Apple Soundtrack Pro 3 - Manual (Page 16)

Processor Speed and RAM
Digital audio files require intensive processing by your computer. If you plan to work on
longer or more complex projects, or use multiple effects plug-ins in your projects, a
computer with a faster processor can facilitate your productivity.
Soundtrack Pro is optimized for use with computers that have a multiprocessor
architecture. Working with Soundtrack Pro projects on a multiprocessor-equipped
computer can make your workflow more efficient, especially when creating longer or
more complex projects.
If you plan to work on large projects, it’s useful to have extra random-access memory, or
RAM, installed in your computer. Additional RAM allows you to play back more files
simultaneously, use a greater number of effects plug-ins, and keep several multimedia
applications open at the same time.
Hard Disks
In addition to having a computer with a fast processor and a lot of extra RAM, it’s also a
good idea to have a large hard disk with plenty of available space to store the media
(audio and video) files you use with Soundtrack Pro. As you work with the application,
you’ll likely want to acquire a large collection of sounds to use in your Soundtrack Pro
projects. Hard disk performance is a critical aspect of your editing system: the storage
capacity and data rate of your disks must match or exceed the requirements of the audio
(and video) formats you are using.
If you store media files on an external hard disk, make sure the disk has a fast enough
seek time and a high enough sustained data transfer rate for use with video and audio
files. Consult the manufacturer’s specifications.
Important: Every minute of stereo digital audio (recorded using a 44.1 kHz sample rate
and 16-bit depth) requires roughly 10 MB of hard disk space. If you plan to record large
amounts of audio in Soundtrack Pro, you may want to record to a hard disk dedicated to
storage for your Soundtrack Pro projects.
Setting the Audio Input and Output
You can set the default input and output devices for Soundtrack Pro with the Audio MIDI
Setup utility.
To select a default output device
Do one of the following:
µ
Double-click Audio MIDI Setup in the Utilities folder, then choose the device from the
Default Output pop-up menu.
µ
Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Sound, then click Output. Select the
audio interface in the list that appears.
16 Chapter 1 Setting Up Your System