What’s New in Pro Tools® and Pro Tools | Ultimate version 2020.9 Legal Notices © 2020 Avid Technology, Inc., (“Avid”), all rights reserved. This guide may not be duplicated in whole or in part without the written consent of Avid. For a current and complete list of Avid trademarks visit: www.avid.com/legal/trademarks-and-other-notices Bonjour, the Bonjour logo, and the Bonjour symbol are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. Thunderbolt and the Thunderbolt logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries. This product may be protected by one or more U.S. and non-U.S. patents. Details are available at www.avid.com/patents. Product features, specifications, system requirements, and availability are subject to change without notice. Guide Part Number 9329-66171-00 REV A 09/20 Contents What’s New in Pro Tools 2020.9. 1 New Features and Enhancements. 1 System Requirements and Compatibility Information . 1 Conventions Used in This Guide. 2 Resources. 3 New and Improved Features in Pro Tools 2020.9 . 4 Support for Ableton Link . 4 Record Enable Buttons Preferences . 6 Convert SDII Files to Session File Format on Launch or Import . 7 Audio Playback Support for BW64 Wave Files . 7 Cloud Collaboration Changes . 7 What’s New in Pro Tools 2020.9 iii What’s New in Pro Tools 2020.9 New Features and Enhancements Pro Tools® and Pro Tools | Ultimate software version 2020.9 provides the following new features and enhancements. Support for Ableton Link • Ableton Link lets you synchronize playback of different Link-enabled applications (macOS, Windows, iOS, and Android) on the same or separate devices with each other over a local network. Updated Record Enable Buttons Preferences • Lets you select from multiple options to determine the behavior of Record Enable buttons. Convert SD II Files on Launch or Import (macOS Only) • SD II files can be imported and converted to the session file format (AIFF or WAV) on session launch or audio file import. Audio Playback Support for BW64 Wave Files • Pro Tools lets you import and convert BW64 files, as well as link to and play back BW64 files referenced by imported AAF se- quences. Updates to Cloud Collaboration • The Artist Chat window has been simplified to handle Pro Tools Projects and Messages, while Profile and Talent (contacts) manage- ment is available using Avid Link. • The Auto buttons have been removed from the Collaboration cluster in the Edit and Transport windows. System Requirements and Compatibility Information Avid can only assure compatibility and provide support for hardware and software it has tested and approved. For complete system requirements and a list of qualified computers, operating systems, hard drives, and third-party devices, visit: www.avid.com/compatibility 1 What’s New in Pro Tools 2020.9 Conventions Used in This Guide Pro Tools documentation uses the following conventions to indicate menu choices, keyboard commands, and mouse commands: : Convention Action File > Save Choose Save from the File menu Control+N Hold down the Control key and press the N key Control-click Hold down the Control key and click the mouse but- ton Right-click Click with the right mouse button The names of Commands, Options, and Settings that appear on-screen are in a different font. The following symbols are used to highlight important information: User Tips are helpful hints for getting the most from your Pro Tools system. Important Notices include information that could affect your Pro Tools project data or the performance of your Pro Tools system. Shortcuts show you useful keyboard or mouse shortcuts. Cross References point to related sections in this guide and other Avid documentation. How to Use this PDF Guide This PDF provides the following useful features: • The Bookmarks on the left serve as a continuously visible table of contents. Click on a subject heading to jump to that page. • Click a + symbol to expand that heading to show subheadings. Click the – symbol to collapse a subheading. • The Table of Contents provides active links to their pages. Select the hand cursor, allow it to hover over the heading until it turns into a finger. Then click to locate to that subject and page. • All cross references in blue are active links. Click to follow the reference. • Select Find from the Edit menu to search for a subject. • When viewing this PDF on an iPad, it is recommended that you open the file using iBooks to take advantage of active links within the document. When viewing the PDF in Safari, touch the screen, then touch Open in “iBooks”. 2 What’s New in Pro Tools 2020.9 Resources The Avid website (www.avid.com) is your best online source for information to help you get the most out of Pro Tools. Account Activation and Product Registration Activate your product to access downloads in your Avid account (or quickly create an account if you do not have one). Register your purchase online, download software, updates, documentation, and other resources. www.avid.com/account Support and Downloads Contact Avid Customer Success (technical support), download software updates and the latest online manuals, browse the Compatibil- ity documents for system requirements, search the online Knowledge Base or join the worldwide Avid user community on the User Con- ference. www.avid.com/support Training and Education Study on your own using courses available online, find out how you can learn in a classroom setting at an Avid-certified training center, or view video tutorials and webinars. www.avid.com/education Video Tutorials The Get Started Fast with Pro Tools series of online videos provide tutorials to help if you are new to Pro Tools. They also provide vid- eos for the experienced user that introduce new features found in the latest versions of Pro Tools. www.avidblogs.com/get-started-fast-with-pro-tools/ Products and Developers Learn about Avid products, download demo software, or learn about our Development Partners and their plug-ins, applications, and hardware. www.avid.com/products 3 What’s New in Pro Tools 2020.9 New and Improved Features in Pro Tools 2020.9 Support for Ableton Link Pro Tools supports Ableton Link, a synchronization technology from Ableton that keeps Link-enabled applications in time over a local network (LAN or WLAN). Link synchronizes musical beat, tempo, phase and start/stop commands across multiple applica- tions running on the same or different devices. Applications on devices connected to a local network discover each other automat- ically and form a musical session in which each participant can perform independently: • Anyone can start or stop while still staying in time. • Anyone can change the tempo and the others follow. • Anyone can join or leave without disrupting the session. Link-enabled applications on the same network are referred to as peers. Peers can be on the same computer as well as on other com- puters on the network. The tempo range supported by Ableton Link is 20 bpm to 999 bpm. All Ableton Link peers must be behind any firewall on the network. For more information about Ableton Link, visit www.ableton.com. To enable Ableton Link: 1 Ensure that your Pro Tools system is connected to a local network (LAN or WLAN). 2 Ensure that any other devices running Link-enabled applications (peers) are connected to the same local network. 3 In Pro Tools, show the Ableton Link controls in the Edit window toolbar or the Transport window. 4 Click the Link button so that it turns blue. 5 Enable Start/Stop if desired. 6 Select the desired Quantize value. 7 Start playback. In Pro Tools, use Elastic Audio on tick-based tracks to conform to tempo changes made over Ableton Link. In Pro Tools, disable the Conductor to enter Manual Tempo mode otherwise the Pro Tools Tempo track may override tempo changes made in other Link-enabled applications. Showing and Hiding Ableton Link Controls Controls for Ableton Link can be shown or hidden in the Edit window toolbar and the Transport window. To show (or hide) Ableton Link controls in the Edit window toolbar: 1 Do one of the following: • Click the Edit Window Toolbar menu (in the upper-right corner of the window). • Right-click in the Toolbar. 2 From the menu, select (or deselect) Ableton Link. New and Improved Features in Pro Tools 2020.9 4 Selecting Ableton Link in the Edit Window Toolbar menu To show (or hide) Ableton Link controls in the Transport window: 1 Do one of the following: • Click the Transport Window menu (in the upper-right corner of the window). • Right-click in the Transport window. 2 From the menu, select (or deselect) Ableton Link. Selecting Ableton Link in the Transport Window menu Ableton Link Controls and Indicators Start/Stop Sync Number of Connected Peers Launch Quantize selector Beat Cycle Position indicator Link button Ableton Link controls Start/Stop Sync Click Start/Stop to toggle Pro Tools transport start/stop synchronization on and off. Start/Stop lights green when enabled. When enabled, starting and stopping the Pro Tools transport sends and responds to start and stop messages to and from any other linked applications. Note that not all Link-enabled applications send or respond to start and stop messages. For those that do, you may need to enable Start/Stop sync within the application itself. Number of Connected Peers Display The number of connected peers is displayed to the right of Start/Stop. Peers are other Link-enabled applications connected over the network or running on the host computer. For example, in addition to your Pro Tools system, if there is a laptop on the network running Ableton Live and an iPad running two Link-enabled applications (such as a synth app and a drum machine app), the num- ber of peers displayed will be 3.