Pro Tools | Ultimate™ on the same computer via Satellite Link

Introduction

This is by far the most favourable DAW Sync option for use with Video Sync, as it provides the tightest & fastest sync with Pro Tools® using Avid® Satellite Link. It is also by far the fastest & easiest setup.

To run Video Sync on the same machine as Pro Tools® with Avid Satellite Link, Pro Tools | Ultimate™ version 2021.3 or higher is required to serve as a Satellite Admin.

It is of course also possible to set up a Satellite Link connection to connect Pro Tools to Video Sync on a separate computer.

Avid® Satellite Link Setup in Video Sync

Setting up Satellite Link is quite simple and straight-forward & should only need to be done once to have Video Sync connected to the Satellite Link network. Many of these settings should already be correctly setup by default - it’s just a case of manually confirming they are correct.

The Satellite Link options in Video Sync can be found in the SYNC tab of the Preferences window.

Click on Satellite Link in the Sync Method field.

Confirm that Control Mode is set to Pro Tools on this computer.

This will hard set the Port field to N/A.

To give this computer’s Video Sync instance a unique Satellite name that would show up in Pro Tools®’ Satellite options, type it in the Satellite Name field. This is especially useful for identifying each instance of Video Sync, if running multiple Video Sync Satellites on the same network.

The Network Interface address selection allows for selecting the network interface to use. When connecting to Pro Tools® on the same machine, make sure to select the same interface also used in the Pro Tools® Satellite settings.

The steps up until this point in Video Sync should only need to be done once. After that - Video Sync should always be automatically connected to the Satellite network when it is available - unless the Satellite settings are changed.

Next go to the timeline tab top left & make a note of the timecode rate of the current timeline being used, so that can be matched in Pro Tools®.

Mis-matched Pro Tools® Session Timecode Rate & Video Sync TC Frame Rate will cause out-of-sync playback. This needs to be checked which each different session.

Avid® Satellite Link Setup in Pro Tools® | Ultimate™ / Pro Tools | HD™

In Pro Tools®, go to the Session Setup window and confirm that the timecode rate & range match those set in Video Sync.

Then go to the Setup menu > Peripherals > Satellites tab.

Make sure that Administrator is selected under the Mode box.

In the Administrator box, make sure Administrator is selected as System 1:.

Select the Video Sync instance with the name defined earlier from the dropdown menu for the next available System (2 by default if no other Satellites connected).

If for any reason Video Sync does not show up in the list, re-check all the settings & hit the Reset Network button.

Under the Advanced Network Settings, check that the Interface tab is set to the same network that was chosen in Video Sync, and that the IP addresses match.

When using Video Sync on the same machine, the TCP/UDP Port: value used is not relevant. This can be left set to the Pro Tools default value which is 28282.

Click OK.

Video Sync is now connected to the Satellite network, but will not yet start syncing until it is online in the Pro Tools® Transport window.

Enabling Synchronised playback

In Video Sync, the Source, Timecode Rate and the Incoming Timecode should now be seen in the SYNC tab of the Preferences window when hitting play or scrubbing within Pro Tools®.

Due to the method used to acheive sync across Satellite Link, the Incoming TC field will only update & show the correct timecode value when the transport is stationary.

In Pro Tools, check that the expanded Satellite Synchronisation box is showing in the Transport window by clicking on the downwards pointing arrow on the top right of the window, & making sure the Synchronization controls are enabled.

Enable the Satellite Devices that now appear in the Transport Bar in Pro Tools®. There should be one for Pro Tools® and one for Video Sync.

Enable the arrow keys to the right of the Satellite Devices- which provide positional sync information. There should be an orange arrow for Pro Tools®, and a green arrow for Video Sync.

This will also automatically enable the Sync button to the left of Video Sync’s Transport controls.

Video Sync Satellite Link is now online & ready to go. Hit play in Pro Tools® and Video Sync will play back in sync.