Muse Research

gregh1 · Post by **gregh1** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 5:55 pm

ReaStream from Cockos (makers of Reaper) is a part of their free ReaPlugs package. It streams audio and MIDI over a network (e.g. Ethernet).

The ReaStream plugin installs and runs on Receptor. My tests were with a RevB running OS 1.5 and a WinXP laptop running Reaper 2.56.

Since it loads as an FX on Receptor, you can use it in specific Receptor channels, or on the A, B, and Master busses.

On my network (100Mbps through a D-Link router), one instance of ReaStream sending audio in one direction uses about 3% of the bandwidth. This is similar to UniWire, although the UniWire FX version is always bidirectional (using 6% on my network), even if you only need an incoming stream, and the UniWire instrument version always returns audio (at 3% bandwidth), even if you only need to send MIDI. Note: newer UniWire versions may behave differently.

There were some minor audio dropouts while using the Receptor remote viewer - that's expected, since it uses some network bandwidth in a "bursty" way. And the visual activity on the Receptor Mixer page may have had an impact. So, for best audio performance using ReaStream, I found it to be best to switch to the Setup page, then quit the remote viewer. I also suspect that using a direct network connection from Receptor to laptop (without the router) would be smoother.

Latency was quite low, and I was quite comfortable playing a MIDI keyboard into Receptor to trigger a piano VST followed by ReaStream (both on Receptor), then listening to the audio from my laptop's speakers (most latency was from the laptop's audio interface, which used WDM Kernel Streaming).

ReaStream can send or receive audio, so one of my tests involved sending audio to Receptor by "injecting" it from the laptop into the FX A slots of three Receptor channels (e.g. for voice, guitar, and bass) and also playing a piano VST (in Receptor channel 4) live via MIDI. I loaded other effects in the FX slots of each channel and also on the two FX busses plus the Master channel.

In addition to a stereo return mix from the Master channel, I sent the piano sound back separately, and turned it off from Receptor's main mix (to be processed independantly on the laptop). So, I was using Receptor as an outboard effects processor for pre-recorded tracks while also using it as a live sound source, and there are other possibilities with Receptor's output routing.

This test had 5 instances of ReaStream, with 5 stereo audio streams. Three streams went from laptop to Receptor, and two streams went from Receptor to laptop. In contrast, I could only run one instance of UniWire, since two instances of UniWire would conflict with each other somehow and stop network activity. Again, newer versions of UniWire may behave differently.

I did not test ReaStream's MIDI-sending capability, but I suspect that it would not work with Receptor, since Receptor does not support MIDI plugins in FX slots. So one method would be to send MIDI from your PC's MIDI interface via a MIDI cable into Receptor's MIDI in port, then receive the audio via ReaStream.

I'd be interesting in hearing about other people's experience with ReaStream. It might provide an alternative to UniWire in some cases.

looneytunes · Post by **looneytunes** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 6:13 pm

Hi Greg,

Thanks for the post - this sounds like it might be quite useful. You did some interesting experiments. I'd be anxious to hear about some experiments where you find a 'breaking point' (eg can you stream 16 stereo audio channels out? 16 out + some in?).

Regards,
Kevin L

gregh1 · Post by **gregh1** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 6:41 pm

I'll try to do a stress test, but I'd also like to hear what happens on newer Receptors. ReaStream should would work nicely on an R2 with gigabit networking.

gregh1 · Post by **gregh1** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 8:14 pm

I've run this test:

Receptor RevB, 1280MB Ram, 48KHz master sampling rate, 512 byte buffer.
Loaded:
1 channel Korg Wavestation + ReaStream
15 channels 4Front EPiano + ReaStream

Each ReaStream given a different identifier (which indicates a unique audio stream).

MIDI sent from laptop Edirol UM-1 MIDI interface, running Plogue Bidule 0.9678 using the Step Sequencer tool. One-bar looping pattern, sending different note sequences on all 16 MIDI channels.

Audio received by Cockos Reaper 2.57 on the same laptop, in 16 separate channel strips corresponding to the 16 unique audio ReaStream identifiers. Clean and unique audio appears in each channel, as confirmed by soloing each in Reaper.

Network utilization is at 53% +-1% (still running through the router, though).

Laptop CPU is at 57% +-3%.

Receptor CPU averages at 74% +-3%, with peaks between 85-100%. Very few audible sound dropouts. This is while using the remote viewer to look at the mixer screen with meters turned off (mute AND solo the first channel). With meters on, Receptor CPU rises to 85% peaking constantly at 100% with obvious sound dropouts. Again, it's better to go to the setup screen and exit the remote viewer.

This test has been running for 20+ minutes non-stop, and is running while I type this. I occasionally change patches in Wavestation. Audio dropouts occur when using the remote viewer to do this.

Note that the laptop (WinXP) has not been optimized for audio or network performance. The few random dropouts that I hear (when remote viewer is not running) may be due to the usual network activity (e.g. Internet, e-mail checking, etc).

Personally, I find these results very impressive for a RevB.

looneytunes · Post by **looneytunes** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 8:42 pm

Thanks for the stress test. This is quite interesting. This is probably the closest I've heard of to populating all channels on Receptor - with ethernet streaming. So I would expect that this would work well for some musical application -- like trying to replicate an orchestral mockups with many Kontakt channels setup (eg. like EWQL or something like this).

I think I was reading somewhere about AudioImpressions AudioPort Universal finding that the maximum bandwidth happening around 32 channels of stereo audio (I can't remember exactly what the figures are, and it probably isn't an equivalent comparison since AudioImpressions was streaming at 192 khz). In any case, I get the impression from your calculations that 2 Receptors worth of Audio would totally fill the ethernet bandwidth for streaming to a host.
Maybe some machines (like the PowerMacs) might be better positioned for more having multiple ether ports.

Anyway, this is an interesting experiment to determine what is potentially possible for streaming into a DAW. Thanks again Greg for trying this out!

Regards,
Kevin L

gregh1 · Post by **gregh1** » Mon Mar 16, 2009 9:09 pm

This test (which is still running an hour later, by the way - and I'm starting to get tired of hearing the loop...) is perhaps pushing the limits of this particular RevB Receptor.

But a Receptor 2 with gigabit ethernet, and a matching interface on the PC, would breeze through it. I think 32 channels from two Receptors would be quite possible.

This streaming method could also be used to capture 16 separate audio streams during a live performance.

gregh1 · Post by **gregh1** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 12:31 am

Well, I finally stopped the sequence! I paused it during dinner, then started it back up after. But four hours is long enough, so I think it has proven iteself to be a viable method to explore.

Keep in mind that the ReaStream plugin can stream between PCs, too. So you could stream a Receptor to one PC, another Receptor to another PC, then make submixes which stream to a third PC. Or run the MIDI sequencer on one PC and return the audio to another. And so on...

RecordingArts · Post by **RecordingArts** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 6:04 pm

Can anyone recommend a Mac version?

gregh1 · Post by **gregh1** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 6:24 pm

The ReaStream plugin is free from Cockos as part of the ReaPlugs package. That will give you the VST that runs on Receptor (along with some other VSTs that I didn't test on Receptor).

The Reaper app is available for Mac, and it may include the ReaStream plugin for that platform (although I'm not sure).

Check out the reaper.fm web site.

demierra · Post by **demierra** » Wed Mar 18, 2009 9:54 am

Hi,

I installed the ReaPlugs on the Receptor and tested them quickly. They all seem to work well, but I had a problem with the Res Stream. When I want to un-instantiate it and load another plugin instead, the Receptor freezes, restarts and relaods the same instrument and Stream. I tried it several times, and it was the same all the time. I had to restart the Receptor with a triple click to remove everything.

Has anyone had the same problem? Or is it just me?

Demierra

gregh1 · Post by **gregh1** » Wed Mar 18, 2009 4:51 pm

I had that happen when ReaStream was loaded in a Master channel FX slot. You could try clearing the "Enabled" checkbox first. Also, it didn't save it's state when saved as part of a single. It might need presets created first.

gregh1 · Post by **gregh1** » Wed Mar 25, 2009 10:33 pm

Has anyone else tried using ReaStream?

gregh1 · Post by **gregh1** » Tue May 05, 2009 5:39 pm

rudy.de.volder · Post by **rudy.de.volder** » Wed Mar 30, 2011 6:28 pm

I downloaded reaper 2.56; the version mentioned in this forum.
But i can't install the VST on my receptor.
I did the unsupported plugin procedure but it says FAILED.
I tried it with several versions of reaper: v0.99 / v1.88 / v2.56 / v3.xx
but no gain

Any help would be appreciated.

gregh1 · Post by **gregh1** » Wed Mar 30, 2011 6:44 pm

It's been a while since I did this series of tests and I have not tried it on R2 or R2+, but I've seen plugins install correctly, even if Receptor reports "FAILED".

Muse Research

KVR Audio

Possible alternative to UniWire: ReaStream