User`s guide

Chapter 22: Mixdown and Mastering 325
Mastering and Error-Correcting Media
Random access media (such as hard disks,
optical cartridges, Bernoulli cartridges or
WORM drives) can produce a true digital
copy of your data, because every bit value is
maintained. Sequential media (such as
DAT tapes) use error correction schemes to
fix the occasional bad data that is received
in a digital transfer. These corrections are
deviations from the actual data, and with
successive reproductions, represent a subtle
form of generation loss.
You can avoid this loss by creating and
maintaining masters on random-access
digital media (such as a hard drive) and
transferring them to sequential digital me-
dia (such as DAT tapes) only as needed.
To configure Pro Tools for direct digital stereo
mastering:
1 Connect your digital recorder to your
system’s digital outputs.
2 In Pro Tools set the appropriate digital
format and output from the Hardware
Setup or Playback Engine dialog.
3 On your digital recorder, choose the ap-
propriate digital format for the connec-
tions.
4 In Pro Tools, set all audio tracks you want
to master to outputs 1-2.
5 Click Return to Zero in the Transport
window to go to the beginning of the ses-
sion.
6 Press Record on your digital recorder.
7 Start playback of your session.
8 When your session has finished playing,
stop the digital recorder.