New Features in Nuendo 4.

2
Cristina Bachmann, Heiko Bischoff, Marion Bröer, Sabine Pfeifer
The information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part
of Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH. The software described by this document is subject to a License Agreement
and may not be copied to other media except as specifically allowed in the License Agreement. No part of this publica-
tion may be copied, reproduced or otherwise transmitted or recorded, for any purpose, without prior written permission
by Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH.
All product and company names are ™ or ® trademarks of their respective owners. Windows XP is a trademark of
Microsoft Corporation. Windows Vista is either a registered trademark or trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the
United States and/or other countries. The Mac logo is a trademark used under license. Macintosh and Power Macintosh
are registered trademarks.
Release Date: July 15, 2008
© Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH, 2008.
All rights reserved.
Table of Contents
5 Introduction
6 Welcome!

7 Working with the new features

8 VST Sound
8 Plug and Play support for ASIO devices
8 Automatically generated VST Connection presets
9 Monitoring improvements
9 Mac OS X improvements
9 Remote Devices
10 Key Commands for MediaBay options
10 Importing OMF files
10 Routing the metronome click to a VST Instrument
10 Suspending Autoscroll
11 New option in the Project Synchronization Setup
dialog

12 Index

4
Table of Contents
Introduction
Welcome!
Welcome to Nuendo 4.2! This version adds support for the
Advanced Integration Controller CC121 and the Advanced
Integration FireWire Interfaces MR816 X/MR816 CSX to-
gether with new features for every Nuendo user.
This document lists and describes the features that have
been added to or modified in the program since version 4.1.

About the program versions

The documentation covers two different operating sys-
tems or “platforms”; Windows and Mac OS X.
Some features and settings are specific to one of the plat-
forms. This is clearly stated in the applicable cases. In
other words:

Ö If nothing else is said, all descriptions and procedures

in the documentation are valid for both Windows and Mac
OS X.

Key command conventions

Many of the default key commands in Nuendo use modi-
fier keys, some of which are different depending on the
operating system. For example, the default key command
for Undo is [Ctrl]-[Z] under Windows and [Command]-[Z]
under Mac OS X.
When key commands with modifier keys are described in
this manual, they are shown with the Windows modifier
key first, in the following way:
[Win modifier key]/[Mac modifier key]-[key]
For example, [Ctrl]/[Command]-[Z] means “press [Ctrl]
under Windows or [Command] under Mac OS X, then
press [Z]”.
Similarly, [Alt]/[Option]-[X] means “press [Alt] under Win-
dows or [Option] under Mac OS X, then press [X]”.

Ö Please note that this manual might refer to right-click-

ing, e.g. to open context menus, etc. If you are using a Mac
with a single-button mouse, hold down [Ctrl] and click.

6
Introduction
Working with the new features
VST Sound These hardware-dependent presets can have the follow-
ing configurations:
With version 4.2, Steinberg introduced VST Sound, a new
• one stereo bus
version of the SoundFrame media management system that
• various combinations of stereo and mono busses
is directly integrated into VST3. VST Sound allows direct
• a number of mono busses
integration into the MediaBay to third party manufacturers
• one 5.1 bus (if you have 6 or more inputs)
of plug-ins and instruments, and encompasses all formats
• various combinations of 5.1 and stereo busses (if you have 6
and file types previously supported by SoundFrame such as
or more inputs)
audio, loops, VSTi presets, video, MIDI files and track pre-
• various combinations of 5.1 and mono busses (if you have 6
sets. VST Sound has now replaced SoundFrame, which
or more inputs)
was part of previous versions of Steinberg applications.

Plug and Play support for ASIO

devices
The Steinberg MR816 hardware series supports Plug and
Play in Nuendo. These devices can be plugged in and
switched on while the application is running. Nuendo will
automatically use the driver of the MR816 series and will
re-map the VST connections accordingly.
• Please note that Steinberg cannot guarantee that this
will work with other hardware. If you are unsure of whether
your device supports plug and play, please consult its
documentation.

! If a device that does not support Plug and Play is

connected/disconnected when the computer is run-
ning, it might get damaged.

Automatically generated VST

Connection presets The Presets menu on the Outputs tab of the VST Connections window,
with the standard presets (top) and the automatically generated presets
In the VST Connections window (opened from the Devices (bottom).
menu), on the Inputs and Outputs tabs, you will find a Pre- The automatically generated presets make it easy to install
sets menu. A number of standard bus configurations are and use an audio hardware device very quickly, as it is no
provided by default, and you can also save your own cus- longer necessary to manually specify the bus-port assign-
tomized setups as presets. ments for the current device in the VST Connections win-
In this version of Nuendo, a new type of preset has been dow every time before you can start working. This is very
added to complement the standard presets as known from handy, especially if you have a number of different devices
the previous program version: On each startup, Nuendo you want to use or if you are working in different studios.
will analyze the physical inputs and outputs provided by
your audio hardware, and will automatically create presets
tailored to your specific hardware configuration.

8
Working with the new features
Monitoring improvements Port selection and activation
On the settings page for your audio card (opened via the
Regarding ASIO Direct Monitoring, some improvements
Devices menu, see above), you can now specify which in-
have been made for this version of Nuendo.
put and which output port should be active. This allows
Depending on the audio hardware, you can now control you e.g. to use the Microphone input instead of the Line
the monitoring level and panning from the mixer (including input or even to deactivate the audio card input or output
the Control Room section) by adjusting the volume faders, completely, if required.
the input gain controls and the Control Room’s studio
send levels. Ö This function is only available for Built-In Audio, stan-
dard USB audio devices and a certain number of other au-
When using Steinberg hardware (MR816 series) in com- dio cards (e.g. Pinnacle CineWave).
bination with ASIO Direct Monitoring, monitoring will be
virtually latency-free. Making settings for the hardware
When you click the “Open Config App” button on the set-
Mac OS X improvements tings page for your audio device in the Device Setup dia-
log, the Control Panel for your audio device will be opened
Retrieving channel names (if applicable). Here, you can make various settings relat-
For some audio cards, it is now possible to automatically ing to your audio hardware. The available settings depend
retrieve the “ASIO” channel names for the ports of your on the installed hardware, so please refer to the documen-
audio hardware: tation that came with the audio hardware for information.

1. Open the Device Setup dialog via the Devices menu.

Remote Devices
2. On the VST Audio System page, select your audio
card on the “ASIO driver” pop up menu. On the Device Setup dialog, on the page for your remote
device, some (or all) of the following new functions may be
3. In the Devices list to the left, select your audio card.
The available settings are displayed.
available (depending on your remote device):
Option Description
4. In the settings section to the right, click the Control
Panel button. Reset This allows you to revert to the factory default settings for
the remote device.
This opens the control panel for your audio hardware.
Bank If your remote device contains several banks, you can se-
5. Activate the “Use CoreAudio Channel Names” option. lect the bank you want to use on this pop-up menu.
The bank you select here will be the one used by default
6. When you now open the VST Connections window to when Nuendo is launched.
set up the busses in your system, you will find that the port Smart Switch Some of the Nuendo functions (e.g. Solo and Mute) sup-
names in the Device Port column correspond to the Delay port the so called “smart switch” behavior: In addition to
regular activation/deactivation of a function by clicking a
names that are used by the CoreAudio driver. button, you can also activate the function for as long as
the button is pressed. Upon releasing the mouse button,
Ö If you want to use the project later on with an earlier the function is deactivated.
version of Nuendo, you will have to re-assign the port con- This pop-up menu allows you to specify how long a but-
ton must be pressed before it goes into “smart switch”
nections in the VST Connections window. mode. When “Off” is selected, the “smart switch” func-
tion is deactivated in Nuendo.

9
Working with the new features
Key Commands for MediaBay • “Import at Absolute Time” will insert the elements con-
tained in the OMF file starting at the timecode position
options saved in the file and keeping the relative distances be-
Several commands relating to the MediaBay can now be tween the elements.
performed using keyboard shortcuts. These are set up in This is required when the relative positioning of the elements inside the
OMF file needs to be maintained after importing it into the Nuendo time-
the Key Commands dialog (opened via the File menu).
line (even if Nuendo is set to a different frame rate than the OMF file).
New key commands are available for the following ac- This is usually required in musical environments, where the timing be-
tions: you can step through presets, open the Presets tween objects has highest priority.
browser, and use the arrow keys on your keyboard to nav-
igate in the MediaBay windows. Furthermore, you can re- Routing the metronome click to a
set the search criteria or revert to the MediaBay as it was
when you launched the program. VST Instrument
Ö Note that this makes it possible to remote control When setting up a metronome MIDI click, you can use a
several of the MediaBay functions. VST Instrument to provide the sound for the click.
1. On the Transport menu, select “Metronome Setup…”.
Importing OMF files 2. In the MIDI Click section, open the MIDI Port/Channel
pop-up menu and select a VST Instrument from the list.
When importing OMF files, you can now choose between Note that the instrument must have been set up in the VST Instruments
two options specifying at which time position the files will window. Make sure that Activate MIDI Click is activated.
be placed in the project.
When you now start playback and a sound is selected in
your VST Instrument, the metronome click will be heard
using the VSTi selected above.

Options for
positioning
the data on
Suspending Autoscroll
the timeline
On the main toolbar in the Project window, as well as in
the various editors, you will find the Autoscroll button.
When this button is activated, the display will scroll during
playback, keeping the project cursor visible in the window
at all times.
When editing parts or events during playback with Auto-
scroll enabled, you may suddenly “loose sight” of the ed-
The Import options dialog for an OMF file ited material as the display follows the project cursor.
• “Import at Timecode Position” will insert the elements If you don’t want the Project window display to change
contained in the OMF file at their original timecode posi- when editing during playback, you can activate the “Sus-
tions. pend Autoscroll when Editing” button. You will find this
This is useful when you want to position every imported element at its ex-
button right next to the Autoscroll button.
act timecode position, i.e. as it was saved in the OMF file. This way, the
elements will end up at their correct time positions even when Nuendo
uses a different frame rate than the OMF file.
This is usually required in a picture-related context.

Suspend Autoscroll when Editing

10
Working with the new features
When this option is enabled, autoscrolling is suspended
as soon as you click anywhere in the event display during
playback.
Proceed as follows:
1. Open a project that contains audio or MIDI parts/
events.
2. Enable both the “Autoscroll” and the “Suspend Auto-
scroll when Editing” buttons (both buttons turn blue).
3. Start playback.
4. Edit an audio or MIDI part/event of your project (e.g.
click and drag it to a different location on its track).
The Autoscroll button will turn orange.
Autoscrolling is now suspended, i.e. when the project cur-
sor moves to the right edge of the Project window, the
display will not follow to keep the cursor visible.
As soon as playback stops, or when you click the Auto-
scroll button again (so it turns blue), Nuendo will return to
the normal Autoscroll behavior.

New option in the Project

Synchronization Setup dialog
In the Project Synchronization Setup dialog, in the MIDI
Clock Destinations section in the lower right corner you
can find the option “Send MIDI Clock in Stop”.
• When this option is activated, Nuendo will send MIDI
Clock signals to the selected MIDI Clock destinations
even when Nuendo is in Stop mode.
This is, for example, useful if you are working with a keyboard that has a
built-in arpeggiator, the tempo of which you are controlling via MIDI
Clock messages. This way, the arpeggiator will keep the right tempo
even when Nuendo is in Stop mode. You may also be able to use this
feature with some external drum machines, as it allows you to play the
drum patterns in the current sequencer tempo even when Nuendo is
stopped.
• When this option is deactivated, Nuendo will send MIDI
Clock signals to the selected MIDI Clock destinations only
during playback.
In this mode, you will not be able to use the above-mentioned arpeggia-
tor of your keyboard in Stop mode.

Ö Keep in mind that the MIDI Clock information always

refers to the tempo at the current project position.

11
Working with the new features
Index
A
Alt/Option key 6
Autoscroll 10

C
Ctrl/Command key 6

K
Key commands
Conventions 6

M
Mac OS X
Audio hardware settings 9
Port activation 9
Port selection 9
Retrieving channel names 9
MediaBay
Key commands 10
Metronome 10
Modifier keys 6
Monitoring 9

O
OMF 10
Option/Alt key 6

P
Plug and Play
ASIO Devices 8

R
Remote Devices
Bank Selection 9
Reset User Functions 9
Smart Switch Delay 9

S
Synchronization
Send MIDI Clock in Stop 11

V
VST Connection presets 8
VST Sound
About 8

13
Index