Does "consolidate selection" affect quality??

[Nine Spine]

I use this feature a lot when transfering sessions from my 001 to a TDM system, and I never notice any difference in the sound quality (to my ears anyway), but I was wondering how this command works. Does it simply re-write the exact code so I get an exact copy or when it uses the duplicate plugin am I degrading the audio? What about if I do it more than once with the same sets of regions?? Anybody know this?

Thanks for the help. You guys are all studs.

[moosemaster]

hey don't freak me out man

[Bastiaan]

do a test to see if its the same.

1) export the track as a file

2) consolidate

3) get that file into ptle again

4 pan both to the middle and put a eq on both

5) phase invert one channel

6) set the volume the same for the 2 channels

All you should hear now is silence. If you hera something else....there's a difference in the files there.

[mattm]

does consolidate regions effect quality? no.

~matt

[bascani]

How do you phase invert?

[bascani]

don't bother I just found it.

[Ben Jenssen]

Important thing to remember when consolidating:

PT LE does some kind of "autofade" at playback, automatically. But not when consolidating, for some reason. So if you don’t make fades on all region ins and outs, you will get small clicks there.

Use the batch-fade creation.

[Zeus]

Nope. There are no autofades in LE, it's TDM only.

BTW. You might want to check Pro Tools manual, where dither is explained. Apparently dither is added also when using the duplicate plug-in...

[img]images/icons/rolleyes.gif[/img]

Z

[mattm]

if use dither is selected in fade preferences then dither is used regardless of weather or not you consolidate seperate regions - that is everytime you create a fade.

[Nine Spine]

Thanks for the replies guys, in theory my files should be exactly the same as what was there originally including all fades.

The Digi plugin manual for the Duplicate plugin says the following: "The original audio file regions are merely rewritten in place to a single duplicate file".

From the Webster's American Dictionary: "Merely, adv. 1. Being nothing more nor better than what is specified"

Apparently the exact code is rewritten, but I am interested and will try Bastiaan's suggestion when I have some time tomorrow and post the results here.

Thanks again for all of the info you have provided.