Avid Pro Tools Academic 7.3 Getting Started

Getting Started

Pro Tools Academic

™ with M-Audio

®

Interfaces

Version 7.3

Copyright

reserved. This guide may not be duplicated in whole or in part

without the express written consent of Digidesign.

Avid, Digidesign, M-Audio, M-Powered, Pro Tools, Pro Tools

Academic, Pro Tools|HD, and Pro Tools LE 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 9320-55965-00 REV A 1/07

Contents

iii

contents

Chapter 1. Pro Tools Academic QuickStart

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Windows Installation Overview

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Mac Installation Overview

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Chapter 2. Welcome to Pro Tools Academic

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Academic Systems with M-Audio Interfaces

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Pro Tools Academic Packages

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Pro Tools Academic Capabilities

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

How Pro Tools Academic Differs from Pro Tools LE or M-Powered

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

System Requirements

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Digidesign Registration

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

About the Pro Tools Guides

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

About www.digidesign.com

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Chapter 3. Windows Installation

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Installation Overview

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Windows System Optimization

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Installing an M-Audio Interface

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Installing M-Audio Drivers

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Installing Pro Tools Academic Software

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Launching Pro Tools Academic

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Configuring Pro Tools Academic

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Additional Software on the Pro Tools Installer Disc

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Removing Pro Tools Academic

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Pro Tools Academic Getting Started

iv

Chapter 4. Mac Installation

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Installation Overview

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Mac System Optimization

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Installing Your M-Audio Interface

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Installing M-Audio Drivers

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Installing Pro Tools Academic Software

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Additional Software on the Pro Tools Installer Disc

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Launching Pro Tools Academic

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Configuring Pro Tools Academic

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Removing Pro Tools

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Chapter 5. Making Hardware Connections

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Connecting Headphones

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Connecting a Sound System

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Connecting Audio Inputs

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Connecting a Microphone

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Chapter 6. Common Tasks with Pro Tools Academic

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Recording a Pro Tools Session

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Importing Audio from a CD

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Creating an Audio CD from a Pro Tools Session

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Recording MIDI in a Pro Tools Session

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Chapter 7. Time Code and Synchronization Features

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Timebase Rulers

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Selecting Time Code Rate

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Selecting Feet+Frame Rate

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Redefining Time Code Position

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Redefining Current Feet+Frames Position

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Use Subframes Option

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Half-Frame Grid/Nudge Capability

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Pull Up and Pull Down Commands

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Import Session Data Enhancements

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Contents

v

Chapter 8. Post Production Features

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Export of AAF Sequences at HD Frame Rates

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Expanding Alternate Channels to New Tracks

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Selecting an Alternate Channel for a Specific Region

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Multiple QuickTime Movies on Individual Video Tracks

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Multiple Video Tracks in the Timeline

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Multiple Video Track Playlists

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Dragging Video Files from the Region List to the Timeline

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Video Import Options Dialog Additions

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

General Video Editing

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Renaming Video Disk Files

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Video Region Groups

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Video Window Right-Click Commands

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Appendix A. Configuring MIDI Studio Setup (Windows Only)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

MIDI Studio Setup

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

MIDI Patch Name Support

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Appendix B. Configuring AMS (Mac OS X Only)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Audio MIDI Setup

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

MIDI Patch Name Support

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Appendix C. Hard Drive Configuration and Maintenance

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Avoid Recording to the System Drive

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Supported Drive Formats and Drive Types

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Formatting an Audio Drive

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Partitioning Drives

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Defragmenting an Audio Drive

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Hard Disk Storage Space

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Index

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Pro Tools Academic Getting Started

vi

Chapter 1: Pro Tools Academic QuickStart

1

chapter 1

Pro Tools Academic QuickStart

Windows Installation

Overview

(Windows Systems Only)

Pro Tools Academic “Standalone”

(Software-Only with iLok)

Installing Pro Tools Academic on a Windows

computer includes the following steps:

1

“Windows System Optimization” on page 9.

2

“Installing an M-Audio Interface” on page 12.

3

“Installing M-Audio Drivers” on page 12.

4

“Installing Pro Tools Academic Software” on

page 13.

5

“Launching Pro Tools Academic” on page 14.

6

“Conﬁguring Pro Tools Academic” on

page 15.

7

“Making Hardware Connections” on page 35.

Pro Tools Academic “Bundled

Hardware” (No iLok)

Installing Pro Tools Academic on a Windows

computer includes the following steps:

1

“Windows System Optimization” on page 9.

2

“Installing an M-Audio Interface” on page 12.

3

“Installing M-Audio Drivers” on page 12.

4

“Installing Pro Tools Academic Software” on

page 13.

5

“Launching Pro Tools Academic” on page 14.

6

“Conﬁguring Pro Tools Academic” on

page 15.

7

“Making Hardware Connections” on page 35.

Pro Tools will not see your M-Audio inter-

face if you do not install the M-Audio driver

that is included with Pro Tools Academic.

For Pro Tools Academic Standalone, this step

includes inserting the pre-authorized iLok

(included with your Pro Tools Academic

Standalone package) into an available USB

port on your computer.)

Pro Tools will not see your M-Audio inter-

face if you do not install the M-Audio driver

that is included with Pro Tools Academic.

Pro Tools Academic Getting Started

2

Mac Installation Overview

(Mac OS X Systems Only)

Pro Tools Academic “Standalone”

(Software-Only with iLok)

Installation of Pro Tools Academic on a Mac in-

cludes the following steps:

1 “Mac System Optimization” on page 23.

2 “Installing Your M-Audio Interface” on

page 25.

3 “Installing M-Audio Drivers” on page 25.

4 “Installing Pro Tools Academic Software” on

page 26.

5 “Launching Pro Tools Academic” on page 27.

6 “Conﬁguring Pro Tools Academic” on

page 27.

7 “Making Hardware Connections” on page 35

Pro Tools Academic “Bundled

Hardware” (No iLok)

Installation of Pro Tools Academic on a Mac in-

cludes the following steps:

1 “Mac System Optimization” on page 23.

2 “Installing Your M-Audio Interface” on

page 25.

3 “Installing M-Audio Drivers” on page 25.

4 “Installing Pro Tools Academic Software” on

page 26.

5 “Launching Pro Tools Academic” on page 27.

6 “Conﬁguring Pro Tools Academic” on

page 27.

7 “Making Hardware Connections” on page 35

Pro Tools will not see your M-Audio inter-

face if you do not install the M-Audio driver

that is included with Pro Tools Academic.

For Pro Tools Academic Standalone, this step

includes inserting the pre-authorized iLok

(included with your Pro Tools Academic

Standalone package) into an available USB

port on your computer.)

Pro Tools will not see your M-Audio inter-

face if you do not install the M-Audio driver

that is included with Pro Tools Academic.

Chapter 2: Welcome to Pro Tools Academic 3

chapter 2

Welcome to Pro Tools Academic

Welcome to Pro Tools Academic. This guide

documents how to install and configure

Pro Tools Academic software on Academic sys-

tems with M-Audio

®

interfaces.

Academic Systems with

M-Audio Interfaces

The basic components of an Academic system

with an M-Audio interface are as follows:

• Digidesign-qualiﬁed M-Audio interface (in-

cluded with Pro Tools Academic “bundled

hardware” kits)

• Digidesign-qualiﬁed Windows or Mac com-

puter (not included)

• Pro Tools Academic software (included)

For Mbox 2 Academic system installation

and configuration information, refer to the

Mbox 2 Academic Getting Started Guide.

For a list of Digidesign-qualified M-Audio

interfaces and computers, refer to the Digi-

design website (www.digidesign.com)

.

Pro Tools Academic Getting Started4

Pro Tools Academic Packages

Pro Tools Academic “Standalone”

(Software-Only with iLok)

Pro Tools Academic “Standalone” software-only

packages for Digidesign-qualified M-Audio in-

terfaces includes the following:

• Pro Tools Installer disc containing Pro Tools

Academic 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 Ac-

ademic

• This Getting Started Guide, covering installa-

tion, conﬁguration, and common tasks for

your Pro Tools system

• Digidesign Registration Information Card

Pro Tools Academic “Bundled

Hardware” (No iLok)

Pro Tools Academic bundled hardware kits in-

clude the following:

• M-Audio interface and hardware (such as a

MobilePre USB Academic or Ozone Academic)

• Pro Tools Installer disc containing Pro Tools

Academic software, updated M-Audio drivers,

DigiRack RTAS (Real-Time AudioSuite) and

AudioSuite plug-ins, and electronic PDF

guides

• This Getting Started Guide, covering installa-

tion, conﬁguration, and common tasks for

your Pro Tools system

• Digidesign Registration Information Card

Pro Tools Academic

Capabilities

Pro Tools Academic software provides the fol-

lowing capabilities:

• Playback of up to 32 mono (or 16 stereo)

digital audio tracks, or a combination of

playing back and recording up to 32 mono

(or 16 stereo) digital audio tracks, depend-

ing on your M-Audio interface and com-

puter’s capabilities

• Up to 128 audio tracks (with 32 voiceable

tracks maximum), 64 video tracks,

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 the

sample rates supported by your M-Audio

interface

• Non-destructive, random-access editing

and mix automation

• Audio processing with up to 5 RTAS plug-

ins per track, depending on your com-

puter’s capabilities

• Up to 5 hardware inserts per track

• Up to 10 sends per track

• Up to 32 internal mix busses

Pro Tools Academic 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.

Chapter 2: Welcome to Pro Tools Academic 5

How Pro Tools Academic

Differs from Pro Tools LE or

M-Powered

Additional Features

Pro Tools Academic includes the following addi-

tional features, which are not included with

standard Pro Tools LE or M-Powered:

Time Code and Synchronization Features

• Time Code Timebase ruler

• Feet+Frame Timebase ruler

• Time Code Rate selector

• Feet+Frame Rate selector

• Redeﬁne Current Time Code Position

• Redeﬁne Current Feet+Frames Position

• Use Subframes option

• Half-Frame Grid/Nudge Capability

• Audio and Video Pull Up and Pull Down

commands

• Time Code Mapping options

Post Production Features

• Export of AAF and OMF sequences

• Expand to New Tracks command, for ex-

panding alternate channels to new tracks

when working with ﬁles from digital ﬁeld

recorders

• Ability to select alternate channels when

working with ﬁles from digital ﬁeld record-

ers

• Support for multiple QuickTime movies on

each video track

• Support for multiple video tracks in the

Timeline

• Support for multiple video playlists on

each video track

• Ability to drag video from Region List to

Timeline

• Video Import Options dialog additional

options

• General Video editing features

DigiTranslator Software Option

Pro Tools Academic automatically installs Digi-

Translator software. DigiTranslator lets

Pro Tools exchange audio and video files, and

sequences with other AAF and OMFI-compati-

ble applications.

Conﬁguration Dialogs and Procedures

Some Pro Tools Academic configuration dialogs

(such as Hardware Setup) and configuration pro-

cedures differ from the Pro Tools LE dialogs and

procedures presented in the Pro Tools Reference

Guide. For specific Pro Tools Academic configu-

ration steps, see Chapter 3, “Windows Installa-

tion” or Chapter 4, “Mac Installation.”

Unsupported Options

Pro Tools LE and M-Powered Options

Pro Tools Academic does not support the fol-

lowing Pro Tools LE and M-Powered option:

• Music Production Toolkit

Pro Tools LE Only Options

Pro Tools Academic does not support the fol-

lowing Pro Tools LE only options:

• DV Toolkit 2

• Digidesign Ethernet-based control surfaces

(such as Control|24)

• Avid video peripherals

• Mac HFS+ Disk Support Option

Refer to the DigiTranslator Integrated Option

Guide for details on using DigiTranslator.

Pro Tools Academic Getting Started6

System Requirements

Pro Tools Academic can be used with a Digi-

design-qualified M-Audio interface, running on

a Digidesign-qualified Windows or Mac com-

puter.

For complete system requirements, visit the

Digidesign website (www.digidesign.com).

Compatibility Information

Digidesign can only assure compatibility and

provide support for hardware and software it

has tested and approved.

For a list of Digidesign-qualified computers, op-

erating systems, hard drives, and third-party de-

vices, visit the Digidesign website (www.digide-

sign.com).

Pre-Authorized iLok

(Pro Tools Academic Standalone Only)

Pro Tools Academic Standalone software is au-

thorized using the iLok USB Smart Key (iLok)

from PACE Anti-Piracy.

Pro Tools Academic Standalone packages in-

clude one iLok, which is pre-authorized for

Pro Tools Academic software.

The iLok is similar to a dongle, but unlike a don-

gle, 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.

MIDI Requirements

USB MIDI interfaces work effectively with

Pro Tools systems on Windows or Mac. Serial

MIDI interfaces are supported on Windows sys-

tems only.

For a list of supported adapters, visit the Digi-

design website (www.digidesign.com).

Pre-Authorized iLok

The Pro Tools Academic Standalone pre-

authorized iLok must be inserted in an

available USB port on your computer to run

Pro Tools Academic Standalone.

For additional information about iLok tech-

nology and authorizations, see the elec-

tronic PDF of the iLok Usage Guide.

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.

Chapter 2: Welcome to Pro Tools Academic 7

Hard Drive Requirements

For optimal audio recording and playback, all

Pro Tools systems require one or more Digi-

design-qualified drives.

For a list of Digidesign-qualified hard drives,

visit the Digidesign website

(www.digidesign.com).

If you are using an ATA/IDE or FireWire hard

drive, initialize your drive with Windows Disk

Management (Windows) or the Disk Utility ap-

plication included with Apple System software

(Mac).

Avoid Recording to the System Drive

Recording to your system drive is not recom-

mended. Recording and playback on a system

drive may result in lower track counts and fewer

plug-ins.

Digidesign Registration

Review the enclosed Digidesign Registration In-

formation Card and follow the instructions on it

to quickly register your purchase online. Regis-

tering your purchase is the only way you can be

eligible to receive complimentary technical sup-

port 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 in-

stall Pro Tools Academic software, make basic

connections to your M-Audio interface (to get

sound in and out your interface), and do com-

mon tasks (such as recording in Pro Tools).

Online guides provided with Pro Tools Aca-

demic refer to Pro Tools|HD and LE systems. Ref-

erences to Pro Tools LE are usually interchange-

able with Pro Tools Academic, except as

documented differently in this guide.

In addition to any printed guides or documenta-

tion included with your system, PDF versions of

Pro Tools guides and read mes are installed au-

tomatically with Pro Tools.

The main guides (such as the Pro Tools Reference

Guide and the Pro Tools Menus Guide) are accessi-

ble from the Pro Tools Help menu.

• Pro Tools Reference Guide explains Pro Tools

software in detail.

• Pro Tools Menus Guide covers all the Pro Tools

on-screen menus.

• DigiRack Plug-Ins Guide explains how to use

the RTAS and AudioSuite plug-ins included

with Pro Tools.

• Digidesign Plug-Ins Guide explains how to use

optional Digidesign plug-ins.

• Pro Tools Shortcuts lists keyboard and Right-

click shortcuts for Pro Tools.

For more information, see Appendix C,

“Hard Drive Configuration and Mainte-

nance.”

Digidesign does not recommend recording

to the system drive. Record to a system drive

only when necessary.

For information on your M-Audio interface,

see your M-Audio interface documentation.

Pro Tools Academic Getting Started8

These guides and other guides are installed on

your startup drive during installation. To view

or print PDF guides, you can use Adobe Reader

or Apple Preview (Mac only).

Conventions Used in This Guide

Digidesign guides use the following conven-

tions to indicate menu choices and key com-

mands:

:

The following symbols are used to highlight im-

portant information:

About www.digidesign.com

The Digidesign website (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 fea-

tures available.

Registration Register your purchase online. See

the enclosed Digidesign Registration Informa-

tion Card for instructions.

Support Contact Digidesign Technical Support

or Customer Service; download software up-

dates and the latest online manuals; browse the

Compatibility documents for system require-

ments; search the online Answerbase; join the

worldwide Pro Tools community on the Digi-

design 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 Digi-

design; sign up for a Pro Tools demo.

To learn more about these and other resources

available from Digidesign, visit the Digidesign

website (www.digidesign.com).

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).

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 Click with the right mouse

button

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 guides.

Chapter 3: Windows Installation 9

chapter 3

Windows Installation

This chapter contains information for Windows

systems only. If you are installing Pro Tools Aca-

demic on a Mac computer, see Chapter 4, “Mac

Installation.”

Installation Overview

Installing Pro Tools Academic on a Windows

computer includes the following steps:

1 “Windows System Optimization” on page 9.

2 “Installing an M-Audio Interface” on page 12.

3 “Installing M-Audio Drivers” on page 12.

4 “Installing Pro Tools Academic Software” on

page 13.

5 “Launching Pro Tools Academic” on page 14.

(This step includes inserting the pre-authorized

iLok into an available USB port on your com-

puter.)

6 “Conﬁguring Pro Tools Academic” on

page 15.

7 Making audio connections to the M-Audio in-

terface.

Windows System Optimization

Before configuring your computer, make sure

you are logged in as an Administrator for the ac-

count 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

Academic, configure the following settings be-

fore you install Pro Tools software.

Enabling DMA

Enabling your computer's DMA (Direct Memory

Access) frees up CPU bandwidth so the com-

puter 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.

Before installing this version of Pro Tools,

refer to the Read Me information included

on the Pro Tools Installer disc.

For complete details, see your M-Audio in-

terface documentation.

When you are finished changing Windows

system settings, restart your computer.

Pro Tools Academic Getting Started10

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.

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 com-

puter. 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 Messen-

ger, calendars, and disk maintenance pro-

grams.

• Turn off any nonessential USB devices

while running Pro Tools.

• If your video display card supports it, en-

able Bus Mastering in the manufacturer’s

Control Panel. Refer to the manufacturer’s

instructions for details.

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 op-

tion, if necessary.

Chapter 3: Windows Installation 11

Optional Optimizations

The following system optimizations may help

Pro Tools perform better on some systems. It is

recommended that you only try these optimiza-

tions if necessary, as they may disable or ad-

versely affect the functionality of other pro-

grams 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 Net-

work 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

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.

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 Academic takes advantage of the

added processing power of computers that have

multiple processors, or that feature multi-core

processing or Hyper-Threading, for RTAS pro-

cessing.

However, if you set the number of processors

available for RTAS processing to 1 (in the

Pro Tools Playback Engine dialog), some com-

puters with Hyper-Threading capability may ex-

perience 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 com-

puter.

Refer to your computer’s documentation for

steps on how to enter the computer’s BIOS

and disable Hyper-Threading.

Pro Tools Academic Getting Started12

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 unnec-

essary CPU resources, and should be turned off.

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 com-

puter has no network or internet connec-

tion, in which case these items can be

disabled)

To disable System Startup 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.

Installing an M-Audio

Interface

Before you install Pro Tools Academic, you must

first install your M-Audio interface. Install your

M-Audio interface according to the instructions

in your M-Audio interface documentation.

When you have completed the instructions in

your M-Audio documentation, return to this

guide and continue with “Installing M-Audio

Drivers” on page 12.

Installing M-Audio Drivers

The Pro Tools Academic Installer disc includes

M-Audio drivers for using Digidesign-qualified

M-Audio interfaces on Windows XP.

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 Academic Installer disc for

Windows in your CD/DVD drive.

In your M-Audio Control Panel, make sure

that output channels 1 and 2 are not set to

–Infinity (–

∞

). Refer to the instructions in

your M-Audio interface documentation.

Pro Tools will not see your M-Audio inter-

face if you do not install the M-Audio driver

that is included with Pro Tools Academic.

Chapter 3: Windows Installation 13

3 Locate and open the M-Audio Driver Installers

folder, and double-click the driver for your inter-

face type only:

• For M-Audio FireWire interfaces, double-

click 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 Connective, double-click the

ﬁle starting with “Connectiv_WDM.”

• For M-Audio FastTrack, double-click the ﬁle

starting with “FastTrack_WDM.”

• For M-Audio FastTrack Pro, double-click

the ﬁle starting with “FTP_WDM.”

• For M-Audio JamLab, double-click the ﬁle

starting with “JamLab_WDM.”

• For M-Audio MobilePre USB, double-click

the ﬁle starting with “MP_WDM.”

• For M-Audio MobilePre USB Academic,

double-click the ﬁle starting with

“MPA_WDM.”

• For M-Audio Ozone, double-click the ﬁle

starting with “Ozone_WDM.”

• For M-Audio Ozone Academic, double-

click the ﬁle starting with “OzoneA_WDM.”

• For M-Audio Transit, double-click the ﬁle

staring with “Transit_WDM.”

4 Follow the on-screen instructions to install

the driver.

5 When installation is complete, shut down

your computer.

6 If you are using an M-Audio FireWire inter-

face, wait until the computer has shut down

completely, then connect your interface and

power it on.

7 Turn on your computer.

8 When your system recognizes the new hard-

ware, run the Found New Hardware Wizard. Fol-

low the on-screen instructions.

Installing Pro Tools Academic

Software

After the Windows System software settings are

configured and you have installed your M-Au-

dio interface and drivers, you are ready to install

Pro Tools Academic.

To install Pro Tools Academic:

1 Start Windows, logging in with Administrator

privileges. For details on Administrator privi-

leges, refer to your Windows documentation.

2 Insert the Pro Tools Academic Installer disc for

Windows in your CD/DVD drive.

3 On the Installer disc, locate and open the

Pro Tools Installer folder.

4 Double-click the Setup icon.

5 Follow the on-screen instructions to proceed

with installation.

6 Select the install location. For maximum reli-

ability, install Pro Tools on your startup drive.

7 Click Next.

8 Select the Pro Tools application for installa-

tion.

9 You can also select from a list of optional

items to install along with Pro Tools.

If you get a warning dialog about the driver

not passing Windows Logo testing, click

Continue Anyway.

If you are prompted to run the Found New

Hardware Wizard a second time, run it

again.

Pro Tools Academic Getting Started14

Command|8 Controller and Driver The Com-

mand|8 Driver is required if you are using the

Digidesign Command|8 control surface.

MP3 Export Option The MP3 Export Option lets

you export MP3 files from Pro Tools. This op-

tion is purchased separately.

10 Click Next.

11 Click Install.

12 Wait for the installer to ﬁnish installing all

software components, drivers, and PACE System

ﬁles before proceeding to the next step.

13 When installation is complete, click Finish.

Installing QuickTime

A Digidesign-qualified version of QuickTime 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

website (www.apple.com).

To install QuickTime:

1 Visit www.apple.com and go to the Quick-

Time page.

2 Download the QuickTime for Windows XP in-

staller application to your computer.

3 Double-click the QuickTime installer applica-

tion and follow the on-screen installation in-

structions.

4 Restart your computer.

Launching Pro Tools Academic

To authorize Pro Tools Academic software:

1 For Pro Tools Academic Standalone only, in-

sert the pre-authorized iLok into an available

USB port on your computer.

2 Double-click the Pro Tools Academic shortcut

on your desktop (or the application in

Program Files\Digidesign\Pro Tools).

3 For Pro Tools Academic bundled hardware kits

only, enter the authorization code in the dialog

(making sure to type it exactly as printed, and

observing any spaces and capitalization), then

click Validate.

Your authorization code is located on the inside

front cover of this guide.

Windows will display several messages

during installation that can be ignored, in-

cluding multiple “Found New Hardware”

dialogs and “A Problem Occurred During

Hardware Installation.”

If you get a warning dialog about the driver

not passing Windows Logo testing, click

Continue Anyway.

For information on which version of Quick-

Time is compatible with your version of

Pro Tools, visit the compatibility pages of

the Digidesign website

(www.digidesign.com).

The Pro Tools Installer disc includes addi-

tional software for your system. For more

information, see “Additional Software on

the Pro Tools Installer Disc” on page 21.

To use Pro Tools Academic Standalone

software with an M-Audio interface, you

must always have an iLok with an authori-

zation for Pro Tools Academic. One pre-au-

thorized iLok is included with your

Pro Tools Academic Standalone package.

For Pro Tools Academic Standalone, do not

remove the pre-authorized iLok during

Pro Tools launch or use.

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