DigiDesign Pro Tools, Reference Manual

Page: 231 / 886

Chapter 12: Importing and Exporting Session Data 217
Since the transfer is made in the digital domain,
there is no signal loss.
The sample rate for audio CDs is 44.1 kHz.
Therefore, if your session’s sample rate is set to
48 kHz or higher, Pro Tools will convert the
sample rate for the imported audio. Before im-
porting CD audio, set the Conversion Quality
preference accordingly. For more information,
see “Sample Rate Conversion Quality” on
page 213.
Before importing CD audio, make sure your
hard drive has enough space for the converted
audio files.
To import a CD audio track using the DigiBase
Browser:
1
Insert the audio CD into your CD/DVD drive.
2
Choose Window > Workspace.
3
In the DigiBase browser, click on the CD and
select the audio track.
4
Do one of the following:
• Drag the file to the Region List to add it to
the session.
• Drag the file to a track to place (or spot) it
in the track.
• Drag the file to the Track List to add and
create a new track.
Pro Tools converts the CD audio track to the ses-
sion’s audio file format, bit depth, and sample
rate, and saves it on your hard drive.
The imported audio file appears in the Region
List. From there you can drag the region to a
track in your session.
Importing Multichannel Audio
Files from a Field Recorder
Pro Tools lets you use any of the import meth-
ods to import monophonic and polyphonic au-
dio files recorded by a field recorder. When you
import these types of files, they must be con-
verted to an audio format compatible with
Pro Tools.
Importing Monophonic Audio Files
A monophonic audio file contains one mono
channel and relevant metadata from a single
multichannel recording.
When you import monophonic audio files that
were recorded simultaneously, they are con-
verted to multichannel regions and displayed
together in the Region List. Any metadata is also
imported with the files.
Importing Polyphonic Audio Files
A polyphonic audio file contains multiple mono
channels and relevant metadata recorded simul-
taneously in a multichannel recording.
When imported into Pro Tools, a polyphonic
audio file is divided into individual monopho-
nic audio files written to disk—one file for each
channel. Regions for each channel appear in the
playlist, and a multichannel region appears in
the Region List with the channels expandable
underneath. Any metadata is also imported
with the files.
If Autoplay is enabled, stop playback and
close the application that is configured for
Autoplay.
For more information on importing files
from a field recorder, refer to the Field
Recorder Workflow Guide.