These pages let you configure the Surface preferences, illumination, strip layout, audio and network settings.

Control

Strip Assign

Any combination of Input channels, FX, Mix masters, DCAs and MIDI strips can be assigned to the 6 layers of faders. This lets you customize the mixer layout to suit the application. The layout is stored within Scenes and can be made Safe from Scene recall.

The factory Template Shows provide a classic layout with Input channels on the left and Mix masters on the right to give you a starting point.

Current assignments are shown in the lower window arranged in Banks and Layers.

1. Drag and drop channels into the desired position in the lower window. Use the tabs on the left to view different types of channels available, and the tabs on top to navigate to higher / lower number channels.

Turn on Block Select and touch the first and last item you wish to assign to drag a range of channels into the lower window. If you drop more channels than there are strips available then they will wrap into the next Layer overwriting channels currently assigned there.

2. Drag channels out of the window to unassign.

⚙ Hold down Setup and touch anywhere in the Strip Assign page to access the assign preferences. Turn on Sync Selected Layer with Surface to make the screen follow the active Layer on the Surface for the selected Bank.

MIDI Strips

Fader strips can be assigned as MIDI Strips. There are 32 MIDI Strips available. Each can be assigned to transmit a custom MIDI message. This is ideal for controlling audio within a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW, or parameters on external equipment such as effects devices. MIDI Strips can be named and coloured. They are stored within Scenes and can be made Safe from Scene recall.

Custom MIDI messages can be assigned to faders, all six rotary functions (Gain, Pan and Custom 1-4), Mute, Mix and PAFL keys. To configure the messages press the MIDI Strip Sel key.

MIDI Strip – Touch the top left box to set name and colour for the MIDI Strip. Touch a control box to type in a custom MIDI message where <VAR> represents a variable value.

Turn Local on if you want the key LED indicator to follow local presses. Turn this off if you want the indicator to follow remote messages (MIDI tally).

The following default CC and Note on/off messages are assigned within the factory Template Shows for MIDI Strips 1-32 (hex values shown):

• Fader = B1, 00, <VAR> to B1, 1F, <VAR>

• Rotary Gain = B2, 00, <VAR> to B2, 1F, <VAR>

• Rotary Pan = B2, 20, <VAR> to B2, 3F, <VAR>

• Rotary Custom 1 = B2, 40, <VAR> to B2, 5F, <VAR>

• Rotary Custom 2 = B2, 60, <VAR> to B2, 7F, <VAR>

• Mute key = 91, 00, <VAR> to 91, 1F, <VAR>

• Mix key = 91, 20, <VAR> to 91, 3F, <VAR>

• PAFL key = 91, 40, <VAR> to 91, 5F, <VAR>

🛈 You can restore the factory default MIDI messages by recalling the ‘Reset MIDI’ Scene in the Template Shows. This resets the messages for all 32 MIDI strips.

🛈 Download the MIDI Control Driver from www.allen-heath.com to convert the default MIDI messages to popular HUI or Mackie Control protocols for DAW use. Levels and On/Off commands can also be sent and received in CC format using MIDI Control Driver as a translator. A MIDI Thru option is available for a straight throughput of the MIDI messages with no translation of A&H MIDI messages. The MIDI Control driver is available for Windows and MacOS.

Actions

Actions perform several Functions at once. Actions can be recalled from the Action Manager or via a Softkey. Two softkey modes are provided, a Recall mode which recalls a single action and a Toggle mode which toggles between recalling two Actions alternatively on each press.

1. List of created Actions. Touching an Action will show the list of contained Functions on the right-hand side. Actions can be Deleted, Duplicated, Renamed and Recalled from this menu. Touching MIDI Recall allows CC MIDI messages to be assigned to each Action.

2. Functions contained within the selected Action. These will all run on recalling the Action. Some functions can run in multiple Modes:

Set On will ‘activate’ your function parameter e.g. Mutes “Set On” will mute target channels.

Set Off will ‘deactivate’ your function parameter e.g. Mutes “Set Off” will unmute target channels.

Toggle will invert the current state, e.g. Mutes “Toggle” will mute currently unmuted channels and unmute currently muted channels.

No Action will not make a change when the Action is recalled.

Available functions are as follows:

Mutes – Mute control for any Channel, DCA, WDG/PAFL or Mute Group.

Assign – Assign control for any Channel, DCA, WDG/PAFL or Mute Group.

Strip Assign – Recall saved Strip Assign Library with Bank recall filter.

Main Level – Main Level control for any Channel, DCA, WDG/PAFL or Mute Group.

Send Level – Send Level control for any Channel to any compatible bus.

Processing – In/Out config control for any processing block assigned to any channel.

ABCD Ip – Set active ABCD input for any Input Channel.

Talkback Add – Set talkback Additive mode On or Off.

Talkback Grp – Set Active Talkback Groups.

Custom MIDI – Send out Custom MIDI string.

Bookmarks – Navigate directly to a selected screen or tab..

Ext Ip to PAFL – Configure PAFL External Input settings.

Set Bypass UFX – Bypass RackUltra FX Units that support Bypass mode.

Ip Ch Library – Load Input Channel Library on selected Input Channel.

Mix Ch Library – Load Mix Channel Library on selected Mix Channel.

SoftKeys

dLive Surfaces provide up to 26 assignable keys on the right of the Surface, depending on model.

1. Touch one of the SoftKeys buttons on the right of the screen to select it. Swipe up / down to scroll.
2. Open the Function drop-down menu and select the function to assign. Set the Channel Type and Channel Number to select the required channel (only applies to certain functions). Turn on Invert LED if you want the SoftKey LED to be lit when the function is off. Press Apply to confirm the changes.

🛈 SoftKey assignments are store within Scenes. To prevent SoftKey assignments to be overwritten on Scene recall, you can make one, a selection or all Safe using the Scenes / Global Scene Safes screen.

Available SoftKey functions are as follows:

Unused

ABCD Set All – Sets all Input Channels to the selected ABCD Source.

ABCD Set Channel – Sets specific Input Channel to the selected ABCD Source.

ABCD Set Range – Sets range of Input Channels to the selected ABCD Source.

ABCD Set For DCA – Sets all DCA member channels to the selected ABCD Source.

Action Recall – Recall single Action in Recall mode or toggle between two Actions in Toggle mode.

AMM Control – Turns on/off an AMM zone or an individual channel in an AMM.

Assign ON/OFF – Toggles the send assign for an Input/FX Return to a Mix, Mute Group, DCA or engineer’s IEM/Wedge bus.

Assign Range – Sets send assign for an Input/FX Return to a Mix, Mute Group, DCA or engineer’s IEM/Wedge bus; On, Off or Toggles.

Bookmark – Navigate directly to a selected screen or tab.

Channel Processing – Insert or Bypass a specific channel processing block on a single channel.

Channel Processing Range – Insert or Bypass a specific channel processing block on a range of channels.

Custom MIDI - Transmit a custom MIDI message string.

DCA/MCA Spill Active – Turns DCA/MCA Spill mode on/off.

Fader On-Off – Illuminates when the selected channel fader is at a value higher than -inf.

Fader Start – Momentarily illuminates when the selected channel fader moves from –inf.

Level Down – Tap to decrease a fader level.

Level Up – Tap to increase a fader level.

MCA On/Off Selected DCAs – Toggles MCA mode for DCAs selected in Bank view.

MCA On/Off Specific DCA – Toggles MCA mode on a specific DCA.

MCA On/Off All DCAs – Toggles MCA mode on all DCAs.

Mix – Quick access to a specific Mix.

Mute – Mute control for any input channel, bus or DCA.

Mute Group – Mutes/unmutes the specified Mute Group.

PAFL – Enables PAFL on a selected channel and PAFL bus.

PAFL Clear – Turns off all currently active PAFL selections.

PAFL Surface Number – Sets the Surface PAFL to the PAFL bus selected.

Peak Hold Reset – Clear all current Peak Hold indicators.

Scene Controls – Quick access to scene controls (Recall, Store etc.).

Sel – Selects a specific channel.

Sel Mix PAFL Scene – Combination on single key, for example to recall a specific per-Mix strip layout when mixing monitors.

Send Level Down – Tap to decrease level for Aux/FX/Matrix sends with the option to set a Max/Min gain range.

Send Level Up – Tap to increase level for AuxFX/Matrix sends with the option to set a Max/Min gain range.

SIP – Press and hold for 1 second to activate Solo In Place (SIP).

Strip Assign Recall – Recall saved Strip Assign Library to enabled banks.

Talkback Additive Groups – Toggle Talkback Additive mode.

Talkback Assign – Talkback to different outputs.

Talkback Group – Turn on Talkback to a specified Talkback Group with selectable latching or momentary switch behaviour.

Tap Tempo - Assign to any of the 16 FX L or R tap or as a Global Tempo.

USB Play/Record – Control USB transport from the current Surface.

Virtual Sound Check – Set Virtual Sound Check mode.

Surface Preferences

1. Custom Rotary Functions – Use the drop-down menus to select the required Function for each Custom strip rotary control. Available functions are Direct Out, Send Level (Aux or FX sends), HPF/LPF Frequency, Compressor/Gate Threshold, Gate Depth, Channel Level, AMM Priority Level, LCR+ Divergence, Front/Rear Pan, Stereo Width. Touch Apply to confirm the change.

2. Display Parameter Values on LCD will display the fader position in dB value or value of the rotary function every time the fader or rotary are moved.

   No Sends On Faders inhibits sends on faders when pressing any Mix key. The channel faders will always control the Input main levels or Mix masters when this option is enabled. You can still control the send levels by using the strip rotary Sends function, Soft Rotaries Sends widget, or touchscreen Routing screen.

3. Layer Link – Touch the buttons to link or unlink the Layers across the fader banks. Selecting a Layer on a linked bank will select the same Layer across all linked banks.
4. Roles - Allows you to configure up to 4 Surface roles, each with a separate scene range and role filter.

🛈 See section on Role Filters in this guide for more details on Role Filters.

Clicking on the edit icon lets you name each role, for example FOH, MON, REC, BROADCAST.

Each role can be assigned a range of Scenes using the Start Scene and End Scene boxes. Scenes outside of the specified range will not be accessible from this Surface role. This is useful for multi-surface setups where the engineers require independent scene ranges.

Dimmer

Use this page to separately adjust the brightness of the touchscreen, LEDs, switch backlights, fader strip LCD displays, and intensity and colour tone of the integrated LED strip illumination. These settings are stored in Scene memories.

DCA/MCA Options

DCA/MCA Spills populate the Surface with only the channels assigned to a DCA/MCA, temporarily overriding the current strip layout, whenever a DCA/MCA Mix button is pressed.

The DCA/MCA Mix function can be assigned to SoftKeys, which allows spills to be used when DCA/MCA strips are not in the active Layer, or even dedicate some DCAs as pure ‘population groups’ without a fader. Go to Surface / Control / SoftKeys to assign.

🛈 See Appendix F in this guide for more details on MCA functionality.

1. DCA/MCA Spills

Select the Order in which the channels are displayed on the Surface. Set to Numerical to follow the channel number, or Strip to follow the order of the strip layout at the moment of the spill.

Enable Frozen Strips in Spill to keep frozen fader strips in view during a spill.

Enable Place DCA On Surface to keep the DCA master in view during a spill. This is useful if all fader banks are used for the spill, for example on a C1500 Surface.

Set the Layout to Auto to automatically spill to the fader banks not used by the DCA/MCA, or Manual to manually select the fader banks for the spill. Enable Right to Left to populate banks in reverse, starting from the right-hand side.

Touch Spill Active to enable or disable the DCA/MCA Spills function globally. This switch can be assigned to a SoftKey and used as a quick way to restore the normal strip layout whichever spill might be active.

2. MCA Activation

Enable All DCAs to have all DCAs operate in MCA mode when an Aux or Matrix is the active Mix, or enable Individual DCAs and press Choose DCAs to select. Individual DCAs can be also set to MCA mode in Processing / Bank View.

Audio

PAFL

Set your preferences for the PAFL monitoring system.

The strip PAFL key operates in the following way:

• Mix PAFL overrides Mains in the monitor
• Input PAFL overrides Mix PAFL
• Releasing Input PAFL restores previous Mix PAFL
• Pressing Mix PAFL clears any Input PAFL

1. PAFL Number – Set the PAFL bus that the Surface will use for the monitoring system. This affects the function of the PAFL keys, Listen key, and audio to the Surface headphones.

   When more than 1 PAFL bus is configured in the Mixer / Config / Mixer Config screen, multiple operators can share the same dLive system whilst using different PAFL busses.

• The MixRack headphones output is fixed to PAFL bus 1
• The RTA function is fixed to PAFL bus 1
• Wedge and IEM strips are fixed to PAFL bus 1
• PFL Trim is not present on PAFL bus 9 and 10.

• When using SIP (Solo In Place), the PAFL Number should match PAFL Used For SIP number

   

2. Mix Follows Mix PAFL automatically makes a Mix key active when a Mix PAFL key is pressed.

   Mix Follows Input PAFL automatically makes a Mix key active when an Input PAFL key is pressed.

   Sel Follows PAFL automatically selects a channel when its PAFL key is pressed.

   Additive Mode sums PAFL selections when turned on. Selections auto-cancel when turned off.

   Select either PFL (pre-fade listen) or AFL (after-fade listen) for Input channels and Mix (Output) masters when the strip PAFL keys are pressed.

3. Ext Input to PAFL Source – Use the drop-down menu to select and assign an external signal, Group, Aux, Matrix or Main to the PAFL monitor, for example an I/O Port input for ‘shout’ communication between FoH and Monitor engineers.

   The PAFL Ext Input can be selectively routed to the IEM / Wedge Monitor outputs either Pre or Post the Level fader. This can also be configured as an Action.

   Either the Left or Right channel must be selected when assigning stereo Groups, Aux, Matrix or Main busses to Ext Ip Talk To PAFL.

   When assigned, controls for the preamp Gain, Trim, PAD and phantom power will appear in the window to the right.

4. A Delay up to 680ms can be set to align the PAFL signal with the acoustic sound from the stage.

   PFL Trim attenuates the PFL signal by up to 24dB relative to the AFL signal. This avoids loud PFL levels in situations where the Mix output levels are low.

   PAFL Delay settings are reset to 0ms if a bus configuration change is made in Mixer / Config / Mixer Config

5. Mix to PAFL – Set how much of the selected mix goes to the monitor system when no PAFL is active. Touch the Set Mix button to select a mix (Mains, Group, Aux or Matrix)

   It is typical, for example, to have Main Left and Right feed the PAFL Left and Right busses in a FOH application, or a specific performers IEM mix in a MON application.

SIP

Configure and enable/disable SIP (Solo In Place).

When SIP is enabled, channel PAFL buttons on connected Surface(s), Director and IP Controllers will function as a SIP button.

SIP can be used to listen to one or more channels (Inputs, Groups and FX Returns) in isolation through the main outputs of a system. When SIP is active on one or more channels, all other channels are muted unless they have been made Solo Safe.

🛈 SIP affects the audio to all outputs in the system and should be used with care.

1. PAFL Used For SIP – Select the correct PAFL number to use for SIP control.
   1. This should be the same number as the Surface PAFL Number. If the numbers do not match, the channel PAFL buttons will not activate SIP.

2. Enable/Disable SIP – Touch to enable or disable SIP.

   

When enabled, a “SIP Armed” notification will appear near the bottom of the screen. Touch this notification to return to the SIP screen at any point.

3. Solo Safe – Select Input, Group and FX Return channels to be made Solo Safe. Channels which are made Solo Safe will not be muted when SIP is active.
4. SoftKey Setup – Touch to access the SoftKeys screen where SIP Enable/Disable can be assigned to a Surface, Director or IP Controller SoftKey.

USB Audio

Set up and manage stereo recording and playback to a USB key. dLive can play mono or stereo WAV files, 16bit or 24bit, with sample rate of 44.1, 48 or 96kHz. USB recording is fixed stereo WAV 24bit 96kHz (approximately 34MB per minute or 2GB per hour).

🛈 The USB key must be formatted FAT32 with 32k cluster size. We recommend you format the key using this page prior to use.

1. Use the transport buttons to Play, Pause, Stop, Record and select previous or next track. To record, press Record to arm the recording, then press Play.

2. Folder – Choose to display audio files present in the USB key Play or Record folder. The two folders are named AHDLIVE/USBPLAY and AHDLIVE/USBREC respectively and are automatically created when a USB key is plugged into the Record/Playback USB port.

   Scroll through the list and touch a track to select. The name and length will be displayed in the left window.

3. The current source for USB recording and USB Playback patch is displayed. Touch the Assign button to open the I/O screen and assign source or destination.

I/O Port

These tabs display information on the fitted I/O Port card/s, and give access to any relevant option. See Appendix D in this guide for details.

Audio Sync

1. BNC Wordclock Out – Select the sample rate for the Wordclock output provided at the Surface and MixRack. This can be set to Off, 44.1kHz, 48kHz or 96kHz (internal).

   When using a dLive C Class Surface, an option is displayed in this page to set the BNC connector as either a Wordclock input or output.

2. AES Out Sample Rate – Select the sample rate for the Surface AES3 outputs. This can be set to 44.1kHz, 48kHz or 96kHz. Sample Rate Conversion will be bypassed when set to 96kHz.
3. You can turn the Sample Rate Conversion on or off for each stereo AES3 input as required.

🛈 Only turn off SRC if the AES sources are syncing from a 96kHz clock provided by the dLive.

Metering Ballistics

The response of dLive meters on screen and Surface can be tweaked to suit the engineer’s preference.

🛈 To set the global meter source point for Input channels and Mix masters, hold down Setup and touch the main screen area in the Meters / Inputs or Meters / Mix screen.

1. Use fast Attack and Release for fast response, digital absolute peak meters. This ensures you keep control and avoid digital clipping of signals including those with very fast dynamics, but note that the meters may read hotter than those on other consoles you are used to.

   Use slower Attack and Release to ‘dampen’ the response if required.

2. The Peak Hold Time can be set from 40ms to 10s or to infinite. This is the amount of time the highest segment of the meter will stay lit and indicates the highest signal level within such time. It also affects the red Peak indicator.
   1. The red peak indicator lights to warn that the signal is within 5dB of clipping. It is multi-point sensing which means it detects peak activity at several points in the signal path.
3. Touch Peak Hold Reset to clear all current Peak Hold indicators.

Config

Network

Use this page to configure the IP Address and Unit Name to identify the Surface on the network.

1. IP Settings – To set a static IP Address, touch the IP Address box and type in the address. Make sure the Subnet Mask and Gateway are valid, and all devices on the network including Wi-Fi routers, access points or laptops have unique but compatible addresses.

The default Surface IP Address is 192.168.1.71 with Subnet Mask 255.255.255.0 and Gateway 192.168.1.254. You can restore these defaults by touching the Reset button.

Enable DHCP to allocate an IP Address to the Surface by a network DHCP server, for example a Wi-Fi router.

1. Only use DHCP when a DHCP server is connected to the Surface. If DHCP is enabled and the Surface is powered up while no server is present, it can take longer than usual for the system to boot.

2. Unit Name – A name with up to 16 characters can be set to identify the Surface on the network. The default is ‘dLive Surface’.
3. Connections – Displays the number of active network connections to the MixRack. The Surface and touchscreens count as one connection each.

Target MixRack

On this page a MixRack can be selected for connection to the Surface.

Target MixRack – The Surface remembers the last MixRack it connected to and attempts to connect to it at power up. If you want to connect the Surface to a different MixRack on the network, select the MixRack from the list or type in its IP Address and press Apply.

External Screen

Use this page to select the output of the external VGA connector. The VGA output can mirror either screen of the dLive Surface, or set to display a third, independent view.

You can connect a mouse and/or keyboard to the Surface USB port/s for use with the external screen.

🛈 The external screen must support a resolution of 1024x768.

🛈 External touchscreen devices can be used if they support a resolution of 1024x768 and are class compliant on Linux. dLive does not support third party driver installation.

Controllers

Up to 8 GPIO modules and 16 IP remote controllers per device type are configurable, each with its own assignments and functions.

🛈 Refer to the Remote Controller Getting Started Guide for information on the device hardware and connection.

🛈 Please refer to earlier sections in this Guide for instructions on setting up and assigning IP remote controllers.

Adding a device to the Surface / Controllers / Device Manager adds the option to assign Sel and Mix keys to the IP device. In this mode the remote controller becomes an extension of the dLive Surface i.e. the channel and Mix selection is shared across the Surface and IP device.

Add controllers to the MixRack / Controllers / Device Manager instead for applications where the Surface is not present or an independent set of controls is required.