Pinnacle Systems Pro Tools - 12.0 Reference Guide

®

Pro Tools Reference Guide

Version 12.0

Legal Notices

© 2015 Avid Technology, Inc., (“Avid”), all rights reserved.
This guide may not be duplicated in whole or in part without
the written consent of Avid.

003, 192 Digital I/O, 192 I/O, 96 I/O, 96i I/O, Adrenaline,
AirSpeed, ALEX, Alienbrain, AME, AniMatte, Archive,
Archive II, Assistant Station, AudioPages, AudioStation,
AutoLoop, AutoSync, Avid, Avid Active, Avid Advanced
Response, Avid DNA, Avid DNxcel, Avid DNxHD, Avid DS
Assist Station, Avid Ignite, Avid Liquid, Avid Media Engine,
Avid Media Processor, Avid MEDIArray, Avid Mojo,
Avid Remote Response, Avid Unity, Avid Unity ISIS,
Avid VideoRAID, AvidRAID, AvidShare, AVIDstripe, AVX,
Beat Detective, Beauty Without The Bandwidth,
Beyond Reality, BF Essentials, Bomb Factory, Bruno, C|24,
CaptureManager, ChromaCurve, ChromaWheel,
Cineractive Engine, Cineractive Player, Cineractive Viewer,
Color Conductor, Command|8, Control|24, Cosmonaut Voice,
CountDown, d2, d3, AAE, D-Command, D-Control, Deko,
DekoCast, D-Fi, D-fx, Digi 002, Digi 003, DigiBase,
Digidesign, Digidesign Audio Engine, Digidesign
Development Partners, Digidesign Intelligent Noise
Reduction, Digidesign TDM Bus, DigiLink, DigiMeter,
DigiPanner, DigiProNet, DigiRack, DigiSerial, DigiSnake,
DigiSystem, Digital Choreography, Digital Nonlinear
Accelerator, DigiTest, DigiTranslator, DigiWear, DINR,
DNxchange, Do More, DPP-1, D-Show, DSP Manager,
DS-StorageCalc, DV Toolkit, DVD Complete, D-Verb, Eleven,
EM, Euphonix, EUCON, EveryPhase, Expander,
ExpertRender, Fairchild, FastBreak, FastTrack, FilmCutter,
FilmScribe, Flexevent, FluidMotion, Frame Chase, FXDeko,
HD Core, HD Process, HDpack, Home-to-Hollywood,
HyperSPACE, HyperSPACE HDCAM, iKnowledge, Impact,
Improv, iNEWS, iNEWS Assign, iNEWS ControlAir, InGame,
Instantwrite, Instinct, Intelligent Content Management,
Intelligent Digital Actor Technology, IntelliRender, Intelli-Sat,
Intelli-Sat Broadcasting Recording Manager, InterFX,
Interplay, inTONE, Intraframe, iS Expander, iS9, iS18, iS23,
iS36, ISIS, IsoSync, LaunchPad, LeaderPlus, LFX, Lightning,
Link & Sync, ListSync, LKT-200, Lo-Fi, MachineControl,
Magic Mask, Make Anything Hollywood,
make manage move|media, Marquee, MassivePack,
MassivePack Pro, Maxim, Mbox, Media Composer,
MediaFlow, MediaLog, MediaMix, MediaReader,
Media Recorder, MEDIArray, MediaServer, MediaShare,
MetaFuze, MetaSync, MIDI I/O, Mix Rack, Moviestar,
MultiShell, NaturalMatch, NewsCutter, NewsView,
NewsVision, Nitris, NL3D, NLP, NSDOS, NSWIN, OMF,
OMF Interchange, OMM, OnDVD, Open Media Framework,
Open Media Management, Painterly Effects, Palladiium,
Personal Q, PET, Podcast Factory, PowerSwap, PRE,
ProControl, ProEncode, Profiler, Pro Tools, Pro Tools|HD,
Pro Tools LE, Pro Tools M-Powered , P ro Transfer,
QuickPunch, QuietDrive, Realtime Motion Synthesis,
Recti-Fi, Reel Tape Delay, Reel Tape Flanger,
Reel Tape Saturation, Reprise, Res Rocket Surfer, Reso,
RetroLoop, Reverb One, ReVibe, Revolution, rS9, rS18,
RTAS, Salesview, Sci-Fi, Scorch, ScriptSync,
SecureProductionEnvironment, Shape-to-Shape,
ShuttleCase, Sibelius, SimulPlay, SimulRecord,
Slightly Rude Compressor, Smack!, Soft SampleCell,
Soft-Clip Limiter, SoundReplacer, SPACE, SPACEShift,
SpectraGraph, SpectraMatte, SteadyGlide, Streamf actory,
Streamgenie, StreamRAID, SubCap, Sundance,

Sundance Digital, SurroundScope, Symphony, SYNCHD,
SYNC I/O, Synchronic, SynchroScope, Syntax,
TDM FlexCable, TechFlix, Tel-Ray, Thunder, TimeLiner,
Titansync, Titan, TL Aggro, TL AutoPan, TL Drum Rehab,
TL Everyphase, TL Fauxlder, TL In Tune, TL MasterMeter,
TL Metro, TL Space, TL Utilities, tools for storytellers, Transit,
TransJammer, Trillium Lane Labs, TruTouch, UnityRAID,
Vari-Fi, Video the Web Way, VideoRAID, VideoSPACE,
VTEM, Work-N-Play, Xdeck, X-Form, and XMON are either
registered trademarks or trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc.
in the United States and/or other countries.

Bonjour, the Bonjour logo, and the Bonjour symbol are
trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc.

Thunderbolt and the Thunderbolt logo are trademarks of Intel
Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries.

This product may be protected by one or more U.S. and non­U.S. patents. Details are available at www.avid.com/patents.

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

Guide Part Number 9329-65520-00 REV A 3/15

Contents

Part I Introduction to Pro Tools

Chapter 1. Welcome to Pro Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

System Requirements and Compatibility Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

About www.avid.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Conventions Used in Pro Tools Documentation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Chapter 2. Pro Tools Concepts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Hard Disk Audio Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Nonlinear Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Audio Engines. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Avid Video Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

MIDI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Synchronization. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Surround Sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Pro Tools Sessions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Tick-Based and Sample-Based Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

System Resources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Workspace Browsers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

AAF, MXF, and OMF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Pro Tools and Media Composer Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Embedded Media and Linked Media. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Chapter 3. Keyboard and Mouse Sho rtcuts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Mouse Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Global Key Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Keyboard Focus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Toolbar Focus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Numeric Keypad Modes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Contents iii

Chapter 4. Using Help. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Accessing Guides in Pro Tools | Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Accessing the Help System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Help Display. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Using the Contents and Index Tabs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Using the Search Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Search Guidelines. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Copying from a Help Topic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Printing Help Topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Part II System Configuration

Chapter 5. Pro Tools Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Pro Tools | Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Pro Tools | HD Software with Pro Tools | HDX Hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Pro Tools | H D Software with Pro Tools | HD Native Hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Supported Pro Tools HD Audio Interfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Playback, Recording, and Voice Limits with Pro Tools | HD Software. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Pro Tools HD Audio Interface Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Additional Pro Tools Hardware Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Additional Pro Tools HD Hardware Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Pro Tools | Software Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Checking for Software Updates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Chapter 6. System Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Starting Up or Shutting Down Your System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Checking a Pro Tools | HDX or Pro Tools | HD Native System with DigiTest. . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Configuring Pro Tools | Software System Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Configuring MIDI Setup. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Configuring Hardware Settings in Pro Tools | Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Configuring Pro Tools | HDX and Pro Tools | HD Native Hardware Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

System Usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Chapter 7. I/O Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Pro Tools | Software Signal Paths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

I/O Setup Pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

I/O Setup Signal Path Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Pro Tools Reference Guideiv

I/O Setup Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

I/O Setup Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Customizing I/O Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Configuring Hardware in I/O Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Signal Path Routing for Audio Input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Signal Path Routing for Audio Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Creating New Paths. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Creating New Sub-Paths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Editing Paths. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Assigning Paths to Hardware I/O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Valid Paths and Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Configuring Busses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Downmix and Upmix Output Busses to Outputs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

I/O Settings Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

Session Interchange and I/O Mapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

I/O Setup in Session Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Chapter 8. Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Display Preferences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Operation Preferences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Editing Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Mixing Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Metering Preferences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Processing Preferences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

MIDI Preferences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Synchronization Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Global and Local Preferences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Chapter 9. Peripherals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

Synchronization. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

Machine Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

MIDI Controllers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

Ethernet Controllers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

Mic Preamps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

Satellites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

VENUE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

Contents v

Chapter 10. Configuring MIDI. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

MIDI Studio Setup (Mac). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

MIDI Studio Setup (Windows) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

Part III Sessions & Tracks

Chapter 11. Sessions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

Dashboard Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

Bit Depths and Sample Rates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

Mixed Audio File Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148

Interleaved Multichannel and Multi-Mono Audio Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

Session Files and Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

Opening a Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

Opening a Session with Plug-Ins Deactivated. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152

Saving a Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Saving a Copy of a Session. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154

Session Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158

Session Metadata. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

Closing a Session. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

Quitting or Exiting Pro Tools | Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

Chapter 12. Pro Tools Main Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

Mix Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162

Edit Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164

Transport Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

MIDI Editor Windows. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

Score Editor Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174

Workspace Browsers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174

Task Manager Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

In-Application Web Browser. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

Managing Windows. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178

How Window Configurations Work. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182

Window Configuration Commands and Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184

Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

Tool Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188

Pro Tools Reference Guidevi

Chapter 13. Tracks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

Track Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

Track Channel Strips in the Mix Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

Track Controls and Indicators in the Edit Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195

Edit Window Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

Track Level Meters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200

Adjusting Track Width . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206

Creating Tracks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206

Track Views. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212

Setting Track Views in the Edit Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214

Track Height . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216

Track List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218

Track Name Right-Click Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221

Assigning Audio Inputs and Outputs to Tracks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222

Track Priority and Voice Assignment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

Assigning MIDI Inputs and Outputs to Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229

Soloing and Muting Tracks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232

Making Tracks Inactive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235

Color Coding for Tracks, Clips, Markers, and Groups. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236

Chapter 14. Grouping Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241

Grouping Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241

Group Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243

Working with Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246

Setting Group Attributes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249

Enabling Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252

Grouped Control Offsets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253

Chapter 15. The Clip List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255

Clip List Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255

Sorting and Searching in the Clip List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257

Selecting Clips in the Clip List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259

Previewing Clips in the Clip List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261

Stereo and Multichannel Clips in the Clip List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262

Naming and Displaying Clips in the Clip List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263

Managing Clips in the Clip List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265

Clip Name Right-Click Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266

Contents vii

Chapter 16. Workspace Browsers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267

Performance and Transfer Volumes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269

Databases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269

Workspace Browser Layout and Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270

Working with Items in Workspace Browsers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273

Indexing Workspace Databases. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274

Workspace Browser Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275

Workspace Right-Click Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276

Workspace Browser Panes and Display. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278

Column Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279

Selecting Items. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282

Moving, Copying, Duplicating, and Removing Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282

Searching Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283

Waveforms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288

Elastic Audio Files in the Workspace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289

Previewing Audio in Workspace Browsers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290

Preview Controls and Indicators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291

Preview Modes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293

Linking and Relinking Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295

Transfer Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296

Missing Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297

Relink Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298

Catalogs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302

Task Manager Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305

Chapter 17. Importing and Exporting Session Data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309

Importing and Exporting Data to and from a Session. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309

Audio Conversion on Import . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310

Importing Files with Drag and Drop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312

Importing Audio Files and Clips Using the Import Audio Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315

Importing Audio from Audio CDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317

Importing ACID and REX Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318

Importing Multichannel Audio Files from a Field Recorder. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319

Import Options and Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320

Exporting Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322

Importing MIDI Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324

Exporting MIDI Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326

Pro Tools Reference Guideviii

Exporting Sibelius Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328

Importing Session Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328

Import Session Data Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330

Importing AAF and OMF Sequences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337

Import Options when Importing AAF or OMF Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341

Media Composer | Software Export Options for Audio and Video Mixdowns . . . . . . . . . . . . 346

Audio File Format Compatibility Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346

Exporting Pro Tools Tracks as AAF or OMF Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348

Exporting Pro Tools Tracks as MXF Audio Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350

Export Options when Exporting to AAF or OMF Sequences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353

Export Selected Tracks as New Session. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358

Exporting Session Information as Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359

Export Session Information as Text Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360

Importing and Exporting Clip Group Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361

Chapter 18. File and Session Management and Compatibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365

Audio File Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365

WAV File Compatibility. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 368

Sharing Sessions Created on Different Computer Platforms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369

Sharing Sessions Created on Different Pro Tools Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372

Sharing Sessions Created on Different Pro Tools Software Versions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373

Language Compatibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379

Part IV Playback and Recording

Chapter 19. Playing Back Track Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383

Playback Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 384

Setting the Playback Location. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 386

Scrolling Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390

Playing Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391

Transport Fade-in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393

Playing Timeline and Edit Selections with the Playhead. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393

Playback Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 394

MIDI Beat Clock. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399

MIDI Beat Clock Offsets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 401

Contents ix

Chapter 20. Record Setup. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403

Record Setup Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403

Configuring Pro Tools Hardware I/O for Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 404

Connecting a Sound Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 406

Recording with a Click. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 406

Setting the Session Meter and Tempo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 408

Record Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 411

Configuring Default Names for Audio Files and Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 414

Assigning Hardware I/O on a Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 415

Record Enabling Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 416

Working with Hard Drives for Recording. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 418

Selecting a Record Input Monitoring Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 421

Setting Monitor Levels for Record and Playback. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 423

Reducing Monitoring Latency. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 423

Chapter 21. Audio Recording. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 427

Recording Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429

Prime for Record Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 430

Setting Punch and Loop Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 430

Setting Pre- and Post-Roll. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 433

Audio Punch Recording Over a Specified Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 435

Recording Additional Takes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 437

Loop Recording Audio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 439

Alternate Takes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 440

Recording from a Digital Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 444

Half-Speed Recording. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 446

Chapter 22. MIDI Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 447

Recording from MIDI Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 447

Enabling Input Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 448

MIDI Thru . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 449

MIDI Input Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 450

Input Quantize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 450

Wait for Note . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 450

MIDI Merge/Replace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 451

Configuring MIDI or Instrument Tracks for Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 452

Recording MIDI and Instrument Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 453

Pro Tools Reference Guidex

MIDI Punch Recording Over a Specified Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 455

Loop Recording MIDI. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 457

MIDI Step Input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 460

Recording System Exclusive Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 460

Recording Audio from a MIDI Instrument. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 462

Chapter 23. Punch Recording Modes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 465

Introduction to Punch Recording Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 465

Guidelines for Punch Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 466

QuickPunch Audio Recording. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 470

TrackPunch Audio Recording. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 472

Using TrackPunch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 474

DestructivePunch Audio Recording. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475

Using DestructivePunch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 479

Example TrackPunch and DestructivePunch Workflows. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 480

Part V Editing

Chapter 24. Editing Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 485

Track Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 486

Audio Clips and Waveforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 487

MIDI Clips and MIDI Data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 491

Naming Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 494

Displaying Clip Names, Clip Times, and Other Data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 495

Multiple Undo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 496

Basic Editing Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 498

Editing Across Multiple Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 502

Chapter 25. Edit Modes and Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 503

Edit Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 503

Shuffle Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 503

Slip Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 504

Spot Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 504

Grid Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505

Edit Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 507

Zooming Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 508

Zoom Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 508

Contents xi

Zoomer Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 510

Zoom Preset Buttons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513

Zoom Toggle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 514

Zooming with a Scroll Wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 517

Using the Trim Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 517

Trim Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 518

Time Compression/ Expansion Trim Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 519

Scrub Trim Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 521

Loop Trim Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 521

Using the Selector Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 523

Using the Grabber Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 524

Using the Smart Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 525

Using the Scrubber Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 527

Numeric Keypad Set to Shuttle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 530

Using the Pencil Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 530

Edit/Tool Mode Keyboard Lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 531

Chapter 26. Making Selections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 533

Linking or Unlinking Timeline and Edit Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 533

Linking or Unlinking Track and Edit Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534

Selecting Track Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 535

Timeline Selections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 545

Auto-Scrolling Tracks in the Mix and Edit Windows. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 548

Universe View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 549

Navigating a Pro Tools Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 552

Chapter 27. Editing Clips and Selec tions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 555

Creating New Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 555

Healing Separated Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 559

Trimming Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 559

Nudging Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 562

Quantizing Clips to Grid. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 564

Editing Stereo and Multichannel Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 565

Clip Gain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 566

Consolidating Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 575

Compacting an Audio File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 575

Processing Audio with AudioSuite Plug-Ins. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 576

Pro Tools Reference Guidexii

TCE (Time Compression and Expansion) Edit To Timeline Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 576

Rating Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 577

Chapter 28. Fades and Crossfades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 579

About Crossfades and Curves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 579

Fades Dialog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 580

Creating Fades at the Beginnings and Ends of Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 587

Creating a Crossfade. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 588

Using AutoFades. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 590

Creating Fades and Crossfades in Batches. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 591

Moving and Nudging Fades and Crossfades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 592

Separating Clips that Include Fades or Crossfades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 594

Trimming Clips that Include Fades or Crossfades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 595

Fade Boundaries and Shapes Displayed in Automation View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 596

Chapter 29. Playlists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 597

Working with Playlists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 597

Track Compositing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 600

Playlists View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 602

Matching Alternate Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 608

Matching Criteria Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 609

Selecting Alternate Takes on Tracks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 609

Automatically Create New Playlists when Loop Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 611

Expanding Alternate Takes to New Playlists or Tracks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 611

Expanding Alternate Channels to New Playlists or Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 612

Chapter 30. Beat Detective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 615

Beat Detective and Source Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 615

Uses for Beat Detective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 615

Beat Detective Requirements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 616

The Beat Detective Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 617

Beat Detective Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 617

Defining a Beat Detective Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 618

Beat Detective Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 619

Calculating Tempo with Beat Detective. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 620

Generating Beat Triggers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 620

Editing Beat Triggers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 624

Generating Bar|Beat Markers with Beat Detective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 626

Contents xiii

DigiGroove Templates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 627

Separating Clips with Beat Detective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 629

Conforming Clips with Beat Detective. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 630

Edit Smoothing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 633

Detection (Normal) and Collection Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 635

Part VI MIDI

Chapter 31. MIDI Editing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 641

MIDI Editing Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 641

Setting the Grid Value. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 643

Using the Pencil Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 644

Inserting MIDI Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 646

Inserting a Series of Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 647

Manually Editing MIDI Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 648

Using the Grabber Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 650

Time Compression/Expansion Trim Tool Functionality on MIDI Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 658

Continuous Controller Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 660

Patch Select (Program and Bank Changes) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 663

System Exclusive Events. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 667

Note and Controller Chasing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 668

Offsetting MIDI Tracks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 669

Stuck Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 671

Remove Duplicate Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 671

MIDI Real-Time Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 671

Real-Time Properties Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 673

Real-Time Properties on Tracks and Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 676

Writing Real-Time Properties to Tracks or Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 677

Real-Time Properties In the MIDI Event List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 677

Display of Real-Time Properties Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 678

Chapter 32. MIDI Editors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 679

Opening a MIDI Editor Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 680

MIDI Editor Window Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 681

MIDI Editor Zoom Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 686

Track List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 686

Group List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 688

Pro Tools Reference Guidexiv

Timebase and Conductor Rulers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 689

Superimposed Notes View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 689

Notes Pane Right-Click Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 692

Notation View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 694

Velocity, Controller, and Automation Lanes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 696

Chapter 33. Score Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 697

Opening the Score Editor Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 698

Edit Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 698

Default Note Duration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 701

Default Note On Velocity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 701

Play MIDI Notes When Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 701

Link Timeline and Edit Selection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 701

Mirrored MIDI Editing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 702

Double Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 702

Cursor Location. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 702

Grid. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 703

Score Editor Window Target. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 703

Score Editor Window Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 704

Customizable Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 705

Track List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 705

Page Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 706

Score Editor Zoom Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 707

Notation Display Track Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 708

Score Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 709

Editing Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 711

Score Editor Right-Click Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 714

Key Changes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 715

Meter Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 715

Chord Symbols and Diagrams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 716

Exporting Scores . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 718

Printing Scores . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 718

Chapter 34. MIDI Event List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 719

Opening the MIDI Event List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 719

Inserting Events in the MIDI Event List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 722

Editing Events in the MIDI Event List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 724

Contents xv

MIDI Event List Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 726

Part VII Arranging

Chapter 35. Time, Tempo, Meter , Key, and Chords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 729

Timebase Rulers and Conductor Rulers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 729

Main Time Scale. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 732

The Sub Counter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 733

Tick-Based Timing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 733

Tick- and Sample-Based Timebases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 734

Song Start Marker. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 736

Tempo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 737

Graphic Tempo Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 743

Editing Tempo Events in the Tempo Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 743

Changing the Linearity Display Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 749

Tempo Operations Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 750

Identify Beat Command. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 756

Meter Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 759

Time Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 762

Change Meter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 762

Insert Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 764

Cut Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 766

Move Song Start. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 767

Renumbering Bars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 768

Key Signatures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 768

Chord Symbols. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 771

Chapter 36. Memory Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 773

Creating Memory Locations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 773

Creating Memory Locations During Playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 775

Properties of Memory Locations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 776

Recalling Memory Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 778

Editing Memory Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 778

Deleting Memory Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 780

Copying Marker Memory Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 780

Memory Locations Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 781

Memory Locations Commands and Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 781

Pro Tools Reference Guidexvi

Chapter 37. Arranging Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 785

Placing Clips in Tracks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 785

Working with Multiple Items from the Clip List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 786

Placing Clips at the Edit Insertion Point. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 787

Aligning Clip Start Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 788

Sliding Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 789

Shuffling Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 789

Moving Clips with the Grabber Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 791

Snapping to the Preceding or Next Clip on a Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 791

Slipping Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 793

Spotting Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 793

Sliding Clips in Grid Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 795

Replacing Audio Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 796

Sync Points. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 799

Shift Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800

Locking Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 801

Muting/Unmuting Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 802

Stripping Silence from Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 802

Inserting Silence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 805

Duplicating Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 806

Repeating Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 807

Chapter 38. Clip Loops and Groups. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 809

Clip Looping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 809

Creating Looped Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 809

Unlooping Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 810

Editing Looped Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 811

Clip Groups. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 812

Creating Clip Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 813

Ungrouping Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 814

Regrouping Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 814

Multitrack Clip Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 815

Clip Groups on Tick-Based Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 816

Editing Clip Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 817

Fades and Crossfades on Clip Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 819

Clip Groups and Clip Gain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 819

Importing and Exporting Clip Group Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 819

Contents xvii

Part VIII Processing

Chapter 39. AudioSuite Processing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 823

AudioSuite Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 823

AudioSuite Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 823

AudioSuite Window Header. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 824

AudioSuite Window Footer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 828

Using AudioSuite Plug-Ins. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 830

Conditions for AudioSuite Rendering with Handles, Fades, Clip Gain, and Metadata . . . . . 834

Chapter 40. Elastic Audio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 835

Example Elastic Audio Workflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 836

Elastic Audio Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 841

Enabling Elastic Audio Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 841

Disabling Elastic Audio Tracks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 842

Elastic Audio Track Co ntrols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 843

Elastic Audio Track Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 843

Elastic Audio Analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 844

Real-Time and Rendered Elastic Audio Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 845

Elastic Audio Plug-Ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 846

Editing in Warp View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 851

Warping Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 853

Editing in Analysis View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 857

Elastic Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 859

Elastic Properties Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 860

Elastic Audio Clip-Based Pitch Shifting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 862

AudioSuite Processing and Elastic Audio Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 864

Moving Elastic Audio Between Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 865

Approximate Waveforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 866

Elastic Audio Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 866

Chapter 41. Event Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 867

Event Operations Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 867

Quantize Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 868

Grid Quantize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 870

Grid Quantize Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 872

Groove Quantize. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 874

Quantizing Elastic Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 879

Pro Tools Reference Guidexviii

Quantizing Audio Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 880

Quantizing Mixed Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 881

Restore Performance Command. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 881

Flatten Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 882

Change Velocity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 883

Change Duration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 885

Transpose. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 887

Select/Split Notes Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 889

Input Quantize Command. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 891

Step Input Command. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 892

Chapter 42. HEAT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 895

Enabling HEAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 895

About HEAT Processing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 896

HEAT Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 897

Master Bypass and Track Bypass Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 898

A Note About Other Track Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 899

DSP and Voice Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 899

Using HEAT with a Control Surface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 900

Part IX Mixing

Chapter 43. Basic Mixing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 905

Mixing Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 905

Metering and Calibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 905

Signal Flow by Track Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 906

Audio Tracks and Signal Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 906

Auxiliary Input Tracks and Signal Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 907

Master Fader Tracks and Signal Flow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 908

Instrument Tracks and Signal Flow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 909

VCA Master Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 910

Inserts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 913

Configuring Inserts View in the Mix and Edit Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 914

HEAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 914

Stereo Pan Depth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 914

Views in the Mix and Edit Windows. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 915

Audio Input and Output Paths. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 919

Contents xix

Sends. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 921

Configuring Sends View in the Mix and Edit Windows. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 925

Sends View Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 925

Editing Sends in the Mix and Edit Windows (Individual Send Views) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 927

Bus Interrogation Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 930

Output Windows for Tracks and Sends. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 931

Output Meters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 935

Signal Routing for Monitoring and Submixing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 936

Delay Compensation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 943

Dither. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 950

Using an Ethernet Control Surface with Pro Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 951

Using a MIDI Control Surface with Pro Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 951

Chapter 44. Plug-In and Hardware Inserts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 955

Types of Inserts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 955

Viewing Inserts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 957

Making Inserts Inactive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 958

Inserting Plug-Ins on Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 959

Plug-In Menu Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 961

Moving and Duplicating Plug-In and Hardware Inserts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 963

Plug-In Windows. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 963

Opening Plug-In Windows. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 967

Using Plug-In Window Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 967

Editing Plug-In Controls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 968

Plug-In Automation and Safe Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 969

Side-Chain Input. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 969

Plug-In Presets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 970

Plug-In Settings Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 973

Plug-In Mapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 975

Bypassing Plug-Ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 980

Linking and Unlinking Controls on Multi-Mono Plug-Ins. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 981

Using Hardware Inserts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 982

Chapter 45. Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 985

Automation Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 985

Automation Playlists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 986

Automation Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 988

Pro Tools Reference Guidexx

Automation Preferences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 992

Viewing Automation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 994

Writing Automation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 997

Automating Sends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1000

Automating Plug-Ins. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1001

AutoMatching Controls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1003

Priming Controls for Writing Automation in Latch Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1005

Enabling and Suspending Automation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1008

Deleting Automation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1010

Thinning Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1011

Drawing Automation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1012

Editing Automation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1013

Cutting, Copying, and Pasting Automation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1017

Glide Automation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1021

Trimming Automation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1022

Writing Automation to the Start, End, or All of a Track or Selection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1024

Writing Automation to the Next Breakpoint or to the Punch Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1026

Guidelines for “Write To” Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1029

Overwriting or Extending Mute Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1030

Creating Snapshot Automation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1032

Previewing Automation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1035

Capturing Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1037

VCA Master Track Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1040

Coalescing VCA Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1041

Chapter 46. Mixdown. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1045

Selecting Audio for Loops, Submixes, and Effects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1045

Using Dither . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1046

Bus Recording to Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1047

Bounce to Disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1048

Bounce From Sends or Track Outputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1049

Bounce Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1050

Recording a Submix (with Bounce to Disk) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1060

Final Mixdown (with Bounce to Disk). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1060

Mastering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1061

Contents xxi

Part X Surround

Chapter 47. Pro Tools Setup for Surround . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1065

Surround Mixing in Pro Tools | Software. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1065

Pro Tools Audio Connections for 5.1 Mixing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1065

7.1 and 7.0 Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1066

Configuring Pro Tools | Software for Multichannel Sessions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1066

Default I/O Selectors in I/O Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1071

5.1 Track Layouts, Routing, and Metering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1072

Chapter 48. Multichannel Tracks and Signal Routing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1073

Multichannel Audio Tracks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1073

Multichannel Signal Routing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1076

Paths in Surround Mixes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1079

Example Paths and Signal Routing for a Surround Mix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1081

Chapter 49. Surround Panning and Mixing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1087

Introduction to Pro Tools Surround Panning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1087

Output Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1088

Standard Controls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1089

Surround Panner Controls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1090

Panning Modes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1092

Divergence and Center Percentage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1095

LFE Faders in Multichannel Panners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1098

Pan Playlists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1098

Part XI Sync and Video

Chapter 50. Working with Synchronization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1101

Pro Tools Synchronization Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1101

Session Setup Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1103

Format Displays and Controls in the Session Setup Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1104

SYNC Setup and Timecode Offsets in the Session Setup Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1106

Timecode Settings in the Session Setup Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1108

Preparing to Work with SMPTE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1108

Configuring Pro Tools for SMPTE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1109

Pull Up and Pull Down. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1111

Effect of Using Pull Up or Pull Down. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1115

Pro Tools Reference Guidexxii

Putting Pro Tools Online . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1115

Generating Timecode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1116

Using MIDI Machine Control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1117

Enabling MIDI Machine Control in Pro Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1118

MMC Transport Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1120

Setting Minimum Sync Delay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1121

Remote Track Arming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1121

Spotting Clips to SMPTE Frame Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1122

The Spot Dialog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1122

Capturing Timecode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1123

Auto-Spotting Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1124

Using the Trim Tools in Spot Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1125

Time Stamping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1125

Identifying a Synchronization Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1126

Troubleshooting SMPTE Synchronization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1127

Speed Correction for Film, NTSC Video, and PAL Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1129

Chapter 51. Working with Field Recorders in Pro Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1131

Field Recorder and Production Workflow Terminology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1131

Supported Field Recorder Audio Files and Metadata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1133

Displaying Field Recorder Metadata in Pro Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1134

Workspace Support for Field Recorder Metadata. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1134

Field Recorder Workflows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1135

Ensuring Metadata of Source Files Have Been Preserved . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1136

Receiving Source Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1136

Importing Source Files into Pro Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1137

Designating Field Recorder Tracks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1139

Displaying Multichannel Files from a Field Recorder in the Clip List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1140

Selecting a Matching Field Recorder Channel to Replace a Clip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1140

Expanding Matching Field Recorder Channels to New Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1145

Determining the Method of Expanding Matching Field Recorder Channels to New Tracks . 1146

Film Workflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1149

Video and Fully Non-Linear Workflows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1151

Chapter 52. Working with Video in Pro Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1155

Avid Video Engine (AVE) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1155

QuickTime Movie Support in Pro Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1156

Contents xxiii

Before Starting Your Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1156

Pro Tools Video Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1157

Video Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1157

Main Video Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1158

Video Track Controls and Indicators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1159

Video Track Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1160

Locking Video Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1166

Video Engine Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1166

Importing Video into Pro Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1167

Configuring Video Import Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1169

Importing Audio from a QuickTime Video Clip. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1170

Video Clips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1171

General Video Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1172

Renaming Video Disk Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1175

Video Clip Groups. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1175

Using the Video Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1175

Browsing Video in the Video Universe Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1178

Playback of High-Definition Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1179

Optimized Video Playback. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1180

Tips for Optimizing Video Playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1180

Compensating for Video Monitoring Delays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1181

Playing Video to an External Monitor Using a Video Peripheral . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1181

Bouncing the Video Track to a QuickTime Movie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1182

Part XII Satellite Systems

Chapter 53. Satellite Link . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1187

Satellite Link Requirements and Compatibility. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1187

Configuring Satellite Link. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1188

Linking Satellite Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1191

Using Satellite Link with MachineControl . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1194

Control Surface Support for Satellite Link. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1194

Chapter 54. Pro Tools Video Satellite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1197

Video Output Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1197

Connecting a Pro Tools Video Satellite System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1198

Linking the Pro Tools Video Satellite System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1198

Pro Tools Reference Guidexxiv

Chapter 55. Avid Video Satellite. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1203

Video Output Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1204

Supported Video Resolutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1205

Avid Video Satellite Workflows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1205

Using a Video Satellite in an Avid Interplay Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1205

Connecting Pro Tools and a Video Satellite. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1205

Matching Media Composer and Pro Tools Settings in a Video Satellite System. . . . . . . . . 1207

Linking or Unlinking Pro Tools and a Video Satellite. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1213

Capturing Audio and Video with a Video Satellite System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1215

Re-Digitizing an Existing Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1216

Digitizing from an EDL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1216

Laying Back Audio and Video to Tape. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1216

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1219

Contents xxv

Pro Tools Reference Guidexxvi

Part I: Introduction to

Pro Tools

Chapter 1: Welcome to Pro Tools

Welcome to Pro Tools®, brought to you by Avid®
Technology. Pro Tools | Software integrates
powerful multitrack digital audio and MIDI se­quencing features, giving you everything you need
to record, arrange, compose, edit, mix, and master
professional quality audio and MIDI for music,
video, film, and multimedia.

System Requirements and Compatibility Information

Avid can only assure compatibility and provide
support for hardware and software it has tested and
approved.

For complete system requirements and a list of
qualified computers, operating systems, hard
drives, and third-party devices, visit:

www.avid.com/compatibility

About www.avid.com

The Avid website (www.avid.com) is your best
online source for information to help you get the
most out of your Pro Tools system. The following
are just a few of the services and features available.

Product Registration

online.

Support and Downloads

Success (technical support); download software
updates and the latest online manuals; browse the
Compatibility documents for system requirements;
search the online Knowledge Base or join the
worldwide Pro Tools community on the User
Conference.

Training and Education

courses available online or find out how you can
learn in a classroom setting at a certified Pro Tools
training center.

Products and Developers

products; download demo software or learn about
our Development Partners and their plug-ins,
applications, and hardware.

Register your purchase

Contact Avid Customer

Study on your own using

Learn about Avid

News and Events

sign up for a Pro Tools demo.

Get the latest news from Avid or

Chapter 1: Welcome to Pro Tools 3

Conventions Used in Pro Tools Documentation

Pro Tools documentation uses the following
conventions to indicate menu choices, keyboard
commands, and mouse commands:

:

Convention Action

File > Save Choose Save from the

Control+N Hold down the Control

Control-click Hold down the Control

Right-click Click with the right

File menu

key and press the N key

key and click the mouse
button

mouse button

The names of Commands, Options, and Settings
that appear on-screen are in a different font.

The following symbols are used to highlight
important information:

User Tips are helpful hints for getting the
most from your Pro Tools system.

Important Notices include information that
could affect your Pro Tools session data or
the performance of your Pro Tools system.

Shortcuts show you useful keyboard or mouse
shortcuts.

Cross References point to related sections in
this guide and other Avid documentation.

Pro Tools Reference Guide4

Chapter 2: Pro Tools Concepts

Before you begin to use Pro Tools, you may find it
helpful to review Pro Tools concepts. These con­cepts are the foundation of Pro Tools operation
and functionality.

Hard Disk Audio Recording

Hard disk recording is a nonlinear (or random ac­cess) medium—you can go immediately to any
spot in a recording without having to rewind or fast
forward.

This differs from tape-based recording, which is a
linear medium—where you need to rewind or fast
forward to hear a particular spot in a recording. To
rearrange or repeat material in a linear system, you
need to re-record it, or cut and splice it.

Nonlinear systems have several advantages. You
can easily rearrange or repeat parts of a recording
by making the hard disk read parts of the recording
in a different order or multiple times. In addition,
this re-arrangement is nondestructive, meaning
that the original recorded material is not altered.

Nonlinear Editing

Pro Tools is a nonlinear editing system that lets
you rearrange and mix recorded material nonde­structively. Nonlinear editing simply means that
you can cut, copy, paste, move, delete, trim, and
otherwise rearrange any audio, MIDI, or video in
the Pro Tools Edit window.

Nonlinear editing provides significant advantages
over dubbing (re-recording), and cutting and splic­ing magnetic tape. It gives you the greatest possi­ble flexibility for editing and arranging, and it is all
nondestructive and “undoable.” Additionally, with
nonlinear editing in Pro Tools, you will never in­troduce any degradation of audio fidelity as you
would with tape.

Chapter 2: Pro Tools Concepts 5

Audio Engines

Avid Video Engine

Pro Tools can stream audio between the applica­tion and your audio hardware using the Avid Au­dio Engine (Avid audio hardware only), Core Au­dio (Mac only with third-party audio hardware), or
ASIO (Windows only with third-party audio hard­ware).

Avid Audio Engine

The Avid audio engine (AAE) is a real-time oper­ating system for digital audio recording, playback,
and processing with Pro Tools and Avid audio
hardware. When you install Pro Tools, AAE is au­tomatically installed on your system. AAE pro­vides the foundation for much of the hard disk re­cording, digital signal processing, and mix
automation required by Pro Tools and other prod­ucts from Avid and its Development Partners.

Core Audio

Apple’s Core Audio provides audio connectivity
between software applications and audio hardware
on Mac OS X. Pro Tools software can use audio
interfaces with supported Core Audio drivers for
playback and recording with up to 32 channels of
I/O.

Pro Tools uses the Avid Video Engine (AVE) for
real-time digital video playback. AVE is installed
automatically with Pro Tools. AVE provides com­patibility and interoperability across the full prod­uct line of Avid audio and video editing solutions,
and provides support for a wide range of Avid HD
and SD MXF video formats on Pro Tools video
tracks without transcoding (including Avid

®

DNxHD

). AVE also lets you monitor Avid HD

and SD MXF, and QuickTime media using Avid

®

Media Composer
Media Composer

|Nitris®DX,

®

| Mojo® DX, and other Avid

qualified third-party video interfaces.

ASIO

Steinberg’s Audio Stream Input/Output (ASIO)
provides audio connectivity between software ap­plications and audio hardware on Windows.
Pro Tools software can use audio interfaces with
supported ASIO drivers for playback and record­ing with up to 32 channels of I/O.

Pro Tools Reference Guide6

MIDI

Synchronization

MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a
communication protocol for musical instruments.
This industry standard enables connections be­tween a variety of devices from different manufac­turers. Examples of MIDI-compatible equipment
include synthesizers, drum machines, MIDI patch
bays, effects processors, MIDI interfaces, MIDI
control surfaces, and MIDI sequencers.

MIDI devices are equipped with 5-pin DIN con­nectors, labeled as either IN, OUT, or THRU. The
MIDI OUT port transmits messages. The MIDI IN
port receives messages. The MIDI THRU outputs
whatever is received from the IN port. MIDI de­vices are connected with MIDI cables that are
available at most music stores.

USB and FireWire-compatible MIDI devices send
and receive MIDI messages to and from the com­puter over USB or FireWire.

The MIDI protocol provides 16 channels of MIDI
per port. A single MIDI cable can transmit a sepa­rate set of messages for each of the 16 channels.
These 16 channels can correspond to separate
MIDI devices or to multiple channels within a sin­gle device (if the device is multitimbral). Each
channel can control a different instrument sound.

Pro Tools provides powerful MIDI sequencing ca­pabilities. You can record, enter, edit, and play
back MIDI data on Pro Tools Instrument and
MIDI tracks. These actions can be done in the Edit
window, the MIDI Editor window, the Score Edi­tor window, and the MIDI Event List.

MIDI data in Pro Tools can be anything from
MIDI note data (note number, on/off, velocity) to
System Exclusive (Sysex) messages. MIDI data
can be recorded or played back from both external
MIDI devices with a MIDI interface and other
MIDI software (such as instrument plug-ins and
ReWire client applications).

When you are working with multiple time-based
systems, such as Pro Tools and an external deck,
you want the systems to be synchronized. Syn­chronization is where one system outputs clock
source (such as timecode or MIDI Beat Clock) and
another device synchronizes to or follows that
clock source so that they work together. Pro Tools
can be synchronized to other devices (or other de­vices can be synchronized to Pro Tools) using
SMPTE/EBU timecode or MIDI Timecode.

Surround Sound

(Pro Tools | HD Software Only)

Surround sound simply means having one or more
speakers with discrete audio signals (channels)
placed behind the listener in addition to the typical
stereo pair.

There are multiple types of surround formats in use
(from three-channel LCR to 7.1, which has eight
channels).

The most common surround format is 5.1, which
refers to having 5 speakers and a sub-woofer (the
“.1”). 5.1 is used in movie theaters and home enter­tainment systems. Additionally, most DVDs are
mixed to 5.1. The standard speaker placement for

5.1 for surround monitoring is stereo left and right
speakers, and an additional center speaker in front,
two more stereo left and right speakers in the rear,
and the sub-woofer on the side.

®

Pro Tools
round formats. In Pro Tools, each surround format
is considered to be a greater-than-stereo multi-
channel format.

| HD Software supports mixing in sur-

Chapter 2: Pro Tools Concepts 7

Pro Tools Sessions

When you start a project in Pro Tools, you create a
session.

Session Files

A session file is the document that Pro Tools cre­ates when you choose

File > New Session and con-

figure a new session. Pro Tools can open only one
session file at a time. The session file is named
with a .ptx (Pro Tools file) extension. Session files
contain maps of all elements associated with a
project, including audio files, MIDI data, and all
your edit and mix information. It is important to re­alize that a Pro Tools session file does not contain
any media files (audio or video). Instead, it refer­ences audio, video, MIDI, and other files. You can
make changes to a session and save those changes
in a new session file. This lets you create multiple
versions of a session or back up your editing and
mixing work.

Session file icon

Tracks

Pro Tools tracks are where audio, MIDI, video,
and automation data are recorded and edited.
Pro Tools tracks also provide audio channels for
routing internal busses, and physical inputs and
outputs for audio and MIDI.

Pro Tools provides multiple types of tracks:
Audio, Auxiliary Input, Master Fader,
VCA Master, MIDI, Instrument, and Video.

Audio track in the Edit window (stereo track shown)

MIDI track in the Edit window

Video track in Frames view

Audio, MIDI, Instrument, and video track data can
be edited into clips or repeated in different loca­tions to create loops, re-arrange sections or entire
songs, or to assemble tracks using material from
multiple takes.

Auxiliary Input tracks can route internal audio bus­ses or physical inputs to internal busses or physical
outputs. Auxiliary Inputs are typically used for au­dio effects busses, audio throughput (monitoring),
and submixing.

Master Fader tracks provide controls for physical
audio output channels, including the volume level
of your mix, panning, and plug-in inserts.

VCA Master tracks (Pro Tools HD only) provide
control of tracks in a Mix Group that has been as­signed to the VCA Master.

Pro Tools Reference Guide8

Video tracks support QuickTime movies (all
Pro Tools systems) and VC-1 video files (Win­dows only). Additionally, Pro Tools supports Avid
video using a the Avid Video Engine (AVE) either
natively or with a supported Avid video peripheral.
An individual video track can play back only one
type of video at a time.

Audio, Auxiliary Input, Master Fader, and Instru­ment tracks can be mono, stereo, or multichannel
(Pro Tools HD only). When creating a new track,
select from the list of channel formats supported
by your system.

Voices

In Pro Tools, voices are unique, discrete audio
streams that can be routed to and from Pro Tools
audio tracks, and physical audio outputs and inputs
on your Pro Tools audio interfaces. The audio
paths to and from Pro Tools software routed to
Pro Tools hardware use voices. If you exceed the
number of available voices in your system, you
have effectively exceeded the available number of
audio paths. Voices are allocated dynamically.

On all other Pro Tools systems, the full number of
available voices for your system may be limited by
the host processing power of your computer (see
“Pro Tools Capabilities with Different Hardware
Configurations” on page 37).

For more information about voicing in
Pro Tools, see “Track Priority and Voice
Assignment” on page 227.

Media Files

Pro Tools sessions create, import, export, and ref­erence media files. Media files are audio, MIDI,
and video files. Audio and video media files are
stored separately from the Pro Tools session file.
MIDI data is stored in the session file.

Audio Files

When you record audio into a Pro Tools session,
audio files are created.

Typically, each audio channel for each track in
your Pro Tools session uses a single voice. So, for
a mono audio track, a single voice is used; for a ste­reo audio track, two voices are used. When using
Punch Recording, two voices are needed for every
single audio channel (one for playback and one for
recording on punch in and out). In some situations,

®

with Pro Tools

| HDX systems, more than one
voice may be necessary for a single channel (such
as when using host processing on a DSP bus).

On HDX systems, the number of available voices
is dependent on the amount of dedicated DSP pro­cessing in your system (see “Playback, Recording,
and Voice Limits with Pro Tools | HD Software”
on page 40).

Audio file icon

Audio files for each session are stored in a folder
named “Audio Files.” Audio files are listed in the
Pro Tools Clip List and can appear in an audio
track. A section of an audio file can be defined as a
clip. See “Clips” on page 10.

Chapter 2: Pro Tools Concepts 9

MIDI Files

When you record or enter MIDI into a Pro Tools
session, all MIDI data is stored in the Pro Tools
session file. You can import and export MIDI files
to and from Pro Tools sessions, but MIDI
recorded or otherwise created in a Pro Tools
session does not automatically create new MIDI
files.

MIDI file icon

Video Files

When you record or import video into a Pro Tools
session, all video data is stored as the correspond­ing video file type (such as QuickTime). Video
files can be created in (or copied to) the Video
Files folder in the session folder. However, in most
cases, Pro Tools references video files that have
been captured by another application, such as Avid

®

Media Composer

Software.

Audio clip

MIDI clip

Video clip (Frames view)

Clips

A clip is a segment of audio, MIDI, or video data.
A clip could be a drum loop, a guitar riff, a verse of
a song, a recording take, a sound effect, some dia­log, or an entire sound file. Clips are especially
useful for arranging audio and MIDI. A clip can
also have associated automation data. In
Pro Tools, clips are created from audio files or
MIDI data, and can be arranged in audio and MIDI
track playlists. Clips can also be grouped (a “clip
of clips”) and looped (repeated).

Pro Tools Reference Guide10

Clip group (Mixed audio and MIDI multitrack clip
group)

Playlists

A playlist is a sequence of clips arranged on an au­dio, MIDI, or video track. Tracks have edit play-
lists and automation playlists.

Each audio, Auxiliary Input, Instrument, Master
Fader, and VCA track also has a single set of auto­mation playlists. Automation playlists can include
volume, pan, mute, and each automation-enabled
control for the insert and send assignments on that
track.

MIDI controller data on Instrument and MIDI
tracks is always included as part of the track play­list.

Channels

Playlist selector pop-up menu

On audio tracks, an edit playlist tells the hard disk
which audio clips to play in what order. For exam­ple, you can have separate audio clips for a song
introduction, the first verse, the first chorus, and so
on. You can also use the same audio clip to access
the same piece of audio multiple times at different
locations and not use additional disk space. Differ­ent versions of the same original audio can be used
in different places and have different effects ap­plied. On MIDI and Instrument tracks, edit play­lists can store multiple MIDI sequences (or perfor­mances) on a track.

A playlist can be made up of a single clip or many
separate clips. It can be made up of similar ele­ments (such as clips from several different takes of
a solo), or dissimilar elements (such as several
sound effects).

You can create any number of alternate edit play­lists for a track. This lets you assemble different
versions of performances or edits on a single track
and choose between them from the Playlists menu
on the track.

The term channel is used to describe several re­lated components of a Pro Tools system.

The first example of channel refers to a physical
input or output of your Pro Tools system. For ex-

®

ample, Pro Tools

| HD I/O provides up to 16

channels of audio input and output to a HDX or

®

Pro Tools
Pro Tools

| HD Native system, while the

®

| Mbox®Pro audio interface provides

up to eight inputs and eight outputs.
The second use of the term channel refers to a

channel strip in the Pro Tools Mix window. Each
track in a Pro Tools session has a corresponding
channel strip in the Mix window.

Audio and MIDI channel strips have similar con­trols, but those controls have slightly different ef­fects. For example, audio, Auxiliary Input, and In­strument track channel strip faders control the
output gain to the mix bus for that channel, while
MIDI channel strip faders send MIDI volume data
(MIDI controller 7) to the selected MIDI instru­ment.

The term “MIDI channel” also describes a
separate aspect of MIDI operation. See
“MIDI” on page 7.

Chapter 2: Pro Tools Concepts 11

Input from
stereo
bus path

Outputs to
stereo bus
path

Audio tracks

Inserts

Sends

Auxiliary Input

track

Signal Routing

Pro Tools provides software-based mixing and
signal routing controls for audio and MIDI. These
controls are located in the Mix window. Some of
these controls can also be accessed from the Edit
window.

A common audio signal routing task is to submix
multiple tracks to a single channel strip (such as an
Auxiliary Input) for shared processing and level
control. The following example shows two audio
tracks submixed to a stereo Auxiliary Input.

Channel strip in the Mix window (audio track)

Pro Tools Reference Guide12

Submixing to an Auxiliary Input

Signal Routing Options

Signal routing options include the following:

Track Input and Output (I/O) Controls

The most
basic type of signal routing is track input and out­put. A track needs to have an assigned input path to
record audio, and an assigned mapped output path
in order to be audible through a hardware output.
Signals can also be routed to or from other tracks in
Pro Tools (or hardware inputs and outputs) using
internal busses.

Auxiliary Input and Master Fader Tracks

Auxil­iary Inputs can be used as returns, submixers, and
bus masters. Master Fader tracks are used as bus
and output master level controls. Both Auxiliary
Input and Master Fader tracks can have plug-in and
hardware inserts.

MIDI Tracks

MIDI tracks are generally used for
routing MIDI from internal or external sources to
external MIDI devices. MIDI data can also be
routed to plug-ins on Auxiliary Inputs or Instru­ment tracks.

Instrument Tracks

Instrument tracks are the pri­mary way to route MIDI to an instrument plug-in
and then route the plug-in’s sound to outputs,
sends and busses, or other inserts. Instrument
tracks can also be used to send MIDI to and moni­tor audio from external MIDI devices.

Instrument Plug-Ins

Instrument plug-ins are dif­ferent from processing plug-ins in that they gener­ate audio rather than process the audio signal from
a track’s audio input or from hard disk.
Instrument plug-ins are typically played by MIDI.

Paths

Paths are any routing option in Pro Tools,
including internal or external inputs, outputs, bus­ses, and inserts. Pro Tools lets you name these
paths, and these path names appear in the Audio
Input and Output Path selectors and other menus.
For more information, see Chapter 7, “I/O Setup.”

Mixing Formats

Sessions can include combina­tions of mono, stereo, and greater-than-stereo mul­tichannel format tracks, busses, inputs, outputs,
and inserts. Greater-than-stereo multichannel for­mats are supported with Pro Tools HD only.

Grouping and VCA Tracks

Tracks can be grouped
together for mixing so that their relative mix set­tings are maintained when changing a mix setting
for any track in the group. For example, changing
the volume of one track affects the volume of all
the other tracks in the group. VCA Master tracks
(Pro Tools HD only) control the relative mix set­tings for all tracks within the selected group.

Tick-Based and Sample-Based Time

Sends

Sends route audio from tracks to hardware
outputs, or to internal busses that are in turn routed
to other tracks within Pro Tools. MIDI, Master
Fader, and VCA Master tracks do not have sends.

Plug-In and Hardware Inserts

Plug-In processing
occurs completely within the Pro Tools system.
Hardware inserts use audio interface inputs and
outputs for traditional insert routing to and from
external effects and other devices. MIDI and VCA
Master tracks do not have inserts.

Pro Tools lets you set any track timebase to
either sample-based or tick-based. You can also set
the Timeline to be viewed as tick-based or sample­based.

Audio in Pro Tools is sample-based by default.
This means that if an audio clip is located at a par­ticular sample location, it will not move from that
location if the tempo changes in the session—
though its Bar|Beat location will change.

Chapter 2: Pro Tools Concepts 13

MIDI data in Pro Tools is tick-based by default.
This means that if a MIDI clip is located at a par­ticular Bar|Beat location, it will not move from that
Bar|Beat location if the tempo changes in the ses­sion—though its sample location will change.

You can select whether a track is sample-based or
tick-based when it is created, or change timebases
later.

Elastic Audio

Elastic Audio provides real-time and non-real-time
(rendered) Time Compression and Expansion
(TCE) of audio. Tick-based Elastic Audio tracks
actually change the location of samples according
to changes in tempo. The audio stretches or com­presses to match changes in tempo. Elastic Audio
also provides high-quality non-real-time clip­based pitch shifting.

Sample-Based Audio and MIDI

With a sample-based audio track, all clips in the
track have an absolute location on the Timeline.
Clips stay fixed to the sample time, regardless of
where tempo or meter changes occur in a session.

If you make a MIDI track sample-based, all MIDI
events in the track have an absolute location on the
Timeline. MIDI events stay fixed to sample time,
regardless of any tempo or meter changes in a
session.

Tick-Based Audio and MIDI

Tick-based audio is fixed to a Bars|Beat location,
and moves relative to the sample Timeline when
tempo and meter changes occur. However, MIDI
events and tick-based audio respond differently to
tempo changes with respect to duration. MIDI note
events change length when tempo or meter is ad­justed, while audio clips do not (unless Elastic Au­dio is enabled). When Elastic Audio is not enabled
on an audio track, meter and tempo changes affect
only the start point (or sync point) for each audio
clip in a tick-based track. If Elastic Audio is en­abled on an audio track, tempo changes apply Elas­tic Audio processing, which changes the duration
of the audio clip.

Pro Tools Elastic Audio uses exceptionally high­quality transient detection algorithms, beat and
tempo analysis, and real-time or rendered TCE
processing algorithms. Elastic Audio lets you
quickly and easily tempo conform and beat match
audio to the session’s Tempo ruler. It also provides
an unprecedented degree of control over transient
detection and TCE processing on an event-by­event basis.

With Elastic Audio, Pro Tools analyzes entire au­dio files for transient “events.” For example, an
event can be a drum hit, a sung note, or chord
played by a guitar. These detected events can then
serve as control points for “warping” the audio.
Pro Tools can warp (TCE) audio events automati­cally, such as when automatically conforming au­dio to the session tempo or quantizing audio
events, or you can warp audio manually using the
standard editing tools with the audio track set to
Warp view.

Elastic Audio is useful in several common work­flows: working with loops, correcting perfor­mances, remixing, beat and pitch matching, and
sound design and special effects.

Pro Tools Reference Guide14

System Resources

Track count, plug-in processing, signal path and
routing options, and voice availability are ulti­mately limited by the combined resources avail­able from the host computer and from your
Pro Tools hardware.

Pro Tools provides several ways to manage and
conserve resources to maximize the performance
of your system. As you begin working with
Pro Tools sessions and tracks, you can take advan­tage of the following features to extend the effec­tiveness of your available DSP and other re­sources:

 Pro Tools lets you adjust the performance of

your system by changing system settings that af­fect its capacity for processing, playback, and re­cording. See “Configuring Pro Tools | Software
System Settings” on page 48.

 In order to free up needed DSP resources,

Pro Tools allows for certain items (such as tracks
and inserts) to be manually made inactive. Inactive
elements are viewable, editable, and retained
within the session. See “Active and Inactive
Items” on page 15.

Active and Inactive Items

Pro Tools lets you make certain items (such as
tracks and inserts) inactive, in order to free up DSP
resources and mixer connections.

Items in Pro Tools that can be made inactive
include the following:

• Audio, Auxiliary Input, Master Fader,
VCA Master, and Instrument tracks

• Track Inputs and Outputs

• Sends

• Side-chain inputs

• Plug-Ins

• Hardware inserts

• Paths (session-wide)

MIDI tracks cannot be made inactive.

Side-chain inputs support direct active and
inactive switching, but do not follow switch­ing all or all selected side-chain inputs.

 All Pro Tools systems provide flexible voice

options for audio tracks, to help maximize use of
available voices in your system. For more informa­tion on voice management and options, see “Track
Priority and Voice Assignment” on page 227.

Chapter 2: Pro Tools Concepts 15

In addition to manually setting Active and

Active plug-in Inactive plug-in

Inactive
track

Inactive modes, Pro Tools automatically makes
items inactive if there are insufficient or
unavailable resources.

When active, items are fully engaged and opera­tional.

When inactive, items are silent and off, although
most associated controls can still be adjusted. Dif­ferent inactive items affect available system re­sources in specific ways, as follows:

Display of Inactive Items

When items are inactive, their names appear in
italics, and their background becomes dark gray.
When a track is inactive, the entire channel strip is
grayed out.

Plug-Ins

When a plug-in is inactive on a track, its
DSP is made available for other plug-ins and pro­cessing. Plug-In assignments can be made inactive
manually or automatically.

Paths and Path Assignments

assignment is inactive, its mixer resources are
made available for other signal routing purposes in
the session. Paths and assignments can be made in­active manually or automatically.

Tracks

When a track is made inactive, its voices
become available for another track. Inactive mono
tracks free up one voice; inactive stereo and multi­channel tracks free up one voice per channel. Ad­ditionally, when an audio, Auxiliary Input, Instru­ment, or Master Fader track is made inactive, its
plug-ins, inserts, sends, and I/O assignments be­come inactive, and the associated DSP used is
freed up for use elsewhere in the session.

When a path or path

Active and inactive plug-ins, sends, and tracks

Pro Tools Reference Guide16

Workspace Browsers

AA F, MXF, and OMF

The Workspace is a database management tool for
Pro Tools. Workspace browsers expand upon ba­sic Pro Tools search and import capabilities by
providing powerful tools to manage your data both
inside and outside of your sessions, on any hard
drive connected to the system.

A database is a way of organizing data such that it
can easily be searched, sorted, managed, and uti­lized. Your checkbook is an example of a database
file. For every check you write, you enter a new re­cord. That record contains information about the
check, such as when you wrote it, to whom you
wrote it, and for what amount. This information is
written in specific columns, or fields. Everything
you need to know (the check’s metadata) is there,
even though the check itself is not.

Workspace browsers let you search, sort, and
mange these databases by volume or catalog. You
can use Workspace browsers not only to organize
your Pro Tools sessions and media files (audio,
MIDI, and video), but also to audition and import
by drag and drop.

For more information, see Chapter 16,
“Workspace Browsers.”

Pro Tools lets you exchange audio, video, and se­quences with other AAF-, MXF-, and OMF-com­patible applications (such as Avid editors).

Media Data (Media Files)

Media data represents raw audio or video material
and is stored in individual media files. Every time
you record a piece of video or audio material into
an application, you are creating a media file. Audio
media files hold samples (such as 44,100 or 48,000
samples per second of recording) while video me­dia files use frames (24, 25, or 30 frames per sec­ond of recording).

The size of each media file depends on how much
audio or video material it contains. For example, a
file containing ten minutes of high resolution video
might be approximately 2 GB in size, whereas a
ten-minute audio recording at the might result in a
100 MB file. Media files tend to be large, since
high quality audio and video signals are data inten­sive. Video data generally requires considerably
more storage than audio data.

Chapter 2: Pro Tools Concepts 17

Metadata

Metadata is used to describe the following:

• Information embedded in a media file. This may

include scene, take, sample rate, bit depth, exter­nal clip names, the name of the videotape from
which the media file was captured, and even
timecode values.

• Information embedded in Pro Tools sessions or

other sequences, including what files are used,
where they appear in a timeline, and automation.

• For AAF or OMF sequences, metadata also in-

cludes information embedded in unrendered Au­dioSuite™ effects (such as real-time EQ) on
Avid workstations. Pro Tools skips unrendered
effects on import. Rendered effects are media
files that can be imported into Pro Tools.

• For AAF or OMF sequences, information about

automation (clip-based gain or keyframe gain).

AAF, OMF, and MXF Basics

AAF and OMF sequences can also have media
data embedded in them. This creates a single,
larger file that is slower to export and import, but
which may be easier to manage than thousands of
files stored on different volumes.

AAF

AAF is a sequence file format. AAF sequences are
the best way to exchange projects and maintain
valuable metadata. An AAF sequence can refer to
OMF or MXF media files, or have OMF and MXF
media files embedded within them. There is no
such thing as an AAF audio or video media file.

Pro Tools will import, play back, and export an
AAF sequence that either links to media files or
has audio embedded within it.

When you import an AAF sequence with embed­ded audio into Pro Tools, the audio will be
extracted into mono tracks using the current ses­sion’s audio file format.

AAF and OMF files are mechanisms for storing
and retrieving media files and metadata so that
projects can be freely exchanged between different
applications and platforms. MXF is a media file
format that can be used with AAF (but not OMF)
files.

Media data and metadata enable an application that
receives AAF and OMF sequence files (such as
Pro Tools) to automatically and quickly reassem­ble the composition. A simple metaphor for this
approach is that media data files are the pieces of a
puzzle and metadata is the set of instructions for
assembling the puzzle.

In the simplest case, only an AAF or OMF se­quence is exchanged. If this sequence points to ex­isting media files, the size of the sequence file is
relatively small and the export/import process is
relatively fast.

Pro Tools Reference Guide18

MXF

MXF is a media file format. There are MXF video
files and MXF audio files, but there are no MXF
sequences. An AAF sequence may refer to or
include MXF media files, but OMF sequences can­not refer to or include MXF files.

MXF file icon

Pro Tools can import and play back MXF audio
and video files created in Media Composer or
other Avid applications.

OMF

OMF is both a media file and sequence format.
OMF media files can be audio or video, and
Pro Tools can import and play back OMF audio,
but not OMF video. Pro Tools can also export
OMF audio, but not OMF video.

Pro Tools can import and play back OMF audio
files created in Media Composer or other applica­tions.

An OMF sequence cannot reference or have MXF
media embedded within it.

Pro Tools can import an OMF sequence with em­bedded audio, but not embedded video.

Pro Tools and Media Composer Terminology

Pro Tools and Avid Media Composer® use differ­ent terms to describe the same items. For example,
a Pro Tools session is equivalent to an Avid se-
quence. The following table lists common
Pro Tools elements and their Avid equivalents.

Pro Tools Avid (AAF or OMF)

session sequence
whole file clip master clip
clip subclip
plug-ins real-time audio effects
volume automation gain Avid keyframe volume

Whole audio files in the Clip List normally
appear in bold type. However, master clip au­dio files imported from AAF or OMF into
Pro Tools will not appear in bold type (indi­cating clips) in the Pro Tools Clip List even
though they are audio files.

Chapter 2: Pro Tools Concepts 19

Embedded Media and Linked Media

Avid Workstation Edited Sequence

Embedded AAF/OMF File (metadata and media)

Export AAF/OMF with Embedded Media

Refers to:

Original Source Media Files

Sequence (metadata)

Consolidated Media Files

(with Handle)

creates...

There are two types of AAF and OMF files: ones with embedded media, and ones with linked media.

Embedded Media

Exporting to AAF or OMF with embedded media results in one large AAF or OMF file containing both the
metadata and all associated media files.

AAF/OMF Interchange Workflow with Embedded Media

Pro Tools Reference Guide20

Linked Media

Lin

ke

d

to

:

Linked to:

L

in

ke

d

t

o

:

Avid Workstation Edited Sequence

AAF/OMF File (metadata only)

Original Source Media Files

Translated Pro Tools Session File

Pro Tools Imports

Session File

Avid Workstation exports

sequence edits and

file information as AAF

or OMF sequence

Exporting AAF or OMF with linked media results in a single metadata file (.AAF or .OMF) and all
associated media stored as separate files.

The main benefit to this approach is that fewer copies of media files may need to be made, so the
export and import process can be much faster. Using this approach, it is less likely that you will
encounter any file size limitations since the data is broken up into many smaller files.

The main disadvantage to this approach is that there are potentially many files (for example, one AAF or
OMF file and hundreds of media files) that must be transported between systems.

AAF and OMF Interchange Workflow with Linked Media

Chapter 2: Pro Tools Concepts 21

Pro Tools Reference Guide22

Chapter 3: Keyboard and Mouse Shortcuts

For increased operational speed and ease of use,

®

there are many Pro Tools

keyboard and

Right-click shortcuts.

A full list of Pro Tools shortcuts is available in
online Help and in a PDF guide.

To access the full list of Pro Tools shortcuts in
online Help:

1 Choose Help > Pro Tools Help.

2 Click Pro Tools Shortcuts on the Contents page

(in the left pane of Help).

To access the full list of Pro Tools shortcuts in the
Pro Tools Shortcuts Guide:

 Choose Help > Shortcuts.

Mouse Shortcuts

Right-Click Shortcuts

Pro Tools provides Right-Click shortcuts for
choosing various Pro Tools commands and menus
with any Right-Click capable mouse.

For a complete list of Right-Click shortcuts,
see the Shortcuts Guide.

Scroll-wheel Functions

Pro Tools lets you increment or decrement
values in numerical fields by selecting the value
and moving the mouse scroll wheel up or down.

Global Key Commands

Some keyboard shortcuts apply to many
functions in Pro Tools.

For a complete list of keyboard shortcuts, see
the Shortcuts Guide.

Track Functions

Pro Tools provides keyboard shortcuts for the fol­lowing track functions:

• Changing Automation mode

• Enabling playlists

• Adding plug-ins

• Record enabling, soloing, and muting tracks

• Record safing and solo safing tracks

• Assigning inputs, outputs, and sends

• Toggling volume/peak/delay display

• Clearing meters

• Changing track heights

Command Windows Mac

Apply action to all
channel strips/tracks

Apply action to
selected channel
strips/tracks

Alt+
action

Alt+
Shift+
action

Option+
action

Option+
Shift+
action

Chapter 3: Keyboard and Mouse Shortcuts 23

List and Parameter Selection

Clip List

Keyboard Focus

Group List

Keyboard Focus

Commands Keyboard Focus

(Edit window)

There are three types of Keyboard Focus:

Pro Tools provides keyboard shortcuts for the fol­lowing items:

• Selection of tracks in Track List

• Enabling of groups in Group List

• Automation Enable window parameters

• Setting Memory Location parameters

Command Windows Mac

Toggle item and set
all others to same
new state

Toggle item and set
all others to opposite
state

Controls and Editing Tools

Alt-click item Option-click

item

Control-click
item

Command­click item

Pro Tools provides keyboard shortcuts for
moving plug-in controls, faders and sliders, the
Scrubber, and automation data.

Command Windows Mac

Fine adjustment
of sliders,
knobs, and
breakpoints

Hold Control
while clicking
the item

Hold Command
while clicking
the item

Commands Keyboard Focus

When selected in
the Tracks pane in the Edit window or in the Notes
pane of any MIDI Editor window, this provides a
wide range of single key shortcuts from the com­puter keyboard for editing and playing. The front­most Edit or MIDI Editor window always receives
Commands Keyboard Focus when it is enabled.

With Commands Keyboard Focus disabled, you
can still access any of its key shortcuts by pressing
the Start key Control (Mac) or (Windows) along
with the key. See the Shortcuts Guide for a com-
plete list of Commands Keyboard Focus shortcuts.

Clip List Keyboard Focus

When selected, audio
clips, MIDI clips, and clip groups can be located
and selected in the Clip List by typing the first few
letters of the clip’s name.

Group List Keyboard Focus

When selected, Mix
and Edit Groups can be enabled or disabled by typ­ing the Group ID letter (in either the Mix or Edit
window).

Keyboard Focus

The Keyboard Focus in Pro Tools determines how
the alpha keys function. Depending on which Key­board Focus is enabled, you can use the keys on
your computer (alpha) keyboard to select clips in
the Clip List, enable or disable groups, or perform
an edit or play command.

You can only enable one of the three Keyboard Fo­cus modes at a time. Enabling a Keyboard Focus
will disable the one previously enabled.

Pro Tools Reference Guide24

Keyboard Focus buttons

To set the Keyboard Focus, do one of the
following:

 Click the a–z button for the focus you want to

enable.

To enable Toolbar focus for the MIDI Editor pane,
do one of the following:

 Click the Toolbar right above the MIDI Editor

pane.

 While pressing Command+Option (Mac) or

Control+Alt (Windows), press one of the fol­lowing keys: 1 (Commands), 2 (Clip List), or 3
(Group List).

Although multiple plug-in windows can have a
keyboard focus enabled, only the front-most
window receives any keyboard input.

Toolbar Focus

In the Edit window, the MIDI Editor pane can be
displayed in addition to the Tracks pane (

Other Displays > MIDI Editor

). When the MIDI Ed­itor pane is displayed, there are two separate Tool­bars and Timelines in the Edit window: one for the
Tracks pane and one for the MIDI Editor pane.
Only one Toolbar and Timeline can be focused for
Menu and Toolbar commands (including the cor­responding keyboard shortcuts) at a time. The fo­cused Toolbar displays a yellow outline.

If Keyboard Focus for the Edit window is enabled,
it follows the selected Toolbar focus.

To enable Toolbar focus for the Tracks pane, do
one of the following:

 Click the Toolbar at the top of the Edit

window.

View >

 Press Command+Option+5 (Mac) or

Control+Alt+5 (Windows).

Numeric Keypad Modes

The Operation preference for Numeric Keypad
mode determines how the numeric keypad func­tions for Transport.

There are two Shuttle Lock modes (Classic and
Transport), and one Shuttle mode.

No matter which Numeric Keypad mode is se­lected, you can always use the numeric keypad to
select and enter values in the Event Edit Area, Edit
Selection indicators, Main and Sub Counters, and
Transport fields.

To set the Numeric Keypad Mode:

1 Choose Setup > Preferences and click the

Operation tab.

2 In the Transport section, select a Numeric Key-

pad mode (Classic, Transport, or Shuttle).

3 Click OK.

 Press Command+Option+4 (Mac) or

Control+Alt+4 (Windows).

Chapter 3: Keyboard and Mouse Shortcuts 25

Shuttle Lock Modes

Transport Mode

There are two Shuttle Lock modes (Classic and
Transport). Both modes let you use the numeric
keypad to shuttle forward or backwards at specific
speeds.

• 5 is normal speed.

• 6–9 provide increasingly greater fast­forward speeds.

• 1–4 provide progressively greater rewind speeds
(4 is the slowest, 1 is the fastest).

• Press 0 to stop Shuttle Lock, then press the num­ber to resume Shuttle Lock speed.

• Press Escape or Spacebar to exit Shuttle Lock
mode.

Custom Shuttle Lock Speed
(Pro Tools HD Only)

The highest fast-forward Shuttle Lock speed
(key 9) can be customized.

For more information, see “Custom Shuttle
Lock Speed” on page 529.

Classic Mode

This mode emulates the way Pro Tools worked in
versions lower than 5.0. With the Numeric Keypad
mode set to

Classic, you can:

• Play up to two tracks of audio in Shuttle Lock
mode. Press the Control key (Mac) or the Start
key (Windows), followed by 1–9 for different
play speeds.

• Press Plus or Minus to reverse direction.

• Press 0 to stop Shuttle Lock, then press the num­ber to resume Shuttle Lock speed.

• Press Escape or Spacebar to exit Shuttle Lock
mode.

• Recall Memory Locations by typing the Mem­ory Location, followed by a Period (.).

This mode lets you set a number of record and play
functions, and also operate the Transport from the
numeric keypad.

Function Key

Click on/off 7
Countoff on/off 8
MIDI Merge/Replace mode 9
Loop Playback mode on/off 4
Loop Record mode on/off 5
QuickPunch mode on/off 6
Rewind 1
Fast Forward 2
Record enable 3
Play/Stop 0

With the Numeric Keypad mode set to

Transport,

you can also:

• Play up to two tracks of audio in Shuttle Lock
mode. Press the Control key (Mac) or the Start
key (Windows), followed by 1–9 for different
play speeds.

• Press Plus or Minus to reverse direction.

• Press 0 to stop Shuttle Lock, then press the num­ber to resume Shuttle Lock speed.

• Press Escape or Spacebar to exit Shuttle Lock
mode.

• Recall Memory Locations by typing Period (.),
the Memory Location number, and
Period (.) again.

Pro Tools Reference Guide26

Shuttle Mode

(Pro Tools HD Only)

Pro Tools offers another form of shuttling, differ­ent from that of the two Shuttle Lock modes. With
the Numeric Keypad mode set to
of the current Edit selection is triggered by press­ing and holding the keys on the numeric keypad—
playback stops once the keys are released. Various
playback speeds are available in both forward and
reverse. In this mode, pre- and post-roll are ig­nored.

Playback Speeds Key

1x Forward 6
1x Rewind 4
4x Forward 9
4x Rewind 7
1/4x Forward 3
1/4x Rewind 1
1/2x Forward 5+6

Shuttle, playback

1/2x Rewind 5+4
2x Forward 8+9
2x Rewind 8+7
1/16x Forward 2+3
1/16x Rewind 2+1
Loop Selection (1x) 0

With the Numeric Keypad mode set to

Shuttle, you

can also recall Memory Locations by typing Period
(.), the Memory Location number, and Period (.)
again.

Shuttle Lock modes are not available when
the Numeric Keypad mode is set to Shuttle.

Chapter 3: Keyboard and Mouse Shortcuts 27

Pro Tools Reference Guide28

Chapter 4: Using Help

The Pro Tools Help menu provides quick access to
installed PDF documentation and online Help. The
Help system is HTML-based and launches in the
Pro Tools in-application browser. It also runs on
most common web browsers.

The Pro Tools Help menu also provides direct ac­cess to the online Pro Tools Knowledge Base,
Avid Audio Forums, and the Avid Support Center
using the in-application browser (an internet con­nection is required).

The Pro Tools in-application Web browser
is not available outside Pro Tools. To use
Pro Tools Help while Pro Tools is not
running, use the default Web browser for
your operating system.

Accessing Guides in Pro Tools | Software

PDF (Portable Document Format) versions of the
main Pro Tools guides are accessible from the
Pro Tools
mended for PDF documentation.

To access guides in Pro Tools:

 Choose Help, then a guide name.

Help menu. Adobe Reader is recom-

Guides Accessible in Pro Tools

The following guides are available from the
Pro Tools

Audio Plug-Ins Guide

Help menu:

Describes the plug-ins in­cluded free with Pro Tools, as well as additional
plug-ins available for purchase separately.

Pro Tools Reference Guide

Explains Pro Tools

systems and software in detail.

Pro Tools Shortcuts

Lists keyboard and
Right-click shortcuts for Pro Tools, including
those shown in Pro Tools menus.

Accessing the Help System

There are several ways to access the Help system.

• Open Help at its Welcome page from the Help

menu in Pro Tools

• Open Help at its Welcome page from within a

Help browser in Pro Tools

• Open Help at its Welcome page outside of

Pro Tools

• Open a different version or language of

Pro Tools Help

Chapter 4: Using Help 29

To open Help within Pro Tools, do one of the
following:

 Choose Help > Pro Tools Help.

 From the Pro Tools Online browser window,

Help.

choose

To open Help outside of Pro Tools (or to select a
different version or language of Help):

1 Open your favorite online browser (such as

Safari or Explorer).

2 Visit the Pro Tools Help launch page

(http://apps.avid.com/ProToolsHelp/).

Using the Contents and Index Tabs

The left pane of the Help browser is the display
area for most of the Help system’s main navigation
tools, including the Contents and Index tabs.

Contents Tab

The Contents tab displays a complete hierarchical
list of all topics in the Help system. This lets you
quickly see the overall organization of the Help
system.

3 Follow the on-screen instructions to open a

version of Help.

To close the Help system:

 Click the Help viewer’s Close button.

Help Display

The Help system includes the following display el­ements:

Topics

Help viewer.

Navigation Tools

open in the left pane of the Help viewer.

Hierarchy Links

location of the currently displayed topic within its
chapter and to jump to relevant higher-level topics,
including the Main Topic.

Show in Contents Button

locate the current topic in the Contents.

Previous Topic and Next Topic Buttons

these buttons to browse through the topics in the
order in which they appear in the Contents.

Help topics open in the right pane of the

Contents, Index, and Search tabs

Use these links to verify the

Use this button to

Use

You can expand and collapse the contents to view
the logical organization of the Help system, and
you can move to any topic by clicking its entry in
the Contents.

When you move to a new topic, the contents ex­pands to the level of that topic and highlights the
topic. This feature, like the hierarchy links at the
top of each topic, lets you see exactly where the
current topic is positioned within the logical orga­nization of the Help system.

To display a topic from the contents:

 Click the Contents tab, and then click a topic’s

entry in the contents.

To expand or close a section in the contents:

 Click the Contents tab, and then click a book

icon to the left of a link.

Print

Click this button to print one or more

topics.

Pro Tools Reference Guide30

Index Tab

The Index provides an alphabetized list of entries
similar to the index of a printed book.

If Java is enabled in your browser, the Index dis­plays as a dynamic index where the listing scrolls
as you type a word in the text box. If you do not
have Java enabled in your browser, or if your
browser does not support Java implementations, a
JavaScript version of the index displays, which lets
you scroll manually through the entries.

To find topics by using the Index tab:

1 Click the Index tab.

2 Click the first character of the topic in the

Numerics, Letters, Symbols list.

To view the topic associated with an index entry:

 Click the index entry.

Using the Search Tab

The Search tab lets you search the entire text of the
Help system for one or more words and then lists
the topics that include those words. The list of re­sults is ranked, placing the topics that the Search
feature considers most likely to be relevant at the
top of the list.

When you search for text, the text string automati­cally highlights by default. You can turn these
highlights off. You can also stop displaying high­lights after a search by using the Back and Forward
buttons to go to a different topic. When you come
back to your searched topic, the highlights no lon­ger display.

For more guidelines on using the Search feature ef­fectively, see “Search Guidelines” on page 32.

To perform a basic search:

1 Click the Search tab.

2 In the Search pop-up menu (located below the

Search text box), click whether you want to
search in “All Available Books” or a specific
book (such as Pro Tools Shortcuts).

3 In the Search text box, type the word or words

that you want to find.

4 Click Go.

A list of topics and ranking numbers appears.

Additional Search Information

The Search feature provides the best combination
of usefulness and speed:

• The Search feature uses a database of valid

words. This database includes all words that are
significant for identifying topics and excludes
all other words. When you type words in the
search text box, the system ignores any invalid
words that you have typed and searches for valid
words.

• The Search feature cannot search for words in a

certain order. For example, if you type “TIFF
graphics import” as a search entry, Search dis­plays all topics that contains these three words
regardless of their location in the topic. The re­sults include topics where the three words ap­pear together as a phrase, and also topics where
the three words are scattered throughout the
topic.

• The Search feature cannot distinguish between

words that are similar but not identical. For ex­ample, if you type “capture” as a search entry,
Search displays topics that include that word,
but it does not find topics that include related
words such as “captures” or “capturing.” If a
search for a word fails to produce useful results,
you might be more successful if you search
again using one of the related words.

Chapter 4: Using Help 31

Search Guidelines

Printing Help Topics

Use the following rules for formulating search
queries:

• Searches are not case-sensitive, so you can type
your search in uppercase or lowercase charac­ters.

• You can search for any combination of letters
(a-z) and numbers (0-9).

• Punctuation marks (such as the period, colon,
semicolon, comma, and hyphen) are ignored
during a search, unless they are part of the topic
(such as .WAV).

• You can search for a literal phrase by using quo­tation marks. You cannot search for quotation
marks.

Copying from a Help Topic

You can copy information from a Help topic for
use in another document (such a text file).

To copy information from a Help topic to another
document:

1 Open or click the topic to make it active.

You can print Help topics if you need to refer to
them during a complicated procedure or to use for
reference later.

See your browser documentation for more
information on print options.

To print a Help topic:

1 Click the topic pane within the browser

window that you want to print.

2 Do one of the following:

• Click the Print button in the Topic pane.

• Right-click in the Topic pane and select Print.

• Select

3 Select the print options.
4 Click Print.

File > Print.

Topics that you print from Help have limited
page layout and formatting features. If you
want to print a higher quality version of Help
information, Avid recommends that you print
all or part of the PDF version of the appro­priate guide.

2 Select the text that you want to copy.
3 Choose Edit > Copy.

4 Place the mouse pointer in another application,

such as a word processing application.

5 Choose Edit > Paste to paste the copied text into

a document. (You can also paste the text into the
Search text box.)

Pro Tools Reference Guide32

Part II: System Configuration

Chapter 5: Pro Tools Systems

There are three types of Pro Tools systems:

Pro Tools Sof tware with Avid or
Third-Party Hardware

These systems include Pro Tools software with

™

Avid 003
Pro Tools
(third generations), or Mbox

family audio interfaces,

®

| Eleven® Rack, Pro Tools®| Mbox®

®

2 family
audio interfaces. These systems also include
Pro Tools software using third-party audio inter­faces with supported Core Audio (Mac, including
the built-in audio on Mac computers) or ASIO
(Windows) drivers.

Pro Tools HD Software with HDX or
HD Native Hardware

Hardware accelerated Pro Tools HD systems in­clude Pro Tools HD software with HDX or
HD Native (PCIe or Thunderbolt) hardware. Hard­ware accelerated systems provide expanded I/O
capabilities and low latency monitoring. HDX sys­tems also provide dedicated DSP for plug-in pro­cessing and for large mixer configurations.

Pro Tools HD Software with Avid or
Third-Party Hardware

These systems include Pro Tools HD software
with any compatible non-HDX or non-HD Native
Avid audio interfaces (such as Mbox Pro), or Core
Audio (Mac) or ASIO (Windows) hardware.

For a list of qualified audio interfaces and
computers for all Pro Tools systems, visit
www.avid.com/compatibility.

Pro Tools | Software

Pro Tools software provides the following
capabilities, depending on your hardware
configuration:

• Up to 32 channels of I/O depending on your sys­tem and audio hardware

• Up to a total of 96 voiced mono or stereo audio
tracks (up to 128 voiceable audio tracks) per ses­sion:

• Playback of up to 96 tracks, or a combination

of playing back and recording up to 96 tracks,
mono or stereo, at 44.1 kHz and 48 kHz

• Playback of up to 48 tracks, or a combination

of playing back and recording up to 48 tracks,
mono tracks or stereo, at 88.2 kHz and
96 kHz

• Playback of up to 24 tracks, or a combination

of playing back and recording up to 24 tracks,
mono or stereo, at 176.4 kHz and 192 kHz

• Up to 128 Auxiliary Input tracks

• Up to 64 Master Fader tracks

• Up to 512 MIDI tracks

• Up to 128 Instrument tracks

• A single QuickTime video track

• 16-bit, 24-bit, or 32-bit floating point audio
resolution, at sample rates up to 192 kHz

• Automatic Delay Compensation (up to 16,383
samples at 48 kHz)

• Non-destructive, random-access editing and mix
automation

Chapter 5: Pro Tools Systems 35

• Audio processing with up to 10 real-time
plug-ins per track, depending on your
computer’s capabilities

• Up to 10 hardware inserts per track

• Up to 10 sends per track

• Up to 256 internal mix busses for routing and
mixing

For more information about the I/O
capabilities of your audio interface with
Pro Tools, see the documentation that came
with your audio interface.

Supported Hardware
Configurations with Pro Tools
Software

Pro Tools software supports the following hard­ware configurations:

003 Family

Pro Tools software with 003 family hardware pro­vides up to 18 channels of audio input and output at
sample rates up to 48 kHz, and up to 10 channels of
audio input and output at sample rates up to
96 kHz. A 003 system includes:

• Pro Tools software

• One of the following:

• 003 audio and MIDI interface (with
control surface)

• 003 Rack+ audio and MIDI interface

• 003 Rack audio and MIDI interface

Eleven Rack

Pro Tools software with Eleven Rack hardware
provides up to 8 channels of audio input and up to
6 channels of audio output at sample rates up to

88.2 or 96 kHz. An Eleven Rack system includes:

• Pro Tools software

• Eleven Rack audio and MIDI interface, and gui­tar effects processor

Mbox Family

An Mbox system includes:

• Pro Tools software

• One of the following:

• Mbox Pro (3rd generation): up to 8 channels
of audio input and output at sample rates of

44.1 or 48 kHz; and up to 6 channels of audio
input and output at sample rates up to 176.4
or 192 kHz

• Mbox (3rd generation): up to 4 channels of
audio input and output at sample rates of 44.1
or 48 kHz; and up to 2 channels of audio in­put and output at sample rates of 88.2 or
96 kHz

• Mbox Mini (3rd generation) or Mbox 2 Mini:
up to 2 channels of audio input and output at
sample rates of 44.1 or 48 kHz

• Mbox 2 Pro: up to 6 channels of audio input
and up to 8 channels of audio output at sam­ple rates of 44.1 or 48 kHz; and up to 4 chan­nels of audio input and up to 6 channels of
audio output at sample rates of 88.2 or
96 kHz

• Mbox 2: up to 2 channels of audio input and
output at sample rates of 44.1 or 48 kHz

• Mbox 2 Micro: stereo output only at sample
rates of 44.1 or 48 kHz

Pro Tools Reference Guide36

Core Audio

Pro Tools software with Core Audio-compatible
hardware provides up to 32 channels of audio input
and output at sample rates up to 192 kHz depend­ing on your audio interface. A Pro Tools Core Au­dio system includes:

• Pro Tools software

• A third-party audio interface with supported
Core Audio drivers (including Built-in Mac au­dio hardware)

If you open a Pro Tools session created on a
Pro Tools HD system that contains more than the
number of tracks supported on your Pro Tools sys­tem, audio tracks beyond the system’s voiceable
track limit will be automatically set to inactive.

For details on transferring session material
between Pro Tools HD and Pro Tools sys­tems, see “Sharing Sessions Created on
Different Pro Tools Systems” on page 372.

ASIO

Pro Tools software with ASIO-compatible hard­ware provides up to 32 channels of audio input and
output at sample rates up to 192 kHz depending on
your audio interface. A Pro Tools ASIO system in­cludes:

• Pro Tools software

• A third-party audio interface with supported
ASIO drivers

Processing Capacity

The total processing capacity of a Pro Tools sys­tem depends on the processing power of your com­puter. Contact your dealer or visit www.avid.com
for the latest system requirements and compatibil­ity information.

Pro Tools Capabilities with Different
Hardware Configurations

Pro Tools supports up to 32 channels of audio in­put and output, but the available input and output
capabilities with Pro Tools varies depending on
your audio interface. For information about the in­put and output capabilities of your audio interface,
refer to the documentation that came with your
hardware.

Pro Tools | HD Software with Pro Tools | HDX Hardware

Each system requires at least one Avid HD audio
interface (sold separately). HDX systems can be
expanded by adding HDX cards to increase track
count and the amount of plug-in and mixer
processing, and by adding additional audio
interfaces.

Pro Tools HD Software
Capabilities with HDX Hardware

Pro Tools HD software with HDX hardware
provides the following capabilities:

• Up to 256 channels of I/O depending on your
system

• Up to a total of 768 voiced audio tracks

• Up to 512 Auxiliary Input tracks

• Up to 64 Master Fader tracks

• Up to 128 VCA Master tracks

• Up to 512 MIDI tracks

• Up to 256 Instrument tracks

• Up to 64 video tracks per session

• 16-bit, 24-bit, or 32-bit floating point audio
resolution, at sample rates up to 192 kHz

• Up to 7.1 surround mixing capability

• Automatic Delay Compensation (up to 16,348
samples at 48 kHz)

Chapter 5: Pro Tools Systems 37

• Fixed RAM Disk Cache allocation options

• No-latency monitoring

• Non-destructive, random-access editing and mix
automation

• Audio processing with up to 10 inserts per track
(any combination of real-time plug-in and hard­ware inserts), depending on your computer’s ca­pabilities

• Up to 10 sends per track

• Up to 512 internal mix busses for routing and
mixing

Audio Recording and Playback Capabilities

The number of simultaneous tracks of audio
recording or playback depends on your system
configuration. A Pro Tools HD system with a sin­gle HDX card provides recording and playback of
24-bit or 16-bit audio files with the following
voiced track counts:

• Up to 256 tracks at 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz

• Up to 128 tracks at 88.2 kHz or 96 kHz

• Up to 64 tracks at 176.4 kHz or 192 kHz

Each additional HDX card increases the possible
track count by the same amount. For example, at

44.1 kHz, two HDX cards provide up to 512 audio

tracks, and three HDX cards provide up to 768
audio tracks.

Pro Tools | HD Software with Pro Tools | HD Native Hardware

Each system requires at least one Pro Tools HD
audio interface (sold separately). HD Native sys­tems can be expanded by adding additional HD au­dio interfaces.

Pro Tools HD systems with HD Native hardware
consist of the following:

• One of the following:

• HD Native PCIe card

• HD Native Thunderbolt interface

• Pro Tools HD

• An authorized iLok for running Pro Tools HD
software

• One or more Avid HD audio interfaces (sold
separately)

• DigiLink Mini cable for connecting HD Native
hardware to an audio interface

• A MIDI interface (optional)

For detailed information about installing
HD Native PCIe hardware, see the HD Native
Installation Guide.
For information about installing HD Native
Thunderbolt hardware, see the HD Native
Thunderbolt Guide.

Pro Tools Reference Guide38

Pro Tools HD Software
Capabilities with HD Native
Hardware

Pro Tools HD software with HD Native hardware
provides the following capabilities:

• Up to 64 channels of I/O depending on your sys­tem, and the number and type of installed audio
interfaces

• Up to a total of 256 voiced audio tracks (up to
768 voiceable audio tracks):

• Up to 256 voices at 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz

• Up to 128 voices at 88.2 kHz or 96 kHz

• Up to 64 voices at 176.4 kHz or 192 kHz

• Up to 512 Auxiliary Input tracks

• Up to 64 Master Fader tracks

• Up to 128 VCA Master tracks

• Up to 512 MIDI tracks

• Up to 256 Instrument tracks

• Up to 64 video tracks per session

• 16-bit, 24-bit, or 32-bit floating point audio res­olution, at sample rates up to 192 kHz

• Non-destructive, random-access editing and mix
automation

• Up to 7.1 surround mixing capability

• Automatic Delay Compensation (up to 16,348
samples at 48 kHz)

• Fixed RAM Disk Cache allocation options

• FPGA-based low latency monitoring (LLM)

• Audio processing with up to 10 inserts per track
(in any combination of real-time, host-based
plug-in and hardware inserts), depending on
your computer’s capabilities, and the number
and type of installed audio interfaces

• Up to 10 sends per track

• Up to 256 internal mix busses for routing and
mixing

Supported Pro Tools HD Audio Interfaces

The following Pro Tools HD audio interfaces are
compatible with HDX and HD Native hardware:

®

• Pro Tools

• Pro Tools

• Pro Tools

HDX and HD Native systems require at least
one HD I/O, HD OMNI, or HD MADI.

Maximum I/O Configuration with
HDX

HDX supports up to a maximum combination of
12 total of the following audio interfaces:

• HD OMNI (only 1 HD OMNI interface is sup­ported in a single system)

• HD I/O (up to 12 HD I/O interfaces can be used
simultaneously—requires 3 HDX cards)

• HD MADI (up to 3 HD MADI interfaces can be
used simultaneously—requires 3 HDX cards)

Maximum I/O Configuration with
HD Native

HD Native supports up to a maximum combina­tion of up to 4 total of the following audio inter­faces:

• HD OMNI (only 1 HD OMNI interface is sup­ported in a single HD Native system)

• HD I/O (up to 4 HD I/O interfaces can be used
simultaneously)

• HD MADI (full connectivity with 1 HD MADI
interface is possible when both DigiLink ports
of the HD MADI are connected to both Dig­iLink ports on the HD Native PCIe card or
Thunderbolt interface)

|HDI/O

®

|HDOMNI

®

| HD MADI

Chapter 5: Pro Tools Systems 39

Playback, Recording, and Voice Limits with Pro Tools | HD Software

The table below lists the audio playback, recording, and voiceable track limits with Pro Tools HD software
with HDX, HD Native, Core Audio, and ASIO hardware. Playback and recording voices refers to the num­ber of unique simultaneous playback and record tracks on your system. Total voiceable tracks refers to the
maximum number of audio tracks that can share the available voices on your system. (Mono tracks take up
one voice. Stereo and multichannel tracks take up one voice per channel.)

With HDX hardware accelerated systems, voice limits are dependent on the session sample rate and the
number of DSP chips dedicated to the system’s Playback Engine. Pro Tools HD can open sessions with up
to 768 audio tracks, but any audio tracks beyond that system’s voiceable track limit will be automatically
set to Voice Off.

s

Pro Tools HD audio playback, recording and voice limits by hardware configuration

Playback and
Recording

Core System Type Maximum I/O

HDX, 1 card 64 channels 44.1/48 256 768

Sample
Rate (kHz)

88.2/96 128 768

Voices
(Mono Tracks of
Simultaneous
Playback and
Recording)

Total
Voiceable
Tracks

176.4/192 64 768

HDX, 2 cards 128 channels 44.1/48 512 768

88.2/96 256 768

176.4/192 128 768

HDX, 3 cards 192 channels 44.1/48 1024 768

88.2/96 512 768

176.4/192 128 768

HD Native 64 channels 44.1/48 256 768

88.2/96 128 768

176.4/192 64 768

Pro Tools Reference Guide40

Pro Tools HD audio playback, recording and voice limits by hardware configuration

Playback and
Recording
Voices
(Mono Tracks of
Simultaneous
Playback and
Recording)

Core System Type Maximum I/O

Sample
Rate (kHz)

Total
Voiceable
Tracks

Core Audio and ASIO
(Pro Tools HD)

32 channels 44.1/48 256 768

88.2/96 128 768

176.4/192 64 768

Pro Tools HD Audio Interface Features

The following table lists the input and output capabilities of the various Pro Tools HD audio interfaces for
HDX and HD Native systems. Each HDX card in your system supports a maximum of 64 channels of I/O.
HD Native hardware supports a maximum of 64 channels of I/O. To record and play audio with
Pro Tools HD with any of these hardware configurations, you must have at least one Pro Tools HD audio
interface connected to the first port of the first card (or Thunderbolt interface) in the system.

Avid HD audio interface channel capabilities

Interface Type

HD I/O 16 in/16 out 44.1, 48,

HD OMNI 8 in/8 out 44.1, 48,

Number of I/O
Channels

Sample
Rates (kHz)

88.2, 96,

176.4, 192

88.2, 96,

176.4, 192

A/D
Conversion

24-bit 24-bit 24-bit

24-bit 24-bit 24-bit

D/A
Conversion

Digital I/O

HD MADI 64 in/64 out 44.1, 48,

88.2, 96,

176.4, 192

None None 24-bit

Chapter 5: Pro Tools Systems 41

HD OMNI Audio Interface

HD OMNI is a professional digital audio interface
designed for use with Pro Tools HD systems.
HD OMNI provides a compact preamp, monitor­ing, and I/O solution for music production and re­cording, and post production studios.

HD OMNI Features

HD OMNI provides up to 8 discrete channels of
Pro Tools input and output, with 4-segment LED
meters for input or output (selectable).

Analog I/O

• 24-bit analog-to-digital (A/D) and digital-to-an­alog (D/A) converters, with support for sample
rates up to 192 kHz

• 2 high-quality Mic/DI preamps (Channels 1–2)

• 2 combined XLR and 1/4-inch TRS front panel
inputs for microphone and instrument level in­put

• 2 XLR back panel microphone inputs

• 2 1/4-inch TRS Send and 2 1/4-inch TRS Return
back panel jacks for hardware inserts on chan­nels 1 and 2

• 4 analog TRS line level back panel inputs
(Channels 1–4)

HD OMNI provides multiple analog input con­nections, but only provides up to four channels
of simultaneous analog input for Pro Tools.

• Soft Clip and Curv limiting circuits to protect
against clipping on analog input

• 8 channels of analog back panel output using a
DB-25 breakout cable (sold separately) with
variable output gain

• 2 channels of analog back panel output using
TRS (Mirrors channels 1–2 or 7–8 on DB-25
connector)

• Front panel stereo 1/4-inch headphone jack

Digital I/O

• 8 channels of AES/EBU output (up to 192 kHz
Single Wire) using a DB-25 breakout cable (sold
separately)

• 2 channels of AES/EBU XLR input (up to
192 kHz Single Wire)

• 2 channels of S/PDIF RCA input and output (up
to 192 kHz)

• 8 channels of ADAT TOSLINK input and output

• Support for ADAT S/MUX Optical for sample
rates of 88.2 kHz, 96 kHz, 176.4 kHz, and
192 kHz

• Support for two channels of S/PDIF Optical
with sample rates of up to 96 kHz

• Real-time sample rate conversion (SRC) on Dig­ital Inputs 1–2 of either AES/EBU, S/PDIF, or
Optical (S/PDIF)

SRC is not supported with ADAT S/MUX.

Monitoring

• An additional stereo “CUE” output path in

®

Pro Tools

for headphone monitoring from the

front panel headphone jack

• Front panel Control Room (MAIN/ALT) and
Headphone monitoring volume control

• Flexible monitoring with fold-down from all ste­reo and surround formats (up to 7.1 surround)

• Input mixer for low latency direct monitoring of
a variety of incoming signals (configured in the
Pro Tools Hardware Setup)

Synchronization

• Loop Sync input and output for connecting
additional HD peripherals

• External Clock input and output for synchroniz­ing HD OMNI with external Word Clock de­vices

For more information, see the HD OMNI Guide.

Pro Tools Reference Guide42

HD I/O Audio Interface

HD I/O is a multichannel digital audio interface
designed for use with Pro Tools HD systems.
HD I/O features extremely high quality 24-bit an­alog-to-digital (A/D) and digital-to-analog (D/A)
converters, and supports sample rates of up to
192 kHz.

HD I/O comes in three standard configurations:

• 8 x 8 x 8 (8 analog in, 8 analog out, and 8 digital
in and out)

• 16 x 16 analog in and out

• 16 x 16 digital in and out

You can also add or remove HD I/O Analog Ex­pansion cards (ADC and DAC) and HD I/O Digi­tal Expansion cards for custom configurations.

HD I/O Features

HD I/O provides up to 16 discrete channels of
Pro Tools input and output, with 4-segment LED
meters for input and output.

Analog I/O

• Up to sixteen channels of 24-bit D/A and A/D
converters for superior analog input and output
at sample rates of 44.1 kHz, 48 kHz, 88.2 kHz,
96 kHz, 176.4 kHz, and 192 kHz with Analog In
and Analog Out HD I/O cards

• Soft Clip and Curv limiting circuits to protect
against clipping on analog input

Digital I/O

• Up to sixteen channels of 24-bit digital I/O, us­ing AES/EBU, TDIF DB-25, or Optical at sam­ple rates of 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, and
192 kHz with a Digital HD I/O card

• Real-time sample rate conversion on digital in­puts with a Digital I/O card (up to sixteen chan­nels of AES/EBU, Optical, or TDIF)

• Support for S/MUX Optical for sample rates of

88.2 kHz and higher

• Support for 2 channels of S/PDIF Optical
(enclosed) with sample rates of up to 96 kHz

• 2 channels of AES/EBU I/O (enclosed) with
support for sample rates up to 192 kHz

• 2 channels of 24-bit-capable S/PDIF I/O
(enclosed) with support for sample rates up to
192 kHz

Synchronization

• Loop Sync input and output for connecting addi­tional Avid HD audio interfaces and peripherals

• External Clock input and output for synchroniz­ing HD I/O with external Word Clock devices

Expandability

• Optional addition of I/O cards to expand analog
or digital I/O

• Simultaneous use of multiple Avid HD audio in­terfaces to further expand system input and out­put

For more information, see the HD I/O Guide.

Chapter 5: Pro Tools Systems 43

HD MADI Digital Audio Interface

HD MADI is a 64-channel, digital audio interface
designed for use with Avid HD systems.
HD MADI supports the Multichannel Audio Digi­tal Interface (MADI) format and sample rates of up
to 192 kHz. HD MADI provides simplified con­nectivity between your Avid HD system and
MADI-compatible audio equipment.

HD MADI Features

• 2 MADI Optical and Coaxial inputs and 2
MADI Optical and Coaxial outputs for up to 64
discrete channels of digital input and output (32
channels per DigiLink Mini port)

• Supports sample rates of 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96,

176.4, and 192 kHz

• 24- or 16-bit resolution

• Sample Rate Conversion (SRC) on input or out­put

• Front panel clock and SRC indicators

• Front panel signal present LEDs for input and
output

• BNC Word Clock I/O for synchronizing
HD MADI with external 1x Word Clock

• BNC Loop Sync I/O for synchronizing
HD MADI with additional Avid HD audio
interfaces and peripherals (such as HD I/O,
HD OMNI, or SYNC HD)

• Dedicated BNC Word Clock input and XLR
AES/EBU input (clock input only) for external
MADI synchronization (when using SRC on
output)

• Clock support for the following formats: Inter­nal, Loop Sync, Word Clock, AES/EBU, and
MADI

• Varispeed modes (supports both 64- and 56­channel standards)

Additional Pro Tools Hardware Options

Pro Tools software systems also supports the fol­lowing Pro Tools hardware options.

®

• Pro Tools
preamp)

• Eleven Rack (guitar processor)

• Control surfaces:

• Avid Artist Series controllers

•C|24

• Command|8

• Third-party MIDI controllers (such as
M-Audio Axiom Pro or Mackie HUI)

| PRE (Eight-channel microphone

Additional Pro Tools HD Hardware Options

Pro Tools HD also supports the following Avid
HD hardware options.

• SYNC HD synchronization peripheral (HDX
and HD Native systems only):

• PRE (Eight-channel microphone preamp)

• Eleven Rack (guitar processor)

• Control surfaces:

• Avid Artist Series controllers

• Avid Pro Series controllers

•C|24

• Command|8

• D-Command

• D-Control

• Surround Panner Option

• Third-party MIDI controllers (such as
M-Audio Axiom Pro or Mackie HUI)

For more information, see the HD MADI Guide.

Pro Tools Reference Guide44

Pro Tools | Software Options

Pro Tools HDX with HEAT

HEAT (Harmonically Enhanced Algorithm Tech­nology) is a paid software option that adds “analog
color” to HDX systems. For more information, see
Chapter 42, “HEAT.”

HDX and HD Native Systems with
MachineControl

The MachineControl™ software option for
Pro Tools HD is supported with HDX and
HD Native systems. MachineControl is a paid
software option for Pro Tools HD that enables se­rial communication with Sony
synchronizers, and video or audio machines. For
more information, see the MachineControl Guide.

Pro Tools with VENUE Link

For Pro Tools systems that are connected to
VENUE systems using Ethernet, VENUE Link
provides Pro Tools and VENUE system integra­tion and interoperability.

®

9-pin compatible

Checking for Software Updates

Pro Tools can check for Pro Tools application and
plug-in updates, either automatically or manually.
An Internet connection is required to check for up­dates. Approximately every two weeks, Pro Tools
checks online for any available application and
plug-in updates.

If updates are available for Pro Tools or any plug­ins, Pro Tools reports what updates (if any) are
available and how important the updates are for
your system. You can visit the Avid website to lo­cate, download, and install the appropriate updates
for your Pro Tools system.

To manually check for updates:

1 Launch Pro Tools.
2 Choose Help > Check For Updates.

3 Do one of the following:

• If no updates are available, click

• If updates are available, do one of the
following:

• Click

Details to launch your web browser and

see what updates are available for download.

• Click

Not Now if you do not want to review or

download updates until later.

OK.

To disable automatic checking for updates:

 In the Software Update dialog, select the

Do Not Check For Updates Automatically

option.

To enable automatic checking for updates:

1 Choose Help > Check For Updates.

2 In the Software Update dialog, deselect the

Do Not Check For Updates Automatically

option.

Chapter 5: Pro Tools Systems 45

Pro Tools Reference Guide46

Chapter 6: System Setup

You can review and update the setup of your sys­tem to ensure it is configured for your needs.

Starting Up or Shutting Down Your System

To ensure that the components of your Pro Tools
system communicate properly with each other, you
need to start them in a particular order.

Start up your Pro Tools system in this order:

1 Make sure all your equipment (including your

computer) is off.

2 Lower the volume of all output devices in your

system.

3 For systems with an expansion chassis, turn on

the chassis.

4 Turn on any external hard drives. Wait approxi-

mately ten seconds for them to spin up to speed.

5 Turn on any control surfaces (such as

D-Command

6 Turn on any MIDI interfaces, MIDI devices, or

synchronization peripherals.

®

or Avid Artist Control).

7 Do one of the following, depending on your

Pro Tools system:

• For HDX and HD Native systems, with the vol­ume of all output devices lowered, turn on your
audio interfaces (such as HD OMNI). Wait at
least fifteen seconds for your system hardware
to initialize.

• For Pro Tools systems that use hardware requir­ing external power (such as 003), with the vol­ume of all output devices lowered, turn on the
hardware.

8 Turn on your computer.

9 Launch Pro Tools or any third-party audio or

MIDI applications.

Shut down your Pro Tools system in this order:

1 Quit Pro Tools and any other running applica-

tions.

To quit Pro Tools, choose Pro Tools >
Quit (Mac) or File > Exit (Windows).

2 Turn off or lower the volume of all output

devices in your system.

3 Turn off your computer.

Chapter 6: System Setup 47

4 Do one of the following depending on your

Pro Tools system:

• For HDX and HD Native systems, turn off your
Pro Tools audio interfaces.

• For Pro Tools systems that use hardware requir­ing external power (such as 003), turn off the
hardware.

5 For systems with an expansion chassis, turn off

the chassis.

6 Turn off any MIDI interfaces, MIDI devices, or

synchronization peripherals.

7 Turn off any worksurfaces (such as

D-Command) or control surfaces (such as
Command|8).

8 Turn off any external hard drives.

Checking a Pro Tools | HDX or Pro Tools | HD Native System with DigiTest

Before you use Pro Tools, you may want to run the
DigiTest diagnostic application to ensure that all
HDX cards in the system are recognized, installed
in the proper order, and have valid connections.
You can also use DigiTest to validate your
HD Native PCIe card or Thunderbolt interface.
See the Avid DigiTest Guide for more information.

Configuring Pro Tools | Software System Settings

Pro Tools lets you adjust the performance of your
system by changing system settings that affect its
capacity for processing, playback, and recording.
These system settings are available in the Playback
Engine (

In most cases, the default settings for your
system provide optimum performance, but you
may want to adjust them to accommodate large or
processing-intensive Pro Tools sessions.

Playback Engine for a HDX system

Setup > Playback Engine).

Playback Engine for Pro Tools with Mbox (3rd
generation)

Pro Tools Reference Guide48

Playback Engine

In the Playback Engine dialog, Pro Tools lets you
select the audio engine for use with your audio in­terfaces. The available options are determined by
which audio interfaces are connected and have
compatible drivers installed.

Changing the
ful if you have multiple audio interfaces connected
to your computer with different routing configura­tions in your studio, or if you want to prepare a ses­sion for use with a specific interface on a different
system (for example, you might want to prepare a
session created on your HDX system for use with
the built-in audio on your Mac laptop).

To select which audio engine Pro Tools uses:

1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine.
2 From the Playback Engine selector, select your

audio interface:

• For HDX and HD Native systems, use the de­fault setting of

• For supported Avid audio interfaces (such as the
Mbox Pro), selecting the name of the corre­sponding interface uses the Avid Audio Engine
for Pro Tools.

• For third-party audio interfaces with compatible
Core Audio (Mac) or ASIO (Windows), select
the name of the corresponding Core Audio
(Mac) or ASIO (Windows) compatible audio in­terface.

• On Mac systems, if you are using built-in audio,
select any of the available built-in options for
playback or select
simultaneous input and output with the built-in
I/O hardware options.

3 Click OK.

Playback Engine setting can be use-

HDX or HD Native.

Pro Tools Aggregate I/O for

On HDX systems, changing engines requires that
you quit and relaunch Pro Tools for the new setting
to take effect.

When changing engines on any Pro Tools
system, you may need to reset the default
I/O settings to match the selected audio
interface.

Pro Tools Aggregate I/O

(Mac Only)

On Mac systems using Core Audio, you can use
Pro Tools with the built-in audio inputs and out­puts on your Mac by selecting any of the available
built-in inputs and outputs, or by selecting the

Pro Tools Aggregate I/O option for using a combi-

nation of built-in inputs and outputs simultane­ously (for recording and monitoring).

Selecting Pro Tools Aggregate I/O in the Playback
Engine (Mac only)

You can configure the Input and Output options
for Pro Tools Aggregate I/O in the Mac Audio
Setup, which can be accessed from the Pro Tools
Hardware Setup.

If you need simultaneous input (recording)
and output (playback and monitoring) with
Pro Tools using the built-in audio options on
Mac, use the Pro Tools Aggregate I/O option.
If you only need to play back audio for editing
and mixing, select the appropriate built-in
audio output option.

When changing engines with a Pro Tools session
open, Pro Tools closes and reopens the session to
initialize the new engine.

Chapter 6: System Setup 49

Hardware Buf fer Size

Host Engine

The Hardware Buffer Size (H/W Buffer Size) in the
Playback Engine controls the size of the buffer
used to handle host processing tasks such as pro­cessing with host-based, or “Native” plug-ins.

• Lower Hardware Buffer Size settings are useful
for improving latency issues in certain recording
situations or for improving certain system per­formance problems:

• On all Pro Tools systems, lower settings re­duce MIDI-to-audio latency (such as when
playing a virtual instrument live and monitor­ing the instrument’s output). Lower settings
can also improve screen response or the accu­racy of plug-in and mute automation data.

• On host-based Pro Tools systems, lower set­tings reduce all input-to-output monitoring
latency on any record-armed tracks or Auxil­iary Input tracks with live inputs.

• On HDX systems, lower settings reduce mon­itoring latency that occurs on tracks that have
one or more Native plug-ins. Lower settings
can also improve the accuracy of MIDI track
timing on systems without a MIDI interface
that supports time stamping. Lower settings
also improve MIDI track timing on tracks us­ing MIDI virtual instruments that do not sup­port time stamping.

• Higher Hardware Buffer Size settings are useful
for sessions that are using more Native plug-ins
for playback. These settings allow for more au­dio processing. They can also be useful to re­duce errors on machines that require a higher
buffer size.

The Host Engine settings provide options for error
suppression during playback and recording, and
the option to use dynamic plug-in processing.

Ignore Errors During
Playback/Recording

The Ignore Errors During Playback/Record option
determines how Pro Tools responds to error re­porting from the Avid Audio Engine (AAE) during
playback and recording. This can be useful when
working with instrument plug-ins where you care
less about clicks and pops in the audio signal while
you work on composing and arranging. Once you
are ready to work on the final mix you should dis­able this option. Observe the following guidelines
as to whether or not to enable or disable error sup­pression:

• Enable error suppression only if you are experi­encing frequent errors that are interrupting your
creative workflow. When error suppression is
enabled, you can experience a degradation of au­dio quality. However, this may be acceptable in
order to avoid interrupting playback and record­ing when working with instrument plug-ins.

• Disable error suppression when you need to en­sure the highest possible audio quality, such as
for a final mix.

To enable error suppression:

1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine.
2 Select Ignore Errors During Playback/Record.
3 Click OK.

To change the Hardware Buffer Size:

1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine.
2 From the H/W Buffer Size pop-up menu, select

the audio buffer size, in samples.

3 Click OK.

Pro Tools Reference Guide50

If the Ignore Errors Dur ing Playback/Record option
is enabled and too many CPU intensive Native
plug-ins are active in the session (such as Eleven
Free or various virtual instrument plug-ins), you
may experience badly distorted audio. If you en­counter this problem, remove or make inactive any
unnecessary Native plug-ins. You can also isolate
and bus record any tracks that use virtual instru­ments, and then make those source tracks inactive
to free up processing resources.

Minimize Additional I/O Latency

(Host-based Pro Tools Systems Only)

Dynamic Plug-In Processing

When enabled, the Dynamic Plug-In Processing
option maximizes plug-in counts by dynamically
reallocating host-based processing resources as
needed. This means that plug-ins only use CPU
cycles when they are actually processing audio.

To enable dynamic plug-in processing:

1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine.
2 Select Dynamic Plug-In Processing.
3 Click OK.

When the Minimize Additional I/O Latency option is
enabled, any additional latency due to ignoring er­rors during playback and recording is minimized to
128 samples. Ignoring errors requires at least 128
samples of additional buffering on some systems.
If this option is disabled, the buffer is half the

Buffer Size

, or at least 128 samples (whichever is

H/W

greater). If you are using a slower computer, you
may want to disable this option to avoid adverse
performance.

This option is only available if the

During Playback/Record

option is enabled and the

Ignore Errors

Pro Tools system you are using requires additional
buffering for error suppression, as follows:

•Windows:

• Mbox Pro and Mbox 2 Pro

•Mac:

• 003 family devices

• Eleven Rack

• Mbox family devices

• Pro Tools Aggregate I/O

Number of Voices

(HDX Systems Only)

On HDX systems, the Number of Voices setting in
the Playback Engine lets you control the number of
available voices.

Changing the number of voices affects the total
number of voiceable tracks.

Depending on the session sample rate and the
number of HDX cards in your system, there are
different choices for voice count. For voice limits
on different HDX systems, see “Playback, Record­ing, and Voice Limits with
Pro Tools | HD Software” on page 40.

To change the Number of Voices:

1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine.
2 Select a value from the Number of Voices pop-

up menu.

3 Click OK.

Chapter 6: System Setup 51

Sample Rate

(HDX Only)

The Sample Rate setting in the Playback Engine
shows the default sample rate used when you cre­ate a new session. If a session is open, the current
session sample rate is displayed, but cannot be
changed. If no session is open, you can set the de­fault sample rate for new sessions.

back, those files are already cached for playback.
This is especially useful when working with shared
media storage (such as with Avid Unity ISIS
shared storage systems).

To determine the maximum amount of RAM avail­able for the Disk Cache, Pro Tools polls the com­puter for the amount of RAM installed and sub­tracts 4 GB of RAM.

Video Engine

Enable the Video Engine option to import, edit, and
playback a wide range of Avid HD and SD MXF
video formats on Pro Tools video tracks without

®

transcoding (including Avid DNxHD

) as well as
QuickTime video. With the Video Engine enabled
you can simultaneously view desktop video and
video monitored using a video peripheral
(Media Composer
Media Composer

®

|Nitris®DX,

®

| Mojo®DX, and other Avid

qualified third-party video interfaces).

To enable the Avid Video Engine for Pro Tools:

1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine.
2 Select the Video Engine option.
3 Click OK.

Cache Size

(Pro Tools HD Only)

The Cache Size setting in the Playback Engine de­termines the amount of memory AAE allocates to
pre-buffer audio for playback and recording. In
most cases, the default setting of
timum Cache Size for most sessions.

Pro Tools HD can also load audio files used in
Pro Tools sessions into RAM for cached playback.
Pro Tools prioritizes files closest to the current
play head location. This way, when you start play-

Normal is the op-

For example, if your computer has 12 GB of RAM
installed, the total amount of RAM available for
the Disk Cache will be 8 GB.

You can use the Disk Cache and Memory
meters in the System Usage window to deter­mine whether to assign more or less RAM to
the Disk Cache for the current session. See
“System Usage” on page 60.

To set the amount of RAM for use by the Disk
Cache:

1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine.
2 From the Disk Cache selector, select the amount

of RAM you want to allocate for Disk Cache.

3 Click OK.

Configuring MIDI Setup

If you plan to use any external MIDI devices with
Pro Tools (such as controllers, keyboards, synthe­sizers, drum machines, samplers, sequencers, or
sound modules), you may want to configure your
MIDI setup using Audio MIDI Setup (Mac) or
MIDI Studio Setup (Windows).

For more information, see Chapter 10,
“Configuring MIDI.”

Pro Tools Reference Guide52

Configuring Hardware Settings in Pro Tools | Software

Pro Tools lets you configure the signal routing,
digital I/O format, default sample rate, clock
source, and other hardware-based settings depend­ing on your system configuration. These system
settings are available in the Hardware Setup
(

Setup > Hardware).

Hardware Setup for HD OMNI, Main page

Selecting an Audio Interface to
Configure

The Peripherals list in the Hardware Setup lets you
select any audio interface connected to your
Pro Tools system associated with the selected

rent Engine

To change the
specific audio interface or AAE (such as HDX,
003, a third-party Core Audio or ASIO interface,
or Pro Tools Aggregate I/O), see “Playback En­gine” on page 49).

For Avid HD audio interfaces (such as HD OMNI
or HD I/O) you can configure the signal routing,
digital I/O format, default sample rate, clock
source, and other hardware-based settings for each
HD peripheral connected to your system.

For some Avid audio interfaces (such as 003), you
can configure the signal routing, digital I/O format,
default sample rate, clock source, and other hard­ware-based settings, depending on your system
configuration.

For third-generation Mbox family audio inter­faces, and third-party Core Audio (Mac) and ASIO
(Windows) compatible audio interfaces, use the

Launch Control Panel button to launch the control

panel for configuring your specific audio interface.

setting in the Playback Engine dialog.

Playback Engine setting to use a

Cur-

Hardware Setup for Mbox (third generation)

Chapter 6: System Setup 53

Launch Control Panel or Setup
App

(Pro Tools with Mbox Family or Third-Party
Audio Interfaces Only)

Using the control panel or setup application for
your audio interface, you can change settings in the
following areas, depending on your audio inter­face:

• Mixer Settings

• Output Settings

• Hardware Settings (including sample rate,

hardware buffer size, and sync source).

Configuring Pro Tools
Aggregate I/O

(Mac Only)

On Mac systems using Core Audio, you can select

Pro Tools Aggregate I/O as the Current Engine to

use the built-in audio inputs and outputs on your
Mac computer. You can configure the Pro Tools
Aggregate I/O setting in the Mac Audio Setup,
which can be accessed from the Pro Tools Hard­ware Setup.

To configure Pro Tools Aggregate I/O settings:

1 Choose Setup > Hardware.

You can set the sample rate when creating a
new Pro Tools session by selecting a different
sample rate in the New Session dialog.

To change control panel settings:

1 In the Hardware Setup dialog, click the Launch

Control Panel

button or Launch Setup App but-

ton (depending on your audio interface).

2 To change settings in the control panel or setup

application, see the documentation that came
with your audio interface.

3 When finished, close the control panel or setup

application.

2 In the Peripherals list, select Pro Tools Aggre-

gate I/O

option is selected as the

, or whichever Built-in input or output

Current Engine in the

Playback Engine.

Hardware Setup for Pro Tools Aggregate I/O
(Mac only)

3 Click the Launch Setup App button.

4 In the Audio Devices window of the Mac Audio

Setup, configure the Pro Tools Aggregate I/O
settings.

The Pro Tools Aggregate I/O device is
intended for use only with the built-in
audio on your Mac computer. For best
performance, use the default settings.

Pro Tools Reference Guide54

Configuring Default Sample Rate
Setting in Hardware Setup

The Sample Rat e setting in the Hardware Setup di­alog determines the default sample rate when you
create a new session. This setting is available only
when there is no session open. Otherwise, the cur­rent session sample rate is displayed, but cannot be
changed.

With HDX and HD Native hardware, you can
change the default Sample Rate in the Hardware
Setup, or in the Playback Engine.

With HDX and HD Native hardware, the
Sample Rate setting can affect the number
of available voices.

On other Pro Tools systems, you can only change
the default sample rate in the Hardware Setup or
using the control panel for third-party audio inter­faces.

You can set the sample rate when creating a
new Pro Tools session by selecting a different
sample rate in the New Session dialog.

To change the default Sample Rate in the
Hardware Setup:

1 Choose Setup > Hardware Setup.
2 Select the sample rate from the Sample Rate

pop-up menu.

3 Click OK.

Configuring Clock Source

The Pro Tools Hardware Setup lets you select the

Clock Source for the system.

Changes made to Clock Source in the Session
Setup window are reflected in the Hardware
Setup window.

Internal

directly into Pro Tools, you will usually use the
Pro Tools

External

Pro Tools from an external digital device, or if you
utilize a common house clock signal, you will syn­chronize Pro Tools to that digital device or com­mon signal.

Depending on your audio interface, external
options can include

Optical [Encl], AES/EBU 1–8, TDIF, ADAT, and
Word Clock. For details, see the guide for your au-

dio interface.

To select the Clock Source:

1 Choose Setup > Hardware.
2 Choose the clock source from the Clock Source

3 Click OK.

If you are recording an analog signal

Internal clock source.

If you are transferring material into

AES/EBU [Encl], S/PDIF,

pop-up menu.

Your digital input device must be
connected and powered on for Pro Tools to
synchronize to it. If your input device is not
powered on, leave the Clock Source set to
Internal.

Chapter 6: System Setup 55

Configuring Digital Format and
Hardware Routing

The Hardware Setup includes additional settings
for configuring the digital format and hardware
routing for your system’s audio interfaces.

For an outline of the configuration of an HDX or
HD Native system with one or more Pro Tools HD
interfaces, see “Configuring Pro Tools | HDX and
Pro Tools | HD Native Hardware Settings” on
page 56.

To configure specific hardware settings for
other Pro Tools or third-party audio inter­faces, see the documentation that came with
your audio interface.

Selecting Footswitch Control

(003 Only)

The footswitch connector on your 003 family in­terface lets you use a footswitch pedal to control
either playback start/stop or recording
punch in/out. Both QuickPunch audio punch-in
and punch-out and MIDI punch-in and punch-out
recording are supported.

Record Punch In/Out

footswitch connected to your 003 family interface
to punch in and punch out during recording.

Playback Start/Stop

footswitch connected to your 003 family interface
to start and stop playback.

Select this option to use a

Select this option to use a

Configuring Pro Tools | HDX and Pro Tools | HD Native Hardware Settings

On HDX and HD Native systems, you configure
Hardware settings for each audio interface con­nected to your system (see Chapter 5, “Pro Tools
Systems.”)

HDX and HD Native systems can have HD I/O,
HD OMNI, or HD MADI audio interfaces con­nected to HDX cards or HD Native hardware. The
HD I/O and HD OMNI can also have additional
interfaces attached using the Expansion port on
each interface.

Identifying Audio Interfaces

If you have multiple audio interfaces of the same
type connected to your system, before you make
audio connections to them, you should confirm the
identity of each interface. This ensures that you
choose the appropriate interface in the Peripherals
list when you define its inputs and outputs in the
Hardware Setup.

To identify audio interfaces in your system:

1 Choose Setup > Hardware.

2 From the Peripherals list, select an audio inter-

face connected to your system.

Use the Up and Down Arrow keys to scroll
though the Peripherals list in the Hardware
Setup.

3 Make sure the Main page is shown.

Pro Tools Reference Guide56

4 Select the Identify option, located in the lower

left corner of the Hardware Setup. This illumi­nates all the LEDs on the front panel of the se­lected audio interface.

5 Make a note of which interface in your studio

setup corresponds to the identified interface.

6 Repeat the above steps for each additional audio

interface in your setup.

Configuring Avid HD Audio
Interfaces

Additional pages are available to configure other
controls for each audio interface (such as setting
operating levels).

To configure Avid HD audio interfaces:

1 Choose Setup > Hardware.

2 From the Peripherals list, select the audio

interface connected to the first card in your
system. This will be the interface at the top of
the list.

3 Click the Main tab.

HD OMNI supports up to eight channels of simul­taneous I/O and multiple I/O formats (such as ana­log, AES/EBU, ADAT Optical, and S/PDIF).

HD I/O audio interfaces support sixteen channels
of simultaneous I/O and multiple I/O formats (such
as analog, AES/EBU, ADAT Optical, S/PDIF, and
TDIF). HD MADI supports up to 64 channels of
MADI I/O.

The Main page of the Hardware Setup is where
you define which physical inputs and outputs on
your audio interface are routed to available inputs
and outputs in Pro Tools. You can think of this
window as a patchbay that allows you to route any
of the inputs or outputs on your audio interfaces to
channel assignments in the Pro Tools mixer.

Hardware Setup for HD I/O, Main page

Press Command+Left or Right Arrow keys
(Mac) or Control+Left or Right Arrow keys
(Windows) to move though the different
pages of the Hardware Setup.

4 From the Clock Source pop-up menu, select the

appropriate clock source for the interface.

In many cases, you will use

Internal. The other

choices are for resolving Pro Tools to external
clock sources. Depending on your audio interface,
Clock Source options can include:

[Encl], S/PDIF, Optical [Encl], AES/EBU 1–8, TDIF,
ADAT,

and Word Clock (optional Word Clock rates

AES/EBU

are available when operating at higher sample
rates).

5 If you want to send clock output to other de-

vices attached to the audio interface, select the
appropriate output from the

Ext. Clock Output

pop-up menu.

6 Select which digital I/O port on your audio in-

terface enclosure is active by selecting the cor­responding option under

Digital Format.

Depending on the type of interfaces in your
system, choices include

Optical (S/PDIF)

AES/EBU, S/PDIF, and

. Selecting Optical (S/PDIF) re-

sets the Optical I/O port (which is, by default,
eight channels of ADAT Optical I/O) to two
channels of S/PDIF Optical I/O.

Chapter 6: System Setup 57

7 For S/PDIF compatibility with Tascam DA-30

DAT recorders, select the

Tascam option under

S/PDIF Format.

8 From the Input and Output channel pop-up

menus, select the physical ports (such as

1–2

or Optical 1–2), that will be routed to the

Analog

corresponding Pro Tools input and output chan­nels (such as Ch 1–2, Ch 3–4), listed on the left
side of the Main page.

Configuring HD OMNI Controls

For detailed information about configuring
HD OMNI, see the HD OMNI Guide.

To configure HD OMNI in Pro Tools:

1 Choose Setup > Hardware.

2 From the Peripherals list, select the HD OMNI

audio interface.

Inputs and outputs of similar format are differenti­ated in the input and output channel pop-up menus.
For example, the AES/EBU inputs and outputs in
the HD I/O enclosure are listed as

AES/EBU [Encl],

while the AES/EBU inputs and outputs on the fac­tory-installed Digital I/O card are listed (in pairs)

AES/EBU 1–2, AES/EBU 3–4, AES/EBU 5–6,

as
and AES/EBU 7–8. For HD I/Os equipped with a
second Digital I/O Card, the additional AES/EBU
I/O ports on the optional card are listed as

AES/EBU 9–10, AES/EBU 11–12, AES/EBU
13–14,

and AES/EBU 15–16.

9 Configure any specific controls for your audio

interface:

• “Configuring HD OMNI Controls” on page 58.

• “Configuring HD I/O Controls” on page 59.

• “Configuring HD MADI Controls” on page 60.

10 For additional audio interfaces, select them in

the Peripherals list, and repeat the above steps.

See your audio interface guide for additional
configuration details and restrictions.

3 Click the Monitor tab and configure the options.

When working with HD OMNI, you should al­ways configure the Monitor page first.

HD OMNI Hardware Setup, Monitor page

4 Click the Main tab and configure the options.

HD OMNI Hardware Setup, Main page

Pro Tools Reference Guide58

5 Click the Analog In tab and configure the

options.

HD OMNI Hardware Setup, Analog In page

6 Click the Analog Out tab and configure the

options.

HD OMNI Hardware Setup, Analog Out page

Configuring HD I/O Controls

For detailed information about configuring
HD I/O, see the HD I/O Guide.

To configure controls for HD I/O:

1 Choose Setup > Hardware.

2 From the Peripherals list, select the HD I/O

audio interface.

3 Click the Main tab and configure the options.

HD I/O Hardware Setup, Main page

4 If you have at least one HD I/O AD card, click

Analog In tab and configure the options. If

the
you have two HD I/O AD cards, this tab is la-

Analog In 1–8.

beled

7 Click the Mixer tab and configure the options.

HD OMNI Hardware Setup, Mixer page

8 When you are finished, click OK.

HD I/O Hardware Setup, Analog In page

5 If you have two HD I/O AD cards, click the

Analog In 9–16 tab and configure the options.

6 If you have at least one HD I/O Digital card,

click the

Digital tab and configure the options.

Chapter 6: System Setup 59

7 If you have two HD I/O Digital cards, click the

Digital tab and configure the options.

second

8 When you are finished, click OK.

Configuring HD MADI Controls

For detailed information about configuring
HD MADI, see the HD MADI Guide.

To configure controls for HD MADI:

1 Choose Setup > Hardware.

2 From the Peripherals list, select either

HD MADI Port 1 or HD MADI Port 2 and con­figure the options.

System Usage

Meters in the System Usage window indicate how
much of your system’s processing power is being
used when processing audio, and when writing and
playing back automation.

As these meters approach their limits, host pro­cessing and recording or playback of automation
data can be affected. If CPU or PCI Activity are
high, a system error may occur. If Disk Activity is
high, Pro Tools may miss playback of some auto­mation data during particularly dense periods of
activity, such as while using the Bounce to Disk
command.

HD MADI Hardware Setup

The settings for HD MADI Port 1 and
HD MADI Port 2 are linked. Any changes are
global regardless of which is selected in the
Peripherals list.

3 When you are finished, click OK.

Pro Tools Reference Guide60

System Usage window

CPU Meters

The CPU Total meter displays session performance
for Elastic Audio processing, Clip Gain process­ing, and Native plug-in and mixer processing.

The individual
cation of how much Pro Tools is using each of the
processors in your computer.

CPU meters provide a general indi-

Activity Meters

Memory Meter

The Activity section of the System Usage window
display meters for disk usage and memory usage.

Disk Meter

As in previous versions of Pro Tools, the Disk me­ter displays the amount of hard disk processing ac­tivity.

Disk Cache Meter

(Pro Tools HD Only)

Pro Tools HD provides a meter in the System Us­age window for monitoring the Disk Cache. This
meter is only present if a fixed

Cache Size is se-

lected in the Playback Engine dialog.

The Memory meter displays how much of the in­stalled physical RAM in the system is being used
by Pro Tools. This includes RAM used by the au­dio engine, the video engine (if enabled), plug-ins,
and the disk cache. Other than Pro Tools, it does
not show any other RAM usage by the system. If
the Memory meter approached 100%, install more
physical RAM or lower the Disk Cache setting in
the Playback Engine dialog.

DSP Usage Meters

(HDX Systems Only)

HDX systems provide additional meters below the
Activity meter:

Voices

The Voices meter displays the total number of
voices that can be allocated and the number of
voices currently allocated. This includes all voices
whether they are allocated explicitly or dynami­cally, as well as any voices used for routing host­based processing.

System Usage window showing Disk Cache meter

The Disk Cache meter

located

memory being used to cache audio in the

indicates the amount of al-

timeline (up to the amount of RAM selected for the

Disk Cache setting in the Playback Engine). An

additional peak-meter style indicator

show how

for caching

much of the allocated RAM is needed

the session.

is included to

Time Slots

The Time Slots meter displays the total number of
DSP Time Slots available and the number of DSP
Time Slots currently used.

DSP

The DSP meters display how much of each DSP
chip on each HDX card is currently being used for
mixer configurations and DSP-based plug-ins.

Chapter 6: System Setup 61

System Usage window (HDX 2 shown)

Voices

Time Slots

DSP Usage

Managing System Resources

To monitor the usage of resources during a
Pro Tools session:

 Choose Window > System Usage.

To reduce processing load, do one of the
following:

 Reduce the density of automation in places

where it shows the most activity. For details, see
“Thinning Automation” on page 1011.

 Make unnecessary track inputs and outputs in-

active. For details, see “Making Track Inputs
and Outputs Inactive from the Edit or Mix Win­dow” on page 226.

 Make unnecessary tracks inactive. For details,

see “Making Tracks Inactive” on page 235.

 Make unnecessary DSP plug-ins inactive. For

details, see “Making Inserts Inactive” on
page 958.

Pro Tools Reference Guide62

Chapter 7: I/O Setup

Channel Grid

Path Type tabs

Active/Inactive
Status

Path Format selector

Path Name column

Path tools

Input and Output
selectors

Interface Name label

Import/Export Settings

Options

The I/O Setup provides tools to label, format, and assign Pro Tools input, output, insert, and bus audio sig­nal paths both for individual sessions as well as for your specific Pro Tools system. I/O Setup also provides

controls for PRE (Mic Preamp) signal paths, and Delay Compensation settings for hardware inserts.
The I/O Setup displays a graphical representation (cross-point matrix) of the signal routing for physical in-

put and output paths for each connected audio interface. Like a virtual patchbay, I/O Setup controls let you
route physical inputs and outputs on audio interfaces to Pro Tools input and output channels. For HDX and
HD Native systems, some of these controls mirror the routing controls found in the Hardware Setup—
changes made to physical routing in one is always reflected in the other. The I/O Setup also includes con­trols for creating internal mix busses and for creating and mapping output busses.

I/O Setup on an HDX system with HD OMNI and HD I/O

Chapter 7: I/O Setup 63

Opening the I/O Setup

The I/O Setup can be opened from the application
window (with a session closed), or from within a
session (when a session is open).

To open the I/O Setup:

1 Make sure your audio interfaces are enabled

and configured properly in the Hardware Setup.
See “Configuring Hardware Settings in
Pro Tools | Software” on page 53.

2 Choose Setup > I/O.

Pro Tools | Software Signal Paths

A signal path is a logical grouping of multiple in­puts, outputs, or busses that has a single name and
(channel) format. The I/O Setup lets you create,
define and name paths according to the configura­tion of your studio and the needs of each project.

Main Paths and Sub-Paths

Paths in Pro Tools tracks and I/O Setup include
main paths and sub-paths.

Closing the I/O Setup

To close the I/O Setup and save changes:

 Click OK.

Pro Tools checks several settings for routing valid­ity (to prevent feedback loops). If there are any
overlapping or invalid settings, you will be re­quired to correct them (see “Valid Paths and Re­quirements” on page 88).

To close the I/O Setup without saving changes:

 Click Cancel.

Navigating in the I/O Se tup

To scroll left or right in the I/O Setup:

 Press Option+Page Up/Down (Mac) or

Alt+Page Up/Down (Windows).

Main Paths

Main paths are logical groupings of in-

puts, inserts, busses, or outputs. For example, a
master stereo output path will include both its left
and right channels.

Sub-Paths

A sub-path represents a signal path

within a main path. For example, a default stereo
output bus path consists of two mono sub-paths,
left and right. Mono tracks and sends can be routed
to either mono sub-path of the stereo output bus
path.

Main and sub-paths in I/O Setup (Input page)

It is especially useful to define and name
sub-paths for complex mixing setups, such
as a 5.1 surround mix.

Pro Tools Reference Guide64

Paths in Sessions

In sessions, signals are routed to and from tracks,
sends, and inserts using track Input, Output, Insert,
and Send selectors.

When you click a track Input, Output, Insert, or
Send selector, the paths created and defined in the
IO Setup appear in the list of available paths (see
“Assigning Audio Inputs and Outputs to Tracks”
on page 222).

When you create a new session, you can specify
which I/O Settings to use. For example, you can
use the factory installed default settings, the “Last
Used” setting, or one of any available custom I/O
settings files.

See “Factory I/O Settings” on page 93 and
“I/O Settings Files” on page 94 for more
information.

Default I/O Settings

Path Configurations and
I/O Settings

Each Pro Tools system can have a different path
configuration, determined by:

• On Pro Tools systems, the type of audio inter­face or other physical I/O (including built-in
hardware)

• On HDX and HD Native systems, the number
and types of audio interfaces

Path configurations in Pro Tools are saved as
I/O settings.

I/O Settings are saved with both the session and
with the system. You can choose to overwrite the
I/O settings saved with the system with those
saved with the session (see “Restore from Session”
on page 96).

Unavailable items (including hardware, paths, or
required resources) remain in the session as inac­tive items (see “Making Paths Active or Inactive”
on page 86).

Pro Tools comes with default I/O Setup settings to
get you started (see “Factory I/O Settings” on
page 93). You should only need to open the I/O
Setup if you want to customize I/O paths or if you
change your system hardware (for example, add­ing an expansion card to HD I/O, or adding or re­moving an audio interface).

You can always return to the default settings for an
I/O Settings page by clicking the Default button.
These paths are available in session tracks and are
reflected in the I/O Setup.

You can customize your I/O Setup configuration at
any time, according to the needs of each project
(see “Customizing I/O Settings” on page 75).

Chapter 7: I/O Setup 65

I/O Setup Pages

The I/O Setup provides tabs to open pages for con­figuring specific I/O Settings.

Input Page

The Input page of the I/O Setup lets you create and
assign Pro Tools Input channels to receive audio
from the physical inputs of your audio hardware.

Opening an I/O Setup Page

To open an I/O Setup page:

 Click the corresponding tab at the top of the I/O

Setup.

Hold the Command key (Mac) or the
Control key (Windows) and use the Left or
Right Arrow keys to cycle through the
different pages of the I/O Setup.

It is recommended that if you choose to cus­tomize your I/O Setup, configure the system­specific options first: Input, Output, Insert,
Mic Preamps, and H/W Insert Delay. Then
configure the Bus page. Once you have con­figured your system, you should not need to
change it unless you add or remove hardware
(such as audio interfaces) from your system.
See “Customizing I/O Settings” on page 75.

Configure input signal path names, formats, and
source channel (analog or digital) on the Input
page. Multichannel input paths (stereo or greater)
can have any number of sub-paths. Input channels
can have overlapping input paths. Input names,
channel widths, and physical input mappings are
saved with the system and the session, and can be
recalled from either.

I/O Setup, Input page

Pro Tools Reference Guide66

Output Page

Bus Page

The Output page of the I/O Setup lets you create
and assign Pro Tools Output channels to send au­dio to the physical outputs of your audio hardware.

Configure output signal path names and formats on
the Output page. Output channels can have over­lapping output paths. Multichannel Output paths
(stereo or greater) can have any number of sub­paths. Output names, channel widths, and physical
output assignments are saved with the system and
the session, and can be recalled from either.

The Bus page of the I/O Setup lets you create and
edit internal mix busses and output busses. The
Bus page also lets you map output busses to output
paths (as configured in the Output page of the I/O
Setup).

Configure bus path names and formats, and map
any main bus path to any available output of the
same width or greater. Multichannel bus paths
(stereo or greater) can have any number of sub­paths. Output bus and internal mix bus names and
channel widths are saved with and recalled from
the session.

I/O Setup, Output page

I/O Setup, Bus page

For more information, see “Configuring
Busses” on page 88.

Chapter 7: I/O Setup 67

Insert Page

Mic Preamps Page

The Insert page of the I/O Setup lets you create and
edit hardware insert signal paths for the Pro Tools
mixer. Hardware inserts can route audio through
an external device connected to parallel inputs and
outputs of a Pro Tools audio interface. This lets
you process audio on a track with a hardware insert
in real time.

Insert paths require audio interface inputs and out­puts, and are determined by the configuration of
the Insert page in the I/O Setup for your system.

I/O Setup, Insert page

For more information, see “Using Hard­ware Inserts” on page 982.

On the Mic Preamps page of the I/O Setup,
signal paths for one or more PRE multi-purpose
microphone preamplifiers can be mapped to
audio interfaces. For more information, see the
PRE Guide.

Mic Preamps page

H/W Insert Delay
(Compensation) Page

To compensate for the delay (latency) of any exter­nal hardware devices (such as an effects unit) used
in your session, you can set the amount of Hard­ware Insert Delay Compensation (in milliseconds)
for each external device. These times will be used
by the Delay Compensation Engine to time-align
input paths when the hardware insert is in use and
Delay Compensation is enabled.

Insert offset delay field

For more information, see “Setting a
Hardware Insert Delay Offset” on
page 949.

Pro Tools Reference Guide68

I/O Setup Signal Path

Input selector

Expand/Collapse

Path Format selector

Channel Grid

triangle

Active/Inactive
Status box

Path Name
column

Controls

Depending on the I/O Setup page, the I/O Setup
provides the following controls in its graphical
section for configuring signal routing paths.

Path Format Selector

Shows and selects the
type/format (such as Mono, Stereo, Quad, or 5.1)
of each defined path (greater-than-stereo multi­channel formats are supported with Pro Tools HD
only).

Channel Grid

Assigns paths to specific interfaces

and channels.

I/O Setup Buttons

Depending on the I/O Setup page, the I/O Setup
can provide the following buttons for configuring
signal routing.

I/O Setup, Signal Path controls (Input page shown)

Input and Output Selectors

Let you select the
physical ports on your audio interface to route to
Pro Tools inputs and outputs. Ports are selectable
in channel pairs. Available ports for each dis­played interface are based on Hardware Setup set­tings; for example, if the AES/EBU inputs and out­puts of an interface are enabled in Hardware Setup,
they are available for routing in I/O Setup. The
functionality provided with the Input and Output
selector is the same as that provided on the Main
page of the Hardware Setup.

Path Name Column

for selection, including the name of each defined

Shows paths that are available

path. Path names can be renamed.

Expand/Collapse Triangle

Shows or hides the sub­paths associated with a main path (Input and Bus
paths only).

Active/Inactive Status Box

Shows and changes

the active/inactive status of each path.

I/O Setup, Signal Path buttons (Output page shown)

New Path Button

Lets you create a new path on
signal path pages for Input, Output, Insert, Bus, or
Mic Preamp.

New Sub-Path Button

Lets you create a new sub­path on signal path pages for Input, Output, Insert,
or Bus.

Delete Path Button

Lets you delete any selected
path or sub-path on signal path pages for Input,
Output, Insert, or Bus.

Default Button

Resets a path type to its default
path configuration, depending on the physical
hardware I/O you are using and how your hard­ware is configured.

Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows)
the Default button to restore defaults to paths
in all pages of the I/O Setup.

Chapter 7: I/O Setup 69

Import Settings Button

settings file to reconfigure I/O Setup.

tings

only imports the settings for the currently

Lets you import an I/O

Import Set-

viewed page of the I/O Setup (such as the Input
page).

Apply to All Tabs

Applies imported I/O settings to

all pages of the I/O Setup.

Compensate for Delays After
Record Pass

(HDX and HD Native Systems Only)

Pro Tools provides two options for compensating
for input and output latency (due to any inherent
latency in the analog to digital and digital to analog
converters of the audio interface) after recording.

Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) the
Import Settings button to import settings to all
pages of the I/O Setup.

Export Settings Button

Lets you save I/O settings
as a file that can be imported into other sessions or
used on other Pro Tools systems.

Export Settings

exports the settings for all pages of the I/O Setup.

Show Last Saved Setup

Appears in the I/O Setup
in certain session transfer situations. For details on
this feature, see “Show Last Saved Setup and
Show Current Setup” on page 98.

Cancel Button

Closes the I/O Setup without

saving changes.

OK Button

Closes the I/O Setup and saves any

changes.

I/O Setup Options

Pro Tools systems have several additional
I/O Setup options depending on which page of the
I/O Setup you are viewing. These include default
signal routing for metering and auditioning, and
default track layout for multichannel mix formats.

Compensation for Input Delays After
Record Pass

When enabled, this option provides automatic
compensation for any analog or digital input delay
with Avid HD interfaces. Enable this option for all
recording situations. When recording from a digi­tal source, both the

After Record Pass
put Delays After Record Pass

Compensation for Input Delays

and the Compensation for Out-

options must be en-

abled.

Compensation for Input Delays After Record

The

Pass

option is only available in the Input page of

the I/O Setup.

Compensation for Output Delays After
Record Pass

When enabled, this option provides automatic
compensation for any analog or digital output de­lay with Avid HD audio interfaces. Enable this op­tion when you are synchronized to an external
clock source. When recording from a digital
source, both the

After Record Pass
Output Delays After Record Pass

Compensation for Input Delays

and the Compensation for

options must be

enabled.

I/O Setup, Signal Path options (Output page shown)

Pro Tools Reference Guide70

Compensation for Output Delays After Record

The

Pass

option is only available in the Output page of

the I/O Setup.

Monitor Path

Pro Tools provides a Monitor Path setting in the
Output pane of the I/O Setup. For optimal session
interchange between systems, use the selected
Monitor path for the main mix output of your
Pro Tools session. When you open a session cre­ated on one Pro Tools system (with its own unique
Monitor path configuration) on another Pro Tools
system, it will automatically map the session’s
Monitor path to the system’s assigned Monitor
path.

put path regardless of channel width. For mis­matched channel widths, the Audition Path auto­matically uses fold down or fan out as appropriate
to the audition source.

Audition Path selector is available in the Out-

The
put page of the I/O Setup.

For information on previewing audio, see
“Previewing Clips in the Clip List” on
page 261 or “Previewing Audio in Work­space Browsers” on page 290.

Pro Tools automatically downmixes and upmixes
Output busses to ensure that you will always hear
session playback through the assigned Monitor
path regardless of any mismatch between the ses­sion’s Monitor path channel width and the sys­tem’s Monitor path channel width.

For example, if a session is saved with a 5.1 Mon­itor path and then opened on a system that only has
a stereo monitor path available, the session’s 5.1
Monitor path automatically downmixes and maps
to the system’s stereo Monitor path.

5.1 track output folding down to a Stereo physical
output

Audition Path

You can specify the output path through which
files and clips are previewed (auditioned) from the
Clip List or Workspace browsers, as well as when
previewing AudioSuite processing. Pro Tools lets
you assign the Audition path to any available Out-

Using the Default Audition Path

When you preview a file or clip in the Clip List or
in a Workspace browser, or when previewing Au­dioSuite processing, Pro Tools routes the audio
output through the specified Audition Path.
Pro Tools assigns a default Audition Path to the
first available main Output path of the correspond­ing format. You can also select a different Audi­tion Path in the I/O Setup.

Configuring Audition Paths

You can specify the monitoring outputs for audi­tioning audio in the Clip List and Workspace
browsers, or for previewing AudioSuite process­ing, using the

Audition Paths Main Menu

Audition Paths pop-up menu.

The main menu con­sists of all path format choices available on the cur­rent system (Mono and Stereo on all systems, and
LCR and greater with Pro Tools HD only).

Audition Paths Submenus

Each path format
choice has a submenu listing Output paths of that
given format. (The mono submenu lists Output
paths of any format.)

To configure an Audition Path:

 Select a path from the Audition Paths pop-up

menu or submenus.

Chapter 7: I/O Setup 71

Output Meter Path

The Output Meter Path selector determines the
which output or bus paths are monitored by the
Output Meters in the transport (see “Output Me­ters” on page 935). It also determines the path dis­played across the Output meters of D-Control or
D-Command worksurfaces as well as in the
Pro Tools transport. For more details, see your
control surface documentation.

Output Meter Path selector is available in the

The
Output and Bus pages of the I/O Setup.

To set the Output Meter Paths:

1 Choose Setup > I/O Setup.
2 Select the Output tab.

3 From the Output Meter Path selector, select the

desired output path for metering.

Default Output Bus

You can specify the default output bus path
assignment for new tracks, in each available
format.

AFL/PFL Path

(Pro Tools HD with HDX or HD Native Hardware
Only)

Tracks soloed in AFL (After Fader Listen) or PFL
(Pre Fader Listen) Solo mode are routed to the cur­rent AFL/PFL Path, as set with the
selector.

AFL/PFL Path selector is available in the Out-

The
put page of the I/O Setup.

See “Solo Modes” on page 232 for more in­formation on using AFL or PFL Solo modes.

To select the AFL/PFL Path output:

 Select a path from the AFL/PFL Path pop-up

menu.

Selecting None as the AFL/PFL Path disables
AFL and PFL Solo modes. When None is
selected, AFL and PFL cannot be used.

Setting AFL or PFL Path Levels

You can set a separate master AFL/PFL Path level
for all AFL solos and all PFL solos.

AFL/PFL Path

Default Output Bus selector is available in the

The
Bus page of the I/O Setup.

The Default Output Bus can be set for
internal mix bus paths, as well as for
output bus paths.

To specify a default output for new tracks in the
I/O Setup:

 Click the Default Output Bus pop-up menu and

select a format and output bus path.

Pro Tools Reference Guide72

Tracks do not need to be soloed to have the
master AFL/PFL Path level adjusted.

To set the AFL/PFL Path level for AFL or PFL
solos:

1 Choose Options > Solo Mode, and select a Solo

mode:

• To set the level for AFL solos, select

• To set the level for PFL solos, select

2 In the Mix or Edit window, Control-click Com-

AFL.

PFL.

mand-click (Mac) or (Windows) a Solo button
on any track.

3 Adjust the AFL/PFL Path fader.

4 Click on the new fader position (or press Esc) to

close the fader display.

Low Latency Monitoring

(HD Native Systems Only)

To set the AFL/PFL Path level to 0 dB,
Command-Control-click (Mac) or
Control-Start-click (Windows) any Solo
button.

AFL/PFL Mutes (Output Path)

(Systems without a D-Control or D-Command
Control Surface)

If you are not using a D-Control™ or D-Command®
console, your regular Pro Tools output path can be
muted when you send a signal to the AFL/PFL
Path. The muted path is set with the AFL/PFL
Mutes (Output Path) selector.

AFL/PFL Mutes selector is available in the

The
Output and Bus pages of the I/O Setup.

See “Solo Modes” on page 232 for more
information on selecting and using AFL or
PFL Solo modes.

To set which output path is muted when tracks are
soloed in AFL or PFL Solo mode:

1 Choose Setup > I/O.

With HD Native systems, the Output page of the
I/O Setup lets you enable (or disable) Low Latency
Monitoring. It also lets you specify any available
Output path for Low Latency Monitoring. The
Output path for Low Latency Monitoring can be of
any channel width (from Mono to 7.1). Low La­tency Monitoring uses Outputs 1–2 by default.

To configure Low Latency Monitoring in the I/O
Setup:

1 Open the I/O Setup dialog (Setup > I/O).
2 Click the Output tab.
3 Enable the Low Latency Monitoring option.
4 From the Low Latency Monitoring pop-up menu,

select the Output path you want to use for Low
Latency Monitoring.

5 Click OK to save your changes and close the I/O

Setup.

2 Click the Output tab to display the Output page.
3 Select a path from the AFL/PFL Mutes (Output

Path) pop-up menu.

4 Click OK to save your changes to the I/O Setup

and close the I/O Setup.

Chapter 7: I/O Setup 73

Default Monitor Format

(Pro Tools HD Only)

Embed Eleven Settings From

(Systems with Eleven Rack Only)

The Default Monitor Format pop-up menu lets you
select the default monitor format (Stereo, 5.1, or

7.1) for new Output paths and for when you click

Default button.

the

This setting does not affect existing path defini­tions or metering—it only specifies channel map­ping in new 5.1-format paths.

Default Monitor Format selector is only avail-

The
able in the Output page of I/O Setup.

To choose a Default Monitor Format:

 Select the channel mapping from the Default

Monitor Format

pop-up menu.

For more information about multichannel
mixing, see Chapter 47, “Pro Tools Setup for
Surround.”

5.1 Path Order

(Pro Tools HD Only)

The 5.1 Path Order pop-up menu lets you specify
the default track layout for all new 5.1 format paths
you create.

With an Eleven Rack connected to your Pro Tools
system, Pro Tools lets you embed the current
Eleven Rack Rig settings into audio clips as you
record them, so that you can retrieve that same set­ting for further use later. This can also be helpful
when collaborating or bringing sessions or clips to
a different system using Eleven Rack, because
your settings travel with the files.

Embed Eleven Setting From selector deter-

The
mines the audio input used for routing audio from
an Eleven Rack into a separate audio interface.

Embed Eleven Setting From selector is avail-

The
able in the Input page of the I/O Setup.

To embed Rig setting in recorded audio:

1 Choose Setup > I/O Setup.
2 Select the Input tab.
3 Set the Embed Setting From menu to the input

you plan to record through, such as

L/R

.

Eleven Rig

This same method applies when using Eleven
Rack as an insert with any Pro Tools system

5.1 Path Order selector is available in the In-

The
put, Output, and Insert pages of the I/O Setup.

To choose a new default 5.1-format path order
(track layout):

1 Choose Setup > I/O.
2 Click the Output tab.
3 Use the 5.1 Default Path Order setting to select

the track layout you want (

SMPTE/ITU, DTS Monitoring, or D-Com­mand/D-Control

Pro Tools Reference Guide74

).

C|24/Film,

4 Create an audio track, and set its input to the

corresponding input on your audio interface.

5 Record enable the track.

6 Record your part.

7 The settings of the currently loaded Rig will be

embedded in each audio clip that is recorded
from the input you select in the

From

menu.

Embed Setting

Audio clips with embedded Rig data are marked
with a small Eleven Rack logo icon in both the Edit
Window and the Clip list in Pro Tools.