Specifications

Digidesign Plug-Ins Guide 2
Plug-In Formats
Plug-ins are special-purpose software compo-
nents that add additional signal processing
functionality to Pro Tools. There are three for-
mats of plug-ins:
• TDM plug-ins (real-time, DSP-based)
•RTAS plug-ins (real-time, host-based)
• AudioSuite plug-ins (non-real-time, file-based
processing)
TDM Plug-Ins
(TDM Systems Only)
TDM plug-ins function as track inserts, are ap-
plied to audio during playback, and process au-
dio non-destructively in real time. TDM plug-
ins are designed for use on Pro Tools TDM sys-
tems, and rely on the processing power of
Digidesign DSP cards.
The number and variety of TDM plug-ins that
you can use simultaneously in a session are lim-
ited only by the amount of DSP available. You
can increase available DSP by installing addi-
tional HD Process, MIX Farm, or DSP Farm
cards in your computer. This power-on-demand
aspect is a significant advantage of TDM-based
systems.
RTAS Plug-Ins
RTAS (Real-Time AudioSuite) plug-ins provide
features and functionality similar to their TDM
counterparts, but unlike TDM plug-ins, they rely
on and are limited by the processing power of
your computer. The more powerful your com-
puter, the greater the number and variety of
RTAS plug-ins that you can use simultaneously.
Because of this dependence on the CPU or
host
processing
, the more RTAS plug-ins you use con-
currently in a session, the greater the impact on
other aspects of system performance, such as
available track count, edit density, and automa-
tion latency.
RTAS plug-ins can be used on both Pro Tools
TDM and LE systems.
AudioSuite Plug-Ins
Non-real-time AudioSuite plug-ins are not used
during playback, but are instead used to process
audio files on disk, creating new, rewritten audio
files with the effect permanently applied. Audio-
Suite plug-ins can be used on all Pro Tools sys-
tems.
Installing Plug-Ins
The Digidesign Plug-In Installer CD-ROM allows
you to install and use not only the plug-ins
which you have purchased, but also a demo ver-
sion of other Digidesign plug-ins. Demo ver-
sions of plug-ins can be used for the length of
their demo period, after which they will expire.
Once the demo version of a plug-in has expired,
purchase the plug-in and authorize it, or remove
it (see “Removing Expired Plug-Ins” on page 4).
MIX Farm and DSP Farm cards are not
supported on Pro Tools|HD-series systems.
HD Process cards are not supported on
Pro Tools|24 MIX-series systems.