84 lines
4.7 KiB
Markdown
84 lines
4.7 KiB
Markdown
# File-format parity
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> **Last reviewed:** 2026-10-10 · **Last updated:** 2026-10-10 · **Change:** major (first format inventory against Pro Tools 2026.4.1) · **Target:** Avid Pro Tools Ultimate 2026.4.1
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Every format Pro Tools reads or writes, and ours. The Pro Tools list comes from the document types
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its bundle declares (`CFBundleDocumentTypes` in Info.plist: names only, nothing else read) and its
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documented import/bounce options. Ours comes from `crates/audio-io` (`detect_format`, `decode`,
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`ENCODE_EXTENSIONS`), `crates/engine/src/cmd/file.rs`, `crates/engine/src/score.rs`,
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`crates/engine/src/clip_group_file.rs` and `crates/video`.
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**File formats: ~40 % ready** (estimated: weighted by how often a Pro Tools user hits each row;
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session interchange carries a third of the weight and is at 0 %). Remaining ≈ 70–120 h.
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Legend: ✅ supported and tested · 🟡 partial · ❌ missing · — not applicable.
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## Sessions and interchange
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| Format | Pro Tools | Read | Write | Tests / notes |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Pro Tools session `.ptx` (and `.ptf` from 7–9) | native | ❌ | ❌ | Proprietary, undocumented. Owner decision needed on black-box format study (G-03) |
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| Session templates `.ptxt` | read/write | ❌ | ❌ | We have no templates at all (G-16) |
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| AAF (Advanced Authoring Format) | import/export | ❌ | ❌ | #40. The post-production handoff from picture editors (G-03) |
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| OMF | import/export | ❌ | ❌ | Legacy, still delivered by some editors |
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| Media Composer–compatible session | export | ❌ | ❌ | AAF variant |
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| ADM BWF (Dolby Atmos master) | import/export | ❌ | ❌ | G-12 |
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| SoundCraft session `.scraft` + `Audio Files/` | — | ✅ | ✅ | JSON (serde); mutated-file property test loads or fails cleanly; plugin state embedded |
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| Import Session Data (from another session) | Pro Tools sessions | 🟡 | — | From `.scraft` only |
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| Session info as text | export | — | ✅ | `file.export_session_text` |
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| Clip groups `.rgrp` / ours `.scgrp` | read/write | 🟡 | 🟡 | Our own `.scgrp` format; Pro Tools' clip-group files not read |
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| Track presets, fade presets, I/O settings, workspace, sync settings | read/write | ❌ | ❌ | Their equivalents don't exist yet (G-16) |
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## Audio
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| Format | Pro Tools | Read | Write | Tests / notes |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
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| WAV / BWF (PCM 16/24/32, float 32), `bext` | native | ✅ | ✅ | Native reader/writer, TPDF dither option; also 8-bit and float 64 read |
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| RF64 / BW64 (> 4 GiB) | read/write | ✅ | ✅ | `encode_wav_rf64` |
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| WAV `WAVE_FORMAT_EXTENSIBLE` multichannel with channel mask | read/write | ✅ | ✅ | `encode_with_channel_mask`; default 5.1 import creates a stereo track (#89, PR #128) |
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| AIFF / AIFF-C | native | ✅ | ✅ (`fl32`) | Native |
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| FLAC | import | ✅ | ✅ | Own encoder |
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| MP3 | import, bounce | ✅ (symphonia) | ❌ | G-21 |
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| AAC / M4A / MP4 audio | import, bounce | ✅ (symphonia) | ❌ | G-21 |
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| ALAC | import | ✅ | ❌ | |
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| Ogg Vorbis | — | ✅ | ❌ | Beyond Pro Tools |
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| CAF | — | ✅ | ❌ | |
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| Sound Designer / SD II | import (legacy) | ❌ | — | Rare today |
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| ReCycle / REX | import | ❌ | — | Loops |
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| MXF audio (OP-Atom, OP1a) | import | ❌ | ❌ | Avid media; FilmCraft has an MXF reader to learn from |
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| iXML / polyphonic field-recorder metadata | read | ❌ | ❌ | G-17 |
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| Peak overviews | `.wfm` cache | ✅ (own, in memory) | — | `audio-io::peaks`; not cached on disk |
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## MIDI and notation
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| Format | Pro Tools | Read | Write | Tests / notes |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Standard MIDI File (type 0/1) | import/export | ✅ | 🟡 | Exported MIDI omits imported controllers and ignores the tracks filter (#87, #98; PR #125) |
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| MusicXML (to Sibelius) | export | — | ✅ | `file.export_sibelius`, `score.rs` |
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| Printable score | print | — | ✅ (SVG) | |
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## Video
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| Format | Pro Tools | Read | Write | Tests / notes |
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| QuickTime / MP4, H.264 | import, bounce | ✅ | ❌ | Own pure-Rust decoder (Baseline/Main/High); mutated-movie fuzzing |
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| ProRes (all flavours) | import | ✅ | ❌ | Own decoder |
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| Motion JPEG | import | ✅ | ❌ | |
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| HEVC, AV1 | import | ❌ | ❌ | G-17 |
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| DNxHD / DNxHR, MXF video | import | ❌ | ❌ | G-17 |
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| Bounce with video | export | — | ❌ | G-17 |
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## Plugin and preset files
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| Format | Pro Tools | Ours |
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| AAX plug-ins | the only format it hosts | ❌ (cannot: Avid SDK licence, PACE signing) |
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| VST3 / Audio Units / CLAP | — (AAX only) | ✅ hosted (ahead of Pro Tools) |
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| Plug-in settings `.tfx` | read/write | ❌ (our own JSON presets per plugin) |
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## Revision history
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| Date | Change | Summary |
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| 2026-10-10 | major | Created: format inventory against Pro Tools 2026.4.1's declared document types and import/bounce options |
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