Mbox 2 with Pro Tools LE 6.8.1 for Mac OS X 10.3 & 10.4

Digidesign Hardware Supplied with System

  • Mbox 2
  • USB Cable (12')

Digidesign Software Compatibility

  • Pro Tools LE 6.8.1 for Mac OS 10.3 & 10.4
  • Pro Tools LE software will not work without Digidesign hardware connected
  • Pro Tools LE supports the use of any single supported Pro Tools LE audio interface. Simultaneous use of multiple Pro Tools LE hardware devices is not supported.

Included and Optional Plug-Ins:

Optional Digidesign Hardware

  • Command|8
  • MIDI I/O
  • PRE (For use as standalone microphone preamplifier. For remote control within Pro Tools, TDM hardware and software is required)

Control Surfaces & MIDI Interfaces

Optional Digidesign & Avid Storage

  • Avid MediaDrive rS300/320 LVD
  • Avid MediaDrive rS146/320 LVD
  • Avid MediaDrive rS73/320 LVD
  • Avid MediaDrive rS36/320 LVD
  • Avid MediaDock Shuttle iS146/320 LVD
  • Avid MediaDock Shuttle iS73/320 LVD
  • Avid MediaDock Shuttle iS36/320 LVD
  • Avid MediaDock Dual
  • Avid MediaDock Dual+
  • Avid MediaDrive rS80
  • DigiDrive MediaDock
  • DigiDrive FireWire 80
  • DigiDrive SCSI Drives
  • SCSI-128 Kit (with ATTO Express PCI-UL3D)

Not compatible with Power Mac G5 or tested with Pro Tools 6.8 and higher:

  • SCSI-64 Kit/ATTO Express PCI-DC

Optional Video Software

Video Options

  • Canopus ADVC-100 DV Transcoder
  • Canopus ADVC-110 DV Transcoder

Maximum Performance Guidelines

  • Recording to the system startup drive is not recommended or supported
  • For Power Mac G5 or G4 desktop models, a separate internal or external dedicated audio hard drive is highly recommended for maximum performance and track count.Although limited recording and playback of audio tracks may be possible using the internal drive in iBook, PowerBook, iMac and Mac mini models, a separate external dedicated audio hard drive is highly recommended for maximum performance and track count. Digidesign recommends the use of FireWire drives for use with these computers.
  • Dual processor users will experience increased performance over single processor CPUs
  • Mbox 2 will not function properly if connected to a passive USB hub. If you need to use a hub for other USB peripherals, use a powered hub or a separate dedicated USB port for Mbox 2 to function properly.

Known Incompatibilities

  • Mbox 2 will not function if any Digidesign PCI cards are installed in the CPU. (Digi 001, Audiomedia III, TDM cards, SampleCell)
  • Pro Tools LE core hardware systems cannot be combined
  • Pro Tools 6 does not work in the OS 9 "Classic Mode". You must choose Mac OS X as your Startup Disk.

Energy Saver Settings

Pro Tools Does Not Support Sleep Mode

In the Macintosh System Preferences, launch Energy Saver, click the Sleep tab, and disable all Sleep features. Set "Put the computer to sleep when it is inactive" to Never. Do not manually put your computer to sleep when running Pro Tools.

Processor Performance & Power Mac G5

For optimal Pro Tools performance, you must set Processor Performance (located in System Preferences > Energy Saver > Options) to "Highest". Updating your Mac OS may reset this to the default setting: "Automatic". After updating your Mac OS, check to make sure this is set to "Highest".

Apple's Mac OS help documentation provides the following info on Energy Saver Processor settings:

  • The PowerPC G5 processor in your Power Mac G5 can run at various speeds. The default setting for this feature is "Automatic", which allows the system to run the processor at full speed when required, and at a lower speed during periods of light processing activity. Certain real-time applications, such as audio creation or gaming, may perform optimally when using the highest processor performance setting. You can change the processor performance setting in the Energy Saver pane of System Preferences.

Supported CPU Models, Speeds & Requirements

Not Tested:

  • eMac G4 (although not tested, there are no known differences in performance compared to iMac G4 with similar processor speeds)

System Software

After installing Pro Tools or updating your Mac OS, always run Disk Utility and "Repair Permissions" on the startup drive.

Total System RAM

  • 384 MB Minimum Required
  • 512 MB (or more) Highly Recommended
  • More RAM increases overall system and Pro Tools performance
  • 512 MB (or more) suggested for sessions with high edit density, extensive use of plug-ins, or simultaneous use with MIDI sequencers
  • 512 MB (or more) suggested for DigiTranslator 2.0
  • OS X does not require minimum or preferred RAM settings for Pro Tools as RAM is dynamically allocated

Additional Requirements

Monitor

  • Minimum resolution of 1024 x 768
  • 17" or larger recommended if using external monitor

QuickTime Required

  • Apple QuickTime 6.5.2 with Mac OS 10.3.8/10.3.9
  • Apple QuickTime 7.0.1 with Mac OS 10.3.9/10.4.2

Storage (Audio Drive) Requirements

Digidesign CoreAudio Driver

Additional Information

Mbox 2 Product Information & Specifications

Download Documentation

For more information, see Getting Started with Mbox 2 and other Pro Tools 6 documents in the Support > Tech Support > Technical Document Library and included with Mbox 2 systems.