The 24I/O from MOTU is a hard disc recording system which includes an interface with twenty-four, high quality 24-bit/96kHz analog inputs and outputs, in a cost effective single rack space package. The interface allows for recording to and from twenty-four simultaneous analog sources and also includes the PCI-424 card and Audiodesk workstation software.
The front panel of the interface is essentially a dedicated meter bridge. Audio activity for every input and output is represented by a dedicated five-segment LED bar graph. The twenty-four analog inputs and outputs are on 1/4" TRS phone connectors operating at either -10dB or +4dB (balanced/unbalanced) and the input level can be switched via software in banks of eight inputs. The 24I/O interface provides word clock sync on a single BNC connector that can be programmed for input or output via software.
The 24I/O uses the second generation AudioWire protocol, a high-bandwidth digital audio format capable of carrying up to twenty-four channels of 96kHz digital audio in and out of the computer at the same time. The included PCI-424 card features a powerful DSP chip dedicated to creating a custom tailored monitor mix of up to ninety-six channels of 96kHz audio.
Because the mixing takes place on the card itself, instead of making the round trip from the PCI bus to the host processor, the system provides near-zero latency performance. Up to four audio interfaces (which are hot swappable) can be connected to a PCI-424 in any combination.