Emagic UNITOR8 MKII--Stability and simplicity for the chaotic world of MIDI.

Emagic UNITOR8 MKII
Stability and simplicity for the chaotic world of MIDI.

By Alex Artaud

FIG. 1: Emagic’s Unitor8 MkII combines MIDI routing, innovative MIDI timing, and synchronization features in a clean, spare design. In addition to a USB port, the Unitor8 includes serial ports for older Macs and PCs. Also shown are inputs and outputs for SMPTE and MIDI
(click image for larger view).

Last year Emagic introduced the Unitor8 MkII, its flagship USB MIDI interface for the Mac OS and Windows 95, 98, and ME. This 8-In/8-Out, 128-channel, single-space rack-mount device offers solid synchronization features that let you connect to and address professional video decks. It also includes a MIDI timing innovation for Logic Audio that users will be delighted to have.
Though some sequencer users have experienced problems with USB MIDI interfaces, Unitor8 operation is hassle-free, even under the most punishing circumstances.

Haven’t We Met?
The Unitor8’s spare appearance bears a striking resemblance to the Opcode Studio 4 (see Fig. 1a). In the Mac OS, Emagic’s interface emulates Mark of the Unicorn’s MIDI Timepiece AV. As a result, the Unitor8 offers the best of both worlds, merging Opcode’s clean design with MOTU’s widespread support for FreeMIDI- and Open Music System (OMS)–compatible software. In Windows, it works with MME-compatible software. A wall wart supplies power to the Unitor8.

The front panel has red LEDs for MIDI input and green LEDs for MIDI output. There are also LEDs for SMPTE synchronization status and LEDs to indicate activity on the USB, RS-232, and RS-422 ports. The LEDs are bright enough to be seen easily from across a room, and their brightness is adjustable.

MIDI In and Out ports and a Click In jack are on the front panel’s left side. A Panic/Patch button sends an All Notes Off command for stuck notes. Because the power switch is the only front-panel control, a computer must program and store MIDI or sync features.

On the back panel, there are ports for VITC SMPTE, LTC SMPTE, USB, RS-232, and RS-422, in addition to seven MIDI inputs and outputs (see Fig. 1b). The serial port connections let you stack up to eight Unitor8s for a total of 64 MIDI ports and 1,024 MIDI channels when you run Logic Audio in Windows 98 or ME. Stacking is not an option for Windows 95 users, who are limited to 11 MIDI ports. (That limitation is apparently caused by a bug in Windows 95 that’s also present in Windows 2000.) USB drivers are still being developed for Windows NT and Windows 2000, and a beta version of a Com port driver for NT is available on Emagic’s Web site.

Control Issues

FIG. 2: A descendant of SoundDiver, Unitor8 Control lets you edit all settings in the Unitor8. Shown above is the Device window, which manages the 32 MIDI port configurations stored in the interface.

Unitor8 Control is a specialized version of Emagic’s SoundDiver that has been customized for configuring the Unitor8. Investigating its features provides a sense of what the Unitor8 can do.

The Unitor8 Control’s main window is the Device window (see Fig. 2). In this window, you can manage 32 MIDI port configurations, or patches, that the Unitor8 stores. Double-clicking on a patch name displays a graphic-editing window with an 8-In by 8-Out MIDI matrix. Within the matrix, you can make or break connections between inputs and outputs.

When you’ve finished setting up a configuration, you can name and save the patch. You can then call up patches with Program Change commands. Edits made in Unitor8 Control automatically transfer to the Unitor8 and store in memory. To maintain data consistency between the software and the interface, the Unitor8 transfers its settings to Unitor8 Control, and Unitor8 Control settings are sent to the Unitor8.

Reprinted with permission from

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