Pinnacle Systems Pro Tools LE - 8.0, Pro Tools - 8.0 Reference Guide

Reference Guide

Pro Tools® 8.0

Legal Notices

This guide is copyrighted ©2008 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.

003, 96 I/O, 96i I/O, 192 Digital I/O, 192 I/O, 888|24 I/O, 882|20 I/O, 1622 I/O, 24-Bit ADAT Bridge I/O, AudioSuite, Avid, Avid DNA, Avid Mojo, Avid Unity, Avid Unity ISIS, Avid Xpress, AVoption, Axiom, Beat Detective, Bomb Factory, Bruno, C|24, Command|8, Control|24, D-Command, D-Control, D-Fi, D-fx, D-Show, D-Verb, DAE, Digi 002, DigiBase, DigiDelivery, Digidesign, Digidesign Audio Engine, Digidesign Intelligent Noise Reduction, Digidesign TDM Bus, DigiDrive, DigiRack, DigiTest, DigiTranslator, DINR, D-Show, DV Toolkit, EditPack, Eleven, HD Core, HD Process, Hybrid, Impact, Interplay, LoFi, M-Audio, MachineControl, Maxim, Mbox, MediaComposer, MIDI I/O, MIX, MultiShell, Nitris, OMF, OMF Interchange, PRE, ProControl, Pro Tools M-Powered, Pro Tools, Pro Tools|HD, Pro Tools LE, QuickPunch, Recti-Fi, Reel Tape, Reso, Reverb One, ReVibe, RTAS, Sibelius, Smack!, SoundReplacer, Sound Designer II, Strike, Structure, SYNC HD, SYNC I/O, Synchronic, TL Aggro, TL AutoPan, TL Drum Rehab, TL Everyphase, TL Fauxlder, TL In Tune, TL MasterMeter, TL Metro, TL Space, TL Utilities, Transfuser, Trillium Lane Labs, Vari-Fi Velvet, X-Form, and XMON are trademarks or registered trademarks of Digidesign and/or Avid Technology, Inc. Xpand! is Registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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

Guide Part Number 9106-59126-00 REV A 11/08

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Part I Introduction

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

The Pro Tools Guides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

System Requirements and Compatibility Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

About www.digidesign.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Chapter 2. Pro Tools Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Hard Disk Audio Recording. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Pro Tools Nonlinear Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

The Digidesign Audio Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

MIDI. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Synchronization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Surround . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Pro Tools Sessions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Tick-Based and Sample-Based Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

System Resources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

DigiBase. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Chapter 3. Keyboard and Right-Click Mouse Shortcuts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Right-Click Mouse Shortcuts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

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

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

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

Part II System Configuration

Chapter 4. Pro Tools Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Pro Tools|HD Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Pro Tools LE Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Pro Tools M-Powered . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Toolkit Software Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Checking For Software Updates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Contents iii

Chapter 5. System Setup. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Starting Up or Shutting Down Your System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Checking an HD System with DigiTest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Configuring Pro Tools System Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Configuring MIDI Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Configuring Pro Tools Hardware Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

System Usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Chapter 6. I/O Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Pro Tools Signal Paths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

I/O Setup Dialog Tabs and Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Routing Hardware I/O to Pro Tools I/O . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Creating New Paths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Editing Paths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Channel Mapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Valid Paths and Requirements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Working with I/O Settings Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

I/O Setup Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Mic Preamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

H/W Insert Delay Compensation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Chapter 7. Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Global and Local Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Display Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Operation Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Editing Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Mixing Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Processing Preferences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

MIDI Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Synchronization Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Chapter 8. Peripherals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Synchronization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Machine Control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

MIDI Controllers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Ethernet Controllers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Mic Preamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Satellites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Pro Tools Reference Guideiv

Part III Sessions & Tracks

Chapter 9. Sessions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Quick Start Session Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Creating a New Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Session Files and Folders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

Opening a Session. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

Opening Recent Sessions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

Opening Session with Plug-ins Deactivated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

Saving a Session. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

Session Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Closing a Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Exiting or Quitting Pro Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Chapter 10. Pro Tools Main Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

Mix Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

Edit Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

Transport Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

MIDI Editor Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

Score Editor Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

DigiBase Browsers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

Managing Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

Tool Tips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

Chapter 11. Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Track Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Track Channel Strips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

Track Controls and Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158

Edit Window Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

Track Level Meter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163

Adjusting Track Width . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164

Creating Tracks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164

Track Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

Track Height . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

The Track List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

Track Name Right-Click Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178

Assigning Audio Inputs and Outputs to Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179

Track Priority and Voice Assignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182

Assigning MIDI Inputs and Outputs to Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

Soloing and Muting Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

Making Tracks Inactive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192

Color Coding for Tracks, Regions, Markers, and Groups. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193

Contents v

Chapter 12. Grouping Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

Grouping Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

Group Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199

Working with Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201

Setting Group Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

Enabling Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208

Grouped Control Offsets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209

Chapter 13. The Region List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211

Region List Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211

Sorting and Searching in the Region List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

Selecting Regions in the Region List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216

Previewing Regions in the Region List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217

Stereo and Multichannel Regions in the Region List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218

Naming and Displaying Regions in the Region List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219

Managing Regions in the Region List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220

Region Name Right-Click Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222

Chapter 14. DigiBase. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223

DigiBase Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223

Performance and Transfer Volumes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226

Digidesign Databases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

Browser Windows and Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228

Indexing DigiBase Databases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232

The Browser Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233

Browser Panes and Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235

Column Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237

Selecting Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240

Moving, Copying, Duplicating, and Deleting Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240

Searching Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242

Waveforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246

Elastic Audio Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247

Previewing Audio in DigiBase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248

Linking and Relinking Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253

Relink Window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256

Workspace Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260

Project Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263

DigiBase Pro Catalogs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265

Task Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270

Pro Tools Reference Guidevi

Chapter 15. Importing and Exporting Session Data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275

Importing and Exporting to and from a Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275

Audio Conversion on Import . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276

Import Options and Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278

Importing Files with Drag and Drop. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280

Importing Audio Files and Regions Using the Import Audio Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283

Importing Audio from Audio CDs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285

Importing ACID and REX Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285

Importing Multichannel Audio Files from a Field Recorder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287

Exporting Audio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287

Importing Session Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289

Importing AAF and OMF Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298

Exporting Pro Tools Tracks as AAF or OMFI Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298

Exporting Sessions as Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298

Send via DigiDelivery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300

Importing MIDI Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301

Exporting MIDI Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303

Exporting Sibelius Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305

Importing and Exporting Region Group Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305

Chapter 16. File and Session Management and Compatibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309

Audio File Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309

WAV File Compatibility. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312

Sharing Sessions Created on Different Computer Platforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312

Sharing Sessions Created on Different Pro Tools Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316

Sharing Sessions Created on Different Pro Tools Software Versions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318

Language Compatibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323

Contents vii

Part IV Playback and Recording

Chapter 17. Playing Back Track Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327

Playing Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327

Playback Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328

Setting the Playback Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330

Scrolling Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334

Playing Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335

Playing Timeline and Edit Selections with the Playhead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337

Playback Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337

MIDI Beat Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342

Chapter 18. Record Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345

Record Setup Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345

Configuring Pro Tools Hardware I/O for Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346

Connecting a Sound Source. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347

Allocating Hard Drive Space for Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347

Recording with a Click . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348

Setting the Session Meter and Tempo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351

Record Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353

Configuring Default Names for Audio Files and Regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356

Assigning Hardware I/O on a Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357

Record Enabling Tracks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358

Recording with Multiple Hard Drives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361

Selecting a Record Input Monitoring Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363

Setting Monitor Levels for Record and Playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365

Reducing Monitoring Latency. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365

Chapter 19. Audio Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369

Recording an Audio Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369

Recording Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372

Prime for Record Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372

Setting Punch and Loop Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372

Audio Punch Recording Over a Specified Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377

Recording Additional Takes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379

Loop Recording Audio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381

Alternate Takes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382

Recording from a Digital Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 386

Half-Speed Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388

Pro Tools Reference Guideviii

Chapter 20. MIDI Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389

Recording from MIDI Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389

Enabling Input Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390

MIDI Thru . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391

MIDI Input Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391

Input Quantize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 392

Wait for Note . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 392

MIDI Merge/Replace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393

Configuring MIDI or Instrument Tracks for Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393

Recording MIDI and Instrument Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395

MIDI Punch Recording Over a Specified Range. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397

Loop Recording MIDI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 399

MIDI Step Input. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 402

Recording System Exclusive Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 402

Recording Audio from a MIDI Instrument . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403

Chapter 21. Punch Recording Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405

System, Session, and Track Guidelines for Punch Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 406

QuickPunch Audio Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 411

TrackPunch Audio Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 412

DestructivePunch Audio Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 416

Example TrackPunch and DestructivePunch Workflows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 421

Part V Editing

Chapter 22. Editing Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 427

Pro Tools Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 427

Track Material. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 428

Audio Regions and Waveforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429

MIDI Regions and MIDI Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 433

Naming Regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 436

Displaying Region Names, Region Times, and Other Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 437

Multiple Undo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 438

Basic Editing Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 440

Editing Across Multiple Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 443

Contents ix

Chapter 23. Edit Modes and Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 445

Edit Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 445

Edit Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 448

Using the Zoomer Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 449

Using the Trimmer Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 458

Using the Selector Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 464

Using the Grabber Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 465

Using the Smart Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 465

Using the Scrubber Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 468

Numeric Keypad Set to Shuttle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 470

Using the Pencil Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 471

Chapter 24. Making Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 473

Linking or Unlinking Timeline and Edit Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 473

Linking or Unlinking Track and Edit Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 474

Selecting Track Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475

Timeline Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 485

Auto-Scrolling Tracks in the Mix and Edit Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 488

Universe View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 489

Navigating Your Pro Tools Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 492

Chapter 25. Editing Regions and Selections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 495

Creating New Regions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 495

Healing Separated Regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500

Trimming Regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500

Nudging Regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 502

Quantizing Regions to Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505

Editing Stereo and Multichannel Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505

Consolidate Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 506

Compacting an Audio File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 507

Processing Audio with AudioSuite Plug-ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 507

TCE (Time Compression and Expansion) Edit To Timeline Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 508

Rating Regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 509

Chapter 26. Fades and Crossfades. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 511

Using Fades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 511

Fades Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513

Creating Fades at the Beginnings and Ends of Regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 519

Creating a Crossfade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 521

Using AutoFades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 523

Creating Fades and Crossfades in Batches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 523

Moving and Nudging Fades and Crossfades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 524

Separating Regions That Include Fades or Crossfades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 527

Trimming Regions That Include Fades or Crossfades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 528

Fade Boundaries and Shapes in Displayed Automation View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 528

Pro Tools Reference Guidex

Chapter 27. Playlists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 529

Working with Playlists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 529

Track Compositing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 532

Playlists View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 535

Matching Alternate Regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 540

Selecting Alternate Takes on Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 542

Automatically Create New Playlists when Loop Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 543

Expanding Alternate Takes to New Playlists or Tracks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 543

Expanding Alternate Channels to New Playlists or Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 545

Chapter 28. Beat Detective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 549

Beat Detective Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 550

The Beat Detective Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 551

Beat Detective Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 551

Defining a Beat Detective Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 552

Beat Detective Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 553

Calculating Tempo with Beat Detective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 554

Generating Beat Triggers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 554

Generating Bar|Beat Markers with Beat Detective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 560

DigiGroove Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 561

Separating Regions with Beat Detective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 563

Conforming Regions with Beat Detective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 565

Edit Smoothing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 567

Detection (Normal) and Collection Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 569

Part VI MIDI

Chapter 29. MIDI Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 575

MIDI Editing Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 575

Setting the Grid Value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 577

The Pencil Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 578

Inserting MIDI Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 580

Manually Editing MIDI Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 582

Using the Grabber Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 584

Time Compression/Expansion Trimmer Tool Functionality on MIDI Regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . 591

Continuous Controller Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 592

Patch Select (Program and Bank Changes) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 596

System Exclusive Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 600

Note and Controller Chasing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 601

Offsetting MIDI Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 602

Stuck Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 603

Remove Duplicate Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 603

MIDI Real-Time Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 604

Contents xi

Chapter 30. MIDI Editors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 611

MIDI Editor Window Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 613

MIDI Editor Zoom Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 618

Track List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 618

Group List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 620

Timebase and Conductor Rulers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 621

Superimposed Notes View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 621

Notation View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 626

Velocity, Controller, and Automation Lanes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 628

Chapter 31. Score Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 631

Notation Display Track Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 641

Score Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 643

Editing Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 644

Score Editor Right-Click Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 647

Key Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 648

Meter Changes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 649

Chord Symbols and Diagrams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 649

Exporting Scores . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 651

Printing Scores. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 651

Chapter 32. MIDI Event List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 653

Inserting Events in the MIDI Event List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 656

Editing Events in the MIDI Event List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 658

MIDI Event List Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 660

Part VII Arranging

Chapter 33. Time, Tempo, Meter, Key, and Chords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 663

Timebase Rulers and Conductor Rulers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 663

Main Time Scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 666

Tick-Based Timing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 667

Song Start Marker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 670

Tempo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 671

Graphic Tempo Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 676

Changing the Linearity Display Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 682

Tempo Operations Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 683

Identify Beat Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 689

Meter Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 692

Time Operations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 694

Renumbering Bars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 700

Key Signatures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 700

Chord Symbols. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 703

Pro Tools Reference Guidexii

Chapter 34. Memory Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 705

Memory Locations and Markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 705

Memory Locations Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 712

Chapter 35. Arranging Regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 715

Placing Regions in Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 715

Replacing Audio Regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 726

Sync Points. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 728

Shift Command. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 730

Locking Regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 730

Muting/Unmuting Regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 732

Stripping Silence from Regions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 732

Inserting Silence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 735

Duplicating Regions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 736

Repeating Regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 737

Chapter 36. Region Loops and Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 739

Region Looping. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 739

Region Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 743

Part VIII Processing

Chapter 37. AudioSuite Processing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 753

The AudioSuite Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 753

The AudioSuite Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 754

Using AudioSuite Plug-ins. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 760

Chapter 38. Elastic Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 763

Example Elastic Audio Workflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 764

Elastic Audio Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 769

Elastic Audio Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 772

Real-Time and Rendered Elastic Audio Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 773

Elastic Audio Plug-ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 774

Editing in Warp View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 778

Editing in Analysis View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 785

Elastic Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 787

Elastic Audio Region-Based Pitch Shifting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 790

AudioSuite Processing and Elastic Audio Regions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 792

Moving Elastic Audio Between Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 793

Fades and MicroFades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 794

Elastic Audio Preferences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 795

Contents xiii

Chapter 39. Event Operations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 797

Event Operations Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 797

Quantize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 798

Restore Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 810

Flatten Performance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 812

Change Velocity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 812

Change Duration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 814

Transpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 816

Select/Split Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 818

Input Quantize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 820

Step Input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 821

Part IX Mixing

Chapter 40. Basic Mixing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 827

Mixing Concepts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 827

Metering and Calibration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 827

Signal Flow by Track Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 828

Inserts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 835

Views in the Mix and Edit Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 836

Audio Input and Output Paths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 839

Sends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 842

Output Windows for Tracks and Sends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 849

Signal Routing for Monitoring and Submixing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 853

Delay Compensation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 860

Dither . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 866

Using an Ethernet Control Surface with Pro Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 868

Using a MIDI Control Surface with Pro Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 868

Chapter 41. Plug-in and Hardware Inserts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 871

Inserting Plug-ins on Tracks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 876

Plug-in Menu Organization. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 877

Moving and Duplicating Plug-in and Hardware Inserts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 880

The Plug-in Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 880

Editing Plug-in Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 884

Plug-in Automation and Safe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 885

Side-Chain Input. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 885

Plug-in Presets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 886

Plug-in Mapping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 891

Bypassing Plug-ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 897

Linking and Unlinking Controls on Multi-Mono Plug-ins. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 897

Using Hardware Inserts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 898

Pro Tools Reference Guidexiv

Chapter 42. Automation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 901

Automation QuickStart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 901

Automation Playlists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 902

Automation Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 904

Automation Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 908

Viewing Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 910

Writing Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 913

Enabling and Suspending Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 922

Deleting Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 925

Thinning Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 925

Drawing Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 926

Editing Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 927

Trimming Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 936

Writing Automation to the Start, End, or All of a Track or Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 938

Writing Automation to the Next Breakpoint or to the Punch Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 940

Guidelines for “Write To” Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 943

Overwriting or Extending Mute Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 944

Creating Snapshot Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 947

Previewing Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 950

Capturing Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 952

VCA Master Track Automation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 955

Chapter 43. Mixdown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 959

Bus Recording to Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 961

Bounce to Disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 962

Bounce Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 963

Recording a Submix (with Bounce to Disk). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 969

Final Mixdown. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 970

Mastering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 971

Contents xv

Part X Surround

Chapter 44. Pro Tools Setup for Surround . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 975

Pro Tools Audio Connections for 5.1 Mixing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 975

Configuring Pro Tools for Multichannel Sessions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 976

Default I/O Selectors in I/O Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 980

5.1 Track Layouts, Routing, and Metering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 981

Chapter 45. Multichannel Tracks and Signal Routing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 983

Multichannel Audio Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 983

Multichannel Signal Routing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 986

Paths in Surround Mixes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 988

Example Paths and Signal Routing for a Surround Mix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 990

Chapter 46. Surround Panning and Mixing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 995

Introduction to Pro Tools Surround Panning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 995

Output Windows. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 996

Standard Controls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 997

Surround Panner Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 998

Panning Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1001

Divergence and Center Percentage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1004

LFE Faders in Multichannel Panners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1005

Pan Playlists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1006

Surround Scope Plug-in. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1006

Pro Tools Reference Guidexvi

Part XI Sync and Video

Chapter 47. Working with Synchronization. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1009

Pro Tools Synchronization Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1009

Session Setup Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1010

Preparing to Work with SMPTE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1016

Configuring Pro Tools for SMPTE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1016

Pull Up and Pull Down . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1018

Putting Pro Tools Online. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1021

Generating Time Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1022

Using MIDI Machine Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1024

Setting Minimum Sync Delay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1027

Remote Track Arming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1028

Spotting Regions to SMPTE Frame Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1028

Time Stamping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1031

Identifying a Synchronization Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1032

Troubleshooting SMPTE Synchronization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1032

Chapter 48. Working with Video in Pro Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1035

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1035

QuickTime Movies Support in Pro Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1036

Windows Media Video (VC-1 AP Codec) Support in Pro Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1037

Before Starting Your Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1037

Video Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1038

Main Video Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1039

Video Track Controls and Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1040

Locking Video Tracks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1041

Video Engine Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1042

Importing Video into Pro Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1043

Extracting Audio from QuickTime and Windows Media Video. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1046

Video Regions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1047

General Video Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1048

Renaming Video Disk Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1050

Video Region Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1050

Using the Video Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1051

Browsing Video in the Video Universe Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1053

Playback of High-Definition QuickTime and Windows Media Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1055

Playing QuickTime DV Video to an External Monitor Over FireWire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1055

Playing Video to an External Monitor Using a Video Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1057

Bouncing the Video Track to a QuickTime Movie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1059

Bouncing a Video Track with Windows Media Video to a WIndows Media Movie . . . . . . . . . 1060

Using Pro Tools LE to Import Video from Other Versions of Pro Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1061

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1063

Contents xvii

Pro Tools Reference Guidexviii

Part I: Introduction

Chapter 1: Welcome to Pro Tools

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

The Pro Tools Guides

In addition to any printed guides or documentation included with your system, PDF versions of the printed guides and many additional Pro Tools guides and Read Mes are installed automatically during Pro Tools installation to the Digidesign/Documentation folder. To view or print PDF guides, you can use Adobe Reader or Apple Preview (Mac only).

Printed copies of the Pro Tools Reference Guide and some guides in the Pro Tools guide set can be purchased separately from the DigiStore (www.digidesign.com).

Setup Guide

The printed Setup Guide for your system includes instructions for installing Pro Tools and connecting your studio.

Getting Started with Pro Tools Guide

For Pro Tools LE® and M-Powered™, see the Getting Started with Pro Tools Guide for your interface.

This guide has tutorials on using Pro Tools (such as recording in a Pro Tools session, importing audio from a CD, and creating an audio CD from a Pro Tools session).

Guides Accessible in Pro Tools

The main Pro Tools guides are accessible from the Pro Tools Help menu. These include:

• Shortcuts, which lists keyboard and Right-click shortcuts for Pro Tools including those shown in Pro Tools menus.

• DigiRack Plug-ins Guide, which describes the DigiRack plug-ins included with Pro Tools for both real-time and file-based audio processing.

• Pro Tools Menus Guide, which covers all the Pro Tools on-screen menus.

• Pro Tools Reference Guide, which explains Pro Tools software in detail.

Chapter 1: Welcome to Pro Tools 3

Additional Plug-in Guides

For information on additional free plug-ins that can be installed with Pro Tools, and for information on additional plug-ins that you can purchase separately, see the following PDF guides:

• Bomb Factory Plug-ins Guide, which describes the Bomb Factory plug-ins.

• Creative Collection Plug-ins Guide, which describes the Digidesign Creative Collection instrument and effects plug-ins that can be installed with Pro Tools.

• Digidesign Plug-ins Guide, which describes the Digidesign® plug-ins.

• TL Labs Plug-ins Guide, which describes the TL Labs plug-ins.

Conventions Used in These Guides

The Pro Tools guides use the following conventions to indicate menu choices, keyboard commands, and mouse commands:

Convention Action

File > Save Choose Save from the

File menu

Control+N Hold down the Control

key and press the N key

Control-click Hold down the Control

Right-click Click with the right

key and click the mouse button

mouse button

These guides are installed with Pro Tools and can be found in the following locations:

Windows C:\Program Files\Digidesign\ Documentation\Plug-ins

Mac Applications/Digidesign/Documentation/ Plug-ins

Expanded Systems Guide

(Pro Tools|HD Systems Only)

This PDF guide provides instructions for expanding a Pro Tools|HD

system with additional Digidesign cards and audio interfaces, with or without an expansion chassis.

Additional Digidesign Printed Guides

Digidesign also provides guides with Pro Tools audio interfaces, dedicated worksurfaces (such as D-Control™) and control surfaces (such as Command|8

), and other Digidesign options (such as MIDI I/O™, PRE, and SYNC HD™). Refer to the separate guide provided with each Digidesign product.

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

The following symbols are used to highlight important information:

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

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

Shortcuts show you useful keyboard or mouse shortcuts.

Cross References point to related sections in this guide and other Digidesign guides.

Pro Tools M-Powered

References to Pro Tools LE™ in this guide are usually interchangeable with Pro Tools M-Powered™, except as noted in the Pro Tools M-Powered Setup Guide.

Pro Tools Reference Guide4

System Requirements and Compatibility Information

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

For complete system requirements and a list of Digidesign-qualified computers, operating systems, hard drives, and third-party devices, refer to the latest information on the Digidesign website:

www.digidesign.com/compatibility

About www.digidesign.com

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

Product Registration Register your purchase online.

Support and Downloads 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; or 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 or learn about our Development Partners and their plugins, applications, and hardware.

News and Events Get the latest news from Digidesign or sign up for a Pro Tools demo.

Pro Tools Accelerated Videos Watch the series of free tutorial videos. Accelerated Videos are designed to help you get up and running with Pro Tools and its plug-ins.

Chapter 1: Welcome to Pro Tools 5

Pro Tools Reference Guide6

Chapter 2: Pro Tools Concepts

This chapter explains some of the principles and concepts that form the foundation of Pro Tools operation and functionality.

Hard Disk Audio Recording

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

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

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

Pro Tools Nonlinear Editing

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

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

Chapter 2: Pro Tools Concepts 7

The Digidesign Audio Engine

The Digidesign Audio Engine (DAE) is Digidesign’s real-time operating system for digital audio recording, playback, and processing. When you install Pro Tools, DAE is automatically installed on your system.

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, and mix automation required by Pro Tools and other products from Digidesign and its Development Partners.

The DAE Playback Buffer Size determines the amount of memory DAE allocates to manage disk buffers. The DAE Playback Buffer Size can be changed in the Playback Engine dialog.

For information on configuring the DAE Playback Buffer Size, see “DAE Playback Buffer Size” on page 48.

Pro Tools LE uses host (CPU) processing to provide audio track recording, playback, mixing, and effects processing. Both Pro Tools LE and Pro Tools HD use host processing to run RTAS (Real-Time AudioSuite) plug-ins for effects processing. Performance is determined by your system and its Playback Engine settings.

The Playback Engine dialog lets you set a hardware buffer size and allocate a percentage of CPU resources for these tasks.

Playback Engine Dialog

Pro Tools lets you adjust the performance of your system by changing system settings that affect its capacity for processing, playback, and recording. These system settings are available in the Playback Engine dialog (Setup > Playback Engine).

Pro Tools takes advantage of your computer’s host processor for certain tasks and optional host-based DSP processing.

Pro Tools Reference Guide8

Playback Engine dialog for Pro Tools|HD system

On Pro Tools|HD systems, you can select the number of voices and voiceable tracks for your system and its sessions. Voice count choices are based on how much DSP processing you want to allocate for voicing.

On Pro Tools|HD systems, the Playback Engine dialog is also where you assign dedicated DSP resources for Delay Compensation.

For more information, see “Configuring Pro Tools System Settings” on page 42. See also “System Resources” on page 19.

MIDI

passes input

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

MIDI devices are equipped with 5-pin DIN connec tors, label ed as ei ther I N, OUT , or THR U. The MIDI OUT port transmits messages. The MIDI IN port receives messages. The MIDI THRU outputs whatever is received from the IN port. MIDI devices are connected with MIDI cables that are available at most music stores.

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

strument sound. For example, bass on channel 1, piano on channel 2, and drums on channel 10. Similar to a multitrack tape recorder, a MIDI sequencer can record complex arrangements—even using only a single multitimbral keyboard.

MIDI Terms

The following are some basic MIDI terms:

MIDI Instrument A hardware MIDI device or software instrument (such as an instrument plug-in).

MIDI Interface Hardware that lets computers connect to and communicate with MIDI devices (such as the M-Audio MIDISPORT).

MIDI Device Any physical MIDI keyboard, sound module, effects device, or other equipment that can send or receive MIDI information.

MIDI Controller Any MIDI device that transmits MIDI performance data. These include MIDI keyboards, MIDI guitar controllers, MIDI wind controllers, and others. Controllers transmit MIDI from their MIDI OUT ports.

MIDI signal flow

Not all devices will have all three MIDI ports (IN, OUT, and THRU).

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

MIDI Control Surface Any device (such as the Digidesign Command|8), which uses a MIDI connection to send control messages to a software program, but is not generally used to record MIDI information.

Multitimbral The ability of one MIDI device to play several different instrument sounds (such as piano, bass, and drums) simultaneously on separate MIDI channels. This makes it possible for a single multitimbral MIDI instrument to play back entire arrangements.

Chapter 2: Pro Tools Concepts 9

MIDI Port A physical MIDI port on a MIDI interface or a virtual MIDI port created in software. There are separate ports for MIDI In and Out. Physical MIDI ports connect to external MIDI devices using MIDI cables. Virtual MIDI ports connect software plug-ins and applications (see also “Virtual MIDI Nodes”).

MIDI Channel Up to 16 channels of MIDI performance data can be transmitted on a single MIDI cable. The channel number separates the different messages so your sound sources can receive the correct messages.

Program Change Event A MIDI command that tells a sound source which of its sounds (or sound patches) to use. The MIDI protocol lets you choose from a range of 128 patches.

Bank Select Message Many devices have more than 128 patches, which are arranged in banks. The Bank Select Message is a MIDI command that specifies the bank of patches from which to choose.

Local Control A controller setting found on most MIDI keyboards that lets them play their own sound source. Disabling “local control” ensures that a device’s internal sound source is only played by external MIDI messages (such as those sent from Pro Tools when MIDI in Pro Tools is routed to the MIDI keyboard). When using Pro Tools, “local control” should usually be disabled (for example, when using MIDI Thru). When “local control” is off, your keyboard still transmits data to its MIDI OUT port.

Continuous Controller Events MIDI instructions that allow real-time changes to notes that are currently sounding. These include pitch bend, modulation, volume, pan, and many others.

Virtual MIDI Nodes When using MIDI with instrument plug-ins in Pro Tools, virtual MIDI nodes are created. These nodes act like MIDI ports and provide software MIDI connections between Pro Tools and other MIDI software, such as instrument plug-ins. For example, when you insert Propellerhead’s Reason as a ReWire client on a track, the various MIDI inputs to Reason become available to Pro Tools MIDI and Instrument track MIDI outputs.

Common MIDI Misconceptions

MIDI is not audio, and by itself makes no sound. MIDI is control information only. It is like the piano roll for a player piano; it provides control information for what note to play when, for how long, at what volume, and with what sound (instrument). For example, when you strike a key on a MIDI keyboard, it sends a message to a MIDI instrument to play that particular note at that particular velocity using the selected sound (instrument). This could be its internal tone generator (like a synthesizer or sampler), another external MIDI instrument, or an instrument plug-in within Pro Tools. In order to play and hear a MIDI recording, you must have a MIDI instrument. Audio from an external MIDI instrument can be sent to an external mixer or monitored through your Pro Tools audio interface (using either an Instrument track or Auxiliary track).

If you are using an external MIDI instrument, it must be connected to MIDI ports that are recognized by your computer. These ports can be on a Pro Tools interface that has MIDI ports (such as an Mbox as a Digidesign MIDI I/O).

2) or some other MIDI interface (such

System Exclusive Data MIDI data commonly used for sending and retrieving patch parameter information for storage purposes.

Pro Tools Reference Guide10

Signal paths for external MIDI instruments

To actually hear an external MIDI instrument, you need to connect its audio outputs to a mixing console or connect it to one of the audio inputs of your Pro Tools audio interface.

Synchronization

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

Just as each Pro Tools system has unique hardware features, each MIDI device has its own features (and limitations) as to the number of voices and instruments it can play at one time. Refer to the device’s documentation for information on its capabilities.

MIDI In Pro Tools

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

MIDI data in Pro Tools can be anything from MIDI note data (note number, on/off, velocity) to System Exclusive (Sysex) messages. MIDI data can be recorded or played back from both external MIDI devices with a MIDI interface (like the Digidesign MIDI I/O or Mbox 2) and other MIDI software (such as instrument plug-ins and ReWire client applications).

For more information on different SMPTE/EBU formats, and other concepts related to time code, refer to the Pro Tools Sync & Surround Concepts Guide.

Surround

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

There are multiple types of surround formats in use (from three-channel LCR to 7.1, which has 8 channels).

The most common surround format is 5.1, which refers to having 5 speakers and a subwoofer (the “.1”). 5.1 is used in movie theaters and home entertainment systems. Additionally, most DVDs are mixed to 5.1. The standard speaker placement for 5.1 for surround monitoring is stereo left and right speakers, and an additional center speaker in front, two more stereo left and right speakers in the rear, and the subwoofer on the side.

Chapter 2: Pro Tools Concepts 11

Pro Tools HD and Pro Tools LE with the Com-

Pro Tools HD

Pro Tools M-Powered

Pro Tools LE

plete Production Toolkit option support mixing in surround formats. In Pro Tools, each surround format is considered to be a Pro Tools greater-than-stereo multichannel format.

For information on fundamental surround concepts, see the Pro Tools Sync & Surround Concepts Guide.

There are different session file icons for each type of Pro Tools system software.

Session file icons

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

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

Although there are different session file icons, session files may be opened by the other types of Pro Tools system software (with certain restrictions). See “Opening a Session” on page 116.

When a session is transferred to a different Pro Tools system, its session file icon changes to the icon type of the destination system.

Tracks

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

Pro Tools Reference Guide12

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

Video tracks support QuickTime movies (all Pro Tools systems) and VC-1 video files (Windows Vista only). Additionally, Avid video is supported on Pro Tools HD or Pro Tools LE with DV Toolkit 2 software with an Avid video peripheral. An individual video track can play back only one type of video at a time.

Audio track in the Edit window (stereo track shown)

MIDI track in the Edit window

Video track in Frames view

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

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

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

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

Media Files

Pro Tools sessions create, import, export, and reference media files. Media files are audio, MIDI, and video files. Audio and video media files are stored separately from the Pro Tools session file. MIDI data is stored in the session file.

Audio Files

When you record audio into a Pro Tools session, audio files are created.

Audio file icons

Audio files for each session are stored in a folder named “Audio Files.” Audio files are listed in the Pro Tools Region List and can appear in an audio track. A section of an audio file can be defined as a region. See “Regions” on page 14.

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

Chapter 2: Pro Tools Concepts 13

MIDI Files

When you record or enter MIDI into a Pro Tools session, all MIDI data is stored in the Pro Tools session file. You can import and export MIDI files to and from Pro Tools sessions, but MIDI recorded or otherwise created in a Pro Tools session does not automatically create new MIDI files.

Video Files

When you record or import video into a Pro Tools session, all video data is stored as the corresponding video file type (such as QuickTime). Video files can be created in (or copied to) the Video Files folder in the session folder. However, in most cases, Pro Tools references video files that have been captured by another application, such as Avid Media Composer.

Regions

Region group (Mixed audio and MIDI multitrack region group)

A region is a segment of audio, MIDI, or video data. A region could be a drum loop, a guitar riff, a verse of a song, a recording take, a sound effect, some dialog, or an entire sound file. Regions are especially useful for arranging audio and MIDI. A region can also have associated automation data. In Pro Tools, regions are created from audio files or MIDI data, and can be arranged in audio and MIDI track playlists. Regions can also be grouped (a region of regions) and looped (repeated).

Audio region

MIDI region

Video region (Frames view)

Pro Tools Reference Guide14

Playlist

Playlist selector pop-up menu

A playlist is a sequence of regions arranged on an audio, MIDI, or video track. Tracks have edit playlists and automation playlists.

On audio tracks, an edit playlist tells the hard disk which audio regions to play in what order. For example, you can have separate audio regions for a song introduction, the first verse, the first chorus, and so on. You can also 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 used in different places and have different effects applied. On MIDI and Instrument tracks, edit playlists can store multiple MIDI sequences (or performances) on a track.

A playlist can be made up of a single region or ma ny s epa rat e re gio ns. It c an b e ma de u p of sim ilar 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 alternate edit playlists for a track. This lets you assemble different versions of performances or edits on a single track and choose between them from the Playlists menu on the track.

Each audio, Auxiliary Input, Instrument, Master Fader, and VCA track also has a single set of automation playlists. Automation playlists can include volume, pan, mute, and each automationenabled control for the insert and send assignments on that track.

MIDI controller data on Instrument and MIDI tracks is always included as part of the track playlist.

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 96 I/O audio interface provides up to 16 channels of audio input and output to a Pro Tools|HD system, while an Mbox 2 audio interface provides up to four inputs and two outputs.

The second use of the term channel refers to a channel strip in the Pro Tools Mix window. Each track in a Pro Tools session has a corresponding channel strip in the Mix window.

Audio and MIDI channel strips have similar controls, but those controls have slightly different effects. For example, audio, Auxiliary Input, and Instrument track channel strip faders control the output gain to the mix bus for that channel, while MIDI channel strip faders send MIDI volume data (MIDI controller 7) to the selected MIDI instrument.

The term ‘MIDI channel’ also describes a separate aspect of MIDI operation. See “MIDI” on page 9.

Chapter 2: Pro Tools Concepts 15

Input from stereo bus path

Outputs to stereo bus path

Audio tracks

Inserts

Sends

Auxiliary

Input

Track

Signal Routing

Pro Tools provides software-based mixing and signal routing controls for audio and MIDI. These controls are located in the Mix window. Some of these controls can also be accessed from the Edit window.

A common audio signal routing task is to submix multiple tracks to a single channel strip (such as an Auxiliary Input) for shared processing and level control. The following example shows two audio tracks submixed to a stereo Auxiliary Input.

Channel strip in the Mix window (audio track)

Pro Tools Reference Guide16

Submixing to an Auxiliary Input

Signal Routing Options

Signal routing options include the following:

Track Input and Output (I/O) Controls The most basic type of signal routing is track input and output. A track needs to have an assigned input path to record audio, and an assigned output path in order to be audible through a hardware output. Signals can also be routed to or from other tracks in Pro Tools (or hardware inputs and outputs) using internal busses.

Auxiliary Input and Master Fader Tracks Auxiliary Inputs can be used as returns, submixers, and bus masters. Master Fader tracks are used as bus and output master level controls. Both Auxiliary Input and Master Fader tracks can have plug-in and hardware inserts.

MIDI Tracks MIDI tracks are generally used for routing MIDI from internal or external sources to external MIDI devices. MIDI data can also be routed to plug-ins on Auxiliary Inputs or Instrument tracks.

Instrument Tracks Instrument tracks are the primary way to route MIDI to an instrument plugin and then route the plug-in’s sound to outputs, sends and busses, or other inserts. Instrument tracks can also be used to send MIDI to and monitor audio from external MIDI devices.

Sends Sends route audio from tracks to hardware outputs, or to internal busses that are in turn routed to other tracks within Pro Tools. MIDI, Master Fader, and VCA Master tracks do not have sends.

Plug-in and Hardware Inserts Plug-in processing occurs completely within the Pro Tools system. Hardware inserts use audio interface inputs and outputs for traditional insert routing to and from external effects and other devices. MIDI and VCA Master tracks do not have inserts.

Instrument Plug-ins Instrument plug-ins are different from processing plug-ins in that they generate audio rather than process the audio signal from a track’s audio input or from hard disk. Instrument plug-ins are typically played by MIDI.

Paths Paths are any routing option in Pro Tools, including internal or external inputs, outputs, busses, and inserts. Pro Tools lets you name these paths, and these path names appear in the Audio Input and Output Path selectors and other menus. For more information, see Chapter 6, “I/O Setup.”

Mixing Formats Sessions can include combinations of mono, stereo, and greater-than-stereo multichannel format tracks, busses, inputs, outputs, and inserts. Greater-than-stereo multichannel formats are supported with Pro Tools HD, and Pro Tools LE with the Complete Production Toolkit option only.

Grouping and VCA Tracks Tracks can be grouped together for mixing so that their relative mix settings are maintained when changing a mix setting for any track in the group (for example, changing the volume of one track affects the volume of all the other tracks in the group). VCA Master tracks (Pro Tools HD only) control the relative mix settings for all tracks within the selected group.

Chapter 2: Pro Tools Concepts 17

Tick-Based and Sample-Based Time

Pro Tools lets you set any track timebase to either sample-based or tick-based. You can also set the Timeline to be viewed as tick-based or sample-based.

Audio in Pro Tools is sample-based by default. This means that if an audio region is located at a particular sample location, it will not move from that location if the tempo changes in the session—though its Bar|Beat location will change.

MIDI data in Pro Tools is tick-based by default. This means that if a MIDI region is located at a particular Bar|Beat location, it will not move from that Bar|Beat location if the tempo changes in the session—though its sample location will change.

You can select whether a track is sample-based or tick-based when it is created, or change timebases later.

Sample-Based Audio and MIDI

With a sample-based audio track, all regions in the track have an absolute location on the Timeline. Regions stay fixed to the sample time, regardless of where tempo or meter changes occur in a session.

If you make a MIDI track sample-based, all MIDI events in the track have an absolute location on the Timeline. MIDI events stay fixed to sample time, regardless of any tempo or meter changes in a session.

Tick-Based Audio and MIDI

Tick-based audio is fixed to a Bars|Beat location, and moves relative to the sample Timeline when tempo and meter changes occur. However, MIDI events and tick-based audio respond differently to tempo changes with respect to duration. MIDI note events change length when tempo or meter is adjusted, while audio regions do not (unless Elastic Audio is enabled). When Elastic Audio is not enabled on an audio track, meter and tempo changes affect only the start point (or sync point) for each audio region in a tickbased track. If Elastic Audio is enabled on an audio track, tempo changes apply Elastic Audio processing, which changes the duration of the audio region.

Elastic Audio

Elastic Audio provides real-time and non-realtime (rendered) Time Compression and Expansion (TCE) of audio. Tick-based Elastic Audio tracks actually change the location of samples according to changes in tempo. The audio stretches or compresses to match changes in tempo. Elastic Audio also provides high-quality non-real-time region-based pitch shifting.

Pro Tools Elastic Audio uses exceptionally highquality transient detection algorithms, beat and tempo analysis, and real-time or rendered TCE processing algorithms. Elastic Audio lets you quickly and easily tempo conform and beat match audio to the session’s Tempo ruler. It also provides an unprecedented degree of control over transient detection and TCE processing on an event-by-event basis.

Pro Tools Reference Guide18

With Elastic Audio, Pro Tools analyzes entire audio files for transient “events.” For example, an event can be a drum hit, a sung note, or chord played by a guitar. These detected events can then serve as control points for “warping” the audio. Pro Tools can warp (TCE) audio events automatically, such as when automatically conforming audio to the session tempo or quantizing audio events, or you can warp audio manually using the standard editing tools with the audio track set to Warp view.

Elastic Audio is useful in several common workflows: working with loops, correcting performances, remixing, beat and pitch matching, and sound design and special effects.

 In order to free up needed DSP resources,

Pro Tools allows for certain items (such as tracks and inserts) to be manually made inactive. Inactive elements are viewable, editable, and retained within the session. See “Active and Inactive Items” on page 19.

 All Pro Tools systems provide flexible voice

options for audio tracks, to help maximize use of available voices in your system. For more information on voice management and options, see “Voice Borrowing” on page 186.

Active and Inactive Items

Pro Tools lets you make certain items (such as tracks and inserts) inactive, in order to free up DSP resources and mixer connections.

System Resources

Track count, plug-in processing, signal path and routing options, and voice availability are ultimately limited by the combined resources available from the host computer and from your Pro Tools hardware.

Pro Tools provides several ways to manage and conserve resources to maximize the performance of your system. As you begin working with Pro Tools sessions and tracks, you can take advantage of the following features to extend the effectiveness of your available DSP and other resources:

 Pro Tools lets you adjust the performance of

your system by changing system settings that affect its capacity for processing, playback, and recording. See “Configuring Pro Tools System Settings” on page 42.

Items in Pro Tools that can be made inactive include the following:

• Audio, Auxiliary Input, Master Fader, VCA Master, and Instrument tracks

• Track Inputs and Outputs

•Sends

• Side-chain inputs

• Plug-ins

• Hardware inserts

• Paths (session-wide)

MIDI tracks cannot be made inactive.

Side-chain inputs support direct active and inactive switching, but do not follow switching all or all selected side-chain inputs.

Chapter 2: Pro Tools Concepts 19

In addition to manually setting Active and Inac-

Active Inactive plug-in

Inactive track

tive modes, Pro Tools automatically makes items inactive if there are insufficient or unavailable resources.

When active, items are fully engaged and operational.

When inactive, items are silent and off, although most associated controls can still be adjusted. Different inactive items affect available system resources in specific ways, as follows:

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 21).

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 21).

Display of Inactive Items

When items are inactive, their names appear in italics, and their background becomes dark gray. When a track is inactive, the entire channel strip is grayed out.

Tracks When a track is made inactive, its voices become available for another track. Inactive mono tracks free up one voice; inactive stereo and multichannel tracks free up one voice per channel. Additionally, when an audio, Auxiliary Input, Instrument, or Master Fader track is made inactive, its plug-ins, inserts, sends, and I/O assignments become inactive, and the associated DSP used is freed up for use elsewhere in the session.

Pro Tools Reference Guide20

Active and inactive plug-ins, sends, 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.

DigiBase

DigiBase is a database management tool for Pro Tools. DigiBase expands upon basic Pro Tools search and import capabilities by providing powerful tools to manage your data both inside and outside of your sessions, on any hard drive connected to the system.

Automatically Inactive Items

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, opening a session created on a Pro Tools HD system on a Pro Tools LE 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.

A database is a way of organizing data such that it can easily be searched, sorted, managed, and utilized. Your checkbook is an example of a database file. For every check you write, you enter a new record. That record contains information about the check, such as when you wrote it, to whom you wrote it, and for what amount. This information is written in specific columns, or fields. Everything you need to know (the check’s metadata) is there, even though the check itself is not.

DigiBase browsers let you search, sort, and mange these databases by volume or catalog (DigiBase Pro only). You can use DigiBase browsers not only to organize your Pro Tools sessions and media files (audio, MIDI, and video), but also to audition and import by drag and drop.

For more information about DigiBase, see “DigiBase” on page 223.

Chapter 2: Pro Tools Concepts 21

Pro Tools Reference Guide22

Chapter 3: Keyboard and Right-Click Mouse Shortcuts

This chapter provides an overview of Pro Tools mouse and keyboard shortcuts.

A PDF listing of all shortcuts is available in Pro Tools. Choose Help > Shortcuts.

Right-Click Mouse Shortcuts

Pro Tools provides Right-click shortcuts for choosing various Pro Tools commands and menus with any Right-click capable mouse.

For a complete list of Right-click shortcuts, see the Shortcuts Guide.

Global Key Commands

This section covers keyboard shortcuts that apply to many functions in Pro Tools.

For a complete list of keyboard shortcuts, see the Shortcuts Guide.

Track Functions

Pro Tools provides keyboard shortcuts for the following track functions:

• Changing Automation mode

• Enabling playlists

•Adding plug-ins

• Record enabling, soloing, and muting tracks

• Record safing and solo safing tracks

• Assigning inputs, outputs, and sends

• Toggling volume/peak/delay display

• Clearing meters

• Changing track heights

Command Windows Mac

Apply action to all channel strips/tracks

Apply action to selected channel strips/tracks

Alt+ action

Alt+ Shift+ action

Option+ action

Option+ Shift+ action

Chapter 3: Keyboard and Right-Click Mouse Shortcuts 23

List and Parameter Selection

Region List

Keyboard Focus

Group List

Keyboard Focus

Commands Keyboard Focus

(Edit window)

There are three types of Keyboard Focus:

Pro Tools provides keyboard shortcuts for the following items:

• Selection of tracks in Track List

• Enabling of groups in Group List

• Automation Enable window parameters

• Setting Memory Location parameters

Command Windows Mac

Toggle item and set all others to same new state

Toggle item and set all others to opposite state

Alt-click item Option-click

item

Control-click item

Commandclick item

Controls and Editing Tools

Pro Tools provides keyboard shortcuts for moving plug-in controls, faders and sliders, the Scrubber, and automation data.

Command Windows Mac

Fine adjustment of sliders, knobs, and breakpoints

Hold Control while clicking the item

Hold Command while clicking the item

Commands Keyboard Focus When selected in the Tracks pane in the Edit window or in the Notes pane of any MIDI Editor window, this provides a wide range of single key shortcuts from the computer keyboard for editing and playing. The frontmost Edit or MIDI Editor window always receives Commands Keyboard Focus when it is enabled.

With Commands Keyboard Focus disabled, you can still access any of its key shortcuts by pressing the Start key (Windows) or Control (Mac) along with the key.

For a complete list of Commands Keyboard Focus shortcuts, see the Shortcuts Guide.

Region List Keyboard Focus When selected, audio regions, MIDI regions, and region groups can be located and selected in the Region List by typing the first few letters of the region’s name.

Group List Keyboard Focus When selected, Mix and Edit Groups can be enabled or disabled by typing the Group ID letter (in either the Mix or Edit window).

Keyboard Focus

The Keyboard Focus in Pro Tools determines how the alpha keys function. Depending on which Keyboard Focus is enabled, you can use the keys on your computer (alpha) keyboard to select regions in the Region List, enable or disable groups, or perform an edit or play command.

You can only enable one of the three Keyboard Focus modes at a time. Enabling a Keyboard Focus will disable the one previously enabled.

Pro Tools Reference Guide24

Keyboard Focus buttons

To set the Keyboard Focus, do one of the following:

 Click the a–z button for the focus you want to

enable.

– or –

 While pressing Control+Alt (Windows) or

Command+Option (Mac), press one of the following keys: 1 (Commands), 2 (Region List), or 3 (Group List).

Although multiple plug-in windows can have a keyboard focus enabled, only the frontmost window receives any keyboard input.

Numeric Keypad Modes

The Operation preference for Numeric Keypad mode determines how the numeric keypad functions for Transport.

Shuttle Lock Modes

With either Shuttle Lock mode (Classic or Transport) you can use the numeric keypad to shuttle forward or backwards at specific speeds.

• 5 is normal speed.

• 6–9 provide increasingly faster fast-forward speeds.

• 1–4 provide progressively faster rewind speeds (4 is the slowest rewind Shuttle Lock speed, 1 is the fastest).

• Press 0 to stop Shuttle Lock, then press the number to resume Shuttle Lock speed.

• Press Escape or Spacebar to exit Shuttle Lock mode.

Custom Shuttle Lock Speed

(Pro Tools HD and Pro Tools LE with Complete Production Toolkit or DV Toolkit 2 Only)

There are two Shuttle Lock modes (Classic and Transport), and one Shuttle mode.

No matter which Numeric Keypad mode is selected, you can always use the numeric keypad to select and enter values in the Event Edit Area, Edit Selection indicators, Main and Sub Counters, and Transport fields.

To set the Numeric Keypad Mode:

1 Choose Setup > Preferences and click the Oper-

ation tab.

2 In the Transport section, select a Numeric Key-

pad mode (Classic, Transport, or Shuttle).

3 Click OK.

For more information on each mode, see “Numeric Keypad Mode” on page 84.

The highest fast-forward Shuttle Lock speed (key 9) can be customized.

For information, see “Custom Shuttle Lock Speed” on page 470.

Classic Mode

This mode emulates the way Pro Tools worked in versions lower than 5.0. With the Numeric Keypad mode set to Classic, you can:

• Play up to two tracks of audio in Shuttle Lock mode. Press the Start key (Windows) or Control (Mac), followed by 1–9 for different play speeds.

• Press Plus or Minus to reverse direction.

• Press 0 to stop Shuttle Lock, then press the number to resume Shuttle Lock speed.

• Press Escape or Spacebar to exit Shuttle Lock mode.

• Recall Memory Locations by typing the Memory Location, followed by a Period (.).

Chapter 3: Keyboard and Right-Click Mouse Shortcuts 25

Transport Mode

This mode allows you to set a number of record and play functions, and also operate the Transport from the numeric keypad.

Function Key

Click on/off 7

Countoff on/off 8

MIDI Merge/Replace mode 9

Loop Playback mode on/off 4

Loop Record mode on/off 5

QuickPunch mode on/off 6

Rewind 1

Fast Forward 2

Record enable 3

Play/Stop 0

With the Numeric Keypad mode set to Transport, you can also:

• Play up to two tracks of audio in Shuttle Lock mode. Press the Start key (Windows) or Control (Mac), followed by 1–9 for different play speeds.

• Press Plus or Minus to reverse direction.

• Press 0 to stop Shuttle Lock, then press the number to resume Shuttle Lock speed.

• Press Escape or Spacebar to exit Shuttle Lock mode.

• Recall Memory Locations by typing Period (.), the Memory Location number, and Period (.) again.

Shuttle Mode

(Pro Tools HD Only)

Pro Tools offers another form of shuttling, different from that of the two Shuttle Lock modes. With the Numeric Keypad mode set to Shuttle, playback of the current Edit selection is triggered by pressing and holding the keys on the numeric keypad—playback stops once the keys are released. Various playback speeds are available in both forward and reverse. In this mode, pre- and post-roll are ignored.

Playback Speeds Key

1x Forward 6

1x Rewind 4

4x Forward 9

4x Rewind 7

1/4x Forward 3

1/4x Rewind 1

1/2x Forward 5+6

1/2x Rewind 5+4

2x Forward 8+9

2x Rewind 8+7

1/16x Forward 2+3

1/16x Rewind 2+1

Loop Selection (1x) 0

With the Numeric Keypad mode set to Shuttle, you can also:

• Recall Memory Locations by typing Period (.), the Memory Location number, and Period (.) again.

Shuttle Lock modes are not available when the Numeric Keypad mode is set to Shuttle.

Pro Tools Reference Guide26

Part II: System Configuration

Chapter 4: Pro Tools Systems

There are three types of Pro Tools systems:

Pro Tools|HD These systems include Pro Tools HD software for Pro Tools|HD system hardware.

Pro Tools LE These systems include Pro Tools LE software for 003, 003 Rack, 003 Rack+, Digi 002 Mbox 2 Pro, Mbox 2 Mini, Mbox 2 Micro, or Mbox hardware.

, Digi 002 Rack™, Mbox 2,

Pro Tools|HD Systems

Pro Tools|HD systems are available in the configurations shown on page 30. Each system requires at least one Digidesign audio interface (sold separately). Pro Tools|HD systems can be expanded by adding Pro Tools|HD system cards to increase track count, add to the amount of possible plug-in and mixer processing, and connect additional audio interfaces.

Pro Tools M-Powered These systems include Pro Tools M-Powered software for Digidesignqualified M-Audio

References to Pro Tools LE in this guide are usually interchangeable with Pro Tools M-Powered, except as noted in the Pro Tools M-Powered Setup Guide.

interfaces.

Optional Systems

Pro Tools LE with Complete Production Toolk it Pro Tools LE systems that have been

upgraded with the Complete Production Toolkit software option.

Pro Tools LE with DV Toolkit 2 Pro Tools LE systems that have been upgraded with the DV Toolkit

Pro Tools LE or M-Powered with Music Production Toolk it 2 Pro Tools LE or M-Powered systems

that have been upgraded with the Music Production Toolkit 2 software option.

™

2 software option.

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 the Digidesign website (www.digidesign.com) for the latest system requirements and compatibility information.

Chapter 4: Pro Tools Systems 29

Pro Tools|HD Systems

Expanded Pro Tools|HD Systems

Pro Tools|HD 1

Includes:

• Accel Core (for PCIe) card or HD Core (for PCI) card

• Pro Tools HD software

Pro Tools|HD 2 Accel

Includes:

• Accel Core (for PCIe) card or HD Core (for PCI) card

• HD Accel card

• Pro Tools HD software

Pro Tools|HD 3 Accel

Includes:

• Accel Core (for PCIe) card or HD Core (for PCI) card

• Two HD Accel cards

• Pro Tools HD software

Pro Tools|HD 2

Includes:

• HD Core card

• HD Process card

• Pro Tools HD software

Pro Tools|HD 3

Any Pro Tools|HD system can be expanded by adding additional HD Process or HD Accel cards. For more information, see the Expanded Systems

Guide.

HD Accel and HD Process cards can be used in the same system. For more information, refer to the Pro Tools|HD Setup Guide.

Supported Audio Interfaces

(Pro Tools|HD Systems Only)

The following audio interfaces are compatible with Pro Tools|HD systems:

•192 I/O™

•192 Digital I/O™

•96 I/O™

•96i I/O™

Pro Tools|HD systems require the use of at least one 192 I/O, 192 Digital I/O, 96 I/O, or 96i I/O.

The following “Legacy” Digidesign audio interfaces are supported with Pro Tools|HD systems:

• 888|24 I/O™ and 882|20 I/O™

• 1622 I/O™

•24-bit ADAT Bridge I/O™

“Legacy” I/Os (such as 888|24 I/O) require the use of at least one 192 I/O, 192 Digital I/O, 96 I/O, or 96i I/O.

Includes:

• HD Core card

• Two HD Process cards

• Pro Tools HD software

Pro Tools Reference Guide30

Pro Tools|HD System Playback, Recording and Voice Limits

The following table lists the audio playback, recording, and voiceable track limits of each type of Pro Tools|HD 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 systems can open sessions with up to 256 audio tracks, but any audio tracks beyond that system’s voiceable track limit will be automatically set to Voice Off.

Table 5. Pro Tools|HD system audio playback, recording and voice limits

Playback

Sample

Core System Type

Pro Tools|HD 1 44.1/48 96 96 112

Pro Tools|HD Accel 2, Pro Tools|HD Accel 3

Pro Tools|HD 2, Pro Tools|HD 3, or any expanded Pro Tools|HD system

Rate (kHz)

88.2/96 48 48 48

176.4/192 18 (for PCIe)

44.1/48 192 192 224

88.2/96 96 96 120

176.4/192 36 36 36

44.1/48 128 128 224

88.2/96 64 64 80

176.4/192 24 24 24

Voices (Mono Tracks of Simultaneous Playback)

12 (for PCI)

Recording Voices (Mono Tracks of Simultaneous Recording)

18 (for PCIe) 12 (for PCI)

Total Voiceable Tracks

18 (for PCIe)

12 (for PCI)

Pro Tools|HD systems provide up to 160 Auxiliary Input tracks and a total of 128 internal mix busses. These systems also provide up to 10 inserts and 10 sends per track (depending on the DSP capacity of your system). Pro Tools|HD systems also support up to 128 Instrument tracks, 256 MIDI tracks, 128 VCA Master tracks, and multiple video tracks.

Chapter 4: Pro Tools Systems 31

Audio Interfaces for Pro Tools|HD Systems

Table 6 lists the input and output capabilities of the various audio interfaces for Pro Tools|HD systems.

Table 6. Pro Tools|HD system audio interface channel capabilities

Interface Type

192 I/O 16 in/16 out 44.1, 48, 88.2,

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

96i I/O 16 in/2 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

Number of I/O Channels

16 in/16 out 44.1, 48 None 24-bit 24-bit

Sample Rates (kHz)

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

You can expand your Pro Tools|HD system by adding Pro Tools|HD cards to your computer, either directly in the computer or using an expansion chassis. Expanding your Pro Tools system will provide an increased track count, add to the amount of possible plug-in and mixer processing, and let you connect additional audio interfaces. For more information, see the Expanded Systems Guide.

“Legacy” I/Os (such as 888|24 I/O) require the use of at least one 192 I/O, 192 Digital I/O, 96 I/O, or 96i I/O.

Pro Tools Reference Guide32

Pro Tools LE Systems

Pro Tools LE-based systems are available in the following configurations:

Mbox 2 Pro

An Mbox 2 Pro system includes:

• Pro Tools LE software

• Mbox 2 Pro audio and MIDI interface

003

A 003 system includes:

•ProToolsLE software

• 003 audio and MIDI interface (with control surface)

003 Rack+

A 003 Rack+ system includes:

•ProToolsLE software

• 003 Rack+ audio and MIDI interface

003 Rack

A 003 Rack system includes:

•ProToolsLE software

• 003 Rack audio and MIDI interface

Digi 002

A Digi 002 system includes:

•ProToolsLE software

• Digi 002 audio and MIDI interface (with control surface)

Digi 002 Rack

A Digi 002 Rack system includes:

•ProToolsLE software

• Digi 002 Rack audio and MIDI interface

Mbox 2

An Mbox 2 system includes:

• Pro Tools LE software

• Mbox 2 audio and MIDI interface

Mbox 2 Mini

An Mbox 2 Mini system includes:

• Pro Tools LE software

• Mbox 2 Mini audio interface

Mbox 2 Micro

An Mbox 2 Micro system includes:

• Pro Tools LE software

• Mbox 2 Micro audio interface

Mbox

An Mbox system includes:

• Pro Tools LE software

• Mbox audio interface

Processing Capacity

The total processing capacity of a Pro Tools LE system depends on the processing power of your computer. Contact your Digidesign dealer or visit Digidesign’s website (www.digidesign.com) for the latest system requirements and compatibility information.

Chapter 4: Pro Tools Systems 33

Pro Tools LE System Capabilities

Table 7 lists the playback, recording, and input and output capabilities of each Pro Tools LE system. Mono tracks of simultaneous playback refers to the number of unique simultaneous playback and record tracks on your system. Total voiceable tracks refers to the maximum number of audio tracks that can share the available voices on your system. (Mono tracks take up a single audio track, while stereo tracks take up two tracks.) If you open a Pro Tools session created on a Pro Tools|HD 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.

Table 7. Pro Tools LE system audio playback, recording, and channel capabilities

Mono or Stereo

System Type

003, 003 Rack, 003 Rack+, Digi 002, or Digi 002 Rack

Mbox 2 Pro 48 at 48 kHz

Mbox 2 or Mbox 48 128 up to 2 in/2 out 24-bit 24-bit 24-bit

Mbox 2 Mini 48 128 up to 2 in/2 out 24-bit 24-bit N/A

Mbox 2 Micro 48 128 stereo out only N/A 24-bit N/A

Tracks of Simultaneous Playback

48 at 48 kHz

32 at 96 kHz

Total Voiceable Tracks

128 up to 18 in/18 out

128 up to 6 in/8 out

Number of I/O Channels

(48 kHz or lower)

up to 10 in/10 out (88.2 or 96 kHz)

(48 kHz or lower)

up to 4 in/6 out (88.2 or 96 kHz)

A/D Conversion

24-bit 24-bit 24-bit

D/A Conversion

Digital I/O

Pro Tools LE systems provide up to 128 Auxiliary Input tracks, a total of 32 internal mix busses, and up to 5 inserts and 10 sends per track (depending on your computer’s processing capacity). In addition, Pro Tools LE systems support up to 32 Instrument tracks and 256 MIDI tracks. Pro Tools LE also supports a single QuickTime video track.

For details on transferring session material between Pro Tools|HD and Pro Tools LE systems, see “Sharing Sessions Created on Different Pro Tools Systems” on page 316.

Pro Tools Reference Guide34

Pro Tools M-Powered

A Pro Tools M-Powered system includes:

• Pro Tools M-Powered software

• Digidesign-qualified M-Audio interface (not supplied with M-Powered software)

References to Pro Tools LE in this guide are usually interchangeable with Pro Tools M-Powered, except as noted in the Pro Tools M-Powered Setup Guide.

For the most current list of Digidesign-qualified M-Audio interfaces, visit the Digidesign website (www.digidesign.com)

Toolkit Software Options

In addition to all the regular capabilities provided with Pro Tools LE and Pro Tools M-Powered, Pro Tools LE systems equipped with Complete Production Toolkit or DV Toolkit 2 and Pro Tools LE and M-Powered systems equipped with Music Production Toolkit 2 provide expanded capabilities.

The Complete Production Toolkit option includes all of the of the features and additional software that is included with the DV Toolkit 2 option and the Music Production Toolkit 2 option.

Complete Production Toolkit Capabilities

(Pro Tools LE Only)

Pro Tools Features

Complete Production Toolkit enables the following features in Pro Tools LE:

• Session and track features:

• Up to 128 mono or 64 stereo audio tracks of simultaneous playback or recording

• Ability to use QuickPunch on up to 64 tracks

• Up to 64 Instrument tracks

• 128 internal busses

• Display of up to 256 tracks

• Multiple video tracks, with multiple video playlists and multiple QuickTime movies per track.

• Import Session Data options (Destination Track Names, Time Code Mapping, Find Matching Tracks, Session Data to Import, Track Playlist)

• MP3 export option (for bounce recording or exporting a region as an MP3 file)

• DigiBase Pro (including support for Catalog browsers and the ability to search on multiple criteria simultaneously in DigiBase browsers)

• Beat Detective features:

• Ability to apply Beat Detective across multiple tracks

• Collection Mode

Chapter 4: Pro Tools Systems 35

• Editing features:

• Video Universe window

• Continuous Scroll

•Scrub Trim tool

• Replace Region command

• TCE Edit to Timeline Selection command

• Selection of alternate field recorder audio channels in the Pro Tools Timeline

• Expanding alternate field recorder audio channels to new tracks

• Mixing and Automation features:

• Surround mixing up to 7.1 (003, 003 Rack, Digi 002, Digi 002 Rack, and Mbox 2 Pro only)

• Snapshot automation for writing or trimming automation data

• Glide Automation commands

• Time code and synchronization features:

• Timebase rulers (Time Code and Feet+Frames)

• Time Code Rate selector

• Feet+Frame Rate selector

• Current Time Code Position command

• Current Feet+Frames Position command

• Use Subframes option

• Audio Rate Pull Up and Pull Down

• Video Rate Pull Up and Pull Down

• Session interchange between Pro Tools HD and Pro Tools LE

Additional Software

Complete Production Toolkit includes additional software for working with Pro Tools:

DINR™ (Digidesign Intelligent Noise Reduction™) LE Plug-in For reducing noise in audio.

DigiTranslator

changing audio and video files, and sequences with other AAF and OMFI-compatible applications.

Eleven LE Plug-in For use as a guitar amp and speaker emulation.

Hybrid Synthesizer Plug-in For use as a virtual instrument in your Pro Tools sessions.

Neyrinck SoundCode Stereo™ Down Mixer Plug-in For monitoring 5.1 surround sessions

(down mixed to stereo) with all LE interfaces including 2 channel interfaces (such as the Mbox 2 Micro). This plug-in also lets you quickly and easily create stereo mixes from 5.1 surround sessions.

Smack!

compression to your audio.

Structure® LE Plug-in For use as a virtual instrument in your Pro Tools sessions.

TL Space Native

applying convolution reverb to your audio.

X-Form Plug-in For high-quality time compression and expansion, and formant corrected pitch-shifting (based on the Radius from iZotope).

™

2.0 Software Option For ex-

™

LE Compressor Plug-in For applying

™

Convolution Reverb Plug-in For

algorithm

Pro Tools Reference Guide36

DV Toolkit 2 Capabilitites

(Pro Tools LE Only)

Pro Tools Features

DV Toolkit 2 enables the following features for working with audio, film, video, or digital video in Pro Tools LE:

• Session and track features:

• Up to 64 audio tracks of simultaneous playback or recording, mono or stereo

• Ability to use QuickPunch simultaneously on up to 32 tracks at 48 kHz and up to 24 tracks at 96 kHz

• Multiple video tracks, with multiple video playlists and multiple QuickTime movies per track.

• Import Session Data options (Destination Track Names, Time Code Mapping, Find Matching Tracks, Session Data to Import, Track Playlist)

• MP3 export option (for bounce recording or exporting a region as an MP3 file)

• DigiBase Pro (including support for Catalog browsers and the ability to search on multiple criteria simultaneously in DigiBase browsers)

• Editing features:

• Video Universe window

• Continuous Scroll

•Scrub Trim tool

• Replace Region command

• TCE Edit to Timeline Selection command

• Selection of alternate field recorder audio channels in the Pro Tools Timeline

• Expanding alternate field recorder audio channels to new tracks

• Mixing and Automation features:

• Snapshot automation for writing or trimming automation data

• Glide Automation commands

• Time code and synchronization features:

• Timebase rulers (Time Code and Feet+Frames)

• Time Code Rate selector

• Feet+Frame Rate selector

• Current Time Code Position command

• Current Feet+Frames Position command

• Use Subframes option

• Audio Rate Pull Up and Pull Down

• Video Rate Pull Up and Pull Down

Additional Software

DV Toolkit 2 includes additional software for working with audio or digital video in Pro Tools:

DINR (Digidesign Intelligent Noise Reduction™) LE Plug-in For reducing noise in audio.

DigiTranslator 2.0 Software Option For exchang-

ing audio and video files, and sequences with other AAF and OMFI-compatible applications.

TL Space Native Convolution Reverb Plug-in For applying convolution reverb to your audio.

X-Form Plug-in For high-quality time compression and expansion, and formant corrected pitch-shifting (based on the Radius from iZotope).

algorithm

Chapter 4: Pro Tools Systems 37

Music Production Toolkit 2

(Pro Tools LE and Pro Tools M-Powered Only)

Checking For Software Updates

Pro Tools Features

Music Production Toolkit 2 enables the following features in Pro Tools LE and M-Powered:

• Session and track features:

• Up to 64 audio tracks of simultaneous playback or recording, mono or stereo

• Ability to use QuickPunch simultaneously on up to 32 tracks at 48 kHz and up to 24 tracks at 96 kHz

• MP3 export option (for bounce recording or exporting a region as an MP3 file)

• Beat Detective features:

• Ability to apply Beat Detective across multiple tracks

• Collection Mode

Additional Software

Music Production Toolkit 2 includes additional software for working with Pro Tools:

Eleven LE Plug-in For use as a guitar amp and speaker emulation.

Hybrid Synthesizer Plug-in For use as a virtual instrument in your Pro Tools sessions.

Smack! LE Compressor Plug-in For applying compression to your audio.

Structure LE Plug-in For use as a virtual instrument in your Pro Tools sessions.

TL Space Native Convolution Reverb Plug-in For applying convolution reverb to your audio.

Pro Tools can check for Pro Tools application and Digidesign plug-in updates, either automatically or manually. An internet connection is required to be able to check for updates. Approximately every two weeks, Pro Tools checks online for any available application and plug-in updates.

If updates are available for Pro Tools or any plug-ins, Pro Tools reports what updates (if any) are available and how important the updates are for your system. You can visit the Digidesign website to locate, download, and install the appropriate updates for your Pro Tools system.

To manually check for updates:

1 Ensure that your internet connection is func-

tioning properly.

2 Launch Pro Tools.

3 Choose Help > Check For Updates, and a

progress dialog appears.

4 Depending on whether or not any updates are

available, do one of the following:

• If no updates are available, click OK.

– or –

• If updates are available, do one of the following:

• Click Details to launch your web browser and see what updates are available for download.

• Click Not Now if you do not want to review or download updates until later.

Pro Tools Reference Guide38

To disable checking for software updates automatically:

 In the Software Update dialog, select the

Do Not Check For Updates Automatically option.

To enable checking for software updates automatically:

1 Check for updates manually (Help > Check For

Updates).

2 In the Software Update dialog, deselect the

Do Not Check For Updates Automatically option.

Chapter 4: Pro Tools Systems 39

Pro Tools Reference Guide40

Chapter 5: System Setup

7 Do one of the following, depending on your

Starting Up or Shutting Down Your System

To ensure that the components of your Pro Tools system communicate properly with each other, you need to start them in a particular order.

Start up your Pro Tools system in this order:

1 Make sure all your equipment (including your

computer) is off.

2 Lower the volume of all output devices in your

system.

3 For Pro Tools|HD systems with an expansion

chassis, turn on the chassis.

4 Turn on any external hard drives. Wait ap-

proximately ten seconds for them to spin up to speed.

5 Turn on any worksurfaces (such as

D-Command) or control surfaces (such as Command|8).

6 Turn on any MIDI interfaces, MIDI devices, or

synchronization peripherals.

Pro Tools system:

• For Pro Tools|HD systems, with the volume of all output devices lowered, turn on your Pro Tools Legacy I/O (such as an 888|24 I/O or 882|20 I/O) first, then your Pro Tools|HD audio interfaces (such as 96 I/O). Wait at least fifteen seconds for your system hardware to initialize.

– or –

• For Pro Tools LE and M-Powered systems that use hardware requiring external power (such as 003), turn on the hardware.

8 Turn on your computer.

9 Launch Pro Tools or any third-party audio or

MIDI applications.

Shut down your Pro Tools system in this order:

1 Quit Pro Tools and any other running applica-

tions.

To quit Pro Tools, choose File > Exit (Windows) or Pro Tools > Quit (Mac).

2 Turn off or lower the volume of all output de-

vices in your system.

3 Turn off your computer.

Chapter 5: System Setup 41

4 Do one of the following depending on your

Pro Tools system:

• For Pro Tools|HD systems, turn off your Pro Tools audio interfaces.

– or –

• For Pro Tools LE and M-Powered systems that use hardware requiring external power (such as 003), turn off the hardware.

5 For Pro Tools|HD systems with an expansion

chassis, turn off the chassis.

6 Turn off any MIDI interfaces, MIDI devices, or

synchronization peripherals.

7 Turn off any worksurfaces (such as

D-Command) or control surfaces (such as Command|8).

8 Turn off any external hard drives.

Checking an HD System with DigiTest

Before you use Pro Tools, you may want to run the DigiTest diagnostic application to ensure that all Pro Tools|HD cards in the system are recognized, installed in the proper order, and have valid TDM FlexCable connections. See the HD Setup Guide for more information.

Configuring Pro Tools System Settings

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.

Hardware Buffer Size

The Hardware Buffer Size (H/W Buffer Size) controls the size of the buffer used to handle host processing tasks such as Real-Time AudioSuite™ (RTAS) plug-ins.

• Lower Hardware Buffer Size settings are useful for improving latency issues in certain recording situations or for improving certain system performance problems.

• On all Pro Tools systems, lower settings reduce RTAS MIDI-to-audio latency (such as when playing an RTAS virtual instrument live and monitoring the instrument’s output). Lower settings can also improve screen response or the accuracy of plug-in and mute automation data.

• On Pro Tools LE systems, lower settings reduce all input-to-output monitoring latency on any record-armed tracks or Auxiliary Input tracks with live inputs.

• On Pro Tools HD systems, lower settings reduce monitoring latency that occurs on tracks that have one or more RTAS plug-ins. Lower settings can also improve the accuracy of MIDI track timing on systems without a MIDI interface that supports time stamping . Lower settings also improve MIDI track timing on tracks using MIDI virtual instruments that do not support time stamping .

• Higher Hardware Buffer Size settings are useful for sessions that are using more RTAS plugins for playback. These settings allow for more audio processing. They can also be useful to reduce errors on machines that require a higher buffer size.

Pro Tools Reference Guide42

To change the Hardware Buffer Size:

1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine.

2 From the H/W Buffer Size pop-up menu, select

the audio buffer size, in samples.

Playback Engine dialog for Pro Tools|HD system

3 Click OK.

RTAS Processors

The RTAS Processors setting determines the number of processors in your computer allocated for RTAS (Real-Time AudioSuite) plug-in processing.

For example:

• For sessions with large numbers of RTAS plugins, you can allocate 2 or more processors to RTAS processing and set a high CPU Usage Limit.

• For sessions with few RTAS plug-ins, you can allocate fewer processors to RTAS processing and set a low CPU Usage Limit to leave more CPU resources available for automation accuracy, screen response, and video.

• Increase these settings to accommodate TDM to RTAS plug-in conversion. Conversely, decrease these settings if you are only using TDM plug-ins or are converting RTAS plug-ins to TDM. TDM/RTAS conversion can be desirable during recording, depending on latency, voicing needs, and record-monitoring capabilities of the specific TDM and RTAS plug-ins.

• Depending on the importance of video and overall screen response, and on the density of automation being employed, try different combinations of RTAS Processors and CPU Us- age Limit settings to achieve the best results. For example, to improve screen response in a medium-sized session using a moderate number of RTAS plug-ins, try reducing the number of RTAS plug-ins, but keep the CPU Usage Limit set to the maximum (up to 99% on a single processor system).

With computers that have multiple processors, or that feature multi-core processing or hyperthreading, this setting lets you enable multiprocessor support for RTAS plug-ins. Used in combination with the CPU Usage Limit setting, the RTAS Processors setting lets you control the way RTAS processing and other Pro Tools tasks are handled by the system.

Chapter 5: System Setup 43

To set the number of RTAS Processors:

1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine.

2 From the RTAS Processing pop-up menu, select

the number of available processors you want to allocate. The number of processors available varies depending on how many processors are available on your computer:

• Select 1Processor to limit RTAS processing to one CPU in the system.

• Choose 2 Processors to enable load balancing across two available processors.

• On systems running four or more processors, choose the number of processors for RTAS processing.

3 Click OK.

System Usage Window and RTAS Processing

The System Usage window displays the combined amount of RTAS processing occurring on all enabled processors with a single indicator, regardless of how many processors are available in the system. If the System Usage Window shows that you are at the limit of available resources, increase the number of RTAS processors and adjust the CPU Usage Limit setting. (For more infor- mation, see “System Usage” on page 56.)

CPU Usage Limit

The CPU Usage Limit setting controls the percentage of CPU resources allocated to Pro Tools host processing tasks. Used in combination with the RTAS Processors setting, the CPU Usage Limit setting lets you control the way Pro Tools tasks are carried out by the system.

•Lower CPU Usage Limit settings limit the 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.

•Higher CPU Usage Limit settings allocate more processing power to Pro Tools, and are useful for playing back large sessions or using more RTAS plug-ins.

The maximum available CPU Usage Limit depends on the number of processors in your computer and on the number of processors you specify for RTAS processing. This value can range from 85% for single-processor computers (except for 003, 003 Rack+, 003 Rack, Digi 002, and Digi 002 Rack, which have a limit of 99%), and 99% for multiprocessor computers (which dedicate one entire processor to Pro Tools).

On multiprocessor computers, the maximum CPU Usage Limit is reduced when you use all your processors (as selected in the RTAS Processing pop-up menu). For example, on dual-processors, the limit is 90%. On four-processor computers, the limit is 95%.

Increasing the CPU Usage Limit may slow down screen responses on slower computers.

To change the CPU Usage Limit:

1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine.

2 From the CPU Usage Limit pop-up menu, select

the percentage of CPU processing you want to allocate to Pro Tools.

3 Click OK.

RTAS Engine (RTAS Error Suppression)

The RTAS Engine options determine RTAS error reporting during playback and recording. This is especially useful when working with instrument plug-ins.

On Pro Tools|HD systems, there is a single RTAS Engine option. On Pro Tools LE systems, there are two options.

Pro Tools Reference Guide44

• Enable RTAS error suppression only if you are experiencing frequent RTAS errors that are interrupting your creative workflow. When RTAS error suppression is enabled, you can experience a degradation of audio quality. However, this may be acceptable in order to avoid interrupting playback and recording when working with instrument plug-ins.

• Disable RTAS error suppression when you need to ensure the highest possible audio quality, such as for a final mix.

To enable RTAS error suppression:

1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine.

Playback Engine dialog, Mbox 2

2 Select Ignore Errors During Playback/Record.

3 If available, you can also select Minimize Addi-

tional I/O Latency.

4 Click OK.

RTAS Error Suppression Options

Ignore Errors During Playback/Record When en-

abled, Pro Tools continues to play and record even if the RTAS processing requirements exceed the selected CPU Usage Limit. This can result in pops and clicks in the audio, but does not stop the transport.

Minimize Additional I/O Latency (Pro Tools LE and M-Powered Only) When enabled, any additional

latency due to suppressing RTAS errors during playback and record is minimized to 128 samples. Suppressing RTAS errors requires at least 128 samples of additional buffering on some systems. If this option is disabled, the buffer is half the H/W Buffer Size, or at least 128 samples (whichever is greater). If you are on an older, slower computer, you may want to disable this option to avoid adverse performance.

This option is only available if the Ignore Errors During Playback/Record option is enabled and the Pro Tools system you are using requires additional buffering for RTAS error suppression, as follows:

•Windows:

•Mbox 2 Pro

• All Pro Tools M-Powered systems

•Mac:

• 003, 003 Rack+, and 003 Rack

•Mbox

•Mbox 2

•Mbox 2 Pro

• Mbox 2 Mini

• Mbox 2 Micro

• Digi 002 and 002 Rack

• All Pro Tools M-Powered systems

Chapter 5: System Setup 45

Number of Voices

(Pro Tools HD Only)

On Pro Tools|HD systems, the Number of Voices setting lets you control the number of available voices and how those voices are allocated to DSPs in your system. For example, the default number of voices on a Pro Tools|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 session sample rate and the number of Pro Tools|HD cards in your system, there are different choices for voice count. For voice limits on different Pro Tools|HD systems, see “Pro Tools|HD System Playback, Recording and Voice Limits” on page 31.

To change the Number of Voices and DSP to allocate for voicing:

1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine.

• Select medium voice numbers when your Digidesign cards are in an expansion chassis, or when you are using other PCI or PCIe 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 higher voice numbers when your Pro Tools|HD cards are the only PCI or PCIe 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.

2 Select the number of voices and DSPs to allo-

cate for voicing by selecting a value from the Number of Voices pop-up menu as follows:

• Select minimum voice numbers if you are using high-bandwidth PCI or PCIe 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).

Pro Tools Reference Guide46

Number of Voices menu (HD Accel-equipped system)

3 Click OK.

Default Sample Rate (Playback Engine Dialog)

(Pro Tools HD Only)

The Sample Rate setting in the Playback Engine dialog determines the default sample rate when you create a new session. This setting is available only when there is no session open. Otherwise, the current session sample rate is displayed, but cannot be changed.

The Sample Rate setting can affect the number of available voices.

Delay Compensation Engine

(Pro Tools HD Only)

The Delay Compensation Engine setting determines how much DSP resources are dedicated to Pro Tools Delay Compensation, which manages DSP delays in the Pro Tools mixer.

Within a session, you can choose to enable or disable Delay Compensation (Options > Delay Compensation).

For more information, see “Delay Compensation” on page 860.

You can change the sample rate when creating a new Pro Tools session by selecting a different sample rate in the New Session dialog. (

page 114.)

See “Creating a New Session” on

You can also change the default Sample Rate in the Hardware dialog, as long as no session is open.

To make a copy of a session with a new sample rate, use Save Copy In.

To change the default Sample Rate in the Playback Engine:

1 With no session open, choose Setup > Playback

Engine.

2 Select the sample rate from the Sample Rate

pop-up menu.

3 Click OK.

To configure the Delay Compensation Engine:

1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine.

2 From the Delay Compensation Engine pop-up

menu, select Short, Long, or None.

3 Click OK.

Delay Compensation Settings

There are three settings in the Playback Engine dialog to dedicate DSP resources for Delay Compensation:

None Allocates no DSP resources for Delay Compensation.

Short Allocates minimum DSP resources of Delay Compensation for each channel. This is the most efficient setting. For sessions with only a few plug-ins that do not induce too much DSPbased delay, this setting should be sufficient.

Long Allocates maximum DSP resources for Delay Compensation for each mixer channel. For sessions with a lot of plug-ins resulting in a large amount of DSP-induced delay, select this setting.

Chapter 5: System Setup 47

DAE Playback Buffer Size

The DAE Playback Buffer Size setting determines the amount of memory DAE allocates for disk buffers. In addition to levels, the DAE Playback Buffer Size shows values in milliseconds, which indicate the amount of audio buffered when the system reads from disk.

The optimum DAE Playback Buffer Size for most disk operations is 1500 msec; Level 2 (Default).

• DAE Playback Buffer Size settings lower than 1500 msec; Level 2 (Default) may improve playback and recording initiation speed, as well as preview in context in DigiBase browsers. However, a lower setting may make it difficult to play or record tracks reliably with sessions containing a large number of tracks or a high density of edits, or with systems that have slower or heavily-fragmented hard drives.

• DAE Playback Buffer Size settings higher than 1500 msec; Level 2 (Default) allow higher track count, higher density of edits in a session, or the use of slower hard drives. However, a higher setting may increase the time lag when starting playback or recording, starting preview in context from DigiBase browsers, or cause a longer audible time lag while editing during playback.

To change the DAE Playback Buffer Size:

1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine.

2 From the DAE Playback Buffer pop-up menu, se-

lect a buffer size. Memory requirements for each setting are shown at the bottom of the Playback Engine dialog.

Playback Buffer Size menu in 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.

Using a larger DAE Playback Buffer Size leaves less system memory for other tasks. The default setting of 1500 msec (Level 2) is recommended unless you are encountering –9073 (“Disk too slow or fragmented”) errors.

Pro Tools Reference Guide48

Cache Size

The Cache Size setting determines the amount of memory DAE allocates to pre-buffer audio for playback and looping when using Elastic Audio.

Minimum Reduces the amount of system memory used for disk operations and frees up memory for other system tasks. However, performance when using Elastic Audio features may decrease.

Normal Is the optimum Cache Size for most sessions.

Large Improves performance when using Elastic Audio features, but it also decreases the amount of memory available for other system tasks, such as RTAS processing.

You can set Pro Tools to reserve only the minimum amount of required memory, so that more system memory is available to other applications.

Using a larger Cache Size leaves less system memory for other tasks. The default setting of Normal is recommended unless you are encountering -9500 (“Cache too small”) errors.

To change the Cache Size:

1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine.

2 From the Cache Size pop-up menu, select a

disk cache size.

Cache Size menu in the Playback Engine dialog

3 Click OK.

System Memory Allocation

(Pro Tools HD Only)

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.

To minimize system memory allocation:

1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine.

2 Select the Minimize System Memory Allocation

option.

3 Click OK.

4 Do one of the following:

• On Windows systems, restart your computer.

– or –

• On Mac systems, if prompted, enter your password, then restart your computer.

Plug-in Streaming Buffer Size

(Structure Plug-in Only)

This setting appears in the Playback Engine dialog only if the Structure Professional Sampling Workstation plug-in is installed on your system. The Plug-in Streaming Buffer Size setting determines the amount of memory DAE allocates for streaming playback from disk with the Structure plug-in. This setting only affects playback if disk streaming is activated in Structure’s plug-in controls (see the Structure Plug-in Guide for more information).

The optimum Plug-in Streaming Buffer Size for most sessions is 250 ms; Level 2 (Default).

• Plug-in Streaming Buffer Size settings lower than 250 ms; Level 2 (Default) reduce the amount of system memory used for sample playback and frees up memory for other system tasks. However, reliability of sample playback may decrease.

Chapter 5: System Setup 49

• Plug-in Streaming Buffer Size settings higher than 250 ms; Level 2 (Default) improve the reliability of sample playback, but they also decrease the amount of memory available for other system tasks, such as RTAS processing.

Using a larger Plug-in Streaming Buffer Size leaves less system memory for other tasks. The default setting of 250 ms (Level 2) is recommended unless you are experiencing problems with the reliability of streaming playback from disk.

To change the Plug-in Streaming Buffer Size:

1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine.

2 From the Plug-in Streaming Buffer Size pop-up

menu, select a buffer size.

ples from the same drive that contains audio for the current session. When this option is selected, Pro Tools automatically optimizes the size of the Plug-in Streaming Buffer to facilitate disk access from both Pro Tools and Structure. The Plug-in Streaming Buffer Size pop-up menu is unavailable when this option is selected.

To set Pro Tools to automatically optimize the Plug-in Streaming Buffer Size:

1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine.

2 Select the Optimize for Streaming Content on

Audio Drives option.

3 Click OK.

Configuring MIDI Setup

If you plan to use any MIDI devices with Pro Tools, you need to configure your MIDI setup using MIDI Studio Setup (Windows) or Audio MIDI Setup (Mac).

For information on configuring MIDI, see the Setup Guide that came with your system.

Plug-in Streaming Buffer Size menu in the Playback Engine dialog

3 Click OK.

Optimizing the Plug-in Streaming Buffer Size

(Structure Plug-in Only)

This option appears in the Playback Engine dialog only if the Structure Professional Sampling Workstation plug-in is installed on your system. This option is useful when you are playing sam-

Pro Tools Reference Guide50

Configuring Pro Tools Hardware Settings

Pro Tools lets you configure the signal routing, digital I/O format, default sample rate, clock source, and other hardware-based settings depending on your system configuration.

These system settings are available in the Hardware Setup dialog (Setup > Hardware).

Configuring Default Sample Rate Setting in Hardware Setup Dialog

The Sample Rate setting determines the default sample rate when you create a new session. This setting is available only when there is no session open. Otherwise, the current session sample rate is displayed, but cannot be changed.

On Pro Tools LE, you can only change the default sample rate in the Hardware Setup dialog

On Pro Tools HD, you can change the default Sample Rate in the Hardware Setup dialog, or in the Playback Engine dialog.

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 guide for your audio interface.

To select the Clock Source:

1 Choose Setup > Hardware.

On Pro Tools HD, the Sample Rate setting can affect the number of available voices.

You can change the sample rate when creating a new Pro Tools session by selecting a different sample rate in the New Session dialog.

To change the default Sample Rate in the Hardware Setup dialog:

1 Choose Setup > Hardware Setup.

2 Select the sample rate from the Sample Rate

pop-up menu.

3 Click OK.

Configuring Clock Source

The Pro Tools Hardware Setup dialog lets you select the Clock Source for the system.

Changes made to Clock Source in the Session Setup window will be reflected in the Hardware Setup window and vice versa.

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.

Configuring Digital Format and Hardware Routing

The Hardware Setup dialog includes additional settings for configuring the digital format and hardware routing for your system’s audio interfaces.

The following section outlines the configuration of a Pro Tools|HD system with one or more Pro Tools|HD interfaces (with one or more Legacy interfaces attached).

To configure a Pro Tools LE or M-Powered system, refer to the Setup Guide with your system.

that came

Internal If you are recording an analog signal directly into Pro Tools, you will usually use the Pro Tools Internal clock source.

Chapter 5: System Setup 51

Example: Configuring Pro Tools|HD Hardware Settings

On Pro Tools|HD systems, you configure Hardware settings for each audio interface connected to your system. For example, Pro Tools|HD systems can have 192 I/O, 192 Digital I/O, 96 I/O, or 96i I/O audio interfaces connected to Accel Core or HD Core and HD Accel or HD Process cards in the system. The 192 I/O, 192 Digital I/O, and 96 I/O can have additional interfaces attached (including older Digidesign audio interfaces—Legacy I/Os—such as the 888|24 I/O, 882|20 I/O or 1622 I/O). For more information, see Chapter 4, “Pro Tools Systems.”

Configuring Audio Interfaces

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 Pro Tools|HD audio interfaces to channel assignments in the Pro Tools mixer.

Additional pages are available to configure other controls for each audio interface (such as setting operating levels). For details, refer to the Setup Guide for your system, or to the guide for your audio interface.

Identify audio interface connections at any time by selecting the interface name in the Peripherals list, then clicking Identify. All LEDs on the corresponding interface front panel illuminate.

To configure Pro Tools|HD audio interfaces:

1 Choose Setup > Hardware.

2 From the Peripherals list, select the Digidesign

audio interface connected to the first card in your system. This will be the interface at the top of the list.

3 Click the Main tab.

4 From the Clock Source pop-up menu, select

the appropriate clock source for the system.

In many cases, you will use Internal. The other choices are for resolving Pro Tools to external clock sources. Depending on your audio interface, Clock Source options can include: AES/EBU [Encl], S/PDIF, Optical [Encl], AES/EBU 1–8, TDIF, ADAT, and Word Clock (optional Word Clock rates are available when operating at higher sample rates).

Hardware Setup dialog for 192 I/O, Main page

The Main page also provides controls for defining whether Expansion Port or Legacy Port peripherals are active.

Pro Tools Reference Guide52

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 option is enabled and Legacy Peripheral is defined, the Ext. Clock Output setting is automatically set to Slave Clock (256x sample rate). To reset the Ext. Clock Output setting to Word Clock, select the Expansion I/O op-

tion, then select the Legacy I/O (such as an 882|20 I/O), in the Peripherals list, and select No Interface in the Interface pop-up menu. (The 96i I/O does not support Legacy 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.

6 Select which digital I/O port on your audio in-

terface enclosure is active under Digital Format. 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 I/O) to two channels of S/PDIFOpticalI/O. (The 96iI/O supports stereo S/PDIF RCA digital input and output only.)

For more information about Pro Tools|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 For the 96 I/O and 96i I/O, click the Meters

pop-up menu and select whether to meter the input or output signal.

9 From the Input and Output pop-up menus, se-

lect 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 or 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

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.

10 Click other tabs (such as Analog In and Ana-

log Out) for additional configuration options specific to the audio interface. These include:

• On the 96 I/O, configuring the operating levels of analog inputs and outputs (+4 dBu or –10 dBV).

• On the 96i I/O, configuring the operating levels of analog inputs and outputs (+4 dBu or –10 dBV).

• On the 192 I/O analog input, setting the input connector and Soft Limit

• On the 192 I/O, configuring the two sets of trims for analog inputs and outputs.

• On the 192 I/O and 192 Digital I/O, configuring real-time Sample Rate Conversion for digital inputs.

• On the 192 I/O and 192 I/O Digital I/O, configuring inputs and outputs on any optional A/D card, D/A card, or Digital I/O cards installed in the unit.

For more information on Hardware Setup controls for each Pro Tools|HD audio interface, refer to the Pro Tools|HD Setup Guide or the guide for that audio interface.

Chapter 5: System Setup 53

11 Repeat the above steps for each additional

Pro Tools|HD audio interface.

Use the Up and Down Arrow keys to scroll though peripherals in the Peripherals list.

After you select the type of Legacy I/O, the Main page updates with controls that can be configured. If your Legacy interface does not appear, check connections and repeat from step 1, above. See also “Offline Peripherals” on page 54.

12 Repeat the above steps for any Legacy I/Os

connected to the Pro Tools|HD audio interfaces in your system. Before you can configure a Legacy I/O, it must first be initialized in Hardware Setup (see “Initializing MIX-Series Legacy I/Os” on page 54).

13 Click OK.

Initializing MIX-Series Legacy I/Os

Before you can configure a Legacy I/O on a Pro Tools|HD system, it must first be initialized in Hardware Setup.

Before turning on your Legacy I/O, make sure to lower the volume of your output devices. Very loud digital noise may be emitted before the Legacy I/O is initialized.

To initialize a Legacy I/O on a Pro Tools|HD system:

1 Choose Setup > Hardware.

2 From the Peripherals list, choose the primary

audio interface (the Pro Tools|HD interface to which your Legacy I/O is connected).

3 In the Main page of the Hardware Setup dia-

log, select the Legacy I/O option under Port Settings.

4 In the Peripherals list, “No Interface” is listed

twice, directly below the primary audio interface. Click the first No Interface. An Interface pop-up menu appears in the Hardware Setup dialog, listing supported I/O choices.

5 From the Interface pop-up menu, select the

type of Legacy I/O connected to your Pro Tools|HD audio interface.

6 Repeat the above steps for each additional

Legacy I/O.

For information on Hardware Setup controls for each Legacy I/O, refer to the guide for that interface.

To remove a Legacy I/O:

1 Lower the volume of your output devices.

2 Turn off your Legacy I/O.

3 Choose Setup > Hardware in Pro Tools.

4 In the Main Page of the Hardware Setup dia-

log, select the Expansion I/O option under Port Settings.

5 In the Peripherals list, select the name of a

Legacy interface.

6 From the Interface pop-up menu, choose No In-

terface.

7 Repeat the above steps for each additional

Legacy I/O.

Offline Peripherals

When a Legacy I/O and Pro Tools|HD peripheral are connected to your primary Pro Tools|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 the audio interface or card to which they are attached is made inactive.

Pro Tools Reference Guide54

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 on the audio interface 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 lets you label and map Pro Tools input, output, insert, and bus signal paths. The I/O Setup dialog also provides important audition, meter, and surround settings. For more information, see Chapter 6, “I/O Setup.”

Routing a Pro Tools Output Pair to Multiple Destinations

Pro Tools channel pairs can be routed to multiple outputs on an audio interface through the Hardware Setup dialog.

For example, if you assign Channels 1–2 to both outputs Analog 1–2 and Analog 3–4, when you send a signal to Pro Tools Channels 1–2, that signal will be routed simultaneously to both pairs of output ports on your audio interface.

To route a Pro Tools output channel pair to multiple audio interface output ports:

1 Choose Setup > Hardware.

2 From the Peripherals list, select an interface.

3 Click the Main tab.

4 Select an output port pair from an Output pop-

up menu.

5 Start-click (Windows) or Control-click (Mac)

the same pop-up menu a second time to choose another available Output Port pair.

Only currently unassigned Output Port pairs are available.

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.

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).

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.

Pro Tools output pairs can also be routed to multiple audio interface outputs in the I/O Setup dialog. For more information, see “Routing Hardware I/O to Pro Tools I/O” on page 64.

Chapter 5: System Setup 55

System Usage

System Activity

TDM Voices Allocated

TDM Time Slots Used

DSP Usage

Processing Bandwidth

Meters in the System Usage window indicate how much of your system’s processing power is being used in processing audio, and when writing and playing back automation.

Pro Tools HD, LE, and M-Powered have four common system activity meters:

With Pro Tools HD, there are additional meters:

TDM Voices Allocated Displays the total number of TDM voices that can be allocated and the number of voices currently allocated. This includes all voices whether they are allocated explicitly or dynamically, as well as any voices used for routing RTAS processing.

TDM Time Slots Used Displays the total number of TDM Time Slots available and the number of TDM Time Slots currently used.

PCI Displays the amount of PCI bus activity.

CPU (RTAS) Displays the amount of CPU pro-

cessing activity for RTAS processing.

CPU (Elastic) Displays the amount of processing activity for Real-Time Elastic Audio processing.

Disk Displays the amount of hard disk processing activity.

System Usage window (Pro Tools LE shown)

As these meters approach their limits, native processing and recording or playback of automation data can be affected. If CPU or PCI Activity are high, a system error may occur. If Disk Activity is high, Pro Tools may miss playback of some automation data during particularly dense periods of activity, such as while using the Bounce to Disk command.

DSP Usage (Accel Core, HD Core, HD Accel, and HD Process) Displays (in percent) how much of

each DSP chip on each Pro Tools|HD card is currently being used for mixer configurations and TDM plug-ins.

System Usage window (Pro Tools HD 2 Accel shown)

Pro Tools Reference Guide56

To monitor the usage of resources during a Pro Tools session:

 Choose Window > System Usage.

To enable (or disable) DSP Caching:

1 Open the System Usage window (Windows >

System Usage).

To reduce processing load, do one of the following:

 Reduce the density of automation in places

where it shows the most activity. For details, see “Thinning Automation” on page 925.

– or –

 Turn off meters in Sends view, if enabled (by

deselecting Show Meters in Sends View in the Display Preferences page). For details, see “Individual Send Views and Meters” on page 846.

DSP Caching

(Pro Tools HD Only)

Pro Tools HD maintains a Plug-in and Mixer cache for allocated DSP when closing and opening sessions. While this has no effect on the time it takes to open the first session after you launch Pro Tools, it does result in being able to open and close all subsequent Pro Tools sessions much more quickly, especially when using the Revert To Saved command or when opening similarly configured sessions.

However, when using DSP caching, the System Usage window may not always accurately show the DSP resources your session is currently using. For an accurate display of current DSP usage, you can either disable DSP caching or purge the DSP cache.

2 Click the DSP Cache pop-up menu and select

(or deselect) Use DSP Cache.

System Usage window, DSP Cache pop-up menu

To purge the DSP cache:

1 Open the System Usage window (Windows >

System Usage).

2 Click the DSP Cache pop-up menu and select

(or deselect) Purge Cache. This refreshes the System Usage display.

Chapter 5: System Setup 57

Pro Tools Reference Guide58

Chapter 6: I/O Setup

Channel Grid

Path Type tabs

Expand/collapse paths

Active/Inactive Status

Options

Path Format selector

Path Name column

Path tools

Input and Output selectors

Interface Name label

The I/O Setup dialog (or I/O Setup) provides tools to label, format, and map Pro Tools input, output, insert, or bus signal paths for each session.

With Pro Tools HD, Digidesign PRE (Mic Preamp) signal paths are supported, and you can also configure Delay Compensation for hardware inserts.

The I/O Setup dialog includes a graphical representation of the signal routing for internal bussing, and for each connected audio interface. I/O Setup controls let you route physical ports on the audio interface 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.

Figure 1. I/O Setup dialog on a Pro Tools|HD system with a 192 I/O and a 96 I/O

Chapter 6: I/O Setup 59

Opening the I/O Setup Dialog

Navigating in the I/O Setup Dialog

The I/O Setup dialog can be opened from the application window (with a session closed), or from within a session (when a session is open).

To open the I/O Setup dialog:

1 Make sure your audio interfaces are enabled

and configured properly in the Hardware Setup dialog. See “Configuring Pro Tools Hardware Settings” on page 50.

2 Choose Setup > I/O.

Closing the I/O Setup Dialog

To close the I/O Setup dialog and save changes:

 Click OK.

When you click OK, Pro Tools checks several settings for routing validity (to prevent feedback loops). If there are any overlapping or invalid settings, you will be required to correct them before the I/O Setup dialog will close. For more information, see “Valid Paths and Requirements” on page 71.

To close the I/O Setup dialog without saving changes:

 Click Cancel.

Resizing the I/O Setup Dialog

To resize the I/O Setup dialog, do one of the following:

 On Windows, drag any corner of the window.

– or –

To scroll left or right in the I/O Setup dialog:

 Press Alt+Page Up/Down (Windows) or Op-

tion+Page Up/Down (Mac).

Pro Tools Signal Paths

A signal path is a logical grouping of multiple inputs, outputs or busses that has a single name and (channel) format. The I/O Setup dialog lets you define and name paths according to the needs of each project.

Main Paths and Sub-Paths

Paths in Pro Tools tracks and I/O Setup include main paths and sub-paths.

Main Paths Main paths are logical groupings of inputs, inserts, busses, or outputs. For example, a master stereo output path will include both its left and right channels.

Sub-Paths A sub-path represents a signal path within a main path. For example, a default stereo output path consists of two mono sub-paths, left and right. Mono tracks and sends can be routed to either mono sub-path of the stereo output path.

It is especially useful to define and name sub-paths for complex mixing setups, such as a 5.1 Surround mix.

 On Mac, drag the lower-right corner of the

window.

Pro Tools Reference Guide60

Paths in Session Tracks

Stereo main path

Mono sub-paths

In sessions, audio is routed using the track Input, Output, Insert, Plug-in, and Send selectors. These selectors let you assign tracks to hardware inputs and outputs, internal busses, and other Pro Tools signal paths. Paths comprise the lists of available signal routing choices in track Input, Output, Insert and Send selectors (see “Assigning Audio Inputs and Outputs to Tracks” on page 179).

Paths in the I/O Setup Dialog

The signal routing path choices available in a session are defined in the I/O Setup dialog. For more information, see “I/O Setup Dialog Tabs and Controls” on page 62.

Path Configurations and I/O Settings

Each Pro Tools session retains its path configurations as I/O Settings.

Each Pro Tools system can have a different path configuration, determined by:

• Whether it is a Pro Tools|HD, Pro Tools LE, or Pro Tools M-Powered system

• On Pro Tools|HD systems, the number and types of audio interfaces

• On Pro Tools|HD systems and Pro Tools LE with Complete Production Toolkit, the installed Mixer plug-in (Stereo or Surround)

The I/O Settings saved with the session are loaded automatically when the session is opened. Unavailable items (including hardware, paths, or required resources) remain in the session as inactive items (see “Making Paths Active or Inactive” on page 69).

When you create a new session, you can specify which I/O Settings to use (for example, the “Last Used” settings, or one of any custom I/O Settings files).

You can save and import I/O Settings files in the I/O Setup dialog (see “Importing and Exporting I/O Settings Files” on page 72).

Main and sub-paths in I/O Setup

Default I/O Settings

A default I/O Settings file is installed automatically by Pro Tools, so you have a set of default paths that will get you started, without the need to configure the I/O Setup dialog. These paths are available in session tracks and are reflected in the I/O Setup dialog. You can customize your I/O Setup configuration at any time, according to the needs of each project (see “I/O Setup Dialog Tabs and Controls” on page 62).

Chapter 6: I/O Setup 61

Default Settings Files

The default Stereo settings file is available on all Pro Tools systems, and provides stereo main paths, each with its own mono sub-paths.

Multichannel settings files are available on Pro Tools|HD systems. These settings provide specialized path definitions for surround mixing. See “Configuring Pro Tools for Multichannel Sessions” on page 976.

Default Path Names

Default names for input, output, and insert paths are based on the type of system (such as specific Pro Tools LE systems) or type and number of interfaces (Pro Tools|HD systems) you are using.

Bus Configure bus signal path names and formats.

Mic Preamps (Pro Tools HD Only) Map Digidesign PRE™ outputs to an audio interface’s inputs to establish communication between Pro Tools and PRE.

H/W Insert Delay (Pro Tools HD Only) Set the amount of Delay Compensation (in milliseconds) for each external device. These times will be used by the Delay Compensation Engine to time align input paths when the hardware insert is in use and Delay Compensation is enabled.

To open an I/O Setup page:

 Click the corresponding tab at the top of the

I/O Setup dialog.

To ensure optimal compatibility when exchanging sessions between different Pro Tools systems, be sure to use the default I/O Settings whenever possible.

I/O Setup Dialog Tabs and Controls

Path Type Tabs

The I/O Setup dialog provides tabs to open pages for configuring the following I/O Settings:

Input Configure input signal path names, formats, and source channel (analog or digital audio interface).

Output Configure output signal path names, formats, and destination (audio interface channel or internal send bus).

Insert Configure insert signal path names, formats, and destination (audio interface channels).

I/O Setup Dialog Signal Path Controls

Depending on the I/O Setup page, the I/O Setup dialog can provide the following controls in its graphical section for configuring signal routing paths:

Input and Output Selectors Let you select the physical ports on your audio interface to route to Pro Tools inputs and outputs. Ports are selectable in channel pairs. Available ports for each displayed interface are based on Hardware Setup settings; for example, if the AES/EBU inputs and outputs of an interface are enabled in Hardware Setup, they are available for routing in I/O Setup. The functionality provided with the Input and Output selector is the same as that provided on the Main page of the Hardware Setup dialog.

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Path Name Column Shows paths that are available for selection, including the name of each defined path. Path names can be renamed.

Expand/Collapse Triangle Shows or hides the sub-paths associated with a main path.

Active/Inactive Status Box Shows and changes the active/inactive status of each path.

Path Format Selector Shows and selects the type/format (such as Mono, Stereo, Quad, or

5.1) of each defined path (greater-than-stereo multichannel formats are supported with Pro Tools|HD systems only).

Channel Grid Maps paths to specific interfaces and channels.

I/O Setup Dialog Buttons, Menus, and Selectors

Depending on the I/O Setup page, the I/O Setup dialog can provide the following buttons, menus, and selectors for configuring signal routing:

New Path Button Lets you create a new path on signal path pages for Input, Output, Insert, Bus, or Mic Preamp (Pro Tools HD only).

New Sub-Path Button Lets you create a new subpath on signal path pages for Input, Output, Insert, Bus, or Mic Preamp (Pro Tools HD only).

Delete Path Button Lets you delete any selected path or sub-path on signal path pages for Input, Output, Insert, Bus, or Mic Preamp (Pro Tools HD only).

5.1 Default Path Order Selector (Pro Tools HD and Pro Tools LE with Complete Production Toolkit Only) Lets you select the default track layout you

want Pro Tools to follow when creating and mapping 5.1-format main or sub-paths in the I/O Setup dialog.

Import Settings Button Lets you import an I/O settings file to reconfigure I/O Setup.

Export Settings Button Lets you save I/O settings as a file that can be imported into other sessions.

Default Button Resets a path type to its default path configuration, depending on which interface you are using and how your Hardware Setup window is configured.

Compensation for Input Delays After Record Pass (Input Page, Pro Tools HD Only) Provides auto-

matic compensation for any analog or digital input delay with Digidesign audio interfaces. Enable this option for all recording situations. When recording from a digital source, both the Compensation for Input Delays After Record Pass and the Compensation for Output Delays After Record Pass options must be enabled.

Compensation for Output Delays After Record Pass (Output Page, Pro Tools HD Only) Provides

automatic compensation for any analog or digital output delay with Digidesign audio interfances. Enable this option when you are synchronized to an external clock source. When recording from a digital source, both the Com- pensation for Input Delays After Record Pass and the Compensation for Output Delays After Record Pass options must be enabled.

Show Last Saved Setup Appears in the I/O Setup dialog in certain session transfer situations. For details on this feature, see “Show Last Saved Setup and Show Current Setup” on page 74.

Pop-Up Menu Selectors I/O Options Provide selectors with pop-up menus to set paths or orders. The Output and Bus pages provide a Controller Meter Path selector. The Output page also provides selectors for Audition Paths (Region List and DigiBase previewing), New Track De-

Chapter 6: I/O Setup 63

fault Output, Default Path Order, AFL/PFL Path (Pro Tools HD only), and AFL/PFL Mutes (Pro Tools HD only). See “I/O Setup Options” on page 75.

Cancel Button Closes the I/O Setup dialog without saving changes.

OK Button Closes the I/O Setup dialog and save changes.

Routing Hardware I/O to Pro Tools I/O

The I/O Setup dialog lets you define which physical ports on your I/O peripheral are routed to available inputs and outputs in Pro Tools. Use the Input and Output selectors in the I/O Setup dialog to serve as a patchbay to route any of the physical inputs or outputs to your Pro Tools mixer.

To configure I/O routing in I/O Setup:

1 Choose Setup > I/O.

2 Click the Input or Output tab to display the

corresponding path type.

3 Click the Input or Output selector for the first

interface channel pair, located below the first audio interface icon.

4 From the pop-up menu, select a physical port

pair (such as Analog 1–2), to route to a Pro Tools channel pair (such as A 1–2) in the Path Name column on the left.

5 Repeat the above step for additional channel

pairs.

6 Click OK to save changes and close the I/O

Setup dialog.

Routing a Pro Tools Output Pair to Multiple Destinations

Pro Tools channel pairs can be routed to multiple outputs on an audio interface through the I/O 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.

I/O Channel selector pop-up menu

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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).

The only limit to output choices is the number of outputs available in your system.

0utput path assignments cannot overlap. See “Valid Paths and Requirements” on page 71 for details.

Pro Tools outputs pairs can also be routed to multiple audio interface outputs in the Hardware Setup dialog. For information, see “Routing a Pro Tools Output Pair to Multiple Destinations” on page 55.

To route a Pro Tools output channel pair to multiple audio interface output ports:

1 Choose Setup > I/O.

2 Click the Output tab.

Creating New Paths

The I/O Setup dialog lets you create new main path and sub-paths with custom names, format, and mapping. Custom path names appear in a session’s track Input, Output, Insert, and Bus selectors.

To create a new path:

1 Choose Setup > I/O.

3 Click the Output selector for an interface

channel pair, just below an audio interface icon.

4 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.

5 Start-click (Windows) or Control-click (Mac)

the same Output selector and select an additional output pair from the same pop-up menu.

6 Repeat the above steps to select additional

output destinations.

7 Click OK to save changes and close the I/O

Setup dialog.

2 Click the Input, Output, Insert, or Bus tab to

display the corresponding path type.

3 Do one of the following:

• Click New Path, or press Control+N (Windows) or Command+N (Mac).

– or –

• Select a main path and click New Sub-Path.

4 Double-click in the Name field and type a

name for the path.

5 Press Tab to set the new path name and move

to the next path’s Name Field, or press Enter (Windows) or Return (Mac) to set the new path name.

6 Choose a format from the Path Format selec-

tor (mono, stereo, or multichannel).

Path Format selector (Pro Tools HD shown)

Chapter 6: I/O Setup 65

7 Map the path to a specific audio interface, or

bus channel in the Grid column. See “Channel Mapping” on page 70

8 Repeat the previous steps to configure all path

types (Input, Output, Insert, or Bus).

9 Click OK to save changes and close the I/O

Setup dialog. If there are any overlapping or identically named paths, you will be instructed to correct them before the I/O Setup dialog will close. For more information, see “Valid Paths and Requirements” on page 71.

Multichannel paths and mixing are explained in Chapter 44, “Pro Tools Setup for Surround.”

Editing Paths

The I/O Setup dialog lets you edit or customize signal path definitions.

Paths can be:

• Restored to default configurations

• Renamed, for easier identification after changing or renaming audio interfaces

• Selected and reordered to change menu order in track selectors

• Selected and deleted

• Remapped to or from different sources or destinations

• Deactivated (or reactivated) to manage unavailable or unnecessary I/O resources

In addition, you can import and export your I/O Setup configurations as I/O Settings files, as well as set default path parameters. See “Working with I/O Settings Files” on page 71.

The following table lists the available path attributes for each path type.

Path options by type

Path Type Path Options (Attributes)

Input Names, formats, and source

channel (analog or digital audio interface)

Output Names, formats, and destination

(audio interface output channel or internal send bus)

Insert Names, formats and destination

(audio interface channels)

Bus Names and formats

Path interface names can also be renamed and configured as defaults, which can be restored.

Restoring Default Paths and Path Names

You can set an I/O Setup path type to its default path configuration at any time. When restoring the default path, Pro Tools does the following:

• Creates new default paths up to the capacity of your system’s available audio interfaces and resources.

• Resets selected path names to matching or corresponding paths in the current I/O Setup configuration. For example, if you replace an audio interface on a Pro Tools|HD system, you can click the Default button to update your I/O Setup definitions with the new hardware configuration.

If there are matching paths available with the new system configuration, existing paths will be updated to include new audio interfaces (Pro Tools|HD systems).

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To restore default paths and path names:

1 Choose Setup > I/O.

2 Click the Input, Output, Insert, or Bus tab to

display the corresponding path type.

3 Click Default.

Pro Tools creates all possible stereo main paths. Mono sub-paths are also auto-created for every stereo main path. These default path names appear in a session’s track Audio Input and Output Path selectors.

Default stereo output paths

With Pro Tools|HD systems, to optimize DSP resources, it is best to create mono subpaths for Outputs and Busses, rather than mono main paths.

4 Click OK to save changes and close the I/O

Setup dialog.

Resetting Mix Busses

(Pro Tools HD and Pro Tools LE with Complete Production Toolkit Only)

Pro Tools supports up to 128 mix busses. However, versions lower than Pro Tools HD 7.x and Pro Tools TDM 6.9 provide only up to 64 or 32 mix busses respectively. When you open a session that was created with Pro Tools LE or a lower version of Pro Tools TDM on a current version of Pro Tools HD (or Pro Tools LE with Complete Production Toolkit), only the number

of busses supported on the original system are initially available. You can reset the number of available busses to match your system’s full capabilities.

To make all of your busses available in sessions that support a lower number of mix busses:

1 Open the I/O Setup dialog.

2 Click the Bus tab in the upper left.

3 Click Default.

Setting busses to the default setting will rename all busses to their default name.

4 Click OK to save changes and close the I/O

Setup dialog.

Renaming Paths

Path names can be customized in the I/O Setup dialog.

I/O paths can also be renamed directly from the Edit or Mix window by Right-clicking the Input or Output selector and choosing Rename.

To rename a path in the I/O Setup dialog:

1 Double-click the path name.

2 Type a new path name.

3 Click OK to save changes and close the I/O

Setup dialog.

Renaming Interfaces

Audio interface names can be customized in the I/O Setup dialog. With Pro Tools HD only, the I/O Setup dialog then bases default Input and Output path names on the custom names.

Chapter 6: I/O Setup 67

To rename an audio interface in the I/O Setup

Interface Name label

dialog:

1 Double-click the label above an interface.

Interface Names

2 Type a new interface name.

3 Click OK to save changes and close the I/O

Setup dialog.

Selecting Paths

To select a range of paths:

1 Click the path name.

2 Shift-click an additional path name.

All paths between the first selected path name and the additional path name will also be selected.

To select or deselect noncontiguous paths, do one of the following:

 Control-click (Windows) or Command-click

(Mac) path names that are unhighlighted to select them.

– or –

 Control-click (Windows) or Command-click

(Mac) path names that are highlighted to deselect them.

Individual and multiple paths can be selected in the I/O Setup dialog Path Name column. Selected paths and sub-paths can be reordered higher or lower in the Path Name column to change their menu order in track Input, Output, Insert, and Bus selectors. Paths can also be deleted. Sub-paths follow their main paths when they are moved in the I/O Setup dialog.

To select a main path or sub-path:

 Click the path name.

Selecting paths in the I/O Setup dialog

To select all paths and sub-paths:

 Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac) any

path name that is unhighlighted.

To deselect all paths and sub-paths:

 Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac) any

path name that is highlighted.

Reordering Paths

Selected paths and sub-paths can be reordered higher or lower in the Path Name column to change their menu order in track Input, Output, Insert, and Bus selectors.

To reorder paths in the I/O Setup dialog and Track Selectors:

1 Drag one or more selected path names up or

down.

2 Click OK to save changes and close the I/O

Setup dialog.

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Deleting Paths

Inactive

Active

Path definitions can be deleted from the current session to reflect changes to your hardware setup, or to clean up track selector menus by removing unwanted or unnecessary path definitions. After deleting a path, any tracks or send assignments to that path are reset to No Output.

To delete a main path or sub-path:

1 In the I/O Setup dialog, select the path you

want to delete.

2 Click Delete Path.

3 Click OK to save changes and close the I/O

Setup dialog.

Tracks can also be made active or inactive. For information, see “Making Track Inputs and Outputs Inactive from the Edit or Mix Window” on page 181.

To globally activate or deactivate a path:

1 Choose Setup > I/O.

2 Select a path type using the tabs at the top of

the window.

3 Set the Active/Inactive control for the path.

To delete all paths:

1 Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac) any

path name.

2 Click Delete Path.

3 Click OK to save changes and close the I/O

Setup dialog.

Making Paths Active or Inactive

Pro Tools paths can be Active (on) or Inactive (off, or unavailable). Paths can be globally activated or deactivated in the I/O Setup dialog. Making a signal path inactive will turn off the signal path on any and all tracks currently assigned to it.

Pro Tools also sets unavailable paths to inactive. Paths can be unavailable when hardware or other system resources are unavailable, such as when opening a session saved on a different system.

Active and inactive path settings in I/O Setup

Inactive tracks that were assigned to the path display in italics in the track path selectors.

4 Click OK to save changes and close the I/O

Setup dialog.

Display of Active and Inactive Paths in I/O Setup

Unhighlighted (Italics) Indicates the path is

inactive.

Highlighted (Non-Italics) Indicates the path is active.

Highlighted (Italics) Indicates the path is active, but there are not enough system resources available.

Chapter 6: I/O Setup 69

Channel Mapping

Paths must be mapped to a specific audio interface, or to bus channels in the Grid. Paths can be mapped when they are created, and remapped at any time.

To map channels:

1 Select a main path or sub-path.

2 In the row for the selected path, click in the

Grid column under an audio interface and channel.

Mapping channels

Other channels for the path type, if any, fill to the right. For example, when mapping a new stereo path, clicking in the path row under output channel 1 fills both channel 1 and 2 (left to 1, right to 2).

To remap channels in a path, see “Remapping Channels” on page 70.

3 Click OK to save changes and close the I/O

Setup dialog.

Channel Mapping and Surround Mixer

(Pro Tools HD and Pro Tools LE with Complete Production Toolkit Only)

When mapping multichannel paths, the left channel (L) is mapped first to the clicked Grid box, and remaining channels fill immediately to the right according to the default path order. Because some multichannel mixing formats use unique track layouts, Pro Tools lets you set the default format in the I/O Setup dialog (see “I/O Setup Options” on page 75).

Customized Output paths for a 5.1 mix

Remapping Channels

You can move the individual assignments to different channels, to reorder the path’s definition (for example, changing a multichannel map to L-R-C-LF-LS-RS).

If there are any overlapping or invalid settings, you will be required to correct them before the I/O Setup dialog will close. For more information, see “Valid Paths and Requirements” on page 71.

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To remap channels in a path:

 Drag the channel to the new location in the

Grid. Other channel assignments move (shuffle) to accommodate dragged channels.

Channel Shuffling

Moving a signal from right to left results in a shuffle of other signals after the new destination channel. Moving a signal from left to right shuffles any and all signals after the new destination channel and leaves the previous channel empty.

Changing a path’s format erases any current channel mapping.

Sub-Paths Follow Main Paths

When a main path is remapped, its sub-paths (if any) will remap automatically to maintain consistent routing. For example, remapping a stereo path to different hardware outputs results in any of its sub-paths moving with it.

Valid Paths and Requirements

Overlapping Channels and Valid Paths Channel mapping follows certain rules regarding overlapping paths.

• There can be no partial or complete overlaps between any two main Output paths, any two Insert paths, or any two main Bus paths.

• A newly-created Output or Bus path must either be completely independent of other maps (not mapped to any other available I/O interface/channels), or it must be a subpath completely contained within a larger path (for example, an LCR sub-path within a larger 5.1 path).

• Output and Insert paths can overlap in I/O Setup, but only one or the other can be used at any given time in a session. (Inputs, however, can be routed to multiple tracks.)

While configuring the I/O Setup dialog, certain rules apply for path definition and channel mapping. All paths must be valid before the I/O Setup configuration can be applied.

Though it is possible to set up invalid mappings in the Channel Grid, Pro Tools will not accept an I/O Setup configuration unless all paths meet the path definition and channel mapping requirements, as follows:

Minimum Path Definitions All paths must have a name, be of a specific format, and have a valid I/O mapping.

Working with I/O Settings Files

I/O Settings can be managed when transferring sessions, and when developing I/O Setup configurations over the course of multiple sessions and projects.

I/O Settings Files

When creating a new session, you can set the session’s I/O Setup configuration by selecting an available I/O Settings file. I/O Settings can also be imported before or after you open a session. The following types of I/O Settings are available:

Last Used The most recent (or last used) I/O Setup configuration is saved as a Last Used settings file. See “Last Used I/O Settings” on page 73 for more information.

Chapter 6: I/O Setup 71

Factory I/O Settings The Pro Tools Installer provides settings files for factory I/O setups for stereo and surround (Pro Tools HD only). See “Audio Interfaces and Session Transfer” on page 73 for more information.

Custom I/O Settings The current I/O Setup configuration can be edited and saved as a custom I/O Setting using the Export command in the I/O Setup dialog. See “Importing and Exporting I/O Settings Files” on page 72.

Default I/O Settings at First Launch

The first time you launch Pro Tools and create a session, you can choose default Stereo Mix or Surround Mix settings, depending on your system and installation choices. See “Audio Interfaces and Session Transfer” on page 73.

Importing and Exporting I/O Settings Files

You can export and import I/O Setup configurations as I/O Settings files. This lets you save settings for different projects, import settings for reconfiguring I/O Setup, and manage path definitions and signal routing setups.

Exporting I/O Settings

To export and save an I/O Setup configuration as a custom I/O Settings file:

1 Update I/O Setup settings (see “I/O Setup Dia-

log Tabs and Controls” on page 62).

2 Click Export Settings.

3 Name and save the settings file.

To start sessions with a blank or empty I/O Setup dialog, you can create and export an I/O Settings file in which all definitions have been deleted.

Importing I/O Settings

I/O Settings can be imported before or after you open a session.

When you import I/O Settings, you can choose to delete any unused path definitions before importing the new paths, or leave unused path definitions intact and add the new paths to the current I/O Setup configuration.

You can also import I/O path and assignment names, as well as other session data, from a different session by using the Import Session Data command (see “Import Session Data Dialog” on page 291).

To import I/O Settings:

1 Click Import Settings in the I/O Setup dialog.

2 Select an I/O settings file in the Import Set-

tings dialog and click Import.

3 A dialog appears asking whether you want to

delete existing paths. Do one of the following:

• Click Yes to remove any unused paths and add the imported paths to the current I/O Setup configuration. Any I/O assignments and automation data associated with the unused paths are also deleted.

– or –

• Click No to add the imported paths to the current I/O Setup configuration.

If the import results in overlapping paths, the new paths will appear in the I/O Setup dialog as Inactive. See “Making Paths Active or Inactive” on page 69.

After importing I/O Settings, you can then reassign path routing definitions in the I/O Setup dialog by remapping, renaming, and deleting paths. See “Creating New Paths” on page 65.

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Last Used I/O Settings

If any changes are made to the I/O Setup dialog, these changes are saved to the Last Used settings file when the I/O Setup dialog is closed (by clicking OK).

Changes to I/O Setup are saved along with the current session (if one is open). Custom I/O Settings files will not contain recent changes unless you export an updated settings file.

The Last Used setting is available as a choice when creating a session or when importing I/O Settings in the I/O Setup dialog.

Factory I/O Settings

Pro Tools provides I/O Settings files for Stereo and Surround mixing. These files provide generic main and sub-path definitions for either mixing format.

Factory I/O Settings are available as a choice when creating a session or when importing I/O Settings in the I/O Setup dialog.

Stereo Mix Settings File

The Stereo Mix settings file consists of all possible stereo and mono paths for your session.

Using the “Stereo Mix” settings file has the same effect as clicking Default for every individual tab in I/O Settings. See “Creating New Paths” on page 65 for details.

Specifically, the Stereo Mix settings file creates the maximum number paths of each type, as determined by the available system’s I/O Setup and hardware configuration.

Surround Mix Settings File

(Pro Tools HD and Pro Tools LE with Complete Production Toolkit Only)

The Surround Mix provides additional, surround-specific Output and Bus settings files. See “Surround Mix Settings Files” on page 977 for more information.

Custom I/O Settings

Custom I/O Settings files can be created by changing I/O Setup controls and then exporting the I/O Setup configuration (see “Exporting I/O Settings” on page 72). Custom I/O settings are available as a choice when creating a session or when importing I/O Settings in the I/O Setup dialog.

Audio Interfaces and Session Transfer

Pro Tools sessions store the type and order of audio interfaces connected and active when the session was last saved. When opening a session on a system with different audio interfaces, the I/O Setup may need to be updated.

Unavailable I/O

When opening a session, Pro Tools checks to see if the hardware configuration has changed since the session was last saved. If the current hardware configuration differs from that saved in the session, paths associated with the unavailable I/O are made inactive.

Remapping

Remapping occurs when a session’s original I/O Setup does not match that of the current system and session paths are remapped to current hardware.

Chapter 6: I/O Setup 73

Systems of equivalent I/O capability are remapped directly. For example, a session tracked to a Pro Tools|HD system through two 192 I/O audio interfaces would include 32 input paths spread across the two 16-channel interfaces. The session is taken to a second Pro Tools system that has a 96 I/O audio interface (a 16channel I/O unit) and a 1622 I/O (with its 16 analog inputs) connected to its Legacy Port. When the session is first opened on the second system, Pro Tools will map the 32 input paths to the inputs of the two interfaces.

When hardware is unavailable to a session being opened, assignments can either be replaced using the remap option, or opened as Inactive. Any tracks left assigned to an unavailable path will not be audible. This can be beneficial, however, when you want to reassign tracks into your system’s mix one at a time.

Opening Older Sessions Saved in Direct Outputs Mode

Direct Outputs mode, as found in older versions of Pro Tools, has been replaced by the default mono sub-paths available through all valid I/O in the I/O Setup dialog.

Clicking the Default button creates main Output paths with appropriate mono sub-paths. These sub-paths provide discrete monophonic routing.

When a session is opened that was saved in Direct Outputs mode, Pro Tools maps all the output assignments to equivalent mono sub-paths (as available).

To convert a session so that it emulates Direct Outputs mode, use the Auto Assign Ascending Outputs feature, as follows:

See “Making Paths Active or Inactive” on page 69 for more information.

Show Last Saved Setup and Show Current Setup

When a session is opened that contains path definitions for unavailable I/O interfaces, the I/O Setup dialog lists those paths in italics.

Clicking the Show Last Saved Setup button displays the audio interfaces used in the original session. This temporary display lets you check the last saved I/O configuration for reference while configuring the session for your system.

Once a session has been opened with unavailable I/O retained, you can then reassign tracks to available I/O paths.

To redefine the paths, see “Editing Paths” on page 66.

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To auto assign track outputs for Direct Outputs:

1 Make sure that all tracks you want to assign

are visible (hidden tracks will not be affected).

2 Select the tracks you want to assign.

3 Control-Alt-click (Windows) or Command-

Option-click (Mac) the Output selector of the left-most track and assign it to the sub-path for Output #1. All visible tracks will be auto-assigned to unique mono sub-path outputs in ascending order.

You can identify audio interface connections at any time by selecting the interface name in the Peripherals list of the Hardware Setup dialog, then clicking Identify. All LEDs on the corresponding interface front panel illuminate.

I/O Setup Options

Pro Tools systems have additional I/O Setup features. These include default signal routing for metering and auditioning, and default track layout for multichannel mix formats.

Controller Meter Path

(D-Control, D-Command, and ProControl Only)

The Controller Meter Path selector determines the path displayed across the Output meters of D-Control, D-Command trol surfaces. For more details, refer to your control surface documentation.

This selector is available in the Output and Bus pages of I/O Setup.

Audition Paths

You can specify the output path through which files and regions are previewed (auditioned) in the Region List or in DigiBase browsers, and when previewing AudioSuite processing.

For information on previewing audio in the Region List, see “Previewing Regions in the Region List” on page 217.

, or ProControl con-

assigns a default Audition Path to the first available main Output path of the corresponding format. You can also select a different Audition Path in the I/O Setup dialog.

Configuring Audition Paths

You can specify the monitoring outputs for auditioning audio in the Region List and DigiBase browsers, or for previewing AudioSuite processing, using the Audition Paths pop-up menu.

Audition Paths Main Menu The main menu consists of all path format choices available on the current system (Mono and Stereo on all systems, and LCR and greater on Pro Tools|HD systems).

Audition Paths Submenus Each path format choice has a submenu listing Output paths of that given format. (The mono submenu lists Output paths of any format.)

To configure an Audition Path:

 Select a path from the Audition Paths pop-up

menu or submenus.

New Track Default Output Path

You can specify the default output path assignment for new tracks, in each available format.

For information on previewing audio in DigiBase browsers, see “Previewing Audio in DigiBase” on page 248.

Using the Default Audition Path

When you preview a file or region in the Region List in a DigiBase browser, or when AudioSuite processing, Pro Tools routes the audio output through the specified Audition Path. Pro Tools

The New Track Default Output can be set to bus paths, as well as output paths.

The New Track Default Output pop-up menu is available in the Output page of I/O Setup dialog only.

To specify a default output for new tracks in the I/O Setup dialog:

 Click the New Track Default Output pop-up

menu and select a format and Output path.

Chapter 6: I/O Setup 75

AFL/PFL Path

(Pro Tools HD and Pro Tools LE with Complete Production Toolkit Only)

Tracks soloed in AFL (After Fader Listen) or PFL (Pre Fader Listen) Solo mode are routed to the current AFL/PFL Path, as set with the AFL/PFL Path pop-up menu.

This pop-up menu is available in the Output page of the I/O Setup dialog only.

See “Solo Modes” on page 189 for more information on using AFL or PFL Solo modes.

To select the AFL/PFL Path output:

 Select a path from the AFL/PFL Path pop-up

menu.

Selecting None as the AFL/PFL Path disables AFL and PFL Solo modes. When None is selected, AFL and PFL cannot be used.

If you do not see the AFL/PFL Path selector, confirm that you have installed the Surround Mixer in the Plug-ins (Used) folder. For information on switching Mixer plugins, see the Pro Tools|HD Setup Guide.

Setting AFL or PFL Path Levels

You can set a separate master AFL/PFL Path level for all AFL solos and all PFL solos.

Tracks do not need to be soloed to have the master AFL/PFL Path level adjusted.

To set the AFL/PFL Path level for AFL or PFL solos:

1 Choose Options > Solo Mode, and select a Solo

mode, as follows:

• If you want to set the level for AFL solos, select AFL.

– or –

• If you want to set the level for PFL solos, select PFL.

2 In the Mix or Edit window, Control-click

(Windows) or Command-click (Mac) a Solo button on any track.

3 Adjust the AFL/PFL Path fader.

4 Click on the new fader position (or press Esc)

to close the fader display.

To set the AFL/PFL Path level to 0 dB, Control-Start-click (Windows) or CommandControl-click (Mac) any Solo button.

AFL/PFL Mutes (Output Path) Selector

(Systems without a D-Control or D-Command Control Surface)

If you are not using a D-Control or D-Command worksurface, your regular Pro Tools output path can be muted when you send a signal to the AFL/PFL Path. The muted path is set with the AFL/PFL Mutes (Output Path) selector.

See “Solo Modes” on page 189 for more information on selecting and using AFL or PFL Solo modes.

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To set which output path is muted when tracks are soloed in AFL or PFL Solo mode:

1 Choose Setup > I/O.

Mic Preamps

(Digidesign PRE with Pro Tools HD Only)

2 Click the Output tab to display the Output

page.

3 Select a path from the AFL/PFL Mutes (Output

Path) pop-up menu.

4 Click OK to save your changes to the I/O Setup

and close the I/O Setup dialog.

Default Path Order

(Pro Tools HD and Pro Tools LE with Complete Production Toolkit Only)

The Default Path Order pop-up menu lets you select the default track layout you want Pro Tools to follow when creating and mapping 5.1-format main or sub-paths in the I/O Setup dialog.

This selector is only available in the Output page of I/O Setup dialog.

This setting does not affect existing path definitions or metering—it only specifies channel mapping in new 5.1-format paths.

To choose a Default Path Order:

 Select the channel mapping from the Default

Path Order pop-up menu.

On the Mic Preamps page of the I/O Setup dialog, signal paths for one or more Digidesign PRE multi-purpose microphone preamplifiers can be mapped to Pro Tools HD audio interfaces. For more information, see the PRE Guide.

Insert offset delay field

H/W Insert Delay Compensation

(Pro Tools HD Only)

To compensate for the delay (latency) of any external hardware devices (such as an effects unit) used in your session, you can set the amount of Delay Compensation (in milliseconds) for each external device. These times will be used by the Delay Compensation Engine to time-align input paths when the hardware insert is in use and Delay Compensation is enabled.

Default Path Order selector

For more information about multichannel mixing, see Chapter 44, “Pro Tools Setup for Surround.”

Insert offset delay field

Chapter 6: I/O Setup 77

To set an insert delay offset:

 Type a value, in milliseconds, in the field cor-

responding with the input where the hardware insert is connected.

If you do not know your hardware’s insert delay, see “Determining Your Hardware’s Insert Delay” on page 78.

Insert delay offsets only have an effect when the I/O is used for hardware inserts.

Determining Your Hardware’s Insert Delay

Check the documentation for your external hardware to see if it identifies the hardware latency, or use the following procedure in Pro Tools to determine the latency for hardware inserts.

To determine your hardware’s inser t delay:

1 Ensure that Automatic Delay Compensation is

enabled (Options > Delay Compensation).

2 Change your session’s Main Time Scale to

Min:Sec.

3 Create two tracks.

4 Route the tracks as follows: Route the output

of track 1 to the device’s inputs, then route the input of track 2 to the device’s outputs.

5 Place a short tone (or other sound with a de-

finitive beginning) on track 1.

6 Record enable track 2 and press Record Enable

and Play in the Transport window to play back the audio in track 1 and record it to track 2.

7 After recording, zoom in and measure the

difference between where the audio starts in track 1 and track 2. The difference is the value you would enter as your hardware’s insert delay offset.

Pro Tools Reference Guide78

Chapter 7: Preferences

The settings in the Preferences dialog define how Pro Tools features work by default. The Preferences dialog has several tabbed pages in which you can specify your preferred settings for various types of session parameters. Each Preferences page is covered in detail in this chapter.

To change Pro Tools preferences:

1 Choose Setup > Preferences.

2 Click the tab for the page that has preferences

you want to change.

3 Change preferences.

4 Click OK to save your changes and close the

Preferences dialog.

Figure 2. Pro Tools Preferences dialog on a Pro Tools|HD system (Display Preferences page shown)

Chapter 7: Preferences 79

Global and Local Preferences

Pro Tools preferences are either global (systemwide) or local (for the current session only).

Global (System-Wide) Preferences

Global preferences are applied to all sessions. These preferences become the default preferences for any existing sessions that you subsequently open or any new sessions that are created.

Local (Current Session) Preferences

Local preferences are applied to the current session (if one is open). Local preferences are not applied to older sessions that are subsequently opened.

Preferences and New Sessions

New sessions use global preference settings, plus the most recent local preference settings. The most recent local settings refer to the last open session (unless subsequent changes were made in the Preference dialog from the application window).

Local (Current Session) Preferences List

All Preferences are global, except for the following, which are local:

• Display Preferences

• Edit Window Default Length

• Always Display Marker Colors

• Default Track Color Coding options

• Default Region Color Coding options

• Operation Preferences

• Custom Shuttle Lock Speed

• Back/Forward Amount (Pro Tools HD only)

• QuickTime Playback Priority options

• PEC/Direct Style Input Monitoring (Pro Tools HD only)

• DestructivePunch File Length (Pro Tools HD only)

• Editing Preferences

•None

• Mixing Preferences

• Coalesce Trim Automation Options (Pro Tools HD only)

• Processing Preferences

• Convert Imported “WAV” Files To AES31/BroadcastWave

• MIDI Preferences

• Play MIDI Notes When Editing

• Display Events as Modified by Real-Time Properties

• Automatically Create Click Track in New Sessions

• Default Thru Instrument

• Pencil Tool Resolution When Drawing Controller Data

• Delay for External Devices Options (Pro Tools HD only)

• Synchronization Preferences

•None

Pro Tools Reference Guide80

Display Preferences

Basics Section

Track Position Numbers Stay with Hidden Tracks When selected, tracks keep their track

numbers even when hidden. When not selected, numbers are only assigned to tracks that are shown. In this case, shown tracks are then numbered sequentially, and hidden tracks are not numbered.

Tool Tips Display Options

Function Configures Tool Tips to show the basic

function of the item.

Details Configures Tool Tips to show the complete name of an abbreviated name or item (such as a track name). Details view can also show the hidden or abbreviated value of parameters, as well as input and output assignments.

Edit Window Default Length

This preference sets a default length for the Edit window in hours, minutes, seconds, and frames (Pro Tools HD or Pro Tools LE with Complete Production Toolkit or DV Toolkit 2 only). This is useful if you want to assemble a session of a particular length or leave extra room to expand the Edit window’s work area in your session. The maximum length is 12 hours and 25 seconds at 48 kHz, and proportionally less at higher sampling rates. For best scrollbar sensitivity, set the length to slightly longer (a minute or more) than the total session or song length.

“Organize Plug-in Menus By” Options

These option customize how plug-in menus are organized in the Insert selector or Plug-in selector.

Flat List Organizes plug-ins in a single list, in alphabetical order.

Category Organizes plug-ins by process category (such as EQ, Dynamics, and Delay), with individual plug-ins listed in the category submenus. Plug-ins that do not fit into a standard category (such as the DigiRack Signal Generator), or third-party plug-ins that have not had a category designated by their developers, appear in the Other category. Plug-ins can appear in more than one category.

Manufacturer Organizes plug-ins by their manufacturer (such as Bomb Factory, Digidesign, Focusrite, or TL Labs), with individual plug-ins listed in the manufacturer submenus. Plug-ins that do not have a Manufacturer defined will appear in the “Other” manufacturer folder.

Most Digidesign-distributed third-party plug-ins will be grouped under Digidesign when Manufacturer view is enabled.

Chapter 7: Preferences 81

Category and Manufacturer Organizes plug-ins in two levels of menus. The top menus display plug-ins by process category (such as EQ, Dynamics, and Delay), with individual plug-ins listed in the category submenus. The bottom menus display plug-ins by manufacturer (such as Bomb Factory, Digidesign, Focusrite, or TL Labs), with individual plug-ins listed in the manufacturer submenus.

Language Options (Windows Only)

Language Sets the language to use in the

Pro Tools application, independently of what language version of Windows is used.

Default Automatic Naming to English Causes automatically named session elements in a session to be named in English even when working with the Pro Tools application set to another language.

Meters Section

Peak Hold Options

These options determine how long the peak indicators on track meters stay lit after a peak is detected.

3 Seconds When selected, track meters display the last peak level for three seconds.

Infinite When selected, track meters display the last peak level until you click them to clear them.

None When selected, track meters do not hold the peak level.

Clip Indication Options

These options determine how long the clip indicators on plug-in, send, and track meters stay lit after a clip is detected.

3 Second Clip Hold When selected, meters display the last clip indication for three seconds.

Infinite Clip Hold When selected, meters display the last clip indications until you click them to clear them.

No Clip Hold When selected, meters do not hold the clip indication.

Show Meters in Sends View

When the Sends view is displaying individual send controls, you can select this option to show send level meters. Deselecting this option can help speed up screen redraws and processing.

Color Coding

Always Display Marker Colors Lets you choose to view Marker colors in the Markers ruler, regardless of the settings you choose for Default Region Color Coding.

MIDI Note Color Shows Velocity When enabled, MIDI notes display varying shades of the assigned track color in MIDI notes view in the Edit window and in MIDI Editor windows. Notes with high velocities are darker and notes with lower velocities are lighter.

Default Track Color Coding Options

These color coding options determine the default color coding assignment for tracks in the Edit and Mix windows. The options are:

None Turns off color assignment for tracks.

Tracks and MIDI Channels Assigns a color to

each track in the Mix or Edit window according to its voice or MIDI channel assignment.

Tracks and MIDI Devices Assigns a color to each track in the Mix or Edit window according to its voice assignment or MIDI device assignment.

Pro Tools Reference Guide82

Pinnacle Systems Pro Tools LE - 8.0, Pro Tools - 8.0 Reference Guide

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Contents

Chapter 1: Welcome to Pro Tools

The Pro Tools Guides

System Requirements and Compatibility Information

About www.digidesign.com

Chapter 2: Pro Tools Concepts

Hard Disk Audio Recording

Pro Tools Nonlinear Editing

The Digidesign Audio Engine

MIDI

Synchronization

Surround

Pro Tools Sessions

Tick-Based and Sample-Based Time

System Resources

DigiBase

Chapter 3: Keyboard and Right-Click Mouse Shortcuts

Right-Click Mouse Shortcuts

Global Key Commands

Keyboard Focus

Numeric Keypad Modes

Chapter 4: Pro Tools Systems

Pro Tools|HD Systems

Pro Tools LE Systems

Pro Tools M-Powered

Toolkit Software Options

Checking For Software Updates

Chapter 5: System Setup

Starting Up or Shutting Down Your System

Checking an HD System with DigiTest

Configuring Pro Tools System Settings

Configuring MIDI Setup

Configuring Pro Tools Hardware Settings

System Usage

Chapter 6: I/O Setup

Pro Tools Signal Paths

I/O Setup Dialog Tabs and Controls

Routing Hardware I/O to Pro Tools I/O

Creating New Paths

Editing Paths

Channel Mapping

Valid Paths and Requirements

Working with I/O Settings Files

I/O Setup Options

Mic Preamps

H/W Insert Delay Compensation

Chapter 7: Preferences

Global and Local Preferences

Display Preferences