Is Automation Delay Compensated?

[Trailerman]

I'm running ProTools HD as a standalone mixer (kind of like a scaled down Icon), but am seeing some timing weirdness with automation.

Basically, ProTools is slaved to a separate Mac running Logic, enabling me to edit automation graphically along the same beats/bars timeline as Logic. However, I'm unclear as to how delay compensation in the mixer is affecting this.

I guess my basic question is:

If I have a plugin in the mixer which is causing everything to be delayed by say 45ms to compensate, does this mean that all my automation, if timed to occur on the beat in the edit window, will actually be 48ms early? Or is this being compensated for somehow?

Bear in mind that all the audio is coming in in realtime - ie. it's not recorded in ProTools art all - I'm just using the edit window as a grid to make sure automation events are right on the beat/8th/16th etc.

If anybody can give me any insight, at least into how it 'should' be behaving, I would be truly grateful

Many thanks

Jules

[Rail Jon Rogut]

The automation work correctly if the audio is compensated for correctly. Are you using Aux Tracks or Audio Tracks locked on Input? What are your delay compensation settings in the I/O Setup dialog?

Read page 453 of your Pro Tools reference Guide about ADC with tracks which are locked on Input.

Rail

[Trailerman]

The automation work correctly if the audio is compensated for correctly. Are you using Aux Tracks or Audio Tracks locked on Input? What are your delay compensation settings in the I/O Setup dialog?

Read page 453 of your Pro Tools reference Guide about ADC with tracks which are locked on Input.

Rail

Hi Rail

I am using only Aux Tracks. From memory (sorry not in the studio right now) I have delay compensation set to the longest setting available.

I will check the manual tomorrow when I'm back in the studio, but are you saying that in the scenario described, automation will also be automatically compensated?

Thanks as ever for your help.

Jules

[Rail Jon Rogut]

Also check your I/O Setup dialog for the Input and Output ADC settings. If the audio is delay compensated.. then the automation should line up correctly... if you have the latest Pro Tools build.

Rail

[Trailerman]

Hi Rail

I have checked all the settings in question and the part of the manual you refer to (although I coudn't find any specific reference to how delay compensation affects automation). Everything seems to be fine, but I am having to set my automation about 7000 samples 'late' (accordong to the grid). This at 44.1K.

As PT is running as slave to a separate system, I can only assume that there is some delay perhaps in MTC being received - I'll see if I can set an offset somehow. I also noticed I have one plugin (across a bus) which is not being properly compensated for - I had to manually compensate my other busses by 1000 samples to get things tight. I suspect this is a plugin issue.

Thanks for your help.

Jules

[Rail Jon Rogut]

Jules

Which version of Pro Tools are you running? Which ADC engine? Which plug-in don't you think was reporting the correct ADC value?

If you take a new session without any plug-ins and record a click as audio on a track... then play that same audio file off your other computer and feed it to an Aux Track in Pro Tools starting at the same location -- so they should be in synch... what happens when you lock the 2 systems together? Do the 2 click tracks flam?

Rail

[Trailerman]

Hi Rail

Yes, with no plugins, recorded audio lines up fine with the Logic original (the metronome test).

I am using the "Long" ADC engine, running PT 6.7 HD with cs8 on an HD3 setup, 6 interfaces and Sync IO.

I spent the whole of today trying to troubleshoot some MIDI issues with ProTools, but will try and get back to the delay compensation issue tomorrow. I've since started testing LTC sync' instead of MTC, which seems to be tighter. Perhaps this will also help the automation offset problem I've been having.

Thanks as ever

Jules