User Manual

Chapter 57: Working with Synchronization 1275
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 HD can be used to do this.
Configuring Pro Tools for
SMPTE
Synchronization and MachineControl system set-
tings are enabled in the Pro Tools Peripherals dia-
log (
Setup > Peripherals). These settings are sys-
tem settings, and remain constant regardless of the
particular session you are working on. Configure
these settings before opening a session.
Other settings are configured in the Session Setup
window, such as the session Timecode 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
Timecode Rate selector.
3 Enter the Timecode Freewheel frames (if any)
in the designated box (see “Freewheel” on
page 1274).
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 en-
ter a start time for your session based on an appro-
priate frame number from your project tape. The
Pro Tools SMPTE-related functions (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 timecode, it is a good practice
to stripe your timecode beginning at 01:00:00:00
(subtracting time for the head format, such as ini-
tial black, bars and tone, or logos). This prevents
problems that can occur with some synchronizers
when the striped timecode 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.
To capture an incoming SMPTE address as the
session start time:
1 Click in the Session Start field.
2 Begin playback of the timecode source.
3 At the location where you want to capture the
incoming value, press Equal (=) in the numeric
keypad.
MachineControl is supported on HDX and
HD Native
systems only.