Pinnacle Systems Pro Tools LE - 6.1 Reference Guide
Pro Tools
Reference Guide
Version 6.1 for TDM or LE Systems on Windows or Macintosh
Version 5.3.x for TDM or LE Systems on Macintosh
Version 5.1.x for MIX or LE Systems on Macintosh
Digidesign
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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.
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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 910611586-00 REV A 07/03
Contents
Part I Introduction
Chapter 1. Welcome to Pro Tools
The Pro Tools Guides
Digidesign Registration
Compatibility Information
About www.digidesign.com
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Chapter 2. Pro Tools System Configurations
Pro Tools TDM Systems
Pro Tools LE Systems
Chapter 3. Pro Tools Concepts
Hard Disk Audio Recording
The Digidesign Audio Engine
Pro Tools Sessions
System Resources
MIDI Concepts
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Chapter 4. Pro Tools Windows
The Mix Window
The Edit Window
The Transport Window
Chapter 5. Keyboard Shortcuts
Global Key Commands
Keyboard Focus
Numeric Keypad Modes
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Part II Sessions & Tracks
Chapter 6. Sessions
Starting Up or Shutting Down Your System
Configuring Pro Tools System Settings
Configuring Pro Tools Hardware Settings
Creating a New Session
Opening a Session
Saving a Session
Creating Custom Session Templates
Closing a Session
Quitting Pro Tools
Sharing Sessions Between Pro Tools TDM Systems and Pro Tools LE Systems
Preferences
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Chapter 7. I/O Setup
The I/O Setup Dialog
Routing Hardware I/O to Pro Tools I/O
Creating and Editing Paths
I/O Settings Files
I/O Setup Options
Chapter 8. Tracks
Track Types
Track Controls
Creating Tracks
Hiding Tracks
Assigning Inputs and Outputs to Tracks
Track Priority and Voice Assignment
Setting MIDI Input and Output
Soloing and Muting Tracks
Making Tracks Inactive
Adjusting Track Width
Color Coding Tracks
Grouping Tracks
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Chapter 9. Importing and Exporting Session Data
Importing Audio
Conversion Quality
Importing Audio Files and Regions
Importing Audio Files with Drag & Drop from a DigiBase Browser
Importing Audio from an Audio CD
Importing Tracks and Track Attributes
Importing Tracks
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Exporting Audio
Exporting Pro Tools Tracks as OMFI or AAF Files
Exporting Sessions as Text
Importing MIDI Files
Exporting MIDI Files
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Chapter 10. File Management and Compatibility
Audio File Management
WAV File Compatibility
Avid File Compatibility
Creating Macintosh and PC Compatible Sessions
Moving Sessions Between Platforms with MacOpener
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Part III Recording
Chapter 11. Record Setup
Input Connections and Audio Levels
Record Enabling Tracks
Monitoring Modes
Monitoring Latency
Default Track Names
Disk Allocation
Allocating Hard Drive Space for Recording
Record Modes
Recording with a Click
Setting the Default Meter and Tempo
Chapter 12. Basic Audio Recording
Recording an Audio Track
Record Shortcuts
Record Pause Mode
Recording Additional Takes
Punch Recording Audio
Loop Recording Audio
Auditioning Record Takes
Setting Punch/Loop Points
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Chapter 13. MIDI Recording
Recording from MIDI Devices
Enabling Input Devices
MIDI Thru
MIDI Input Filter
Input Quantize
Wait for Note . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
MIDI Merge/Replace. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Configuring MIDI Tracks for Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Recording to MIDI Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Punch Recording MIDI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Loop Recording MIDI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Recording System Exclusive Data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
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Chapter 14. Advanced Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
QuickPunch Audio Recording. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Recording from a Digital Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Half-Speed Recording and Playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Part IV Editing
Chapter 15. Editing Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Pro Tools Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Track Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Displaying Region Names and Times . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Audio Regions and Waveforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
MIDI Regions and MIDI Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Playlists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Multiple Undo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
The Audio and MIDI Regions Lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Edit Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Zooming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
The Universe Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
Timebase Rulers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Main Time Scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Tick-Based Timing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Chapter 16. Playing and Selecting Track Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Playing Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Scrolling Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
The Scrubber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Linking or Unlinking Edit and Timeline Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Selecting Track Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
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vi
Playing Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Timeline Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Playing Edit and Timeline Selections with the Playhead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Chapter 17. Working with Regions and Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Creating New Regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Healing a Separation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
Placing Regions in Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
The Trimmer Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Sliding Regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Nudging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
Shift Command. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
Quantizing Regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Locking Regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Muting/Unmuting Regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
Edit Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
Duplicate Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Repeat Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Merge Paste Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
Editing Stereo and Multichannel Tracks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
Processing Audio with AudioSuite Plug-Ins. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270
Waveform Repair with the Pencil Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
The Smart Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Chapter 18. Advanced Editing (TDM Systems Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Replacing Audio Regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Repeat Paste To Fill Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
Compress/Expand Edit To Play . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
Chapter 19. Fades and Crossfades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
Using Crossfades. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
Creating a Crossfade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286
Creating Fades at the Beginnings and Ends of Regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
Using AutoFades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
Creating Fades and Crossfades in Batches. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
Chapter 20. Managing Regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Stripping Silence from Regions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Inserting Silence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
Consolidate Selection Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
Naming and Displaying Regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
Compacting an Audio File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
Contents vii
Chapter 21. Conductor Tracks and Memory Locations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
Tempo Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
Default Tempo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
Identify Beat Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
Meter Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
Renumbering Bars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
Memory Locations and Markers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
Memory Locations Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314
Chapter 22. Beat Detective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
Beat Detective Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318
The Beat Detective Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
Beat Detective Modes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
Defining a Beat Detective Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
Calculating Tempo with Beat Detective. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321
Generating Beat Triggers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322
Generating Bar|Beat Markers with Beat Detective. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325
DigiGroove Templates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326
Separating Regions with Beat Detective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328
Conforming Regions with Beat Detective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
Edit Smoothing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333
Detection (Normal) and Collection Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334
Part V MIDI Editing
Chapter 23. MIDI Editing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339
The Pencil Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339
Custom Note Duration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340
Setting the Grid Value. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
Inserting MIDI Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
Manually Editing MIDI Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343
Continuous Controller Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348
Patch Select (Program and Bank Changes). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350
System Exclusive Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355
Note and Controller Chasing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356
Offsetting MIDI Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357
Stuck Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358
Chapter 24. MIDI Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359
MIDI Operations Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359
Select Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360
Change Velocity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362
Change Duration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364
Pro Tools Reference Guideviii
Transpose. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365
Quantize. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 366
Input Quantize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371
Groove Quantize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371
Restore Performance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 376
Flatten Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377
Chapter 25. MIDI Event List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379
The MIDI Event List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379
Inserting Events in the MIDI Event List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382
Editing in the MIDI Event List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 384
MIDI Event List Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 386
Part VI Mixing
Chapter 26. Basic Mixing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389
Mixing Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389
Metering and Calibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389
Audio Signal Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390
Inserts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393
Viewing I/O, Inserts, and Sends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 394
Track Input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 396
Track Output. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 396
Sends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399
Output Windows for Tracks and Sends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 404
Submixing for Signal Routing and Effects Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 409
Dither . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413
Using a Control Surface with Pro Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 415
Chapter 27. Plug-In and Hardware Inserts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417
Inserting Plug-Ins on Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 421
Moving and Duplicating Plug-In and Hardware Inserts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 422
The Plug-In Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 423
Editing Plug-In Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 426
Using Hardware Inserts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 428
Connecting and Integrating External Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429
Contents ix
Chapter 28. Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 433
Automation Quick Start. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 433
Automation Playlists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 434
Automation Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 435
Automation Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 438
Viewing Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 440
Writing Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 441
Enabling and Suspending Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 445
Deleting Automation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 446
Thinning Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 447
Drawing Automation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 447
Editing Automation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 449
Writing Automation to the Start, End or All of a Selection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 455
Trimming Automation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 457
Creating Snapshot Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 457
Chapter 29. Mixdown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 461
Recording to Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463
Bounce to Disk. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 464
Bounce Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 465
Recording a Submix (with Bounce To Disk) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 473
Final Mixdown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 474
Mastering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475
Part VII Surround
Chapter 30. Surround Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 479
Mixing Formats and Surround Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 479
Pro Tools Mixing Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 480
Speaker Layouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 480
Surround Monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 482
Formats and Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 483
Surround Mixing Concepts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 486
Chapter 31. Pro Tools Setup for Surround . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 489
Pro Tools Audio Connections for 5.1 Mixing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 489
Configuring Pro Tools for Multichannel Sessions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 490
Default I/O Selectors in I/O Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 494
5.1 Track Layouts, Routing, and Metering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 494
Chapter 32. Multichannel Tracks and Signal Routing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 495
Multichannel Quick Start. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 495
Multichannel Audio Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 496
Pro Tools Reference Guidex
Multichannel Signal Routing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 498
Paths in Surround Mixes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 501
Example Paths and Signal Routing for a Surround Mix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 503
Chapter 33. Surround Panning and Mixing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 507
Introduction to Pro Tools Surround Panning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 507
Output Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 508
Standard Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 509
Surround Panner Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 510
Panning Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 512
LFE Faders in Multichannel Panners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 515
Divergence and Center Percentage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 515
SurroundScope Metering Plug-In. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 518
Part VIII Synchronization
Chapter 34. Synchronization Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 521
Synchronization Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 521
Aspects of Synchronization. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 521
Synchronizing Pro Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 522
SMPTE Frame Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 525
Working with Film-Originated Material. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 526
Chapter 35. Working with Synchronization. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 531
Pro Tools Synchronization Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 531
Session Setup Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 533
Preparing to Work with SMPTE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 537
Configuring Pro Tools for SMPTE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 538
Pull Up and Pull Down . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 540
Putting Pro Tools Online. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 545
Generating Time Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 546
Using MIDI Machine Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 547
Synchronizing a Sequencer to Pro Tools on Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 549
Synchronizing a Sequencer to Pro Tools on Macintosh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 549
Setting Minimum Sync Delay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 551
Remote Track Arming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 552
Synchronizing Pro Tools to an OMS-Compatible Sequencer Using MMC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 552
MIDI Beat Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 554
Spotting Regions to SMPTE Frame Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 554
Time Stamping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 557
Identifying a Synchronization Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 559
Troubleshooting Synchronization. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 560
Contents xi
Chapter 36. Working with QuickTime Movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 563
About QuickTime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 563
QuickTime Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 565
Movie Playback Quality Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 565
Importing a QuickTime Movie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 566
Firewire Playback of QuickTime DV Movies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 567
About the Movie Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 569
Setting the Movie Start Time (Movie Offset) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 570
Spotting Audio to a QuickTime Movie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 571
Importing QuickTime Audio (and Other Compressed Video Files). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 572
Bouncing to a New Movie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 574
Appendix A. DSP-Induced Delays in Mixing (TDM Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 577
Delay Factors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 577
Compensating for Delays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 579
Appendix B. TDM Mixing and DSP Usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 581
Benefits of TDM II. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 581
DSP Allocation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 583
DSP Usage with TDM Mixers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 585
DSP Usage with TDM Plug-Ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 593
DSP Usage and I/O Allocation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 594
Appendix C. Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 595
Backing Up Your Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 595
Common Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 595
Using DigiTest as a Diagnostic Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 596
Performance Factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 597
Before You Call Digidesign Technical Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 597
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 599
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 609
Pro Tools Reference Guidexii
Part I: Introduction
1
2
Chapter 1: Welcome to Pro Tools
Welcome to Pro Tools®. Pro Tools integrates
powerful multitrack digital audio and MIDI sequencing features, giving you everything you
need to record, arrange, edit, mix, and master
quality audio for music, video, film, and multimedia.
The Pro Tools Guides
Your Pro Tools system includes the following
guides:
Getting Started Guide Instructions for installing
your Pro Tools system and connecting your studio.
Pro Tools Reference Guide Full details on all
Pro Tools functionality and operations.
(Pro Tools LE systems only include an electronic
PDF version of the Reference Guide.)
Pro Tools Menus Guide Electronic PDF guide to
the Pro Tools on-screen menus.
DigiRack™ Plug-Ins Guide Instructions for using
the DigiRack plug-ins (included with Pro Tools)
for both real-time and file-based audio processing in Pro Tools. (Pro Tools LE systems only include an electronic PDF version of this guide.)
Digidesign Plug-Ins Guide Electronic PDF guide
with instructions for using optional Digidesign
plug-ins for both real-time and file-based audio
processing in Pro Tools.
DigiBase and DigiBase Pro Guide Full details on
using Pro Tools DigiBase databasing and browsers for data and media management.
(Pro Tools LE systems only include an electronic
PDF version of this guide.)
Pro Tools MIDI Control Surfaces Guide Electronic PDF guide that includes instructions for
operating Pro Tools with various MIDI control
surfaces.
Expanded Systems Guide (TDM Systems
Only) Instructions for expanding a Pro Tools
TDM system with optional Digidesign cards, or
an expansion chassis.
MachineControl Guide (TDM Systems Only) Electronic PDF guide that includes instructions for
using MachineControl software for Pro Tools to
enable serial communication with remote audio
and video machines.
Keyboard Shortcut Cards Separate electronic
PDFs for Windows and Macintosh that list the
many keyboard shortcuts not shown in the
Pro Tools menus.
Digidesign also provides guides with audio
interfaces, optional dedicated controllers
(such as Control|24 and ProControl) and
other Digidesign options, (such as MIDI
I/O, PRE, and SYNC I/O). Refer to the separate guide provided with each Digidesign
product.
Chapter 1: Welcome to Pro Tools 3
Conventions Used in These Guides
The Pro Tools 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
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, and
third-party devices, refer to the latest compatibility information on the Digidesign Web site
(www.digidesign.com).
Control-click Hold down the Option key
and click the mouse button
Right-click (Windows) Click with the right
mouse button
The following symbols are used to highlight important information:
User Tips are helpful hints for getting the
most from your Pro Tools system.
Important Notices include information that
could affect your Pro Tools session data or
the performance of your Pro Tools system.
Shortcuts show you useful keyboard or
mouse shortcuts.
Cross References point to related sections in
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 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.
Digidesign Registration
Be sure to complete and return the registration
card included with your Pro Tools system. Registered users will receive periodic software update and upgrade notices. Refer to the registration card for technical support and warranty
information.
Pro Tools Reference Guide4
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 2: Pro Tools System
Configurations
There are two types of Pro Tools systems: TDM
(Time Division Multiplexing) and LE. These refer to both the Pro Tools software and its associated hardware, as follows:
• TDM = Pro Tools TDM software for
Pro Tools|HD-series, Pro Tools|24 MIX-series,
or Pro Tools|24 hardware.
• LE = Pro Tools LE software for Digi 002,
Digi 002 Rack, Digi 001, Mbox, or Toolbox
hardware.
Pro Tools TDM Systems
Pro Tools TDM systems are available in the following configurations. Each system requires at
least one Digidesign audio interface (sold separately). TDM systems can be expanded by adding Digidesign cards to increase track count, add
to the amount of possible plug-in and mixer
processing, and connect additional audio interfaces.
Pro Tools system performance depends on
factors such as computer processor speed,
amount of system memory, and hard drive
performance. Contact your Digidesign
dealer or visit Digidesign’s Web site for the
latest system requirements and compatibility information.
HD-Series Systems
Pro Tools|HD 1
Includes:
• HD Core card
• Pro Tools TDM software
Pro Tools|HD 2
Includes:
• HD Core card
• HD Process card
• Pro Tools TDM software
Pro Tools|HD 3
Includes:
• HD Core card
•Two HD Process cards
• Pro Tools TDM software
Chapter 2: Pro Tools System Configurations 5
MIX-Series Systems
Supported Audio Interfaces
Pro Tools|24 MIX
Includes:
• MIX Core card
• Pro Tools TDM software
Pro Tools|24 MIXplus
Includes:
•MIX Core card
• MIX Farm card
• Pro Tools TDM software
Pro Tools|24 MIX
Includes:
• MIX Core card
•Two MIX Farm cards
• Pro Tools TDM software
3
Pro Tools|24 System
Pro Tools|24
Includes:
• d24 Audio card
• DSP Farm card
• Pro Tools TDM software
HD-Series Only
The following audio interfaces are compatible
with Pro Tools|HD-series systems:
• 192 I/O
• 192 Digital I/O
• 96 I/O
Pro Tools|HD-series systems require the
use of at least one 192 I/O, 192 Digital
I/O, or 96 I/O.
HD-Series, MIX-Series and Pro Tools|24
The following Digidesign audio interfaces are
supported with Pro Tools|HD-series,
Pro Tools|24 MIX-series and Pro Tools|24
systems:
• 888|24 I/O and 882|20 I/O
• 1622 I/O
• 24-bit ADAT Bridge I/O or original ADAT
Bridge I/O
Audio interfaces that work with HD-series systems require the use of at least one
192 I/O, 192 digital I/O, or 96 I/O.
The original 888 I/O and 882 I/O audio interfaces work with Pro Tools|24 MIX-series and
Pro Tools|24 systems only.
Pro Tools Reference Guide6
TDM System Playback, Recording and Voice Limits
The following table lists the audio playback, recording, and voiceable track limits of each type of
Pro Tools TDM system. Playback and recording voices refer to the number of unique simultaneous
playback and record tracks on your system. Total voiceable tracks refers to the maximum number of
audio tracks that can share the available voices on your system. (Mono tracks take up one voice. Stereo and multichannel tracks take up one voice per channel.) Voice limits are dependent on the session sample rate and the number of DSP chips dedicated to the system’s Playback Engine. Pro Tools
HD-series systems can open sessions with up to 256 audio tracks (and Pro Tools|24 MIX-series or
Pro Tools|24 systems can open sessions with up to 128 audio tracks), but any audio tracks beyond that
system’s voiceable track limit will be automatically set to Voice Off.
Pro Tools|HD-series systems provide up to 128 Auxiliary tracks (Auxiliary Inputs); Pro Tools|24 MIXseries and Pro Tools|24 systems provide up to 64 Auxiliary Inputs. All TDM-equipped Pro Tools systems also provide a total of 64 internal mix busses, and up to 5 inserts and 5 sends per track (depending on the DSP capacity of your system).
In addition, Pro Tools TDM systems support up to 256 MIDI channels (Pro Tools 6.x) or up to 128
MIDI channels (Pro Tools 5.1 to 5.3.x).
Table 3. Pro Tools TDM system audio playback, recording and voice limits
Sample
Core System Type
Pro Tools|HD 1 44.1/48 96 96 112
Expanded Pro Tools|HD 1,
Pro Tools|HD 2,
Pro Tools|HD 3
Pro Tools|24 MIX,
Expanded Pro Tools|24 MIX,
Pro Tools|24 MIXplus,
Pro Tools|24 MIX
Pro Tools|24 44.1/48 32 32 43
Expanded Pro Tools|24 44.1/48 64 64 86
3
Rate
(kHz)
88.2/96 48 48 48
176.4/192 12 12 12
44.1/48 128 128 224
88.2/96 64 64 80
176.4/192 24 24 24
44.1/48 64 64 86
Voices (Mono Tracks of
Simultaneous
Playback)
Chapter 2: Pro Tools System Configurations 7
Mono Tracks of
Simultaneous
Recording
Total
Voiceable
Tracks
Audio Interfaces for TDM Systems
The following table lists the input and output capabilities of the various audio interfaces for Pro Tools
TDM systems. In expanded Pro Tools|HD systems, audio interfaces can be combined for up to 96 audio inputs and outputs (for example, with one HD Core card, two HD Process cards, and six I/Os). In
expanded Pro Tools|24 MIX systems, audio interfaces can be combined for up to 72 audio inputs and
outputs (for example, with one MIX Core card, five MIX Farm cards, and six ADAT Bridge I/Os).
Table 4. Pro Tools TDM system audio interface channel capabilities
Interface Type
192 I/O 16 in/16 out
192 Digital I/O 16 in/16 out 44.1, 48, 88.2,
96 I/O 16 in/16 out 44.1, 48, 88.2, 9624-bit 24-bit 24-bit
888|24 I/O 8 in/8 out 44.1, 48 24-bit 24-bit (or
882|20 I/O 8 in/8 out 44.1, 48 20-bit 20-bit 24-bit
1622 I/O 16 in/2 out 44.1, 48 20-bit 24-bit 24-bit
24-bit ADAT
Bridge I/O
Original ADAT
Bridge I/O
Number of I/O
Channels
(Expansion port
supports up to
16 channels of
additional I/O)
16 in/16 out 44.1, 48 None 24-bit 24-bit
16 in/16 out 44.1, 48 None 20-bit 24-bit (AES
Sample Rates
(kHz)
44.1, 48, 88.2,
96, 176.4, 192
96, 176.4, 192
A/D
Conversion
24-bit 24-bit 24-bit
None None 24-bit
D/A
Conversion
20-bit, on
older I/O)
Digital I/O
24-bit
or S/PDIF),
or 20-bit
(Optical)
888 I/O 8 in/8 out 44.1, 48 18-bit (or
16-bit, on
older I/O)
882 I/O 8 in/8 out 44.1, 48 16-bit 16-bit 24-bit
Pro Tools Reference Guide8
18-bit 24-bit
Pro Tools LE Systems
Pro Tools LE-based systems are available in the
following configurations:
Digi 002
A Digi 002 system includes:
• Digi 002 combined audio interface and controller
• Pro Tools LE software
Mbox
An Mbox system includes:
• Mbox audio interface
• Pro Tools LE software
Digi ToolBox XP
A Digi ToolBox system includes:
• Audiomedia III PCI card
• Pro Tools LE software
Digi 002 Rack
A Digi 002 Rack system includes:
• Digi 002 audio interface
• Pro Tools LE software
Digi 001
A Digi 001 system includes:
• Digi 001 PCI card
• Digi 001 I/O interface
• Pro Tools LE software
The total processing capacity of a
Pro Tools LE-based system depends on the
processing power of your computer. Contact
your Digidesign dealer or visit Digidesign’s
Web site for the latest system requirements
and compatibility information.
Chapter 2: Pro Tools System Configurations 9
Pro Tools LE System Capabilities
Table 5 lists the playback, recording, and input and output capabilities of each Pro Tools LE system.
All Pro Tools LE systems support up to 32 or 24 audio tracks, as noted in Table 5. (Mono tracks take
up a single audio track, while stereo tracks take up two tracks.) If you open a Pro Tools session created
on a TDM system containing more than the number of tracks supported on the LE-based system, audio tracks beyond the LE system’s voiceable track limit will be automatically set to inactive (Pro Tools
6.x), or will not open (Pro Tools 5.3.3 or lower). Additionally, with 5.3.3 or lower, if you save the session, the tracks beyond the voiceable track limit will be deleted from the session data.
All Pro Tools LE series systems provide up to 128 Auxiliary tracks (Auxiliary Inputs), a total of 16 internal mix busses, and up to 5 inserts and 5 sends per track (depending on your computer’s processing
capacity). In addition, Pro Tools LE systems support up to 256 MIDI channels (Pro Tools 6.x) or up to
128 MIDI channels (Pro Tools 5.1 to 5.3.x).
Table 5. Pro Tools LE system audio playback, recording, and channel capabilities
System Type
Digi 002
Digi 002 Rack
Digi 001 32 (Pro Tools 6.x cross-
Mbox 32 (Pro Tools 6.x cross-
Audiomedia III 32 (Pro Tools 6.x cross-
Mono Tracks of
Simultaneous Playback
32 up to 18 in/18 out
platform, and Pro Tools
5.3.1 to 6.x on Windows)
24 (Pro Tools 5.2 or lower)
platform, and Pro Tools
5.3.3 to 6.x on Windows)
24 (Pro Tools 5.2)
platform, and Pro Tools
5.3.1 to 6.x on Windows)
24 (Pro Tools 5.2 or lower)
Number of I/O
Channels
(48 kHz or lower)
up to 10 in/10 out
(88.2 or 96 kHz)
up to 18 in/18 out 24-bit 24-bit 24-bit
up to 2 in/2 out 24-bit 24-bit 24-bit
up to 4 in/4 out 18-bit 18-bit 24-bit
A/D
Conversion
24-bit 24-bit 24-bit
D/A
Conversion
Digital
I/O
For details on transferring session material between Pro Tools TDM and Pro Tools LE systems, see
“Sharing Sessions Between Pro Tools TDM Systems and Pro Tools LE Systems” on page 54.
Pro Tools Reference Guide10
Chapter 3: Pro Tools Concepts
This chapter explains the principles and concepts that form the foundation of Pro Tools operation and functionality.
Hard Disk Audio Recording
The Digidesign Audio Engine
DAE (or Digidesign Audio Engine) is Digidesign’s real-time operating system for digital recording systems. When you install Pro Tools,
DAE is automatically installed on your system.
Tape-based recording is a linear medium—you
need to rewind or fast forward a tape to hear a
particular spot in a recording. To rearrange or repeat material in a linear system, you need to rerecord it.
Hard disk recording is a nonlinear (or random access) medium—you can go immediately to any
spot in a recording without having to rewind or
fast forward.
Nonlinear systems have several advantages. You
can easily rearrange or repeat parts of a recording by making the hard disk read parts of the recording in a different order and/or multiple
times. In addition, this re-arrangement is non-
destructive, meaning that the original recorded
material is not altered.
Pro Tools is a nonlinear recording system that
lets you rearrange and mix recorded material
nondestructively.
In the same way that a computer’s operating
system provides the foundation for programs
that run on the computer, DAE provides the
foundation for much of the hard disk recording,
digital signal processing, mix automation, and
MIDI functionality required by Pro Tools and
other products from Digidesign and its Development Partners.
The DAE Playback Buffer Size determines the
amount of memory allocated within DAE to
manage disk buffers, which affects system performance. For more information, see “DAE Playback Buffer Size” on page 42. The DAE Playback
Buffer Size can be changed in the Playback Engine dialog, discussed below.
Chapter 3: Pro Tools Concepts 11
Playback Engine Dialog
Pro Tools takes advantage of your computer’s
host processor for certain tasks and optional
host-based DSP processing.
Pro Tools LE uses host (CPU) processing to provide audio track recording, playback, mixing,
and effects processing. Pro Tools TDM can also
use host processing to run RTAS plug-ins for effects processing. Performance is determined by
your system and its Playback Engine settings.
Pro Tools Sessions
When you start a project in Pro Tools, you create
a session. Some basic elements of sessions are explained in this section.
Session File
The Playback Engine dialog lets you set a hardware buffer size and allocate a percentage of
CPU resources for these tasks. For more information, see “Configuring Pro Tools System Settings” on page 39.
Playback Engine dialog for Pro Tools TDM system
The Playback Engine dialog is also where you select the number of voices and voiceable tracks
for your system and its sessions. Voice count
choices in the dialog are based on how much
DSP processing you want to allocate for voicing.
For more information, see “Configuring
Pro Tools System Settings” on page 39.
Pro Tools session file icon, Pro Tools 6.x
Pro Tools session file icon, Pro Tools 5.3 or lower
A session file is the document that Pro Tools cre-
ates when you start a new project. The session
file contains maps of all elements associated
with a project, including audio files, MIDI data,
and all your edit and mix information. You can
make changes to a session and save those
changes in a new session file. This lets you create multiple versions of a project or back up
your editing and mixing work.
See also “System Resources” on page 16.
Pro Tools Reference Guide12
Audio File
When you record audio into a Pro Tools session,
audio files are created.
Audio file icon, Pro Tools 6.x
Audio file icon, Pro Tools 5.3 or lower
Audio files for each session are stored in a folder
named “Audio Files.” Audio files are listed in
Pro Tools’ Audio Regions List and can appear in
a track. A section of an audio file can be defined
as a region. See “Regions (or Loops)” on page 13.
Tracks
Pro Tools tracks are where audio, MIDI, and automation data are recorded and edited.
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.
Audio tracks can be mono, stereo, or any supported multichannel format (depending on
your type of Pro Tools system). When creating a
new audio track, you can choose from a list of
formats supported by your system.
Regions (or Loops)
Audio region
A region (or loop) is a piece of audio or MIDI data
that may have associated automation data. 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 tracks in the Edit window
MIDI track in the Edit window
Chapter 3: Pro Tools Concepts 13
Playlist
Playlist Selector pop-up menu
A playlist is a group of regions arranged on an
audio or MIDI track. Tracks have edit playlists
and automation playlists.
On audio tracks, an edit playlist tells the hard
disk which audio files to read in what order. For
example, you can use the same audio region to
access the same piece of audio multiple times at
different locations and not use additional disk
space. Different versions of the same original audio can be created to modify the length, fade-in,
fade-out, and effects applied.
A playlist can be made up of a single region or
many separate regions. It can be made up of
similar elements, such as regions from several
different takes of a solo, or dissimilar elements,
such as several sound effects. You can create any
number of edit playlists for a track. This lets you
assemble different versions of performances or
edits on a single audio or MIDI track and choose
between them with a pop-up menu on the track.
Each track has a single set of automation playlists, for volume, pan, mute and each automation-enabled control for the insert and send assignments on that track.
Figure 1. Rear view of 192 I/O, 16 channels of input and output
Channel
The term channel is used to describe several related components of a Pro Tools system. The
first example of channel refers to a physical input or output of your Pro Tools system.
For example, a 192 I/O audio interface (Figure 1)
provides up to 16 channels of input and output
to a Pro Tools|HD system. An 888|24 I/O audio
interface provides eight channels of analog input and output to a Pro Tools TDM system.
Pro Tools Reference Guide14
The second use of the term channel refers to a
mixer strip in the Pro Tools Mix window. The
term channel strip refers to the mixer strip of any
track (audio or MIDI track, Auxiliary Input, or
Master Fader) in a session.
Audio and MIDI channel strips have similar
controls, but those controls have slightly different effects. For example, audio and Auxiliary Input channel strip faders control the output gain
to the mix bus for that channel, while MIDI
channel strip faders send MIDI volume data
(MIDI controller 7) to the MIDI instrument.
Figure 2. Channel strip in the Mix window
Signal Routing
Pro Tools provides software-based mixing and
signal routing controls. The Mix window is
where these controls are located. (Some of these
controls can also be accessed from the Edit window.)
Signal Routing Example
A common signal routing task is to submix multiple tracks to a single channel strip (such as an
Auxiliary Input or a Master Fader) for shared
processing and level control. The following example shows three audio tracks submixed to a
stereo Auxiliary Input.
Stereo
Inserts
Sends
Outputs to
Stereo Bus
path
plug-in
Input from
Stereo
Bus path
Output to
Stereo Output
path
The term channel also describes a separate
aspect of MIDI operation. See “MIDI Concepts” on page 19.
Audio Tracks
Submixing to an Auxiliary Input
Chapter 3: Pro Tools Concepts 15
Auxiliary Input
Signal routing options include the following:
Track Input and Output (Track I/O) Controls The
most basic type of signal routing is track input
and output. A track needs to have an assigned
input path to record audio, and an assigned output path in order to be audible through a hardware output. Signals can also be routed to or
from other tracks in Pro Tools (or hardware inputs and outputs) using internal busses.
Auxiliary Inputs and Master Faders Auxiliary Inputs are tracks that can be used as returns, submixers and bus masters. Master Faders are used
as bus and output master level controls. Both
Auxiliary Inputs and Master Faders can have
plug-in and/or hardware inserts.
Sends Sends route audio to internal busses to
send to other tracks in Pro Tools, or to hardware
outputs.
Plug-In and Hardware Inserts Software plug-ins
and hardware inserts process the audio on their
associated track. Plug-in processing occurs completely within the Pro Tools system. Hardware
inserts utilize audio interface inputs and outputs, for traditional insert routing to (and from)
external effects and other devices.
Paths Pro Tools lets you define a group of multiple inputs, outputs, or busses that have a single
name and (channel) format. These groups comprise the lists of available routing choices in
track I/O Selectors and other menus. Paths can
be very useful for assigning stereo and multichannel I/O routing or sub-paths within a path.
See Chapter 7, “I/O Setup” for more information.
System Resources
Track count, plug-in processing, signal path and
routing options, and voice availability are ultimately limited by the combined resources available from the host computer, and from your
Pro Tools hardware.
Pro Tools provides several ways to manage and
conserve resources to maximize the performance of your system. As you begin working
with Pro Tools sessions and tracks, you can take
advantage of the following features to extend
the effectiveness of your available DSP and
other resources:
◆ Pro Tools lets you adjust the performance of
your system by changing system settings (such
as H/W Buffer Size and CPU Usage) that affect its
capacity for processing, playback, and recording. See “Configuring Pro Tools System Settings” on page 39.
◆ Pro Tools allows for session items (such as
tracks and inserts) to be manually made inactive, to free up DSP resources. Inactive elements
are viewable, editable, and retained within the
session. See “Active and Inactive Items” on
page 17.
◆ All Pro Tools TDM systems, as well as LE sys-
tems (Pro Tools 6.x only), provide flexible voice
options for audio tracks, to help maximize use
of available voices in your system. For more information on voice management and options,
see “Voiceable Tracks and Track Priority” on
page 96.
Mixing Formats Sessions can include combinations of mono, stereo, and multichannel format
tracks, busses, inputs, outputs, and inserts.
(Multichannel formats are supported on
Pro Tools HD-series and MIX-series only.)
Pro Tools Reference Guide16
Active and Inactive Items
Pro Tools lets you set certain items (such as
tracks and inserts) as inactive, in order to free up
DSP resources and mixer connections.
Items in Pro Tools that can be made inactive (or
active) include the following.
◆ Audio tracks, Auxiliary Inputs, and Master
Faders
◆ Track Inputs and Outputs
◆ Sends
◆ Side-chain inputs
◆ Plug-ins
◆ Hardware inserts
◆ Paths (session-wide)
MIDI tracks cannot be made inactive.
In addition to manually setting Active and Inactive modes, Pro Tools will automatically make
items inactive if there are insufficient or unavailable resources.
Plug-Ins When a plug-in is inactive on a track, its
DSP is made available for other plug-ins and
processing. Plug-in assignments can be made inactive manually, or automatically (see “Automatic and Manual Inactive Mode” on page 18).
Paths and Path Assignments When a path or
path assignment is inactive, its mixer resources
are made available for other signal routing purposes in the session. Paths and assignments can
be made inactive manually, or automatically
(see “Automatic and Manual Inactive Mode” on
page 18).
Tracks For TDM systems (Pro Tools 5.1 and
higher) and LE systems (Pro Tools 6.x), when a
track is made inactive, its voices become available for another track. Mono inactive tracks free
up one voice, and stereo and multichannel
tracks free up one voice per channel. Additionally, when an audio track, Auxiliary Input, or
Master Fader is made inactive, its plug-ins, inserts, sends, and I/O assignments become inactive, and the associated DSP used is freed up for
use elsewhere in the session.
When active, items are fully engaged and operational.
When inactive, items are silent and off, although
most associated controls can still be adjusted.
Different inactive items affect available system
resources in specific ways, as follows:
Chapter 3: Pro Tools Concepts 17
Display of Inactive Items
Automatically Inactive Items
When items are inactive, their names appear in
italics, and their background becomes dark grey.
When a track is inactive, the entire channel strip
darkens.
Active Inactive plug-in
Inactive track
When opening a session, it is possible that not
all signal paths, plug-ins, or audio interfaces
used in the session will be available as defined
on the current system. When opening a session,
sufficient voices may also be unavailable if the
session was created on a different Pro Tools system type (for example, creating a session on a
Pro Tools|24 MIX-series system, then opening it
in on a Pro Tools|HD-series system).
Whenever this occurs, the session will open as it
was last saved. All items that are unavailable, or
cannot be loaded due to insufficient resources,
are made inactive.
Manual Inactive Switching
You can manually apply Active or Inactive
modes to manage system resources. By making
an item inactive, its associated resources are
made available elsewhere in the session.
The following are basic instructions for manually making items inactive. Throughout the
Pro Tools Reference Guide, instructions are provided whenever an item can be made inactive.
Active and inactive items and tracks
Automatic and Manual Inactive Mode
Active and Inactive modes are powerful options
for session transfer, and system resource management. Pro Tools provides automatic and
manual Inactive mode switching. You can manually make items inactive (or active) to selectively manage system resources while editing
and mixing.
Pro Tools Reference Guide18
To toggle an item active or inactive:
■ Control-Start-click (Windows) or Command-
Control-click (Macintosh) the item.
You can apply Active or Inactive modes to all or
all selected tracks using standard Pro Tools modifiers (Alt and Alt+Shift in Windows, Option and
Option+Shift on the Macintosh). Side-chain inputs support direct active and inactive switching, but do not follow switching all or all selected.
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