DigiDesign Digidesign Pro Tools 8.0, Reference Manual

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Pro Tools Reference Guide 1016
Preparing to Work with SMPTE
The first step when preparing to work with
SMPTE is to choose an appropriate SMPTE frame
rate. Pro Tools supports all standard SMPTE
frame rates. If you are working with SMPTE
striped tape, it is important to know the frame
rate. In some cases, a SYNC peripheral can be
used to do this.
Configuring Pro Tools for
SMPTE
Synchronization and MachineControl system
settings are enabled in the Pro Tools Peripherals
dialog (
Setup > Peripherals ). These settings are
system settings, and remain constant regardless
of the particular session you are working on.
Configure these settings before opening a ses-
sion.
Other settings are configured in the Session
Setup window, such as the session Time Code
rate, the Feet+Frames rate, the session start
frame, and time display format. These settings
are
session-specific settings. These settings can
only be configured when a session is open.
Selecting a SMPTE Format
To choose a SMPTE format:
1
In Pro Tools, choose Setup > Session .
2
Choose a frame rate (SMPTE format) from the
Time Code Rate selector.
3
Enter the Time Code Freewheel frames (if any)
in the designated box (see “Freewheel” on
page 1015).
Setting a SMPTE Session Start
Time (Start Frame)
The Session Setup window also allows you to set
a SMPTE Start Frame for your session. Video
work tapes are rarely striped beginning at a
SMPTE frame address of 00:00:00:00. You can
quickly enter a start time for your session based
on an appropriate frame number from your
project tape. The Pro Tools SMPTE-related func-
tions (such as Spot mode) will then use this
value as their reference for the session’s start
point.
Start Time When Striping Tape
If you are generating time code, it is a good prac-
tice to stripe your time code beginning at
01:00:00:00 (subtracting time for the head for-
mat, such as initial black, bars and tone, or
logos). This prevents problems that can occur
with some synchronizers when the striped time
code crosses from 23:59:59:29 to 00:00:00:00
(commonly referred to as the “midnight”
boundary).
To set a SMPTE Start Time for your session:
1
Choose
Setup > Session
.
2
Enter a SMPTE frame number in the Session
Start field.
For a full explanation of SMPTE frame
rates, see the Pro Tools Sync & Surround
Concepts Guide
.
MachineControl is supported on
Pro Tools|HD
systems only.