Pro Tools|HD for Mac OS X — Hard Drive Minimum Requirements

Storage Overview

Storage requirements have not changed from previous versions of Pro Tools. As with all Pro Tools systems, drive performance depends on a number of factors, including track count, edit density, CPU speed, single or dual processors, and the use of crossfades or processing like Beat Detective. For sessions with high edit density, we recommend the following configurations. Testing has been conducted using Digidesign's DigiDrives and Avid MediaDrives. Performance with other drives may vary.

  • Dedicated audio drive or drives (internal or external). Recording to or playback from system drives is not supported.
  • Support for SATA, IDE/ATA and Firewire drives, listed below.
  • When using QuickTime movies with Pro Tools|HD systems, for reliable performance of 16 or more audio tracks, video should be stored on a separate drive.

Disk Performance and the Mac OS X 10.3 Journaled File System

Mac OS X 10.3 incorporates a journaled file system, which will automatically log any file modifications. If your computer crashes badly enough to require a restart (or a restart from a power failure), the OS will then use the journal to aid in fixing any disk problems caused by the crash. Because any write to the disk will also incur a journal update, this will slightly slow down disk performance.

Mac OS X 10.3 ships with journaling on by default. Digidesign recommends that customers format their media drives with journaling turned off. If you are using Apple's Disk Utility program to format drives, choose "Mac OS Extended" format, instead of "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)".

If you wish to turn off journaling on your boot drive as well, perform the following steps:

  1. Run the Apple Disk Utility
  2. In the main window, select the boot volume
  3. From the File menu, choose "Disable Journaling"

Note that this will slow recovery if your system has to be rebooted to recover from a kernel panic or power failure.

Optional Digidesign & Avid Storage

  • Avid MediaDrive rS80
  • Avid MediaDrive rS36/320 LVD
  • Avid MediaDrive rS73/320 LVD
  • Avid MediaDock iS36/320 LVD Shuttle
  • Avid MediaDock iS73/320 LVD Shuttle
  • Avid MediaDock Dual
  • Avid MediaDock Dual+
  • DigiDrive MediaDock
  • DigiDrive FireWire 80
  • DigiDrive SCSI Drives
  • SCSI-128 Kit (ATTO Express PCI-UL3D), qualified up to 192 tracks @48kHz using Avid 5th generation drives with OS X 10.3.2 and ATTO driver 3.0.2
  • SCSI-64 Kit (ATTO Express PCI-DC), qualified for 64 tracks @48kHz with G4 only - is not compatible with any Power Mac G5

SCSI Hard Drives

  • SCSI interface: Wide single-ended or low-voltage differential (LVD or Ultra 160)
  • Disk drive rotational speed: 10,000 RPM or faster
  • Buffer Size: 512K or larger

Additional SCSI Requirements for Pro Tools Systems

Disk Formatting

  • Mac OS file system: Mac OS Standard (HFS) or Mac OS Extended (HFS+)
  • Mac OS Extended (HFS+) strongly recommended
  • Supported formatting utility: Apple Disk Utility, included with Mac OS X
    1. Open from the following location: Applications->Utilities->Disk Utility, or in the Apple Menu when booted from the OS X installation CD.
    2. Select FireWire drive from the list on the left
    3. Choose either the Erase or Partition tab
    4. Choose Mac OS Extended*
    5. If you plan on using your drive on both Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X, check the box next to "Install Mac OS 9 Drivers".
    6. Note: partitioning is not an option using the Erase command. To increase performance and improve seek time Digidesign recommends that you allocate a portion of your hard drive for recording. In Pro Tools, Choose Setups/Preferences and click Operation. Under the Open Ended Record Allocation option, select Limit To and enter a number of minutes to be allocated.

*Also known as HFS+. Do not choose Mac OS Extended (Journaled) for record and playback drives. (see above)

ATTO Utilities

ATTO ExpressPCI Configuration Tool

You must install this if you are using a Digidesign SCSI64, Digidesign SCSI|128, ATTO EPCI-DC or ATTO EPCI-UL3D SCSI Host Bus Adapter card with a Mac OS X system.

The cards listed above control the flow of SCSI data to and from your computer, and they must have the proper firmware and be set correctly for maximum performance. If you are using one of these cards, you will need the ExpressPCI Configuration Tool. The ATTO ExpressPCI Configuration Tool can be downloaded from the ATTO website:

The Configuration Tool will allow you to update your firmware and set up your SCSI host bus adapter correctly. For important information on how to update your firmware for Pro Tools 6.2.3/6.4 for Mac OS X 10.3 "Panther" compatibility, please see the ATTO Utilities Read Me:

Supported SCSI Cards and Settings

Hard Drives

Hard drive families from the following manufacturers are recommended:

Manufacturer Drive Family
Digidesign DigiDrive*
Avid rS, iS Plus, iS Pro
Seagate Cheetah, Barracuda
IBM Ultrastar

* First generation DigiDrives are not supported in LVD mode

Notes

  • Pro Tools has a single audio file size limit of 2048MB. This equates to about 4.5 hours at 24-bit, 44.1 kHz.
  • High Speed Drives require manufacturer-approved enclosure to ensure correct heat dissipation, required for sustained drive reliability.

Storage Stats

Approximate Storage Consumption (Megabytes per Minute per Track)

Sample Rate (kHz)
44.1
48
96
192
16-Bit — MB per Min
5
5.5
11
22
24-Bit — MB per Min
7.5
8
16
32

As with all Pro Tools systems, drive performance depends on a number of factors, including track count, edit density, and the use of crossfades or processing like Beat Detective. For sessions with high edit density, we recommend the following configurations. Testing has been conducted using Digidesign DigiDrives and Avid MediaDrives. Performance with other drives may vary.

SCSI Drives — Approximate Track Counts for Power Mac G4, Dual 1.25 GHz model
(slower G4 models may have lower track/voice counts)

SCSI Drives
44.1/48 kHz
96 kHz
192 kHz
No Chassis or With 64-bit Chassis
192 kHz
With 32-bit Chassis
6
192
96
36
20
4
128
64
24
16
2
64
32
12
12
1
32
16
6
6

SCSI Drives — Approximate Track Counts for Power Mac G5

Avid MediaDrive rS73/320 LVD
44.1/48 kHz
96 kHz
192 kHz
No Chassis
192 kHz
With 64-bit Chassis
6
192
96
36
24
4
128
64
24
24
2
64
32
12
12
1
32
16
6
6

SATA Hard Drives

SATA drives are qualified for up to 32 tracks at 44.1/48 kHz with Pro Tools|HD and Pro Tools|HD Accel systems on Power Mac G5 models.

IDE/ATA Hard Drives

IDE/ATA drives meeting the following requirements are qualified for up to 32 tracks at 44.1/48 kHz with Pro Tools TDM systems:

FireWire Hard Drives

FireWire drives are fully qualified with Pro Tools|HD and Pro Tools|HD Accel systems on qualified Power Mac G4 models and the first generation G5 dual and single processor models with Mac OS X 10.3.2 and 10.3.4. Mac OS X 10.3.5 has been qualified ONLY with the newest dual 2.0 and 2.5 GHz Power Mac G5 (models M9455 and M9457)

The DigiDrive FireWire 80 and Avid MediaDrive rS80 have been qualified with Pro Tools|HD and Pro Tools|HD Accel systems for the following:

  • Supported track count (per drive): 24 tracks per drive at 48 KHz/24-bit @ 2000ms edit density
  • Maximum 8 drives for a total of 192 tracks at 48 KHz/24-bit @ 2000ms edit density
  • Pro Tools|HD Accel systems: maximum 192 tracks

FireWire Drives — Approximate Track Counts:

MediaDrive rS80
DigiDrive FireWire 80

44.1/48 kHz
96 kHz
192 kHz
1
24
12
6
2
48
24
12
3
72
36
18
4
96
48
24
5
120
60
30
6
128
72
36
8
192*
96
36

* Track/voice count at 44.1/48 kHz may vary depending on CPU speed and processor count.

For more information and specific requirements for using FireWire drives, see FireWire Drive Requirements

Known Issues - Hard Drives & Pro Tools 6

32-Bit vs. 64-Bit Chassis

  • With a 32-bit expansion chassis, a –6042 error will occur at 192 kHz Sample Rate when playing over 20 tracks. The qualified 64-bit chassis will allow up to 36 tracks @ 192 kHz on Power Mac G4, and up to 24 tracks @ 192 kHz on Power Mac G5.

Important Note About Mixing Drive Types With Pro Tools|HD Systems

  • You cannot spread audio files from one session across different types of drives. For example, if you have a session with audio files on SCSI drives, you cannot record or play back Pro Tools files from an IDE/ATA or firewire drive. (this applies to audio files only, video can be on a different type of drive, or the same type of drive as the audio files in a session)

FW800 Drives - Currently Not Supported with Pro Tools on Mac OS X 10.3 (Panther)

  • A single FW800 drive was qualified with Pro Tools 6.2 on Mac OS X 10.2.8 only, and not tested with later Pro Tools releases. Multiple daisy-chained FW800 drives are not currently supported with any Pro Tools release.

FW800 Drive — Approximate Track Count with Pro Tools 6.2:

FW800 Drive

44.1/48 kHz
96 kHz
192 kHz
1
32
16
8

 


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