Dither in Pro Tools

There are several ways dither can be used in Pro Tools. Each has a specific application within the various operations that could benefit from using dither.

Dither Plug-Ins for Mixdown

Whenever you are mixing down or bouncing to disk and your destination bit depth is lower than 24-bit, insert a dither plug-in on a Master Fader that controls the output mix. You can use real-time dither plug-ins from Avid or third-party manufacturers.

For important information on using dither when mixing down or bouncing to disk, see Using Dither.

For more information on Dither plug-ins, see the Audio Plug-Ins Guide.

Dither in Fades and Crossfades

In the Fades dialog (Edit > Fades > Create), the Use AudioSuite Dither option enables a preset, noise-shaped dither.

For more information on using the Dither in fades and crossfades, see Use Dither.

Dither on Export and Import

When you export audio to a lower bit depth, or when you import an audio file into a session that is at a lower bit depth than the file, a preset, noise-shaped dither is applied.

For more information about the application of dither on export, see Exporting Audio. For more information about the application of dither on import, see Bit Depth Conversion and Dither.

Dithered Mixer Plug-Ins (Pro Tools|HD Systems Only)

Avid has developed a mixer that provides all of the benefits of the standard Stereo Mixer and Surround Mixer plug-ins, but also provides uncorrelated dither on any summed output. There are two Mixer plug-ins that feature dither with noise shaping: Stereo Dithered Mixer and Surround Dithered Mixer.

For more information on using the Dithered Mixer plug-ins, see the Pro Tools|HD User Guide.