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Digidesign Hardware Supplied with FWx Option
- FWx FireWire Option Card
- 4-to-6 pin FireWire Cable (12')
Digidesign Software Compatibility
- Pro Tools LE 6.9.2 or higher for Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger)
- Pro Tools LE software will not work without one of the following Digidesign hardware devices connected to the computer:
- FWx Option Card
- Digi 002
- Digi 002 Rack
- Mbox 2
- Mbox
Pro Tools LE — Included and Optional Plug-Ins:
Optional Digidesign & Avid Storage
- DigiDrive SCSI Drives
- DigiDrive FireWire 80
- 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+
- SCSI-128 Kit (ATTO Express PCI-UL3D)
Not compatible with Power Mac G5 or tested with Pro Tools 6.9 and higher:
- SCSI-64 Kit/ATTO Express PCI-DC
Maximum Performance Guidelines
- Recording to the system startup drive is not recommended or supported.
- For Power Mac G5 or G4 desktop models, a separate internal or external dedicated audio hard drive is highly recommended for maximum performance and track count.
- Although limited recording and playback of audio tracks may be possible using the internal drive in PowerBook models, a separate external dedicated audio hard drive is highly recommended for maximum performance and track count. Digidesign recommends the use of FireWire drives for use with these computers.
- When using FireWire storage with the FWx FireWire Option Card, connect the FWx and the drives to separate FireWire ports if possible
- If only one FireWire port is available, connect the drives to the CPU, then connect the FWx to the drives
- Do not connect a DV video camera to the same FireWire bus as the FWx. Most CPUs with two FireWire ports still have only one FireWire bus. If you need to add an additional FireWire bus to your CPU, please see the list of qualified cards.
- Dual processor users will experience increased performance over single processor CPUs
Known Incompatibilities
- Recording with the FWx FireWire Option card, Digi 002, or Digi 002 Rack to a FireWire drive connected to any of the 3 built-in Firewire ports on the 2003 Power Mac G4 "FW800" models can result in -6085 errors. On these computers, Digidesign recommends using a dedicated internal ATA/IDE drive for recording. If using FireWire drives with FWx FireWire Option card, Digi 002, or Digi 002 Rack & 2003 G4 FW800 computers, a FireWire PCI adapter card must be used.
- FWx FireWire Option card, Digi 002, or Digi 002 Rack will not function if any Digidesign PCI cards are installed in the CPU. (Digi 001, Audiomedia III, TDM cards, SampleCell)
- Pro Tools LE core hardware systems cannot be combined
 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.
DV Tookit 2 & Music Production Toolkit Options — Maximum Track Count Information
The purchase of either of these options expand a Pro Tools LE system from 32 total voiceable tracks to up to 48 mono or 48 stereo tracks at up to 96 kHz (interface permitting*). In order to reliably achieve maximum track count, Digidesign recommends the following on Mac OS X:
- Digidesign-Qualified Power Mac G5 Dual Processor 2GHz or higher, including Power Mac G5 Quad
- Power Mac G5 Dual 2GHz (first generation model M9032) may not achieve maximum track count
- 1.5 GB total system RAM or more
- 2 or more hard drives dedicated for audio record and playback:
- 2 internal SATA drives
- 2 external SCSI drives & qualified SCSI HBA
- 2 or more external FireWire drives
*Maximum Sample Rate
- Digi 002, Digi 002 Rack - 96 kHz
- Mbox 2, Mbox - 48 kHz
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Supported CPU Models & Requirements
The following Apple computers are required for best performance with the FWx FireWire Options on Mac OS X
System Software
- Pro Tools LE 7.1 is officially supported on Mac OS X 10.4.4 and 10.4.5 (Tiger)
- Pro Tools LE 7.0 is officially supported on Mac OS X 10.4.2, 10.4.3, 10.4.4, and 10.4.5
- Pro Tools LE 6.9.2 is officially supported on Mac OS X version 10.4.1 and 10.4.2
- Earlier versions of Pro Tools will NOT work with the FWx Record/Playback Option.
- Mac OS X Requirements, Installation, Updating & Authorizing Plug-ins
 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.
Total System RAM
- 512 MB minimum required**, more recommended
- More RAM increases overall system and Pro Tools performance
- More RAM suggested for sessions with high edit density, extensive use of plug-ins, or simultaneous use with MIDI sequencers
- DigiTranslator 2.0 will also require additional RAM
**Additional RAM Requirements — DV Tookit 2 & Music Production Toolkit Options
- The purchase of either of these options expand a Pro Tools LE system from 32 total voiceable tracks to up to 48 mono or 48 stereo tracks at up to 96 kHz (interface permitting)
- In order to reliably achieve maximum track count, 1.5 GB RAM or more is required on Mac OS X
Additional Requirements
Monitor
- 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 (Audio Drive) Requirements
Pro Tools 7 Information
Pro Tools 6.9.2 Information
After updating either Pro Tools or your Mac OS, always run Disk Utility and "Repair Permissions" on the startup drive.
Pro Tools LE Product Information & Specifications
Download Documentation
For more information, see Getting Started guides and other Pro Tools documents in the Support > Technical Document Library and included with new Pro Tools systems and Pro Tools CDs.
VENUE & FWx FireWire Option Information
Products Section
Digidesign VENUE — D-Show Documents
D-Show 2.0 & Other Current Documents
Previous Documents for D-Show 1.x
Digidesign VENUE — D-Show Downloads
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