DIGIDESIGN, AVID and PRO TOOLS are trademarks or
registered trademarks of Digidesign and/or Avid Technology,
Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective
owners.
All features and specifications subject to change without
notice.
Welcome to Pro Tools|24 MIX. Pro Tools MIXseries and Pro Tools|24 audio cards and interfaces bring powerful digital audio recording, editing, TDM signal processing, mixing, and I/O
capabilities to Pro Tools.
This guide covers installation and configuration
of Pro Tools|24 MIX and Pro Tools|24 hardware
and Pro Tools software on Macintosh and Windows platforms. System and installation tests
are provided, as well as an introduction to
Pro Tools software.
Pro Tools TDM Systems
Pro Tools 6.0 for Macintosh, Pro Tools 5.3.1 for
Windows, and Pro Tools 5.1.3 for Macintosh
support the following systems:
Pro Tools|24 MIX-series Systems
Pro Tools|24 MIX
A core system includes:
• MIX Core card
• Pro Tools TDM software
• Digidesign audio interface
(sold separately)
Pro Tools|24 MIXplus
A MIXplus system includes:
• MIX Core card
• MIX Farm card
• Pro Tools TDM software
• Digidesign audio interface
(sold separately)
Pro Tools|24 MIX
A MIX3 system includes:
• MIX Core card
•Two MIX Farm cards
• Pro Tools TDM software
• Digidesign audio interface
(sold separately)
All Pro Tools|24 MIX-series systems provide:
• Up to 64 tracks of recording and playback of
24-bit and 16-bit audio files
• TDM digital mixing and DSP plug-in environment
• Non-linear, random-access editing and mix
automation
• MIDI recording, playback and editing
3
Chapter 1: Welcome to Pro Tools|24 MIX
1
Pro Tools|24 Systems
A Pro Tools|24 core system includes:
• d24 Audio card
• DSP Farm card
• Pro Tools TDM software
• Digidesign audio interface
(sold separately)
A core Pro Tools|24 system provides:
• Up to 32 tracks of recording and playback of
24-bit and 16-bit audio files
• TDM digital mixing and DSP plug-in environment
• Non-linear, random-access editing and mix
automation
• MIDI recording, playback and editing
Audio Interfaces
To record and play audio you must have at least
one of the following Digidesign audio interfaces:
888|24 I/O Audio Interface
Analog: XLR (balanced or unbalanced) con-
◆
nectors, +4 dBu or –10 dBV
◆
Digital: XLR (AES/EBU) or RCA (S/PDIF) con-
nectors
1622 I/O Audio Interface
◆
Analog: 1/4-inch TRS (balanced or unbalanced) connectors. Inputs are variable from
+4 dBu to –10 dBV; outputs are selectable between +4 dBu or –10 dBV
Digital: RCA (S/PDIF) connectors
◆
Digidesign 24-Bit ADAT Bridge I/O and
the Original ADAT Bridge I/O
Analog: 1/4-inch TRS (balanced) connectors,
◆
+4 dBu or –10 dBV
◆
Digital: XLR (AES/EBU) or RCA (S/PDIF) connectors
◆
Optical: Two pairs of EIAJ fiber optic connectors
MIX-series systems do not support
HD-series audio interfaces (such as the
96 I/O and the 192 I/O).
Pro Tools|24 MIX and Pro Tools|24 systems also support some older Digidesign audio interfaces, such as the 888 I/O and
882 I/O.
882|20 I/O Audio Interface
◆
Analog: 1/4-inch TRS (balanced or unbal-
anced) connectors, +4 dBu or –10 dBV
◆
Digital: RCA (S/PDIF) connectors
Getting Started with MIX
2
System Requirements
Compatibility Information
Qualified SCSI drives yield up to 32 tracks per
drive with 24-bit audio, up to the maximum
number of tracks for your system configuration.
Digidesign can only assure compatibility and
provide support for hardware and software it
has tested and approved. For a list of Digidesignqualified computers, operating systems, hard
drives, and third-party devices, refer to the latest
compatibility information on the Digidesign
Web site (www.digidesign.com/compato).
Hard Drive Requirements
For optimal audio recording and playback, all
Pro Tools TDM systems require one or more
Digidesign-qualified drives.
Drive Formats
Windows
formatted with FAT32 or NTFS file system (NTFS
preferred).
Macintosh Macintosh systems should use drives
formatted with HFS or HFS+ file system only.
Hard drive performance depends on factors including system configuration, number of tracks,
session sample rate, density of edits, and the use
of crossfades and other processes such as Beat
Detective in a session.
SCSI Hard Drives
For maximum recording and playback performance, Digidesign recommends qualified SCSI
hard drives and a qualified SCSI host bus
adapter (HBA) card or (on Windows systems) a
qualified built-in SCSI HBA connector on the
motherboard.
Windows XP systems should use drives
The UNIX File System (UFS) is not supported with Pro Tools on Mac OS X.
FireWire Hard Drives
FireWire drives are qualified with certain system
configurations, up to a maximum of four drives.
Qualified FireWire drives yield up to 24 tracks
per drive with 24-bit audio, up to the maximum
number of tracks for your system configuration.
IDE/ATA Hard Drives
A qualified internal IDE/ATA drive yields up to
32 tracks of 24-bit audio, at 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz
when used as a dedicated audio drive.
For maximum performance, Digidesign recommends the use of SCSI hard drives. IDE
hard drives provide limited track count performance and are not supported when an
Expansion Chassis is used. For more information regarding Expansion Chassis operating procedures, see the Pro Tools Expanded Systems Guide.
Visit the Digidesign Web site
(www.digidesign.com) for a list of qualified
hard drives and SCSI HBA cards.
Avoid Recording to System Drives
Although Pro Tools will let you record to your
system drive, this is generally not recommended. Recording and playback on system
hard drives results in lower track counts and
fewer plug-ins.
Digidesign does not recommend recording
to system drives. Record to system drives
only when necessary.
Chapter 1: Welcome to Pro Tools|24 MIX
3
Hard Drive Storage Space
The same tracks recorded with 24-bit resolution
require about 7.5 MB per minute. Table 2 lists
Mono audio tracks recorded with 16-bit resolution at 44.1 kHz (CD quality) require approximately 5 MB of hard disk space per minute.
Table 2. Required hard drive space for audio tracks
Number of tracks and length16-bit at
44.1 kHz
1 mono track, 1 minute5 MB5.5 MB7.5 MB8.2 MB
the required drive space for certain track numbers and track lengths, to help you estimate
your hard disk usage.
Both USB and serial MIDI interfaces work effectively with Pro Tools.
PCI-based serial expanders do not work with serial MIDI interfaces on Macintosh systems. Serial MIDI interfaces require a qualified modemto-serial port adapter. Refer to the Digidesign
Web site (www.digidesign.com) for a list of supported adapters.
Digidesign Registration
Complete and return the registration card included with your Pro Tools TDM system. Registered users are entitled to one year of free technical support, which is activated with the first
call to Digidesign Tech Support.
About the Pro Tools Guides
In addition to the printed guides that came with
your system, PDF versions of the Pro Tools
guides are installed automatically with
Pro Tools, and are accessible from the Pro Tools
menu (Mac OS X) or the Pro Tools Help menu
(Mac OS 9 and Windows). To view or print the
PDF guides, you can install Acrobat Reader (included on the Pro Tools Installer CD-ROM).
Digidesign guides use the following conventions to indicate menu choices and key commands:
:
ConventionAction
File > Save SessionChoose Save Session from
the File menu
Control+NHold down the Control key
and press the N key
Control-clickHold down the Control key
and click the mouse button
Right-click (Windows)Click with the right mouse
button
The following symbols are used to highlight important information:
User Tips are helpful hints for getting the
most from your system.
Important Notices include information that
could affect your data or the performance of
your system.
Shortcuts show you useful keyboard or
mouse shortcuts.
Cross References point to related sections in
other Digidesign guides.
Chapter 1: Welcome to Pro Tools|24 MIX 5
About www.digidesign.com
The Digidesign Web site (www.digidesign.com)
is your best source for information to help you
get the most out of your Pro Tools system. The
following are just a few of the services and features available.
Support Contact Digidesign Technical Support
or Customer Service; download software updates and the latest online manuals; browse the
Compatibility documents for system requirements; search the online Answerbase; join the
worldwide Pro Tools community on the Digidesign User Conference.
Training and Education Become a certified
Pro Tools Operator or Expert; study on your
own using courses available online, or find out
how you can learn in a classroom setting at a
certified Pro Tools Training Center.
Products and Developers Learn about Digidesign
products; download demo software; learn about
our Development Partners and their plug-ins,
applications, and hardware.
News and Events Get the latest news from
Digidesign; sign up for a Pro Tools demo.
To learn more about these and other resources
available from Digidesign, visit our Web site
(www.digidesign.com).
Getting Started with MIX6
chapter 2
Windows Configuration
Installation of a Pro Tools|24 MIX or
Pro Tools|24 system on a Windows computer
includes the following steps:
1 Installing Windows XP (See “Installing Win-
dows XP” on page 7.)
2 Configuring your computer (See “Configuring
Your Computer” on page 7.)
3 Configuring Windows system software set-
tings (See “Windows System Settings” on
page 10.)
4 Installing Pro Tools hardware (See “Installing
Pro Tools Hardware” on page 14.)
5 Installing Pro Tools TDM software (See “In-
stalling Pro Tools Software” on page 17.)
6 Checking your Pro Tools system (See “Check-
ing Your TDM System” on page 19.)
7 Configuring your Pro Tools system (See “Con-
figuring Pro Tools” on page 21.)
Installing Windows XP
If you do not already have Windows XP installed on your computer, you will need to install Windows XP Professional edition or
Windows XP Home edition. Pro Tools requires
an activated version of Windows XP.
If you are changing operating systems, Digidesign strongly recommends a clean installation
of Windows on a newly formatted drive or partition rather than upgrading the operating system.
If you are changing or upgrading your operating system, be sure to deauthorize any key
disk authorized plug-ins before changing or
upgrading to avoid losing any authorizations.
Configuring Your Computer
To ensure optimum performance with
Pro Tools, configure your computer before installing Pro Tools software.
Before you make any changes to your computer’s system settings, make a backup copy
of your registry (where many of these essential settings are stored). By doing so, you
will be able to restore your system’s original
settings in case of trouble. See your Windows XP documentation for details.
If your computer does not provide the BIOS
configuration options included in this section, or if you do not feel comfortable
changing system parameters, consult with a
Windows system administrator, computer
dealer, or manufacturer for assistance.
Chapter 2: Windows Configuration 7
Configuring the BIOS
BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) parameters
vary depending on the make and model of the
computer. Refer to the documentation that
came with your computer for more details.
Different BIOS manufacturers often use different names to describe the same system function.
Some manufacturers do not provide a particular
configuration option at all. Consequently, the
names and options that appear in your computer’s BIOS may differ from those described in
this guide.
These BIOS settings are not applicable to
the Compaq Evo W8000 and the IBM Intellistation M Pro 6850.
9 Disable PCI#2 Access #1 Retry, if present.
10 Save the new BIOS settings.
11 Exit BIOS setup and restart your computer.
Configuring the SCSI BIOS
If you are using SCSI drives or devices, you must
modify the settings of your built-in SCSI hardware or SCSI host bus adapter card. This allows
SCSI hard drives to work properly with
Pro Tools. This procedure varies on different
computers. Refer to the documentation that
came with your computer.
To modify your computer’s SCSI BIOS:
1 Start or restart your computer
To modify your computer’s BIOS:
1 Start or restart your computer.
2 While the computer is starting up, enter BIOS
Setup by pressing the appropriate key (usually
indicated in the startup message) on your computer keyboard. The F1, F2, or the Delete keys
are commonly used.
3 In the appropriate page of the BIOS Setup, dis-
able PCI Parity. If the PCI Parity option isn’t
available on your computer, skip this step.
4 If you will be using SCSI drives or devices, and
your computer is equipped with built-in SCSI
hardware, enable SCSI support. SCSI support parameters are typically found on the Devices &
I/O Options page of the BIOS setup utility. If you
do not have built-in SCSI hardware and are using a SCSI host adapter (HBA) card instead, you
do not need to enable SCSI support.
5 Disable Power Management, if present.
6 Enable PCI Dynamic Bursting, if present.
7 Enable PCI Master 0 WS Write, if present.
2 While the computer is starting up, when the
text message regarding the SCSI BIOS appears,
press the key combination listed on the screen
to enter the SCSI BIOS setup utility.
3 Refer to your SCSI host bus adapter card doc-
umentation to set the following parameters:
• For each SCSI ID and SCSI channel connected to your audio drives, set the Maximum Sync Transfer Rate parameter to
20 MB/sec.
• If you are using an ATTO host bus adapter
card, change the PCI Burst Size to 32 Bytes.
• If you are using an Adaptec host bus
adapter card, enable the Host Adapter BIOS
option.
4 Save the new SCSI BIOS settings.
5 Exit SCSI BIOS setup and restart your com-
puter.
8 Disable PCI Delay Transaction, if present.
Getting Started with MIX8
Updating the SCSI BIOS
Installing SCSI Drivers
If you are using an ATTO SCSI HBA card, you
may need to update its SCSI BIOS. When starting your computer, you will see what version of
the ATTO SCSI BIOS is installed on the SCSI
card. If it is not version 1.6.6 or higher, you will
need to flash the SCSI BIOS with 1.6.6 or higher
ATTO SCSI BIOS (flash.bat).
To update the BIOS on the ATTO SCSI card:
1 Insert a High Density PC formatted floppy
disk in your floppy drive.
2 Copy the DOS folder from the ATTO folder on
the Pro Tools Installer CD-ROM to the floppy
disk.
3 Shut down your computer.
4 Disconnect any hard drives connected to the
The SCSI BIOS will be updated. This may take a
few minutes.
Do not interrupt this process or your system
may be damaged.
11 Select Configure Adapter Channels.
12 Set Host Adapter BIOS to Disabled.
13 Press the Esc key twice.
14 Select Save Parameters and Exit, and press
Enter.
For Pro Tools to run at maximum efficiency
with SCSI Host Bus Adapters and SCSI drives, install a Digidesign approved SCSI driver (ATTO or
Adaptec, depending on the card you are using).
Check Digidesign’s Compatibility Documents for a list of Digidesign approved computers and supported SCSI driver versions.
Compatibility Documents are available at
the Digidesign Web site (www.digidesign.com).
Installing the Adaptec SCSI Driver
If you need to install the Adaptec driver, refer to
the driver manufacturer’s documentation.
The full name of the Adaptec driver for the IBM
M Pro is:
■ Adaptec
AHA290/291/294x/394x/4944/AIC78xx
Installing the ATTO SCSI Drivers
The full name of the ATTO driver is:
■ ATTO ExpressPCI
To install the ATTO Windows device driver:
1 Start your computer. Note the version of the
ATTO SCSI BIOS when booting. If it is version
1.6.6, proceed to the next step. If it is not version 1.6.6, you will need to flash the ATTO SCSI
BIOS (see “Updating the SCSI BIOS” on page 9).
2 Insert the Pro Tools Installer CD-ROM in your
CD-ROM drive.
3 Open the System Control Panel.
4 Click the Hardware tab.
5 Click Device Manager.
6 Select SCSI and RAID controllers.
Chapter 2: Windows Configuration 9
7 Double-click the Symbios Logic PCI SCSI
Adapter.
Windows System Settings
8 Click the Driver tab.
9 Click Update Driver and click Next.
10 Select “Search for a suitable driver for my de-
vice” and click Next.
11 Select “Specify a location” and click Next.
12 Click Browse and navigate to the ATTO
folder on the Pro Tools Installer CD-ROM.
13 Select EXPRESS.INF and click Open.
14 Click OK.
15 Select Install one of the other drivers and
click Next.
16 Select ExpressPCI Adapter and click Next.
17 Click Finish.
18 Click Close.
19 If you have a dual-channel SCSI card, repeat
steps 7–18 for the second channel.
20 Click OK.
Configure your Window system settings, as follows:
Required Settings These instructions must be
followed before installing Pro Tools.
Recommended Settings These instructions
should be followed to optimize your system’s
capabilities, or to let older computers run
Pro Tools.
If problems occur after configuring all required and suggested settings, see
Appendix C, “Windows System Optimizations” for information on troubleshooting
and configuring advanced settings.
Required Settings
To ensure optimum performance with
Pro Tools, configure the following Control
Panel settings for your version of Windows XP.
When finished updating required Windows
system settings, power down your computer.
Disable Hyper-Threading
For Pentium IV computers with Hyper-Threading, disable Hyper-Threading in the BIOS.
Enable DMA
Enabling your computer's DMA (Direct Memory
Access) frees up CPU bandwidth so your computer can do other Pro Tools tasks.
In most cases the DMA option will already be set
correctly, as Windows XP detects and activates
DMA mode by default.
Getting Started with MIX10
Enable DMA for any IDE hard drives:
1 Right-click My Computer and choose Man-
age.
2 In Classic view, choose Start > Control Panel >
System > Hardware.
– or –
In Category view, choose Start > Control panel >
Performance and Maintenance > System > Hardware.
3 Under System Tools, choose Device Manager.
4 In the Device Manager window, double-click
IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers, then double-click
the Primary IDE Channel for your IDE hard
drive.
5 Click the Advanced Settings tab.
6 For each device, set the Transfer Mode to
“DMA if available,” and click OK.
In most cases, this will already be set correctly as
Windows XP will detect and activate DMA
mode by default.
7 Repeat steps 4–6 for any additional IDE Chan-
nels.
8 Close the Computer Management window.
Disable System Standby and Power
Management
When using Pro Tools, the Windows System
Standby power scheme must be set to Always
On. This helps prevent long record or playback
passes from stopping due to system resources
powering down.
To configure Windows Power Management:
1 Choose Start > Control Panel.
2 In Classic View, double-click the Power Op-
tions Control Panel, then click the Power
Schemes tab.
– or –
In Category view, click Performance and Maintenance, then click Power Options, then click
the Power Scheme tab.
3 From the Power Schemes pop-up menu, select
Always On.
4 Click OK.
This sets System Standby, System Hibernate,
and “Turn off hard disks” to Never.
Disable ClearType Font Smoothing
Disable Virus Protection Software
Avoid running virus protection software while
using Pro Tools since it adversely affects system
performance (as do all background processes). If
you are using virus protection software, you
must turn it off or remove it and restart your
computer.
When using Pro Tools, the Effects “Clear Type”
setting must be disabled.
To disable ClearType font smoothing:
1 Choose Start > Control Panel.
2 In Classic view, double-click Display.
– or –
In Category view, click Appearance and Themes,
then click Display.
3 Click the Appearance tab.
4 Click Effects.
Chapter 2: Windows Configuration 11
5 Deselect “Use the following methods to
smooth edges of screen fonts.”
Pro Tools Hardware Overview
6 Click OK to save your settings and close the
Effects dialog.
7 Click OK.
Completing Windows System Settings
When finished updating required Windows
system settings, power down your computer.
Recommended Configuration
Pro Tools can also be affected by other software
and hardware drivers installed on your computer. For best possible performance, it is recommended (but not required) that you:
•Avoid running other Windows programs at
the same time as Pro Tools.
•Turn off any software utilities that run in
the background, such as Windows Messenger, calendars, and disk maintenance programs.
•Turn off any nonessential USB devices
while using Pro Tools
• If your video display card supports it, enable Bus Mastering in the manufacturer’s
Control Panel.
• Disable any networking cards (other than
any 1394 “FireWire” card that you might
use to connect an external drive to your
system).
The number of Pro Tools TDM cards in your system depends on the type of core system you
have. Card components for each core system
configuration are listed below.
If you are using an Expansion Chassis to
add additional cards to your system, refer to
the
Expanded Systems Guide included with
your Pro Tools system.
Pro Tools|24 MIX-series Hardware
Pro Tools|24 MIX hardware is available in the
following configurations:
Pro Tools|24 MIX Includes a single MIX Core
card and a 5-node TDM ribbon cable for connecting other optional TDM-equipped cards
Pro Tools|24 MIXplus Includes a MIX Core card,
a MIX Farm card, and a 5-node TDM ribbon cable for connecting the MIX Core to the MIX
Farm and other optional TDM-equipped cards
Pro Tools|24 MIX3 Includes a MIX Core card,
two MIX Farm cards, and a 5-node TDM ribbon
cable for connecting the MIX Core to the MIX
Farm and other optional TDM-equipped cards
For information on disabling networking
cards, see “Disabling Network Cards” on
page 89.
Getting Started with MIX12
MIX Core Card
The MIX Core card provides up to 64 tracks of
direct-to-disk recording and playback to your
MIX-series system, as well as DSP power for mixing and plug-in processing. The MIX Core card
supports up to 24-bit and up to 48 kHz sessions.
audio interface port
DigiSerial
port
The MIX Farm card includes a port for connecting up to 16 channels of audio input and output
to your MIX-series system. You can connect a
single 888|24 I/O, 882|20 I/O, or 1622 I/O, 24Bit ADAT Bridge I/O, or original ADAT
Bridge I/O audio interface directly to the card. If
you purchase the optional Y-cable (16-channel
peripheral cable adapter), you can connect two
8-channel audio interfaces to the card.
The DigiSerial port on a MIX Farm card does not
offer any functionality.
MIX Core card
The MIX Core card includes a port for connecting up to 16 channels of audio input and output
to your MIX-series system. You can connect a
single 888|24 I/O, 882|20 I/O, 1622 I/O, 24-Bit
ADAT Bridge I/O, or original ADAT Bridge I/O
audio interface directly to the card. If you purchase the optional Y-cable (16-channel peripheral cable adapter), you can attach two 8-channel audio interfaces to the card.
The DigiSerial port is for connecting a Digidesign Universal Slave Driver (USD), or a 9-pin device for use with the Pro Tools MachineControl
option.
MIX Farm Card
The MIX Farm card provides additional DSP
power for mixing and plug-in processing to your
MIX-series system. The MIX Farm card supports
up to 24-bit and up to 48 kHz sessions.
audio interface
port
MIX Farm card
Pro Tools|24 Hardware
Pro Tools|24 hardware is available in the following core configuration:
Pro Tools|24 Includes a d24 audio card, a DSP
Farm card, and a 5-node TDM ribbon cable for
connecting them.
d24 Audio Card
The d24 audio card provides up to 32 tracks of
direct-to-disk recording and playback capabilities to your Pro Tools|24 system. The d24 card
supports up to 24-bit and up to 48 kHz sessions.
audio interface port
DigiSerial
port
d24 card
The d24 card includes a port for connecting up
to 16 channels of audio input and output to
your Pro Tools|24 system. You can connect a
single 888|24 I/O, 882|20 I/O, or 1622 I/O Audio Interface directly to the card. If you purchase the optional Y-cable (16-channel peripheral cable adapter), you can connect two 8channel audio interfaces to the card.
Chapter 2: Windows Configuration 13
The DigiSerial port on the d24 card is for connecting an optional Digidesign Universal Slave
Driver (USD), or a 9-pin device for use with the
Pro Tools MachineControl option.
DSP Farm Card
The DSP Farm card provides the DSP power for
mixing and plug-in processing to your
Pro Tools|24 system. The DSP Farm card supports up to 24-bit and up to 48 kHz sessions.
audio interface
port
DSP Farm card
A 5-node cable comes with your system. If you
plan to use your system with an expansion chassis, you can order a TDM Ribbon Cable with
more nodes from your Digidesign dealer.
Installing Pro Tools Hardware
Disabling Driver Signing Warnings
Before you install your Pro Tools cards, temporarily disable the Driver Signing warning option.
This expedites and automates much of the installation process. If you do not temporarily disable this option, warning messages (that you are
installing an unsigned driver) will appear for
each DSP chip detected during the software installation.
The DSP Farm card includes a port for connecting up to 8 channels of audio input and output
to your Pro Tools system. You can connect a single 888|24 I/O or 882|20 I/O directly to the card.
The 1622 I/O Audio Interface is not supported by the DSP Farm. It must be connected to a MIX Core, MIX Farm, or d24
card. Only one 1622 I/O can be connected
to any of these cards. The optional 16channel peripheral cable adapter is not supported by the 1622 I/O.
TDM Ribbon Cable
The TDM Ribbon Cable is used to connect multiple cards in your Pro Tools system so they can
share data along the TDM bus.
TDM Ribbon Cable
To disable the warning option:
1 Open the System Control Panel.
2 Click the Hardware tab in the System Control
Panel.
3 Click the Driver Signing button.
4 Select “Ignore—Install the software anyway
and don’t ask for my approval.”
5 Click OK twice.
6 Turn your computer off.
7 Proceed to install your Pro Tools cards.
Getting Started with MIX14
Installing Pro Tools PCI Cards
This section shows how to install Pro Tools
cards in a Windows computer. To install cards
into an expansion chassis, see the Expanded Sys-tems Guide.
To install Pro Tools cards:
1 Turn off your computer and any peripherals.
Leave your computer’s power cable plugged in
so the computer is grounded.
2 Disconnect all cables attached to the com-
puter (such as hard drives, monitors, USB and
FireWire connections) except for the power cable.
3 Open the computer case.
Before handling any card, discharge static
electricity from your clothes or body by
touching a grounded metal surface, such as
the power supply case inside your computer.
4 Remove the metal access port cover behind
the PCI slot you want to use by removing the
screw and sliding the cover out from the access
port.
5 If you are installing a SCSI host bus adapter
(HBA) card, install it in the PCI slot nearest to
the video card.
6 Install the MIX Core or d24 card in the next
available PCI slot.
7 Install the remaining TDM cards in slots adja-
cent to the MIX Core or d24 card. Group similar
cards together (for example, put all MIX Farm
cards next to each other).
Connecting TDM Cards with the
TDM Ribbon Cable
All TDM cards in your Pro Tools system must be
connected with the TDM ribbon cable.
To connect TDM cards with the TDM ribbon cable:
1 Connect the first node of the cable to the first
TDM card. Make sure the TDM cable is facing
the right direction—align the white triangle on
the cable plug with the triangle on the card.
Attaching the TDM ribbon cable to MIX Core and
MIX Farm cards
2 Push down gently but firmly until the node is
fully connected to the card. When the plug is
properly seated, the two tabs on the side of the
cable’s TDM connector click shut. T o detach the
ribbon cable, squeeze the tabs on the TDM connector inward.
3 Attach the remaining nodes on the TDM cable
to subsequent cards.
It is OK to have ribbon connectors that go
unused. They should reside after the last
TDM card.
8 Secure each card in place with the slot access
port screws you removed earlier.
Chapter 2: Windows Configuration 15
4 Close the computer case.
The IBM Intellistation M Pro 6850 may not
start after updating the BIOS or changing
the order of Pro Tools cards. Should this
problem occur, remove all plug and play
cards and then start Windows; then turn
off the computer and re-install the cards.
You should then be able to start Windows
with the cards installed.
Connecting Audio Interfaces
If you are connecting both 888|24 and 882|20 or
1622 I/O Audio Interfaces to your system, for
best system performance, connect the 888|24 to
your MIX Core or d24 card, followed by any additional 888|24 interfaces to the next highestpriority cards. Then connect the 882|20 or
1622 I/O interfaces to subsequent cards.
If you purchase the optional Y-cable (16-channel peripheral cable adapter), you can connect
two 8-channel audio interfaces to a single MIX
Core, MIX Farm, or d24 card.
Pro Tools MIX-series systems provide a choice of
the 888|24 I/O, 882|20 I/O, 1622 I/O, 24-Bit
ADAT Bridge I/O, or the original ADAT
Bridge I/O audio interfaces. These devices supply the audio inputs and outputs for your system.
MIX-series systems do not support
HD-series audio interfaces such as the
96 I/O and the 192 I/O.
Pro Tools|24 MIX and Pro Tools|24 systems also support the Digidesign 888 I/O
and 882 I/O audio interfaces.
For instructions on connecting a 24-Bit
ADAT Bridge I/O or the original ADAT
Bridge I/O, see the Installation Guide that
came with that interface.
To connect Pro Tools audio interfaces:
1 Connect the primary audio interface to the
primary Mix Core or d24 card with the provided
interface cable. The primary audio interface
functions as the clock master.
2 Connect additional audio interfaces to subse-
quent Digidesign audio cards.
To audio interfacesTo Pro
Tools card
Optional 16-channel peripheral cable adapter
3 If you are using multiple audio interfaces, con-
nect the Slave Clock Out of the primary interface to the Slave Clock In of the second interface
with the provided BNC cable. Connect the Slave
Clock Out of the second interface to the Slave
Clock In of the next audio interface. Connect
subsequent interfaces in a similar manner.
78563412785634125/6
ANALOG OUTPUTANALOG INPUTAES/EBU OUTPUTAES/EBU INPUT
78563412785634125/6
ANALOG OUTPUTANALOG INPUTAES/EBU OUTPUTAES/EBU INPUT
ANALOG OUTPUTSANALOG INPUTS
1234567812345678
ANALOG OUTPUTSANALOG INPUTS
1234567812345678
1/2
7/8
3/4
1/2
7/8
3/4
IN
OUT
IN
OUT
IN
SLAVE CLOCK
SLAVE CLOCKINS/PDIF
COMPUTER
5/6
1/2
7/8
3/4
S/PDIFINS/PDIF
SLAVE CLOCKINSLAVE CLOCK
OUT
OUT
COMPUTER
5/6
1/2
7/8
3/4
S/PDIFINS/PDIF
SLAVE CLOCKINSLAVE CLOCK
OUT
OUT
IN
COMPUTER
OUT
S/PDIF
COMPUTER
OUT
Connecting multiple audio interfaces together
Getting Started with MIX16
Installing Pro Tools Software
To install Pro Tools software:
1
Start Windows, logging in with Administrator
privileges. For details on Administrator privileges, refer to your Windows documentation.
2
Wait for the Found New Hardware Wizard di-
alog to appear and leave it open.
3
Insert the Pro Tools Installer CD-ROM for
Windows in your CD-ROM drive. Locate and
open the Pro Tools Installer folder, and doubleclick the Setup icon.
4
Click Next to proceed with the installation.
5
Select the hard drive on which to install
Pro Tools from the Install pop-up menu. For
maximum reliability, install Pro Tools on your
startup drive. Click Next.
6
Select “Pro Tools|24 MIX or Pro Tools|24” for
the Digidesign Audio Hardware installation,
and click Next.
7
Select components to install along with
Pro Tools. Click the name of each component
for a description of its contents.
A demo version of MacOpener is included
on the Pro Tools Installer CD-ROM, and requires a separate installation process. Using
MacOpener is required only if you need to
mount HFS or HFS+ formatted hard drives
for session transfer.
8
Click Next.
9
Select your work environment. This loads an
initial set of Pro Tools Preferences that include
some of the more popular settings for post production, audio, or audio with MIDI.
Preference settings can be customized at any
time in Pro Tools. See the
ence Guide
for more information about Pref-
Pro Tools Refer-
erences.
10
Click Next.
11
Select whether to install the Surround Mixer
plug-in. This plug-in is required for mixing,
mastering, and monitoring in surround:
• For Surround systems, select “Yes – Monitoring Pro Tools Film Format” if your monitoring is configured for Film Format.
• Select “Yes – Monitoring in ProControl
(DTS Format)” if you are using a ProControl dedicated controller.
• Select “No – Stereo mixing only” if your
monitoring is configured for Stereo.
Selecting Pro Tools|24 MIX or Pro Tools|24 installation
12
After making a selection, click Next.
Wait for the installer to finish installing all software components, drivers, and PACE System
files before proceeding to the next step.
Chapter 2: Windows Configuration 17
13
If QuickTime is not already installed, you
will be prompted to install the Recommended
QuickTime installer option (see “Installing
QuickTime” on page 18). Follow the on-screen
instructions to complete the QuickTime installation process.
14
When installation is complete, click Finish to
restart your computer.
The Digidesign ASIO Driver
(Optional)
The Digidesign ASIO Driver is a multichannel,
multimedia sound driver that allows third-party
audio programs that support the ASIO standard
to record and play back through Digidesign
hardware. The Digidesign ASIO driver is
quired to use Pro Tools.
For detailed information on using the
Digidesign ASIO Driver, see Appendix D,
“Digidesign ASIO Driver (Windows Only).”
not
re-
Installing QuickTime
QuickTime 5.0.2 or later is recommended for
Pro Tools. Install the latest version of QuickTime for Windows (available on the Pro Tools
Installer CD-ROM or from www.apple.com). Be
sure to install the “Recommended” install of
QuickTime or Pro Tools will not handle QuickTime video correctly.
Using MIDI
Pro Tools for Windows uses your Multimedia
Setup to configure MIDI devices and their properties. Refer to your device’s installation and usage documentation to properly configure the
device.
Installing ProControl or
Control|24
18
Removing Pro Tools
If you need to remove Pro Tools from your computer, you can use the Add or Remove Programs
command.
To remove Pro Tools from your computer:
1
Choose Start > Control Panel.
2
Double-click the Add or Remove Programs
icon.
3
From the Currently installed programs list, se-
lect Digidesign Pro Tools.
4
Click the Change/Remove button.
5
Select Remove, and then click Next.
6
Click OK to remove Pro Tools.
7
Click Finish.
Getting Started with MIX
To install Digidesign Ethernet support for
ProControl or Control|24:
1
On the desktop, right-click the My Network
Places icon, and then choose Properties.
2 Right-click the relevant Local Area Connec-
tion icon, and then choose Properties.
3 Click Install, select Protocol, and click Add.
4 Click Have Disk.
5 Select the DigiNet.inf file in either the Pro-
Control or Control|24 directory (on your
Pro Tools Installer CD-ROM in Additional
Files\Controllers\Controllers), and click OK.
The Installer installs the DigiNet.inf files in the
ProControl or Control|24 directory in Digidesign\DAE\Controllers.
6 Click Close.
Installing Demo Sessions
(Optional)
The Pro Tools Installer CD-ROM includes a
demo session that you can use to verify that
your system is working.
To install a demo session:
1 Insert the Pro Tools Installer CD in your CD-
ROM drive. Locate and double-click the demo
session installer icon.
2 Select the demo session.
3 Set the install location to your audio drive,
and click Install.
4 When installation is complete, click Quit.
4 Turn on any MIDI interfaces and devices, or
synchronization peripherals.
5 Lower the volume of all output devices, then
turn on your Pro Tools audio interfaces. W ait at
least fifteen seconds for the audio interfaces to
initialize and the status LEDs to stop flashing.
6 Turn on your computer.
Running DigiTest
DigiTest is installed with Pro Tools and resides
in the Digidesign Utilities folder located on your
hard drive, under Digidesign/Pro Tools/Pro
Tools Utilities.
Before you run DigiTest, lower the volume
of all output devices. Very loud digital noise
may be emitted during the test.
Checking Your TDM System
Before you launch Pro Tools, start up your system and run the DigiTest diagnostic application
to ensure that all TDM cards in the system are
recognized, installed in the proper order, and
have valid TDM ribbon cable connections.
Starting Up Your System
Whenever you start your system, turn on all of
your system components in a specific order.
To start your Pro Tools system:
1 Make sure all your equipment (including your
computer) is off.
2 For TDM systems with an expansion chassis,
turn on the expansion chassis.
3 Turn on any external hard drives. Wait ap-
proximately ten seconds for them to spin up to
speed.
To run DigiTest:
1 Choose Start > Programs > Digidesign >
Pro Tools > DigiTest.
2 Test the cards in your system by doing one of
the following:
•To test only one Digidesign card in your
system, click the button that corresponds
to this card.
•To test all Digidesign cards at once, click
Test All Cards.
3 When prompted, power cycle all Pro T ools pe-
ripherals. Click Continue.
4 Check the “Test I/O Box.”
LEDs on your digital interfaces may light up
during this test. This is normal.
5 Exit DigiTest by clicking the close box in the
top righthand corner of the application window.
6 Restart your computer.
Chapter 2: Windows Configuration 19
Errors and Undetected Cards
Complete the steps below if:
■ There is a problem with a component in your
system and an error message has been displayed
to the right of the corresponding card’s button
in DigiTest.
– or –
■ A supported card is installed but not automat-
ically detected during DigiTest.
If a supported card is installed and is not
automatically detected:
1 Close DigiTest.
2 Turn off your entire Pro Tools system.
Launching Pro Tools
When launching Pro Tools the first time, you
are prompted to enter an authorization code to
validate your software.
To validate Pro Tools software:
1 Double-click the Pro Tools application in the
Pro Tools folder inside the Digidesign folder.
2 Enter the authorization code in the dialog
when prompted, making sure to observe any
spaces, then click Validate.
The authorization code is located on the inside
cover of this guide.
3 Reinstall the cards (see “Installing Pro Tools
PCI Cards” on page 15).
4 Check the card seating.
5 Check the TDM ribbon cable connections.
6 Turn on your system.
7 Run DigiTest again.
For descriptions of all error codes, refer to
Appendix B, “DigiTest Error Codes.” For test details, click the Info button to the right of the reported error, then click Failures in the pop-up
menu and choose Detailed.
If a card continues to fail DigiTest, contact
Digidesign Technical Support.
Choosing the Audio Interface Type
The first time you launch Pro Tools, you will be
prompted to select the type of Audio Interfaces
connected to your system.
To select the Audio Interface:
1 When prompted after launching Pro Tools,
click Hardware Setup.
2 Select the first interface port on the first card
in your system (MIX Card #1, Port A) from the
Peripherals list.
3 Choose the type of interface from the Inter-
face pop-up menu.
Getting Started with MIX20
4 Repeat the above steps for each additional in-
terface port with an interface connected to it.
Choosing an Audio Interface
5 Click OK.
Configuring Pro Tools
Pro Tools System Settings
Pro Tools allows you to adjust the performance
of your system by changing system settings that
affect its capacity for processing, playback, and
recording.
In most cases, the default settings for your system provide optimum performance, but you
may want to adjust them to accommodate large
or processing-intensive Pro Tools sessions.
Voice Count
The Number of Voices setting lets you control
the number of voices available on your system.
The default number on a Pro Tools|24 MIX system is 32 voices (at sample rates of 44.1 kHz or
48 kHz).
Depending on the current sample rate and the
number of MIX Core and Farm cards in your system, you will have different choices available for
this setting. For voice limits on different MIX
systems, refer to the Pro Tools Reference Guide.
To change the Voice Count:
1 Choose Setups > Playback Engine.
Playback Engine dialog for Pro Tools MIX system
2 Select the number of voices and DSPs to allo-
cate for voicing by choosing a value from the
Number of Voices pop-up menu.
• Select higher voice numbers when your
Digidesign cards are the only PCI cards in
your computer, or when using an expansion chassis to run higher track counts
(such as 64 tracks at 48 kHz).
• Select lower voice numbers if you are using
high-bandwidth PCI cards (such as video
capture cards) along with your Digidesign
cards.
3 Click OK.
Changing the number of voices affects
DSP usage, the total number of voiceable
tracks, and overall system performance.
Chapter 2: Windows Configuration 21
Hardware Buffer Size
The Hardware Buffer Size (H/W Buffer Size) controls the size of the hardware cache used to handle host processing tasks such as Real-Time AudioSuite (RTAS) plug-ins.
◆ Lower Hardware Buffer Size settings reduce
monitoring latency, and are useful when you are
recording live input.
◆ Higher Hardware Buffer Size settings allow for
more audio processing and effects, and are useful when you are mixing and using more RTAS
plug-ins.
In addition to causing slower screen response and monitoring latency, higher
Hardware Buffer Size settings can affect the
accuracy of plug-in automation, mute data,
and timing for MIDI tracks.
To change the Hardware Buffer Size:
1 Choose Setups > Playback Engine.
2 From the H/W Buffer Size pop-up menu, select
the audio buffer size, in samples.
3 Click OK.
CPU Usage Limit
Increasing the CPU Usage Limit may slow
down screen responses on slower computers.
To change the CPU Usage Limit:
1 Choose Setups > Playback Engine.
2 From the CPU Usage Limit pop-up menu, se-
lect the percentage of CPU processing you want
to allocate to Pro Tools.
3 Click OK.
DAE Playback Buffer Size
The DAE Playback Buffer Size determines the
amount of memory DAE uses to manage disk
buffers, which affects system performance.
◆ Higher DAE Playback Buffer Size settings can
allow for a higher density of edits in a session.
However, a higher setting can cause a time lag to
occur before playback or recording begins. It can
also cause a time lag to occur when you are editing during playback.
◆ Lower DAE Playback Buffer Size settings can
improve playback and recording initiation
speed. However, a lower setting can make it difficult for slower hard drives to play or record
tracks reliably.
The CPU Usage Limit controls the percentage of
CPU resources allocated to Pro Tools host processing tasks.
◆ Lower CPU Usage Limit settings limit the ef-
fect of Pro Tools processing on other CPU-intensive tasks, such as screen redraws, and are useful
when you are experiencing slow system response, or when running other applications at
the same time as Pro Tools.
◆ Higher CPU Usage Limit settings allocate
more processing power to Pro Tools, and are
useful for playing back large sessions or using
more real-time plug-ins.
Getting Started with MIX22
To change the DAE Playback Buffer Size:
1 Choose Setups > Playback Engine.
Playback Engine dialog for Pro Tools MIX system
2 From the DAE Playback Buffer pop-up menu,
select a buffer size. Memory requirements for
each setting are shown at the bottom of the
Playback Engine dialog box.
3 Click OK.
If Pro Tools needs more system memory for the
DAE Playback Buffer, it will prompt you to restart your computer.
Clock Source
The Pro Tools Hardware Setup dialog allows you
to select the Clock Source for the system.
Internal If you are recording an analog signal directly into Pro Tools, you will usually use the
Pro Tools Internal clock source. The Clock
Source automatically changes to Internal when
you change the Ch. 1–2 Input to Analog.
Pro Tools Hardware Settings
Pro Tools lets you set the default sample rate
and clock source for your system, as well as a
range of controls specific to each type of audio
interface.
Default Sample Rate
The Sample Rate setting appears as the default
sample rate when you create a new session.
(This setting is available in the Hardware Setup
dialog only when no session is open.)
You can change the sample rate when creating a new Pro Tools session by selecting a
different sample rate in the New Session dialog. (See
To change the default Sample Rate:
1 Make sure that no Pro Tools session is open.
2 Choose Setups > Hardware Setup.
3 Choose the sample rate from the Sample Rate
pop-up menu.
“Starting a Session” on page 55.)
Digital If you are transferring material into
Pro Tools from an external digital device, you
will usually synchronize Pro Tools to that digital
device. The Clock Source automatically changes
to the corresponding digital format when you
change the Ch. 1–2 Input to a digital format.
To select the Clock Source:
1 Choose Setups > Hardware Setup.
2 Choose the clock source from the Clock
Source pop-up menu.
3 Click OK.
Your digital input device must be connected
and powered on for Pro Tools to synchronize to it. If your input device is not powered
on, leave the Clock Source set to Internal.
Configuring Audio Interfaces
To configure audio interfaces for use with
Pro Tools, you select each interface and configure its controls separately. The controls vary
with the types of interfaces in your system.
4 Click OK.
Identifying Audio Interfaces
If you have multiple audio interfaces of the
same type connected to your system, before you
make audio connections to them, you should
confirm the identity of each interface.
Chapter 2: Windows Configuration 23
To identify audio interfaces in your system:
1 Choose Setups > Hardware Setup.
2 From the Peripherals list, select an audio inter-
face connected to your system.
Use the Up and Down Arrow keys to scroll
though the Peripherals list in the Hardware
Setup dialog.
3 Select the Identify option, located in the lower
left corner of the Hardware Setup dialog. This illuminates all the LEDs on the front panel of the
selected audio interface.
4 Make a note of which interface in your studio
setup corresponds to the identified interface.
5 Repeat the above steps for each additional au-
dio interface in your setup.
888|24 I/O Controls
• Channel I/O pairs can be set to Analog or Digital
• Output Meter Level Sensitivity can be set
• Interface Meter Peak Hold can be turned on or
off
• DAC Muting can be turned on or off
Hardware Setup dialog for 888|24 I/O
To configure audio interfaces:
1 Choose Setups > Hardware Setup.
2 From the Peripherals list, select the Digidesign
audio interface connected to the first card in
your MIX system. This will be the interface at
the top of the list.
3 From the Clock Source pop-up menu, select
the appropriate clock source for the system.
4 Set the controls for your type of audio inter-
face, as shown below.
For more information on Hardware Setup
controls for each type of Audio Interface, refer to its User
Guide.
882|20 I/O Controls
• Input and Output Reference Level can be set
to +4 dBu or –10 dBV
• Channel 1–2 I/O pair can be set to Analog or
Digital
• S/PDIF Format can be set to Tascam DA-30 or
Other
Hardware Setup dialog for 882|20 I/O
Getting Started with MIX24
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