Optional Digidesign Software - Pro Tools | HD Systems

Optional Digidesign Software - Pro Tools|HD Systems

Pro Tools 5.3.1 for Mac OS 9

Note: A Digidesign-qualified external diskette drive (USB floppy drive) is required for some software installations when used with qualified Apple Powermac G4 (AGP) models. Exceptions such as serial or iLok license card authorization are pointed out below.

For a list of plug-ins from Digidesign & Digidesign Development Partners, see the Digidesign Pro Tools|HD Plug-In Compatibility Reference in the Developers section & the Pro Tools|HD Plug-In Finder in the Products section of the website. Check with individual plug-in manufacturers for compatibility information with their plug-ins and your system.

DigiRack Plug-Ins

The following DigiRack Plug-Ins are included with all Pro Tools|HD for Mac systems:

  • D-Verb
  • D-Verb A/S
  • DirectConnect
  • Dither
  • Dynamics II
  • EQ II
  • Invert/Duplicate
  • Mod Delay
  • Mod Delay II
  • Normalize/Gain Change
  • Reverse/DC Removal
  • Signal Generator
  • Stereo Mixer
  • Stereo Dithered Mixer
  • Surround Mixer
  • Surround Dithered Mixer
  • Time Comp-Exp/Pitch Shift
  • Trim
  • TimeAdjuster

Plug-In Formats

Pro Tools TDM software supports the following Plug-In formats:

TDM

Digidesign's Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) technology is the foundation of the Pro Tools professional mixing environment, providing 24-bit mixing and real-time digital signal processing (DSP) capabilities. TDM Plug-Ins use the dedicated hardware of TDM systems, which offer easy expandability — you can add TDM plug-ins up to the DSP capacity of your system, no matter how many edits or how much automation you have in a session. If you need more DSP, simply add another DSP Farm or MIX Farm card.

HTDM

Host Time Division Multiplexing (HTDM) Plug-Ins represent a hybrid of TDM and RTAS technologies. HTDM Plug-Ins provide all the logistical functionality of standard TDM Plug-Ins, but, like RTAS Plug-Ins, they allow for all the processing to be done on the host. In so doing, HTDM Plug-Ins offer two primary benefits: The resources of the Pro Tools Core and/or Farm DSP chips remain available for other tasks; and, despite running on the host, HTDM Plug-Ins can be instantiated on any track, a characteristic previously confined to TDM Plug-Ins only. HTDM Plug-Ins will only work with the following systems:

  • Pro Tools|HD systems for Macintosh or Windows XP
  • Pro Tools MIX systems with Pro Tools 5.1.1 for Macintosh or higher
  • Pro Tools MIX systems for Windows XP and Windows 2000 with Pro Tools 5.3.1 or higher

For more information, see the HTDM Q & A

Real-Time AudioSuite (RTAS)

Real-Time AudioSuite Plug-Ins are host-based processors, using the computer's processing power to do their job. Functionally, RTAS Plug-Ins offer many of the real-time benefits of TDM Plug-Ins. They are fully automatable, their parameters can change in real time, and their effects are not permanently written to the audio file. Since they are host-based, RTAS Plug-Ins require trade-offs between track and plug-in count, edit density and amount of mix automation in a session.

AudioSuite

AudioSuite Plug-Ins provide file-based processing, meaning they process or alter the sound file and create a new file with the processed sound. The resulting effect is applied to the entire file. AudioSuite Plug-Ins are great for conserving DSP power and certain types of processing where there is no real-time benefit or application, such as normalization and noise reduction.