Hexcast comprises two distinct components. The plugin (VST or Audio Unit) runs as an insert effect within your DAW and the Hexcast Web Client, the microsite web application that runs on the device required to monitor your master bus through.

Hexcast can support up to six simultaneous connected devices with varying sample rates and channel configurations. Each client can divert the audio from your main studio monitors to its own internal loudspeaker, enabling the monitoring of your mix in real-time to achieve a balanced mix across the devices.

In addition to managing multiple connections, Hexcast intelligently retrieves the client audio configuration. Such as sample rate and channel configuration. It uses this information to resample the stream on the fly to ensure the data is in the correct format for the client. For example, suppose your phone is configured to support a 48kHz sample rate and your DAW is set to 44.1Khz, Hexcast will resample the stream in real-time to match your phone to ensure accurate playback.

As Hexcast has been designed for In The Box (ITB) usage it should be instantiated as the last plugin on your master bus. The reasoning for this is that it routes the audio through your studio monitors when a client device is not streaming and diverts the audio from your studio monitors when a client device stream is active.

The plugin supports both mono and stereo configurations only. Although most audio applications are stereo based. In the event that the client’s device only supports mono configuration, Hexcast will convert the audio to mono to conserve bandwidth.

Hexcast uses your Local Area Network to transmit audio blocks to connected devices forming a stream. It’s imperative that you have a fast Wi-Fi connection in your home or office to ensure high quality audio output. Some routers offer 5/6G connectivity. You should try to use those protocols over 2.4Ghz as you will be more likely to achieve lower latency playback resulting in a better overall user experience.

When you launch the plugin, you will see your local IP address in the LCD address bar on the main panel along with the default port for the Hexcast internal web server. This indicates that the plugin is ready to serve audio via its own internal web application. (More on that later.)

In the event that the plugin cannot connect to your network, you will be presented with the IP resolution. This indicates that the plugin is currently searching for network connectivity, and until the IP address is determined will render the plugin non-operational.

As you can see the main interface is quite simple. The UI is mostly presentational with options to manage the plugin configuration. As a web client device joins the session, a hexagon icon is displayed, gently rotating in a carousel in Mex’s hand.

Furthermore, the icon depicts the type of device connected to Hexcast, allowing you to differentiate between devices. Click the device icon to reveal further details about the connected devices. Such as sample rate, device type and the I.D. Clicking anywhere on the main panel will return the icon back to the rotating carousel.

Below details the UI controls along with their purpose:

The web client application serves as the controller for the client device UI run in a browser. The interface adopts a simple design that is both clean and accessible. Keyboard accessibility is important to allow the use of a remote control when accessed on a TV or device without a mouse or touchscreen.

Hexcast offers two connection protocols, HTTP and HTTPS. We recommend that you use HTTPS where possible as it permits the Hexcast client web application to use a separate background process to process the audio rather than sharing the same process responsible for rendering the page. HTTP connections are supported as a fallback to maximise compatibility between Hexcast and client devices and should be used if HTTPS cannot be used.

The section below details the UI controls along with their purpose:

Hexcast can support up to six simultaneous connected web client devices for a single session. A web client device is either a Smartphone, Laptop, Tablet or TV.

There are two methods to connect a device:

As mentioned prior, Hexcast offers two protocols for when making a connection. Namely HTTP and HTTPS. We suggest using the HTTPS link as it allows the audio and data inflator to run in low latency mode in a background thread. HTTPS is required to run the Hexcast web client in a secure context in order to access lower-level audio capabilities of the browser, resulting in lower latency, thus a better user experience.

On first use, using a browser on your Phone, Tablet etc you will notice your connection is not private warning when accessing the link via HTTPS. Proceed by clicking through to Advance accept the risk. Hexcast generates a Self-signed Certificate to be used purely for LAN connections and does not serve audio data across the internet.

The setting modal screen allows you to configure Hexcast’s internal web server to serve the web app and audio stream. The majority of users will not find much use for this screen as it contains mainly advanced options to tune Hexcast functionality.

The section below details the options along with their purpose:

In the event that you decide to assign new port numbers for Hexcast’s web server you may encounter a port clash with another service. Hexcast will check that the port is available on your system upon save. In the event that a conflict is detected, Hexcast will offer to find a suitable alternative for you. The following modal window is presented when a conflict arises. Answering ‘Yes’ will engage the port hunter and resolve your conflict. Answering ‘No’ will rollback your port changes to their original value.

To install a self-signed certificate on macOS, you can follow these steps:

After following these steps, your self-signed certificate should be installed and trusted on macOS.

To install a self-signed certificate on Windows, you can use the following steps:

By following these steps, your self-signed certificate should be installed and trusted on Windows.

This typically occurs under the following conditions:

There will always be some latency due to the nature of network technology/broadcasting. However, it is possible that the web client falls out of sync so much it diminishes the usefulness of Hexcast. By clicking the SYNC button on the Hexcast web client button bar will cause the web application to clear its internal buffer and resync with the DAW.

Hexcast can support up to six devices connected simultaneously. The system will prevent the 7th web client device from joining the session to prevent Hexcast’s internal server from being overwhelmed.

This occurs when you update the Hexcast plugin to a new version but you have not refreshed the page on your client device creating a version mismatch between the plugin and Hexcast client. To remedy this, simply refresh the browser on the client device and the web application should update to the latest version that the plugin serves.

This typically occurs under the following conditions:

This issue is commonly encountered on iOS devices when the physical mute switch is enabled, even though the web client shows a healthy signal and connection.

Tested on iPhone 6, iPhone 14 Plus, and iPhone 16 Pro Max (physical devices and simulators).

This issue can occur if the installed plugin format is incompatible with the capabilities of older DAWs such as Cubase 11.

This typically occurs under the following conditions:

This typically occurs under the following conditions:

This plugin requires at least an accelerated graphics card that supports OpenGL 3.3+. Please ensure that your system meets the minimum specification for the application.

Hexcast uses information collected from your hardware to generate Licence Key Activation, so any substantial changes to the system will require a new activation code to be issued.

If you sign in to hexmarkrecords.com using your account credentials, navigate to the My Account section and under Licences you will see your licence information.

There should be an information box allowing you to regenerate an activation code. Click that button and begin the authorisation process again from the plugin window.

If you see the modal above you have multiple copies of Hexcast running on the system. Only one instance of Hexcast can run on a single system at any one time, independent of which host is running. Close any other instances of Hexcast down on your system, whether it be on a different channel or a different DAW. Hexcast exclusively uses the selected ports on a system thus cannot support multiple instances.

The HTTP and HTTPS port numbers should fall within the range of 1024 - 65536 and not be considered a restricted port.

Hexmark Records hereby grants you a personal, non-transferable, non-exclusive licence to use the Hexcast software on your devices in accordance with the terms of this EULA agreement.

You are permitted to load the Hexcast software (for example a PC, laptop, mobile or tablet) under your control. You are responsible for ensuring your device meets the minimum requirements of the Hexcast software.

You are not permitted to:

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