Nuendo Production Sync

Nuendo
1

Hello folks!

I’m in a situation where I’m capturing production audio with Nuendo 12 in the studio and would like to stripe time code from an external generator on the audio events. When I am in the field I use Tentacle Sync devices with my MixPre10II to time stamp the audio files that I capture. How do I replicate this workflow with Nuendo in the studio? Use case: I am recording a podcast in the studio and capturing audio with Nuendo along side cameras that are synced via SMPTE. How do I print the SMPTE metadata with the mix down that I export from Nuendo so that the audio editor can import the audio into their NLE with SMPTE? Thx in advance!!

2

I think I found a work-around:

  1. In Audio Connections create a 7.0 bus and assign your inputs to the Device Ports.
  2. Connect your time code generator (Tentacle Sync in my case) to one of those inputs.
  3. Connect your mics, etc. to the other inputs.
  4. Create a 7.0 audio track and set the input as the 7.0 bus that was created in step 1 (this is so that you have a poly wave file to export).

When you start and stop recording, the time code from the generator will get recorded on one of the channels of the 7.0 track along side of the mics, etc. If you are using an NLE like Davinci Resolve, it can update the file metadata with time code from an audio track. Once the metadata is updated, the poly wave file can be split up into separate tracks for editing in the NLE.

Although this works, there are some limitations:

  1. I am limited to 6 channels for a poly wave file (7 channels minus one for the time code)
  2. When I export audio from Nuendo, I have to set my L&R locators for each audio event so that they are exported as separate files.

Although this works, it seems like a hack. Thoughts or suggestions?

3
  1. Yes but you can set higher channel counts per track… why not do 7.1.4 ? It’s only a multimoni file interleaved.
  2. No you can use cyclemarkers per event. In n12 that is a one keystroke action (and typing an identifier like a name).
4

If you embed broadcast wave information, a timecode should be included in the wav file.

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5

The best way to do this is to have a SPMTE synchronizer run Nuendo as a slave to the SMPTE timecode from the cameras, and of a master sample rate clock. With both SPMTE and word clock for the sample accuracy. A device like this, although there are less expensive options, you’d need to see which other brands are compatible with your computer system.

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/NuendoSync--steinberg-nuendo-syncstation

6

Are you running TimeOfDay TC? In that case have the TC go to a Syncstation, or LTC to MTC converter, and record your tracks as multi mono tracks in BWF format, with Nuendo locked to sync. They will automatically be time-stamped when recording.
I did a similar setup years ago for a shoot where there were 3 different studios running in a reality-show style setup. I had folder tracks for each studio, and would punch them in on the fly when a studio went “on air”. Nuendo was locked to the Time of day TC generator that all the cameras where synced to. Worked fine.

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