xitel MD-PORT DG2 PC TO MINIDISC DIGITAL RECORDING KIT TM USERS MANUAL MD-PORT DG2 PC USERS MANUAL · WINDOWS 98 · WINDOWS 2000 · WINDOWS ME (Mac users: please turn to page 15) TM 3 Getting started Getting your DG2 going is as simple as plugging it into a primary USB port of any computer running Windows 98, Windows ME, or Windows 2000. There's no need to load any special software, but you will have to follow a few simple steps to enable the Windows USB audio drivers. After you've finished these steps, make sure to read our tips on recording before launching into a full session. Windows Millennium Edition installation 1. There's no need to turn your computer off when plugging the DG2 in for the first time. Locate your computer's USB port and plug the supplied USB cable in. Now plug the DG2 into the other end of the USB cable. 2. Windows ME will open a New Hardware Found window and let you know it's found the DG2. It will then start loading drivers for a USB Composite Device, USB Human Interface Device, or USB Audio Device, depending on what components have previously been installed on your system. Click Next. Windows 98 installation Note: Some computer systems ship with an OEM version of Windows 98 that does not contain the entire generic USB driver and audio platform. If you experience any trouble loading the USB drivers, please refer to the troubleshooting section at the end of this user manual for further instructions. 1. There's no need to turn your computer off when plugging the DG2 in for the first time. Locate your computer's USB port and plug the supplied USB cable in. Now plug the DG2 into the other end of the USB cable. 2. Windows 98 will open an Add New Hardware Wizard and let you know it's found the DG2. It will then start loading drivers for a USB Composite Device, USB Human Interface Device, or USB Audio Device, depending on what components have previously been installed on your system. Click Next. 3. In the Add New Hardware Wizard, place a check next to the option Automatic Search for a Better Driver (Recommended) and click Next. 4. The Add New Hardware Wizard will load a Windows Driver folder. When it has completed loading the drivers from this folder, the Add New Hardware Wizard will let you know it has finished installing the new hardware device. Click on Finish. 5. Once the first set of drivers has finished installing, Windows ME may require the other two USB drivers to also be installed. This will depend on what USB audio devices have previously been used on your system. Simply follow the procedure outlined above until all the required USB drivers have been installed. 6. Once all of the required drivers have been installed, Windows ME will start. 7. We recommend rebooting your computer to ensure all changes take effect. Your driver installation for the 3. Check the option Search for the best driver for your device (Recommended) and click Next. 4. Windows 98 should already have the various USB components installed and will automatically default to the location of those drivers on your hard drive. Click Next. If Windows 98 does not have the various USB components loaded, it will tell you that the files could not be found and will request the Windows 98 CD. In this case, put your Windows 98 CD into the CD-ROM drive and place a check next to CD-ROM drive, then click Next. 5. The Wizard will now let you know it has located drivers for a USB Composite Device, USB Human Interface Device, or USB Audio Device and will identify these drivers under the heading Location of Driver. This location may be your hard drive, or CD-ROM drive, depending on what drivers your system has had installed in the past. Click Next. 6. The first set of drivers will now install. 7. Once the first set of drivers finishes installing, Windows 98 may require the other two USB drivers to also be installed. This will depend on what USB audio devices have previously been used on your system. Simply follow the procedure outlined above until all the required USB drivers have been loaded. 8. Once all of the required drivers have been installed, Windows 98 will start. 9. We recommend rebooting your computer to ensure all changes take effect. Your driver installation for the DG2 is now complete. DG2 is now complete. Windows 2000 installation 1. With USB technology, there's no need to turn your computer off when plugging the DG2 in for the first time. Locate your computer's USB port and plug the supplied USB cable in. Now plug the DG2 into the other end of the USB cable. 2. Windows 2000 will automatically detect the addition of a new USB interface. It will automatically update your USB drivers, including USB Composite Device, USB Human Interface Device, and USB Audio Device. 3. Once Windows 2000 has completed updating the USB drivers, it will automatically set the DG2 as your preferred multimedia device. 4. We recommend rebooting your computer to ensure all changes take effect. Your driver installation for the DG2 is now complete. Checking that the DG2 is selected as preferred device in Windows 98, Windows ME, and Windows 2000 With USB technology, there's never any need to turn your computer off when unplugging or plugging in the DG2. When you want to use the DG2, simply close any running programs and plug it into the USB port. Your system will automatically configure itself. When you're done, you can unplug the DG2 and your computer will automatically configure for whatever soundcard is installed. In both cases, it doesn't matter if the system is on or off. For smooth automatic loading, please ensure all audio programs are closed before plugging in, or unplugging the DG2. 4 5 Note: when the DG2 is selected as your system's preferred audio device, no sound will come out of any speakers plugged into your soundcard. If you wish to use your soundcard instead of the DG2, either unplug the DG2 from the USB cable, or select your soundcard as preferred audio device in the Multimedia Properties control panel for Windows 98, or Sounds and Multimedia control panel for Windows ME and Windows 2000. It is not possible to use a soundcard and the DG2 at the same time. Windows 2000 Once Windows 2000 starts and the appropriate drivers have been loaded, the DG2 will automatically be set as your system's preferred audio device. To verify this, open the Sounds and Multimedia panel and make sure that USB Audio Device appears in the Playback section under the Audio tab. To get to the multimedia control panel hit Start, then go to Settings, then Control Panel. The Sounds and Multimedia icon will be in the Control Panel window. Double click on the icon. In the Audio tab, make sure that USB Audio Device appears in the Sound Playback section under Preferred Device. If it doesn't, use the scroll arrow to the right and choose USB Audio Device. You're now fully loaded. Windows 2000 Windows 98 Once Windows 98 starts and the appropriate drivers have been loaded, the DG2 will automatically be set as your system's preferred audio device. To verify this, open the Multimedia Control Panel and make sure that USB Audio Device appears in the Sound Playback section under Preferred Device. To get to the multimedia control panel hit Start, then go to Settings, then Control Panel. The multimedia icon will be in the Control Panel window. Double click on the icon to open the Multimedia Properties window. In the Audio tab, under the heading Sound Playback Preferred Device, make sure that USB Audio Device appears. If it doesn't, use the scroll arrow to the right and choose USB Audio Device. You're now fully loaded. Windows 98 Controlling the output and volume levels The DG2's volume and output controls can be accessed by double clicking the standard volume control icon. For most of the DG2's operations, the volume is set by the Wave Balance slider. To activate the Wave Balance slider go to Options and then Properties. In the bottom section of the Properties window, make sure a check appears next to Wave Balance. Click OK once you're done. Note: Some computer systems ship with an OEM version of Windows 98 that does not contain the entire generic USB driver and audio platform. If you cannot select USB Audio Device in the Preferred Device Window, please refer to the troubleshooting section at the end of this user manual for further instructions. In this situation you may not be able to select USB Audio Device even though the USB drivers seemed to install fine when you first plugged in the DG2. Installing MusicMatch Jukebox Plus After the DG2's USB drivers have loaded, you will be ready to start recording. The DG2 works with any Windows compatible media player, although to help make things easy we've included a full version of MusicMatch Jukebox Plus. This powerful software will let you quickly rip and encode tracks from CDs, run customized playlists, and apply graphic equalization to all of your recordings. After exhaustive testing, we definitely think MusicMatch is one of the best programs around for getting superior results. To install MusicMatch Jukebox Plus please do the following: 1. Insert the MusicMatch Jukebox Plus CD into your CD-ROM drive. 2. When the MusicMatch Jukebox Plus splash screen opens, click on the option Install Jukebox Plus and follow the onscreen instructions. A users manual detailing how to use MusicMatch Jukebox Plus is contained on the CD. If you wish to view the manual, simply insert the MusicMatch CD into your CD-ROM drive and select User's Guide. For further information and news on software updates, please visit www.musicmatch.com. Note: You don't have to run MusicMatch to use the DG2 - it will also work with any of your other favorite Controlling volume levels Windows ME Once Windows ME starts and the appropriate drivers have been loaded, the DG2 should automatically be set as your system's preferred audio device. To verify this, open the Sounds and Multimedia Properties control panel and make sure that USB Audio Device appears in the Sound Playback section under Preferred Device. To get to the Sounds and Multimedia Properties control panel hit Start, then go to Settings, then Control Panel. The multimedia icon will be in the Control Panel window. Double click on the icon to open the Sounds and Multimedia Properties window. In the Audio tab, under the heading Sound Playback Preferred Device, make sure that USB Audio Device appears. If it doesn't, use the scroll arrow to the right and choose USB Audio Device. You're now fully loaded. Windows ME players, including the Windows Media Player. 6 7 Recording from PC to MiniDisc with the DG2 8. Wearing the headphones connected to the MiniDisc recorder, start to slowly raise the volume control in MusicMatch Jukebox Plus, or your favorite media player. You will start to hear the volume increase through the headphones. WARNING - It is important to read through these instructions carefully and to adjust the volume controls as directed. Do not at any stage place headphones on your ears without first checking that the volume controls are set to a minimum and slowly raised to a comfortable listening level. 9. Make sure that you raise the volume control only to an appropriate level for your MiniDisc recorder. If you increase the volume past the signal level that the MiniDisc recorder can tolerate, it will cause distortion in your recording. Many MiniDisc recorders have a level display that lets you monitor the input signal strength. 10. The DG2 has two recording modes: continual and discrete. The continual mode is for those MD recorders that require a continual digital stream to initiate their recording mechanisms and automatically track mark. The discrete mode works with certain models by playing tracks as individual digital blocks, thus supporting automatic track marking on those MD recorders that operate without needing a continual digital audio stream. If you are using a late model Sony or Aiwa portable recorder, you can use either mode. For Sharp and JVC owners, we recommend using the continual mode. For recording to home MD decks, the continual mode is also recommended. For all other recorders, we suggest trying both modes to see what provides the best results for you. 12. Discrete Mode Recording 1. The toggle for switching between continual and discrete modes is located next to the USB input on the DG2. Put the switch into the up position to set the DG2 into discrete recording mode. 2. Before starting, make sure that the Wave Balance volume slider is set to a minimum. You can access the DG2's volume slider by double clicking the speaker icon at the bottom right had side of the Windows task bar. 3. 4. 5. Plug a set of headphones or monitor speakers into your MiniDisc recorder. With the supplied TOSLINK cable, connect the DG2 to the Line-In of your MiniDisc recorder. Start MusicMatch Jukebox Plus, or your favorite Windows media player, and load a selection of wav or MP3 files to be recorded. 6. If you are using MusicMatch ...