Lockstep's Anatomy

Lockstep's main window consists of four elements:

1. LTC Input. This is where you select the device and channel on which Lockstep should listen for incoming timecode. (Note: Lockstep processes on analog audio inputs, so if your device has a dedicated LTC/SMPTE port, Lockstep won't see it; use an audio input instead.)
2. Level Indicator. This shows the current level of the audio being received on the currently selected channel, so you can quickly troubleshoot a dropout.
3. MTC Output. Ordinarily, you can leave this set to Lockstep (virtual output). If your sequencer doesn't give you the option of reading MTC from a virtual endpoint, select Lockstep IAC, or select any existing MIDI port to send to an external device.
4. Status display. This will tell you at a glance whether timecode is being received, what framerate it is, and what the most recent timecode received.

How to use Lockstep

Lockstep has been designed to be insanely easy to set up. The following instructions assume that you'll be running Lockstep alongside a MTC-capable sequencer on the same machine, though many other configurations are possible.

1. Select any audio input where timecode will be received.
2. Select a MIDI port where your sequencer can receive MTC.
3. Set your sequencer to listen for MTC on that port.

That's it! Well, that and actually sending timecode from the master computer. There are a couple other things to keep in mind with Pro Tools, but for most other software, the above steps are all you need.