The complete UAD environment consists of many components. These components are:

• Apollo/UAD-2 DSP Accelerator
• Your UA account
• UAD Powered Plug-Ins Software
• UAD Powered Plug-ins
• UAD Meter & Control Panel
• Console Application

All these components operate together simultaneously within one computer to form the complete audio processing system.

Apollo/UAD-2 DSP Accelerator:

A device dedicated to digital signal processing. UAD-2 DSP Accelerators include UAD-2 PCIe cards, UAD-2 Satellite FireWire & UAD-2 Satellite Thunderbolt. Apollo devices contain DSP chips that act as UAD-2 DSP Accelerators.

Your UA account:

Your UA account is an online account where UAD-2 and Apollo devices are registered and UAD plug-in authorizations are obtained and stored.

For more information, see the Creating a UA Account article or the UA Account Creation & Navigation video.

UAD Powered Plug-Ins Software:

UAD Powered Plug-ins software contains all of the device drivers and files that are required to allow your UAD / Apollo device to be seen and to operate with your computer system. UAD Powered Plug-ins software can be downloaded free of charge from the Universal Audio website once you have created a UA account. New UAD Powered Plug-ins software may include new plug-in titles that are available for purchase from the Online Store.

UAD Powered Plug-Ins:

UAD Powered Plug-ins are a range of high-quality audio plug-ins powered by dedicated UAD-2 DSP Accelerators (UAD-2 PCIe, UAD-2 Satellite FireWire & UAD-2 Satellite Thunderbolt) and Apollo audio interfaces. The UAD Powered Plug-ins are created through physical modeling of classic audio hardware, essentially 'rebuilding' vintage analog gear in the digital world, component by component. The result is UAD-2 plug-ins will sound and behave like the original vintage hardware. UAD-2 plug-ins can be used in any VST, AU, or RTAS compatible audio software on Mac and PC.

• Important Fundamental Concept: UAD Powered Plug-ins require UAD DSP Accelerators in order to function.

UAD Meter & Control Panel:

The UAD Meter & Control Panel application is used to monitor UAD device resources, confirm the UAD system is operating properly, and configure the global UAD Powered Plug-Ins system parameters.  It is also used to register or authorize the UAD/Apollo system.

The UAD Meter window displays the current DSP, PGM, and MEM status of the UAD hardware in realtime.

Console Application:

The Console application is Apollo’s primary software interface. Its main function is to control the Apollo hardware and its digital mixing and monitoring capabilities. The Console mixer is where Realtime UAD Processing using UAD Powered Plug-Ins is configured.

• Important Fundamental Concept: The primary function of Console is to control Apollo’s hardware input monitoring, Unison plug-ins, and Realtime UAD Processing. Console MUST be used to take advantage of these features. Console replaces the software input monitoring feature of the DAW mixer.

Registration (Register UAD / Apollo System):

All UAD / Apollo devices must be registered into the user’s UA account before they can be used.

Authorization (Authorize UAD/Apollo System):

Authorizing the UAD/Apollo system updates the list of plug-ins owned by the user. UAD plug-ins must be authorized before they can be used.

Click here to see the Apollo Installation, Registration, and Authorization article.