Multichannel panner in PT 5.1?

[DigiTechSupt]

First of all, you need to have the Surround Mixer plugin installed in your plugins folder. The Surround Mixer can be found on the Pro Tools 5.1 Installer CDrom. (By the way, if you are using 5.1, you really should upgrade to 5.1.1, it's free as long as your registered for 5.1).

Secondly, you need to configure you're "I/O Setup" for surround output. The "I/O Setup" can be found under the "Setups" menu in Pro Tools. If you only have stereo outputs configured in there, which can be a default depending on what options you chose on the install, then you won't find any panners only stereo pan sliders.

Once you have created a 5.1 (or however many channels you want) output, then you will need to select that output for a track(s) in the session. Once this is done you will see a surround panner on the track(s) where you selected the 5.1 output.

Sounds worse than it is to configure. Hope this helps.

Jon Connolly
Digidesign Product Specialist

[Alex Rodriguez]

Thanks for the advice. I'll try installing the Surround Mixer plug in. I looked for it in the available plug ins option in the mixer window and it wasn't there, but I didn't look for it in the Plug Ins folder in the DAE Folder, or in the PT CD-ROM yet.
How does it work? Should I open it in a multichannel or is it an internal processing stuff? (Once I have installed it, of course).
Should it be there as a result of an Easy Install? The PT system I'm talking about was installed by the Authorized Digidesign Distributor, by the way.
And yes, I tried with the 5.1 I/O setup option during my test. It was one of the I/O set up options I found. It seems that one was part of the PT Install, but as I hadn't the plug in, I couldn't see the panner.
Alex

[Alex Rodriguez]

Hi. I tried to start checking the surround options in PT 5.1, but I couldn't find a panner in any window (edit or mixer) for a multichannel. I tried with different options, from LCR to 5.1. I saw a panner on the mannual, where they explain the multichannel options, but there was no panner at all, when I did my first tests. The mannual also says it'd be better to have an encoder/decoder (plug in or hardware), but that's another story, I understood from the mannual the panning was possible without any plug in.
Sometimes we miss obvious stuff. Am I missing something here?
The system where I am trying has a Mac G4, two 882-20, ProTools version 5.1
Thanks,
Alex
[email protected]

[Alex Rodriguez]

Jon:
Thanks for your explanation, but I hadn´t have time to do it until now, but I'm still unable to see the panner.
This time I have the Surround Mixer on the Plug Ins Folder. It´s also the 24-bit optimized mixer plug in, the manual mentions. I tried with one of the 5.1 default I/O setup. I created different multichannel options, including a 5.1 one, and took the 5.1 output option, but still can´t see the 5.1 panner. No panning at all. In the edit window I can only have access to block, waveform, volume and mute in the Track view selector. No pan option.
I'm afraid I'm missing something obvious, but I can't get it.
It's not clear in the manual about this SurroundMixer plug in. Is it an internal operation plug in?, or do I need to open it in a track?. I does not show up in the real time plug in options neither.
I am preparing in advance for a near future surround mixing, but time is getting closer now. Thanks in advance,
Alex
[email protected]

[the dude]

easy just start a new 5.1 session
make a 5.1 master fader
and now make a new mono track it WILL have the surround panner on the MONO track now assign the the output of the mono track to the 5.1 output
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