User Manual

Pro Tools Reference Guide24
DigiBase
DigiBase is a database management tool for
Pro Tools. DigiBase expands upon basic
Pro Tools search and import capabilities by pro-
viding powerful tools to manage your data both
inside and outside of your sessions, on any hard
drive connected to the system.
A database is a way of organizing data such that
it can easily be searched, sorted, managed, and
utilized. Your checkbook is an example of a da-
tabase file. For every check you write, you enter
a new record. That record contains information
about the check, such as when you wrote it, to
whom you wrote it, and for what amount. This
information is written in specific columns, or
fields. Everything you need to know (the check’s
metadata) is there, even though the check itself
is not.
DigiBase browsers let you search, sort, and
mange these databases by volume or catalog.
You can use DigiBase browsers not only to orga-
nize your Pro Tools sessions and media files (au-
dio, MIDI, and video), but also to audition and
import by drag and drop.
AAF, MXF, and OMF
Pro Tools lets you exchange audio, video, and
sequences with other AAF-, MXF-, and OMF-
compatible applications (such as Avid editors).
Media Data (Media Files)
Media data represents raw audio or video mate-
rial and is stored in individual media files. Every
time you record a piece of video or audio mate-
rial into an application, you are creating a media
file. Audio media files hold samples (such as
44,100 or 48,000 samples per second of record-
ing) while video media files use frames (24, 25,
or 30 frames per second of recording).
The size of each media file depends on how
much audio or video material it contains. For
example, a file containing ten minutes of high
resolution video might be approximately
2.16 GB in size, whereas a ten-minute audio re-
cording at the might result in a 100 MB file. Me-
dia files tend to be large, since high quality au-
dio and video signals are data intensive. Video
data generally requires considerably more stor-
age than audio data.
For more information about DigiBase, see
“DigiBase” on page 271.