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First steps

Starting Dirac Live

To start Dirac Live calibration, click on the START CALIBRATION button

Dirac Live buttons - miniDSP Device Console

You will be presented with the Dirac Live channel configuration dialog.

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Be sure to start the Dirac Live application from within the Device Console using the START CALIBRATION button. If you open the Dirac Live application by itself, it will not be able to detect the Flex HT.

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Dirac Live calibration can not be performed over the network, so the START CALIBRATION button will be visible only if the Flex HT is connected to the computer by USB.

Dirac Live channel configuration

Multichannel Dirac Live processors can be configured into multiple zones. Use the channel configuration dialog to set up your zones and speaker types. This example shows a single zone for a 7.1 system with "small" speakers for bass management:

Dirac Live channel configuration for 7.1 bass-managed system

If you are not using all eight channels of Dirac Live correction, set the Channel drop-down to "Not Used" for unused channels. For example, this is a 5.1 system:

Dirac Live channel configuration for 5.1 bass-managed system

You can also create multiple zones. This example shows Zone 1 used for a 5.1 system (channels 1 through 6) and Zone 2 used for a stereo system (channels 7 and 8):

Dirac Live channel configuration for two zones

Tip

Be sure to set each zone to the correct set of channels. If you have Dirac Live channels that don't produce audio, Dirac Live will throw an error when it fails to detect an audio signal on those channels.

Click the APPLY button when your settings are done. If you have not changed the settings, you can simply click KEEP PREVIOUS SETTINGS. The Device Console will disconnect and the Dirac Live application will start.

Dirac account login or creation

The first time you start the Dirac Live application, the option to log in to or create a Dirac account appears:

Log in here if you have a Dirac account. If you do not have an account, you can create one by clicking on "Create or manage your account." This will direct you to the Dirac Live website.

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If you wish, you can click "Proceed without logging in" to perform a calibration. You can log in or create an account later by selecting Disconnect and log in from the hamburger menu.

The following functions are enabled only if you are logged into your Dirac account:

  • Load a previously saved project. You can only load an existing project if you are logged into a Dirac account. If you don't log in, you will be able to save your measurements as a project, but you will not be able to open them again.

  • Other optional or paid-for features. miniDSP always provides the "full" version of Dirac Live with its products, so you do not need to log in to use the full version of Dirac Live if you have a miniDSP product.

Select device/zone

If you have a single zone, click on miniDSP Flex HT Zone 1:

Select Dirac Live zone (single) - miniDSP Flex HT

(If necessary, close the help overlay that obscures the device icon.)

If you have more than one zone, click on the desired zone:

Select Dirac Live zone (multiple) - miniDSP Flex HT

Tip

If Dirac Live doesn't find your device, see Solving connectivity issues.

Features of the Dirac Live UI

Once you have selected the miniDSP Flex HT, the full Dirac Live UI becomes visible. This section describes the common features of the UI.

The sidebar shows the currently selected device. The lower portion lists loaded filters. The sidebar can be closed with this icon:

Loaded filters

After correction filters have been loaded into the miniDSP Flex HT, the list of loaded filters appears here.

Tab selection menu

Once the output device has been selected, the main tab menu appears. This menu indicates which tab you are currently viewing. Each tab has buttons to navigate to the previous and next tabs. You can also navigate directly to a tab by clicking on its name in the menu.

Main display area

The Main display area contains the key information of each tab.

The "hamburger" icon towards the top left drops down a menu with a number of useful items:

Notifications

When events happen, a notification appears to the top right of the window. Normal notifications are in green, with warnings and errors in black and orange:

To close a notification, click on the "X" at its top right.

Help overlay

The help overlay appears on each tab the first time you open it. You can scroll to read all of it. Note that the recommendations in the Help overlay are generic -- that is, they do not necessarily apply to the specific device that you are using. For example, it may say "If your HiFi device has a microphone..." -- this does not apply to the miniDSP Flex HT.

To close the overlay, click on the icon at its top right:

To open the help overlay again, click on the question mark icon:

The navigation buttons to the lower left and lower right of the main display area link to the next and previous tab, using the order in which a complete calibration is normally performed.

Saving and loading projects

To save the project, click on the hamburger icon and select Save project.

To load the project, click on the hamburger icon and select Load project.

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If you save the project and you are not logged into your Dirac account, you may not be able to load that project again. Be sure to log into your Dirac account before saving the project.

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Note that if you have changed the Dirac Live speaker configuration, you may not be able to load the project.