Prime for Playback Mode

When playing back a large number of tracks, Pro Tools may take a little longer to actually start playback. To avoid this delay, put Pro Tools in Prime for Playback mode before starting playback.

To enable Prime for Playback mode and start playback:

1 Do one of the following:

Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click (Windows) Play in the Transport to put Pro Tools in Prime for Playback mode.

– or – 

Right-click the Play button and select Prime for Playback.

The Stop button lights and the Play button flashes.

2 To begin playback instantaneously, click Play.

3 Click Stop to stop playback.

When synchronizing to timecode, use Prime for Playback mode to play back large numbers of tracks. This decreases the time it takes to lock to timecode.