Pinnacle Systems Pro Tools M-Powered - 7.0 Getting Started
Getting Started
Pro Tools M-Powered™
Version 7.0
Copyright
© 2005 Digidesign, a division of Avid Technology, Inc. All rights
reserved. This guide may not be duplicated in whole or in part
without the express written consent of Digidesign.
Avid, Digidesign, M-Audio, and Pro Tools are either trademarks
or registered trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. in the US and
other countries. All other trademarks contained herein are the
property of their respective owners.
Product features, specifications, system requirements and
availability are subject to change without notice.
PN 9320-17748-00 REV A 11/05
contents
Chapter 1. Welcome to Pro Tools M-Powered
Pro Tools M-Powered Package
Pro Tools M-Powered Capabilities
How Pro Tools M-Powered Differs from Pro Tools LE
System Requirements
Digidesign Registration
About the Pro Tools Guides
About www.digidesign.com
Chapter 2. Windows Configuration
Installation Overview
Windows System Optimization
Hard Drive Configuration and Maintenance
Installing Your M-Audio Interface
Installing M-Audio Drivers
Installing Pro Tools M-Powered Software
Optional Software on the Pro Tools M-Powered Installer CD
Launching Pro Tools M-Powered
Configuring Pro Tools M-Powered
Removing Pro Tools M-Powered
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Contents
iii
Chapter 3. Macintosh Configuration
Installation Overview
Macintosh System Optimization
Hard Drive Configuration and Maintenance
Installing Your M-Audio Interface
Installing M-Audio Drivers
Installing Pro Tools M-Powered Software
Optional Software on the Pro Tools M-Powered Installer CD
Launching Pro Tools M-Powered
Configuring Pro Tools M-Powered
Removing Pro Tools M-Powered
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Chapter 4. Working with Pro Tools M-Powered
Session Basics
Transport Controls
Tracks
Region List
Navigating in a Session
Importing Data into Pro Tools Sessions
Basic Recording
Editing
Mixing
Plug-Ins
Mix Automation
Final Mixdown
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Appendix A. Configuring MIDI Studio Setup (Windows Only)
MIDI Studio Setup
MIDI Patch Name Support
Appendix B. Configuring AMS (Mac OS X Only)
Audio MIDI Setup
MIDI Patch Name Support
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Index
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Pro Tools M-Powered Getting Started
iv
chapter 1
Welcome to Pro Tools M-Powered
Welcome to Pro Tools M-Powered. This guide
documents how to install and configure
Pro Tools M-Powered software on
M-Powered systems.
The basic components of an M-Powered system
are as follows:
• Digidesign-qualified M-Audio interface
(not included)
• Digidesign-qualified Windows or Macintosh computer (not included)
• Pro Tools M-Powered software (included)
For a list of Digidesign-qualified M-Audio
interfaces and computers, refer to the compatibility page of the Digidesign Web site
(www.digidesign.com/compato)
.
Pro Tools M-Powered Package
The Pro Tools M-Powered software package includes the following:
• Pro Tools M-Powered Installer CD, which contains Pro Tools M-Powered software, updated
M-Audio drivers, DigiRack RTAS (Real-Time
AudioSuite) and AudioSuite plug-ins, and
electronic PDF guides
• Pre-authorized iLok for running Pro Tools
M-Powered
• This
Pro Tools M-Powered Getting Started Guide
covering installation, configuration, and basic
tutorials for M-Powered systems
• The
M-Powered Basics Guide
new users specific methods for accomplishing
common tasks (such as getting sound in and
out of your M-Audio interface, connecting a
microphone or instrument, and recording a
session)
• Digidesign registration card
,
, designed to give
Chapter 1: Welcome to Pro Tools M-Powered
1
Pro Tools M-Powered
Capabilities
How Pro Tools M-Powered
Differs from Pro Tools LE
Pro Tools M-Powered software provides the following capabilities:
•Playback of up to 32 mono digital audio
tracks, or a combination of playing back
and recording up to 32 mono digital audio
tracks, depending on your M-Audio interface and computer’s capabilities
• Up to 128 audio tracks (with 32 voiceable
tracks maximum), 128 Auxiliary Input
tracks, 64 Master Fader tracks, 256 MIDI
tracks, and 32 instrument tracks per session.
•16-bit or 24-bit audio resolution, at sample
rates up to the sample rates supported by
your M-Audio interface
• Non-destructive, random-access editing
and mix automation
• Audio processing with up to 5 RTAS plugins per track, depending on your computer’s capabilities
• Up to 5 inserts per track
• Up to 10 sends per track
• Up to 32 internal mix busses
Pro Tools M-Powered uses your computer’s
CPU to mix and process audio tracks (host
processing). Computers with faster clock
speeds yield higher track counts and more
plug-in processing.
Pro Tools M-Powered does not support the following Pro Tools LE options:
• DigiTranslator
• DV Toolkit
• Digidesign Ethernet-based control surfaces
(such as Control|24)
•Avid video peripherals
Some Pro Tools M-Powered configuration dialogs differ from the Pro Tools LE configuration
dialogs that are presented in the
ence Guide
configuration dialogs, see Chapter 2, “Windows
Configuration” or Chapter 3, “Macintosh Configuration.”
. For specific Pro Tools M-Powered
Pro Tools Refer-
System Requirements
Pro Tools M-Powered can be used with a Digidesign-qualified M-Audio interface, running on a
Digidesign-qualified Windows or Macintosh
computer.
For complete system requirements, visit the
compatibility page of the Digidesign Web site
(www.digidesign.com/compato).
Compatibility Information
Digidesign can only assure compatibility and
provide support for hardware and software it
has tested and approved.
Pro Tools M-Powered Getting Started
2
For a list of Digidesign-qualified computers, operating systems, hard drives, and third-party devices, refer to the latest compatibility information on the Digidesign Web site
(www.digidesign.com/compato)
.
Pre-Authorized iLok
MIDI Requirements
M-Powered software is authorized using the
iLok USB Smart Key (iLok) from PACE Anti-Piracy.
Pre-Authorized iLok
The iLok is similar to a dongle, but unlike a dongle, it is designed to securely authorize multiple
software applications from a variety of software
developers.
This key can hold over 100 authorizations for all
of your iLok-enabled software. Once an iLok is
authorized for a given piece of software, you can
use the iLok to authorize that software on any
computer.
Pro Tools M-Powered includes one iLok, which
is pre-authorized for Pro Tools M-Powered software.
The M-Powered pre-authorized iLok must
be inserted in an available USB port on your
computer to run Pro Tools M-Powered.
USB MIDI interfaces work effectively with
Pro Tools systems on Windows or Macintosh.
Serial MIDI interfaces are supported on Windows systems only.
Only USB MIDI interfaces are compatible
with Pro Tools systems for Mac OS X.
Modem-to-serial port adapters and serial
MIDI devices are not supported.
For a list of supported adapters, refer to the Digidesign Web site (www.digidesign.com).
Hard Drive Requirements
For a list of Digidesign-qualified hard drives, see
our Web site (www.digidesign.com/compato).
If you are using an ATA/IDE or FireWire hard
drive, initialize your drive with Windows Disk
Management (Windows) or the Disk Utility application included with Apple System software
(Macintosh).
Avoid Recording to the System Drive
Recording to your system drive is not recommended. Recording and playback on a system
drive may result in lower track counts and fewer
plug-ins.
For additional information about iLok technology and authorizations, see the electronic PDF of the iLok Usage Guide.
Digidesign does not recommend recording
to the system drive. Record to a system drive
only when necessary.
Chapter 1: Welcome to Pro Tools M-Powered
3
Hard Disk Storage Space
Mono audio tracks recorded with 16-bit resolution at 44.1 kHz (CD quality) require approximately
5 MB of hard disk space per minute. The same tracks recorded with 24-bit resolution require about
7.5 MB per minute.
Stereo audio tracks recorded with 16-bit resolution at 44.1 kHz (CD quality) require approximately
10 MB of hard disk space per minute. The same tracks recorded with 24-bit resolution require about
15 MB per minute.
Table 2 lists the required disk space for certain track numbers and track lengths, to help you estimate
your hard disk usage.
Table 2. Required hard drive space for audio tracks (44.1 kHz and 48 kHz sessions shown)
Number of tracks and length 16-bit at
44.1 kHz
1 mono track, 1 minute 5 MB 5.5 MB 7.5 MB 8.2 MB
16-bit at
48 kHz
24-bit at
44.1 kHz
24-bit at
48 kHz
1 stereo track (or two mono
tracks), 5 minutes
1 stereo track (or two mono
tracks), 60 minutes
24 mono tracks, 5 minutes 600 MB 662 MB 900 MB 991 MB
24 mono tracks, 60 minutes 7 GB 7.8 GB 10.5 GB 11.6 GB
32 mono tracks, 5 minutes 800 MB 883 MB 1.2 GB 1.3 GB
32 mono tracks, 60 minutes 9.4 GB 10.4 GB 14 GB 15.4 GB
50 MB 55 MB 75 MB 83 MB
600 MB 662 MB 900 MB 991 MB
Pro Tools M-Powered Getting Started
4
Digidesign Registration
Review the enclosed registration information
card and follow the instructions on it to quickly
register your purchase online. Registering your
purchase is the only way you can be eligible to
receive complimentary technical support and
future upgrade offers. It is one of the most important steps you can take as a new user.
About the Pro Tools Guides
This Getting Started guide explains how to install Pro Tools M-Powered software, and use an
M-Audio interface to record, edit, and mix audio
and MIDI tracks in Pro Tools.
Online guides provided with Pro Tools M-Powered refer to Pro Tools|HD and LE systems. References to Pro Tools LE are usually interchangeable with Pro Tools M-Powered, except as
documented differently in this guide, or on the
compatibility page of the Digidesign Web site
(www.digidesign.com/compato.
If you are new to working with digital workstations, it is recommended that you read the following:
•
M-Powered Basics Guide
getting sound in and out of your M-Audio
interface, connect a microphone or instrument, record to a Pro Tools M-Powered session, import audio from a CD, create an audio
CD from a Pro Tools M-Powered session, and
other topics.
provides simple steps
For additional information, see the following
online (.pdf) guides:
•
Pro Tools Reference Guide
software in detail.
•
Pro Tools Menus Guide
on-screen menus.
•
DigiRack Plug-Ins Guide
the RTAS and AudioSuite plug-ins included
with Pro Tools.
•
Digidesign Plug-Ins Guide
optional Digidesign plug-ins.
•
DigiBase Guide
Pro Tools DigiBase databasing and browsers
for data and media management.
•
Pro Tools Keyboard Shortcuts
shortcuts for Pro Tools.
PDF versions of the Pro Tools guides are installed automatically with Pro Tools M-Powered, and are accessible from the Pro Tools Help
menu. To view or print the PDF guides, you can
use Acrobat Reader or Apple Preview.
provides details on using
explains Pro Tools
covers all the Pro Tools
explains how to use
explains how to use
lists keyboard
Printed copies of the Pro Tools Reference
Guide
and other guides in the Pro Tools
guide set can be purchased separately from
the DigiStore (www.digidesign.com).
Chapter 1: Welcome to Pro Tools M-Powered
5
Conventions Used in This Guide
Digidesign guides use the following conventions to indicate menu choices and key commands:
:
Convention Action
File > Save Choose Save from the File
menu
Control+N Hold down the Control key
and press the N key
Control-click Hold down the Control key
and click the mouse button
Right-click (Windows) Click with the right mouse
button
The following symbols are used to highlight important information:
User Tips are helpful hints for getting the
most from your Pro Tools system.
Important Notices include information that
could affect your data or the performance of
your system.
Shortcuts show you useful keyboard or
mouse shortcuts.
Cross References point to related sections in
other Digidesign guides.
About www.digidesign.com
The Digidesign Web site (www.digidesign.com)
is your best source for information to help you
get the most out of your Pro Tools system. The
following are just a few of the services and features available.
Registration
the enclosed registration form for instructions.
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
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
products; download demo software; learn about
our Development Partners and their plug-ins,
applications, and hardware.
News and Events
design; sign up for a Pro Tools demo.
To learn more about these and other resources
available from Digidesign, visit the Digidesign
Web site (www.digidesign.com).
Register your purchase online. See
Contact Digidesign Technical Support
Become a certified
Learn about Digidesign
Get the latest news from Digi-
Pro Tools M-Powered Getting Started
6
chapter 2
Windows Configuration
This chapter contains information for Windows
systems only. If you are installing Pro Tools
M-Powered on a Macintosh computer, see
Chapter 3, “Macintosh Configuration.”
Before installing this version of Pro Tools,
refer to the Read Me information included
on the Pro Tools M-Powered Installer CD.
Installation Overview
Installing Pro Tools M-Powered on a Windows
computer includes the following steps:
1
“Windows System Optimization” on page 7.
2
“Installing Your M-Audio Interface” on
page 11.
3
“Installing M-Audio Drivers” on page 11.
4
“Installing Pro Tools M-Powered Software” on
page 12.
5 “Launching Pro Tools M-Powered” on
page 14. (This step includes inserting the pre-authorized iLok into an available USB port on your
computer.)
6 “Configuring Pro Tools M-Powered” on
page 14.
7 Making audio connections to the M-Audio in-
terface. (See your M-Audio documentation for
details.)
Windows System Optimization
Before configuring your computer, make sure
you are logged in as an Administrator for the account where you want to install Pro Tools. For
details on Administrator privileges, refer to your
Windows documentation.
Required Optimizations
To ensure optimum performance with Pro Tools
M-Powered, configure the following settings before you install Pro Tools software.
When you are finished changing Windows
system settings, restart your computer.
Enabling DMA
Enabling your computer's DMA (Direct Memory
Access) frees up CPU bandwidth so the computer can do other Pro Tools tasks.
In most cases the DMA option will already be set
correctly, as Windows XP detects and activates
DMA mode by default.
To enable DMA for any IDE hard drives:
1 Choose Start > Control Panel.
2 In Classic View, launch System.
3 Click the Hardware tab.
Chapter 2: Windows Configuration
7
4 Under Device Manager, choose Device Man-
ager.
5 In the Device Manager window, double-click
IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers, then double-click
the Primary IDE Channel for your IDE hard
drive.
6 Click the Advanced Settings tab.
7 For each device, set the Transfer Mode to
“DMA if available,” and click OK.
8 Repeat steps 5–7 for any additional IDE Chan-
nels.
9 Close the Computer Management window.
Disabling System Standby and Power Management
When using Pro Tools, the Windows System
Standby power scheme must be set to Always
On. This helps prevent long record or playback
passes from stopping due to system resources
powering down.
To configure Windows Power Management:
1 Choose Start > Control Panel.
2 Double-click Power Options.
3 Click the Power Schemes tab.
4 From the Power Schemes pop-up menu, select
Always On.
5 Click OK.
This sets System Standby, System Hibernate,
and “Turn off hard disks” to Never.
On AMD processors, be sure to check and
disable Cool N’Quiet in the System BIOS (in
the Cool & Quiet Configuration section).
Refer to the manufacturer’s documentation
for instructions on disabling this power option, if necessary.
Disabling ClearType Font Smoothing
When using Pro Tools, the Effects “Clear Type”
setting must be disabled.
To disable ClearType font smoothing:
1 Choose Start > Control Panel.
2 Double-click Display.
3 Click the Appearance tab.
4 Click Effects.
5 Deselect “Use the following methods to
smooth edges of screen fonts.”
6 Click OK to save your settings and close the
Effects dialog.
7 Click OK.
8 Restart the computer.
Recommended Optimizations
Pro Tools can also be affected by other software
and hardware drivers installed on your computer. It is recommended (but not required) that
you do the following:
•Avoid running any unneeded programs at
the same time as Pro Tools.
•Turn off any software utilities that run in
the background, such as Windows Messenger, calendars, and disk maintenance programs.
•Turn off any nonessential USB devices
while running Pro Tools.
• If your video display card supports it, enable Bus Mastering in the manufacturer’s
Control Panel. Refer to the manufacturer’s
instructions for details.
Pro Tools M-Powered Getting Started8
Optional Optimizations
The following system optimizations may help
Pro Tools perform better on some systems. It is
recommended that you only try these optimizations if necessary, as they may disable or adversely affect the functionality of other programs on your system.
Disabling Network Cards
If applicable, disable any networking cards
(other than a FireWire card that you might use
to connect an external drive to your system).
To disable a network card:
1 Right-click My Computer and choose Man-
age.
2 Under System Tools, select Device Manager.
3 In the Device Manager window, double-click
Network adapters, then double-click the Network Adapter card you want to disable.
4 Under the General tab, choose “Do not use
this device (disable)” from the Device Usage
pop-up menu, and click OK.
5 Close the Computer Management window.
Adjusting Processor Scheduling
6 Under the Processor scheduling section, select
the Background Services option.
7 Under the Memory Usage section, select the
System cache option.
8 Click OK to close the Performance Options
window.
9 Click OK to close the System Properties win-
dow.
10 Restart the computer for the changes to take
effect.
Disabling Hyper-Threading
Pro Tools LE 7.0 takes advantage of the added
processing power of computers that have multiple processors, or that feature multi-core processing or Hyper-Threading, for RTAS processing.
However, if you set the number of processors
available for RTAS processing to 1 (in the
Pro Tools Playback Engine dialog), some computers with Hyper-Threading capability may experience decreased performance.
If this occurs, you can increase the number of
RTAS processors in the Playback Engine dialog,
or you can disable Hyper-Threading on the computer.
To Adjust Processor Scheduling Performance:
1 Choose Start > Control Panel.
2 In Classic View, double-click System.
3 Click the Advanced tab.
4 Under the Performance section, click the Set-
tings button.
5 In the Performance Options window, click the
Advanced tab.
Refer to your computer’s documentation for
steps on how to enter the computer’s BIOS and
disable Hyper-Threading.
Disabling System Startup Items
The fewer items in use by your computer, the
more resources are available for Pro Tools. Some
startup applications may be consuming unnecessary CPU resources, and should be turned off.
Chapter 2: Windows Configuration 9
If you disable any of the following startup items,
do so carefully:
• Portable media serial number (required for
applications that utilize a copy protection
key)
• Plug and play
• Event log
•Cryptographic services
• DHCP Client, TCP/IP Net BIOS, and other
networking-related items (unless the computer has no network or internet connection, in which case these items can be
disabled)
To Disable System Star tup Items:
1 From the Start menu, choose Run.
2 Type “msconfig” and click OK. The System
Configuration Utility opens.
3 Under the General tab, choose Selective Star-
tup.
4 Deselect Load Startup Items and click OK.
5 Click Restart to restart the computer.
6 After restarting, the computer displays a Sys-
tem Configuration message. Check to see if
Pro Tools performance has increased before you
deselect the “Don't show this message again”
option. If performance has not changed, run
“msconfig” and return your computer Selective
Startup back to Normal Startup. Alternatively,
try disabling Startup items and non-essential
processes individually.
Hard Drive Configuration and
Maintenance
It is recommended that you start with a newly
initialized audio drive. You should also periodically defragment your audio drive to ensure
continued system performance.
Always back up any important data on
your drive before initializing it, as it will
erase all data on the drive.
Avoid Recording to the System Drive
Recording to your system drive is not recommended. Recording and playback on a system
drive may result in lower track counts or fewer
plug-ins.
Formatting an Audio Drive
For optimum performance, audio drives should
be formatted as FAT32 or NTFS.
To format an audio drive:
1 Right-click My Computer and choose Man-
age.
2 Under Storage, choose Disk Management.
Disk Management window (Windows XP)
Pro Tools M-Powered Getting Started10
3 In the Disk Management window, right-click
the hard drive you will use for audio and choose
Format.
4 Do one of the following:
• Select the Quick Format option. Quick option should be sufficient for qualified
mechanisms.
– or –
• For optimal disk performance, you can select 32K from the Allocation unit size popup menu (make sure Quick Format is not
selected). Though this option takes longer
to complete, it can increase efficiency of
drive recording and playback.
5 Click Start, and follow the on-screen instruc-
tions.
Pro Tools only supports Basic drive Types.
6 When formatting is complete, close the For-
mat window.
Audio Drives and Disk Cleanup
Disk Cleanup determines how performance is
being affected by drive conditions, and lets you
review and delete unnecessary files from the selected volume. For more information, see your
Windows XP documentation.
Defragmenting an Audio Drive
Periodically defragment audio drives to maintain
system performance.
To defragment an audio drive:
1 Right-click My Computer and choose Man-
age.
2 Under Storage, choose Disk Defragmenter.
3 In the Disk Defragmenter window, choose the
drive you want to defragment
4 Click the Defragment button and follow the
on-screen instructions.
5 When defragmenting is complete, close the
Computer Management window.
The process of recording and editing can quickly
decrease overall drive performance. It is suggested that you regularly use Disk Cleanup (or
an equivalent utility) to assess the condition of
drives and, if necessary, delete temporary files
and other unused data.
To use Disk Cleanup:
1 Choose Start > Control Panel.
2 Double-click Administrative Tools.
3 Double-click Computer Management.
4 Double-click Storage.
5 Double-click Disk Management.
6 Select the desired volume in the list, then
choose File > Options.
Installing Your M-Audio Interface
Before you install Pro Tools M-Powered, you
must first install your M-Audio interface. Connect your M-Audio interface according to the instructions that came with it.
Installing M-Audio Drivers
The Pro Tools M-Powered Installer CD-ROM includes M-Audio drivers for using Digidesignqualified M-Audio interfaces on Windows XP.
Pro Tools will not see your M-Audio interface if you do not install the M-Audio driver
that is included with Pro Tools M-Powered.
Chapter 2: Windows Configuration 11
To install the M-Audio driver for your M-Audio
interface:
1 If you are using an M-Audio FireWire inter-
face, disconnect it before proceeding.
2 Insert the Pro Tools M-Powered Installer CD
for Windows in your CD-ROM drive.
3 Locate and open the M-Audio Driver Installers
folder, and double-click the driver for your interface type, as follows:
• For M-Audio FireWire interfaces, doubleclick the file starting with “FW_WDM”
• For M-Audio PCI interfaces, double-click
the file starting with “Delta_WDM”
• For M-Audio BlackBox, double-click the file
starting with “BB_WDM”
• For M-Audio Transit, double-click the file
staring with “Transit_WDM”
• For M-Audio MobilePre, double-click the
file starting with “MP_WDM”
• For M-Audio FastTrack, double-click the file
starting with “FastTrack_WDM”
• For M-Audio Ozone, double-click the file
starting with “Ozone_WDM”
8 When your system recognizes the new hard-
ware, run the Found New Hardware Wizard. Follow the on-screen instructions.
If you are prompted to run the Found New
Hardware Wizard a second time, run it
again.
In your M-Audio Control Panel, make sure
that output channels 1 and 2 are not set to
–Infinity (–
∞
).
Installing Pro Tools
M-Powered Software
To install Pro Tools M-Powered:
1 Start Windows, logging in with Administrator
privileges. For details on Administrator privileges, refer to your Windows documentation.
2 Insert the Pro Tools M-Powered Installer CD
for Windows in your CD-ROM drive. Locate and
open the Pro Tools Installer folder, and doubleclick the Setup icon.
4 Follow the on-screen instructions to install
the driver.
If you get a warning dialog about the driver
not passing Windows Logo testing, click
Continue Anyway.
5 When installation is complete, shut down
your computer.
6 If you are using an M-Audio FireWire inter-
face, do the following:
• Once your computer has shut down completely, connect your FireWire interface
and power it on.
7 Turn on your computer.
Pro Tools M-Powered Getting Started12
3 Click Next to begin installation.
4 Select the components you want to install and
click Next.
If you get a warning dialog about the driver
not passing Windows Logo testing, click
Continue Anyway.
5 Wait for the installer to finish installing all
software components, drivers, and PACE System
files before proceeding to the next step.
6 When installation is complete, click Finish.
Installing QuickTime
QuickTime 6.5 or later is required for Pro Tools
if you plan to include movie files, or import
MP3 or MP4 (AAC) files in your sessions. QuickTime for Windows XP is available as a free
download from the Apple Web site (www.apple.com).
2 From your CD-ROM drive, locate and double-
click the Pro Tools M-Powered Demo installer
icon.
3 Set the install location to your audio drive and
click Install.
4 When installation is complete, click OK.
To install QuickTime:
1 Visit www.apple.com and go to the Quick-
Time page.
2 Download the QuickTime installer applica-
tion to your computer.
3 Double-click the QuickTime installer applica-
tion and follow the on-screen installation instructions.
4 Restart your computer.
Optional Software on the
Pro Tools M-Powered Installer
CD
Your Pro Tools M-Powered Installer CD includes
several software options.
Pro Tools Demo Session
The Pro Tools M-Powered Installer CD includes
a demo session that you can use to verify that
your system is working.
MacDrive
The MacDrive utility lets you mount Macintoshbased HFS+ drives on a Windows-based
Pro Tools system and use them as Transfer
drives.
Transfer drives can be used for storage, but
not for playback or recording. To use Macbased audio files on a Windows Pro Tools
system, copy the files from the Mac-based
HFS+ audio drive to a Windows-based
NTFS audio drive.
To install the MacDrive demo included with
Pro Tools:
1 Insert the Pro Tools Installer CD into your CD-
ROM drive.
2 From your CD-ROM drive, locate and open
the Additional Files/MacDrive Demo Installer
folder.
3 Double-click the MacDrive demo installer.
4 Follow the on-screen instructions to install
MacDrive. After installation is complete, restart
your computer.
Before installing the demo session to your
audio drive, make sure the drive is configured as described in “Formatting an Audio
Drive” on page 10.
To install the demo session:
1 Insert the Pro Tools M-Powered Installer CD
in your CD-ROM drive.
All formatting and maintenance of HFS+
drives should be carried out when the drives
are connected to a Macintosh. Do not use
the MacDrive utility to initialize or partition Macintosh drives.
Chapter 2: Windows Configuration 13
Launching Pro Tools
M-Powered
To use Pro Tools M-Powered with an M-Audio
interface, you must always have an iLok with an
authorization for Pro Tools M-Powered. One
pre-authorized iLok is included with the
Pro Tools M-Powered package.
To authorize Pro Tools M-Powered software:
1 Insert the pre-authorized iLok into an avail-
able USB port on your computer.
2 Double-click the Pro Tools M-Powered short-
cut on your desktop (or the application in
Program Files\Digidesign\Pro Tools).
Do not remove the iLok during Pro Tools
launch or use.
Configuring Pro Tools
M-Powered
◆ Lower Hardware Buffer Size settings reduce
monitoring latency, and are useful when you are
recording live input.
◆ Higher Hardware Buffer Size settings allow for
more audio processing and effects, and are useful when you are mixing and using more RTAS
plug-ins.
In addition to causing slower screen response and monitoring latency, higher
Hardware Buffer Size settings can increase
the latency caused by RTAS plug-ins, and
affect the accuracy of plug-in automation,
mute data, and MIDI track timing.
To change the Hardware Buffer Size:
1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine.
Pro Tools System Settings
Pro Tools lets you adjust the performance of
your system by changing system settings that affect its capacity for processing, playback, and recording
In most cases, the default settings for your system provide optimum performance, but you
may want to adjust them to accommodate large
or processing-intensive Pro Tools sessions.
Hardware Buffer Size
The Hardware Buffer Size (H/W Buffer Size) controls the size of the buffer used to handle host
processing tasks such as Real-Time AudioSuite
(RTAS) plug-ins. The H/W Buffer setting can also
be used to manage monitoring latency.
Pro Tools M-Powered Getting Started14
Playback Engine dialog for Pro Tools M-Powered
(Ozone shown)
2 From the H/W Buffer Size pop-up menu, select
the audio buffer size, in samples.
3 Click OK.
RTAS Processors
The RTAS Processors setting determines the
number of processors in your computer allocated for RTAS plug-in processing.
With computers that have multiple processors,
or that feature multi-core processing or hyperthreading, this setting lets you enable multi-processor support for RTAS processes. Used in combination with the CPU Usage Limit setting, the
RTAS Processors setting lets you control the way
RTAS processing and other Pro Tools tasks are
carried out by the system.
◆ A higher number of processors reserves more
CPU processing capacity for RTAS plug-in processing. This is useful for sessions with large
number of RTAS plug-ins.
◆ A lower number of processors leaves more
CPU processing capacity for automation, screen
redraws, and video playback in Pro Tools, or for
other application running at the same time as
Pro Tools.
To set the number of RTAS Processors:
1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine.
◆ Higher CPU Usage Limit settings allocate
more processing power to Pro Tools, and are
useful for playing back large sessions or using
more real-time plug-ins.
The maximum available CPU Usage Limit depends on the number of processors in your computer and on the number of processors you
specify with the RTAS Processor setting. This
value can range from 85 percent for single-processor computers to 99 percent for multi-processor computers.
Increasing the CPU Usage Limit may slow
down screen response on slower computers.
To change the CPU Usage Limit:
1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine.
2 From the CPU Usage Limit pop-up menu, se-
lect the percentage of CPU processing you want
to allocate to Pro Tools.
2 From the RTAS Processors pop-up menu, select
the number of processors you want to allocate
for RTAS plug-in processing.
3 Click OK.
CPU Usage Limit
The CPU Usage Limit controls the percentage of
CPU resources allocated to Pro Tools host processing tasks. Used in combination with the
RTAS Processors setting, the CPU Usage Limit
setting lets you control the way Pro Tools tasks
are carried out by the system.
◆ Lower CPU Usage Limit settings limit the ef-
fect of Pro Tools processing on other CPU-intensive tasks, such as screen redraws, and are useful
when you are experiencing slow system response, or when running other applications at
the same time as Pro Tools.
3 Click OK.
DAE Playback Buffer Size
The DAE Playback Buffer Size determines the
amount of memory DAE allocates for disk buffers. The optimum DAE Playback Buffer Size for
most disk operations is Level 2.
◆ DAE Playback Buffer Size settings lower than
Level 2 may improve playback and recording
initiation speed, but 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.
Chapter 2: Windows Configuration 15
◆ DAE Playback Buffer Size settings higher than
Level 2 will allow for a higher density of edits in
a session or a higher track count when using
slower hard drives. However, a higher setting
can also cause a time lag to occur when starting
playback or recording, or longer audible time lag
while editing during playback.
Using a larger DAE Playback Buffer Size
leaves less system memory for other tasks.
The default setting of Level 2 is recommended unless you are encountering -9073
(“Disk too slow or fragmented”) errors.
To change the DAE Playback Buffer Size:
1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine.
2 From the DAE Playback Buffer pop-up menu,
select a buffer size.
3 Click OK.
To change M-Audio Control Panel settings:
1 If Pro Tools M-Powered is running, exit
Pro Tools.
2 Choose Start > Control Panel.
3 Launch the M-Audio Control Panel as follows:
• For FireWire interfaces, launch M-Audio
FW Audio.
• For PCI interfaces, launch M-Audio Delta
Audio.
• For USB Interfaces, launch the M-Audio
control panel with the name of your interface.
4 To change settings in the M-Audio Control
Panel, refer to the documentation that came
with your M-Audio interface.
5 When finished, close the M-Audio Control
Panel.
Pro Tools Hardware Settings and M-Audio Control Panel
The Hardware Setup dialog in Pro Tools (Setup >
Hardware) displays the name of your
M-Audio peripheral, and tells you that various
hardware functions can be changed in the MAudio Control Panel.
Using the M-Audio Control Panel, you can
change settings in the following areas:
• Mixer Settings
• Output Settings
• Hardware Settings (including sample rate,
hardware buffer size, and sync source).
You can change the sample rate when creating a new Pro Tools session by selecting a
different sample rate in the New Session
dialog. (Refer to
Guide for details.)
Pro Tools M-Powered Getting Started16
the Pro Tools Reference
Sync Source (Pro Tools Clock Source)
If your M-Audio interface has a digital I/O (such
as a S/PDIF I/O), use the M-Audio Control Panel
to select the Sync Source for the system.
With Pro Tools M-Powered, Sync Source
cannot be set in the Pro Tools Session Setup
window.
To select the Sync Source:
1 If Pro Tools M-Powered is running, exit
Pro Tools.
2 Choose Start > Control Panel.
3 Launch the M-Audio Control Panel as follows:
• For FireWire interfaces, launch M-Audio
FW Audio.
• For PCI interfaces, launch M-Audio Delta
Audio.
• For USB Interfaces, launch the M-Audio
control panel with the name of your interface.
4 Click the Hardware tab.
5 Select a Sync Source.
Your digital input device must be connected
and turned on. If your input device is not
turned on, leave the Sync Source set to Internal.
For more information on selecting the Sync
Source for your M-Audio interface, refer to
your M-Audio interface documentation.
6 Click OK.
Low Latency Monitoring
3 In the Control Panel mixer for your interface,
route the input channels you want to monitor
to the main outputs of the mixer (usually Outputs 1–2) by clicking the corresponding output
control.
Mixer output 1–2 control
Control Panel mixer for M-Audio FireWire 410)
4 Adjust the output level and balance with the
Control Panel mixer volume and pan controls.
Direct or low-latency monitoring is not available from within Pro Tools M-Powered.
However, with M-Audio devices that have Control Panel mixers with a direct monitoring feature, it is possible to use this feature as a low-latency monitoring path while recording in
Pro Tools.
To use the M-Audio mixer direct monitoring
feature while recording:
1 In Pro Tools, record-enable the tracks you
want to record and mute their output.
2 Open the M-Audio Control Panel for your M-
Audio interface.
5 In Pro Tools, begin recording.
6 To listen back to the recorded tracks, unmute
the tracks in Pro Tools and begin playback.
7 When you are finished recording, turn off the
mixer output control in the Control Panel
mixer.
You can leave the M-Audio Control Panel
open while working in Pro Tools M-Powered.
Chapter 2: Windows Configuration 17
Configuring I/O Setup
Using the I/O Setup dialog, you can label
Pro Tools input, output, insert, and bus signal
paths. The I/O Setup dialog provides a graphical
representation of the inputs, outputs, and signal
routing of the M-Audio interface.
Pro Tools M-Powered bypasses the M-Audio
mixer that is displayed in the M-Audio Control Panel. The interface’s hardware inputs
and outputs show up directly in Pro Tools
I/O Setup.
Pro Tools M-Powered has default I/O Setup settings that will get you started. Use the I/O Setup
dialog only if you want to rename the default
I/O paths.
To rename I/O paths in I/O Setup:
1 Choose Setup > I/O.
4 Click OK.
T
See the Pro Tools Reference Guide (or choose
Help > Pro Tools Reference Guide) for more
information on renaming I/O paths.
MIDI Studio Setup
(Optional)
If you plan to use any MIDI devices with
Pro Tools, configure your MIDI setup with MIDI
Studio Setup. See Appendix A, “Configuring
MIDI Studio Setup (Windows Only)” for details.
Backing Up your System
Configuration
After configuring your system and Pro Tools,
you should save an image of your system drive
using a backup utility such as Norton Ghost. By
doing this, you can quickly restore your system
configuration and settings if you encounter any
problems.
I/O Setup dialog for Pro Tools M-Powered
(M-Audio FireWire 1814 shown)
2 Click the Input, Output, Insert, or Bus tab to
display the corresponding connections.
3 To change the name of a path or subpath,
double-click directly on the Path Name, type a
new name for the path, and press Enter.
Pro Tools M-Powered Getting Started18
Removing Pro Tools
M-Powered
If you need to remove Pro Tools M-Powered
Software from your computer, you can use the
Add or Remove Programs command.
To remove Pro Tools from your computer:
1 Choose Start > Control Panel.
2 Launch Add or Remove Programs.
3 From the Currently installed programs list, se-
lect Digidesign Pro Tools M-Powered.
4 Click the Change/Remove button.
5 Follow the on-screen instructions to remove
Pro Tools M-Powered.
chapter 3
Macintosh Configuration
This chapter contains information for Macintosh systems only. If you are installing Pro Tools
M-Powered on a Windows computer, see
Chapter 2, “Windows Configuration.”
Before installing this version of Pro Tools,
refer to the Read Me information included
on the Pro Tools M-Powered Installer CD.
Installation Overview
Installation of Pro Tools M-Powered on a Macintosh includes the following steps:
1 “Macintosh System Optimization” on
page 19.
2 “Installing Your M-Audio Interface” on
page 21.
3 “Installing M-Audio Drivers” on page 21.
4 “Installing Pro Tools M-Powered Software” on
page 22.
5 “Launching Pro Tools M-Powered” on
page 23. (This step includes inserting the pre-authorized iLok into an available USB port on your
computer.)
6 “Configuring Pro Tools M-Powered” on
page 23.
7 Making audio connections to the M-Audio in-
terface. (See your M-Audio documentation for
details.)
Macintosh System
Optimization
To ensure optimum performance with
Pro Tools, configure your computer before installing Pro Tools hardware and software.
Before configuring your computer, make sure
you are logged in as an Administrator for the account where you want to install Pro Tools. For
details on Administrator privileges in Mac OS X,
refer to your Apple OS X documentation.
Tur ning Off Software Update
To turn off the Software Update feature:
1 Choose System Preferences from the Apple
menu and click Software Update.
2 Click Update Software and deselect Check for
Updates.
Do not use the Mac OS X automatic Software Update feature, as it may upgrade
your system to a version of Mac OS that has
not yet been qualified for Pro Tools.
For details on qualified versions of Mac OS,
refer to the latest compatibility information
on the Digidesign Web site
(www.digidesign.com/compato).
Chapter 3: Macintosh Configuration 19
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