Setup guide

Chapter 4: Configuring Your Pro Tools System 47
Cache Size
The Cache Size determines the amount of mem-
ory DAE allocates to pre-buffer audio for play-
back and looping when using Elastic Audio.
The optimum Cache Size for most sessions is
Normal.
• A Cache Size setting of Minimum reduces the
amount of system memory used for disk opera-
tions and frees up memory for other system
tasks. However, using Elastic Audio features at
this setting may decrease performance.
• A Cache Size of Large improves performance
when using Elastic Audio features, but it also de-
creases the amount of memory available for
other system tasks, such as RTAS processing.
To change the Cache Size:
1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine.
2 From the Cache Size pop-up menu, select a
disk cache size.
3 Click OK.
System Memory Allocation
When you start your computer, Pro Tools auto-
matically reserves a portion of system memory
for the DAE Playback Buffer. This reserved mem-
ory is unavailable to other applications, even if
Pro Tools is not running.
You can set Pro Tools to reserve only the mini-
mum amount of required memory, so that more
system memory is available to other applica-
tions.
To minimize system memory allocation:
1 Choose Setup > Playback Engine.
2 Select the “Minimize System Memory Allocation”
option.
3 Click OK.
4 Restart your computer.
Plug-in Streaming Buffer Size
(Structure Plug-in Only)
This setting appears in the Playback Engine dia-
log only if the Structure sampler instrument
plug-in is installed on your system. The Plug-in
Streaming Buffer Size determines the amount of
memory DAE allocates for streaming playback
from disk with the Structure plug-in. This set-
ting only affects playback if disk streaming is ac-
tivated in Structure’s plug-in controls (see the
Structure Plug-in Guide for more information).
The optimum Plug-in Streaming Buffer Size for
most sessions is 250 ms (Level 2).
• Plug-in Streaming Buffer Size settings lower
than 250 msec (Level 2) reduce the amount of
system memory used for sample playback and
frees up memory for other system tasks. How-
ever, reliability of sample playback may de-
crease.
Using a larger Cache Size leaves less system
memory for other tasks. The default setting of
Normal is recommended unless you are en-
countering -9500 (“Cache too small”) errors.
Cache Size menu in the Playback Engine dialog