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Mbox® 2
Version 7.4
Legal Notices This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the
limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the
This guide is copyrighted ©2007 by Digidesign, a division of FCC Rules.
Avid Technology, Inc. (hereafter “Digidesign”), with all rights
reserved. Under copyright laws, this guide may not be
DECLARATION OF CONFORMITY
duplicated in whole or in part without the written consent of
Digidesign. We Digidesign,
003, 003 Rack, 96 I/O, 96i I/O, 192 Digital I/O, 192 I/O, 2001 Junipero Serra Boulevard, Suite 200
888|24 I/O, 882|20 I/O, 1622 I/O, 24-Bit ADAT Bridge I/O, Daly City, CA 94014 USA
AudioSuite, Avid, Avid DNA, Avid Mojo, Avid Unity, Avid Unity
ISIS, Avid Unity MediaNetwork, Avid Xpress, AVoption, tel: 650-731-6300
AVoption|V10, Beat Detective, Bruno, Command|8, Control|24, declare under our sole responsibility that the product
D-Command, D-Control, D-Fi, D-fx, D-Show, DAE, Digi 002,
Mbox 2
Digi 002 Rack, DigiBase, DigiDelivery, Digidesign, Digidesign
Audio Engine, Digidesign Intelligent Noise Reduction, complies with Part 15 of FCC Rules.
Digidesign TDM Bus, DigiDrive, DigiRack, DigiTest, Operation is subject to the following two conditions: (1) this
DigiTranslator, DINR, DV Toolkit, EditPack, Impact, Interplay, device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this
M-Audio, MachineControl, Maxim, Mbox, MediaComposer, device must accept any interference received, including
MIDI I/O, MIX, MultiShell, OMF, OMF Interchange, PRE, interference that may cause undesired operation.
ProControl, Pro Tools M-Powered, Pro Tools, Pro Tools|HD,
Pro Tools LE, QuickPunch, Reel Tape, Reso, Reverb One,
ReVibe, RTAS, Smack!, SoundReplacer, Sound Designer II,
Strike, Structure, SYNC HD, SYNC I/O, Synchronic, TL Space,
Velvet, and X-Form are trademarks or registered trademarks of Communication Statement
Digidesign and/or Avid Technology, Inc. All other trademarks NOTE: This equipment has been tested and found to comply
are the property of their respective owners. with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part
15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide
reasonable protection against harmful interference in a
Product features, specifications, system requirements, and residential installation. This equipment generates, uses,
availability are subject to change without notice. and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed
and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause
harmful interference to radio communications. However,
PN 9320-56827-00 REV A 7/07
there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a
particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful
Comments or suggestions regarding our documentation? interference to radio or television reception, which can be
email: techpubs@digidesign.com determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is
encouraged to try and correct the interference by one or
more of the following measures:
• Reorient or locate the receiving antenna.
Communications and Safety Regulation Information
• Increase the separation between the equipment and
Compliance Statement receiver.
This model Digidesign Mbox 2 complies with the following • Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit
standards regulating interference and EMC: different from that to which the receiver is connected.
• FCC Part 15 Class B • Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician
• EN 55022 Class B for help.
• EN 55204 Class B
• AS/NZS 3548 Class B
• CISPR 22 Class B
Australian Compliance
European Compliance
Contents v
Chapter 5. Configuring Your Pro Tools System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Starting Up or Shutting Down Your System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Configuring Pro Tools LE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Optimizing a Windows System for Pro Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Optimizing a Mac System for Pro Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Appendix D. Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Backing Up Your Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Common Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Performance Factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Before You Call Digidesign Technical Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Contents vii
viii Mbox 2 Getting Started Guide
chapter 1
Installation QuickStart
Your authorization code is located on the Your authorization code is located on the
inside cover of this guide. inside cover of this guide.
3 Configuring your system for improved perfor-
4 Configuring your system for improved perfor-
mance. (See “Configuring Your Pro Tools Sys- mance. (See “Configuring Your Pro Tools Sys-
tem” on page 19.) tem” on page 19.)
4 Making audio and MIDI connections to the
5 Making audio connections to the Mbox 2.
Mbox 2. (See Chapter 7, “Making Hardware (See Chapter 7, “Making Hardware Connec-
Connections” for details.) tions” for details.)
Welcome to Mbox 2
Installing the Mbox 2 on a Windows computer Mbox 2 may not function properly if con-
includes the following steps: nected to a USB hub. If you need to use a
hub for other USB peripherals, connect the
1 “Connecting Mbox 2 and Installing
hub to a separate USB port; Mbox 2 must
Pro Tools LE” on page 9.
have a dedicated port in order to function
2 “Launching Pro Tools LE” on page 11. properly.
3 Configuring your system for improved perfor- 3 Connect the other end of the USB cable to any
mance. (See Chapter 5, “Configuring Your available USB port on your computer. Wait for
Pro Tools System.”) the Found New Hardware Wizard dialog to ap-
4 Making audio and MIDI connections to the pear and leave it open: Do not click Next. If the
Mbox 2. (See Chapter 7, “Making Hardware Wizard begins to install drivers automatically,
Connections” for details.) press Cancel.
Mac HFS+ Disk Support Option This option lets On Windows Vista, if you get a warning di-
your Pro Tools system read, write, record, and alog about the driver, click “Install this
play back using Mac-formatted HFS+ disks. HFS+ Driver Anyway!”
disks are commonly referred to as Mac OS Ex-
tended disks. 14 Wait for the installer to finish installing all
software components, drivers, and PACE System
DigiTranslator DigiTranslator™ is a software op- files before proceeding to the next step.
tion for Pro Tools that lets you convert and ex-
change OMF and AAF sequences and MXF files 15 When installation is complete, click Finish.
directly in the Pro Tools application. This op-
tion is purchased separately. Installing QuickTime
Command|8 Controller and Driver The Com- QuickTime is required for Pro Tools if you plan
mand|8 Driver is required if you are using the to include movie files, or import MP3 or MP4
Digidesign Command|8 control surface. (AAC) files in your sessions. QuickTime for Win-
dows is available as a free download from the
MP3 Export Option The MP3 Export Option lets Apple website (www.apple.com).
you export MP3 files from Pro Tools. This op-
tion is purchased separately. For information on which version of Quick-
Time is compatible with your version of
The Pro Tools Installer disc includes addi- Pro Tools, visit the compatibility pages of
tional software for your system. For more the Digidesign website
information, see “Additional Software on (www.digidesign.com).
the Pro Tools Installer Disc” on page 11.
The Digidesign ASIO (Audio Sound Input Out- The demo session for Pro Tool LE is name “Fil-
put) Driver is a single-client multichannel tered Dreams.”
sound driver that allows third-party audio pro-
grams that support the ASIO standard to record
Before installing the demo session to your
and play back through Digidesign hardware.
audio drive, make sure the drive is config-
ured as described in “Formatting an Audio
For detailed information on configuring the Drive” on page 64.
Digidesign ASIO Driver, see the Windows
To install the demo session:
Audio Drivers Guide.
1 Insert the Pro Tools LE Installer disc into your
Digidesign WaveDriver DVD drive.
(Windows XP Only)
2 From your DVD drive, locate and open the Ad-
The Digidesign WaveDriver Windows System ditional Files/LE Demo Session Installer folder.
Audio Driver is a single-client, stereo sound 3 Double-click LE Demo Session Setup.exe.
driver that allows third-party audio programs
that support the WaveDriver MME (Multimedia 4 Follow the onscreen instructions.
Extension) standard to play back through Digi- 5 When prompted, select your audio drive as
design hardware. the install location and click Next to begin the
install.
For detailed information on configuring the
Digidesign WaveDriver, see the Windows 6 When installation is complete, click Finish.
Audio Drivers Guide.
The demo session can be opened by double-
Standalone Windows Audio Drivers clicking the Filtered Dream.ptf file (located
in the Filtered Dream Demo Session folder).
Digidesign Windows Audio Drivers can be in-
stalled on Windows systems that do not have
Pro Tools software installed. Use the standalone
Pro Tools Session Templates
version of the Digidesign Windows Audio Driv- The Pro Tools LE Installer disc includes factory
ers installer (Digidesign Audio Drivers session templates that are pre-configured to
Setup.exe), which is available on the Pro Tools common track and mixer setups. Using these
Installer disc. templates will save you the trouble of having to
create your studio setup from scratch every time
For information on installing and configur- you start a new session.
ing the standalone version of the Digidesign
Windows Audio Drivers, see the Windows See the Pro Tools Reference Guide for informa-
Audio Drivers Guide. tion on using or customizing session templates.
2 From your DVD drive, locate and open the Ad- 2 Double-click Add or Remove Programs.
ditional Files/LE Session Templates Installer
3 From the Currently Installed Programs list, se-
folder.
lect Digidesign Pro Tools.
3 Double-click LE Session Templates Setup.exe.
4 Click the Remove button.
4 Follow the onscreen instructions.
5 Follow the on-screen instructions to remove
5 When prompted, select your audio drive as Pro Tools.
the install location and click Next to begin the
install.
4 Click Uninstall.
MP3 Export Option The MP3 Export Option lets ble to the USB port on Mbox 2.
you export MP3 files from Pro Tools. This op- 2 With your computer on, connect the other
tion is purchased separately. end of the USB cable to any available USB port
on your computer.
The Pro Tools Installer disc includes addi-
tional software for your system. For more in- If the USB LED on the front panel of the
formation, see “Additional Software on the Mbox 2 does not illuminate after installa-
Pro Tools Installer Disc” on page 17. tion, try unplugging the USB cable from the
Mbox 2 USB port, and plugging it back in. If
9 Click Install.
the USB LED still does not illuminate, shut
10 If prompted, enter your Administrator pass- down the computer, disconnect Mbox 2 and
word and click OK to authenticate the installa- start the computer. Once the computer has
tion. fully restarted, reconnect Mbox 2.
When launching Pro Tools LE the first time, you For information on configuring the
are prompted to enter an authorization code to Mbox 2 CoreAudio Driver, see the CoreAu-
validate your software. dio Drivers Guide.
The demo session can be opened by double- To remove Pro Tools from your computer:
clicking the Filtered Dream.ptf file (located
1 Make sure you are logged in as an Administra-
in the Filtered Dream Demo Session folder).
tor for the account where Pro Tools is installed.
2 From your DVD drive, locate and open the Ad- Clean Uninstall Removes all Pro Tools files, in-
ditional Files/LE Session Templates Installer cluding system files, Digidesign plug-ins, and
folder. MIDI patch names.
4 Follow the onscreen instructions. 6 Enter your Administrator password and click
OK.
5 When prompted, select your audio drive as
the install location and click Next to begin the 7 Click Finish to close the Installer window.
install.
After you have connected your system and in- Shut down your Pro Tools system in this order:
stalled Pro Tools software, you are ready to start
1 Quit Pro Tools and any other running applica-
up and configure your Pro Tools system.
tions.
Start up your Pro Tools system in this order: 5 Turn off any control surfaces.
1 Lower the volume of all output devices in 6 Turn off any external hard drives.
your system.
Increasing the CPU Usage Limit may slow To enable RTAS error suppression:
down screen response on slower computers. 1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine.
To change the CPU Usage Limit: 2 Select Ignore Errors During Playback/Record.
To change the DAE Playback Buffer Size: 1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine.
1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine. 2 From the Cache Size pop-up menu, select a
disk cache size.
2 From the DAE Playback Buffer pop-up menu,
select a buffer size. Memory requirements for 3 Click OK.
each setting are shown at the bottom of the
Playback Engine dialog. System Memory Allocation
3 Click OK. When you start your computer, Pro Tools auto-
matically reserves a portion of system memory
If Pro Tools needs more system memory for the
for the DAE Playback Buffer. This reserved mem-
DAE Playback Buffer, it will prompt you to re-
ory is unavailable to other applications, even if
start your computer.
Pro Tools is not running.
2 Select the “Minimize System Memory Allocation” 2 From the Plug-in Streaming Buffer Size pop-up
option. menu, select a buffer size.
The Sample Rate setting appears as the default 1 Choose Setup > Hardware.
sample rate when you create a new session. 2 Choose the clock source from the Clock
(This setting is available in the Hardware Setup Source pop-up menu.
dialog only when no session is open.)
3 Click OK.
You can change the sample rate when creat-
ing a new Pro Tools session by selecting a Your digital input device must be connected
different sample rate in the New Session and powered on for Pro Tools to synchro-
dialog. (Refer to the Pro Tools Reference nize to it. If your input device is not powered
Guide for details.) on, leave the Clock Source set to Internal.
3 Click OK.
Clock Source
The Pro Tools Hardware Setup dialog lets you se-
lect the Clock Source for the system.
S/PDIF Use this setting if you are recording 2 Click the Input, Output, Insert, or Bus tab to
through the Mbox 2 S/PDIF inputs from an ex- display the corresponding connections.
ternal digital device. This setting will synchro-
nize Pro Tools to that digital device.
See the Pro Tools Reference Guide (or choose For Mac System Optimization, see “Opti-
Help > Pro Tools Reference Guide) for more mizing a Mac System for Pro Tools” on
information on renaming I/O paths. page 29.
2 Double-click System.
7 For each device, set the Transfer Mode to “DMA To disable ClearType font smoothing
(Windows XP):
if available,” and click OK.
1 Choose Start > Control Panel.
8 Repeat the above steps for any additional IDE
Channels. 2 Double-click Display.
9 Close the Device Manager window and then 3 Click the Appearance tab.
the System Properties window.
4 Click Effects.
Disabling System Standby and Power 5 Deselect “Use the following method to smooth
Management edges of screen fonts.”
When using Pro Tools, the Windows System 6 Click OK to save your settings and close the
4 Under the Performance section, click the Set- 5 Click Restart to restart the computer.
tings button.
Disabling the Spotlight Shortcuts 2 Select the volume in the left column of the
Disk Utility window.
The Mac OS X Spotlight feature uses the same
key commands Pro Tools uses to start recording 3 Click Enable Journaling in the toolbar.
(Command+Spacebar), and to record online
(Command+Option+Spacebar). If you want to
retain use of these key commands in Pro Tools,
these shortcuts must be disabled.
Input 1 Input 2
Headphone Monitor Mix
S/PDIF Level Level (Ratio)
Gain Source Gain Source
LED selector
Mono 48V selector
USB Peak Pad Peak Pad
LED LED LED
Headphone
Output
Mono 48V
LED LED Mic/DI LEDs Mic/DI LEDs
USB LED
The USB LED indicates that the Mbox 2 has re-
ceived power from its USB connection. Once the
USB light is on, audio can pass in or out of the
system.
it. Always turn off phantom power and wait unit into a more easily viewable angle when the
at least ten seconds before connecting or dis- Mbox 2 is placed on a desktop. The handle can
connecting a ribbon microphone. also be used to carry the unit.
The handle can also be replaced with the op-
When using phantom power, Mbox 2’s tional Mbox 2 faceplate panel. This panel lets
maximum current per microphone is 4 mA. Mbox 2 sit flat on a desktop, and reduces the
space required when packed for traveling.
If you are not sure about the phantom power re-
quirements for your microphone, consult your To replace the handle with the Mbox 2 panel:
microphone’s documentation or contact the
1 Unscrew the handle mounting screw located
manufacturer.
along the right edge of the handle (when view-
ing from the front).
Peak LEDs 2 Remove the handle.
These LEDs are clip indicators. If the Peak LEDs
3 Mount the replacement panel in position
flicker occasionally, the signal reaching Mbox 2
where the handle had been.
has clipped.
4 Secure the panel to the unit in its new position
using the same screw you removed in step 1.
Gain Controls
5 Repeat the above basic instructions to replace
These knobs adjust the input gain levels of the
the panel with the handle.
Mic/Line inputs.
Input 2 Input 1
(analog (analog
input 2) input 1)
The Mbox 2 back panel has the following fea- S/PDIF Digital I/O
tures:
The S/PDIF in and out ports are unbalanced two-
conductor phono (RCA) connectors that utilize
USB Port a full 24-bit, two-channel digital data stream.
This standard USB v1.1 connector is used to The Sony/Philips Digital Interface Format
connect your computer to the Mbox 2. One (S/PDIF) is used in many professional and con-
standard USB cable is included with your sys- sumer CD recorders and DAT recorders. To
tem. avoid RF interference, use 75-ohm coaxial cable
The Mbox 2 is compatible with USB 2.0 ports. for S/PDIF transfers and keep the cable length to
However, the USB 2.0 bus will switch to the a maximum of 10 meters.
slower USB v.1.1 speed to accommodate In use, the S/PDIF input channels are available
Mbox 2. in addition to the two channels of analog audio
input. This lets Mbox 2 be used as a 4-in/2-out
MIDI I/O digital audio interface for Pro Tools LE.
The MIDI In and MIDI Out ports are standard 5- The S/PDIF output channels always mirror the
pin MIDI ports, each providing 16 channels of main outs 1–2.
MIDI input and output.
On the front panel of the Mbox 2 is a 1/4-inch When connecting to a stereo system, connect
jack to connect headphones, and a headphone the left channel (often the white plug) to
level control to adjust headphone volume. Mon Out Left, and right channel (often the red
plug) to Mon Out Right.
Headphone level
Home stereo systems often use RCA
connectors. You can use an adaptor or
a special cable to convert from the TRS
or TS connectors used by Mbox 2 to the
RCA connectors on your home stereo.
1/4-inch
Headphone jack
Monitor Out Left
Headphone jack on front of Mbox 2
To connect headphones:
Connect headphones with a 1/4-inch stereo
DI Input 1 DI
LED
Input 1 selector switch and DI LED
DI Input 2 Input 1
LED (right channel) (left channel)
Source selector and Gain control for Input 1
sides. The Mono switch does not affect the Mic by pressing the Mic/DI switch until the Mic
audio being recorded. It only affects how LED is lit.
you hear your input to the Mbox 2. 3 On the front of the Mbox 2, turn the Mix con-
trol fully left to Input.
Mic
LED
Source selector and Gain control for Input 1
5 On the front of the Mbox 2, carefully turn the 1 Choose Setups > Hardware Setup.
Gain control to the right to increase the input 2 Choose S/PDIF from the Clock Source selector.
level of your keyboard. On the front panel, the S/PDIF LED lights to in-
dicate this setting.
Digital Input and Output 3 Click OK.
Mbox 2 provides digital inputs and outputs for 4 On the recording track, choose the appropri-
S/PDIF format digital audio. The two channels ate stereo or mono S/PDIF source from the track
of S/PDIF digital input can be used in combina- Input selector.
tion with the two analog inputs (for a total of
four simultaneous input channels). S/PDIF Mirroring
MIDI Out
MIDI In
Input 2 Input 1
(right channel) (left channel)
You can view an electronic PDF version of the To create a Pro Tools session:
Reference Guide by choosing it from the
1 Verify the connections between your Mbox 2
Pro Tools Help menu.
and your instrument or microphone.
This chapter uses analog inputs in its exam- For connection information, see Chapter 7,
ples of common tasks. To record digitally “Making Hardware Connections.”
through the Mbox 2 S/PDIF input, the steps
2 Launch Pro Tools.
are basically the same with the following
important exception: S/PDIF must be en- 3 Choose File > New Session.
abled as the Pro Tools Clock Source in the
4 In the New Session dialog, set the session pa-
Hardware Setup dialog. For more informa-
rameters as needed, or leave them at their de-
tion, see “Digital Input and Output” on
fault settings. (For details on New Session
page 43.
settings, see the Pro Tools Reference Guide.)
6 Type a name for your session. 7 Play the instrument or sound source at the
volume you will record.
7 Click Save.
8 Use the Gain controls to maximize the signal
To prepare an audio track for recording: going into Pro Tools while avoiding clipping.
1 Choose Track > New. Clipping occurs when you feed a signal to an
audio device that is louder than the circuitry
2 Specify 1 Mono Audio Track in Samples, if
can accept. To avoid clipping, adjust the out-
your source is mono, or 1 Stereo Audio Track in
put volume of the source device, then adjust
Samples, if your source is stereo.
the Mbox 2 Gain control. Adjust these two
levels so that the input Peak LEDs on the
front panel do not light red. (One Peak LED
is provided on the front panel for each input;
Peak LEDs light green when the input signal
Creating a new Stereo Audio track
is roughly –60 dBFS, light yellow at –6 dBFS,
3 Click Create. and will turn red to indicate the input signal
is at –0 dBFS (also known as “full code”).
A mono instrument uses one input on the
Mbox 2, and a stereo instrument uses two.
Creating a stereo track in Pro Tools will not
make a mono instrument into a stereo in-
strument. If a mono instrument is recorded
on a stereo track, one of the sides of the ste-
reo track will show no signal.
Record enabling a track in the Mix window 3 Click Stop in the Transport window or press
the Spacebar to stop playback.
2 Choose Track > Input Only Monitoring. This al-
lows you to monitor the input of tracks that are
record enabled.
Transport window
5 Drag the audio file from the Workspace If you are bouncing to 16-bit (CD resolution),
browser to the Track List in the Edit window to you should use a dither plug-in on the main out-
import the file to a new audio track. put. (For details, see the Pro Tools Reference
Guide.)
Make certain that you configure your CD Recording MIDI on an Instrument Track
burning application to create an audio CD
rather than a data CD. Pro Tools Instrument tracks provide both MIDI
and audio capabilities, so you can record MIDI
and monitor audio from software and hardware
instruments.
6 If you are using an external MIDI device and MIDI Velocity meter
have connected its audio output to your audio
interface for monitoring in Pro Tools, click the
Input selector of the Instrument track and MIDI meter in Instrument track showing MIDI activity
choose the corresponding audio input. (This 10 Adjust the audio output level of the Instru-
step is not necessary if you are using an instru- ment track with its Volume fader.
ment plug-in.)
Volume fader
2 In the Transport window, click Return to Zero 2 In the Transport window, click Return to Zero
to start recording from the beginning of the ses- to play back from the beginning of the track.
sion. You can also record to a selection in a track
3 Click Play in the Transport window to begin
or from the cursor location in the Edit window.
playback. The recorded MIDI data plays back
3 Click Record in the Transport window. through the track’s assigned instrument and
channel.
Return to Zero Fast Forward
Rewind Play Go to End
Online Stop Record
Transport window
Interface Controls
Create This button adds a new instrument to
the Instrument Name list.
I/O), in addition to the MIDI ports on Mbox 2, of your instrument, and press Enter.
the MIDI Studio setup window shows both the
If you do not enter an instrument name, the
DirectMusic time-stamped output ports, and
Instrument Name field will automatically
non-stamped duplicate emulated output ports.
inherit information from the Manufacturer
Some MIDI Interfaces will not properly load and Model pop-up menu.
or unload their drivers unless you quit and
4 Set a manufacturer and model for the new de-
re-launch Pro Tools. Check the documenta-
vice from the corresponding pop-up menus. If
tion that came with your MIDI interface for
the Manufacturer and Model pop-up menus do
more information.
not provide a name for your particular device,
choose None.
Instrument List
5 From the Input pop-up menu, choose the in-
The Instrument list contains all the currently
put port on your MIDI interface that is con-
defined instruments. Selecting an instrument in
nected to the MIDI Out of your instrument.
the list displays that instrument’s properties in
the Properties section of the window. 6 From the Output pop-up menu, choose the
output port on your MIDI interface that is con-
Properties Section nected to the MIDI In of your instrument.
The Properties section lets you edit information 7 Enable the appropriate MIDI channels (1–16)
for new instruments, or instrument currently se- for the Send Channels and Receive Channels
lected in the Instrument list. options (These determine which channels send
and receive MIDI.)
Instrument Name
Manufacturer
The Model pop-up menu provides a list of MIDI The Receive Channels grid sets the receive chan-
devices, filtered by the manufacturer name. This nels for the MIDI device specified in the Instru-
list is derived from the XML-based MIDI device ment Name field.
files provided with your Pro Tools installation.
MIDI Input selector. dio Setup window (see “MIDI Studio Setup” on
page 55).
Output Port
2 Verify the MIDI track’s output is correctly as-
The Output Port pop-up menu displays a list of signed to the MIDI device.
available MIDI interface output ports. The port
set and displayed here is the port through which
MIDI data is sent from your MIDI interface to
the MIDI device specified in the Instrument
Name field.
Send Channels
5 Click OK.
Always back up any important data on your Windows Windows XP systems should use drives
drive before formatting it, as it will erase all formatted as NTFS only.
data on the drive.
Windows systems can also support Mac
drives formatted with HFS+ system (also
commonly referred to as Mac OS Extended).
Avoid Recording to the Refer to the Pro Tools Reference Guide for
System Drive more information.
Recording to your system drive is not recom-
Mac Mac systems should use drives formatted
mended. Recording and playback on a system
with HFS+ or HFS file system only.
drive may result in lower track counts or fewer
plug-ins. HFS drives are supported as Transfer drives
only.
drives and a qualified SCSI host bus adapter 2 Right-click Computer (Windows Vista) or My
(HBA) card or (on Windows systems) a qualified Computer (Windows XP) and choose Manage.
built-in SCSI HBA connector on the mother-
board. 3 Under Storage, choose Disk Management.
For complete information on track count and Disk Management window (Windows XP)
the supported number and configuration of 4 If the volume is “Healthy,” do the following:
FireWire drives, visit the Digidesign website
(www.digidesign.com). Healthy volumes are volumes that have pre-
viously been partitioned and formatted.
IDE/ATA/SATA Hard Drives
• In the Disk Management window, right-
A qualified internal IDE/ATA/SATA drive may be click the hard drive you will use for audio
used as a dedicated audio drive. and choose Format.
• In the Format window, name the volume.
For complete information on track count with
• Choose a file system. For optimum perfor-
internal drives, refer to the Digidesign website
mance, audio drives should be formatted as
(www.digidesign.com).
NTFS.
• Select “Perform a quick format.”
• Make sure “Enable file and folder compres-
Formatting an Audio Drive sion” is not selected.
• Set the Allocation unit size to Default.
Formatting Windows Audio Drives
• Click OK.
(Windows Only)
Pro Tools only supports Basic drive types.
For optimal performance, audio drives should
Do not convert the drive to a Dynamic type.
be formatted as NTFS.
sion” is not selected. 3 Select the drive you want to initialize in the
• Set the Allocation unit size to Default. column on the left side of the window.
• Click OK.
4 Choose the Mac OS Extended (Journaled) for-
mat.
Pro Tools only supports Basic drive types.
Do not convert the drive to a Dynamic type. Do not choose the “Case-Sensitive” format
option. Pro Tools will not operate properly
Formatting Mac Audio Drives
with case-sensitive formatted drives.
(Mac Only)
5 Type a name for the new volume.
For optimum performance, audio drives should
6 If you plan to connect the drive to a Mac OS 9
be formatted as Mac OS Extended (Journaled).
computer, select Install Mac OS 9 Drivers.
7 Click Erase.
If you use your system for intensive editing, or if 5 Click Open Disk Defragmenter.
you frequently delete audio or fade files from
6 In the Disk Defragmenter window, click the
your hard drive, you may need to optimize your
Defragment Now button.
drives on a weekly basis, or even every few days,
since it doesn’t take long for even a large hard The Defragment Now command defrag-
drive to become fragmented. ments all your hard drives. This can take a
lot of time, especially on systems with mul-
Backing Up Data Before Optimizing tiple drives.
Since your files will be rewritten by the optimi-
Advanced users can use the command line
zation process, always make a backup copy of
tool Defrag.exe to defragment individual
the data on your hard drive before you optimize
drives. See your Windows Vista documen-
it. You should also use a hard drive utility to find
tation for more information.
and repair any problems before optimizing data
or re-initializing your drives. If there is any dam- To defragment an audio drive (Windows XP):
age to your hard drive's directories prior to opti-
mizing, serious data loss may result. 1 Right-click My Computer and choose Man-
age.
Table 4. Required hard drive space for audio tracks (44.1 kHz and 48 kHz sessions shown)
Troubleshooting
Troubleshooting 69
Audio Interface Is Not Recognized
Common Issues
Problem
Pro Tools Won’t Launch
When you launch Pro Tools it does not recog-
nize an audio interface, or a connected audio in-
Problem
terface is not available.
When you double-click the Pro Tools applica-
tion or a Pro Tools session file, Pro Tools doesn’t Possible Solutions
launch, or displays an error message.
For the following possible solutions, refer to
Possible Solutions your Getting Started Guide.
Check to be sure your computer has the re-
Turn off your computer and check to be sure
quired amount of RAM to launch Pro Tools. See
your cables are properly and securely connected
the latest compatibility information on the
to your computer and to your audio interface.
Digidesign website (www.digidesign.com).
Verify that your Hardware Setup dialog set-
Try a complete restart. Turn off your audio in-
tings are correct.
terfaces, computer peripherals and your com-
puter, and then turn them on again in the
proper sequence.
If you tried to launch Pro Tools by double-
Performance Factors
clicking a Pro Tools session file, do the follow- There are several conditions that may adversely
ing: affect the performance of Pro Tools. These in-
• Close any error message. clude:
• Double-click the Pro Tools application.
Network Connections Close any network con-
• In Pro Tools, choose File > Open Session to nections unless you are using them for network
open the session. interchange of audio data.
Reinstall the Pro Tools application, using the
Background Applications Any software utilities
Pro Tools Installer disc. See your Getting Started
that run in the background or generate disk ac-
Guide or Pro Tools Upgrading Guide for installa-
tivity, such as virus protection, disk optimiza-
tion instructions.
tion, or file savers, should be turned off or re-
moved.
Troubleshooting 71
Other Hardware
Other Software
Diagnostic Information
Note any DAE errors or other error codes you en-
counter. Additonally, note the ability to repro-
duce the problem under different conditions,
for example, with another session, or after
changing settings (such as the Hardware Buffer
Size).
A E
ASIO driver (Windows) 12 Energy Saver (Mac), turning off 29
audio
digital connections 43 F
audio drivers FireWire requirements 64
ASIO driver (Windows) 12
CoreAudio driver (Mac) 17
WaveDriver (Windows) 12
G
Audio MIDI Setup (AMS) (Macintosh) 59 gain
headphones 32
authorizing Pro Tools LE
input 33
Mac 17
Windows 11
H
C hard drives
drive formats 63
Cache Size 23
FireWire requirements 64
ClearType font smoothing (Windows), disabling 27
formatting 64, 65
Clock Source 25 formatting (Mac) 65
and digital output 38 IDE/ATA requirements 64
Internal setting 25 maintenance 63, 66
S/PDIF (digital) setting 25 optimizing 67
connecting Mbox 2 partitioning 66
Mac 16 requirements 5
Windows 9 SCSI requirements 64
CoreAudio driver (Mac) 17 space requirements 68
CPU Usage Limit 22 Hardware Buffer Size 20
headphones
D gain control 32
DAE Playback Buffer Size 22 output 31
Dashboard shortcut (Mac), disabling 30
DigiTranslator software option 10, 16
DMA option (Windows), enabling 26
drive formatting
Mac 65
Windows 64, 65
drive maintenance 63
drive requirements 5
Index 73
I monitoring
I/O Setup when overdubbing 32
Windows 25 zero latency 32
IDE/ATA requirements 64 mono switch 32
indicators
peak level 33 N
phantom power 33 network cards (Windows), disabling 28
S/PDIF 31 network connections 70
USB connection 31
input and output connectors 34
O
inputs
optimizing hard drives 67
analog 35
outputs
digital 34
digital 34
gain 33
Monitor outputs 35
monitoring 32
S/PDIF mirroring 43
installing Pro Tools LE
Mac 15
Windows 9 P
installing QuickTime (Windows) 10 partitioning hard drives 66
Patch Select dialog
J Macintosh 62
Windows 58
journaling (Mac), enabling 30
peak indicators 33
phantom power 40
K indicator 33
key commands 6 when to use 33, 39
Playback Engine
L RTAS Processors setting 21
latency Plug-in Streaming Buffer 24
see monitoring Plug-in Streaming Buffer Size 24
plug-ins
M RTAS Processors setting 21
Mbox 2 power
back panel 34 management settings (Windows) 27
connecting (Mac) 16 Pro Tools
connecting (Windows) 9 demo session (Windows) 12, 17
features 4 removing (Windows) 13, 18
front panel 31 session templates (Windows) 12, 18
removing the handle 33 Pro Tools LE
MIDI capabilities 4
connections 43 configuration (Windows) 20
requirements 5 installing (Mac) 15
setup (Macintosh) 59 installing (Windows) 9
setup (Windows) 55 processor performance (Mac) 29
MIDI Input Selector 51 Processor Scheduling performance (Windows) 28
MIDI Studio Setup (MSS) (Windows) 55
mix control (Mbox 2) 32
Index 75
www.digidesign.com