# Does anyone use Pro Tools for video and slave it to your DAW?



## mbagalacomposer (Aug 10, 2015)

Been having issues with video sync and lag on my main rig and have an old laptop that would probably be perfect for a system like that. Not sure where to start in setting that up though....anyone have any tips? Hoping to save myself a couple hours of troubling shooting


----------



## gsilbers (Aug 10, 2015)

http://www.non-lethal-applications.com/


----------



## charlieclouser (Aug 10, 2015)

If you're on Mac, a simpler and more lightweight solution (in terms of CPU etc.) is to use VideoSlave. (Full disclosure: I was instrumental in begging Florian, the developer, to create this software.)

http://www.non-lethal-applications.com/products/video-slave-2-0

All it does is play video on a separate computer as a slave to MTC on your main DAW. You can create playlists so if you've got a film broken into multiple reels with separate video files it will play the correct one as the incoming timecode switches between various hours. You can use network MIDI sessions so you don't need hardware MIDI interfaces on both computers, and video playback can be routed to the native outputs of the slave Mac or to various hardware video interfaces like the BlackMagic Intensity Shuttle, etc. I use it and it's great. No video files in the main DAW!


----------



## mbagalacomposer (Aug 10, 2015)

Hey!

Thanks for the tip and if I was looking to drop some cash on a license I would totally do this.....but the point was kind of that I already have all the stuff I need to make a setup like this happen and thus the project would have no overhead.....which is preferable since I'm saving some cash to drop on a new slave.


----------



## ChristopherDoucet (Aug 10, 2015)

I use VideoSlave as well and I LOVE it!! I was plagued with video issues. Lag, weird Zooming, DAW crash, glitching etc. and from Day 1 using it, I have not had a single video issue! It's rock solid! Support is a pleasant experience and the reel's all being in one file is AWESOME!

My only drawback is it not supporting surround capabilities. I get weekly Sound Design prints from the sound team and they have to export 3 stereo files to comprise their one 5.1 Mix. But I believe it's coming in the future.


----------



## Gerhard Westphalen (Aug 10, 2015)

It depends on if you're syncing to Cubase. There are some transport issues with syncing Cubase + PT. I'm not quite sure if and how HZ has it working properly. Seems the Cubase has it's own MTC formatting. Logic an DP work better with PT. For Cubase, Nuendo or another Cubase is best. I'm not sure about the standalone video programs.


----------



## SomeGuy (Aug 10, 2015)

Can VideoSlave record your cues so you as you build your score you can quickly jump around to past cues and hear them against picture with SFX & Dialog? This is really the only reason I use a dedicated DAW for video is to be able to bounce down my individual cues into a single, long session that I can then use as reference, see how cues work together, quickly hear the key relations between different cues, etc. (that and Cubase does not have any export to quicktime functionality!)


----------



## samphony (Aug 10, 2015)

SomeGuy said:


> Can VideoSlave record your cues so you as you build your score you can quickly jump around to past cues and hear them against picture with SFX & Dialog? This is really the only reason I use a dedicated DAW for video is to be able to bounce down my individual cues into a single, long session that I can then use as reference, see how cues work together, quickly hear the key relations between different cues, etc. (that and Cubase does not have any export to quicktime functionality!)



It's an awesome video playback system with punches and streamers. To record your cues in surround you'll need a dedicated daw as layback.


----------



## mbagalacomposer (Aug 11, 2015)

Ya! I mean, I got the idea from the Junkie XL tutorials about his rig and I guess he has it setup so that PT is chasing Cubase, I was sort of surprised because I'm aware of the weirdness that can happen between the two DAWs. 

I guess he also hosts all of his audio from the video in PT and then busses it through Cubase (Maybe through VEP? He never explains it!!)

So I guess its all possible. I'm just not quite sure how to sync the two rigs together in a way that makes sense....


----------



## AlexRuger (Aug 11, 2015)

It's really not too bad. Two composers I've worked for had Cubase rigs with Pro Tools chasing for video, printing stems, etc. There's a timecode offset, that's it.


----------



## mbagalacomposer (Aug 11, 2015)

Whats the method for linking the two usually? Ethernet?


----------



## kunst91 (Aug 11, 2015)

mbagalacomposer said:


> Ya! I mean, I got the idea from the Junkie XL tutorials about his rig and I guess he has it setup so that PT is chasing Cubase, I was sort of surprised because I'm aware of the weirdness that can happen between the two DAWs.
> 
> I guess he also hosts all of his audio from the video in PT and then busses it through Cubase (Maybe through VEP? He never explains it!!)
> 
> So I guess its all possible. I'm just not quite sure how to sync the two rigs together in a way that makes sense....



Yeah I hope he goes over this in one of his tutorials. Maybe rctec will chime in, you never know!


----------



## mbagalacomposer (Aug 11, 2015)

kunst91 said:


> Yeah I hope he goes over this in one of his tutorials. Maybe rctec will chime in, you never know!



huh! Didn't see that one, will have to go back and check it out. 

Thanks!


----------



## kunst91 (Aug 11, 2015)

mbagalacomposer said:


> huh! Didn't see that one, will have to go back and check it out.
> 
> Thanks!



Notice how I said "hope"


----------



## mbagalacomposer (Aug 11, 2015)

kunst91 said:


> Notice how I said "hope"



See....notice how I didn't notice and got my hopes up :(


----------



## Gerhard Westphalen (Aug 11, 2015)

AlexRuger said:


> It's really not too bad. Two composers I've worked for had Cubase rigs with Pro Tools chasing for video, printing stems, etc. There's a timecode offset, that's it.



Timecode offset isn't the issue. Pro Tools just doesn't respond to certain transport commands such as +/- 1 frame and I've also heard of video not following along when fast forwarding (which works with other DAW's syncing). I haven't spoken with anyone who's had it all working properly. Someone did mention some sort of software converter that changes Cubase's MTC format to one which Pro Tools responds better to but I haven't found it.

In my studio I've experimented with syncing both Pro Tools and Nuendo to CB. Nuendo responds far better and everything works properly. The only reason I haven't gotten a Nuendo license is that right now it's not worth it for me since I'm not working on projects that require a second synced DAW and considering that I already have a PT license, the cost of Nuendo doesn't outweigh the better transport control.


----------



## jeffc (Aug 11, 2015)

SomeGuy said:


> Can VideoSlave record your cues so you as you build your score you can quickly jump around to past cues and hear them against picture with SFX & Dialog? This is really the only reason I use a dedicated DAW for video is to be able to bounce down my individual cues into a single, long session that I can then use as reference, see how cues work together, quickly hear the key relations between different cues, etc. (that and Cubase does not have any export to quicktime functionality!)



I use Protools on a separate machine to run video synched to Logic for this reason. The video is much more solid this way, but I really like the PT solution for a few specific reasons. 1. It's great to be able to visually see the audio from the movie - to be able to see the blobs for dialogue and temp MX makes it easy to visually get around a film. And 2. It's great to drop your demos into the PT session and be able to jump around and preview the whole show/film. And 3. It's super easy to export the cues from PT as an AAF that's timestamped. In one command, you can send all your demos to an editor for them to preview and not have to deal with writing timecodes in the filename. Super convenient. Now, I wouldn't go out and buy PT for this, but I had it already so it didn't cost a fortune to set this up. But it does work really well. And then when you're mixing your final stems, you can drop them into Protools as well, all lined up and then just send a PT session of the final mixes and stems right to your music editor. Really a timesaver.

Jeff


----------



## kunst91 (Aug 11, 2015)

jeffc said:


> I use Protools on a separate machine to run video synched to Logic for this reason. The video is much more solid this way, but I really like the PT solution for a few specific reasons. 1. It's great to be able to visually see the audio from the movie - to be able to see the blobs for dialogue and temp MX makes it easy to visually get around a film. And 2. It's great to drop your demos into the PT session and be able to jump around and preview the whole show/film. And 3. It's super easy to export the cues from PT as an AAF that's timestamped. In one command, you can send all your demos to an editor for them to preview and not have to deal with writing timecodes in the filename. Super convenient. Now, I wouldn't go out and buy PT for this, but I had it already so it didn't cost a fortune to set this up. But it does work really well. And then when you're mixing your final stems, you can drop them into Protools as well, all lined up and then just send a PT session of the final mixes and stems right to your music editor. Really a timesaver.
> 
> Jeff



Hey Jeff--Do you mind giving a quick rundown of how you have PT synched with Logic? I'm thinking of running PT on my laptop for this reason.


----------



## jeffc (Aug 11, 2015)

kunst91 said:


> Hey Jeff--Do you mind giving a quick rundown of how you have PT synched with Logic? I'm thinking of running PT on my laptop for this reason.


Sure. I use a physical midi interface. Cheap usb. I know it can be done with software now but I like hardware. As for audio, this can be done a million ways. The key is to be able to mute the dialogue when you're working. I've got a madi interface on ProTools that goes into a monitor controller so I can toggle the ProTools audio on and off when working. Again a million ways to do this. But for me doing it with hardware just makes it easier and it always works.


----------



## antoniopandrade (Aug 12, 2015)

Marcus, all you need is a midi interface or any kind of midi over lan software and an ethernet connection between both computers. Meaning, you need the sequencer (Cubase / Logic) to send over MTC (midi timecode) over a physical or virtual midi pipe and you need to Pro Tools to be listening on the receiving end, in "Online Mode" (Option + Spacebar or CMD+J). You guys are having trouble with MMC not MTC here, meaning, you can't get PT to move in increments of + or - a couple of frames or bars. That's MMC. The workaround to doing that with Cubase is to create a macro that moves by that increment, activate external sync, move by that same increment again, de-activate external sync. It tricks Cubase into snapping to the current transport position and happens fast enough that you barely feel a difference in transport movement. Hope that helps Gerhard. It's a bit confusing so maybe I can clear up any questions you guys have. I use this setup with PT in the same computer as Cubase and it works just fine, wouldn't want to have Cubase running picture never in a million years.

Oh, and the way that Junkie gets his audio from PT over to Cubase, I assume is to route physical digital outputs (ADAT / MADI) over to his sequencer. You can do that in one computer with a couple of interfaces (RME / Apollo can do it) by using virtual inputs within the interface to route audio internally. Works pretty well (I print my reference mixes into Pro Tools from Cubase this way with an Apollo.)


----------



## Dani Donadi (Aug 12, 2015)

Hi,
I slave Pro Tools to Cubase on two machines and also use the "online mode" to allow MMC commands for frame by frame steps. I find Cubase acts as a great "master" and Pro Tools follows very well, even though I'm sometimes going really fast and always afraid that PT might drift out of sync, but it always does very well. I think having PT or any other DAW slaved to your main DAW is a great way to print quick cues to send to the director or temp dialogue that you don't necessarily want inside your session.


----------



## kunst91 (Aug 12, 2015)

antoniopandrade said:


> Marcus, all you need is a midi interface or any kind of midi over lan software and an ethernet connection between both computers. Meaning, you need the sequencer (Cubase / Logic) to send over MTC (midi timecode) over a physical or virtual midi pipe and you need to Pro Tools to be listening on the receiving end, in "Online Mode" (Option + Spacebar or CMD+J). You guys are having trouble with MMC not MTC here, meaning, you can't get PT to move in increments of + or - a couple of frames or bars. That's MMC. The workaround to doing that with Cubase is to create a macro that moves by that increment, activate external sync, move by that same increment again, de-activate external sync. It tricks Cubase into snapping to the current transport position and happens fast enough that you barely feel a difference in transport movement. Hope that helps Gerhard. It's a bit confusing so maybe I can clear up any questions you guys have. I use this setup with PT in the same computer as Cubase and it works just fine, wouldn't want to have Cubase running picture never in a million years.
> 
> Oh, and the way that Junkie gets his audio from PT over to Cubase, I assume is to route physical digital outputs (ADAT / MADI) over to his sequencer. You can do that in one computer with a couple of interfaces (RME / Apollo can do it) by using virtual inputs within the interface to route audio internally. Works pretty well (I print my reference mixes into Pro Tools from Cubase this way with an Apollo.)



http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jun14/articles/inside-track-0614.htm

Junkie explains a little bit here


----------



## mbagalacomposer (Aug 12, 2015)

Thanks for the tip Antonio!! (and long time no see!) 

Gonna have to go home and play around with midi over lan and see what I can come up with. Unfortunately don't have a spare audio interface floating around at the moment. 

and I'm gonna have to try the printing references to Pro Tools....that sounds pretty nifty.


----------



## Gerhard Westphalen (Aug 12, 2015)

kunst91 said:


> http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jun14/articles/inside-track-0614.htm
> 
> Junkie explains a little bit here



I believe Junkie mentioned something about no longer printing to PT in his video series. I think he just exports stems offline in Cubase so that article is somewhat outdated (at least in his home studio).


----------



## kurtvanzo (Aug 15, 2015)

charlieclouser said:


> If you're on Mac, a simpler and more lightweight solution (in terms of CPU etc.) is to use VideoSlave. (Full disclosure: I was instrumental in begging Florian, the developer, to create this software.)
> 
> http://www.non-lethal-applications.com/products/video-slave-2-0
> 
> All it does is play video on a separate computer as a slave to MTC on your main DAW. You can create playlists so if you've got a film broken into multiple reels with separate video files it will play the correct one as the incoming timecode switches between various hours. You can use network MIDI sessions so you don't need hardware MIDI interfaces on both computers, and video playback can be routed to the native outputs of the slave Mac or to various hardware video interfaces like the BlackMagic Intensity Shuttle, etc. I use it and it's great. No video files in the main DAW!



Cool app idea, not sure it's worth $319. Having rock solid playback is great and the idea of playlists, even streamers and tc overlay is useful but this is more than many DAW's, even FCPX is cheaper. (Not to mention the extra $140 for pro features like special file playback and ADR cue import). I'm surprised so many have it considering there should be apps like this for less, besides this guy...

http://www.mtcvideoslave.at


----------



## ChristopherDoucet (Aug 28, 2015)

I have attempted to get PT to slave to Cubase several times and have never quite gotten it working. 

Are there any kind of definitive step by step instructions anywhere that detail how to Slave Pro Tools to Cubase? 

Or updated screenshots with Project Synchronization Setup in Cubase and Peripherals in Pro Tools? I would love to get this working but last time, I did more damage "trying" to get it to work, playing with MMC MTC external sync etc, screwed a lot up.


----------



## ChristopherDoucet (Aug 29, 2015)

I was told that I would need a 3rd party MIDI software in order to slave Pro Tools to Cubase. Is this correct??!?

I have Cubase on PC (Master) and Pro Tools on Mac (Slave). I have a MIDI interface for each machine (iconnectivity2+). Should this be enough to get them synced? 

The person who told me this said I would need to download a 3rd part software and route my MIDI through it for cubase to properly read?!? Does that sound right?!?

Thanks,


----------



## boomboom88 (Sep 1, 2021)

Has anyone found a way around the lag in playback start when using ProTools to follow your DAW (in my case from Logic)? And on the same computer? I have tried using IAC and a physical MIDI interface by routing in and out on the same port.


----------

