Suggestions for Switchers / Routing Matrices

Forum Patching
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Been thinkin a lot lately about how to patch in ways to make the signal flow as variable as possible. Looking at a couple switchers and routing modules. I have two strong contenders I’m considering at the moment.

Doepfer A-150-8 Octal Manual / Voltage Controlled Programmable Switches

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Seems like a very solid option for routing multiple sources around with manual and CV triggers. Different operation modes is a definite plus.

SSSR Labs SM010 Matrixarchate

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Configurable I/O. Preset recall/programming. Have heard this works pretty well with video. Available (not at the moment) as a DIY kit.

If anybody has any recommendations I would love to hear them. Again the goal is to route a patch through a module to allow as much variability as possible. Thanks.

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There was talk at one point of WMD releasing a full video bandwidth version of this:

Bummed it never happened.

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I’ve used both and prefer the Matrixarchate. The Doepfer A-150-8 definitely blurs video signals more than the Matrixarchate but is fine up until a bit farther above V sync / audio range–it’s much less of a smear than other audio modules I’ve tried. I think it uses a DG409 for the switcher IC.

The switches operate into audio range so you can get scrolling horizontal bars between inputs. You might need a scaler to hit the switches’ voltage thresholds. The immediacy of programming multiple switches to actuate with one trigger with persistent memory and no need to save its configuration with a button combo is nice. Its layout felt more immediately playable out of the two.

Matrixarchate perceptibly blurs detailed external video by a couple of SD pixels so don’t expect to switch crystal clear portraits with it. It works perfectly fine for slightly less detailed SD images or lower frequency content still within H sync range down to DC. Beyond its better image fidelity, where it really shines is its doubled amount of inputs (these are bidirectional so can be outputs just like on the Doepfer A-150-8) and you can sequence completely different complex routings instantly without complex logic signals.

It uses a MT8816 for the switcher IC. You might need a scaler to use its Trigger input but I’ve had success with V sync square waves out of Prismatic Ray. It only responds up to somewhat low audio rates but you can get scrolling horizontal bars. Its button interface is okay but doesn’t feel quite as intuitive as the Doepfer A-150-8–there are a couple of function+button combos to remember.

If your goal is being able to reroute one physical patch with as much variety as possible, would definitely opt for the Matrixarchate.

It also speaks I2C so there are some interesting possibilities for dynamically accessing its matrix. Particularly curious if anyone can work out how to get Befaco VCMC’s I2C firmware talking to it. Mapping the faders and buttons to set/reset crosspoints for generative routing under voltage control would be fun.

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I’m pretty sure I put out this idea with a positive response previously…
How about a 19" rack video matrix like a Kramer or Extron unit - would they handle animation rate CV?

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Sweet! Thanks for replying in so much detail! I was thinking either module could be a bit off at the higher end of the frequency range. I sort of figured that some amount of blur would be unavoidable. With the Matrixarchate, the layout looks a little less than intuitive. I was hoping the save/recall function might be particularly useful but nobody I’ve talked to has said it’s especially great or anything. I am hoping the DIY kits pop up somewhere soon. I do also have the VCMC in my rack so that would be super sick to have them working together.

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Save/recall is super useful for editing/deconstructing one routing preset and instantly returning to it (F1 + Revert). I have several routing presets setup so I can quickly get the basis for a pattern synthesis or external processing patch going without having to set up the foundation for it everytime.

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You’d need something that translates CV → MIDI → RS-232. I think Tim Caldwell had something called transcribe in the works that would let you do this (at least the MIDI → RS-232 part).

I’ve spammed Extron matrix mixers with RS-232 commands through a USB->serial dongle in the past and recall it does have some slight lag on responding to each command.

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@wednesdayayay
How about posting the photo of the front panel of @Fox’s Passive Switcher (that you concepted, right?) that you’ve recently built? It’s a simple unit with no fancy bells & whistles but might be just the trick for some of us on here :metal:t3:

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this is a great little unit!

it is really nice to have the ability to go 2:1 or 1:2

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let me hit up fox i think ill have to snag one…

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Can you give more Infos on the module and how it works? 3 x 3 channel switcher?

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It’s a 4PDT passive switch.

So you can put 4 separate signals into the Circle jacks and 4 other signals into the Square jacks and switch whether all 4 of the Circle or Square jacks show up on the Triangle jacks. That’s basically 2:1 x 4.

The other route is feeding 4 signals into the Triangle jacks and switching between them showing up on the Circle or Square jacks. That’s 1:2 x 4.

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rempesm gave a great answer!
you could do a YRGB signal or just a bunch of different modulations
This kind of module allows for easy large changes within a patch without having to do a bunch of extra patching.

I’ve got a bunch of different styles of 2:1 / 1:2 switches in the system singles doubles and now 2 quads. They are so handy!

I like using the singles for switching between POS & NEG outs from polar fringe

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I’m curious as to whether anyone is using a matrix router or switcher to connect multiple outboard processors (BPMC, Color Correctors, etc.) to their systems. The central hub would be a Roland/Edirol V-8 and that would connect to the matrix/switcher on one slot and then I could easily patch items to it without having to clear desk space, deal with cables,etc. It could also speed up the exploration of ideas.

I’d like to set up all of my composite devices on a patchbay type of system. I guess that one could use an RCA or BNC patchbay but am thinking that some sort of matrix, with memory/recall, would be pretty slick and useful.

Any thoughts?

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here are a couple posts about our previous rack mount setup (everything is apart currently in preparation for a move)

things have changed just a bit
we consolidated the whole jangle of small devices on the HDMI input section into a single 4x4 HDMI matrix switcher.

there is a composite 6x6 switcher.

we’ve got a component switcher on the way (4x2 it seems like you can get giant component matrices or small ones and I don’t want to dedicate a huge space so small it is).

a multi input switcher kramer 719

we bough a second 719 for dual direct multi into TBC2 but it was damaged in shipping. We are going to wait until TBC2s are in hand before seeking another one (they have been sitting ~20-35 for a while)

additionally we have two VHS decks (one record one playback)
one SVHS deck
one extron 300a > BMD hyper deck shuttle 2 for out high quality capture
a cheap AV > SD card recorder is on the through output

so at any given time even without a computer close by we can record onto 4 different types of media at once(SD card, SSD, VHS, SVHS this also covers most connector types…composite, Svideo, Component>HDMI)

we did our whole vidicon presentation with this setup

being able to feed the system output back into something like structure (VC expansion) / wave_pool / Scrawl was lots of fun and usually showed up in the top right corner via PiP.

it is so satisfying to completely change up the workflow of the system by just pressing a couple buttons.

the V440 was the heart of that setup with a V4 off to the side

Now I have a proper tower rack to mount all this stuff in.

4x4 HDMI matrix

IN

  • switch (there are a couple neat coloring games),
  • andor
  • computer
  • document cam

OUT

  • clean monitor
  • HDMI > component
  • HDMI > composite /svid
  • eventually will be a second HDMI recording device so I can get a clean recording of the input for performance repeatability. depending on the timeline of getting things setup I may stick in a second HDMI > component converter
4x2 component matrix

what was a passive 4x1 component switch
will be replaced by a 4x2 component matrix

IN

  • V4 (svid) > ambery converter component
  • HDMI input section > HDMI > component converter

OUT

  • Visual cortex
  • V440 HD > loop through > extron 719
6x6 composite matrix

IN

  • HDMI > composite adapter
  • visual cortex
  • V4
  • memory palace
  • structure
  • camera

OUT

  • Structure
  • V440 SD side
  • Extron 719
  • Marshall Monitor > loop through > AV recorder
Extron 719 multi switcher

IN

  • composite - matrix switcher
  • svid - memory palace
  • svid - visual cortex
  • component -V440 loop through of HDMI input section output
  • VGA - V440 loop through (I’m not remembering what this loop through was from specifically)
  • DVI - memory palace

OUT

  • monitor
  • splitter
    1 V440 HD
    2 Visual cortex
V4

IN

  • Scrawl
  • VHS
  • camera 1 / battery powered microscope
  • 2nd scrawl / Wavepool or other RPI programs with feedback coming from the V4 as the input)

OUT

  • Composite -preview - Monitor
  • composite- matrix switcher
  • composite - feedback > RPI via AV > USB
  • svid - ambery composite/svid>component converter
V440

SD
I think on the first input on the SD side I was plugged into both the Svid and the composite inputs so that you can quickly switch between types of inputs to allow for more overall.

IN

  • Feedback / VC
  • memory palace
  • structure
  • matrix switch

OUT

  • PGM monitor
  • PRV monitor

HD

IN

  • Visual cortex
  • component matrix
  • feedback
  • extron switch

OUT

  • PGM monitor
  • PRV monitor
  • extron 300a > BMD hyperdeck shuttle 2 for recording > loop through to final output monitor

I’m excited to get it all set back up!

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I love this:
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what is the goal of a system layout drawing if not to broad scope it to the point of being a sigil?
I didn’t get all the way there with this set.
hopefully with the new setup!

Belial is our little basket buddy V4 PRV monitor

@Z0NK0UT

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its name is belial because it reminds us of this little creep from the basket case movies

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Now I love it even more!

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I’m in the process of setting up a rack to make interconnections easier. Component video especially I want to be a lot more streamlined, so I’ll have the Kramer matrix pictured here routing that in/out/around. And I’ll use the patchbay for composite video.

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I’ve found that I have mostly switched to a component workflow (main video into system and out for monitoring/recording), so that will sort of be the “permanent,” hardwired setup. And then outboard composite gear will work in on a more plug-in/out basis, as needed.

Not pictured is the CRT I use for component monitoring/rescanning. It’s on a shelf to the right.

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Yep! a matrix switch is invaluable for mashing together stand-alone processors.
I have two 16x16 units, though only need one of them now, and love the flexibility of routing through multiple mixers and processors.
Here’s a glimpse of me “at the controls” using the switch to make some sense of the mess

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