User Manual

Pro Tools Reference Guide14
Surround Sound
Surround sound simply means having one or
more speakers with discrete audio signals (chan-
nels) placed behind the listener in addition to
the typical stereo pair.
There are multiple types of surround formats in
use (from three-channel LCR to 7.1, which has
eight channels).
The most common surround format is 5.1,
which refers to having 5 speakers and a sub-
woofer (the “.1”). 5.1 is used in movie theaters
and home entertainment systems. Additionally,
most DVDs are mixed to 5.1. The standard
speaker placement for 5.1 for surround monitor-
ing is stereo left and right speakers, and an addi-
tional center speaker in front, two more stereo
left and right speakers in the rear, and the sub-
woofer on the side.
Pro Tools HD and Pro Tools with the Complete
Production Toolkit 2 option support mixing in
surround formats. In Pro Tools, each surround
format is considered to be a greater-than-stereo
multichannel format.
Pro Tools Sessions
When you start a project in Pro Tools, you create
a session. It can be helpful to understand the ba-
sic elements of a session.
Session File
A session file is the document that Pro Tools cre-
ates when you choose File > New Session and
configure a new session. Pro Tools can open
only one session file at a time. The session file is
named with a .ptf (Pro Tools file) extension. Ses-
sion files contain maps of all elements associ-
ated with a project, including audio files, MIDI
data, and all your edit and mix information. It is
important to realize that a Pro Tools session file
does not contain any media files (audio or
video). Instead, it references audio, video, MIDI,
and other files. You can make changes to a ses-
sion and save those changes in a new session
file. This lets you create multiple versions of a
session or back up your editing and mixing
work.
Tracks
Pro Tools tracks are where audio, MIDI, video,
and automation data are recorded and edited.
Pro Tools tracks also provide audio channels for
routing internal busses, and physical inputs and
outputs for audio and MIDI.
For information on fundamental surround
concepts, see the Pro Tools Sync & Surround
Concepts Guide.
Session file icon