Optimizing your designs

If you're compile operation has informed you that the system will not work within the existing hardware you have, or the maximum allowable hardware within one frame, it becomes necessary to try a new way of thinking about systems design.  The MediaMatrix system presents an entirely new way of designing and building sound systems.  While the basic concepts of system design are the same as they have always been using traditional methods, using MediaMatrix allows the designer to think and create in different ways.  Since you are not locked into using traditional devices you can design more efficiently.  Instead of thinking in terms of rack space, costs for individual pieces of audio equipment, cable lengths, impedance matching etc., you now want to design for maximum efficiency in the number of cycles used.

In the past you may have designed a system using 4 1 input 4 output delays because that was what was available.  Now by using a single 16 tap delay you can accomplish the same function in a different manner.  By using various primitives (simple devices) you can create exactly what you want rather than designing so that you accommodate available equipment.  By means of another example, if all mic equalization settings are nearly the same, it may be possible to do a large pre-mixer, then route the mixer into a single channel of EQ, thereby drastically reducing the number of equalizers necessary in the system.

As you design systems on MediaMatrix, you will often find that more than one way exists to accomplish a particular function.  By using the system and experimenting with different design options you will develop a feel for the most efficient way to design a system.  In the above example the 16 tap delay would probably prove to be more efficient, as would the pre-mixer.

As you work with the system you will see it more as a tool which allows you to think creatively and to develop your own unique devices, control surfaces and ways of creating systems.

It is OK to color outside the lines! Try it and see!