Setup Guide

Chapter 4: Configuring Your Pro Tools System 23
Size, or at least 128 samples (whichever is
greater). If you are on an older, slower com-
puter, you may want to disable this option to
avoid adverse performance.
This option is only available on Mac if the Ignore
Errors During Playback/Record option is enabled.
DAE Playback Buffer Size
The DAE Playback Buffer Size setting determines
the amount of memory DAE allocates for disk
buffers. In addition to levels, the DAE Playback
Buffer Size shows values in milliseconds, which
indicate the amount of audio buffered when the
system reads from disk.
The optimum DAE Playback Buffer Size for most
disk operations is 1500 msec; Level 2 (Default).
• DAE Playback Buffer Size settings lower than
1500 msec; Level 2 (Default) may improve
playback and recording initiation speed, as
well as preview in context in DigiBase brows-
ers. However, a lower setting may make it dif-
ficult to play or record tracks reliably with
sessions containing a large number of tracks
or a high density of edits, or with systems that
have slower or heavily-fragmented hard
drives.
• DAE Playback Buffer Size settings higher than
1500 msec; Level 2 (Default) allow higher track
count, higher density of edits in a session, or
the use of slower hard drives. However, a
higher setting may increase the time lag when
starting playback or recording, starting pre-
view in context from DigiBase browsers, or
cause a longer audible time lag while editing
during playback.
To change the DAE Playback Buffer Size:
1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine.
2 From the DAE Playback Buffer pop-up menu,
select a buffer size. Memory requirements for
each setting are shown at the bottom of the
Playback Engine dialog.
3 Click OK.
If Pro Tools needs more system memory for the
DAE Playback Buffer, it will prompt you to re-
start your computer.
Cache Size
The Cache Size setting determines the amount
of memory DAE allocates to pre-buffer audio for
playback and looping when using Elastic Audio.
Minimum Reduces the amount of system mem-
ory used for disk operations and frees up mem-
ory for other system tasks. However, perfor-
mance when using Elastic Audio features may
decrease.
Normal Is the optimum Cache Size for most ses-
sions.
Large Improves performance when using Elastic
Audio features, but it also decreases the amount
of memory available for other system tasks, such
as RTAS processing.
Using a larger DAE Playback Buffer Size
leaves less system memory for other tasks.
The default setting of 1500 msec (Level 2) is
recommended unless you are encountering
–9073 (“Disk too slow or fragmented”)
errors.