Pinnacle Systems Pro Tools Academic - 7.1.1 User Manual
Getting Started
Pro Tools Academic™
Version 7.1.1
Copyright
© 2006 Digidesign, a division of Avid Technology, Inc. All rights
reserved. This guide may not be duplicated in whole or in part
without the express written consent of Digidesign.
Avid, Digidesign, M-Audio, M-Powered, Pro Tools, Pro Tools
Academic, Pro Tools|HD, and Pro Tools LE are either
trademarks or registered trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc.
in the US and other countries. All other trademarks contained
herein are the property of their respective owners.
Product features, specifications, system requirements and
availability are subject to change without notice.
PN 9320-17748-00 REV A 6/06
WARNING:
known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth
defects or other reproductive harm. Wash hands after
handling.
This product contains chemicals, including lead,
Disposal of Waste Equipment by Users in the
European Union
This symbol on the product or its packaging indicates that this
product must not be disposed of with other waste. Instead, it
is your responsibility to dispose of your waste equipment by
handing it over to a designated collection point for the recycling
of waste electrical and electronic equipment. The separate
collection and recycling of your waste equipment at the time of
disposal will help conserve natural resources and ensure that
it is recycled in a manner that protects human health and the
environment. For more information about where you can drop
off your waste equipment for recycling, please contact your
local city recycling office or the dealer from whom you
purchased the product.
contents
Chapter 1. Pro Tools Academic QuickStart
Windows Installation Overview
Mac Installation Overview
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Chapter 2. Welcome to Pro Tools Academic
Pro Tools Academic Packages
Pro Tools Academic Capabilities
How Pro Tools Academic Differs from Pro Tools LE or M-Powered
System Requirements
Digidesign Registration
About the Pro Tools Guides
About www.digidesign.com
Chapter 3. Windows Installation
Installation Overview
Windows System Optimization
Installing an M-Audio Interface
Installing M-Audio Drivers
Installing Pro Tools Academic Software
Optional Software on the Pro Tools Academic Installer Disc
Launching Pro Tools Academic
Configuring Pro Tools Academic
Removing Pro Tools Academic
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Chapter 4. Mac Installation
Installation Overview
Mac System Optimization
Installing Your M-Audio Interface
Installing M-Audio Drivers
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Contents
iii
Installing Pro Tools Academic Software
Optional Software on the Pro Tools Academic Installer Disc
Launching Pro Tools Academic
Configuring Pro Tools Academic
Removing Pro Tools Academic
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Chapter 5. Making Hardware Connections
Getting Sound In and Out of Your M-Audio Interface
Connecting a Microphone
Connecting Instruments
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Chapter 6. Common Tasks with Pro Tools Academic
Recording a Pro Tools Session
Importing Audio from a CD
Creating an Audio CD from a Pro Tools Session
Recording MIDI in a Pro Tools Session
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Chapter 7. Time Code and Synchronization Features
Timebase Rulers
Selecting Time Code Rate
Selecting Feet+Frame Rate
Redefining Time Code Position
Redefining Current Feet+Frames Position
Use Subframes Option
Pull Up and Pull Down Commands
Import Session Data Enhancements
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Appendix A. Configuring MIDI Studio Setup (Windows Only)
MIDI Studio Setup
MIDI Patch Name Support
Appendix B. Configuring AMS (Mac OS X Only)
Audio MIDI Setup
MIDI Patch Name Support
Pro Tools Academic Getting Started
iv
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Appendix C. Hard Drive Configuration and Maintenance
Avoid Recording to the System Drive
Formatting an Audio Drive
Audio Drives and Disk Cleanup
Defragmenting an Audio Drive
Hard Disk Storage Space
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Index
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Contents
v
Pro Tools Academic Getting Started
vi
chapter 1
Pro Tools Academic QuickStart
Windows Installation Overview
(Windows Systems Only)
Installing Pro Tools Academic on a Windows
computer includes the following steps:
1
“Windows System Optimization” on page 9.
2
“Installing an M-Audio Interface” on page 12.
3
“Installing M-Audio Drivers” on page 12.
4
“Installing Pro Tools Academic Software” on
page 13.
5
“Launching Pro Tools Academic” on page 15.
For Pro Tools M-Powered Academic systems
only, this step includes inserting the pre-authorized iLok (included with Pro Tools MPowered Academic) into an available USB
port on your computer.)
6
“Configuring Pro Tools Academic” on
page 15.
7
“Making Hardware Connections” on page 31.
Mac Installation Overview
(Mac OS X Systems Only)
Installation of Pro Tools Academic on a Mac includes the following steps:
1
“Mac System Optimization” on page 21.
2
“Installing Your M-Audio Interface” on
page 23.
3
“Installing M-Audio Drivers” on page 23.
4
“Installing Pro Tools Academic Software” on
page 24.
5
“Launching Pro Tools Academic” on page 24.
For Pro Tools M-Powered Academic systems
only, this step includes inserting the pre-authorized iLok (included with your package)
into an available USB port on your
computer.)
6
“Configuring Pro Tools Academic” on
page 25.
7
“Making Hardware Connections” on page 31
Chapter 1: Pro Tools Academic QuickStart
1
Pro Tools Academic Getting Started
2
chapter 2
Welcome to Pro Tools Academic
Welcome to Pro Tools Academic. This guide
documents how to install and configure
Pro Tools Academic or Pro Tools M-Powered Academic software on Academic systems.
In this guide, “Pro Tools Academic” refers to
Pro Tools Academic and Pro Tools M-Powered Academic software, except where noted.
Academic Systems with M-Audio Interfaces
The basic components of an Academic system
are as follows:
• Digidesign-qualified M-Audio interface (included with hardware-based Academic
packages)
• Digidesign-qualified Windows or Mac computer (not included)
• Pro Tools Academic software (included)
For a list of Digidesign-qualified M-Audio
interfaces and computers, refer to the Digidesign Web site (www.digidesign.com)
.
Pro Tools Academic Packages
Pro Tools Academic
(Hardware-Based Academic Packages Only)
• Pro Tools Academic Installer disc, which contains Pro Tools Academic software, updated
M-Audio drivers, DigiRack RTAS (Real-Time
AudioSuite) and AudioSuite plug-ins, and
electronic PDF guides
• This
Getting Started Guide
tion, configuration, and common tasks for Academic systems
• Digidesign Online Registration Card
, covering installa-
Pro Tools M-Powered Academic
Pro Tools M-Powered Academic for Digidesignqualified M-Audio interfaces (such as Ozonic,
and the standard MobilePre and Ozone interfaces) includes the following:
• Pro Tools Academic Installer disc, which contains Pro Tools Academic software, updated
M-Audio drivers, DigiRack RTAS (Real-Time
AudioSuite) and AudioSuite plug-ins, and
electronic PDF guides
• Pre-authorized iLok for running Pro Tools Academic
• This
Getting Started Guide
tion, configuration, and common tasks for Academic systems
• Digidesign Online Registration Card
, covering installa-
Pro Tools Academic includes the following:
• M-Audio interface and hardware (such as a
MobilePre Academic or Ozone Academic)
Chapter 2: Welcome to Pro Tools Academic
3
Pro Tools Academic Capabilities
Pro Tools Academic software provides the following capabilities:
• Playback of up to 32 mono (or 16 stereo)
digital audio tracks, or a combination of
playing back and recording up to 32 mono
(or 16 stereo) digital audio tracks, depending on your M-Audio interface and computer’s capabilities
• Up to 128 audio tracks (with 32 voiceable
tracks maximum), 128 Auxiliary Input
tracks, 64 Master Fader tracks, 256 MIDI
tracks, and 32 instrument tracks per session
• 16-bit or 24-bit audio resolution, at the
sample rates supported by your M-Audio
interface
• Non-destructive, random-access editing
and mix automation
• Audio processing with up to 5 RTAS plugins per track, depending on your computer’s capabilities
• Up to 5 hardware inserts per track
• Up to 10 sends per track
• Up to 32 internal mix busses
Pro Tools Academic uses your computer’s
CPU to mix and process audio tracks (host
processing). Computers with faster clock
speeds yield higher track counts and more
plug-in processing.
How Pro Tools Academic Differs from Pro Tools LE or M-Powered
Time Code and Synchronization Features
Pro Tools Academic includes the following additional features, which are not included with
standard Pro Tools LE or M-Powered:
• Time Code Timebase ruler
• Feet+Frame Timebase ruler
• Time Code Rate Selector
• Feet+Frame Rate Selector
• Redefine Time Code Position
• Redefine Current Feet+Frames Position
• Use Subframes option
• Audio and Video Pull Up and Pull Down
commands
• Time Code Mapping options
DigiTranslator Software Option
Pro Tools Academic automatically installs DigiTranslator software. DigiTranslator lets
Pro Tools exchange audio and video files, and
sequences with other AAF and OMFI-compatible applications.
Refer to the DigiTranslator Integrated
Option Guide for details on using
DigiTranslator.
Pro Tools Academic Getting Started
4
Configuration Dialogs and Procedures
Some Pro Tools Academic configuration dialogs
(such as Hardware Setup) and configuration procedures differ from the Pro Tools LE dialogs and
procedures presented in the
Guide
. For specific Pro Tools Academic configuration steps, see Chapter 3, “Windows Installation” or Chapter 4, “Mac Installation.”
Pro Tools Reference
Unsupported Options
Pro Tools LE and M-Powered Options
Pro Tools Academic does not support the following Pro Tools LE or M-Powered options:
• Music Production Toolkit
Pro Tools LE Only Options
Pro Tools Academic does not support the following Pro Tools LE only options:
• DV Toolkit 2
• Digidesign Ethernet-based control surfaces
(such as Control|24)
• Avid video peripherals
System Requirements
Pro Tools Academic can be used with a Digidesign-qualified M-Audio interface, running on
a Digidesign-qualified Windows or Mac computer.
For complete system requirements, refer to the
Digidesign Web site (www.digidesign.com).
Compatibility Information
Digidesign can only assure compatibility and
provide support for hardware and software it
has tested and approved.
For a list of Digidesign-qualified computers, operating systems, hard drives, and third-party devices, refer to the Digidesign Web site
(www.digidesign.com).
Pre-Authorized iLok
(Pro Tools M-Powered Academic Only)
Pro Tools M-Powered Academic software is authorized using the iLok USB Smart Key (iLok)
from PACE Anti-Piracy.
Pro Tools M-Powered Academic includes one
iLok, which is pre-authorized for Pro Tools
M-Powered Academic software.
Pre-Authorized iLok
The iLok is similar to a dongle, but unlike a dongle, it is designed to securely authorize multiple
software applications from a variety of software
developers.
This key can hold over 100 authorizations for all
of your iLok-enabled software. Once an iLok is
authorized for a given piece of software, you can
use the iLok to authorize that software on any
computer.
The Pro Tools M-Powered Academic preauthorized iLok must be inserted in an
available USB port on your computer to run
Pro Tools M-Powered Academic.
For additional information about iLok technology and authorizations, see the electronic PDF of the iLok Usage Guide.
Chapter 2: Welcome to Pro Tools Academic 5
MIDI Requirements
USB MIDI interfaces work effectively with
Pro Tools systems on Windows or Mac. Serial
MIDI interfaces are supported on Windows systems only.
Only USB MIDI interfaces are compatible
with Pro Tools systems for Mac OS X.
Modem-to-serial port adapters and serial
MIDI devices are not supported.
Digidesign Registration
Review the enclosed registration information
card and follow the instructions on it to quickly
register your purchase online. Registering your
purchase is the only way you can be eligible to
receive complimentary technical support and
future upgrade offers. It is one of the most important steps you can take as a new user.
For a list of supported adapters, refer to the Digidesign Web site (www.digidesign.com).
Hard Drive Requirements
For a list of Digidesign-qualified hard drives,
refer to the Digidesign Web site
(www.digidesign.com).
If you are using an ATA/IDE or FireWire hard
drive, initialize your drive with Windows Disk
Management (Windows) or the Disk Utility application included with Apple System software
(Mac).
For more information, see Appendix C,
“Hard Drive Configuration and Maintenance.”
Avoid Recording to the System Drive
Recording to your system drive is not recommended. Recording and playback on a system
drive may result in lower track counts and fewer
plug-ins.
About the Pro Tools Guides
This Getting Started guide explains how to install Pro Tools Academic software, make basic
connections to your M-Audio interface (to get
sound in and out your interface), and do common tasks (such as recording in Pro Tools).
Online guides provided with Pro Tools Academic refer to Pro Tools|HD and LE systems. References to Pro Tools LE are usually interchangeable with Pro Tools Academic, except as
documented differently in this guide.
For information on your M-Audio interface,
see your M-Audio interface documentation.
Digidesign does not recommend recording
to the system drive. Record to a system drive
only when necessary.
Pro Tools Academic Getting Started6
For additional information, see the following
online (.pdf) guides:
• Pro Tools Reference Guide explains Pro Tools
software in detail.
• DigiRack Plug-Ins Guide explains how to use
the RTAS and AudioSuite plug-ins included
with Pro Tools.
• Digidesign Plug-Ins Guide explains how to use
optional Digidesign plug-ins.
• DigiBase Guide provides details on using
Pro Tools DigiBase databasing and browsers
for data and media management.
• Pro Tools Menus Guide covers all the Pro Tools
on-screen menus.
• Pro Tools Keyboard Shortcuts lists keyboard
shortcuts for Pro Tools.
PDF versions of the Pro Tools guides are installed automatically with Pro Tools Academic.
Many of them are also accessible from the
Pro Tools Help menu. To view or print the PDF
guides, you can use Acrobat Reader or Apple Preview.
Printed copies of the Pro Tools Reference
Guide
and other guides in the Pro Tools
guide set can be purchased separately from
the DigiStore (www.digidesign.com).
Conventions Used in This Guide
Digidesign guides use the following conventions to indicate menu choices and key commands:
:
Convention Action
File > Save Choose Save from the File
menu
Control+N Hold down the Control key
and press the N key
Control-click Hold down the Control key
and click the mouse button
Right-click (Windows) Click with the right mouse
button
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 data or the performance of
your system.
Shortcuts show you useful keyboard or
mouse shortcuts.
Cross References point to related sections in
other guides.
Chapter 2: Welcome to Pro Tools Academic 7
About www.digidesign.com
The Digidesign Web site (www.digidesign.com)
is your best 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.
Registration Register your purchase online. See
the enclosed registration form for instructions.
Support Contact Digidesign Technical Support
or Customer Service; download software updates and the latest online manuals; browse the
Compatibility documents for system requirements; search the online Answerbase; join the
worldwide Pro Tools community on the Digidesign User Conference.
Training and Education Become a certified
Pro Tools Operator or Expert; study on your
own using courses available online, or find out
how you can learn in a classroom setting at a
certified Pro Tools Training Center.
Products and Developers Learn about Digidesign
products; download demo software; learn about
our Development Partners and their plug-ins,
applications, and hardware.
News and Events Get the latest news from Digidesign; sign up for a Pro Tools demo.
To learn more about these and other resources
available from Digidesign, visit the Digidesign
Web site (www.digidesign.com).
Pro Tools Academic Getting Started8
chapter 3
Windows Installation
This chapter contains information for Windows
systems only. If you are installing Pro Tools Academic on a Mac computer, see Chapter 4, “Mac
Installation.”
Before installing this version of Pro Tools,
refer to the Read Me information included
on the Pro Tools Academic Installer disc.
Installation Overview
Installing Pro Tools Academic on a Windows
computer includes the following steps:
Windows System Optimization
Before configuring your computer, make sure
you are logged in as an Administrator for the account where you want to install Pro Tools. For
details on Administrator privileges, refer to your
Windows documentation.
Required Optimizations
To ensure optimum performance with Pro Tools
Academic, configure the following settings before you install Pro Tools software.
1 “Windows System Optimization” on page 9.
2 “Installing an M-Audio Interface” on page 12.
3 “Installing M-Audio Drivers” on page 12.
4 “Installing Pro Tools Academic Software” on
page 13.
5 “Launching Pro Tools Academic” on page 15.
(This step includes inserting the pre-authorized
iLok into an available USB port on your computer.)
6 “Configuring Pro Tools Academic” on
page 15.
7 Making audio connections to the M-Audio in-
terface.
For complete details, see your M-Audio interface documentation.
When you are finished changing Windows
system settings, restart your computer.
Enabling DMA
Enabling your computer's DMA (Direct Memory
Access) frees up CPU bandwidth so the computer can do other Pro Tools tasks.
In most cases the DMA option will already be set
correctly, as Windows XP detects and activates
DMA mode by default.
To enable DMA for any IDE hard drives:
1 Choose Start > Control Panel.
2 In Classic View, launch System.
3 Click the Hardware tab.
Chapter 3: Windows Installation 9
4 Under Device Manager, choose Device Man-
ager.
5 In the Device Manager window, double-click
IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers, then double-click
the Primary IDE Channel for your IDE hard
drive.
6 Click the Advanced Settings tab.
7 For each device, set the Transfer Mode to
“DMA if available,” and click OK.
8 Repeat steps 5–7 for any additional IDE Chan-
nels.
9 Close the Computer Management window.
Disabling System Standby and Power Management
When using Pro Tools, the Windows System
Standby power scheme must be set to Always
On. This helps prevent long record or playback
passes from stopping due to system resources
powering down.
To configure Windows Power Management:
1 Choose Start > Control Panel.
2 Double-click Power Options.
3 Click the Power Schemes tab.
4 From the Power Schemes pop-up menu, select
Always On.
5 Click OK.
This sets System Standby, System Hibernate,
and “Turn off hard disks” to Never.
On AMD processors, be sure to check and
disable Cool N’Quiet in the System BIOS (in
the Cool & Quiet Configuration section).
Refer to the manufacturer’s documentation
for instructions on disabling this power option, if necessary.
Disabling ClearType Font Smoothing
When using Pro Tools, the Effects “Clear Type”
setting must be disabled.
To disable ClearType font smoothing:
1 Choose Start > Control Panel.
2 Double-click Display.
3 Click the Appearance tab.
4 Click Effects.
5 Deselect “Use the following methods to
smooth edges of screen fonts.”
6 Click OK to save your settings and close the
Effects dialog.
7 Click OK.
8 Restart the computer.
Recommended Optimizations
Pro Tools can also be affected by other software
and hardware drivers installed on your computer. It is recommended (but not required) that
you do the following:
• Avoid running any unneeded programs at
the same time as Pro Tools.
• Turn off any software utilities that run in
the background, such as Windows Messenger, calendars, and disk maintenance programs.
• Turn off any nonessential USB devices
while running Pro Tools.
• If your video display card supports it, enable Bus Mastering in the manufacturer’s
Control Panel. Refer to the manufacturer’s
instructions for details.
Pro Tools Academic Getting Started10
Optional Optimizations
The following system optimizations may help
Pro Tools perform better on some systems. It is
recommended that you only try these optimizations if necessary, as they may disable or adversely affect the functionality of other programs on your system.
Disabling Network Cards
If applicable, disable any networking cards
(other than a FireWire card that you might use
to connect an external drive to your system).
To disable a network card:
1 Right-click My Computer and choose Man-
age.
2 Under System Tools, select Device Manager.
3 In the Device Manager window, double-click
Network adapters, then double-click the Network Adapter card you want to disable.
4 Under the General tab, choose “Do not use
this device (disable)” from the Device Usage
pop-up menu, and click OK.
5 Close the Computer Management window.
Adjusting Processor Scheduling
6 Under the Processor scheduling section, select
the Background Services option.
7 Under the Memory Usage section, select the
System cache option.
8 Click OK to close the Performance Options
window.
9 Click OK to close the System Properties win-
dow.
10 Restart the computer for the changes to take
effect.
Disabling Hyper-Threading
Pro Tools Academic takes advantage of the
added processing power of computers that have
multiple processors, or that feature multi-core
processing or Hyper-Threading, for RTAS processing.
However, if you set the number of processors
available for RTAS processing to 1 (in the
Pro Tools Playback Engine dialog), some computers with Hyper-Threading capability may experience decreased performance.
If this occurs, you can increase the number of
RTAS processors in the Playback Engine dialog,
or you can disable Hyper-Threading on the computer.
To Adjust Processor Scheduling Performance:
1 Choose Start > Control Panel.
2 In Classic View, double-click System.
3 Click the Advanced tab.
4 Under the Performance section, click the Set-
tings button.
5 In the Performance Options window, click the
Advanced tab.
Refer to your computer’s documentation for
steps on how to enter the computer’s BIOS
and disable Hyper-Threading.
Chapter 3: Windows Installation 11
Disabling System Startup Items
The fewer items in use by your computer, the
more resources are available for Pro Tools. Some
startup applications may be consuming unnecessary CPU resources, and should be turned off.
If you disable any of the following startup items,
do so carefully:
• Portable media serial number (required for
applications that utilize a copy protection
key)
• Plug and play
• Event log
• Cryptographic services
• DHCP Client, TCP/IP Net BIOS, and other
networking-related items (unless the computer has no network or internet connection, in which case these items can be
disabled)
Installing an M-Audio Interface
Before you install Pro Tools Academic, you must
first install your M-Audio interface. Install your
M-Audio interface according to the instructions
in your M-Audio interface documentation.
In your M-Audio Control Panel, make sure
that output channels 1 and 2 are not set to
–Infinity (–
∞
). Refer to the instructions in
your M-Audio interface documentation.
When you have completed the instructions in
your M-Audio documentation, return to this
guide and continue with “Installing M-Audio
Drivers” on page 12.
Installing M-Audio Drivers
To disable System Startup Items:
1 From the Start menu, choose Run.
2 Type “msconfig” and click OK. The System
Configuration Utility opens.
3 Under the General tab, choose Selective Star-
tup.
4 Deselect Load Startup Items and click OK.
5 Click Restart to restart the computer.
6 After restarting, the computer displays a Sys-
tem Configuration message. Check to see if
Pro Tools performance has increased before you
deselect the “Don't show this message again”
option. If performance has not changed, run
“msconfig” and return your computer Selective
Startup back to Normal Startup. Alternatively,
try disabling Startup items and non-essential
processes individually.
Pro Tools Academic Getting Started12
The Pro Tools Academic Installer disc includes
M-Audio drivers for using Digidesign-qualified
M-Audio interfaces on Windows XP.
Pro Tools will not see your M-Audio interface if you do not install the M-Audio driver
that is included with Pro Tools Academic.
To install the M-Audio driver for your M-Audio
interface:
1 If you are using an M-Audio FireWire inter-
face, a MobilePre Academic, or an Ozone Academic, disconnect it before proceeding.
2 Insert the Pro Tools Academic Installer disc for
Windows in your CD/DVD drive.
3 Locate and open the M-Audio Driver Installers
folder, and double-click the driver for your interface type only:
• For M-Audio FireWire interfaces, doubleclick the file starting with “FW_WDM.”
• For M-Audio PCI interfaces, double-click
the file starting with “Delta_WDM.”
• For M-Audio Audiophile interfaces, doubleclick the file starting with “APUSB _WDM.”
• For M-Audio BlackBox, double-click the file
starting with “BB_WDM.”
• For M-Audio FastTrack, double-click the file
starting with “FastTrack_WDM.”
• For M-Audio FastTrack Pro, double-click
the file starting with “FTP_WDM.”
• For M-Audio JamLab, double-click the file
starting with “JamLab_WDM.”
• For M-Audio MobilePre Academic, doubleclick the file starting with “MPA_WDM.”
• For M-Audio MobilePre, double-click the
file starting with “MP_WDM.”
• For M-Audio Ozone Academic, doubleclick the file starting with “OzoneA_WDM.”
• For M-Audio Ozone, double-click the file
starting with “Ozone_WDM.”
• For M-Audio Transit, double-click the file
staring with “Transit_WDM.”
4 Follow the on-screen instructions to install
the driver.
If you get a warning dialog about the driver
not passing Windows Logo testing, click
Continue Anyway.
5 When installation is complete, shut down
your computer.
6 If you are using an M-Audio FireWire inter-
face, a MobilePre Academic, or an Ozone Academic, wait until the computer has shut down
completely, then connect your interface and
power it on.
7 Turn on your computer.
8 When your system recognizes the new hard-
ware, run the Found New Hardware Wizard. Follow the on-screen instructions.
If you are prompted to run the Found New
Hardware Wizard a second time, run it
again.
Installing Pro Tools Academic Software
After the Windows System software settings are
configured and you have installed your M-Audio interface and drivers, you are ready to install
Pro Tools Academic.
To install Pro Tools Academic:
1 Start Windows, logging in with Administrator
privileges. For details on Administrator privileges, refer to your Windows documentation.
2 Insert the Pro Tools Academic Installer disc for
Windows in your CD/DVD drive. Locate and
open the Pro Tools Installer folder, and doubleclick the Setup icon.
3 Click Next to begin installation.
4 Select the components you want to install and
click Next.
If you get a warning dialog about the driver
not passing Windows Logo testing, click
Continue Anyway.
5 Wait for the installer to finish installing all
software components, drivers, and PACE System
files before proceeding to the next step.
6 When installation is complete, click Finish.
Chapter 3: Windows Installation 13
Installing QuickTime
QuickTime 6.5 or later is required for Pro Tools
if you plan to include movie files, or import
MP3 or MP4 (AAC) files in your sessions. QuickTime for Windows XP is available as a free
download from the Apple Web site (www.apple.com).
To install QuickTime:
1 Visit www.apple.com and go to the Quick-
Time page.
2 Download the QuickTime for Windows XP in-
staller application to your computer.
3 Double-click the QuickTime installer applica-
tion and follow the on-screen installation instructions.
4 Restart your computer.
Optional Software on the Pro Tools Academic Installer Disc
Your Pro Tools Academic Installer disc includes
separate installers for the following optional
items.
Pro Tools Demo Session
The Pro Tools Academic Installer disc includes a
demo session that you can use to verify that
your system is working.
Before installing the demo session to your
audio drive, make sure the drive is configured as described in Appendix C, “Hard
Drive Configuration and Maintenance.”
To install the demo session:
1 Insert the Pro Tools Academic Installer disc in
your CD/DVD drive.
2 From your CD/DVD drive, locate and double-
click the Pro Tools Academic Demo installer
icon.
3 Set the install location to your audio drive and
click Install.
4 When installation is complete, click OK.
MacDrive Demo
The MacDrive utility lets you mount Mac-based
HFS+ drives on a Windows-based Pro Tools system and use them as Transfer drives.
Transfer drives can be used for storage, but
not for playback or recording. To use Macbased audio files on a Windows Pro Tools
system, copy the files from the Mac-based
HFS+ audio drive to a Windows-based
NTFS audio drive.
To install the MacDrive demo included with
Pro Tools:
1 Insert the Pro Tools Installer disc into your
CD/DVD drive.
2 On the Pro Tools Installer disc, locate and
open the Additional Files/MacDrive Demo Installer folder.
3 Double-click the MacDrive Demo installer.
4 Follow the on-screen instructions to install
MacDrive. After installation is complete, restart
your computer.
All formatting and maintenance of HFS+
drives should be carried out when the drives
are connected to a Mac. Do not use the
MacDrive utility to initialize or partition
Mac drives.
Pro Tools Academic Getting Started14
Launching Pro Tools Academic
To authorize Pro Tools Academic software:
1 For Pro Tools M-Powered Academic systems
only, insert the pre-authorized iLok into an
available USB port on your computer.
To use Pro Tools M-Powered Academic
with an M-Audio interface, you must always have an iLok with an authorization
for Pro Tools Academic. One pre-authorized
iLok is included with the Pro Tools Academic package.
2 Double-click the Pro Tools Academic shortcut
on your desktop (or the application in
Program Files\Digidesign\Pro Tools).
For Pro Tools M-Powered Academic, do not
remove the pre-authorized iLok during
Pro Tools launch or use.
Configuring Pro Tools
Academic
Hardware Buffer Size
The Hardware Buffer Size (H/W Buffer Size) controls the size of the buffer used to handle host
processing tasks such as Real-Time AudioSuite
(RTAS) plug-ins. The H/W Buffer setting can also
be used to manage monitoring latency.
◆ Lower Hardware Buffer Size settings reduce
monitoring latency, and are useful when you are
recording live input.
◆ Higher Hardware Buffer Size settings allow for
more audio processing and effects, and are useful when you are mixing and using more RTAS
plug-ins.
In addition to causing slower screen response and monitoring latency, higher
Hardware Buffer Size settings can increase
the latency caused by RTAS plug-ins, and
affect the accuracy of plug-in automation,
mute data, and MIDI track timing.
To change the Hardware Buffer Size:
1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine.
Pro Tools 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
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 dialog for Pro Tools Academic
(Ozone shown)
2 From the H/W Buffer Size pop-up menu, select
the audio buffer size, in samples.
3 Click OK.
Chapter 3: Windows Installation 15
RTAS Processors
CPU Usage Limit
The RTAS Processors setting determines the
number of processors in your computer allocated for RTAS plug-in processing.
With computers that have multiple processors,
or that feature multi-core processing or hyperthreading, this setting lets you enable multi-processor support for RTAS processes. Used in combination with the CPU Usage Limit setting, the
RTAS Processors setting lets you control the way
RTAS processing and other Pro Tools tasks are
carried out by the system.
◆ A higher number of processors reserves more
CPU processing capacity for RTAS plug-in processing. This is useful for sessions with large
number of RTAS plug-ins.
◆ A lower number of processors leaves more
CPU processing capacity for automation, screen
redraws, and video playback in Pro Tools, or for
other application running at the same time as
Pro Tools.
To set the number of RTAS Processors:
1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine.
2 From the RTAS Processors pop-up menu, select
the number of processors you want to allocate
for RTAS plug-in processing.
3 Click OK.
The CPU Usage Limit controls the percentage of
CPU resources allocated to Pro Tools host processing tasks. Used in combination with the
RTAS Processors setting, the CPU Usage Limit
setting lets you control the way Pro Tools tasks
are carried out by the system.
◆ Lower CPU Usage Limit settings limit the ef-
fect of Pro Tools processing on other CPU-intensive tasks, such as screen redraws, and are useful
when you are experiencing slow system response, or when running other applications at
the same time as Pro Tools.
◆ Higher CPU Usage Limit settings allocate
more processing power to Pro Tools, and are
useful for playing back large sessions or using
more real-time plug-ins.
The maximum available CPU Usage Limit depends on the number of processors in your computer and on the number of processors you
specify with the RTAS Processor setting. This
value can be up 99 percent for single-processor
computers or 90 percent for multi-processor
computers.
Increasing the CPU Usage Limit may slow
down screen response on slower computers.
To change the CPU Usage Limit:
1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine.
2 From the CPU Usage Limit pop-up menu, se-
lect the percentage of CPU processing you want
to allocate to Pro Tools.
3 Click OK.
Pro Tools Academic Getting Started16
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