Apply again, the sound immediately clears up. Not sure why, I just have to do that every so often. If that sounds familiar, you might give it a try if that's the only reason you are using VoiceMeeter.

The best solution is to use either, as has been mentioned, Decklink or Ultrastudio, since in normal post audio you will need video output anyway, for a VO, ADR and general screening/client monitoring and is the major difference between a music and post daw. You can resort to complex de-embedders or just simply use av amps with hdmi input. But the best solution I've found is with SDI that can be provide up to 16 channels out:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/ ... l/overview

Thanks Steve, but I was trying to avoid spending $1,000 on a breakout box plus another $300-$900 on a decklink card/device to do 5.1? Although I do have a spare 7.1 AV receiver lying around, but it won't output directly to XLR, which is what my JBL's prefer.

my Motu had all sorts of annoying noises after a while.

I don't know if this is the same problem, or if it is related to the MOTU or not, but just an FYI. After a while of watching videos or listening to music, seemingly randomly, my sound will start breaking up, getting progressively worse. This happens both on Win 7 and 10. I found that if I go into Sound Control Panel, click properties for my default device in Playback (MOTU Main Out 1-2), and in Advanced set the Default Format drop-down to something different than what it is, click Apply, then set it back to what it was (48kHz) and click Apply again, the sound immediately clears up. Not sure why, I just have to do that every so often. If that sounds familiar, you might give it a try if that's the only reason you are using VoiceMeeter.

Yeah, that is exactly the same what I had been experiencing. It happened when there was audio to play with a different frequency than the MOTU is set to, like 44100 vs 48000. What I did is in the MOTU web control to change one of the buffer settings to another value and then back.

I have read that the Windows audio subsystem together with the driver could have troubles when having to switch several times in a short period between the frequencies and becomes unstable.

I had days where this never happened and days where I made an edit and had to reach into the MOTU Web control every few minutes.

Since using Voicemeter this has never happened again in two years of usage. It takes over the handling of project frequencies and adjusting the driver.

Hello,

Unfortunately the problem is on the BM side… I have tried with different brand, RME, M-audio, Motu, Resolve recognize only the two first channel on each one.

That's under Windows because there is no ASIO support in Resolve. On Mac it is CoreAudio and it should be multichannel.

Since using Voicemeter this has never happened again in two years of usage. It takes over the handling of project frequencies and adjusting the driver.

I NOW HAVE RESOLVE PLAYING 5.1 TRACKS TO MY MOTU using VoiceMeeter Potato! That was a LOT more difficult that it should be. Thanks Robert for turning me on to VoiceMeter.

Conceptually, VoiceMeeter Potato (you must use Potato) sits in-between DR and MOTU (just like ASIO does with every other application that supports it...), but instead, offers an interface to DR that it has chosen to work with, and offers standard ASIO to the MOTU. One thing I don't know yet is how much distortion/noise/latency VoiceMeeter may introduce to the chain. Lots of knobs to play with here.

Oh, and don't forget your Master volume at the top right of the timeline panel in Fairlight. I wasted hours trying to figure out why DR sound was about 40 dB lower than every other application, only to realize that my master volume was set to about 25% even though the meters were in the RED!

Wow, that's great to hear, Shane!
Configuring Voicemeter was quite frustrating to me as I did not find myself through the complex and powerful interface. There are so many ways to screw this up

Would you mind sharing your settings for others to replicate?

Hello,
Owner of a Motu ultraLite MK3, I can use 8 outputs witout problems on the Mac side But only 2 on the Windows side.
I just downloaded VoiceMeter Potatoe but I cannot find the way to use it...
I am also very interested by a little tutorial.

Would you mind sharing your settings for others to replicate?

Yes, but I'm trying to work through some latency issues first, and have it reliably working with various apps and through multiple reboots. I'll post more once I reach that point.

OK, so this is how I get reliable multichannel (5.1/7.1) sound out of Resolve to my prosumer audio interface. In this setup, everything in Windows uses the default stereo audio device, MOTU Main 1-2, EXCEPT Resolve. I use VoiceMeeter (VM) ONLY to allow Resolve to talk to the MOTU for multichannel sound playback. However, you can use it as your default audio device and as your system mixer (it’s pretty cool), but setting it up for only Resolve keeps it out of the way otherwise. YMMV.

My system:
Win10 Pro 64
HP Z820 16 core, 32 GB
Resolve 17 Studio
MOTU Ultralite mk3 Hybrid (via FW), no EQ, Dynamics in CueMixFX (to minimize latency)

Step 0: Set your MOTU Sample Rate and Buffer Size
From the Start Menu, run MOTU Audio Console and set the Sample Rate to 48,000 and the Buffer Size to 64. Click OK. Close the program. Note: I've found this program to be flaky, and only seems to start just after a reboot. Once you start messing with sound on your system, it won't run.

Step 1: Download and Install VoiceMeter (the PLAIN one, NOT Banana, or Potato)
I initially chose the most feature-rich version, Potato, but realized that I could do everything I needed with the Plain version, and the additional features MAY add latency. Just run the installer, it’s fast, and will REQUIRE a reboot.

Step 2: Set up your new device in Windows
Right-click on the speaker icon in the task bar and select SOUNDS. In that dialog, on the PLAYBACK tab, scroll to find VoiceMeeter Input, select it and click CONFIGURE. Choose 5.1 Surround (or 7.1), and click Next and check everything that’s setable. Click FINISH, then Click OK to dismiss the SOUND dialog. This step is IMPORTANT since it’s what tells Windows that there are 6 (8) channels to present to Resolve. If you miss this step, you only get TWO, the default.

Step 3: Set your Windows Sound preferences
Again, right-click on the speaker icon in the task bar and select OPEN SOUND SETTINGS. In the dialog, under ADVANCED SOUND OPTIONS, click on App Volume and Device Preferences. On that screen, select
MOTU Main Out for OUTPUT, then select MOTU Analog for INPUT. Below that you will see System Sounds followed by a changing list of apps you have recently run or are currently running. They all should say DEFAULT. NOTE: if you hit Reset at the bottom by accident, you will have to go back into Sounds and set up your VM speaker again, I think. Close that dialog.

Step 4: Set up VoiceMeeter
Run VoiceMeeter from the Start Menu (you’ll find it under VB Audio). At top right you will notice a red flashing message that says something like “Set A1”. Click on the A1 button just to the left and select ASIO: MOTU Audio ASIO. Click the Menu button at the top right and check the following: Auto Restart Audio Engine (A1 Device), Run On Windows Startup, and System Tray. Close VM. You should see its ICON in the system tray. Just click it to bring it back up whenever needed.

Step 5: Set up Virtual Cable
To be honest, I’m not completely sure where this fits into the mix, but it contains a critical setting that will determine how successful you are. Run Virtual IO Control Panel under VB Audio from the Start Menu. On the Virtual Cable window, enter 1200 in the box just right of Latency in the top left corner and press enter. Leave this program open, as you might have to bump this value up if you find your sound has drops in it. You want to experiment with this so it is as LOW AS POSSIBLE and still have true sound. 1200 smp was the lowest I could get away with on my system. NOW, go back to VoiceMeeter, and press the Menu button and select Restart Audio Engine to accept your changes in Virtual Cable. In VoiceMeeter, under Virtual Input top center, you should see VB-Audio Voicemeeter VAIO, under which you should see 48000Hz – 1200, values that come from Virtual Cable.

Step 6: Launch Resolve
Click the DaVinci Resolve menu and select Preferences. In Preferences (System), select Video and Audio I/O on the left. On the right, under Speaker Setup, in Speaker Configuration , select MANUAL. Click on the Rename button just right of Monitor Set and enter “Stereo Direct”. In the Device dropdown, choose MOTU Main Out, and set Stereo as the Monitor Set Format just below that. Below that, you’ll see two entries, for Left and Right. In Left, select 1. MOTU Main Out, and for Right select 2. MOTU Main Out. Now, go back to Monitor Set, click the dropdown and select the second option in the list (it doesn’t matter what it is). Click the Rename button again and enter “5.1 VM VAIO”. In the Device dropdown select VoiceMeeter Input. In Monitor Set Format, select 5.1. Below that (if it doesn’t fill it in automatically), set Left to 1. VoiceMeeter Input, Right to 2. VoiceMeeter Input, Center to 3…, and so on. This is the standard DCP track layout. Click SAVE to save your preferences. You’ll need to restart Resolve.

Step 7: Test
On the Fairlight Page, at the top right of the timeline panel, where the DIM button is, there is a little dropdown labeled Main 1 >. If you click that, you will be able to switch where to send output to either of your newly created monitor sets (outputs), either Stereo DIRECT to the the MOTU bypassing VoiceMeeter altogether. If you choose the 5.1 VM VAIO option, Resolve will now send 6 channel output to the VM virtual interface, which will forward it on to the MOTU via ASIO. You can play Stereo to this as well. Do some testing with both 5.1 and Stereo tracks, preferably with video so you can check sync. If the sound is clear without artifacts, and the video is in sync, you are good to go. If you hear your sound dropping out, you’ll need to go back to Virtual Cable and increase that Latency value. You can choose something from the menu, or enter a value yourself in smaller increments by clicking on the box directly. If you still can’t get it to work, you may have to go back to the MOTU Audio Console and increase buffer size there, but do that last. The more you increase either of these values, the more latency you will introduce and the more out of sync your video/sound will become. Find the balance.

Other Things to Keep in Mind:
* You should try to make all your Sampling Rates the same all the way through the system for minimal latency. The Virtual Cable manual has a section on latency issues and what to look out for if you need it.
* Also, click Menu top right in VoiceMeeter and select System Settings / Options. This brings up a gnarly box with a lot of info, but what’s important to you is that black text in the center. It should say SR: 48000 Hz buf: 64. THESE are the values you entered into the MOTU Audio Console.
* When using the 5.1 VM VAIO speaker set in Resolve, you will have to control volume via Resolve or the MOTU master volume. The windows controls (other than MUTE) have not effect. It is expected that you will use VM as your ‘mixer’. However, when using the Stereo Direct speaker set, you are, in fact, using the Windows Default speaker and all of your usual volume controls work as expected for sound coming from Resolve.

Good luck, and let me know how you get on.

Thank you Shane - that is super helpful!

Thank you Shane all of the info. I have tried your instructions for Voicemeeter though unfortunately I am not having any success. I wonder if might have any ideas.

The interface I am using is a Steinberg UR28M and like other Asio devices I can only get stereo within Resolve. I'm thinking it might be something to do with the way the Steinberg uses pairs of channels instead of six discreet channels.

When testing Resolve with the settings that you posted I can see in VM that the Hardware out shows the 6 inputs correctly. The Virtual Out is showing only two. Are you seeing the 6 there too?
The virtual cable control also shows the out put as only 2.

Thsi particular interface only seems to have access to the 6 channels through a DAW as even windows can only play stereo through it. I have successfully set up 6 channels with Audition.

Might there be settings in VM that can fix this?

Thanks again

Hi Paul,

I'll try to help. Just to update everyone, although it worked as I described, I no longer use VM as I was able to get my MOTU to work with Resolve directly for both Input and Output, up to the full 8 channels each. I have Monitor Sets for Stereo, Phones, and 5.1 Surround Sets established in the Resolve preferences, and I can switch between them in the dropdown in Fairlight underneath the Viewer. My inputs also work and I can record directly to Resolve using a Mic connected to my MOTU inputs.

I don't recall exactly how I got this to work, but I do know it was my Windows configuration that was the cause of my problems before, not Resolve. My MOTU provides both ASIO and WDM interfaces, and thus Resolve is clearly using the WDM interfaces. I can even play 5.1 in other windows apps that support it, like MPC-HC Player. I did reinstall my MOTU drivers (they weren't any newer), to be sure that the WDM drivers were loaded. They were. I don't know, but perhaps something loaded by VM may have bridged the gap for me that was missing when I tried the MOTU direct initially. I never took the time to chase that down - since it worked.

Can you please post a screenshot of your Sound settings? Do the following:
(1) Click on the box at the far right of the taskbar (it should pop-up a Notification panel where you can select All Settings.
(2) in the Settings dialog, click System, then Sound on the left.
(3) At the top, under Output > Choose your output device, click the dropdown and press Alt-Prt Scr to get a screenshot of that window.
(4) Paste it in Photoshop or other such app, save it as a jpeg, and post it here.

Note that this box won't show all the channels, just the major groups. Mine shows one line for MOTU Analog (MOTU Analog Wave for 64 bit), which Resolve sees as 8 distinct channels. Same with my Stereo Phones (only one entry, for both channels).

Next, click on Sound Control Panel on the right side of the Sound Settings Dialog. Another window will pop up (the old school control panel). Choose your output device (probably already the default), and click Properties. Click the Advanced tab. In the Default Format box, you should see something like 6 channel, 24 bit, 48000 Hz... Do you see that? This tells you that Windows is seeing all of your channels. Close all of that.

Post back. If this doesn't work, we can work on VM. It is tricky getting it to work. But it most likely will. You just have to get all the hoses attached correctly.

Thank you.

I have attached the images and googled the Steinberg to find comments that windows is unable to use it for more than 2 channels. 6 channels will only work through a DAW. As you can see from the image the default format is greyed out to only 2 channels.

I'm guessing that VM might not be able to do much with the other channels if windows is unable to recognise them?

Paul,

OK, let's try to get VM working then. As I mentioned, make sure you are using the PLAIN version of VM, as it simplifies things. Next, I recommend you follow CLOSELY the step by step instructions in the VM User Manual. I had to read it like 5 or 6 times before it sunk in. It takes a bit of thinking to get that what is Input to VM is really Output in reality and vice versa, as it sits in-between two real devices (your Steinberg and your OS/App).

The other thing is that you should be seeing VB Audio Voicemeeter VAIO under VIRTUAL INPUT on the VM screen. This is set in the Windows Sound Control Panel as your OUTPUT device (see what I mean!) Under HARDWARE OUT you should see your Steinberg (mine says MOTU Analog).

In the Menu at top right, you will see Restart Audio Engine. You'll need to click that a lot while setting things up, after any change. Just under that, if you click HARDWARE OUT, you will see a list off all the possible drivers that your system and/or VM has created for you to patch to. I'm using KS: MOTU Analog for my setup. And although I do recall that the WDM worked as well, I think that KS is newer tech and landed on that. I also don't believe neither MME or (clearly) ASIO will work with Resolve. If you choose the wrong drivers, it won't present to Resolve and you won't see anything in Resolve's preferences.

There is just a ton of stuff that you have to get JUST RIGHT for this to work. I spent days on it before I did. But once I did, I had Stereo, 5.1, as well as Input in Resolve.

It may be, as I mentioned, that if VM installed the KS drivers, perhaps Windows is using that to present to Resolve directly, as I did finally get that working, which is why I no longer use VM. So, after you get VM installed (be sure to include all the various driver options), you might play around a bit with just Windows Sound Control Panel and see if you can get it to work directly without VM, as VM does inject a bit of lag. If you are doing critical sync to picture, that will be a consideration.

Hope that helps. Good luck.

Like Shane said (very well) the VM software gives Windows the opportunity to use multi-channel outputs higher than stereo. It's not entirely intuitive to set up but it works. I'm using it with a MOTU 16A.

In Nuendo VM is bypassed and the interface is accessed directly using ASIO.

It's working!

Thanks for your help. It ended up being a combination of going through every setting again, and diving into the controls of the Interface itself. The way the Steinberg uses pairs of mixes to access all 6 channels was quite confusing to me but it seems that I have aligned all that needs to be and now I have access to 5.1 within Resolve using VM and the ASIO driver option.

While things looked bleak I did go to ebay and ordered one of Davinci's old HDlink Pro devices. It arrived yesterday and I have been able to plug that into my Decklink mini 4k using SDI which then gives me access to the Pro's audio outs. Unfortunately those connectors are only RCA and the leads that I own are not balanced and I am getting an awful lot of interference.

So, at the moment I am deciding whether to stick with the hdlink and order some balanced cables to see if that works, or go with the VM solution which allows me use of my Interface with my current set of balanced TRS cables. The only thing to consider than is the latency. How do you judge the amount of latency in a set up?

As a side note and a little off topic, which I hope is okay, I have played around with Fairlight's panning tool and it seems very basic. Am I missing something or is there really no ability to be able to exclude or vary the amount of the centre channel? It seems to be an all or nothing control. Maybe there's a more involved tool in a menu or possibly a better plugin that can be used? The panning tool in Audition is pretty good and made a lot of sense to me.

Thanks again.

Unfortunately the only way to truly fix the issue without third party software such as Voicemeeter or suffer from latency issues related to it is for Resolve to support ASIO in the future... However, for whatever reason BMD has not add this feature as of yet (it's been requested many times since forever).

Every other package I use supports ASIO, from DAW's to NLE's... BMD's refusal to implement ASIO at this point is just plain silly (Imho).

That said, before I get slammed with "stick a Decklink in your computer and use it's Audio output" -- Seriously, I have a Decklink but use the RME UFX+, and I'm not going backwards in audio quality let alone use up another PCI lane for just one application which refuses to get with the times and support ASIO like everyone else.

UPDATE: It works! Fantastic stuff. I haven't played around with it much but I am having success using ASIO4ALL. Having Asio support has also fixed the horrid pops and cracks when listening to added reverbs and the like. No more Voicemeeter!

Saw talk of 17.3 including ASIO support. I have installed and so far can still only see 2 channels using my Steinberg.

OK, so this is how I get reliable multichannel (5.1/7.1) sound out of Resolve to my prosumer audio interface. In this setup, everything in Windows uses the default stereo audio device, MOTU Main 1-2, EXCEPT Resolve. I use VoiceMeeter (VM) ONLY to allow Resolve to talk to the MOTU for multichannel sound playback. However, you can use it as your default audio device and as your system mixer (it’s pretty cool), but setting it up for only Resolve keeps it out of the way otherwise. YMMV.

My system:
Win10 Pro 64
HP Z820 16 core, 32 GB
Resolve 17 Studio
MOTU Ultralite mk3 Hybrid (via FW), no EQ, Dynamics in CueMixFX (to minimize latency)

Step 0: Set your MOTU Sample Rate and Buffer Size
From the Start Menu, run MOTU Audio Console and set the Sample Rate to 48,000 and the Buffer Size to 64. Click OK. Close the program. Note: I've found this program to be flaky, and only seems to start just after a reboot. Once you start messing with sound on your system, it won't run.

Step 1: Download and Install VoiceMeter (the PLAIN one, NOT Banana, or Potato)
I initially chose the most feature-rich version, Potato, but realized that I could do everything I needed with the Plain version, and the additional features MAY add latency. Just run the installer, it’s fast, and will REQUIRE a reboot.

Step 2: Set up your new device in Windows
Right-click on the speaker icon in the task bar and select SOUNDS. In that dialog, on the PLAYBACK tab, scroll to find VoiceMeeter Input, select it and click CONFIGURE. Choose 5.1 Surround (or 7.1), and click Next and check everything that’s setable. Click FINISH, then Click OK to dismiss the SOUND dialog. This step is IMPORTANT since it’s what tells Windows that there are 6 (8) channels to present to Resolve. If you miss this step, you only get TWO, the default.

Step 3: Set your Windows Sound preferences
Again, right-click on the speaker icon in the task bar and select OPEN SOUND SETTINGS. In the dialog, under ADVANCED SOUND OPTIONS, click on App Volume and Device Preferences. On that screen, select
MOTU Main Out for OUTPUT, then select MOTU Analog for INPUT. Below that you will see System Sounds followed by a changing list of apps you have recently run or are currently running. They all should say DEFAULT. NOTE: if you hit Reset at the bottom by accident, you will have to go back into Sounds and set up your VM speaker again, I think. Close that dialog.

Step 4: Set up VoiceMeeter
Run VoiceMeeter from the Start Menu (you’ll find it under VB Audio). At top right you will notice a red flashing message that says something like “Set A1”. Click on the A1 button just to the left and select ASIO: MOTU Audio ASIO. Click the Menu button at the top right and check the following: Auto Restart Audio Engine (A1 Device), Run On Windows Startup, and System Tray. Close VM. You should see its ICON in the system tray. Just click it to bring it back up whenever needed.

Step 5: Set up Virtual Cable
To be honest, I’m not completely sure where this fits into the mix, but it contains a critical setting that will determine how successful you are. Run Virtual IO Control Panel under VB Audio from the Start Menu. On the Virtual Cable window, enter 1200 in the box just right of Latency in the top left corner and press enter. Leave this program open, as you might have to bump this value up if you find your sound has drops in it. You want to experiment with this so it is as LOW AS POSSIBLE and still have true sound. 1200 smp was the lowest I could get away with on my system. NOW, go back to VoiceMeeter, and press the Menu button and select Restart Audio Engine to accept your changes in Virtual Cable. In VoiceMeeter, under Virtual Input top center, you should see VB-Audio Voicemeeter VAIO, under which you should see 48000Hz – 1200, values that come from Virtual Cable.

Step 6: Launch Resolve
Click the DaVinci Resolve menu and select Preferences. In Preferences (System), select Video and Audio I/O on the left. On the right, under Speaker Setup, in Speaker Configuration , select MANUAL. Click on the Rename button just right of Monitor Set and enter “Stereo Direct”. In the Device dropdown, choose MOTU Main Out, and set Stereo as the Monitor Set Format just below that. Below that, you’ll see two entries, for Left and Right. In Left, select 1. MOTU Main Out, and for Right select 2. MOTU Main Out. Now, go back to Monitor Set, click the dropdown and select the second option in the list (it doesn’t matter what it is). Click the Rename button again and enter “5.1 VM VAIO”. In the Device dropdown select VoiceMeeter Input. In Monitor Set Format, select 5.1. Below that (if it doesn’t fill it in automatically), set Left to 1. VoiceMeeter Input, Right to 2. VoiceMeeter Input, Center to 3…, and so on. This is the standard DCP track layout. Click SAVE to save your preferences. You’ll need to restart Resolve.

Step 7: Test
On the Fairlight Page, at the top right of the timeline panel, where the DIM button is, there is a little dropdown labeled Main 1 >. If you click that, you will be able to switch where to send output to either of your newly created monitor sets (outputs), either Stereo DIRECT to the the MOTU bypassing VoiceMeeter altogether. If you choose the 5.1 VM VAIO option, Resolve will now send 6 channel output to the VM virtual interface, which will forward it on to the MOTU via ASIO. You can play Stereo to this as well. Do some testing with both 5.1 and Stereo tracks, preferably with video so you can check sync. If the sound is clear without artifacts, and the video is in sync, you are good to go. If you hear your sound dropping out, you’ll need to go back to Virtual Cable and increase that Latency value. You can choose something from the menu, or enter a value yourself in smaller increments by clicking on the box directly. If you still can’t get it to work, you may have to go back to the MOTU Audio Console and increase buffer size there, but do that last. The more you increase either of these values, the more latency you will introduce and the more out of sync your video/sound will become. Find the balance.

Other Things to Keep in Mind:
* You should try to make all your Sampling Rates the same all the way through the system for minimal latency. The Virtual Cable manual has a section on latency issues and what to look out for if you need it.
* Also, click Menu top right in VoiceMeeter and select System Settings / Options. This brings up a gnarly box with a lot of info, but what’s important to you is that black text in the center. It should say SR: 48000 Hz buf: 64. THESE are the values you entered into the MOTU Audio Console.
* When using the 5.1 VM VAIO speaker set in Resolve, you will have to control volume via Resolve or the MOTU master volume. The windows controls (other than MUTE) have not effect. It is expected that you will use VM as your ‘mixer’. However, when using the Stereo Direct speaker set, you are, in fact, using the Windows Default speaker and all of your usual volume controls work as expected for sound coming from Resolve.

Good luck, and let me know how you get on.

Shane - you are the best! I have been fighting with this for a few days and your well-written guide solved all my problems! I cannot thank you enough!!!

Note that this thread is from before Resolve supported ASIO natively.