Control Surfaces & MIDI Interfaces with Pro Tools HD 7 for Mac OS X


The following devices are qualified for use with Pro Tools|HD and Pro Tools|HD Accel systems with Pro Tools HD 7.x software for Mac OS X:

Control Surfaces


  • C|24 (Pro Tools HD 7.3.2 and higher, or Pro Tools LE 7.4 and higher)
  • Command|8
  • Control|24
  • ICON Systems
    • D-Command Systems
      • D-Command Fader Pack
    • D-Control Systems
      • With up to 80 Faders
      • D-Control Surround Panner
    • D-Control ES Systems (Pro Tools HD 7.4 and higher)
      • With up to 80 Faders
      • D-Control Surround Panner
    • ICON Systems Product Information
    • ICON Systems Minimum Requirements: Mac Pro or Dual Processor G5; 2 GB Total System RAM
  • ProControl
    • Fader Pack (up to 5)
    • Edit Pack
  • Surround Panner Option (Pro Tools HD 7.2 and higher; MIDI interface required)
  • CM Labs MotorMix (MIDI interface required)
  • Mackie Designs HUI (MIDI interface required)

Notes:
  • Digidesign D-Control, D-Control ES, and D-Control Fader Packs are only compatible with Pro Tools|HD and Pro Tools|HD Accel systems.
  • Digidesign D-Command and D-Command Fader Pack are only compatible with Pro Tools|HD and Pro Tools|HD Accel systems.
  • Digidesign ProControl, FaderPack for ProControl and EditPack for ProControl are only compatible with TDM systems.
  • D-Control and ProControl control surfaces are are not compatible with Pro Tools LE systems.
  • New MIDI control surface features are provided through the latest Control Surface Personality files installed with Pro Tools
  • Pro Tools 6.0 and later no longer supports and will not install the Penny & Giles MM-16 and DC-16 Control Surface Personality Files
  • Digi 002 faders cannot be used to control any device other than that Digi 002.
  • 003 faders cannot be used to control a different Pro Tools hardware system
  • Only one Command|8 can be used with a Pro Tools system. Multiple Command|8 units cannot be enabled simultaneously.
  • When using a Digidesign Command|8, it must be the only MIDI control surface enabled within Pro Tools.
    • The Command|8 will not function with other MIDI controllers enabled, including but not limited to another Command|8, JL Cooper MCS Panner, Mackie HUI, or CM Labs MotorMix, with the following exception:
    • Command|8 can be used in combination with non-MIDI control surfaces such as Control|24 with some limitations. For more information, see the Command|8 Guide.

For more information on using control surfaces with Pro Tools, see the D-Control Guide, D-Command Guide, C|24 Guide, Command|8 Guide, ProControl Guide, or Control|24 Guide; as well as your Pro Tools Getting Started Guide and Pro Tools Reference Guide.

D-Control Features Added in Pro Tools HD 7.4cs1 for Mac OS X
Pro Tools HD 7.4cs1 includes controller personality file and firmware updates for D-Control worksurfaces. These personality and firmware updates include the following new or updated features:
  • Changes to the "Auto Write To" Switches
  • Changes to the Soft Keys Section
  • Dual Transport Mode
  • LED Test Mode Color Changes (D-Control ES Only)
  • D-Control Multi-Mode (Mac only)*
*Pro Tools HD 7.4cs1 for Mac OS X adds the ability to enter D-Control Multi-mode, which lets you use a single D-Control console to access up to four Pro Tools|HD systems on a network. Multi-mode lets you quickly switch worksurface control from one Pro Tools system to another by pressing a single switch on the D-Control console.

Third-Party Legacy MIDI Control Surfaces



The following control surfaces were not tested with Pro Tools HD 7, and therefore are not officially supported. The Pro Tools HD 7.1 and 7.2 installation discs contains an "Unsupported Software" folder with the following control surface personality files:
  • JL Cooper CS-10 MIDI series
  • JL Cooper MCS 3000 series MCS-Panner
  • Peavy PC-1600
To use these files, download from the following page and follow the directions there:

Third-Party MIDI Control Surfaces Guide
For third-party devices such as the MoterMix, HUI, CS-10 or PC-1600, see the MIDI Control Surfaces Guide, available from the Legacy MIDI Controllers download pages.


MIDI Interfaces — USB Only



The following MIDI Interfaces are qualified for use with Pro Tools|HD and Pro Tools|HD systems with Pro Tools HD 7 software for Mac OS X:
  • Digidesign MIDI I/O - USB MIDI interface with 10 MIDI I/O ports, supporting 160 MIDI channels
  • M-Audio MIDISPORT Series
  • Emagic Unitor8, AMT8, MT4
  • Roland UM2, UM4

Known Incompatibilities & Issues
  • Only USB MIDI interfaces are compatible with Pro Tools systems for Mac OS X. Modem-to-serial port adapters and serial MIDI devices are not supported.
  • System instabilities and performance issues can occur when using MIDI control surfaces in conjunction with Pro Tools and 3rd party MIDI interfaces. For best multiport MIDI performance with Pro Tools 7, we recommend using Digidesign's MIDI I/O.
Keywords: DigiSupKW DigiSupKW_Compatibility ; PlatformKW_Undefined ; ArticleID 23529 ; OldAnswerbaseID ;