Metric Halo MIO Console 4.0

MIOConsoleConnect is a new way to interact with your Mobile I/O hardware. Designed from the ground up to seamlessly integrate MIOConsole with your preferred digital audio workstation software, MIOConsoleConnect lets you use the MIO as if it were created in concert with your workstation.
This is a quantum leap forward for both the Mobile I/O and your native host allowing you to have the level of integration that, up until now, has only been found in dedicated hardware workstations.
But unlike those dedicated workstations, it works with your choice of audio software allowing you the freedom to choose the solution that works best for you, or to move between multiple hosts with no loss of integration.
MIOConsoleConnect is built upon exclusive Metric Halo technology that allows the MIOConsoleConnect plugin (which is available in the AU, VST and RTAS formats) to connect to Metric Halo’s MIOConsole control application. The connection provides bi-directional communication between the host and MIOConsole, allowing the host to load the complete state of your MIO system (for all the units attached to your computer) and save it automatically and completely in the session file for your project.
When you reopen your project, the MIOConsoleConnect plugin will automatically launch MIOConsole and update the state of your hardware to match the settings saved in your session.
This is all done automatically and transparently to you. Since the MIO can have complex routings, mixer settings, analog level settings and +DSP patches, MIOConsoleConnect extends total recall of your session outside the bounds of your workstation software and out into the physical world.
Being able to have total recall of the complete hardware state in your host’s session files is very exciting and powerful, and opens up many new possibilities. For example, this in-session total recall gives you the ability to preconfigure host session templates that automatically prepare your hardware for tracking (setting up the Mic pres and monitor mixes, for example). If this was the extent of the integration, it would be very useful. But MIOConsoleConnect does not stop there.
The plugin provides full access to MIOConsole from within the context of the hosting workstation. This means that you can be interacting with the MIO hardware while still having full control over your host application. Riding gains, adjusting monitor mixes, inserting and tweaking plugins is now a snap, and can be done from within your host application.
All your host app windows remain fully active and the host’s keycommands are also fully active, so things like transport control continue to work as you would expect, with no need to shift gears mentally, simply because you need to make an adjustment to the hardware. And best of all, when you save your session, everything is stored exactly as it is, so when you come back to your session, the hardware is reset to be exactly as it was.
Since the state of your entire MIO system is available to the plugin, you can also save your system configurations as plugin presets using your host’s preset management system. This allows you to configure and switch between multiple system configurations with a single click of the mouse. For example, you can configure the HW for both tracking and mixdown and save both setups as plugin presets. Switching between the configurations is instantaneous and incredibly convenient. Since the plugin settings are stored in the plugin’s standard file format, if you use multiple hosts, the settings are easily transportable between all your hosts.
Enhancements:
- Version 4 of the Mobile I/O software and firmware also adds an exceptional new feature to the MIO hardware family: FireWire Returns. The FireWire Returns allow you to selectively route any mix or +DSP processed signal to the computer via FireWire without the use of additional external cabling. This opens up a number of exciting applications including In the MIO mixing, +DSP loop processing, and live, printed +DSP processing during record (while still being able to record the dry tracks simultaneously!)