Timebase Rulers

Any or all of the following Timebase rulers can be displayed at the top of the Edit window and in MIDI Editor windows:

Bars|Beats

Displays the Time Scale in bars and beats. Use this Time Scale if you are working with musical material that must align with bars and beats. The Bars|Beats Time Scale is relative and is affected by the session’s tempo and meter map.

To ensure your tracks align with the bars and beats in your session, record with a click (see Recording with a Click). Material that is recorded without listening to a click can still be aligned to bar and beat boundaries in Pro Tools with the Identify Beat command (see Identify Beat Command), or with Beat Detective (see Beat Detective).

Minutes:Seconds

Displays the Time Scale in minutes and seconds. As you zoom in farther with the Zoomer tool, the Time Scale begins to display tenths, hundredths, and thousandths of a second. The Minutes:Seconds Time Scale is absolute.

Timecode

Displays the Time Scale in SMPTE frames. The Timecode Rate and Session Start time are set from the Session Setup window. The Timecode Time Scale is absolute, based on the frame rate.

Pro Tools supports the following frame rates:

23.976 FPS

24 FPS

25 FPS

29.97 FPS

29.97 FPS Drop

30 FPS

30 FPS Drop

Secondary Timecode Ruler

A secondary timecode ruler, labeled Time Code 2, lets you reference video frame rates in the Timeline that are different from the session Timecode rate. However, you cannot Spot to the Timecode 2 ruler and it cannot be set as the Main Time Scale. The secondary timecode ruler can be set to show any Pro Tools supported frame rate. The Timecode 2 ruler can also display the following additional frame rates:

50 FPS

59.94 FPS

59.94 FPS Drop

60 FPS

60 FPS Drop

Feet+Frames

Displays the Time Scale in feet and frames for referencing audio-for-film projects. The Feet+Frames time display is based on the 35 millimeter film format. The Feet+Frames Time Scale is absolute, based on the frame rate.

Samples

Displays the Time Scale in samples. This format is very useful for high-precision sample editing. The Samples Time Scale is absolute, based on the sample rate.

In addition to providing a timing reference for track material, the Timebase rulers are also used to define Edit selections for track material, and Timeline selections for record and play ranges.

With the Selector tool, drag in any Timebase ruler to select material across all tracks in the Edit window or MIDI Editor window. To include the Conductor tracks in the selection, press Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac) while dragging.