RME ARC-USB
The RME ARC-USB is a wired studio control remote designed to increase your work flow. Providing direct access to the most frequently used actions and commands of TotalMix FX. And is compatible with all RME devices supported by TotalMix FX, via a Windows or Mac computer. The unit can also be connected directly to a Fireface UFX+ or Fireface UFX II, when operating these interfaces in standalone mode.
As soon as the ARC USB is connected to a computer any button press or wheel turning will cause the respective action performed by TotalMix FX – and therefore also by the RME audio interface.
With the UFX+ and UFX II the ARC USB can also be connected directly to these devices, currently the only RME interfaces having an internal USB 1.1 host with matching connector. This way of connecting is handy in stand-alone mode, where the ARC USB is also supported by the UFX+ and UFX II.
The ARC USB is bus powered, but draws only little current. Also it uses USB 1.1 as bus standard, which these days is uncritical due to its lower frequency and speed demands. USB 2 cables with 5 meter to 10 meter length, and cheap USB 2 cable extensions that usually make a bus-powered interface fail will work perfectly for the ARC USB. Still at higher lengths RME recommends to use active USB 2 cables (also called extension or repeater cables), which are not expensive and work over lengths of more than 20 meters.
The ARC USB can control several interfaces simultaneously, which happens automatically as the Key Commands dialog in TotalMix FX is specific to the currently selected audio interface. Just assign only the functions that are desired for each respective interface. After that the ARC USB keys and the encoder wheel remote the respective interface where they have been assigned to, without the need to further switch or select anything in normal operation.
The lower three keys have a useful diagnostic functionality.
Talkback: is lit dim as soon as the ARC USB is running on 5 V USB bus power.
Speaker B: is lit dim as soon as a USB communication is possible.
DIM: is lit dim as soon as a communication with TotalMix FX is established.
Therefore in normal operation all three lower keys are lit dim constantly.
The ARC USB comes with a standard set of Key Commands that already cover most usage scenarios, printed directly beneath the keys:
Row 1 and 2: activating Snapshots 1 to 8.
Row 3: Mono, Volume Phones 1, Volume Phones 2, External Input
Lower keys: Talkback, Speaker B, Dim.
A set of stickers with all currently available TotalMix FX commands is included. These can be used to label all keys reflecting the current user configuration.
The rotary encoder wheel is used to change various parameters, like gain and volume. It is pro-grammable in TotalMix FX as well.