Specifications
Chapter 8: Delay Compensation 51
To keep audio time-aligned when recording using a
MIDI controlled plug-in on an Auxiliary Input:
1 Start-Control-click (Windows) or Command-
Control-click (Mac) the Track Compensation in-
dicator for the Auxiliary Input to bypass Delay
Compensation.
2 Enter the total system delay into the User Off-
set field.
H/W Insert Delay
(Compensation)
Pro Tools 9.0 supports manual H/W Insert Delay
Compensation. This feature was previously only
available with Pro Tools HD. To compensate for
the delay (latency) of any external hardware de-
vices (such as an effects unit) used in your ses-
sion, you can set the amount of Hardware Insert
Delay Compensation (in milliseconds) for each
external device. These times will be used by the
Delay Compensation Engine to time-align input
paths when the hardware insert is in use and De-
lay Compensation is enabled.
Setting an Insert Delay Offset
To set an insert delay offset:
1 Choose Setup > I/O.
2 Click the H/W Insert Delay tab.
3 Type a value, in milliseconds, in the field cor-
responding with the input where the hardware
insert is connected.
Determining Your Hardware’s
Insert Delay
Check the documentation for your external
hardware to see if it identifies the hardware la-
tency, or use the following procedure in
Pro Tools to determine the latency for hardware
inserts.
To determine your hardware’s insert delay:
1 Ensure that Automatic Delay Compensation is
enabled (Options > Delay Compensation).
2 Change your session’s Main Time Scale to
Min:Sec.
3 Create two tracks.
4 Place a short tone (or other sound with a de-
finitive beginning) on track 1.
5 Insert the HW insert on track 1.
6 Ensure that only the dry signal is being passed
through the device.
7 Bus the output of track 1 to the input of track
2.
8 Record enable track 2 and press Record Enable
and Play in the Transport window to play back
the audio in track 1 and record it to track 2.
9 After recording, zoom in and measure the dif-
ference between where the audio starts in track
1 and track 2. The difference is the value you
would enter as your hardware’s insert delay off-
set.
Insert offset delay fields
Insert delay offsets only have an effect when
the I/O is used for hardware inserts.