Pro Tools|HD & Pro Tools|HD Accel Systems

Requirements for Pro Tools|HD 1, HD 2, HD 3, HD 2 Accel, and HD 3 Accel Systems

With Pro Tools 6.9.2 & 6.9.3* for Mac OS X Version 10.4 "Tiger"

*Pro Tools 6.9.3 has the same features as Pro Tools 6.9.2, but ships with and provides support for the new D-Control Surround Panner option for ICON Integrated Console systems.

Compatibility Alert — New Power Mac G5: PCI Express Information

All 3 new Power Mac G5 models announced by Apple on October 19, 2005 use PCI Express (PCI-e) slots, which are not compatible with any current Digidesign PCI cards (Pro Tools|HD Core, HD Accel), HD Process cards, Digidesign 64-bit Expansion Chassis, ATTO UL3D, or any hardware that requires PCI or PCI-X slots. For more information on upcoming PCI Express-compatible Pro Tools|HD Core and Pro Tools|HD Accel cards, please see the following announcement in the News section:

Digidesign PCI Cards Supplied with System

Pro Tools|HD 1 System

  • HD Core

Pro Tools|HD 2 Accel System

  • HD Core
  • HD Accel

Pro Tools|HD 3 Accel System

  • HD Core
  • HD Accel
  • HD Accel

Other Card Options

Digidesign HD Audio Interfaces (one required)

  • 192 I/O
  • 192 Digital I/O
  • 96 I/O
  • 96i I/O

Optional HD Cables - DigiSnakes & DigiLink

Digidesign Software Compatibility

  • Pro Tools 6.9.2/6.9.3 TDM software for HD systems on Mac OS X version 10.4 (Tiger)
  • Pro Tools software will not work without Digidesign hardware

Included and Optional Plug-Ins:

Optional Digidesign Hardware

Digidesign Control Surfaces

  • Command|8
  • Control|24
  • D-Command
    • D-Command Fader Pack
  • D-Control
    • With up to 80 Faders
    • D-Control Surround Panner (included Pro Tools 6.9.3 software required)
    • Dual Processor G5 & 2 GB RAM Required
  • ProControl
    • Fader Pack (up to 5)
    • Edit Pack

Control Surfaces & MIDI Interfaces

PCI Expansion Chassis

Pro Tools|HD Interfaces & Peripherals

Legacy Digidesign Audio Interfaces

Connect 1 or 2* to a single 192 I/O, 192 Digital I/O, or 96 I/O Legacy Port:

  • 888|24 I/O
  • 882|20 I/O

Connect all 16 channels to a single 192 I/O, 192 Digital I/O, or 96 I/O Legacy Port:

  • 1622 I/O

Connect 8 channels or 16 channels* to a single 192 I/O, 192 Digital I/O, or 96 I/O Legacy Port:

  • 24-Bit ADAT Bridge I/O

* Requires "Y" cable adapter

Optional Digidesign & Avid Storage

  • Avid MediaDrive rS300/320 LVD
  • Avid MediaDrive rS146/320 LVD
  • Avid MediaDrive rS73/320 LVD
  • Avid MediaDrive rS36/320 LVD
  • Avid MediaDock Shuttle iS146/320 LVD
  • Avid MediaDock Shuttle iS73/320 LVD
  • Avid MediaDock Shuttle iS36/320 LVD
  • Avid MediaDock Dual
  • Avid MediaDock Dual+
  • Avid MediaDrive rS80
  • DigiDrive MediaDock
  • DigiDrive FireWire 80
  • DigiDrive SCSI Drives
  • SCSI-128 Kit (includes ATTO Express PCI-UL3D, qualified for up to 192 tracks @48 kHz on Pro Tools|HD Accel systems)

Not compatible with Power Mac G5 or tested with Pro Tools 6.9 and higher:

  • SCSI-64 Kit/ATTO Express PCI-DC

Important Information for Avid rs80 and rs250 Users on Mac OS X

Video Options

  • Avid Mojo
  • Canopus ADVC-100 DV Transcoder
  • Canopus ADVC-110 DV Transcoder

See the Video Options page for more information on all of the above.

Not Yet Tested With Pro Tools 6.9.2/6.9.3 for Mac OS 10.4:

  • Aurora Igniter LT/IgniterX Lite

June 1, 2005 - Aurora Video Systems has released the following new driver:

This driver has not been tested with Pro Tools|HD Accel and Pro Tools|HD systems for Mac OS 10.4. Compatibility information will be posted here when testing has been completed.

Not Tested with Pro Tools 6.9 and higher:

  • ATI Radeon 8500 Macintosh Edition
  • ATI Radeon 9800 Pro Mac Special

See the Video Options page for more information about the above cards.

Not Compatible With Pro Tools 6.9.2/6.9.3 for Mac OS

AVoption|V10

AVoption|V10 is only compatible with Windows XP

AVoption|XL

AVoption|XL is not compatible with Pro Tools 6.4 and higher. Do not install Pro Tools 6.4 or higher on an AVoption|XL system.

Supported CPU Models & Requirements

System Software

Pro Tools 6.9.2 or higher is required for the Mac OS X version 10.4 "Tiger" operating system. Earlier versions of Pro Tools will not work on Mac OS 10.4.

System RAM Requirements

  • 512 MB minimum
  • 1 GB (1024 MB) or more highly recommended

1 GB or more recommended for sessions with:

  • Large amounts of audio, large DSP engines, high edit density, or large DigiBase databases
  • A large number of installed plug-ins
  • Options like MachineControl and DigiTranslator

2 GB minimum required for Pro Tools 6.9.2/6.9.3 with:

  • D-Control
  • Avid Mojo

More RAM increases overall system and Pro Tools performance. OS X does not require minimum or preferred RAM settings for Pro Tools as RAM is dynamically allocated.

Additional Requirements

Monitor

  • Color monitor required
  • Minimum resolution of 1024 x 768
  • 17" or larger recommended if using external monitor

QuickTime Required

  • Apple QuickTime 7
  • Included with Mac OS X 10.4

Storage

Pro Tools 6.9.2 Information

Download Updates

for Mac OS 10.3.8 (Panther)

After updating either Pro Tools or your Mac OS, always run Disk Utility and "Repair Permissions" on the startup drive.

Digidesign CoreAudio Driver

Energy Saver Settings

Pro Tools Does Not Support Sleep Mode

In the Macintosh System Preferences, launch Energy Saver, click the Sleep tab, and disable all Sleep features. Set "Put the computer to sleep when it is inactive" to Never. Do not manually put your computer to sleep when running Pro Tools.

Processor Performance & Power Mac G5

For optimal Pro Tools performance, you must set Processor Performance (located in System Preferences > Energy Saver > Options) to "Highest". Updating your Mac OS may reset this to the default setting: "Automatic". After updating your Mac OS, check to make sure this is set to "Highest".

Apple's Mac OS help documentation provides the following info on Energy Saver Processor settings:

  • The PowerPC G5 processor in your Power Mac G5 can run at various speeds. The default setting for this feature is "Automatic", which allows the system to run the processor at full speed when required, and at a lower speed during periods of light processing activity. Certain real-time applications, such as audio creation or gaming, may perform optimally when using the highest processor performance setting. You can change the processor performance setting in the Energy Saver pane of System Preferences.

Additional Information

Pro Tools|HD Product Info

For more information, see the Pro Tools 6 documents in the Support > Tech Support > Technical Document Library section. Also included with new systems and Pro Tools 6 upgrade CDs.