Getting Started
with Pro Tools HD
Version 6.2 for HD Systems on Windows or Macintosh
Digidesign
2001 Junipero Serra Boulevard
Daly City, CA 94014-3886 USA
tel: 650·731·6300
fax: 650·731·6399
Technical Support (USA)
tel: 650·731·6100
fax: 650·731·6384
Product Information (USA)
tel: 650·731·6102
tel: 800·333·2137
International Offices
Visit the Digidesign Web site
for contact information
Web Site
www.digidesign.com
Copyright
This guide is copyrighted ©2003 by Digidesign, a division of
Avid Technology, Inc. (hereafter “Digidesign”), with all rights
reserved. Under copyright laws, this guide may not be
duplicated in whole or in part without the written consent of
Digidesign.
DIGIDESIGN, AVID and PRO TOOLS are trademarks or
registered trademarks of Digidesign and/or Avid Technology,
Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective
owners.
All features and specifications subject to change without
notice.
PN 910612197-00 REV A 09/03
contents
Chapter 1. Welcome to Pro Tools|HD
Pro Tools TDM Systems
System Requirements
Digidesign Registration
About the Pro Tools Guides
About www.digidesign.com
Chapter 2. Windows Configuration
Installing Windows XP
Configuring Your Computer
Windows System Settings
Pro Tools Hardware Overview
Installing Pro Tools Hardware
Installing Pro Tools Software
Optional Software
Using MIDI
Checking Your HD System
Launching Pro Tools
Configuring Pro Tools
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Chapter 3. Macintosh Configuration
Pro Tools Hardware Overview
Installing Pro Tools Hardware
Apple System Settings
Installing Pro Tools Software
Installing the Demo Session
Checking Your HD System
Launching Pro Tools
Configuring Pro Tools
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Contents
iii
Chapter 4. Connecting Your Studio
Setting Up Your Studio
Example Studio Setup with a Mixing Console
Example Studio Setup without a Mixing Console
Connecting Equipment with Digital Audio Ins and Outs
Connecting Effects Units
Connecting MIDI Devices
Connecting SMPTE Synchronization Devices
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Chapter 5. Working with Pro Tools
Session Basics
Transport Controls
Navigating a Session
Tracks
Regions Lists
Importing Audio
Basic Recording
Editing
Mixing
Plug-Ins
Mix Automation
Final Mixdown
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Appendix A. Connecting SCSI Drives
SCSI Requirements
Connecting SCSI Drives
Quick Formatting SCSI Drives
General Hard Drive Maintenance
Using Macintosh Drives on Windows Systems
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Appendix B. DigiTest Error Codes
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Appendix C. Windows System Optimizations
Troubleshooting
Advanced Settings
Getting Started with HD
iv
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Appendix D. Digidesign ASIO Driver (Windows Only)
Introduction
Compatible Software
Installing the ASIO Driver
Changing ASIO Driver Settings
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Appendix E. Configuring AMS (Mac OS X Only)
Index
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Contents
v
Getting Started with HD
vi
chapter 1
Welcome to Pro Tools|HD
Welcome to Pro Tools|HD. Pro Tools|HD-series
audio cards and interfaces bring high-definition
digital audio recording, editing, signal processing, mixing, and I/O capabilities to Pro Tools.
This guide covers installation and configuration
of Pro Tools|HD hardware and Pro Tools software on Windows and Macintosh platforms.
System and installation tests are provided, as
well as an introduction to Pro Tools software.
Pro Tools TDM Systems
HD-Series Systems
Pro Tools 6.2 on Windows or Macintosh supports the following systems:
Pro Tools|HD 1, HD 2 Accel, and HD 3 Accel
These Pro Tools|HD systems include:
• HD Core card
• HD Accel card; HD 2 Accel and HD 3 Accel
come with one and two HD Accel cards, respectively (HD 1 does not include an
HD Accel card)
• Pro Tools TDM software
• Digidesign audio interface (sold separately). See “Audio Interfaces” on page 2.
• DigiLink cable (to connect the HD card to
an audio interface)
• TDM FlexCable (to connect two HD cards);
one TDM Flex Cable per each HD Accel
card (HD 1 does not include a TDM FlexCable)
Pro Tools 6.2 also supports earlier
Pro Tools|HD 1, HD 2, and HD 3 systems
(Pro Tools 6.2 does not require an HD Accel
card). For more information, see
“Pro Tools|HD 1, HD 2, and HD 3” on
page 1.
Pro Tools|HD 1, HD 2, and HD 3
These Pro Tools systems consist of original HDseries cards only (HD Core and HD Process), and
do not include an HD Accel card.
A Pro Tools|HD system includes:
• HD Core card
• HD Process card; HD 2 and HD 3 come with
one and two Process cards, respectively (HD 1
does not include a Process card)
• Pro Tools TDM software
• Digidesign audio interface (sold separately)
• DigiLink cable (to connect the HD card to an
audio interface)
• TDM FlexCable (to connect two HD cards);
one TDM Flex Cable per each Process card
(HD 1 does not include a TDM FlexCable)
Chapter 1: Welcome to Pro Tools|HD
1
Recording and Playback Capabilities
Audio Interfaces
Pro Tools|HD 1
Pro Tools|HD 1 systems provide recording and
playback of 24-bit and 16-bit audio files with the
following track counts:
• Up to 96tracks at 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz
• Up to 48 tracks at 88.2 kHz or 96 kHz
• Up to 12 tracks at 176.4 kHz or 192 kHz
HD Accel-Equipped Systems
Pro Tools|HD 2 Accel and HD 3 Accel systems
(which includes any HD-series systems with at
least one HD Accel card) provide recording and
playback of 24-bit and 16-bit audio files with the
following track counts:
• Up to 192 tracks at 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz
• Up to 96 tracks at 88.2 kHz or 96 kHz
• Up to 36 tracks at 176.4 kHz or 192 kHz.
Non-HD Accel Systems
Pro Tools|HD 2 and HD 3 systems (original HDseries system with no HD Accel cards) provide
recording and playback of 24-bit and 16-bit audio files with the following track counts:
• Up to 128 tracks at 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz
• Up to 64 tracks at 88.2 kHz or 96 kHz
• Up to 24 tracks at 176.4 kHz or 192 kHz
All Pro Tools|HD systems provide:
• TDM digital mixing and DSP plug-ins
• Non-linear, random-access editing and mix
automation
• MIDI recording, playback, and editing
To record and play audio you must have at least
one of the following Digidesign audio interfaces:
192 I/O Audio Interface
• Supports sample rates up to 192 kHz. (At least
one 192 I/O or 192 Digital I/O must be connected to your Pro Tools|HD system for 192 kHz
recording, processing, and playback.)
• Supports both analog and digital connections, including AES/EBU, S/PDIF, TDIF, and
ADAT Optical:
• Digital (Digital I/O Card): eight channels,
DB-25 (AES/EBU and TDIF), or one pair of
Lightpipe (ADAT Optical) connectors. Expandable up to 16 channels digital I/O
with the addition of the 192 Digital expansion card.
• Analog: eight channels, DB-25 (balanced)
connectors, inputs selectable between
+4 dBu or –10 dBV, outputs +4 dBu only.
Expandable up to 16 analog inputs or 16
outputs using an optional 192 AD or
192 DA expansion card, respectively.
• Digital (Enclosure): two channels, XLR
(AES/EBU) connectors; two channels RCA
(S/PDIF) connectors.
• Optical (Enclosure): eight channels, one
pair of Lightpipe (ADAT Optical) connectors (switchable to two channels, S/PDIF).
•Word Clock in and out receive or send 1x
Word clock (configurable to 256x for Legacy support, see “Optional Legacy I/O Audio Interfaces” on page 3).
Getting Started with HD
2
192 Digital I/O Audio Interface
• Supports sample rates up to 192 kHz. (At least
one 192 I/O or 192 Digital I/O must be connected to your Pro Tools|HD system for 192 kHz
recording, processing, and playback.)
• Supports digital connections, including
AES/EBU, S/PDIF, TDIF, and ADAT Optical:
• Digital (2 Digital I/O Cards): 16 channels,
DB-25 (AES/EBU and TDIF), or two pairs of
Lightpipe (ADAT Optical) connectors.
• Digital (Enclosure): two channels, XLR
(AES/EBU) connectors; two channels RCA
(S/PDIF) connectors.
• Optical (Enclosure): eight channels, one
pair of Lightpipe (ADAT Optical) connectors (selectable to two channels, S/PDIF).
•Word Clock in and out receive or send 1x
Word clock (configurable to 256x for Legacy support, see “Optional Legacy I/O Audio Interfaces” on page 3).
96 I/O Audio Interface
• Supports sample rates up to 96 kHz.
• Supports analog and digital connections, including AES/EBU, S/PDIF, and ADAT optical:
• Analog: eight channels, 1/4-inch TRS (balanced or unbalanced) connectors, +4 dBu
or –10 dBV
• Digital: two channels, XLR (AES/EBU) connectors; two channels, RCA (S/PDIF) connectors
• Optical: eight channels, one pair of Lightpipe (ADAT Optical) connectors (switchable to two channels, S/PDIF)
•Word Clock in and out receive or send 1x
Word clock (configurable to 256x for Legacy support, see “Optional Legacy I/O Audio Interfaces” on page 3)
96i I/O Audio Interface
◆
Supports sample rates up to 96 kHz.
• 16 discrete channels of input, and two channels of output, with 4-segment LED meters on
each channel. Audio inputs and outputs include:
• 16 channels of 24-bit, 96-kHz capable analog input, with adjustable input sensitivity
•Two channels of 24-bit, 96-kHz capable analog output, with selectable operating level
•Two channels of 24-bit, 96 kHz-capable
digital S/PDIF RCA input and output
• Loop Sync In and Out
• External Clock In and Out
• Expansion DigiLink port
Optional Legacy I/O Audio Interfaces
For additional input and output channels, older
Digidesign audio interfaces (or
be connected to the 192 I/O, 192 Digital I/O, or
96 I/O (the 96i I/O does not support Legacy interfaces). Legacy interfaces can only be used
with 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz sessions. These include:
888|24 I/O Audio Interface
• Analog: eight channels, XLR (balanced or unbalanced) connectors, selectable between
+4 dBu or –10 dBV
• Digital: eight channels, XLR (AES/EBU) connectors; two channels, RCA (S/PDIF) connectors
882|20 I/O Audio Interface
• Analog: eight channels, 1/4-inch TRS (balanced or unbalanced) connectors, selectable between +4 dBu and –10 dBV
• Digital: two channels, RCA (S/PDIF) connectors
Legacy I/Os
) can
Chapter 1: Welcome to Pro Tools|HD
3
1622 I/O Audio Interface
• Analog: sixteen input channels and two output channels, 1/4-inch TRS (balanced or unbalanced) connectors. Inputs are selectable from
+4 dBu to –10 dBV line levels and higher in 2 dB
gain steps; outputs are selectable between
+4 dBu or –10 dBV.
• Digital: two channels, RCA (S/PDIF) connectors.
Digidesign 24-bit ADAT Bridge I/O and Original
ADAT Bridge I/O
• Optical: sixteen channels, a pair of Lightpipe
(ADAT) connectors.
• Analog output: two channels, 1/4-inch TRS
(balanced) connectors, selectable between
+4 dBu and –10 dBV.
• Digital: two channels, XLR (AES/EBU); two
channels RCA (S/PDIF) connectors.
The original 888 I/O and 882 I/O interfaces are not supported with Pro Tools|HD.
MIDI Requirements
Both USB and serial MIDI interfaces work effectively with Pro Tools.
PCI-based serial expanders do not work with serial MIDI interfaces on Macintosh systems. Serial MIDI interfaces require a qualified modemto-serial port adapter. Refer to the Digidesign
Web site (www.digidesign.com) for a list of supported adapters.
Hard Drive Requirements
For optimal audio recording and playback, all
Pro Tools TDM systems require one or more
Digidesign-qualified drives.
Drive Formats
Windows
formatted with FAT32 or NTFS file system (NTFS
preferred).
Macintosh
formatted with HFS or HFS+ file system only.
Windows XP systems should use drives
Macintosh systems should use drives
System Requirements
Compatibility Information
Digidesign can only assure compatibility and
provide support for hardware and software it
has tested and approved. For a list of Digidesignqualified computers, operating systems, hard
drives, and third-party devices, refer to the latest
compatibility information on the Digidesign
Web site (www.digidesign.com/compato).
Getting Started with HD
4
The UNIX File System (UFS) is not supported with Pro Tools on Mac OS X.
Hard drive performance depends on factors including system configuration, number of tracks,
session sample rate, density of edits, and the use
of crossfades and other processes such as Beat
Detective in a session.
Be sure to check the latest compatibility information on the Digidesign Web site for SCSI and
FireWire requirements for maximum track
counts on Windows and Macintosh
(www.digidesign.com/compato).
SCSI Hard Drives
IDE/ATA Hard Drives
For maximum recording and playback performance, Digidesign recommends qualified SCSI
hard drives and a qualified SCSI host bus
adapter (HBA) card or (on Windows systems) a
qualified built-in SCSI HBA connector on the
motherboard.
Qualified SCSI drives yield up to 32 tracks per
drive with 24-bit audio
Windows
can be used simultaneously.
Macintosh On Mac OS X, up to four SCSI drives
can be used simultaneously.
On Windows XP, up to six SCSI drives
FireWire Hard Drives
Digidesign recommends qualified FireWire
drives and (on Windows only) a qualified
FireWire host adapter.
Qualified FireWire drives yield up to 24 tracks
per drive with 24-bit audio.
Windows On Windows XP systems without an
expansion chassis, up to six FireWire drives can
be used simultaneously. On Windows XP systems with Pro Tools cards installed in an expansion chassis, up to four FireWire drives can be
used simultaneously.
A qualified internal IDE/ATA drive yields up to
32 tracks of 24-bit audio, at 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz
when used as a dedicated audio drive.
For maximum performance, Digidesign recommends the use of SCSI hard drives. IDE
hard drives provide limited track count performance and are not supported when an
Expansion Chassis is used. For more information regarding Expansion Chassis operating procedures, see the Pro Tools Expanded Systems Guide.
Visit the Digidesign Web site
(www.digidesign.com) for a list of qualified
hard drives and SCSI HBA cards.
Avoid Recording to System Drives
Although Pro Tools will let you record to your
system drive, this is generally not recommended. Recording and playback on system
hard drives results in lower track counts and
fewer plug-ins.
Digidesign does not recommend recording
to system drives. Record to system drives
only when necessary.
Macintosh On Mac OS X, up to eight FireWire
drives can be used simultaneously.
Chapter 1: Welcome to Pro Tools|HD
5
Hard Drive Storage Space
Mono audio tracks recorded with 16-bit resolution at 44.1 kHz (CD quality) require approximately
5 MB of hard disk space per minute.
The same tracks recorded with 24-bit resolution require about 7.5 MB per minute. Table 2 on page 6
lists the required drive space for certain track numbers and track lengths, to help you estimate your
hard disk usage.
Table 2. Required hard drive space for audio tracks
Number of tracks and length 16-bit at
44.1 kHz
1 mono track, 1 minute 5 MB 5.5 MB 7.5 MB 8.2 MB
16-bit at
48 kHz
24-bit at
44.1 kHz
24-bit at
48 kHz
1 stereo track (or two mono
tracks), 5 minutes
1 stereo track (or two mono
tracks), 60 minutes
24 mono tracks, 5 minutes 600 MB 662 MB 900 MB 991 MB
24 mono tracks, 60 minutes 7 GB 7.8 GB 10.5 GB 11.6 GB
32 mono tracks, 5 minutes 800 MB 883 MB 1.2 GB 1.3 GB
32 mono tracks, 60 minutes 9.4 GB 10.4 GB 14 GB 15.4 GB
Digidesign Registration
Make sure to complete and return the registration card included with your Pro Tools|HD system. Registered users will receive periodic software update and upgrade notices. Refer to the
registration card for information on technical
support.
50 MB 55 MB 75 MB 83 MB
600 MB 662 MB 900 MB 991 MB
About the Pro Tools Guides
In addition to the printed guides included with
your system, PDF versions of the Pro Tools
guides are installed automatically with
Pro Tools, and are accessible from the Pro Tools
menu (Mac OS X) or the Pro Tools Help menu
(Windows). To view or print the PDF guides,
you can install Acrobat Reader (included on the
Pro Tools Installer CD-ROM).
Getting Started with HD6
Conventions Used in This Guide
Digidesign guides use the following conventions to indicate menu choices and key commands:
:
Convention Action
File > Save Session Choose Save Session 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 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 Digidesign guides.
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.
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 our Web site
(www.digidesign.com).
Chapter 1: Welcome to Pro Tools|HD 7
Getting Started with HD8
chapter 2
Windows Configuration
Installation of a Pro Tools|HD-series system on a
Windows computer includes the following
steps:
1 Installing Windows XP (See “Installing Win-
dows XP” on page 9.)
2 Configuring your computer and its hardware
components in preparation for Pro Tools installation (See “Configuring Your Computer” on
page 10.)
3 Configuring Windows system software set-
tings for compatibility and optimal performance (See “Windows System Settings” on
page 13.)
4 Installing Pro Tools hardware (See “Installing
Pro Tools Hardware” on page 16.)
5 Installing Pro Tools TDM software (See “In-
stalling Pro Tools Software” on page 23.)
6 Checking your Pro Tools system (See “Check-
ing Your HD System” on page 26.)
Installing Windows XP
If you do not already have Windows XP installed on your computer, you will need to install Windows XP Professional edition or
Windows XP Home edition. Pro Tools requires
an activated version of Windows XP with administrator privileges.
For best performance, Digidesign strongly recommends a clean installation of Windows on a
newly formatted drive or partition rather than
upgrading the operating system.
If you are changing or upgrading your operating system, be sure to deauthorize any key
disk authorized plug-ins before changing or
upgrading to avoid losing any authorizations. See the iLok Usage Guide for information on the iLok Smart Key for software authorizations.
7 Configuring your Pro Tools system (See “Con-
figuring Pro Tools” on page 29.)
Chapter 2: Windows Configuration 9
Configuring Your Computer
To ensure optimum performance with
Pro Tools, configure your computer before installing Pro Tools hardware and software.
Before you make any changes to your computer’s system settings, make a backup copy
of your registry (where many of these essential settings are stored). By doing so, you
will be able to restore your system’s original
settings in case of trouble. Consider acquiring a disk recovery utility such as Norton
Ghost for additional security. See your Windows XP documentation for details.
If your computer does not provide the BIOS
configuration options included in this section, or if you do not feel comfortable
changing system parameters, consult with a
Windows system administrator, computer
dealer, or manufacturer for assistance.
Configuring the BIOS
2 While the computer is starting up, enter BIOS
Setup by pressing the appropriate key (usually
indicated in the startup message) on your computer keyboard. The F1, F2, or the Delete keys
are commonly used.
3 In the appropriate page of the BIOS Setup, dis-
able PCI Parity. If the PCI Parity option isn’t
available on your computer, skip this step.
4 If you will be using SCSI drives or devices, and
your computer is equipped with built-in SCSI
hardware, enable SCSI support. SCSI support parameters are typically found on the Devices &
I/O Options page of the BIOS setup utility. If you
do not have built-in SCSI hardware and are using a SCSI host bus adapter (HBA) card instead,
you do not need to enable SCSI support.
5 Disable Power Management, if present.
6 Enable PCI Dynamic Bursting, if present.
7 Save the new BIOS settings.
8 Exit BIOS setup and restart your computer.
BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) parameters
vary depending on the make and model of the
computer. Refer to the documentation that
came with your computer for more details.
Different BIOS manufacturers often use different names to describe the same system function.
Some manufacturers do not provide a particular
configuration option at all. The names and options that appear in your computer’s BIOS may
differ from those described in this section.
The following BIOS settings are not applicable to the Compaq Evo W8000 and the IBM
Intellistation M Pro 6850.
To modify your computer’s BIOS:
1 Start or restart your computer.
Getting Started with HD10
Configuring the SCSI BIOS
If you are using SCSI drives or devices, you must
modify the settings of your built-in SCSI hardware or SCSI host bus adapter card. This allows
SCSI hard drives to work properly with
Pro Tools. This procedure varies on different
computers. Refer to the documentation that
came with your computer.
To modify your computer’s SCSI BIOS:
1 Start or restart your computer.
2 While the computer is starting up, when the
text message regarding the SCSI BIOS appears,
press the key combination listed on the screen
to enter the SCSI BIOS setup utility.
3 Refer to your SCSI host bus adapter card doc-
umentation to set the following parameters:
• For each SCSI ID and SCSI channel connected to your audio drives, set the Maximum Sync Transfer Rate parameter to
20 MB/sec for the ATTO EPCI-DC, or to Ultra 160 for Ultra 160 cards.
• If you are using an ATTO host bus adapter
card, change the PCI Burst Size to 128 Bytes
and the Burst Length Selection Timeout to
16 ms (UL3D only).
• If you are using an Adaptec host bus
adapter card, enable the Host Adapter BIOS
option.
4 Save the new SCSI BIOS settings.
5 Exit SCSI BIOS setup and restart your com-
puter.
8 Select Adapter Menu.
9 Select Update Flash ROM.
10 Press Enter twice.
The SCSI BIOS will be updated. This may take a
few minutes.
Do not interrupt this process or your system
may be damaged.
11 Select Configure Adapter Channels.
12 Set Host Adapter BIOS to Scan Only.
13 Press the Esc key twice.
14 Select Save Parameters and Exit, and press
Enter.
Updating the SCSI BIOS
If you are using an ATTO SCSI HBA card, you
may need to update its SCSI BIOS. When starting your computer, you will see what version of
the ATTO SCSI BIOS is installed on the SCSI
card. If it is not version 1.6.8 or higher, you will
need to flash the SCSI BIOS with 1.6.8 or higher
ATTO SCSI BIOS (flash.bat).
To update the BIOS on the ATTO SCSI card:
1 Insert a High Density PC formatted floppy
disk in your floppy drive.
2 Copy the DOS folder from the ATTO folder on
the Pro Tools Installer CD-ROM to the floppy
disk.
3 Shut down your computer.
4 Disconnect any hard drives connected to the
SCSI card.
5 Start your computer with the floppy disk in
the floppy drive.
6 When prompted, press Control+Z.
Installing SCSI Drivers
For Pro Tools to run at maximum efficiency
with SCSI Host Bus Adapters and SCSI drives, install a Digidesign approved SCSI driver (ATTO or
Adaptec, depending on the card you are using).
Check Digidesign’s Compatibility Documents for a list of Digidesign approved computers and supported SCSI driver versions.
Compatibility Documents and other resources are available at the Digidesign Web
site (www.digidesign.com).
Installing the Adaptec SCSI Driver
If you need to install the Adaptec driver, refer to
the driver manufacturer’s documentation.
The full name of the Adaptec driver for the IBM
M Pro or Compaq Evo W8000 is:
■ Adaptec
AHA290/291/294x/394x/4944/ AIC78xx
7 Press Enter.
Chapter 2: Windows Configuration 11
Installing the ATTO SCSI Drivers
The full name of the ATTO driver is:
■ ATTO ExpressPCI
20 If you have a dual-channel SCSI card, repeat
steps 8–20 for the second channel.
21 Click OK.
To install the ATTO Windows device driver:
1 Start your computer. Note the version of the
ATTO SCSI BIOS when booting. If it is version
1.6.6, proceed to the next step. If it is not version 1.6.6, you will need to flash the ATTO SCSI
BIOS (see “Updating the SCSI BIOS” on
page 11).
2 Insert the Pro Tools Installer CD-ROM in your
CD-ROM drive.
3 Open the System Control Panel.
4 Click the Hardware tab.
5 Click Device Manager.
6 Select SCSI and RAID controllers.
7 Double-click the LSI PCI SCSI Adapter.
8 Click the Driver tab.
9 Click Update Driver.
10 Select “Install from specified location.”
11 Select “Don’t search, I’ll choose the driver to
install.”
After Configuring your Computer
After configuring your computer, restart to verify basic system operation with your new settings. While not necessarily required, it is best to
do so in order to resolve any possible conflicts or
incompatibilities revealed by changes made to
your BIOS, SCSI configuration, or other computer hardware and settings.
If you experience problems after configuring
your computer, check your settings again, then
try resetting one at a time and restarting until
you identify which setting(s) might be the
source of the problem. Resolve any startup problems before proceeding with your Pro Tools installation. For troubleshooting and other Windows system information, see Appendix C,
“Windows System Optimizations”.
12 Click Next.
13 Click Have Disk.
14 Click Browse and navigate to the ATTO
folder on the Pro Tools Installer CD-ROM.
15 Select EXPRESS.INF and click Open.
16 Click OK.
17 Click Next.
18 Click Finish.
19 Click Close.
Getting Started with HD12
Windows System Settings
Configure Window system settings, as follows:
Required Settings These instructions must be
followed before installing Pro Tools.
Recommended Configuration These instructions
should be followed to optimize your system’s
capabilities, or to let older computers run
Pro Tools.
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.
In most cases, this will already be set correctly as
Windows XP will detect and activate DMA
mode by default.
Required Settings
To ensure optimum performance with
Pro Tools, configure the following Control
Panel settings for your version of Windows XP.
When finished updating required Windows
system settings, power down your computer.
Disable Hyper-Threading
For Pentium IV computers with Hyper-Threading, disable Hyper-Threading in the BIOS.
Enable DMA
Enabling your computer's DMA (Direct Memory
Access) frees up CPU bandwidth so your 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.
Enable DMA for any IDE hard drives:
1 Choose Start > Control panel.
2 Launch System.
3 Click the Hardware tab.
4 Under Device Manager, choose Device Man-
ager.
8 Repeat steps 5–7 for any additional IDE Chan-
nels.
9 Close the Computer Management window.
Disable Virus Protection Software
Avoid running virus protection software while
using Pro Tools since it adversely affects system
performance (as do all background processes). If
you are using virus protection software, turn it
off or remove it and restart your computer.
Disable 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 Launch Power Options.
3 Click the Power Schemes tab.
4 From the Power Schemes pop-up menu, select
Always On, and click OK.
This sets System Standby, System Hibernate,
and “Turn off hard disks” to Never.
Chapter 2: Windows Configuration 13
Disable 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 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.
•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 using Pro Tools
• If your video display card supports it, enable Bus Mastering in the manufacturer’s
Control Panel.
• Disable any networking cards (other than
any 1394 “FireWire” card that you might
use to connect an external drive to your
system).
For information on disabling networking
cards, see “Disabling Network Cards” on
page 107.
Completing Windows System Settings
When finished updating required Windows
system settings, power down your computer.
If problems occur after configuring all required and suggested settings, see
Appendix C, “Windows System Optimizations” for information on troubleshooting
and advanced settings.
Recommended Settings
Pro Tools can also be affected by other software
and hardware drivers installed on your computer. For best performance, it is recommended
(but not required) that you:
•Avoid running other Windows programs at
the same time as Pro Tools.
Pro Tools Hardware Overview
The number of Pro Tools TDM cards in your system will differ depending on your system configuration. Card components for each configuration are listed below.
If you are using an Expansion Chassis to increase the number of cards in your system,
refer to the
cluded with your Pro Tools system.
Pro Tools|HD Hardware
Pro Tools|HD hardware is available in the following configurations:
Pro Tools|HD 1 Includes a single HD Core card
Pro Tools|HD 2 Accel Includes an HD Core card,
an HD Accel card, and a TDM FlexCable for connecting the HD Core to the HD Accel card
Expanded Systems Guide in-
Getting Started with HD14
Pro Tools|HD 3 Accel Includes an HD Core card,
two HD Accel cards, and two TDM FlexCables
for connecting the cards to each other
The DigiSerial port on the HD Core card is for
connecting a Digidesign SYNC I/O. This connector is an 8-pin mini-DIN.
Additional HD Accel and HD Process cards
may be added to expand your Pro Tools system. HD Accel cards are fully compatible
with HD Process cards. Up to seven HD
cards are supported in a single
Pro Tools|HD system.
HD Core Card
All Pro Tools|HD systems include an HD Core
card. The HD Core card is the only Pro Tools|HD
card that does not require the presence of any
other HD-series cards. (Pro Tools|HD 1 systems
are comprised of a single HD Core card).
The HD Core card provides up to 96 tracks of direct-to-disk recording and playback, as well as
DSP power for mixing and plug-in processing.
The HD Core card supports up to 24-bit and up
to 192 kHz sessions.
DigiLink
DigiSerial
The DigiSerial port on HD Core cards does
not support MachineControl connections,
nor does it support the Digidesign Universal
Slave Driver (USD). Use the machine ports
on the Digidesign SYNC I/O for Pro Tools
MachineControl 9-pin connections. A COM
port (not a DigiSerial port) is required for
Remote 9-pin Deck Emulation mode (only).
If your HD Core card has two DigiSerial
ports, use the DigiSerial port closest to the
DigiLink connector.
HD Accel Card
The HD Accel card is included in
Pro Tools|HD 2 Accel and Pro Tools|HD 3 Accel
systems. The HD Accel card is an expansion
card, and requires the presence of at least one
HD Core card.
The HD Accel card provides up to 32 additional
tracks of direct-to-disk recording and playback,
as well as DSP power for mixing and plug-in processing. The HD Accel card supports up to 24-bit
and up to 192 kHz sessions.
HD Core card
The HD Core card includes a single DigiLink
port for connecting up to 32 channels of audio
input and output to your Pro Tools|HD system.
DigiLink
HD Accel card
The HD Accel card includes a single DigiLink
port for connecting up to 32 channels of audio
input and output to your Pro Tools|HD system.
The DigiSerial port on the HD Accel card does
not offer any functionality.
Chapter 2: Windows Configuration 15
HD Process Card
TDM FlexCable
The HD Process card is the predecessor to the
HD Accel card. Like HD Accel cards, HD Process
cards are expansion cards, requiring at least one
HD Core card.
HD Process cards are fully compatible with
HD Accel cards and HD Core cards in expanded Pro Tools|HD systems.
The HD Process card provides up to 32 additional tracks of direct-to-disk recording and
playback (up to a maximum of 128 tracks in systems without an HD Accel card), as well as DSP
power for mixing and plug-in processing. The
HD Process card supports up to 24-bit and up to
192 kHz sessions.
DigiLink
HD Process card
The HD Process card includes a single DigiLink
port for connecting up to 32 additional channels of audio input and output to your
Pro Tools|HD system (up to a maximum of 96
channels).
The DigiSerial port on an HD Process card does
not offer any functionality
The TDM FlexCable is used to connect a pair of
cards in your Pro Tools system so they can share
data along the TDM bus. Additional FlexCables
are required to connect additional cards. One
FlexCable comes with each HD Accel card.
The TDM FlexCable is a flexible printed
circuit board with delicate traces. Do not
overbend, twist, or pinch the cable. Doing
so may cause unpredictable behavior in
Pro Tools as well as harm to your system.
TDM FlexCable
Installing Pro Tools Hardware
Disabling Driver Signing Warnings
Before you install your Pro Tools cards, temporarily disable the Driver Signing warning option.
This expedites and automates much of the installation process. If you do not temporarily disable this option, warning messages (that you are
installing an unsigned driver) will appear for
each DSP chip detected during the software installation.
To disable the warning option:
1 Open the System Control Panel.
2 Click the Hardware tab in the System Control
Panel.
3 Click the Driver Signing button.
4 Select “Ignore—Install the software anyway
and don’t ask for my approval.”
Getting Started with HD16
5 Click OK twice.
6 Turn your computer off.
7 Proceed to install your Pro Tools cards.
7 Install the first HD Accel card (if any) in the
second PCI slot.
8 Install any remaining HD Accel cards in the
remaining consecutive PCI slots.
Installing Pro Tool|HD Cards
This section shows how to install Pro Tools HD
cards into a Windows computer. To install cards
into an expansion chassis, see the Expanded Sys-
tems Guide.
To install Pro Tools cards:
1 Turn off your computer and any peripherals.
Leave your computer’s power cable plugged in
so the computer is grounded.
2 Disconnect all cables attached to the com-
puter (such as hard drives, displays, USB and
FireWire connections) except for the power cable.
3 Open the computer case.
Before handling any card, discharge static
electricity from your clothes or body by
touching a grounded metal surface, such as
the power supply case inside your computer.
4 Remove the metal access port cover behind
the PCI slot you want to use by removing the
screw and sliding the cover out from the access
port.
5 Install the HD Core card in the first PCI slot.
6 If you are installing additional Pro Tools cards,
skip to the next step. If you have no additional
cards to install, do the following:
• Secure the card in place with the slot access
port screw you removed earlier.
• Close the computer case.
• Skip to “Connecting Audio Interfaces” on
page 19.
9 Install any HD Process cards in the remaining
consecutive PCI slots (64- or 32-bit).
10 If you are installing a SCSI HBA card, install
it in the highest-numbered remaining slot.
Check to be sure that your cards are installed in
the following order:
• HD Core card
• HD Accel cards
•HD Process cards, if any
• SCSI host bus adapter (HBA) card
• Display card for your computer monitor
The above guidelines may include optional
cards not present in your system.
11 Secure each card in place with the slot access
port screws you removed earlier.
12 Proceed to “Connecting Pro Tools|HD Cards”
on page 18.
The IBM Intellistation M Pro 6850 may not
boot after updating the BIOS or changing
the order of Pro Tools cards. Should this
problem occur, remove all plug and play
cards and you will be able to boot Windows, then shut down and re-install the
cards according to the installation instructions in “Installing Pro Tool|HD Cards” on
page 17. You should now be able to boot
Windows.
Chapter 2: Windows Configuration 17
Connecting Pro Tools|HD Cards
In HD systems that include more than one card,
you must connect all the HD cards to each other
with TDM FlexCables.
Each HD card has two ports along the top of the
card, labeled Port A and Port B. The FlexCable
has two connectors, also labeled Port A and Port
B, to ensure proper connection. Data communication across multiple HD cards is achieved by
connecting Port B of the first card to Port A of
the next card with a TDM FlexCable.
To connect HD cards with the TDM FlexCable:
1 Shape the FlexCable before installing it on
your HD cards by grasping the cable with both
hands and moving the Port B portion of the cable straight towards you and inwards, as shown
below. Do not bend the cable more than you
need to, as you may damage the traces in the cable.
2 Slide the FlexCable into the notch of the first
card, so that the Port B connector of the FlexCable can be aligned with Port B of the first card;
and the Port A connector of the FlexCable can
be aligned with Port A of the second card, as
shown below.
HD Accel Card
(or HD Process card)
Inserting TDM FlexCable
3 Connect the Port A connector of the FlexCa-
ble to Port A on the second card. Push down
gently but firmly until the cable is fully connected to the card. Attach the other end of the
FlexCable (labeled Port B) to Port B on the first
card.
Preparing TDM FlexCable for installation
Getting Started with HD18
Top view of two HD cards connected with TDM FlexCable
4 Verify the connection, as shown below (orien-
tation may be different depending on your type
of CPU or chassis).
Side view of two HD cards connected with TDM
FlexCable
5 For systems with more than two cards, con-
nect each additional card to its preceding card.
Use FlexCables to connect card pairs together, as
described above, until all cards are connected.
(Each HD Accel card is packaged with a FlexCable.)
6 Close the computer case.
7 Proceed to “Connecting Audio Interfaces” on
page 19.
Connecting Audio Interfaces
Each Pro Tools|HD-series audio interface supplies up to 16 channels of input and output to
your system. Audio interfaces are connected directly to Pro Tools|HD cards, or through the Expansion ports on other HD-series interfaces.
Each HD card supports up to 32 channels. To get
a full 32 channels of I/O from one card, you can
connect, or daisy-chain, a second 16-channel HD
I/O to the first HD I/O that is connected directly
to the HD card.
Pro Tools|HD supports up to a maximum of
eight 192 I/Os, 192 Digital I/Os, or 96 I/Os. Up
to four 96i I/Os can be used simultaneously.
For examples of connecting multiple HD I/Os,
see Figure 1 and Figure 2 on page 21.
HD audio interfaces need room at their
sides to maintain proper air flow for cooling. It is important to leave room for air intake and ventilation on the sides of the unit.
Do not block the sides of the unit or disconnect the internal fan. If the units are rackmounted in a case, remove the case lids or
doors before operating the system. Failure to
do so can result in the units overheating
very quickly, which can permanently damage sensitive components.
Earlier audio interfaces can also be connected to
the 192 I/O, 192 Digital I/O, or 96 I/O (the
96i I/O does not support Legacy interfaces).
These include: 888|24 I/O, 882|20 I/O,
1622 I/O, 24-bit ADAT Bridge I/O, and the original ADAT Bridge I/O. The original 888 I/O and
882 I/O interfaces are not supported with
Pro Tools|HD.
To connect HD audio interfaces:
1 If you are using a single 192 I/O,
192 Digital I/O, 96 I/O, or 96i I/O, connect its
Primary Port to the HD Core card with the DigiLink cable provided with the HD Core card. You
must attach at least one 192 I/O,
192 Digital I/O, 96 I/O, or 96i I/O to your system in order for Pro Tools to launch.
If you have at least one 192 I/O or
192 Digital I/O in your system configuration, it must be connected to the HD Core
card as the primary interface.
2 Connect additional HD audio interfaces to
subsequent Digidesign audio cards, or daisychain your I/Os (by connecting the Primary Port
of the secondary I/O to the Expansion Port of
the primary I/O).
If you are connecting both 192 I/O (or
192 Digital I/O) and 96 I/O audio interfaces to
your system, connect the 192 I/O (or
192 Digital I/O) to your HD Core card, followed
by any additional 192 I/O (or 192 Digital I/O)
interfaces connected to the next highest-priority cards. Then connect 96 I/O interfaces to subsequent cards, or to other interfaces, then connect 96i I/O interfaces.
You can also connect a single HD I/O to each HD
card in your system using the provided DigiLink
cables. There is no advantage to this configuration over daisy-chaining I/Os.
Chapter 2: Windows Configuration 19
3 If you are using two or more HD audio inter-
faces, connect the Loop Sync Out of each interface to the Loop Sync In of the next interface
with the BNC cables included in your HD I/O
packaging. Then, connect the Loop Sync Out of
the last interface to the Loop Sync In of the primary interface.
12-ft DigiLink cable
4 If you are connecting a Digidesign Legacy au-
dio interface (such as an 888|24 I/O, 882|20 I/O,
1622 I/O, or Digidesign ADAT Bridge I/O), continue with “Connecting an Additional 16 Channels of Audio with Legacy Audio Interfaces” on
page 21. (The 96i I/O does not support Legacy
interfaces.)
HD Core
18-in DigiLink cable
Figure 1. Two 96 I/Os (32-channel system)
Loop Sync cables
Getting Started with HD20
12-ft DigiLink cable
HD Core
18-in DigiLink cable
Loop Sync cables
Figure 2. Three 96 I/Os (48-channel system)
Loop Sync cables
12-ft DigiLink cable
Connecting an Additional 16 Channels of Audio with Legacy Audio Interfaces
Each 192 I/O, 192 Digital I/O, and 96 I/O can
support 16 channels of audio to and from
Digidesign Legacy I/Os. (The 96i I/O does not
support Legacy I/O.) Legacy I/Os include the
888|24 I/O, 882|20 I/O, 1622 I/O, 24-bit ADAT
Bridge I/O, and the original ADAT Bridge I/O.
The original 888 I/O and 882 I/O interfaces are
not supported with Pro Tools|HD.
TDM FlexCable
HD Accel or HD Process
To connect Digidesign Legacy audio interfaces:
1 Connect the “MIX card” end of the peripheral
cable that came with your Legacy audio interface (60-pin side) to the Legacy Port on the primary HD audio interface. Connect the other
end to the Computer Port on the Legacy audio
interface.
Chapter 2: Windows Configuration 21
2 Connect any additional Legacy audio inter-
faces in the same manner, to HD audio interfaces connected directly to HD cards.
– or –
face, supply its 256x clock from the HD I/O to
which its 60-pin cable is attached (either your
second audio interface, or directly to an
HD Accel or HD Process card).
If you are using a Y cable (Legacy 16-channel peripheral cable adapter), connect this to the Legacy port first, then connect the audio interface
peripheral cables to Port A and Port B of the Y
cable.
“A” to first
Legacy I/O
Optional 16-channel peripheral cable adapter
3 To properly clock the Legacy audio interface,
“B” to second
Legacy I/O
to Legacy Port on
HD audio interface
connect the Ext. Clock output port on the HD
I/O to the Slave Clock IN on the Legacy audio
interface. The Legacy audio interface will switch
to Slave mode once the proper clock is outputting from the HD I/O. Always use the Ext. Clock
Out port of the same I/O to which the Legacy
audio interface is attached.
To ensure the proper functioning of Legacy
audio interfaces (such as an 888|24 I/O or
882|20 I/O), launch Pro Tools and declare
the Legacy audio interfaces in the Hardware
Setup dialog before turning them on. Then
quit Pro Tools, shut down your computer,
turn on your audio interfaces, and turn on
your computer.
Before you turn on and configure your Legacy audio interfaces, turn down the volume
of output devices. Very loud digital noise
may be emitted before the Legacy audio interface is initialized.
If you are using the Y cable to connect multiple
MIX-series audio interfaces, you must also connect the Slave Clock Out of the first Legacy interface to the Slave Clock In of the second Legacy interface with the provided BNC cable. You
cannot clock more than two MIX-series audio
interfaces from a single HD-series audio interface. If you have a third MIX-series audio inter-
Getting Started with HD22
Installing Pro Tools Software
To install Pro Tools software for TDM systems:
1 Start Windows, logging in with Administrator
privileges. For details on Administrator privileges, refer to your Windows documentation.
2 Make sure you have configured all the re-
quired Windows system settings for your system, and rebooted your computer. See
“Windows System Settings” on page 13 for more
information.
3 Wait for the Found New Hardware Wizard di-
alog to appear and leave it open.
4 Insert the Pro Tools Installer CD-ROM for
Windows in your CD-ROM drive. Locate and
open the Pro Tools Installer folder, and doubleclick the Setup icon.
5 Click Next to begin installation.
9 Select your work environment. This loads an
initial set of Pro Tools Preferences that include
some of the more popular settings for post production, audio, or audio with MIDI.
Preference settings can be customized at any
time in Pro Tools. See the
ence Guide
for more information about Pref-
Pro Tools Refer-
erences.
10 Select whether to install the Surround Mixer
plug-in. This plug-in is required for mixing,
mastering, and monitoring in surround.
• Select “Yes – Monitor in Pro Tools Film Format” if your monitoring is configured for
Film Format surround.
• Select “Yes – Monitor in ProControl (DTS
Format)” if you are using a ProControl dedicated controller.
• Select “No – Stereo mixing only” if your
monitoring is configured for Stereo.
6 Select the install location. For maximum reli-
ability, install Pro Tools on your startup drive.
Click Next.
7 Select available install options as needed.
8 Click Next to install the selected options.
A demo version of MacOpener is included
on the Pro Tools Installer CD-ROM, and requires a separate installation process. Installing MacOpener is required only if you
need to use HFS or HFS+ formatted hard
drives. See “Installing MacOpener” on
page 25 for more information.
The Surround Mixer can be installed at any
time in Pro Tools. For instructions, see the
Pro Tools Reference Guide.
11 After making a selection, click Next.
Wait for the installer to finish installing all software components, drivers, and PACE System
files before proceeding to the next step.
12 If QuickTime is not already installed, you
will be prompted to install the Recommended
QuickTime installer option (see “Installing
QuickTime” on page 24). Follow the on-screen
instructions to complete the QuickTime installation process.
13 When installation is complete, click Finish to
restart your computer.
Chapter 2: Windows Configuration 23
Installing QuickTime
(Optional)
QuickTime 5 or later is required for Pro Tools if
you plan to include movie files in your sessions.
Installing the latest version of QuickTime for
Windows is highly recommended (available
from www.apple.com). Be sure to install the
“Recommended” install of QuickTime or
Pro Tools will not handle QuickTime video correctly.
To install QuickTime:
1 Locate the QuickTime Installer on your
Pro Tools Installer CD-ROM (located in the Additional Files folder). Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the QuickTime
installation process.
Optional Software
Your Pro Tools Installer CD-ROM includes several software options.
The Digidesign ASIO Driver
(Optional)
The Digidesign ASIO Driver is a multichannel,
multimedia sound driver that allows third-party
audio programs that support the ASIO standard
to record and play back through Digidesign
hardware. The Digidesign ASIO driver is not required to use Pro Tools.
For detailed information on using the
Digidesign ASIO Driver, see Appendix D,
“Digidesign ASIO Driver (Windows Only).”
2 When installation is complete, click Finish to
restart your computer.
3 When you are ready to launch Pro Tools for
the first time, proceed to “Launching Pro Tools”
on page 28.
See “Optional Software” on page 24 to learn
more about optional software included with
Pro Tools.
If you disabled Driver Signing warning as
instructed before installing Pro Tools, remember to re-enable it after confirming
Pro Tools installation.
If your computer does not startup after installing QuickTime, use Add/Remove Programs to remove Pro Tools and QuickTime,
then repeat the installation process for
Pro Tools TDM 6.2.
Installing the Demo Session
The Pro Tools Installer CD includes a demo session that you can use to verify that your system
is working.
To install the demo sessions:
1 Insert the Pro Tools Installer CD in your CD-
ROM drive.
2 From your CD-ROM drive, choose Additional
Files\Pro Tools Demo Session Installer.
3 Double-click Setup.exe.
4 Set the install location to your audio drive and
click Install.
5 When installation is complete, click OK.
Getting Started with HD24
Installing MacOpener
(Optional)
MacOpener 6.0.5 and higher lets you mount
HFS/HFS+ drives on a Windows-based Pro Tools
system, as a Transfer drive.
To share Pro Tools sessions between Macintosh
and Windows systems, select the “Enforce
Mac/PC Compatibility” option when creating
the session, or when saving a session copy to a
Windows audio drive formatted using NTFS or
FAT32.
5 Under Extension Mapping, select “Do not add
the PC extension to the Mac file name.”
6 Click OK to quit the MacOpener Driver Pref-
erences.
7 Choose Start > Programs > MacOpener >
Mac Lic.exe. When installation is complete,
close the installer.
All formatting and maintenance of
HFS/HFS+ drives should be carried out
when the drive is connected to a Macintosh.
Avoid using MacOpener on HFS-formatted
drives (it is recommended that you use
NTFS or FAT32 instead). Use the Save Session Copy In command in Pro Tools to copy
the session material to a Windows audio
drive formatted using NTFS or FAT32.
While SDII files can be exported or converted on import, they cannot be used
within Pro Tools sessions on Windows.
To install and configure the MacOpener demo
included with Pro Tools:
1 Insert the Pro Tools Installer CD into your CD-
ROM drive.
2 Locate and double-click the MacOpener in-
staller file in the MacOpener Demo folder located at D (CD-ROM drive):\Additional
Files\MacOpener Demo Installer. Follow the onscreen instructions to install MacOpener. After
installation is complete, restart your computer.
3 Choose Start > Programs > MacOpener >
MacOpener Driver Preferences.
4 Verify that the MacOpener Driver is enabled.
Under Driver Settings, select “Enable Macopener Driver.”
For more information about MacOpener
and its performance limitations, see the
Pro Tools Reference Guide.
Installing ProControl or Control|24 Software
To install Digidesign Ethernet support for
ProControl or Control|24:
1 On the desktop, right-click the My Network
Places icon, and then choose Properties.
2 Right-click the relevant Local Area Connec-
tion icon, and then choose Properties.
3 Click Install, select Protocol, and click Add.
4 Click Have Disk.
5 Select the DigiNet.inf file in either the Pro-
Control or Control|24 directory (on your
Pro Tools Installer CD-ROM in Additional
Files\Controllers\Controllers), and click OK.
The Installer installs the DigiNet.inf files in the
ProControl or Control|24 directory in Digidesign\DAE\Controllers.
6 Click Close.
Chapter 2: Windows Configuration 25
Removing Pro Tools
Starting Up Your System
If you need to remove Pro Tools from your computer, you can use the Add or Remove Programs
command.
To remove Pro Tools from your computer:
1 Choose Start > Control Panel.
2 Launch Add or Remove Programs.
3 From the Currently installed programs list, se-
lect Digidesign Pro Tools.
4 Click the Change/Remove button.
5 Select Remove, and then click Next.
6 Click OK to remove Pro Tools.
7 Click Finish.
Using MIDI
Pro Tools for Windows uses your Multimedia
Setup to configure MIDI devices and their properties. Refer to your device’s installation and usage documentation to properly configure the
device.
Checking Your HD System
Before you launch Pro Tools, start your system
and run the DigiTest diagnostic application to
ensure that all TDM cards in the system are recognized, installed in the proper order, and have
valid TDM FlexCable connections.
Whenever you start your system, turn on all of
your system components in a specific order.
To start your Pro Tools system:
1 Make sure all your equipment (including your
computer) is off.
2 For TDM systems with an expansion chassis,
turn on the expansion chassis.
3 Turn on any external hard drives. Wait ap-
proximately ten seconds for them to spin up to
speed.
4 Turn on any MIDI interfaces and devices, or
synchronization peripherals.
5 Lower the volume of all output devices, then
turn on your Pro Tools audio interfaces. Wait at
least fifteen seconds for the audio interface to
initialize and the status LEDs to stop flashing.
6 Turn on your computer.
Running DigiTest
DigiTest is installed with Pro Tools and resides
in the Digidesign Utilities folder located on your
hard drive, under
Digidesign/Pro Tools/Pro Tools Utilities.
Before you run DigiTest, lower the volume
of all output devices. Very loud digital noise
may be emitted during the test.
To run DigiTest:
1 Quit Pro Tools if it is running.
If you turned off Driver Signing Warning, be
sure to enable it once Pro Tools hardware
and software have been installed.
Getting Started with HD26
2 Lower the volume of all output devices on
your system.
3 Choose Start > Programs > Digidesign >
Pro Tools > DigiTest.
DigiTest main test page
The order in which cards are listed within
DigiTest may not match the actual slot locations of cards installed in your computer
or expansion chassis. This is normal, and
does not affect DigiTest operations in any
way.
4 Test the cards in your system by doing one of
the following:
•To test only one Digidesign card in your
system, click the button that corresponds
to that card.
•To test all Digidesign cards at once, click
Test All Cards.
5 When prompted, power cycle all Pro Tools pe-
ripherals in your system. Click Continue.
6 Check the “Test I/O Box.”
LEDs on your digital interfaces may light up
during this test. This is normal.
7 Exit DigiTest by clicking the close box in the
top righthand corner of the application window.
Errors and Undetected Cards
Complete the steps below if:
■ DigiTest fails to launch.
■ There is a problem with a component in your
system and an error message has been displayed
for a card in DigiTest.
– or –
■ A supported card is installed but not automat-
ically detected during DigiTest.
If a supported card is installed and is not
automatically detected:
1 Close DigiTest.
2 Turn off your entire Pro Tools system.
3 Reinstall the cards (see “Installing
Pro Tool|HD Cards” on page 17).
4 Check the card seating.
5 Check the TDM FlexCable connections.
Check the orientation of the cable from card to
card (ports A and B), and check the integrity of
the FlexCable connections to the cards.
6 Turn on your system.
7 Run DigiTest again.
For descriptions of all error codes, refer to
Appendix B, “DigiTest Error Codes.” For test details, click the Info button to the right of the reported error, then click Failures in the pop-up
menu and choose Detailed.
If a card continues to fail DigiTest, contact
Digidesign Technical Support through Digidesign Web site, or using the numbers listed on
the cover of this guide.
8 Restart your computer.
Chapter 2: Windows Configuration 27
Updating Audio Peripheral Firmware with DigiTest
If it becomes necessary to update the firmware
in any of your HD-series audio interfaces,
(192 I/O, the 192 Digital I/O, 96 I/O, or 96i I/O),
you can use DigiTest to perform the update.
Within DigiTest, the Firmware Update page tells
you the firmware version for the selected peripheral and lets you update to a newer version,
if necessary.
To update the firmware in an HD-series audio
interface:
1 Quit Pro Tools if it is running.
2 Locate and double-click the DigiTest applica-
tion on your hard drive.
3 Click the Firmware tab.
4 Choose a card slot from the pop-up menu. If
any HD audio interfaces are connected to the
card, the Primary or Secondary options will become available in the HD Peripheral section of
the Firmware page.
If any connected interfaces are not recognized,
check the connections and power to each interface and click Re-Scan.
5 Under HD Peripheral, select Primary or Sec-
ondary to view the firmware version for the corresponding interface. The firmware version is
displayed just below the HD Peripheral section
of the Firmware page.
6 If the firmware version is not current, click Be-
gin Update to update the firmware in the selected audio interface.
The status of the firmware update process is displayed in the status area at the bottom of the
Firmware page.
7 After the update process is complete, click
Quit to close DigiTest.
Launching Pro Tools
When launching Pro Tools the first time, you
are prompted to enter an authorization code to
validate your software.
DigiTest firmware page (96i I/O shown)
Getting Started with HD28
To validate Pro Tools software:
1 Double-click the Pro Tools application, lo-
cated in the Pro Tools folder, inside the Digidesign folder.
2 Enter the authorization code in the dialog
when prompted, making sure to observe any
spaces, then click Validate.
The authorization code is located on the inside
cover of this guide.
Configuring Pro Tools
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.
Voice Count
The Number of Voices setting lets you control
the number of voices available on your system.
For example, the default number of voices on an
HD Core system is 48 voices, using one DSP (at
sample rates of 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz).
Changing the number of voices affects
DSP usage, the total number of voiceable
tracks, and overall system performance.
Depending on the current sample rate and the
number of HD Core, HD Accel, and HD Process
cards in your system, you will have different
choices for voice count.
For additional information, see the
Pro Tools Reference Guide.
To change the Voice Count:
1 Choose Setups > Playback Engine.
Playback Engine dialog for Pro Tools|HD Accel system
2 Select the number of voices and DSPs to allo-
cate for voicing by choosing a value from the
Number of Voices pop-up menu.
• Select higher voice numbers when your
Digidesign cards are the only PCI cards in
your computer, or when you are using an
expansion chassis to run higher track
counts (such as 64 tracks at 96 kHz) and
you want more voices per DSP (such as 16
voices per DSP at 96 kHz). These settings
use fewer DSP chips for mixing (leaving
more available for plug-ins) but place the
highest processing load on each.
• Select medium voice numbers when your
Digidesign cards are in an expansion chassis, or when you are using other PCI cards
along with Digidesign cards. These settings
generally provide an optimum balance between number of chips needed for voicing,
and the processing load placed on each.
Chapter 2: Windows Configuration 29
• Select minimum voice numbers if you are
using high-bandwidth PCI cards (such as
video capture cards) along with your
Digidesign cards. These settings place the
lightest processing load on each allocated
DSP chip, but generally require more DSP
chips be dedicated to voicing and mixing
(leaving fewer available for plug-ins).
Number of Voices menu (HD Accel-equipped system)
3 Click OK.
Hardware Buffer Size
The Hardware Buffer Size (H/W Buffer Size) controls the size of the hardware cache used to handle host processing tasks such as Real-Time AudioSuite (RTAS) plug-ins.
• 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 affect the
accuracy of plug-in automation, mute data,
and timing for MIDI tracks.
To change the Hardware Buffer Size:
1 Choose Setups > Playback Engine.
2 From the H/W Buffer Size pop-up menu, select
the audio buffer size, in samples.
3 Click OK.
CPU Usage Limit
The CPU Usage Limit controls the percentage of
CPU resources allocated to Pro Tools host processing tasks.
◆ 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.
Increasing the CPU Usage Limit may slow
down screen responses on slower computers.
To change the CPU Usage Limit:
1 Choose Setups > 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.
Getting Started with HD30
DAE Playback Buffer Size
Pro Tools Hardware Settings
The DAE Playback Buffer Size determines the
amount of memory DAE uses to manage disk
buffers, which affects system performance.
◆ Lower DAE Playback Buffer Size settings can
improve playback and recording initiation
speed. However, a lower setting can make it difficult for slower hard drives to play or record
tracks reliably.
◆ Higher DAE Playback Buffer Size settings can
allow for a higher density of edits in a session.
However, a higher setting can cause a time lag to
occur before playback or recording begins. It can
also cause a time lag to occur when you are editing during playback.
To change the DAE Playback Buffer Size:
1 Choose Setups > Playback Engine.
Pro Tools lets you set the default sample rate
and clock source for your system, as well as a
range of controls specific to each type of audio
interface.)
Default Sample Rate
The Sample Rate setting appears as the default
sample rate when you create a new session.
(This setting is available in the Hardware Setup
dialog only when no session is open.)
You can change the sample rate when creating a new Pro Tools session by selecting a
different sample rate in the New Session dialog. (See
To change the default Sample Rate:
1 Make sure that no Pro Tools session is open.
2 Choose Setups > Hardware Setup.
3 Choose the sample rate from the Sample Rate
pop-up menu.
4 Click OK.
“Starting a Session” on page 71.)
Playback Engine dialog for Pro Tools|HD
2 From the DAE Playback Buffer pop-up menu,
select a buffer size. Memory requirements for
each setting are shown at the bottom of the
Playback Engine dialog.
3 Click OK.
If Pro Tools needs more system memory for the
DAE Playback Buffer, it will prompt you to restart your computer.
Sample Rates and Expanded Systems
With 176.4 kHz and 192 kHz sample rates, as
many as four HD-series cards can be used. Any
additional cards (up the total system maximum
of seven cards) will switch to Inactive mode. The
cards and any attached peripherals will become
active again when the sample rate is set to
96 kHz or lower. See also “Offline Peripherals”
on page 37.
Chapter 2: Windows Configuration 31
Clock Source
Configuring Audio Interfaces
The Pro Tools Hardware Setup dialog lets you select the Clock Source for the system.
Internal If you are recording an analog signal directly into Pro Tools, you will usually use the
Pro Tools Internal clock source.
External If you are transferring material into
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 AES/EBU
[Encl], S/PDIF, Optical [Encl], AES/EBU 1–8,
TDIF, ADAT, and Word Clock. For details, refer
to the Pro Tools Reference Guide or the guide for
your audio interface.
To select the Clock Source:
1 Choose Setups > Hardware Setup.
2 Choose the clock source from the Clock
Source pop-up menu.
3 Click OK.
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.
Pro Tools|HD audio interfaces support 16 channels of simultaneous I/O and multiple I/O formats (including analog, AES/EBU, ADAT Optical, S/PDIF, and TDIF).
Hardware Setup dialog for 192 I/O, Main page
The Main page of the Hardware Setup dialog 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 HD-series audio interfaces to channel
assignments in the Pro Tools mixer.
The Main page also provides controls for defining whether Expansion Port or Legacy Port peripherals are active.
To configure the interfaces in your system, you
select each interface in the Peripherals list and
set the parameters for that 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 dialog.
Getting Started with HD32
To identify audio interfaces in your system:
1 Choose Setups > Hardware Setup.
2 From the Peripherals list, select an audio inter-
face connected to your system.
the Port Settings back to Expansion I/O, then select the Legacy audio interface in the Peripherals
list, and set it to No Interface in the Interface
pop-up menu. (The 96i I/O does not support
Legacy I/O.)
Use the Up and Down Arrow keys to scroll
though the Peripherals list in the Hardware
Setup dialog.
3 Make sure the Main page tab is chosen.
4 Select the Identify option, located in the lower
left corner of the Hardware Setup dialog. 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 au-
dio interface in your setup.
Legacy audio interfaces must be initialized
in the Peripherals list before they can be
identified. See “Configuring Legacy Audio
Interfaces” on page 36.
To configure HD audio interfaces:
1 Choose Setups > Hardware Setup.
2 From the Peripherals list, select an audio inter-
face connected to your system.
3 Make sure Main page tab is chosen.
4 From the Clock Source pop-up menu, select
the appropriate clock source for the interface.
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 an option
under Digital Format. Depending on the type of
interfaces in your system, choices include
AES/EBU, S/PDIF, and Optical (S/PDIF). Selecting Optical (S/PDIF) resets 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. (The 96i I/O supports stereo
S/PDIF RCA digital input and output only.) For
more information about HD enclosure and card
ports, refer to the guide for your audio interface.
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 Analog
1–2 or Optical 1–2), that will be routed to the
corresponding Pro Tools input and output
channels (such as Ch 1–2, Ch 3–4), listed on the
left side of the Main page. (This feature is not
available with the 96i I/O.)
Inputs and outputs of similar format are differentiated in the input and output channel popup menus. For example, the AES/EBU inputs
and outputs in the 192 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) as AES/EBU 1–2,
AES/EBU 3–4, AES/EBU 5–6, and AES/EBU 7–8.
For 192 I/Os equipped with the optional
If the Legacy I/O Port is enabled (and not the
Expansion I/O Port) then the Ext. Clock Output
automatically switches to Slave256x. To reset
the Ext. Clock Output to Word Clock, change
Chapter 2: Windows Configuration 33
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.
Refer to your peripheral’s guide for configuration details and restrictions. For example,
the Optical 1–8 channels (on the 192 I/O
enclosure) will not be available at session
sample rates of 88.2 kHz or higher, while
the ports on the 192 I/O Digital I/O card
will still be available.
9 Configure controls for your HD audio inter-
face. See “Configuring 192 I/O and
192 Digital I/O Controls” on page 34, “Configuring 96 I/O Controls” on page 35, and “Configuring 96i I/O Controls” on page 36.
10 For additional HD-series interfaces, choose
the interface in the Peripherals list, and repeat
the above steps.
•You can select Soft Clip on a channel-bychannel basis. The Soft Clip limiter attenuates the incoming analog signal, providing
extra protection from temporary clipping
transients that can cause digital distortion
when they exceed the maximum input of
the unit. With Soft Clip enabled, 192 I/O
supports an additional 4 dB of headroom
by rounding off the top 4 dB to the clip
point. This is useful for eliminating stray
transients or for emulating analog tape saturation.
Configuring 192 I/O and 192 Digital I/O
Controls
To configure controls for a 192 I/O:
1 With the 192 I/O selected in the Peripherals
list, click the Analog In tab for the following options:
•You can set your operating level on a channel-by-channel basis by selecting Reference
Level +4 dBu or –10 dBV. These settings
correspond to two different input connectors on the rear of the 192 I/O. Refer to the
192 I/O Guide for more information on setting operating levels.
• Each of the analog channels in the 192 I/O
has two Input Trims, labeled A and B, for
precisely calibrating and switching levels.
You can select Input Trim A or B on a channel-by-channel basis. Refer to the 192 I/O
Guide for information on setting the rear
panel trims.
Getting Started with HD34
Hardware Setup dialog for 192 I/O, Analog In page
2 Click the Analog Out tab for the following op-
tion:
• Each of the analog channels in the 192 I/O
has two Output Trims, labeled A and B, respectively. You can select Output Trim A or
B on a channel-by-channel basis.
Hardware Setup dialog for 192 I/O, Analog Out page
To configure controls for a 192 Digital I/O or
192 I/O with an optional Digital I/O card:
■ On the 192 Digital I/O or a 192 I/O with an
optional Digital I/O card, click the Digital tab to
set the Input Format (AES/EBU, TDIF, or ADAT
Optical) and enable real-time sample rate conversion (in channel pairs, with the SR Conversion option).
At session sample rates above 48 kHz, sample rate conversion for the TDIF and Optical
(ADAT) inputs on the Digital I/O card is
automatically enabled on all eight inputs of
the selected format.
•You can set your operating level on a channel-by-channel basis by selecting Reference
Level +4 dBu or –10 dBV. Refer to the 96 I/O
Guide for more information on setting operating levels.
Hardware Setup dialog for 96 I/O, Analog In page
3 Click the Analog Out tab for the following op-
tion:
•You can set your output level on a channelby-channel basis by selecting Reference
Level +4 dBu or –10 dBV. Refer to the 96 I/O
Guide for more information on setting operating levels.
Hardware Setup dialog for 192 I/O, Digital page
Configuring 96 I/O Controls
To configure controls for a 96 I/O:
1 With the 96 I/O selected in the Peripherals
list, configure your I/O front panel meters for input or output metering from the Meters pop-up.
2 Click the Analog In tab for the following op-
tion:
Hardware Setup dialog for 96 I/O, Analog Out page
Chapter 2: Windows Configuration 35
Configuring 96i I/O Controls
To configure controls for a 96i I/O:
1 With the 96i I/O selected in the Peripherals
list, configure your I/O front panel meters for input or output metering from the Meters pop-up.
2 Set input sensitivity by doing the following:
•For Inputs 1–4, set the input trim slider to
match the output level of the connected
instrument. Choices range from –12 dBV
to +4 dBu. If you do not know the output
level of the device, use the default input
trim level, then fine tune the input level
sensitivity.
• For each input 5–16 being used, select
–8 dBV or +4 dBu as appropriate to best
match the output level of the connected
instrument.
3 Set Output levels (select –10 dBV or +4 dBu).
4 Click Done.
To select analog or digital input for channels 1-2:
1 Choose Hardware > Setup, and select 96i I/O
in the Peripherals list to display the 96i I/O window.
2 Click to set Ch 1–2 Input to Analog or S/PDIF,
as appropriate.
The 96i I/O only supports analog and digital switching for channels 1–2, and only
from within the Hardware Setup and I/O
Setup dialogs. The 96i I/O does not support
path remapping within I/O Setup.
Configuring Legacy Audio Interfaces
Before you can configure a Legacy audio interface, it must first be initialized in Hardware
Setup.
To initialize a Legacy audio interface:
1 Make sure to lower the volume of your output
devices. Very loud digital noise may be emitted
before the Legacy audio interface is initialized.
2 Turn on your Legacy audio interface.
Hardware Setup for 96i I/O
You can select analog or digital input as sources
for 96i I/O channels 1–2. Only channels 1–2 can
access the S/PDIF inputs.
Getting Started with HD36
3 From the Peripherals list, choose the primary
audio interface (the interface to which your Legacy audio interface is connected).
4 In the Main page of the Hardware Setup dia-
log, select the Legacy I/O option under Port Settings.
5 In the Peripherals list, “No Interface” is listed
twice, directly below the primary audio interface. Click the first “No Interface.” An Interface
pop-menu appears in the Hardware Setup dialog, listing supported I/O choices.
6 From the Interface pop-up, select the type of
Legacy audio interface you connected. (If your
Legacy interface does not appear, check connections and repeat from step 1, above. See also
“Offline Peripherals” on page 37.)
After you select the type of Legacy audio interface, the Main page updates with controls that
can be configured.
Refer to the Pro Tools Reference Guide for
more information on setting up I/O paths.
7 Repeat the above steps for each additional
Legacy audio interface.
For more information on Hardware Setup
controls for each I/O, refer to its
guide.
Offline Peripherals
When a Legacy audio interface and HD peripheral are connected to your primary HD peripheral, only one can be online at a time. An offline
peripheral is indicated by brackets in the Peripherals List of the Hardware Setup dialog. For example, if you have a 96 I/O and an 882|20 connected to a 192 I/O, and the 96 I/O is offline, it
will appear in the Peripherals List as “[96 I/O].”
Peripherals will also go offline if they audio interface or card to which they are attached is
made inactive. See “Sample Rates and Expanded
Systems” on page 31 for more information.
Configuring I/O Setup
The I/O Setup dialog provides a graphical representation of the signal routing for each connected audio interface, with controls to route
physical ports to Pro Tools inputs and outputs.
These controls mirror the routing controls
found in the Hardware Setup dialog—changes
made to physical routing in one dialog are always reflected in the other. The I/O Setup dialog
also lets you label and map Pro Tools input, output, insert, and bus signal paths.
To configure I/O routing in I/O Setup:
1 Choose Setups > I/O Setup.
2 Click the Input or Output tab to display the
corresponding connections.
3 To change the name of a path or subpath,
double-click directly on the Path Name, type a
new name for the path, and press Enter.
4 To change the destination of an Input or Out-
put path or subpath, click directly on an Input
or Output Selector for an interface channel pair,
just below an audio interface icon. (This feature
is not available for the 96i I/O.)
5 From the pop-up menu, select a physical port
pair (such as Analog 1–2), to route to the corresponding Pro Tools channel pair (such as A 1–2)
in the Path Name column on the left.
6 Repeat the above steps for additional channel
pairs.
7 Click OK.
Pro Tools comes with default I/O Setup settings
that will get you started. You only need to go to
I/O Setup if you want to remap or rename the
default I/O paths or if you change your system
hardware (for example, adding an expansion
card to a 192 I/O).
I/O Setup dialog
Chapter 2: Windows Configuration 37
Routing a Pro Tools Output Pair to Multiple Destinations
Pro Tools channel pairs can be routed to multiple outputs on your Digidesign audio interface
through the Hardware Setup dialog.
For example, if you assign both Analog 1–2 and
Analog 3–4 interface outputs to Pro Tools Output pair 1–2, when you send a signal to
Pro Tools Outputs 1–2, that signal will be routed
simultaneously to both pairs of output ports on
your audio interface.
This lets you send the same signal (such as a stereo pair, a stem mix, or a multichannel mix) to
multiple destinations (such as multiple mastering devices).
To route a Pro Tools output channel pair to
multiple audio interface output ports:
1 Choose Setups > Hardware Setup.
2 From the Peripherals list, select an interface.
3 Click the Main tab.
4 Select an output pair from an Output pop-up
menu.
5 Start-click the same pop-up menu and choose
an additional output pair.
The output name updates with a plus sign (“+”)
before it to indicate that multiple output ports
are selected. In the pop-up menu, each physical
port pair assigned to that Pro Tools output pair
is indicated by a check mark.
Hardware Setup dialog for 96 I/O, Main page
6 Repeat the above steps to select additional
output destinations. The only limit to output
choices is the number of outputs available in
your system.
Getting Started with HD38
chapter 3
Macintosh Configuration
Installation of a Pro Tools|HD-series system on a
Macintosh computer includes the following
steps:
1 Installing Pro Tools hardware (See “Installing
Pro Tools Hardware” on page 41.)
2 Configuring Apple System Software settings
(See “Apple System Settings” on page 49.)
3 Installing Pro Tools TDM software (See “In-
stalling Pro Tools Software” on page 49.)
4 Checking your Pro Tools system (See “Check-
ing Your HD System” on page 50.)
5 Configuring your Pro Tools system (See “Con-
figuring Pro Tools” on page 53.)
Pro Tools Hardware Overview
The number of Pro Tools TDM cards in your system will differ depending on your system configuration. Card components for each configuration are listed below.
Pro Tools|HD Hardware
Pro Tools|HD hardware is available in the following configurations:
Pro Tools|HD 1 Includes a single HD Core card
Pro Tools|HD 2 Accel Includes an HD Core card,
an HD Accel card, and a TDM FlexCable for connecting the HD Core to the HD Accel card
Pro Tools|HD 3 Accel Includes an HD Core card,
two HD Accel cards, and two TDM FlexCables
for connecting the cards to each other
Additional HD Accel and HD Process cards
may be added to expand your Pro Tools system. HD Accel cards are fully compatible
with HD Process cards. Up to seven HD
cards are supported in a single
Pro Tools|HD system.
If you are using an Expansion Chassis to increase the number of cards in your system,
refer to the
cluded with your Pro Tools system.
Expanded Systems Guide in-
Chapter 3: Macintosh Configuration 39
HD Core Card
HD Accel Card
All Pro Tools|HD systems include an HD Core
card. The HD Core card is the only Pro Tools|HD
card that does not require the presence of any
other HD-series cards. (Pro Tools|HD 1 systems
are comprised of a single HD Core card).
The HD Core card provides up to 96 tracks of direct-to-disk recording and playback, as well as
DSP power for mixing and plug-in processing.
The HD Core card supports up to 24-bit and up
to 192 kHz sessions.
DigiLink
DigiSerial
HD Core card
The HD Core card includes a single DigiLink
port for connecting up to 32 channels of audio
input and output to your Pro Tools|HD system.
The DigiSerial port on the HD Core card is for
connecting a Digidesign SYNC I/O. This connector is an 8-pin mini-DIN.
The DigiSerial port on HD Core cards does
not support MachineControl connections,
nor does it support the Digidesign Universal
Slave Driver (USD).
The HD Accel card is included in
Pro Tools|HD 2 Accel and Pro Tools|HD 3 Accel
systems. The HD Accel card is an expansion
card, and requires the presence of at least one
HD Core card.
The HD Accel card provides up to 32 additional
tracks of direct-to-disk recording and playback,
as well as DSP power for mixing and plug-in processing. The HD Accel card supports up to 24-bit
and up to 192 kHz sessions.
DigiLink
HD Accel card
The HD Accel card includes a single DigiLink
port for connecting up to 32 channels of audio
input and output to your Pro Tools|HD system.
The DigiSerial port on the HD Accel card does
not offer any functionality.
HD Process Card
The HD Process card is the predecessor to the
HD Accel card. Like HD Accel cards, HD Process
cards are expansion cards, requiring at least one
HD Core card.
If your HD Core card has two DigiSerial
ports, use the DigiSerial port closest to the
DigiLink connector.
Getting Started with HD 40
HD Process cards are fully compatible with
HD Accel cards and HD Core cards in expanded Pro Tools|HD systems.
The HD Process card provides up to 32 additional tracks of direct-to-disk recording and
playback (up to a maximum of 128 tracks in systems without an HD Accel card), as well as DSP
power for mixing and plug-in processing. The
HD Process card supports up to 24-bit and up to
192 kHz sessions.
DigiLink
Installing Pro Tools Hardware
To install HD-series hardware, you first install
Pro Tools|HD cards, then for systems with more
than one card, connect the cards with a TDM
FlexCable.
Installing the Pro Tools|HD Cards
This section shows how to install Pro Tools|HD
cards into a Macintosh computer. To install
cards into an expansion chassis, see the Ex-
panded Systems Guide.
HD Process card
The HD Process card includes a single DigiLink
port for connecting up to 32 additional channels of audio input and output to your
Pro Tools|HD system (up to a maximum of 96
channels).
The DigiSerial port on an HD Process card does
not offer any functionality
TDM FlexCable
The TDM FlexCable is used to connect a pair of
cards in your Pro Tools system so they can share
data along the TDM bus. Additional FlexCables
are required to connect additional cards. One
FlexCable comes with each HD Accel card.
The TDM FlexCable is a flexible printed
circuit board with delicate traces. Do not
overbend, twist, or pinch the cable. Doing
so may cause unpredictable behavior in
Pro Tools as well as harm to your system.
To install Pro Tools cards:
1 Turn off your computer and any peripherals.
Leave your computer’s power cable plugged in
so the computer is grounded.
2 Disconnect all cables attached to the com-
puter (such as hard drives, displays, USB and
FireWire connections) except for the power cable.
3 Open the computer case.
Before handling any card, discharge static
electricity from your clothes or body by
touching a grounded metal surface, such as
the power supply case inside your computer.
4 Remove the metal access port cover behind
the PCI slot you want to use by removing the
screw and sliding the cover out from the access
port.
TDM FlexCable
Chapter 3: Macintosh Configuration 41
5 Install the HD Core card into the lowest-num-
bered PCI slot in the computer based on your
computer model, as follows:
Power Macintosh “Mirrored Door” G4 The Power
Macintosh “Mirrored Door” G4 has reflective
drive bay doors and four holes across the front.
Its PCI slot numbers increase from left to right as
you face the open computer case from the front.
Power Macintosh “QuickSilver” G4 The Power
Macintosh “QuickSilver” and earlier G4 models
have a single speaker grille or hole on the front.
Their PCI slot numbers increase from right to left
as you face the open computer case from the
front.
Note that the PCI slot numbering in the newer
“Mirrored Door” G4 computer runs in the opposite direction of previous G4 models.
Be very careful when opening or closing the
case of a “Mirrored Door” G4 computer.
Any PCI cards installed in the higher-numbered slots may be damaged if they touch
the top of the computer case.
AGP slot 1 (video card)
PCI slot 2
PCI slot 3
PCI slot 4
PCI slot 5
Power Macintosh “Mirrored Door” Dual Processor G4
PCI slot 4
PCI slot 3
PCI slot 2
AGP slot 1 (video card)
Power Macintosh “QuickSilver” Dual Processor G4
PCI slot 4
PCI slot 3
PCI slot 2
PCI slot 1 (video card)
Power Macintosh Single Processor G4
6 If you are installing additional Pro Tools|HD
cards, skip to the next step. If you have no additional cards to install, do the following:
• Secure the card in place with the screw you
removed earlier, and close the computer.
• Skip to “Connecting Audio Interfaces” on
page 45.
Getting Started with HD 42
7 Install the first HD Accel card (if any) in the
second PCI slot.
8 Install any remaining HD Accel cards in the
remaining consecutive PCI slots.
9 Install any HD Process cards in the remaining
consecutive PCI slots.
10 If you are installing a SCSI HBA card, install
it in the highest-numbered remaining slot.
Do not use SampleCell hardware cards in a
Pro Tools|HD system.
Check to be sure that your cards are installed in
the following order, starting with the lowest numeric slot:
• Display card for your computer monitor
• HD Core card
• HD Accel cards
• HD Process cards
• Digidesign-approved video capture card
• SCSI host bus adapter (HBA) card
The above guidelines may include optional
cards not present in your system.
11 Secure each card in place with the slot access
port screws you removed earlier.
The PCI slot numbering in your computer determines whether you will be working right-to-left,
or left-to-right when connecting cards. Refer to
the instructions below for your model of computer.
To connect HD cards with the TDM FlexCable on
the Power Macintosh “Mirrored Door” G4:
1 Shape the FlexCable before installing it on
your HD cards by grasping the cable with both
hands and moving the Port B portion of the cable straight towards you and inwards, as shown
below. Do not bend the cable more than you
need to, as you may damage the traces in the cable.
Preparing TDM FlexCable for installation
2 Slide the FlexCable into the notch of the first
card, so that the Port B connector of the FlexCable can be aligned with Port B of the first card;
and the Port A connector of the FlexCable can
be aligned with Port A of the second card, as
shown below.
Connecting Pro Tools|HD Cards
If you are installing a Pro Tools|HD 2 Accel,
HD 3 Accel, or an expanded HD system, connect the HD cards with TDM FlexCables.
Each HD card has two ports along the top of the
card, labeled Port A and Port B. The FlexCable
has two connectors, also labeled Port A and
Port B, to ensure proper connection. Data communication across multiple HD cards is
achieved by connecting Port B of the first card
to Port A of the next card with a TDM FlexCable.
Inserting TDM FlexCable
Chapter 3: Macintosh Configuration 43
HD Accel Card
(or HD Process card)
3 Connect the Port A connector of the FlexCa-
ble to Port A on the second card. Push down
gently but firmly until the cable is fully connected to the card. Attach the other end of the
FlexCable (labeled Port B) to Port B on the first
card.
To connect HD cards with the TDM FlexCable on
Power Macintosh “QuickSilver” and earlier G4
computers:
1 Shape the FlexCable before installing it on
your HD cards by grasping the cable with both
hands and moving the Port A portion of the cable straight towards you and inwards, as shown
below. Do not bend the cable more than you
need to, as you may damage the traces in the cable.
Top view of two HD cards connected with TDM FlexCable
4 Verify the connection, as shown below (orien-
tation may be different depending on your type
of CPU or chassis).
Side view of two HD cards connected with TDM
FlexCable
5 For systems with more than two cards, con-
nect each additional card to its preceding card.
Use FlexCables to connect card pairs together, as
described above, until all cards are connected.
(Each HD Accel card is packaged with a FlexCable.)
6 Close the computer case.
7 Proceed to “Connecting Audio Interfaces” on
page 45.
PORT B
PORT A PORT B
PORT A
Preparing TDM FlexCable for installation
2 Slide the FlexCable into the notch of the sec-
ond card, so that the Port B connector of the
FlexCable can be aligned with Port B of the first
card; and the Port A connector of the FlexCable
can be aligned with Port A of the second card, as
shown below.
PORT A
PORT B
PORT B
PORT A
PORT B
PORT B
PORT A
PORT A
Inserting TDM FlexCable
Getting Started with HD 44
3 Connect the Port A connector of the FlexCa-
ble to Port A on the second card. Push down
gently but firmly until the cable is fully connected to the card. Next, attach the other end of
the FlexCable (labeled Port B) to Port B on the
first card.
Connecting Audio Interfaces
Each Pro Tools|HD-series audio interface supplies up to 16 channels of input and output to
your system. Audio interfaces are connected directly to Pro Tools|HD cards, or through the Expansion ports on other HD-series interfaces.
PORT A
PORT A
PORT B
PORT B
Top view of two HD cards connected with TDM FlexCable
4 Verify the connection, as shown below.
PORT A
PORT A
PORT A
PORT B
PORT A
PORT B
PORT B
PORT B
Side view of two HD cards connected with TDM
FlexCable
5 For systems with more than two cards, con-
nect each additional card to its preceding card.
Use FlexCables to connect card pairs together, as
described above, until all cards are connected.
(Each HD Accel card is packaged with a FlexCable.)
6 Close the computer case.
Each HD card supports up to 32 channels. To get
a full 32 channels of I/O from one card, you can
connect, or daisy-chain, a second 16-channel HD
I/O to the first HD I/O that is connected directly
to the HD card.
Pro Tools|HD supports up to a maximum of
eight 192 I/Os, 192 Digital I/Os, or 96 I/Os. Up
to four 96i I/Os can be used simultaneously.
For examples of connecting multiple HD I/Os,
see Figure 3 and Figure 4 on page 48.
HD audio interfaces need room at their
sides to maintain proper air flow for cooling. It is important to leave room for air intake and ventilation on the sides of the unit.
Do not block the sides of the unit or disconnect the internal fan. If the units are rackmounted in a case, remove the case lids or
doors before operating the system. Failure to
do so can result in the units overheating
very quickly, which can permanently damage sensitive components.
Legacy audio interfaces can also be connected to
the 192 I/O, 192 Digital I/O, or 96 I/O (the
96i I/O does not support Legacy interfaces).
These include: 888|24 I/O, 882|20 I/O,
1622 I/O, 24-bit ADAT Bridge I/O, and the original ADAT Bridge I/O. The original 888 I/O and
882 I/O interfaces are not supported with
Pro Tools|HD.
Chapter 3: Macintosh Configuration 45
To connect HD audio interfaces:
1 If you are using a single 192 I/O,
192 Digital I/O, 96 I/O, or 96i I/O, connect its
Primary Port to the HD Core card with the DigiLink cable provided with the HD Core card. You
must attach at least one 192 I/O,
192 Digital I/O, 96 I/O, or 96i I/O to your system in order for Pro Tools to launch.
If you have at least one 192 I/O or
192 Digital I/O in your system configuration, it must be connected to the HD Core
card as the primary interface.
2 Connect additional HD audio interfaces to
subsequent Digidesign audio cards, or daisychain your I/Os (by connecting the Primary Port
of the secondary I/O to the Expansion Port of
the primary I/O).
4 If you are connecting a Digidesign Legacy au-
dio interface (such as an 888|24 I/O, 882|20 I/O,
1622 I/O, or Digidesign ADAT Bridge I/O), continue with “Connecting an Additional 16 Channels of Audio with Legacy Audio Interfaces” on
page 46. (The 96i I/O does not support Legacy
interfaces.)
Connecting an Additional 16 Channels of Audio with Legacy Audio Interfaces
Each 192 I/O, 192 Digital I/O, and 96 I/O can
support 16 channels of audio to and from
Digidesign Legacy I/Os. (The 96i I/O does not
support Legacy I/O.) These include the
888|24 I/O, 882|20 I/O, 1622 I/O, 24-bit ADAT
Bridge I/O, and the original ADAT Bridge I/O.
The original 888 I/O and 882 I/O interfaces are
not supported with Pro Tools|HD.
If you are connecting both 192 I/O (or
192 Digital I/O) and 96 I/O audio interfaces to
your system, connect the 192 I/O (or
192 Digital I/O) to your HD Core card, followed
by any additional 192 I/O (or 192 Digital I/O)
interfaces connected to the next highest-priority cards. Then connect 96 I/O interfaces to subsequent cards, or to other interfaces, then connect 96i I/O interfaces.
You can also connect a single HD I/O to each HD
card in your system using the provided DigiLink
cables. There is no advantage to this configuration over daisy-chaining I/Os.
3 If you are using two or more HD audio inter-
faces, connect the Loop Sync Out of each interface to the Loop Sync In of the next interface
with the BNC cables included in your HD I/O
packaging. Then, connect the Loop Sync Out of
the last interface to the Loop Sync In of the primary interface.
To connect Digidesign Legacy audio interfaces:
1 Connect the “MIX card” end of the peripheral
cable that came with your Legacy audio interface (60-pin side) to the Legacy Port on the primary HD audio interface. Connect the other
end to the Computer Port on the Legacy audio
interface.
Getting Started with HD 46
2 Connect any additional Legacy audio inter-
faces in the same manner, to HD audio interfaces connected directly to HD cards.
– or –
If you are using a Y cable (Legacy 16-channel peripheral cable adapter), connect this to the Legacy port first, then connect the audio interface
peripheral cables to Port A and Port B of the Y
cable.
“A” to first
Legacy I/O
Optional 16-channel peripheral cable adapter
3 To properly clock the Legacy audio interface,
“B” to second
Legacy I/O
to Legacy Port on
HD audio interface
connect the Ext. Clock Out port on the HD I/O
to the Slave Clock In on the Legacy audio interface. The Legacy audio interface will switch to
Slave mode once the proper clock is outputting
from the HD I/O. Always use the Ext. Clock Out
port of the same I/O to which the Legacy audio
interface is attached.
You cannot slave more than two MIX-series audio interfaces to a single HD-series audio interface. If you have a third MIX-series audio interface, supply its 256x clock from the HD I/O to
which its 60-pin cable is attached.
To ensure the proper functioning of Legacy
audio interfaces (such as an 888|24 I/O or
882|20 I/O), launch Pro Tools and declare
the legacy audio interfaces in the Hardware
Setup dialog before turning them on. Then
quit Pro Tools, shut down your computer,
turn on your audio interfaces, and turn on
your computer.
Before you turn on and configure your Legacy audio interface, turn down the volume
of output devices. Very loud digital noise
may be emitted before the Legacy audio interface is initialized.
If you are using the Y cable to connect multiple
MIX-series audio interfaces, you must also connect the Slave Clock Out of the first Legacy interface to the Slave Clock In of the second Legacy interface with the provided BNC cable. You
cannot clock more than two MIX-series audio
interfaces from a single HD-series audio interface. If you have a third MIX-series audio interface, supply its 256x clock from the HD I/O to
which its 60-pin cable is attached (either your
second audio interface, or directly to an
HD Accel or HD Process card).
Chapter 3: Macintosh Configuration 47
12-ft DigiLink cable
HD Core
18-in DigiLink cable
Figure 3. Two 96 I/Os (32-channel system)
18-in DigiLink cable
Loop Sync cables
Loop Sync cables
12-ft DigiLink cable
Loop Sync cables
HD Core
TDM FlexCable
12-ft DigiLink cable
Figure 4. Three 96 I/Os (48-channel system)
Getting Started with HD 48
HD Accel or HD Process
Apple System Settings
Installing Pro Tools Software
To ensure optimum performance with
Pro Tools, configure the following settings for
your version of Mac OS before you install
Pro Tools software.
System Settings for Mac OS X
The following settings ensure optimum performance and compatibility for systems running
Mac OS X.
Do not use the Mac OS X automatic Software Update feature, as it may upgrade
your system to a version of Mac OS that has
not yet been qualified for Pro Tools. For details on qualified versions of Mac OS, refer
to the latest compatibility information on
the Digidesign Web site
(www.digidesign.com).
To configure Mac OS X for Pro Tools:
1 Turn on your computer.
2 Make sure you are logged in as an Administra-
tor for the account where you want to install
Pro Tools. For details on Administrator privileges in Mac OS X, refer to your Apple OS X documentation.
3 Choose System Preferences from the Apple
Menu and click Energy Saver.
4 Click the Sleep tab and turn off the Energy
Saver feature by setting the sleep feature to
Never.
5 Return to the System Preferences and click
Software Update.
6 Deselect “Automatically check for updates
when you have a network connection.”
7 Close the Software Update dialog.
After the Apple System software settings are configured, you’re ready to install Pro Tools.
Installing Pro Tools on Mac OS X
To install Pro Tools on Mac OS X:
1 Make sure you are logged in as an Administra-
tor for the account where you want to install
Pro Tools. For details on Administrator privileges in Mac OS X, refer to your Apple OS X documentation.
2 Insert the Pro Tools Installer CD-ROM in your
CD-ROM drive. Double-click “Install Pro Tools.”
3 Enter your Mac OS X Administrator password
and click OK to authenticate the installation.
4 Select the Pro Tools Installer. You can also se-
lect from a list of optional items to install along
with Pro Tools. Click the information button
next to each item for a description of its contents.
5 Click Install.
6 Select your work environment. This loads an
initial set of Pro Tools Preferences that include
some of the more popular settings for post production, audio, or audio with MIDI.
Preference settings can be customized at any
time in Pro Tools. See the Pro Tools Reference Guide for more information about Preferences.
7 Select whether to install the Surround Mixer
plug-in. This plug-in is required for mixing,
mastering, and monitoring in surround:
• Select “Yes – Monitoring in Standard
Pro Tools (Film Format)” if your monitoring is configured for Film Format surround.
Chapter 3: Macintosh Configuration 49
• Select “Yes – Monitoring in ProControl
(DTS Format)” if you are using a ProControl dedicated controller.
• Select “No – Stereo mixing only” if your
monitoring is configured for Stereo.
You can install the Surround Mixer plug-ins
in Pro Tools at any time to enable multichannel mixing for surround sound.
8 Click Continue.
9 When installation is complete, click Restart.
– or –
Click Continue to install any additional software or documentation, and restart your computer when you are finished.
If you plan to use any MIDI devices with
Pro Tools, configure your MIDI setup with the
Apple Audio MIDI Setup (AMS) utility. See
Appendix E, “Configuring AMS
(Mac OS X Only).”
Removing Pro Tools on Mac OS X
If you need to remove Pro Tools from your computer, you can use the Installer CD-ROM.
To remove Pro Tools from your computer:
1 Make sure you are logged in as an Administra-
tor for the account where Pro Tools is installed.
For details on Administrator privileges in
Mac OS X, refer to your Apple OS X documentation.
2 Insert the Pro Tools Installer CD-ROM in your
CD-ROM drive. Double-click “Install Pro Tools.”
3 Enter your Administrator password and click
OK to authenticate the installation.
4 In the Installer window, choose Uninstall
from the pop-up menu, and click Uninstall.
5 Click Quit to close the Installer window.
Installing the Demo Session
(Optional)
The Pro Tools Installer CD-ROM includes a
demo session that you can use to verify that
your system is working.
To install a demo session:
1 Insert the Pro Tools Installer CD in your CD-
ROM drive. Locate and double-click the demo
session installer icon.
2 Select the demo session.
3 Set the install location to your audio drive,
and click Install.
4 When installation is complete, click Quit.
Checking Your HD System
Before you launch Pro Tools, start your system
and run the DigiTest diagnostic application for
your version of Mac OS to ensure that all TDM
cards in the system are recognized, installed in
the proper order, and have valid TDM FlexCable
connections.
Starting Up Your System
Whenever you start your system, turn on all of
your system components in a specific order.
To start your Pro Tools system:
1 Make sure all your equipment (including your
computer) is off.
2 For TDM systems with an expansion chassis,
turn on the expansion chassis.
Getting Started with HD 50
3 Turn on external hard drives, if any. Wait ap-
proximately ten seconds for them to spin up to
speed.
4 Turn on any MIDI interfaces and devices, or
synchronization peripherals.
5 Lower the volume of all output devices, then
turn on your Pro Tools audio interfaces. Wait at
least fifteen seconds for the audio interfaces to
initialize and the status LEDs to stop flashing.
6 Turn on your computer.
Running DigiTest
DigiTest for Mac OS X is installed with Pro Tools
and resides in the folder Applications/ Digidesign/Pro Tools/Pro Tools Utilities on your hard
drive.
If you have a large number of cards or audio interfaces, it may take a while for the DigiTest window to appear, as DigiTest scans for all cards and
interfaces connected to the system.
DigiTest window (Mac OS X)
Before you run DigiTest, lower the volume
of all output devices. Very loud digital noise
may be emitted during the test.
To run DigiTest:
1 Quit Pro Tools if it is running.
2 Locate and double-click the DigiTest applica-
tion on your hard drive.
DigiTest opens and lists the supported cards it
finds in your system, showing their corresponding slot locations.
The order in which cards are listed within
DigiTest may not match the actual slot locations of cards installed in your computer
or expansion chassis. This is normal, and
does not affect DigiTest operations in any
way.
If a supported card is installed and is not
automatically detected, do the following:
1 Quit DigiTest.
2 Turn off the entire Pro Tools system.
3 Reinstall the cards (see “Installing the
Pro Tools|HD Cards” on page 41).
4 Check the card seating.
5 Check the TDM FlexCable connections.
Check the orientation of the cable from card to
card (ports A and B), and check the integrity of
the FlexCable connections to the cards.
6 Turn on the system.
7 Launch DigiTest again.
Chapter 3: Macintosh Configuration 51
8 In the DigiTest window, click Run.
If cards are not installed in the proper order,
DigiTest will display error codes in the Status
box of each card identified as being misconfigured.
The more cards and audio interfaces in your system, the longer the test will take.
9 When the test is finished, you can view the
test results by doing one of the following:
• Click the Get Results button next to a card
name.
• Click the Results tab and choose a card slot
from the pop-up menu.
3 Open your computer case or expansion chas-
sis so you can see the top edge of the cards installed in your system.
4 In the DigiTest window, select the ID check
box next to a card name. The green LED near the
top edge of the corresponding card flashes.
Viewing Card Information with DigiTest
DigiTest can display identifying information
such as serial number, date of manufacture, and
firmware ROM version, for each card in your
system. This information is useful if you need to
contact Digidesign Technical Support about
your Pro Tools hardware.
10 In the Results page of the DigiTest window,
click Show Failures Only to display any tests
that failed for the selected card, or click Show All
Results to display all test results for the selected
card.
For descriptions of error codes, refer to
Appendix B, “DigiTest Error Codes.”
Identifying Digidesign Cards with DigiTest
You can use DigiTest to identify which cards are
in which slots in your system. This is especially
useful if you have multiple Digidesign cards of
the same type installed in your system.
To identify Digidesign cards with DigiTest
1 Quit Pro Tools if it is running.
2 Locate and double-click the DigiTest applica-
tion on your hard drive.
DigiTest opens and lists the supported cards it
finds in your system, showing their corresponding slot locations.
To display information for a card in your system:
1 Quit Pro Tools if it is running.
2 Locate and double-click the DigiTest applica-
tion on your hard drive.
3 Click the Slot Info tab.
4 Choose a card slot from the pop-up menu.
Updating Audio Peripheral Firmware with DigiTest
If it becomes necessary to update the firmware
in any of your HD-series audio interfaces,
(192 I/O, the 192 Digital I/O, 96 I/O, or 96i I/O),
you can use DigiTest to perform the update.
Within DigiTest, the Firmware Update page tells
you the firmware version for the selected peripheral and lets you update to a newer version,
if necessary.
To update the firmware in an HD-series audio
interface:
1 Quit Pro Tools if it is running.
2 Locate and double-click the DigiTest applica-
tion on your hard drive.
Getting Started with HD 52
3 Click the Firmware tab.
4 Choose a card slot from the pop-up menu. If
any HD audio interfaces are connected to the
card, the Primary or Secondary options will become available in the HD Peripheral section of
the Firmware page.
The authorization code is located on the inside
cover of this guide.
Configuring Pro Tools
If any connected interfaces are not recognized,
check the connections and power to each interface and click Re-Scan.
5 Under HD Peripheral, select Primary or Sec-
ondary to view the firmware version for the corresponding interface. The firmware version is
displayed just below the HD Peripheral section
of the Firmware page.
6 If the firmware version is not current, click Be-
gin Update to update the firmware in the selected audio interface.
The status of the firmware update process is displayed in the status area at the bottom of the
Firmware page.
7 After the update process is complete, click
Quit to close DigiTest.
Launching Pro Tools
When launching Pro Tools the first time, you
are prompted to enter an authorization code to
validate your software.
To validate Pro Tools software:
1 Double-click the Pro Tools application, lo-
cated in the Pro Tools folder, inside the Digidesign folder.
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.
Voice Count
The Number of Voices setting lets you control
the number of voices available on your system.
For example, the default number of voices on an
HD 1 system is 48 voices, using one DSP (at sample rates of 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz).
Changing the number of voices affects
DSP usage, the total number of voiceable
tracks, and overall system performance.
Depending on the current sample rate and the
number of HD Core and HD Process cards in
your system, you will have different choices for
voice count.
2 Enter the authorization code in the dialog
when prompted, making sure to observe any
spaces, then click Validate.
Chapter 3: Macintosh Configuration 53
To change the Voice Count:
1 Choose Setups > Playback Engine.
2 Select the number of voices and DSPs to allo-
cate for voicing by choosing a value from the
Number of Voices pop-up menu.
Playback Engine dialog for Pro Tools|HD system
• Select higher voice numbers when your
Digidesign cards are the only PCI cards in
your computer, or when you are using an
expansion chassis to run higher track
counts (such as 64 tracks at 96 kHz) and
you want more voices per DSP (such as 16
voices per DSP at 96 kHz). These settings
use fewer DSP chips for mixing (leaving
more available for plug-ins) but place the
highest processing load on each allocated
chip.
• Select medium voice numbers when your
Digidesign cards are in an expansion chassis, or when you are using other PCI cards
along with Digidesign cards. These settings
generally provide an optimum balance between number of chips needed for voicing,
and the processing load placed on each.
• Select minimum voice numbers if you are
using high-bandwidth PCI cards (such as
video capture cards) along with your
Digidesign cards. These settings place the
lightest processing load on each allocated
DSP chip, but generally require that more
DSP chips be dedicated to voicing and mixing (leaving fewer available for plug-ins).
Number of Voices menu (HD Accel-equipped system)
3 Click OK.
Hardware Buffer Size
The Hardware Buffer Size (H/W Buffer Size) controls the size of the hardware cache used to handle host processing tasks such as Real-Time AudioSuite (RTAS) plug-ins.
• 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 affect the
accuracy of plug-in automation, mute data,
and timing for MIDI tracks.
Getting Started with HD 54
To change the Hardware Buffer Size:
1 Choose Setups > Playback Engine.
2 From the H/W Buffer Size pop-up menu, select
the audio buffer size, in samples.
3 Click OK.
CPU Usage Limit
The CPU Usage Limit controls the percentage of
CPU resources allocated to Pro Tools host processing tasks. The maximum CPU Usage Limit is
85 percent for single-processor computers, and
99 percent for multi-processor computers. (The
99 percent setting dedicates one entire processor
to Pro Tools.)
DAE Playback Buffer Size
The DAE Playback Buffer Size determines the
amount of memory DAE uses to manage disk
buffers, which affects system performance.
• Higher DAE Playback Buffer Size settings can
allow for a higher density of edits in a session.
However, a higher setting can cause a time lag to
occur before playback or recording begins. It can
also cause a time lag to occur when you are editing during playback.
• Lower DAE Playback Buffer Size settings can
improve playback and recording initiation
speed. However, a lower setting can make it difficult for slower hard drives to play or record
tracks reliably.
To change the CPU Usage Limit:
1 Choose Setups > 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.
• 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.
• Lower CPU Usage Limit settings limit the effect 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.
Increasing the CPU Usage Limit may slow
down screen responses on slower computers.
To change the DAE Playback Buffer Size:
1 Choose Setups > Playback Engine.
Playback Engine dialog for Pro Tools|HD system
2 From the DAE Playback Buffer pop-up menu,
select a buffer size. Memory requirements for
each setting are shown at the bottom of the
Playback Engine dialog.
3 Click OK.
4 If Pro Tools needs more system memory for
the DAE Playback Buffer, it will prompt you to
restart your computer.
Chapter 3: Macintosh Configuration 55
System Memory Allocation
When you start your computer, Pro Tools automatically reserves a portion of system memory
for the DAE Playback Buffer. This reserved memory is unavailable to other applications, even if
Pro Tools is not running.
You can set Pro Tools to reserve only the minimum amount of required memory, so that more
system memory is available to other applications.
To minimize system memor y allocation:
1 Choose Setups > Playback Engine.
2 Select the “Minimize System Memory Alloca-
tion” option.
3 Click OK.
3 Choose the sample rate from the Sample Rate
pop-up menu.
4 Click OK.
Sample Rates and Expanded Systems
With 176.4 kHz and 192 kHz sample rates, as
many as four HD-series cards can be used. Any
additional cards (up the total system maximum
of seven cards) will switch to Inactive mode. The
cards and any attached peripherals will become
active when the system (or a session) sample
rate is set to 96 kHz or lower. See also “Offline
Peripherals” on page 61
Clock Source
The Pro Tools Hardware Setup dialog allows you
to select the Clock Source for the system.
4 Restart your computer.
Pro Tools Hardware Settings
Pro Tools lets you set the default sample rate
and clock source for your system, as well as a
range of controls specific to each type of audio
interface.
Default Sample Rate
The Sample Rate setting appears as the default
sample rate when you create a new session.
(This setting is available in the Hardware Setup
dialog only when no session is open.)
You can change the sample rate when creating a new Pro Tools session by selecting a
different sample rate in the New Session dialog. (See
To change the default Sample Rate:
1 Make sure that no Pro Tools session is open.
2 Choose Setups > Hardware Setup.
“Starting a Session” on page 71.)
Internal If you are recording an analog signal directly into Pro Tools, you will usually use the
Pro Tools Internal clock source.
External If you are transferring material into
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 AES/EBU
[Encl], S/PDIF, Optical [Encl], AES/EBU 1–8,
TDIF, ADAT, and Word Clock. For details, refer
to the Pro Tools Reference Guide or the guide for
your audio interface.
To select the Clock Source:
1 Choose Setups > Hardware Setup.
2 Choose the clock source from the Clock
Source pop-up menu.
Getting Started with HD 56
3 Click OK.
Identifying Audio Interfaces
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.
Configuring Audio Interfaces
Pro Tools|HD audio interfaces support 16 channels of simultaneous I/O and multiple I/O formats (including analog, AES/EBU, ADAT Optical, S/PDIF, and TDIF).
Hardware Setup dialog for 192 I/O, Main page
The Main page of the Hardware Setup dialog 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 HD-series audio interfaces to channel
assignments in the Pro Tools mixer.
The Main page also provides controls for defining whether Expansion Port or Legacy Port peripherals are active.
To configure the interfaces in your system, you
select each interface in the Peripherals list and
set the parameters for that interface.
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 dialog.
To identify audio interfaces in your system:
1 Choose Setups > Hardware Setup.
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 dialog.
3 Make sure the Main page tab is chosen.
4 Select the Identify option, located in the lower
left corner of the Hardware Setup dialog. 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 au-
dio interface in your setup.
Legacy audio interfaces must be initialized
in the Peripherals list before they can be
identified. See
Interfaces” on page 61
“Configuring Legacy Audio
.
To configure HD audio interfaces:
1 Choose Setups > Hardware Setup.
2 From the Peripherals list, select an audio inter-
face connected to your system.
3 Make sure Main page tab is chosen.
Chapter 3: Macintosh Configuration 57
4 From the Clock Source pop-up menu, select
the appropriate clock source for the interface.
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.
If the Legacy I/O Port is enabled (and not the
Expansion I/O Port) then the Ext. Clock Output
automatically switches to Slave256x. To reset
the Ext. Clock Output to Word Clock, change
the Port Settings back to Expansion I/O, then select the Legacy audio interface in the Peripherals
list, and set it to No Interface in the Interface
pop-up menu. (The 96i I/O does not support
Legacy I/O.)
6 Select which digital I/O port on your audio in-
terface enclosure is active by selecting an option
under Digital Format. Depending on the type of
interfaces in your system, choices include
AES/EBU, S/PDIF, and Optical (S/PDIF). Selecting Optical (S/PDIF) resets 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. (The 96i I/O supports stereo
S/PDIF RCA digital input and output only.) For
more information about HD enclosure and card
ports, refer to the guide for your audio interface.
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 Analog
1–2 or Optical 1–2), that will be routed to the
corresponding Pro Tools input and output
channels (such as Ch 1–2, Ch 3–4), listed on the
left side of the Main page. (This feature is not
available with the 96i I/O.)
Inputs and outputs of similar format are differentiated in the input and output channel popup menus. For example, the AES/EBU inputs
and outputs in the 192 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) as AES/EBU 1–2,
AES/EBU 3–4, AES/EBU 5–6, and AES/EBU 7–8.
For 192 I/Os equipped with the optional
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.
Refer to your peripheral’s guide for configuration details and restrictions. For example,
the Optical 1–8 channels (on the 192 I/O
enclosure) will not be available at session
sample rates of 88.2 kHz or higher, while
the ports on the 192 I/O Digital I/O card
will still be available.
9 Configure controls for your HD audio inter-
face. See “Configuring 192 I/O and
192 Digital I/O Controls” on page 58, “Configuring 96 I/O Controls” on page 60, and “Configuring 96i I/O Controls” on page 60.
10 For additional HD-series audio interfaces,
choose the interface in the Peripherals list, and
repeat the above steps.
Configuring 192 I/O and 192 Digital I/O
Controls
To configure controls for a 192 I/O:
1 With the 192 I/O selected in the Peripherals
list, click the Analog In tab for the following options:
Getting Started with HD 58
•You can set your operating level on a channel-by-channel basis by selecting Reference
Level +4 dBu or –10 dBV. These settings
correspond to two different input connectors on the rear of the 192 I/O. Refer to the
192 I/O Guide for more information on setting operating levels.
• Each of the analog channels in the 192 I/O
has two Input Trims, labeled A and B, for
precisely calibrating and switching levels.
You can select Input Trim A or B on a channel-by-channel basis. Refer to the 192 I/O
Guide for information on setting the rear
panel trims.
•You can select Soft Clip on a channel-bychannel basis. The Soft Clip limiter attenuates the incoming analog signal, providing
extra protection from temporary clipping
transients that can cause digital distortion
when they exceed the maximum input of
the unit. With Soft Clip enabled, 192 I/O
supports an additional 4 dB of headroom
by rounding off the top 4 dB to the clip
point. This is useful for eliminating stray
transients or for emulating analog tape saturation.
• Each of the analog channels in the 192 I/O
has two Output Trims, labeled A and B, respectively. You can select Output Trim A or
B on a channel-by-channel basis.
Hardware Setup dialog for 192 I/O, Analog Out page
To configure controls for a 192 Digital I/O or
192 I/O with an optional Digital I/O card:
■ On the 192 Digital I/O or a 192 I/O with an
optional Digital I/O card, click the Digital tab to
set the Input Format (AES/EBU, TDIF, or ADAT
Optical) and enable real-time sample rate conversion (in channel pairs, with the SR Conversion option).
At session sample rates above 48 kHz, sample rate conversion for the TDIF and Optical
(ADAT) inputs on the Digital I/O card is
automatically enabled on all eight inputs of
the selected format.
Hardware Setup dialog for 192 I/O, Analog In page
2 Click the Analog Out tab for the following op-
tion:
Hardware Setup dialog for 192 I/O, Digital page
Chapter 3: Macintosh Configuration 59
Configuring 96 I/O Controls
Configuring 96i I/O Controls
To configure controls for a 96 I/O:
1 With the 96 I/O selected in the Peripherals
list, configure your I/O front panel meters for input or output metering from the Meters pop-up.
2 Click the Analog In tab for the following op-
tion:
•You can set your operating level on a channel-by-channel basis by selecting Reference
Level +4 dBu or –10 dBV. Refer to the 96 I/O
Guide for more information on setting operating levels.
Hardware Setup dialog for 96 I/O, Analog In page
3 Click the Analog Out tab for the following op-
tion:
•You can set your output level on a channelby-channel basis by selecting Reference
Level +4 dBu or –10 dBV. Refer to the 96 I/O
Guide for more information on setting operating levels.
To configure controls for a 96i I/O:
1 With the 96i I/O selected in the Peripherals
list, configure your I/O front panel meters for input or output metering from the Meters pop-up.
2 Set input sensitivity.
• For Inputs 1–4, set the input trim slider to
match the output level of the connected
instrument. Choices range from –12 dBV
to +4 dBu. If you do not know the output
level of the device, use the default input
trim level, then fine tune the input level
sensitivity.
• For each input 5–16 being used, select
–8 dBV or +4 dBu as appropriate to best
match the output level of the connected
instrument.
3 Set Output levels (select –10 dBV or +4 dBu).
Hardware Setup dialog for 96i I/O
4 Click Done.
Hardware Setup dialog for 96 I/O, Analog Out page
Getting Started with HD 60
You can select either the analog or digital inputs
as sources for 96i I/O channels 1–2. Only channels 1–2 can access the S/PDIF inputs.
To select analog or digital input for channels 1-2:
1 Choose Hardware > Setup, and select 96i I/O
in the Peripherals list to display the 96i I/O window.
2 Click to set Ch 1–2 Input to Analog or S/PDIF,
as appropriate.
The 96i I/O only supports analog and digital switching for channels 1–2, and only
from within the Hardware Setup and I/O
Setup dialogs. The 96i I/O does not support
path remapping within I/O Setup.
Configuring Legacy Audio Interfaces
Before you can configure a Legacy audio interface, it must first be initialized in Hardware
Setup.
After you select the type of Legacy audio interface, the Main page updates with controls that
can be configured.
7 Repeat the above steps for each additional
Legacy audio interface.
For more information on Hardware Setup
controls for each I/O, refer to its
guide.
Offline Peripherals
When a Legacy audio interface and HD peripheral are connected to your primary HD peripheral, only one can be online at a time. An offline
peripheral is indicated by brackets in the Peripherals List of the Hardware Setup dialog. For example, if you have a 96 I/O and an 882|20 connected to a 192 I/O, and the 96 I/O is offline, it
will appear in the Peripherals List as “[96 I/O].”
To initialize a Legacy audio interface:
1 Make sure to lower the volume of your output
devices. Very loud digital noise may be emitted
before the Legacy audio interface is initialized.
2 Turn on your Legacy audio interface.
3 From the Peripherals list, choose the primary
audio interface (the interface to which your Legacy audio interface is connected).
4 In the Main page of the Hardware Setup dia-
log, select the Legacy I/O option under Port Settings.
5 In the Peripherals list, “No Interface” is listed
twice, directly below the primary audio interface. Click the first “No Interface.” An Interface
pop-menu appears in the Hardware Setup dialog, listing supported I/O choices.
6 From the Interface pop-up menu, select the
type of Legacy audio interface you connected.
(If your Legacy interface does not appear, check
connections and repeat from step 1, above. See
also “Offline Peripherals” on page 61.)
Pro Tools|HD peripherals (and any attached
Legacy I/Os) will also go offline if the primary
audio interface to which they are attached is offline, or if the HD card to which they are attached is made inactive. See “Sample Rates and
Expanded Systems” on page 56 for more information.
Configuring I/O Setup
The I/O Setup dialog provides a graphical representation of the signal routing for each connected audio interface, with controls to route
physical ports to Pro Tools inputs and outputs.
These controls mirror the routing controls
found in the Hardware Setup dialog—changes
made to physical routing in one dialog are always reflected in the other. The I/O Setup dialog
also lets you label and map Pro Tools input, output, insert, and bus signal paths.
Chapter 3: Macintosh Configuration 61
Pro Tools comes with default I/O Setup settings
that will get you started. You only need to go to
I/O Setup if you want to remap or rename the
default I/O paths or if you change your system
hardware (for example, adding an expansion
card to a 192 I/O).
Refer to the Pro Tools Reference Guide for
more information on setting up I/O paths.
To configure I/O routing in I/O Setup:
1 Choose Setups > I/O Setup.
2 Click the Input or Output tab to display the
corresponding connections.
7 Click OK.
3 To change the name of a path or subpath,
double-click directly on the Path Name, type a
new name for the path, and press Return.
4 To change the destination of an Input or Out-
put path or subpath, click directly on an Input
or Output Selector for an interface channel pair,
just below an audio interface icon. (This feature
is not available with the 96i I/O.)
5 From the pop-up menu, select a physical port
pair (such as Analog 1–2), to route to the corresponding Pro Tools channel pair (such as A 1–2)
in the Path Name column on the left.
6 Repeat the above steps for additional channel
pairs.
I/O Setup dialog for a Pro Tools HD system
Routing a Pro Tools Output Pair to Multiple Destinations
Pro Tools channel pairs can be routed to multiple outputs on your Digidesign audio interface
through the Hardware Setup dialog.
For example, if you assign both Analog 1–2 and
Analog 3–4 interface outputs to Pro Tools Output pair 1–2, when you send a signal to
Pro Tools Outputs 1–2, that signal will be routed
simultaneously to both pairs of output ports on
your audio interface.
This lets you send the same signal (such as a stereo pair, a stem mix, or a multichannel mix) to
multiple destinations (such as multiple mastering devices).
To route a Pro Tools output channel pair to
multiple audio interface output ports:
1 Choose Setups > Hardware Setup.
2 From the Peripherals list, select an interface.
3 Click the Main tab.
4 Select an output pair from an Output pop-up
menu.
Getting Started with HD 62
5 Control-click the same pop-up menu to
choose an additional output pair.
The output name updates with a plus sign (“+”)
before it to indicate that multiple output ports
are selected. In the pop-up menu, each physical
port pair assigned to that Pro Tools output pair
is indicated by a check mark.
Hardware Setup dialog for 192 I/O, Main page
6 Repeat the above steps to select additional
output destinations. The only limit to output
choices is the number of outputs available in
your system.
Chapter 3: Macintosh Configuration 63
Getting Started with HD 64
chapter 4
Connecting Your Studio
This chapter provides general information on
connecting Pro Tools to your system, including
digital equipment, effects units, MIDI gear, and
SMPTE synchronization devices.
Refer to the 192 I/O Guide, 192 Digital I/O Guide,
96 I/O Guide, or 96i I/O Guide for specific details
regarding:
• Front and back panel connectors and indicators
• Installation of optional expansion I/O cards
(192 I/O only)
HD audio interfaces need room at their
sides to maintain proper air flow for cooling. Do not block the sides of the unit or disconnect the internal fan. If the units are
rack-mounted in a case, remove the case
lids or doors before operating the system.
Failure to do so can result in the units overheating very quickly, which can permanently damage sensitive components.
Setting Up Your Studio
Figure 5 illustrates a typical studio setup, with a
192 I/O connected to a mixing console, effects
and other equipment.
Figure 6 illustrates a setup without a mixer,
where effects and monitoring gear are connected directly to a 96 I/O.
Chapter 4: Connecting Your Studio 65
Example Studio Setup with a Mixing Console
Analog Inputs
Channel
Outputs
Optical
in/out
to ADAT
Digital Inputs/Outputs
to DAT recorder
Analog Outputs
Digital Effects Device
(set to external sync)
Effects Devices
Tape Returns
or Inputs
Instruments
Connected to Console
Figure 5. Typical studio configuration using a 192 I/O with mixer connections
Getting Started with HD66
Power Amp
and Speakers
Example Studio Setup without a Mixing Console
Mic Preamp,
Direct Box, Synth
Analog Inputs
Analog Outputs
Digital Inputs/Outputs
to DAT recorder
Optical
in/out
to ADAT
Digital Effects Device
(set to external sync)
Effects Devices
Power Amp
and Speakers
Figure 6. Typical studio configuration using a 96 I/O without a mixer
Chapter 4: Connecting Your Studio 67
192 I/O
96i I/O
The 192 I/O features two DB-25 breakout connectors for two sets of eight inputs each, at
+4 dBu and –10 dBV respectively.
There are no –10 dBV outputs, however; analog
outputs break out from a single DB-25 output at
+4 dBu operating levels.
When driving unbalanced lines on the
192 I/O output card, leave the negative “–”
terminals disconnected. Failure to do so will
result in noisy outputs.
The 192 I/O requires a custom DB-25 snake.
Digidesign sells several different DigiSnake (DB-
25) cables for this purpose. Contact your dealer
or Digidesign for more information.
192 Digital I/O
The 192 Digital I/O features two DB-25 breakout
connectors for two sets of eight AES/EBU or
TDIF inputs and outputs, along with a pair of
ADAT Optical ports.
The 192 Digital I/O requires a custom DB-25
snake. Digidesign sells several different DigiSnake (DB-25) cables for this purpose. Contact
your dealer or Digidesign for more information.
96 I/O
The 96 I/O analog connectors are TRS 1/4-inch
with TIP wired hot (or “+”), RING cold (or “
and SLEEVE ground. If connecting to unbalanced loads, use unbalanced TS cables.
There is one bank of eight inputs (software-switchable between +4 dBu and –10 dBV line levels
on a line-by-line basis).
There is one bank of eight outputs (that use
+4 dBu line levels).
–”),
The 96i I/O analog connectors are balanced TRS
1/4-inch with TIP wired hot (or “+”), RING cold
(or “
–”), and SLEEVE ground. If connecting to
unbalanced loads, use unbalanced TS cables.
The 96i I/O provides 16 inputs and two outputs.
Inputs 1–4 feature variable, multi-level input
sensitivity, controllable from within Pro Tools
(from –12 dBV to +4 dBu). Inputs 5–16 provide a
choice of two fixed operating levels (–8 dBV or
+4 dBu).
Outputs 1–2 are selectable between –10 dBV and
+4 dBu.
Connecting Equipment with Digital Audio Ins and Outs
Each Pro Tools HD audio interface includes at
least one AES/EBU, S/PDIF, or ADAT digital option. For example, the 192 I/O includes additional AES/EBU and optical ports, as well as
TDIF, dual-wire AES/EBU at 192 kHz, and sample rate converters. The 96i I/O provides two
channels of S/PDIF only. (See the documentation for your audio interface for details.)
The following example provides basic setup
guidelines for connecting Pro Tools to a DAT recorder. For detailed information for recording to
and from an ADAT, see “Recording To and From
Digital Devices” on page 84.
To connect your Pro Tools system to a DAT
recorder:
1 Connect the AES/EBU or S/PDIF output on the
enclosure of your HD audio interface to the
AES/EBU or S/PDIF input of your DAT deck. By
default, this port is assigned to Pro Tools Output
1–2.
Getting Started with HD68
2 Connect the AES/EBU or S/PDIF input on the
enclosure to the AES/EBU or S/PDIF output of
your DAT deck. Route the digital input to
Pro Tools inputs in the Hardware Setup dialog.
You can route any of the physical input or
output pairs to any of the input and output
channel assignments in the Pro Tools
mixer. (The 96i I/O does not support input
mapping, however.) For more information
see the Pro Tools Reference Guide.
Connecting Effects Units
The 192 I/O, 192 Digital I/O and 96 I/O let you
connect analog or digital effects units to your
Pro Tools system, and use them as inserts or
make them the destination for effects sends and
returns. (The 96i I/O supports a single pair of
hardware inserts using channels 1–2. See the
96i I/O Guide for more information.)
Five inserts are available on each audio channel.
Each insert can be a hardware insert (or software
plug-in), and can be mono or stereo.
When using a hardware insert, you can connect
the device to matching inputs and outputs on
your system. For example, a stereo insert could
use outputs 7–8 and inputs 7–8 for the sends
and returns, respectively. Routing the physical
inputs and outputs of the interface to Pro Tools
inputs and outputs can be done in either the
Hardware Setup dialog or I/O Setup dialog. From
I/O Setup, inserts can also be defined, and their
channels mapped to audio interface channels.
(For more information, see the Pro Tools Refer-
ence Guide).
You can also connect effects units to your system by using any analog or digital inputs and
outputs as Auxiliary Inputs and Outputs for effects sends and returns. Once an effects unit is
attached this way, you can send a variable
amount of a track’s output to the effects unit using a send fader in Pro Tools.
Five separate send controls on each Pro Tools
track allow you to route audio to any of the
available outputs connected to your system or
through any of the 64 internal busses in the
Pro Tools TDM Mixer. Outputs can be returned
to mono or stereo Auxiliary Inputs for automated mixing or processing.
When you are using an effect in this send and
return type of configuration, make sure the
unit’s internal mix or balance between direct
(unprocessed) and wet (effected) signal is set so
that only the processed signal is returned to
Pro Tools. On most effect units, a balance setting of 100% (completely wet) is the appropriate
setting.
If you’ve been using an effects unit in an instrument setup, such as a guitar effects rack, you’ll
probably find the balance to be below 50%. If
the unit has separate dry and effect level knobs,
turn dry level control off. If you don’t do this,
the dry, unprocessed signal will be present in an
effect’s output along with the desired processed
sound, and you’ll have trouble accurately controlling the effect balance in your final mix.
Connecting Effects Units Digitally
To use your audio interface’s inputs and outputs
as effects sends and returns to a digital effects
device, set your interface’s Clock Source to Internal in the Hardware Setup dialog (unless it is referenced to another clock source or peripheral).
You should then set your digital effects devices
to accept an external digital clock so that they
Chapter 4: Connecting Your Studio 69
will synchronize themselves to Pro Tools. Make
sure you set the channel pair to the digital input
in the Hardware Setup dialog (or I/O Setup dialog).
Connecting MIDI Devices
By adding a compatible MIDI interface to your
system, you can take advantage of all the MIDI
features of Pro Tools, including recording and
editing MIDI tracks, and synchronizing to MIDI
Time Code or MIDI beat clock.
See Appendix E, “Configuring AMS
(Mac OS X Only)” for information on configuring Audio MIDI Setup and your MIDI devices.
For information on configuring a MIDI control surface for use with Pro Tools, see the
electronic PDF version of the Pro Tools
MIDI Control Surfaces Guide (included
with Pro Tools).
To connect MIDI devices to your system:
1 Connect the MIDI interface to your computer
according to the MIDI interface’s documentation.
2 Install any MIDI driver software required by
the MIDI interface. (Once you have installed
your MIDI interface hardware and software,
confirm that it is working properly using the
procedure given in the interface’s documentation.)
Connecting SMPTE Synchronization Devices
If you intend to synchronize Pro Tools to external devices with SMPTE, your system must be
connected properly. For details on SMPTE and
synchronization, see the Pro Tools Reference
Guide or the SYNC I/O Guide.
Digidesign SYNC I/O
Digidesign’s SYNC I/O is a multi-purpose synchronization peripheral that provides all the
functions and connections needed to synchronize to a variety of devices with Pro Tools.
SYNC I/O lets you synchronize Pro Tools to
LTC, VITC, and Bi-Phase/Tach, or internal for
positional reference (time code), and supports
all major clock references.
SYNC I/O integrates into the Loop Sync configuration of an HD-series system, offering extremely fast lockup, near-sample accurate synchronization, and an exceptionally low-jitter
clock. These features provide professional performance and maximum audio fidelity under a
wide range of synchronization conditions.
For more information, refer to the SYNC I/O
Guide.
3 Connect the MIDI OUT of your MIDI device
or controller to the MIDI IN of your MIDI interface.
4 Connect the MIDI IN of your MIDI device or
controller to the MIDI OUT of your MIDI interface.
Getting Started with HD70
chapter 5
Working with Pro Tools
This overview of Pro Tools software introduces
its main windows and features, and also includes a step-by-step overview of audio recording (see “Basic Recording” on page 82).
All features described in this chapter are explained fully in the Pro Tools Reference Guide.
You can view an electronic PDF version of the
Reference Guide by choosing it from the
Pro Tools Application menu (Pro Tools 6) or the
Pro Tools Help menu (Pro Tools 5). Refer to that
guide and its index for more information on
Pro Tools features.
Session Basics
Pro Tools projects are created and saved as sessions. Sessions store all tracks, audio, MIDI, and
other session information. Audio and fade files
are stored in folders within the session folder.
Starting a Session
To create a new session:
1 Launch Pro Tools.
2 Choose File > New Session.
3 In the New Session dialog, set the sample rate,
bit depth, and other options for the new session.
New Session dialog
4 Select where you want to save your session. If
you are using external hard drives with your
Pro Tools system, make sure you select the appropriate drive in the New Session dialog.
Session folder, containing the session file and its Audio
Files and Fade Files folders
5 Type a name for your session.
6 Click Save. The new session opens its Mix,
Edit, and Transport windows (see Figure 7 on
page 72).
Chapter 5: Working with Pro Tools 71
Main Windows
The Mix, Edit, and Transport windows are the
main Pro Tools work areas. You can show any of
these windows by choosing them from the Windows menu.
Press Command+Equals (=) on Macintosh,
or Control+Equals (=) in Windows to
switch between the Edit and Mix windows.
Mix Window Displays the Pro Tools mixer, with
its familiar fader strip controls for volume, pan,
solo, mute, and signal routing.
Edit Window Displays tracks in the session along
the Timeline, for editing of audio, MIDI, and automation data.
Transport Provides standard transport controls
for Play, Stop, Rewind, Fast-Forward, Pause, and
Record. The Transport window can also show
Counter and MIDI Control displays.
Session Setup Provides status display for important Pro Tools session settings, including sample and frame rate, clock source, and file format.
Also includes the Current Time Code counter,
and controls for clock reference, positional reference, and other time code features for the
Digidesign SYNC I/O.
S
Rulers
Tracks
Transport window
Figure 7. Main session windows
Getting Started with HD72
Edit window
Mix window
Tracks
Session Setup window
Rulers
Pro Tools provides several different rulers to select as the timebase for your session. Timebase
Rulers, displayed along the top of the Edit window, include Bars:Beats, Minutes:Seconds, Sam-
ples, Time Code, and Feet.Frames. The current
timebase determines the format of the Main
counter, and provides the basis for the Edit window Grid.
For post production, select either Time Code or
Feet.Frames as your session Timebase in the Rulers view.
To select a Timebase Ruler:
■ Click the name of the ruler at the top left side
of the Edit window (Bars:Beats, Minutes:Seconds, Samples, Time Code, or Feet.Frames).
Setting a Tempo
You can set the tempo for your session using
Tempo Events, or using the MIDI tempo controls in the expanded Transport window.
To insert a tempo event:
1 Choose Windows > Show Tempo/Meter.
2 At the top of the Tempo/Meter Change win-
dow, choose Tempo Change from the pop-up
menu.
3 Enter the BPM value you will use for the ses-
sion and set the Location to 1|1|000 (so the inserted tempo event replaces the default tempo).
4 To base the BPM value on different note value
(such as an eighth-note rather than the default
quarter-note), select a note value.
5 Click Apply to insert the new tempo event.
Using the Click
Pro Tools provides a MIDI Click option that lets
you use the Digidesign Click Plug-In (Pro Tools
6 only), or an external MIDI device to play a
click. This feature can be turned on and off in
the Transport window (or in the MIDI menu),
and is configured from the MIDI Click Options
dialog.
If you do not intend to use the Digidesign Click
plug-in, skip to “Configuring MIDI Click Options” on page 73.
Configuring the Click Plug-In
To use the Digidesign Click plug-in:
1 Create a new mono Auxiliary Input track.
2 Insert the Digidesign Click plug-in on the new
Auxiliary Input track.
3 Configure Click parameters (see the DigiRack
Plug-Ins Guide for details).
Tempo/Meter Change window
4 Configure MIDI Click Options, and Pro Tools
metronome settings, as described below.
Configuring MIDI Click Options
To configure and enable the Pro Tools click:
1 Choose MIDI > Click Options.
Chapter 5: Working with Pro Tools 73
2 Configure the click parameters as needed for
your MIDI sound source. If using the Click plugin, you can leave the Output set to None. For
other devices, set the Output to the desired
MIDI sound source.
3 During recording or playback, you can turn
the Click on or off with the Metronome button
in the MIDI Controls display of the Transport
window.
Metronome
Tempo Controls
Click and Tempo Controls in the Transport window
Saving Sessions
As you build a session by adding tracks and
changing session controls, you will want to save
your work. Pro Tools provides three ways to save
sessions.
To save a session:
■ Choose File > Save Session, Save Session As, or
Save a Session Copy In.
Save Session Saves the currently open session
file, leaving it open for you to continue working.
Save Session Copy In Saves copies of the session
file and the files that you are using in the current session. This can be useful for creating a final copy of the session that does not include audio files or fades you are no longer using.
System Resources and Settings
You can change specific Pro Tools system settings in the Playback Engine dialog to optimize
system performance.
Playback Engine Dialog
The Playback Engine dialog lets you adjust system buffer sizes and allocate CPU processing
power to Pro Tools.
Playback Engine dialog for Pro Tools HD-series system
To configure system resources:
■ Choose Setups > Playback Engine. For more
information, see “Pro Tools System Settings” on
page 53 (Macintosh) or “Pro Tools System Settings” on page 29 (Windows).
Save Session As Creates a duplicate session file
with the name you choose, and leaves the duplicate open for you to continue working. It does
not create a new Audio Files or Fade Files folder.
This can be useful if you want to experiment
with different arrangements in the session without affecting the original session.
Getting Started with HD74
System Usage Window
I/O Setup
The System Usage window displays information
on CPU load, DSP usage, and overall disk performance. Use this window to gauge your system’s
basic processing capacity. Monitor CPU usage if
you are using RTAS plug-ins, and DSP usage if
you are using TDM plug-ins.
Meters in the System Usage window in a new session
To view system resources and usage:
■ Choose Windows > Show System Usage.
The I/O Setup dialog lets you customize the
Pro Tools mixer to match your work style and
the needs of your projects. You can rename I/O
paths and map Pro Tools channels to hardware
inputs and outputs.
I/O Setup dialog
To change your I/O Setup:
■ Choose Setups > I/O Setup. For more informa-
tion on renaming paths and remapping
Pro Tools channels, refer to the Pro Tools Refer-
ence Guide.
Chapter 5: Working with Pro Tools 75
Transport Controls
The Transport window provides access to all
Pro Tools transport commands. Different transport controls can be displayed or hidden in this
window.
To show the Transport window:
■ Choose Window > Show Transport Window.
The Transport window can also display the following MIDI controls: Wait for Note, Click,
Countoff, MIDI Merge, Conductor, Meter, and
Tempo.
Click
Wait for Note
Countoff
MIDI Merge
Return To Zero
Online
Rewind
Stop
Play
Fast Forward
Go to End
Record
Transport window
To configure the Transport window:
■ Choose Display > Transport Window Shows
and select from the view options.
In standard view, the Transport window provides Play, Stop, and other standard transport
controls. The Expanded Transport window provides pre- and post-roll, start, end, and length
indicators for Timeline selection, as well as the
Transport Master selector.
Tempo Controls
Conductor
Meter
Transport window MIDI Controls
To start and stop playback:
1 Click Play in the Transport window to begin
playback.
2 Click Stop in the Transport window to stop
playback.
Press the Spacebar on your computer keyboard to start and stop playback.
Pro Tools starts playing from the location of
the cursor, or from the beginning of the current selection. The current setting of the
Link Edit/Timeline command in the Operations menu also affects playback. See the
Pro Tools Reference Guide for more information.
Getting Started with HD76
Navigating a Session
Pro Tools provides many ways to navigate in a
session, including using the mouse or entering a
location into one of the counters.
2 Press Return (Macintosh) or Enter (Windows).
Navigating with the Counter
To navigate to a location in the Edit window:
1 Select Operations > Link Edit and Timeline Se-
lection.
2 Enable the Selector tool at the top of the Edit
window by clicking it.
Selector tool
Edit tools in Edit window
3 Click in a track or Timebase Ruler. The cursor
appears at the selected location and the
counters display the current time location.
Click in a track or on a Timebase Ruler
Press the * key on the numeric keypad as an
alternative to clicking in the counter.
Memory Locations
Memory Locations provide another way to navigate within sessions. Memory Locations appear
as markers under the Timebase Rulers.
To define a memory location:
1 Press Enter on the numeric keypad while
stopped or during playback.
In the New Memory Location window, you can
define a marker, store a selection, or store any
combination of the other available settings.
These settings include track height, group enables, pre- and post-roll values, and track
Show/Hide status.
2 Choose settings for the memory location and
click OK.
Clicking with the Selector in the Edit window
To navigate using the counters:
1 Click in the Main counter and enter a location
using your computer keyboard.
New Memory Location window
Chapter 5: Working with Pro Tools 77
To go to a stored Memor y Location:
1 Choose Windows > Show Memory Locations.
2 In the Memory Locations window, click the
name of the memory location.
To Zoom in on any area of a track in the Edit
window:
1 Click to select the Zoomer.
2 Click or drag with the Zoomer to zoom in hor-
izontally for a track or Ruler.
Viewing and Zooming
When viewing tracks in the Edit window, you
can adjust the height of tracks as well as zoom in
vertically and horizontally using the Track
Height selector and Zoom tools.
Zoom buttons
Zoom presets
Zoom and Track Height tools in the Edit window
To change track height:
■ Click the Track Height Selector, and select a
track height from the pop-up menu.
You can apply many commands, including
track height selection, to more than just a
single track. Hold down the Option key
(Macintosh) or Alt key (Windows) while
performing an operation to apply it to all
tracks. Hold down both the Shift and Option keys (Macintosh) or Shift and Alt keys
(Windows) while performing an operation
to apply it to all selected tracks.
Track Height Selector
Zoomer
To zoom in or out incrementally:
■ Click the appropriate Zoom button:
• Left Arrow (Horizontal Zoom Out)
• Right Arrow (Horizontal Zoom In)
•Waveform and MIDI buttons, to increase or
decrease vertical zoom of the appropriate
track type (audio or MIDI)
Pro Tools also provides five Zoom preset buttons. You can use these to immediately return to
established zoom levels; you can define the
magnification level for each preset, on a sessionby-session basis.
To use a stored Zoom preset:
■ Click the appropriate Zoom preset 1–5.
To store a new Zoom preset definition:
■ Command-click (Macintosh) or Control-click
(Windows) a Zoom preset number to store the
current horizontal and vertical Zoom to that
preset.
Pro Tools Memory Locations let you store
many attributes with each marker or memory location, including Track Height and
Zoom Settings. For example, if you create a
Memory Location that includes Zoom Settings, you can zoom in and out with the numeric keypad. The Editing Preference setting
Recall Original Track Selections lets you recall the original track selection saved with
the memory location. When this Preference
is not enabled, the current track selection
will be retained.
Getting Started with HD78
Tracks
Pro Tools lets you create audio and MIDI tracks
for audio and MIDI recording, submixing, routing, automating, and editing.
Pro Tools provides four types of tracks: audio
tracks, Auxiliary Inputs, Master Faders, and
MIDI Tracks. Audio tracks, Auxiliary Inputs, and
Master Faders can be mono, stereo, or any of the
supported multichannel formats for surround
mixing.
Audio Tracks Record and play back audio to and
from hard disk, monitor audio input when
record-enabled, and edit audio regions
Auxiliary Inputs Audio mixer channels used for
input, routing, and submixing
Master Faders Provide master channel controls
and options for any Output or Bus path
MIDI Tracks Record, play back, and edit MIDI
data
3 Click Create.
In the Mix window, audio tracks, Auxiliary Inputs, Master Faders, and MIDI tracks appear as
vertical channel strips. Track type is indicated
by the Track Type icons just below the faders,
and by the color of the track names.
To create a new track:
1 Choose File > New Track.
New Track dialog
2 Specify the number of tracks, track type, and
mono or stereo (for all types except MIDI).
Audio
track
Tracks in the Mix window
Aux
Input
MIDI
track
Master
Fader
In the Edit window, tracks are displayed horizontally along the Timeline. The area in which
audio appears for each track is the Playlist.
Timeline
Rulers View
Audio Track
Timeline Rulers and a stereo audio track in the Edit
window
Audio tracks, Auxiliary Inputs, Master Faders,
and MIDI tracks can be automated. (See “Mix
Automation” on page 94 for more information.)
Chapter 5: Working with Pro Tools 79
Inserts
Sends
Input
Output
Automation mode
Pan sliders
Solo
Record Enable
Volume fader
Figure 8. Stereo audio track in the Mix window
Mute button
Voice Selector
Open Output window
Clipping indicator
(lights red)
Level meter
Group enable
Volume
Track name
Track comment area
Audio Tracks
Audio tracks, Auxiliary Inputs, and Master Faders share many identical controls. Figure 8
shows the controls found in an audio or Auxiliary Input track.
Master Faders provide all the same features as
audio tracks and Auxiliary Inputs, with the following exceptions:
Input Selector A Master Fader’s output assignment determines its input, or source.
Sends Master Faders do not provide sends. To
send an output to another destination, use an
Auxiliary Input.
MIDI Tracks
MIDI tracks provide volume, solo, and mute, in
addition to MIDI input, output, channel, and
program (patch) controls. MIDI volume, mute,
and pan can also be automated using Pro Tools
automation features (see “Mix Automation” on
page 94 for more information).
Getting Started with HD80
Regions Lists
Importing Audio
All regions that are recorded, imported, or created by editing appear in the Audio and MIDI
Regions Lists. Regions can be dragged from either list to tracks and arranged in any order. Audio regions can also be auditioned from the Regions Lists by Option-clicking (Macintosh) or
Alt-clicking (Windows) the audio region name.
The Regions List pop-up menus provide many
useful features for managing regions and files
(such as sorting, selecting, importing, or exporting files).
Drag border to resize
width of Regions Lists
Click list names
for pop-up menus
Drag border to
resize height of
Regions Lists
Click to hide Regions Lists
Audio and MIDI Regions Lists
For more information on Regions Lists, refer
to the Pro Tools Reference Guide.
Pro Tools lets you import existing audio files
from disk, as well as import tracks from an audio
CD (Macintosh only). This is very useful if you
have audio files already recorded to disk or if
you are working with CD-based sample libraries
that you want to use in a new session.
Pro Tools 6 provides DigiBase and DigiBase Pro,
which provide drag and drop support for importing audio, tracks, and sessions, as well as importing from audio CD.
Importing using DigiBase
To import audio files into the current session:
1 Make sure the drive (volume) containing the
desired files is mounted and available. If importing from an audio CD, insert the disc into your
CD-ROM drive.
2 Navigate to the desired files to display them in
an available DigiBase browser.
3 Drag and drop items from the DigiBase
browser to a track, to the timeline, or to the Audio Regions List.
• Drop audio files or session files into existing tracks to spot (place) the files where
you drop them. Dropping session files will
display the Import Session Data dialog
where you can specify session attributes to
import.
• Drop audio files or session files to a blank
(non-track) area of the Edit window to add
the audio as a new tracks.
– or –
Chapter 5: Working with Pro Tools 81
•To import directly into the session’s Audio
Regions List (without spotting audio, importing tracks, or creating new tracks) drop
items into the Audio Regions List. (You
cannot drag and drop video or MIDI files.)
For more information, see the DigiBase and
DigiBase Pro Guide.
Importing Audio Files or Regions
To import audio files or regions from disk:
■ Choose File > Import Audio to Track to import
files and regions to new audio tracks (they will
also appear as regions in the Audio Regions List).
– or –
5 Navigate to a destination for the imported au-
dio, and click Choose.
Pro Tools converts the CD audio track to the session’s audio file format, bit depth, and sample
rate, and saves it on your hard drive.
The imported audio file appears in the Audio Regions List. From there you can drag the region to
a track in your session.
Basic Recording
This section describes how to record audio and
MIDI into Pro Tools.
Choose Import Audio from the Audio Regions
List pop-up menu to import files and regions to
the Audio Regions List only.
For more information on importing audio
into sessions, refer to the Pro Tools Reference Guide.
To import a CD audio track (Pro Tools 6.x):
1 Insert an audio CD into your CD-ROM drive.
2 Do any of the following:
• Choose File > Import Audio to Track to import files and regions to new audio tracks
(they will also appear as regions in the Audio Regions List).
• Choose Import Audio from the Audio Regions List pop-up menu to import files and
regions to the Audio Regions List only.
• Choose Movie > Import Audio From Other
Movie.
3 Locate and select the audio track to be im-
ported, then click Open.
4 In the Track Import Window, click OK.
Routing Audio to a Track
To route audio to a track:
1 Verify the connections to your instruments.
Refer to the guide for your audio interface for
more information about setting up your studio.
2 Choose File > New Track, specify 1 Mono Au-
dio Track, and click Create.
3 In the Mix window, click the Input Selector on
the new track.
Analog inputs
Routing an input to a mono track
Getting Started with HD82
From the pop-up menu, select the input you
want to record. For example, select A 1 if your
audio source is plugged into the first analog input on your audio interface. The menu displays
the names of the inputs as defined in the I/O
Setup dialog.
Setting Levels
Adjust the level of the input at the source (instrument, mic pre-amp, or mixer) to set
Pro Tools recording levels. The key to setting
proper input levels is to get a signal as loud as
possible without creating digital clipping. Signals that get close to the top of the meter in
Pro Tools use more of the full bit range (the 16
or 24 bits that make up each audio sample). The
more you are able to maximize use of this bit
range without clipping, the better your sound
quality.
Digital clipping occurs when you feed a signal to an audio device that is louder than
the circuitry can accept. Watch the meters
in Pro Tools while adjusting input levels to
prevent clipping.
Setting Reference Levels
To configure input levels for the 192 I/O:
1 In Pro Tools, choose Setups > Hardware.
2 If using multiple audio interfaces, select an in-
terface in the Peripherals list.
3 In the Interface area, click the Analog In tab.
Hardware Setup, 192 I/O Analog In settings
4 Set the Reference Level for each Input Chan-
nel.
5 Click OK.
Chapter 5: Working with Pro Tools 83
To configure output levels for the 192 I/O:
1 In Pro Tools, choose Setups > Hardware.
2 If using multiple audio interfaces, select an in-
terface in the Peripherals list.
3 In the Interface area, click the Analog Out tab.
Hardware Setup, 192 I/O Analog Out settings
4 Set the Reference Level for each Output Chan-
nel.
5 Click OK.
Recording an Audio Track
To record an audio track:
1 Click the Record Enable button on a track, as-
sign its input, and set the input levels appropriately.
2 Choose Windows > Show Transport to display
the Transport window. Click Return To Zero to
start recording from the beginning of the session. You can also record according to a selection or from the cursor location in the Edit
window.
3 Click Record in the Transport window to en-
able recording.
4 Click Play or press the Spacebar to record on
all record-enabled tracks.
To play back a recorded track:
1 Click the track’s Record Enable button a sec-
ond time to take it out of Record mode.
2 Click Play in the Transport window or press
the Spacebar to start playback.
3 Click Stop in the Transport window or press
the Spacebar to stop playback.
Recording To and From Digital Devices
Using a 96i I/O audio interface, you can digitally
transfer up to two tracks at a time to or from any
S/PDIF-compatible device. Using a single 96 I/O
audio interface, you can digitally transfer as
many as eight tracks at a time to or from a digital device (such as an ADAT). You can digitally
transfer up to 16 tracks on a single 192 I/O or
192 Digital I/O, up to a system maximum of 96
inputs.
Setting Digital Format and Clock Source
Recording to and from digital devices is only
slightly different than analog recording.
Before recording from a digital source, make
sure you have enabled the appropriate Clock
Source and Digital Format in the Hardware
Setup dialog. Digital Format defaults to
AES/EBU, meaning your HD I/O will listen to
the AES/EBU (Encl) In port for digital clock (if
any). If you want to record from a DAT machine
connected to your S/PDIF RCA inputs, select
S/PDIF Format. If you are using multiple HD interfaces, be sure to configure the appropriate interface in the Hardware Setup dialog.
5 Record your performance.
6 Click Stop in the Transport window or press
the Spacebar when you are finished recording.
Getting Started with HD84
After enabling a different digital format, appropriate clock signals will become available in the
Clock Source selector. If you have multiple interfaces, choose the appropriate clock source on
each HD I/O.
Using Pro Tools Output Pairs
Because of the way that outputs function in
Pro Tools, each track looks for a stereo output
pair. In order to record to eight ADAT tracks, you
have to send four pairs of Pro Tools tracks (each
pair panned hard left and right) to four pairs of
ADAT Optical Digital outputs.
Working with 88.2 kHz or Higher Sample Rates
If the session sample rate is 88.2 kHz or higher,
ADAT and TDIF input sources can still be used
with Digidesign’s 192 I/O, but the sample-rate
conversion option must be enabled. 96 I/O and
96i I/O audio interfaces do not have sample rate
conversion capability. On the 96 I/O, the ADAT
port will go offline with sample rates above
48 kHz. All ADAT and TDIF output ports go offline with sample rates above 48 kHz.
When the sample rate conversion option is disabled, signal does not pass through the sample
rate converter.
To enable sample rate conversion on the 192 I/O:
1 Choose Setups > Hardware in Pro Tools.
2 From the Peripherals list, select the primary
192 I/O audio interface.
3 Click the Digital tab.
4 Select an Input Format (AES/EBU 1–8, ADAT
1–8, or TDIF 1–8).
5 Enable the SR Conversion option for channel
pairs.
Chapter 5: Working with Pro Tools 85
Recording to and from an ADAT
The 192 I/O and 192 Digital I/O each provide
16 channels of ADAT input and output (eight
on the chassis, eight on the digital card). These
inputs and outputs are numbered 9–16 and
17–24 by default in the Pro Tools Hardware
Setup and I/O Setup dialogs.
The 96 I/O provides eight channels of ADAT input and output. These inputs and outputs are labeled Optical 1–8 and ADAT 1–8 by default in
the Pro Tools Hardware Setup and I/O Setup dialogs.
(The 96i I/O does not support ADAT Optical input or output.)
To record ADAT tracks into Pro Tools:
1 Connect the Optical Out connector from your
ADAT deck to the Optical In connector on the
back of your Pro Tools|HD audio interface.
2 Open or create a session in Pro Tools.
3 Record enable up to eight audio tracks.
8 When playback from the ADAT tape is fin-
ished, click Stop in the Transport window, or
press the Spacebar.
To record Pro Tools tracks to an ADAT:
1 Connect the Optical Out connector on your
Pro Tools|HD audio interface to the Optical In
connector on the back of the ADAT deck.
2 Open the session you want to record to ADAT.
3 Record-enable up to eight tracks on the ADAT.
4 On the ADAT, enable Digital In.
5 In Pro Tools, pan the four pairs of tracks you
want to record to ADAT so that each pair is
panned hard stereo (one track of each pair is
panned all the way left, and the other is panned
all the way right).
6 Route each track pair to a separate Optical out-
put pair by selecting from the Output pop-up
menu for each track.
7 Verify that Pro Tools is synchronized to Inter-
nal in the Hardware Setup dialog.
4 For each track, click its Input Selector and as-
sign Inputs 9–16 to your eight tracks.
Analog inputs
Optical (ADAT) inputs
Routing an Optical input pair to a stereo track
5 Verify that Pro Tools is synchronized to Opti-
cal in the Hardware Setup dialog, and that the
Optical Format is set to ADAT.
6 Click Record in the Transport window.
7 Click Play in the Transport window to begin
recording, then press Play on the ADAT.
Getting Started with HD86
8 Start recording on the ADAT, then click Play in
the Pro Tools Transport window. When playback is complete, stop both systems.
Recording MIDI
To configure a MIDI track for recording:
1 (Macintosh Only) Choose MIDI > Input De-
vices and make sure your input device is selected
in the MIDI Input Enable window.
2 Choose File > New Track and specify 1 MIDI
Track, then click Create.
3 In the Mix window, click the track’s MIDI De-
vice/Channel Selector and assign a device and
channel from the pop-up menu.
4 You can assign a default program change to
the track by clicking the Program button in the
Mix window and making the necessary selections for program and bank select, and then
clicking Done. Default program changes are
sent when playing a track.
5 In the Mix window, record-enable the MIDI
track.
6 Make sure MIDI > MIDI Thru is selected, then
play some notes on your MIDI controller. The
MIDI instrument assigned to the track should
sound, and the track’s meters should register
MIDI activity.
6 When you have finished recording, click Stop
in the Transport window, or press the Spacebar.
The newly recorded MIDI data appears as a MIDI
region on the track in the Edit window, as well
as in the MIDI Regions List.
To play back a recorded MIDI track:
1 Click the Record Enable button to take the
MIDI track out of Record mode.
2 In the Transport window, click Return To Zero
to play back from the beginning of the track.
You can also play back according to a selection
or from the cursor location in the Edit window.
To record onto a MIDI track:
1 Verify that the MIDI track you want to record
to is record-enabled and receiving MIDI.
2 In the Transport window, click Return To Zero
to start recording from the beginning of the session. You can also record according to a selection or from the cursor location in the Edit
window.
3 Click Record in the Transport window.
4 Click Play in the Transport window or press
the Spacebar to begin recording.
– or –
If using Wait for Note, the Play, Record, and
Wait for Note buttons flash. Recording begins
when the first MIDI event is received.
– or –
If using Countoff, click Play. The Record and
Play buttons flash during the Countoff, then recording begins.
5 Play your MIDI instrument.
3 Click Play in the Transport window to begin
playback. The recorded MIDI data plays back
through the track’s assigned instrument and
channel.
Monitoring MIDI Instruments Without a Mixer
To monitor your MIDI instrument’s analog output, you can use an Auxiliary Input. Auxiliary
Inputs function as inputs for both internally
bussed signals and external audio sources.
To configure an Auxiliar y Input for MIDI
monitoring:
1 Connect the MIDI instrument’s audio output
to the appropriate inputs on your audio interface.
2 Choose File > New Track and specify 1 mono
or stereo Auxiliary Input, then click Create.
3 Click the Input selector of the Auxiliary Input
channel and choose the input to which your
MIDI instrument is connected.
4 Click the Output selector of the Auxiliary In-
put channel and choose an output.
5 Adjust the level of the Auxiliary Input with its
volume fader.
Chapter 5: Working with Pro Tools 87
Editing
Pro Tools provides several tools for editing audio
and MIDI. In the Edit window, audio and MIDI
tracks can be edited into regions or repeated in
different locations, to create loops, re-arrange
sections or entire songs, or to assemble tracks using material from multiple takes.
Edit Modes
Edit Tools
The Edit mode affects the movement and placement of audio and MIDI regions (and individual
MIDI notes), how commands like Copy and
Paste function, and also how the various edit
tools (Trimmer, Selector, Grabber, and Pencil)
work.
Pro Tools 6 provides two Grid modes, Absolute (standard Pro Tools Grid mode), and
Relative. For detailed descriptions of Edit
modes, refer to the Pro Tools Reference
Guide.
Edit modes and tools (Slip mode, Smart Tool enabled)
Audio and MIDI editing are typically used to:
• Fix or replace mistakes.
• Re-arrange songs and projects.
• Clean up track timing and rhythm by aligning
hits to Grid values like bars and beats, time
code, or other timebases.
• Create final tracks using selections from multiple takes (also known as a comp tracks).
Edit Modes
Pro Tools has four Edit modes: Shuffle, Spot,
Slip, and Grid. The Edit mode is selected by
clicking the corresponding button in the upper
left of the Edit window.
Edit mode buttons
You can also press F1 (Shuffle), F2 (Slip),
F3 (Spot), and F4 (Grid) to set the Edit
mode.
Edit Tools
Pro Tools has seven Edit tools: Zoomer, Trimmer, Selector, Grabber, Scrubber, Pencil, and
Smart Tool. Select an Edit tool by clicking it in
the Edit window. The Zoomer, Trimmer, Grabber, and Pencil tools have multiple modes,
which you can select from a pop-up menu when
you click the tool.
Trimmer
Zoomer
Edit tools in Edit window
Press the Escape key to toggle through the
Edit tools.
For detailed descriptions of the Edit Tools,
refer to the Pro Tools Reference Guide.
Selector
Smart Tool
Grabber
Scrubber
Pencil
Getting Started with HD88
Editing Regions
The Edit tools in Pro Tools are used to edit regions in the Edit window. A region is a piece of
audio or MIDI data that can also have associated
automation data. For example, a region could be
a loop, a guitar riff, a verse of a song, a sound effect, a piece of dialog, or an entire sound file. In
Pro Tools, regions are created from audio or
MIDI files, and can be arranged in audio and
MIDI track playlists.
Audio region
4 Click at the beginning of the region and drag
right to shorten the region.
5 Move the cursor near the end of the audio re-
gion (notice the cursor changes to a “]”).
Trimming the end of a region
6 Click at the end of the region and drag left to
shorten the region.
Trimming Regions
After recording an audio track, you will have an
audio region on that track. If there is some silence at the beginning of the region, or there is
some extra audio at the end of the region, you
can use the Trimmer tool in Slip mode to
shorten the beginning or end of the region.
Audio region on a track
To trim an audio region:
1 Select Slip mode.
2 Select the Trimmer tool.
3 Move the cursor near the beginning of the au-
dio region (notice the cursor changes to a “[”).
The trimmed region
You can also extend a region using the Trimmer
tool if there is audio data beyond the current
boundaries of a region. If extending the region’s
beginning, drag to the left; if extending the region’s end, drag to the right.
Arranging Regions
There are many ways to edit and arrange regions; the following example demonstrates how
you might create and arrange a drum loop to
compose a rhythm track.
To create and arrange a rhythm sequence:
1 Open or create a session in Pro Tools.
2 Specify the session meter (MIDI > Change
Meter) and tempo (MIDI > Change Tempo).
3 Select Grid mode.
4 Prepare to record using a MIDI click (see “Us-
ing the Click” on page 73).
Trimming the beginning of a region
Chapter 5: Working with Pro Tools 89
5 Record a drum track (see “Recording an Audio
Track” on page 84) keeping in mind that you
want to use only the best bar (measure). Your recording should fit the grid at the specified
tempo and meter.
– or –
Import an existing audio file, such as a drum
loop from a sample library, and place it on an
audio track (see “Importing Audio” on page 81).
6 Drag on the waveform with the Selector to
make a one-bar selection. Note that the selection snaps to the specified grid.
Making a selection in Grid mode
7 Create a new audio track (File > New Track).
8 From the Grabber pop-up menu, select the
Separation Grabber tool.
9 With the Separation Grabber tool, drag the se-
lection to the beginning of the new audio track.
A new region is created and appears at the beginning of the new track.
11 In the Repeat dialog, enter a number of re-
peats, and click OK.
You now have a new rhythm track with a
“looped” (repeated) phrase. You can use these
editing tools to do much more advanced and involved editing of regions. For example, you
could separate beats or “hits” into individual regions and rearrange them in Grid or Shuffle
mode as a way of coming up with new and interesting rhythms.
Playlists and Non-Destructive Editing
Playlists let you create and retrieve multiple versions of track edits. A playlist can be a complete
take, an overdub, or an arrangement of selections from multiple takes. You can duplicate
playlists to save edits in their current state, then
continue making additional edits to the new
playlist knowing you can always go back to the
previous version.
To create multiple playlists for editing:
1 Start with a track on which you want to try
different edits.
2 From the Playlist Selector pop-up menu,
choose Duplicate.
Dragging a selection with the Separation Grabber tool
10 With the new region still selected, choose
Edit > Repeat.
Repeat dialog
Getting Started with HD90
Duplicating a playlist
3 Name the duplicated playlist and click OK.
4 Make your first series of edits.
5 Return to the original playlist by selecting it
from the Playlist Selector pop-up menu.
6 Repeat steps 2–5 for any further edits.
Basic Signal Routing
In this way, you can try out different edits of a
track, and switch back and forth between playlists for comparison.
Mixing
The Pro Tools mix environment provides many
familiar channel strip controls for setting volume, pan, solo, and mute. Mixer and I/O controls can be shown in both the Mix and Edit
windows.
To view the Mix window:
■ Select Windows > Show Mix.
Press Command+Equals (=) on Macintosh,
or Control+Equals (=) in Windows to
switch between the Edit and Mix windows.
Using Channel Strip Controls
Volume Increase or decrease the track level by
dragging its Volume fader up or down.
Pan Pan a track left or right in the mix by dragging its Pan slider left or right.
Solo Solo a track (muting all other tracks) by
clicking its Solo button.
Signal routing is accomplished by assigning
track inputs and outputs. Audio track inputs can
be from any hardware input or bus path. Once
recorded, an audio track’s input is its audio file
on disk. Auxiliary Inputs can be any hardware
input or internal bus path. For all types of audio
tracks, outputs can be routed to any hardware
output or internal bus path.
Together, these signal routing features let you
set up virtually any mixer architecture for your
projects, including submixing, sends and returns for effects processing, and multichannel
mixing for surround.
Send and Return Submixing for Effects Processing
When you are submixing for reverb, delay, and
similar effects processing, you can use sends and
Auxiliary Inputs to achieve traditional send/return bussing. You can use a real-time plug-in
(see “Plug-Ins” on page 94) or a hardware I/O insert (see “Connecting Effects Units” on page 69)
as a shared resource for all tracks included in a
submix. The wet/dry balance in the mix can be
controlled using the track faders (dry level) and
Auxiliary Input fader (wet, or effect return
level).
Mute Mute a track by clicking its Mute button.
Chapter 5: Working with Pro Tools 91
Creating a Send
Creating a Return
Pro Tools provides up to five sends per audio
track. A send can be mono or stereo, routing to
an output or one of 64 internal bus paths.
To assign a send on a track:
1 Make sure Sends View is enabled in the Mix
window (Display > Mix Window Shows > Sends
View).
2 Click the Sends button on an audio track and
choose a bus path from the pop-up menu.
Assigning a send to a stereo bus path
3 Set the output level of the send. You can set
the send level to zero by Option-clicking (Macintosh) or Alt-clicking (Windows) the send
fader.
You can configure the default level for new
sends to be
–∞ or at unity gain (0 dB) by en-
abling or disabling the Sends Default To
“–INF” option under the Operation Preferences.
Auxiliary Inputs can be created to act as return
channels for busses, as well as for inputs from
hardware sources.
Send window
Audio and Auxiliary Input tracks configured for a send
and return
Send
to bus 9–10
Real-time plug-in
Aux Input
input from bus 9–10
To create a return:
1 Choose File > New Track and specify 1 mono
or stereo Auxiliary Input, then click Create.
2 Click the Input Selector of the Auxiliary Input
and set it to the bus path you assigned to the
sends on the source tracks.
3 Click the Output Selector of the Auxiliary In-
put and choose an output path.
Getting Started with HD92
Master Faders
Master Faders are used as output and bus masters, and can control any mono, stereo or multichannel output or bus path in a session. You can
then use the controls on the Master Fader to
control the volume, solo and mute, or apply inserts to those paths.
To create a Master Fader:
1 Choose File > New Track and specify 1 mono
or stereo Master Fader track, then click Create.
2 In the Mix window, click the Master Fader’s
Output Selector and choose the output path
that you want to control. You can choose either
outputs or internal busses.
When you are mastering your final mix, it is recommended that you use a dither plug-in on the
Master Fader controlling your main outputs (see
“Using Dither on Mixdown” on page 96).
Dither plug-in applied to final mix
Output assigned to control
main mix
Master Fader controlling main outputs
To use a Master Fader as a master stereo volume
control for all tracks in a session:
1 Choose File > New Track and specify 1 stereo
Master Fader track, then click Create.
2 Set the outputs of all audio tracks in the ses-
sion to outputs 1–2 and set the panning of each
track.
3 Set the output of the Master Fader to your
main output path (outputs 1–2).
Chapter 5: Working with Pro Tools 93
Plug-Ins
Plug-ins provide EQ, dynamics, delays and
many other types of effects processing.
Plug-ins function either in real time or in nonreal time. TDM and RTAS plug-ins are non-destructive effects, which are inserted on tracks to
process audio in real time—just like an external
hardware processor (during playback). AudioSuite plug-ins, on the other hand, are destructive effects that process audio files on disk in
non-real time.
Real-time plug-ins are assigned to tracks from
the Inserts view in the Mix or Edit windows.
Once assigned to a track, plug-ins appear in the
track’s Inserts view, and can be opened by clicking on the Insert button.
Plug-InInsert button
Pro Tools comes with a complete set of DigiRack
plug-ins, and many more are available from
Digidesign and our Development Partners.
For more information about plug-ins, see
the DigiRack Plug-Ins Guide, the Digidesign Plug-Ins Guide, and the Plug-Ins chapter of the Pro Tools Reference Guide.
Mix Automation
Mix automation lets you record, or automate,
changes to track and send levels, mutes, pan,
and plug-in parameters. MIDI tracks provide
volume, pan, and mute automation only.
To write automation:
1 In the Automation Enable window
(Windows > Show Automation Enable), enable
an automation type (volume, pan, mute, send
level, send pan, send mute, or any plug-in automation).
2 Select an automation mode for the tracks to be
automated (Write, Touch, Latch, or Trim mode).
Compressor plug-in
To insert a real-time plug-in on a track:
1 Make sure the Inserts View is shown in the
Mix or Edit window.
2 Click the Insert Selector on the track and se-
lect the plug-in that you want to use.
Getting Started with HD94
3 Start playback and begin writing automation
by adjusting faders and other controls during
playback. Pro Tools remembers all moves performed on enabled parameters.
Enabling automation (left) and choosing a track
Automation mode (right)
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