Video Options with Pro Tools Systems for Mac OS X

Firewire Playback of Quicktime DV Movies

Avid Mojo

Pro Tools 6.9.x and Pro Tools HD 7 support Avid Mojo on qualified Pro Tools|HD and Pro Tools|HD Accel systems on Mac OS X.

Media Station|PT 1.8.2 for Pro Tools HD 7 Now Available

Canopus ADVC-100 DV Transcoder and Canopus ADVC-110 DV Transcoder

Pro Tools supports Firewire Playback of QuickTime DV Movies with all Pro Tools|HD, Pro Tools TDM, and Pro Tools LE Mac OS X 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 and Canapus ADVC 110 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 unsupported due to Firewire related latency issues.

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.

QuickTime movie offsets are required when using external FireWire transcoders. The offsets may 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).

Maximum Video Performance: When using the Canopus, copy the movie file to an internal drive and relink the session to the new location.

The folowing issue has been fixed in Mac OS X 10.3.4 and higher: With earlier Mac OS X versions, a Kernel Panic may result when playing video out of the Firewire Port via a Canopus ADV-100 when using a Digi 002 or 002 Rack. If you are not on OS X 10.3.4 or higher, using a 3rd party FireWire card for the CPU will allow this workflow.

Other transcoders will work with Pro Tools, but Digidesign has not qualified them, and your performance may vary. The FireWire DV output with Canopus has been qualified with Pro Tools|HD systems with 48 tracks of 24 bit audio @ 48 KHz.

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.

For more information on these products, please see www.canopus.com

Note: The Canopus ADVC-110 DV Transcoder has only been tested with Pro Tools LE and TDM 6.7 and higher on Mac OS X.

AVoption|XL with Pro Tools|HD Accel, Pro Tools|HD, and Pro Tools|24 MIX Systems

AVoption|XL is only supported with Pro Tools 6.1, 6.2, and 6.2.3 for Pro Tools|HD & Pro Tools|HD Accel Systems or with Pro Tools 6.1 for Pro Tools|24 MIX Systems

Pro Tools 6.4 and Higher Are Not Compatible with AVoption|XL

AVoption|V10

AVoption|V10 is not compatible with Mac OS X, only with Windows XP.

Video Capture Cards

Aurora Igniter LT/IgniterX Lite

Power Mac G4 & G5 PCI models only. Not compatible with Power Mac G5 PCI Express models.

Pro Tools|HD Accel and Pro Tools|HD Systems with Mac OS 10.4

Pro Tools|HD Accel and Pro Tools|HD Systems with Mac OS 10.3

The Aurora Igniter LT/IgniterX Lite video capture card has been qualified with Pro Tools|HD Accel and Pro Tools|HD systems with 48 tracks of 24 bit audio @ 48 KHz with Pro Tools software version 6.0.1 and higher on Mac OS X, including Pro Tools 6.9. We have seen the best performance with the IgniterX driver version 6.2.1 with Pro Tools|HD Accel and Pro Tools|HD systems on Mac OS X 10.3 "Panther".

Note: Not qualified with Pro Tools 6.6 for Avid Mojo on Pro Tools|HD and Pro Tools|HD Accel systems.

Pro Tools|24 MIX Systems with Mac OS 10.3

We have seen the best performance with the IgniterX driver version 6.2.1 with Pro Tools|24 MIX systems on Mac OS X 10.3 "Panther".

  • 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 10.3

Please Note: 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

Quicktime Composite Video Output

ATI Radeon 9800 Pro Mac Special Edition
ATI Radeon 8500 Macintosh Edition (discontinued)

The ATI Radeon 9800 Pro Mac Special Edition and ATI Radeon 8500 Macintosh Edition display card have been qualified with Pro Tools 6.0.1 through Pro Tools 6.7* TDM systems on qualified Power Mac G4 models with Mac OS X.

  • Using the second port for Quicktime Composite Video output
  • S-Video out (composite video adapter included)
  • Not tested by Digidesign with Power Mac G5 models

*Neither of these cards were tested with Pro Tools 6.9 and higher

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 & Specifications

Sony DV Devices

The following devices are compatible with Pro Tools LE 6.1-6.9.2 Digi 002, Digi 002 Rack, and Mbox systems*:

Camcorders

  • DCR TRV-530 Digital 8
  • DCR TRV-103 Digital 8

Pro DV decks

  • DSR-1500A
  • DSR-40

*Not tested with Pro Tools M-Powered or Mbox 2 systems, or with any Pro Tools 7 systems.

Digidesign Compatibility Documents Index