Avid Technology PRO TOOLS MIX 51 User Manual

Mix 51 Surround Panning and

Mixing plug-in for Pro Tools™

Plug-In Users Guide

Version 1.1 for Pro Tools HD/LE/M-Powered

Systems on Macintosh OS X and Windows XP

Created By Neyrinck

San Francisco, CA USA

www.neyrinck.com

[e-mail]

Technical Support (USA)

www.neyrinck.com

[e-mail]

Product Information (USA)

www.neyrinck.com

[e-mail]

Copyright

This guide is copyrighted ©2007 by Neyrinck with all
rights reserved. Under copyright laws, this guide
may not be duplicated in whole or in part without
the written consent of Neyrinck.

Trademarks

“DIGIDESIGN”, “PRO TOOLS”, “PRO TOOLS
HD”,“PRO TOOLS LE”, and “PRO TOOLS M­POWERED” are trademarks or registered trademarks
of Avid Technology, Inc.
Dolby and Pro Logic are trademarks of Dolby
Laboratories, Inc.

Disclaimers

Product features, specifications, system requirements
and availability are subject to change without notice.

Table Of Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction
Welcome
System Requirements

Important Latency Information

Chapter 2 Installation
Installing Mix 51
Authorizing Mix 51

Removing Expired Plug-Ins

Chapter 3 Quick Start Guide

Chapter 4 Surround Mixer Plug-In
Overview
Connecting the Outputs

Description and Use Of Controls

Chapter 5 Surround Panner Plug-In
Overview

Panner Controls

Chapter 6 LFE Send Plug-In
Overview

LFE Send Controls

Chapter 7 Pro Logic™ || Movie Mode Monitoring

Chapter 8 Automation

Chapter 9 Troubleshooting

Chapter 1
Introduction

Welcome To Mix 51

Mix 51 is a suite of 5.1 surround
panning and mixing plug-ins for Pro
Tools LE and M-Powered systems
with six or more outputs such as
Mbox 2 Pro, 002, 003, and M-Audio
interfaces such as the Delta 1010 or
FireWire 410 or for use with stereo
output systems such as Mbox
connected to a 5.1 Pro Logic™ II
decoding system. Unlimited Mono
and Stereo Panner plug-ins can be
placed on track inserts to pan, mix,
and send to the Mix 51 Surround
Mixer busses. The Mix 51 Surround
Mixer plug-in provides 30 channels
of outputs grouped as three, 5.1
main busses and three, quad send
busses so you can easily manage
dialog, music, FX, and quad reverb
send submixes. Both the Mix 51
Surround Panner and Surround
Mixer feature fully automatable
controls which can be migrated to
Pro Tools HD systems for
compatibility with world-class
surround mix facilities.

The Mix 51Surround Mixer Plug-in
Features:

• RTAS surround mixing to three

5.1 summing busses and three
quad summing busses for a total
of 30 mix bus channels.

• Automatable volume, mute, and
solo controls for each main and
send output bus.

• Volume, mute, and solo
automation compatible with Pro
Tools HD systems version 7.2
and later.

• Output level metering.

• Outputs conveniently appear as

track “plug-in” inputs

• Stereo LtRt Downmix output that
is compatible with 5.1 Pro Logic II
home theater systems.

The Mix 51 Surround Panner Plug-in
Features:

• Unlimited number of RTAS mono
and stereo panners (limited by
RTAS system usage).

• RTAS 5.1 surround panning and
mixing to one of three 5.1 main
busses.

• RTAS quad surround panning
and mixing to one of three quad
effect send busses.

• Volume, mute, solo, send level,
output bus, and output send bus
automation compatible with Pro
Tools HD systems version 7.2
and later.

• Input and output level metering

System Requirements

To use Neyrinck Mix 51, you need
the following system:

• A Digidesign-qualified Pro Tools
LE/M-Powered or HD system
running Pro Tools 7.0 or later.

• Pro Tools LE/M-Powered I/O
interface with six or more outputs

such as 002, 003, or Mbox 2 Pro
or a stereo interface connected to
a 5.1 Pro Logic II decoding
system.

Important Latency Information
Mix 51 uses the host CPU to perform
the surround panning and mixing. It
introduces latency that is equivalent
to one buffer of audio based on the
Pro Tools H/W Buffer Size. The
latency in seconds can be calculated
with the formula (Buffer
Size)/(Sample Rate). For example, if

the Pro Tools H/W Buffer Size is set
to 512, the latency is 512/48000 =

10.6 ms at 48 kHz sample rate. To

set the H/W Buffer Size, open the
Playback Engine dialog and set the
control labeled H/W Buffer Size.

Important Pro Logic II Monitoring
Information

Mix 51 provides a stereo LtRt
downmix that is compatible with 5.1
Dolby Pro Logic II decoding systems.
It is very important that the Pro Logic
II decoder be set for Movie Mode.

Chapter 2
Installation

Installing Mix 51

Installers can be downloaded from
the Neyrinck website
(www.neyrinck.com)

Installation steps are essentially the
same, regardless of the bundle,
package, or system you purchase.

Installation

To install Mix 51:

1. If Pro Tools is running, Quit Pro
Tools.

2. Locate and open (double-click) the
plug-in installer.

3. Follow the instructions presented
by the installation software.

4. When installation is complete,
click Quit.

When you open Pro Tools, you will
be prompted to authorize your new
plug-in.

Authorizing Mix 51

Mix 51 requires an authorized iLok
USB Key to be connected to your

computer when using Pro Tools.
The iLok authorization needs to be
obtained online and downloaded
onto your iLok USB Key. You will
need an iLok.com account to
complete the process. If you do not
yet have an ilok.com account, visit
www.ilok.com to set up an account
for free.

The iLok USB Smart Key is not supplied
with your plug-in or software option. You can
use the one included with certain Pro Tools
systems or purchase one separately.

Removing Expired Plug­Ins

If you let a demo version of a plug-in
expire, you should remove it from
your system. Otherwise, each time
you open Pro Tools you will be
prompted with a message that the
plug-in has expired.
To remove an expired plug-in:
Open the Plug-Ins folder on your
Startup drive (Library/Application
Support/Digidesign on OS X or
c:\ProgramFiles\Common\Digidesign
\DAE\PlugIns on Windows XP).
Drag the expired plug-in to a different
location.

Chapter 3
Quick Start Guide

Overview

This section guides you through
steps to create a Pro Tools session
that will pan one audio track to a 5.1
main bus and a quad reverb effect
send which will be monitored out six
channels of your Pro Tools system.
When finished, your Pro Tools Mixer
Window should look similar to this:

I/O Setup

It is important to set up your Pro
Tools system for surround output
monitoring. Because Pro Tools
LE/M-Powered is limited to stereo
output busses, you must configure
three stereo outputs for a total of six
output channels to connect to your

5.1 monitoring system. We
recommend you order the output
channels as per SMPTE
recommendations: Front Left, Front
Right, Center, LFE, Rear Left, Rear

Right. This picture shows an
example I/O Setup using the SMPTE
recommended ordering;

New Session

Create a new session to start using
Mix 51. Mix 51 will operate at all
sample rates supported by Pro
Tools. Film and video projects
typically use 48 kHz sample rate.
Music projects use 44.1, 88.2 or 96
kHz depending on many factors. If
you are delivering a mix to a client,
be certain to ask for delivery
specifications so you can use the
correct sample rate from the start.

Add The Surround Mixer
Create a mono audio track and a
mono aux track. Route the audio
track into the aux track (using bus 1
for example) so that the Mix 51
Panner will operate after the main
track fader. Insert a Mix 51 Surround
Mixer plug-in by clicking on the first
plug-in insert popup and selecting
RTAS Mix 51 Surround Mixer. The
Mixer plug-in simply passes the
audio through unchanged – its