AVID Pro Tools Tutorial - 'Getting Started' Series, Lesson 4

Today's Topic: Download & Install

Date Written: March 27, 2024

Computer Environment Used for This Tutorial

Apple MAC Studio M1 Max, 32GB (2022)
13.6.4 Ventura
Pro Tools Ultimate 2024.03

The Mac OS is set to English. Pro Tools will also be covered in English.

Playback Engine, Hardware

Today's topic covers the Playback Engine and Hardware settings, which are among the fundamentals required to operate Pro Tools.

Hardware

Hardware refers to the audio interface currently connected to Pro Tools.

If the interface is not one that is directly integrated with Pro Tools, it will be configured in a way that allows you to open the Setup program for that particular device.

For interfaces that are compatible and integrated with Pro Tools, you can view each device's individual settings window like this.

Since we are using the AVID Pro Tools - Carbon, you can see the Carbon interface settings window displayed in this manner.

In the case of the Pro Tools Carbon interface, you can see monitor settings, input/output configuration, and more.

Playback Engine

The Playback Engine is where you select the audio interface to use and configure options such as Buffer Size and other settings.

For that reason, under normal circumstances, this is a menu you should pay attention to before the Hardware settings.

The menu is fairly intuitive, but let me give you a brief explanation.

Playback Engine: This is the audio driver that Pro Tools will use. Some sequencers allow you to set the input and output differently, but Pro Tools does not currently support that configuration.

H/W Buffer Size: This is the hardware Buffer Size. The lower the number, the lower the latency. Since Pro Tools Carbon has DSP, it is perfectly fine to maintain a high sample count at all times regardless of whether you are recording.

Optimizations

Ignore Errors During Playback/Records for

This setting determines whether to stop playback and recording when an error occurs, or to forcibly continue. If you are working on something critically important where only a single take is possible (such as a live performance), it may be worth enabling this on the Main Playback Engine as well — but in most other cases, you would want to stop and redo it. (Studio scenario)

AUX I/O is a virtual driver and I/O port in Pro Tools that allows you to use other input/output sources. Since it is used for purposes like Loopback, it is a good idea to keep it enabled.

Dynamic Plug-in Processing

This option helps use computer resources more efficiently by activating plug-ins only when they are actually in use. It is recommended to keep this enabled.

Optimize Performance at Low Buffer Sizes

This option provides a modest improvement to plug-in performance when the H/W Buffer Size set above is kept low.

Limit Number of Real-Time Threads

This is used to limit CPU activity, and there is generally no need to enable it.

Disk Playback

Cache Size: This determines whether to use more memory or rely more on disk. Unless you are using an HDD, Normal is sufficient.

Things to Watch Out For

It is not an especially critical issue, but in order to run Pro Tools properly, you need to make sure the correct Playback Engine is selected before starting your session.

Beginners often find themselves wondering, "Why isn't there any sound?" quite frequently.

As you can see, a wide variety of devices can appear — such as the actual audio interface, monitors connected via HDMI, webcams, virtual audio drivers, and more — so make sure to select the correct interface.

Closing Thoughts

In the next lesson, we will take a look at the basic settings in Pro Tools.

Thank you.