Video Options with Pro Tools 6 for Mac OS X
AVoption|XL with Pro Tools|HD Accel, Pro Tools|HD, and Pro Tools|24 MIX Systems
Firewire Playback of Quicktime DV Movies
Canopus ADVC-100
Pro Tools 6 adds support for Firewire Playback of QuickTime DV Movies to all Pro Tools 6 TDM and Pro Tools LE Mac OS X systems. (previously only available for Pro Tools|HD systems)
With the addition of an external DV transcoder (decoder), you can play QuickTime DV Movies out through your computer's Firewire port. These can include QuickTime movies exported from Avid XPressDV. Pro Tools 6 supports the Canopus ADVC-100 for playback of Quicktime DV movies via the Firewire port. This card supports both NTSC and PAL rates, and can record audio simultaneously with video. QuickTime DV performance may vary, depending on the specifics of your system and projects. Additionally, please note that scrubbing to location is currently unsupported due to Firewire related movie sync offset mismatch.
To digitize Quicktime DV video for use with Pro Tools, any application that can properly create DV25 Quicktime movies can be used. We have tested digitized files from Avid XpressDV 3.5 and Final Cut Pro 3.0, each using FireWire input or analog capture using the Canopus ADVC-100. The Canopus supports composite or S-Video inputs as well as clock locked analog audio inputs via RCA connectors.
Firewire offsets vary depending on machine and OS. You will need to fine tune your system's offset by entering an appropriate value in the movie sync offset window (found in the movie menu).
The FireWire DV output with Canopus using the Digi 002 or Digi 002 Rack is qualified only with a Power Mac G4 or G5 using a third-party FireWire PCI card for the DV output. With a PowerBook G4 or iBook G4, FireWire DV performance with a Canopus varies between CPUs. To improve performance on any of these configurations, copy the movie file to a non-FireWire drive and relink the session to the new location.
Other transcoders will work with Pro Tools, but Digidesign has not qualified them, and your performance may vary.
See the Pro Tools Reference Guide, Chapter 36 for additional information on Firewire playback of QuickTime DV Movies and exporting QuickTime DV from Avid XPressDV.
Quicktime Composite Video Output
ATI Radeon 8500 Macintosh Edition
The ATI Radeon 8500 Macintosh Edition display card has been qualified with Pro Tools 6.0.1 and higher TDM systems on Mac OS X.
- Using the second port for Quicktime Composite Video output
- S-Video out (composite video adapter included)
Known Issues
- Qualified for video playback when using Firewire drives for audio recording in Pro Tools
- Not qualified for video playback when using SCSI drives for audio recording in Pro Tools
Product Information
Video Capture Cards
Aurora Igniter LT/IgniterX Lite
Pro Tools|HD Accel and Pro Tools|HD Systems
The Aurora Igniter LT/IgniterX Lite video capture card has been qualified with Pro Tools|HD systems with Pro Tools software version 6.0.1 and higher on Mac OS X. The IgniterX driver version 6.1 or higher is required for Mac OS X 10.3 "Panther".
Pro Tools|24 MIX Systems
The IgniterX driver version 6.0.5 or higher is required for Pro Tools|24 MIX systems on Mac OS X 10.2.3 and higher.
IgniterX Drivers for OSX Version 6.0.5 - September 9, 2003
- Improved External Video (vout) performance in RGB mode.
- Improved compatibility with ProTools™ by eliminating the ProTools™ -6042 (PCI BUS too busy error) induced by Igniter™ screen draws on slower systems, and older audio hardware.
- Download Driver Updates for Mac OS X
Please Note: Digidesign has not fully tested these drivers, but Aurora lists the performance improvements above, which may alleviate problems with MIX systems and improve overall performance on OS X with both Pro Tools|24 MIX and Pro Tools|HD systems.
Pro Tools|24 systems have not been tested with the Aurora Igniter LT/IgniterX Lite video capture cards.
Recommended Settings - All Systems
- 1,000 k per second limitation when digitizing video
- Uncheck "mirror on desktop" in the Aurora Ignition Control software
Product Information
- Aurora Igniter LT & IgniterX Lite
- Free Software Upgrade from Igniter LT to IgniterX software for Mac OS X
Sony DV Devices
The following devices have been qualified with Pro Tools LE 6.0.2 higher for Digi 002 & Digi 002 Rack Systems:
Camcorders
- DCR TRV-530 Digital 8
- DCR TRV-103 Digital 8
Pro DV decks
- DSR-1500A
- DSR-40
With Pro Tools LE 6.0.2 and 6.1 for Digi 002 and Digi 002 Rack systems, the above Sony DV devices and Canopus ADVC-100 were tested and approved with NTSC DV output. (PAL not tested)