Hum.. This just doesn't seem right. Is your version of DP the most up-to-date? Have you tried to do a test track maybe? Open a new session with one track and do a BTD and see what you get. Also, here are the help topics of BTD in DP.
Bounce
Bounce to Disk does exactly as its name implies: it bounces multiple audio tracks down to a single sound file or stereo pair of sound files. Original tracks are preserved, and new audio files created during bouncing can be saved in 8, 16 or 24-bit resolution. It can also bounce your audio tracks to a QuickTime movie.
Bouncing allows you to play back many more tracks than you can play simultaneously on your system by mixing them down to a single track (or stereo track pair). It is especially useful for creating a final mix of a project for mastering to CD or exporting to a QuickTime movie or video authoring applications. Bouncing is also a great way to create a single, contiguous sound file out of a track composed of many smaller ones. And since bouncing occurs in the digital realm, no noise or sonic degradation is introduced. You can bounce as many times as you like without introducing any artifacts as a result of bouncing.
Setting outputs
All of the tracks you wish to combine in the bounce operation must be assigned to the same output or bus pair. The Bounce operation will include everything being routed to the output pair or bus pair you choose, including sends that are bussed in from tracks assigned to other outputs. So be sure to assign all the tracks (and sends) you wish to include in the bounce to the same output pair or bus pair before bouncing.
Previewing
After making the necessary output settings (if needed), bouncing to disk is a simple two step process: select any portion of one or more audio tracks and then choose Bounce to Disk from the Audio menu. The results of the bounce will sound exactly the same as what you selected, including volume/pan automation, mute/solo settings, real time MOTU Audio system effects, EQ and any other real time effects that are applied to the selected tracks. Basically, what you hear when you play the sequence back is what you will get in the resulting mixdown.
To preview the results of the bounce, solo the tracks you wish to include in the bounce and play back the sequence.
You can also use the Play Selection command in the Region menu to preview the bounce command. But if you do, be aware that the Play Selection command ignores the current mute and solo settings of the selected tracks, so only select the tracks you actually want to play.
The Bounce to Disk settings
Once youve made the preparations already discussed, selected the tracks you wish to bounce, and chosen the Bounce to Disk command from the Audio menu, the Bounce to Disk dialog appears with the following options.
Format: You can bounce directly to variety of interleaved stereo file formats - or to a QuickTime movie. Choose the desired format from the menu. For example, if you wish to bounce down to a stereo interleaved AIFF file, choose Core Audio Export: AIFF. If you would like to bounce down to a stereo interleaved Sound Designer II file, choose Core Audio Export: Sound Designer II. These formats, as well as the other additional Core Audio formats shown in the menu, are supplied by Mac OS X.
Additional options for Standard Format (SD II)
Channels: Your five choices here are Mono (no attenuation), Mono (with 3.5 dB attenuation), Split Stereo (two mono files), Interleaved Stereo and Split Multi-Channel. (Interleaved Stereo is not available under the MOTU Audio System.)
Mono (no attenuation): Mono creates a single monophonic audio file. Digital Performer simply sums the left and right channels of the outputs of the source tracks, so there is a possibility that the resulting mono mix might clip, even when the source material does not. If this is the case, undo the bounce operation, adjust the levels of the source tracks and bounce again.
Mono (with 3.5 dB attenuation): When bouncing to mono, this option preserves the level when bouncing a signal that is panned center. The attenuation compensates for the 3.5 dB boost you get from summing the left and right channels of a centered signal with equal-power panning.
Split Stereo (two mono files): Split Stereo creates two mono audio files that together comprise the stereo image. They share the same file name with .L and .R extensions appended to the end. Use this option if you would like to play back the results of the bounce in Digital Performer, as Digital Performer does not support the playback of interleaved stereo audio files. Also note that most other audio applications support dual mono (split stereo) sound files.
Interleaved Stereo: This option creates a single, interleaved stereo sound file, which can be used in any application that supports interleaved stereo Sound Designer II files. Digital Performer does not support interleaved stereo sound files, so if you would like to play the results of the bounce operation, use the split stereo option discussed in the previous section. Accordingly, if you choose Interleaved Stereo, the Import option (described below) will not allow you to import the file into Digital Performer.
This option is not available when Digital Performer is running under the MOTU Audio System.
Split Multi-Channel: This option creates several mono audio files that together comprise a multi-channel surround mix. They share the same file name with appropriate extensions to identify each channel (.L, .R, .C, .Ls, .Rs, etc.)
Resolution: For resolution, you can choose 8, 16 or 24 bits. If you choose 8 bits (a sample format not supported by Digital Performer for playback), the Import option below will force you to choose the Do not import setting.
8-bit resolution is typically applied to audio that will be used in multimedia and internet applications because it significantly reduces the size of the sound files, halving the bandwidth required to deliver the sound. When you are bouncing down to 8-bit audio, you may want to apply Digital Performers MasterWorks Compressor (or a third-party dynamics plug-in of your choice) to the mix to counteract the effect of halving the dynamic range that results from going to 8 bits.
16-bit resolution is the standard resolution for compact disc audio.
24-bit audio provides greater resolution and headroom and is used by many mastering systems.
Import: This option lets you choose what to do with the audio file(s) generated by the bounce operation. If you choose Do not import, the file will be created on the hard drive but it will not be imported into Digital Performer. Otherwise, you can import the audio file into the Soundbites window or into the current sequence as a new audio track (or two tracks, if you have chosen the Split Stereo option). If you have chosen a format not supported by Digital Performer, you will not be allowed to choose either of these import options.
Source: Indicate the output or bus pair that you wish to capture in the bounce. All tracks that are currently selected and routed to or bussed to the source pair you choose will be included.
Additional options for all formats
File name: Type in the desired name for the resulting audio file(s). If multiple files are generated (due to a stereo or surround bounce operation), appropriate file extensions will be appended to the end of each file name to indicate its channel (.L, .R, etc.)
Save Settings for Bounce Again: When you check this box and click OK, you are asked to name your bounce settings and (optionally) assign them to a custom key binding. All settings in the Bounce to Disk window are saved, including the destination folder. In addition, the current time range selection in the current DP project is also saved with the settings. This is important to understand because it means that saved bounce settings are bound to specific material in a specific project. They are not general in nature. This is very powerful, as it allows for you to take advantage of Digital Performers Multi Bounce and other features in the Bounce Settings sub-menu (Audio menu).
Save Settings as Audio Export Format: When you check this box and click OK, you are asked to save the current audio export settings in the Bounce to Disk dialog. You can then conveniently recall them as a user preset when bouncing to disk or exporting audio. Your new audio export preset appears in all audio export format menus in Digital Performer, including the Bounce to Disk dialog and the audio export dialog. To use it, simply choose it from the menu when bouncing or exporting. These presets are saved as a preference, so they are not project-specific. They are global to all projects.
Destination: This displays the hard disk location for the resulting sound file(s) created by the bounce operation. Click the Choose button to change it.
Bouncing
After youve made the settings discussed above, click OK to begin the bounce. Digital Performer displays a progress window that shows the progress of the bounce operation.
Processing occurs faster than real time in most situations and there is therefore no playback during bouncing. The speed of the processing, however, not only depends on how fast your computer is, it also depends on how many tracks you have selected for bouncing. If what you have selected can be played by your computer, then processing during bouncing will probably occur faster than real time. If you have selected more tracks than you can play at one time, then processing speed may not necessarily occur faster than real time.
Bouncing to MP3
Digital Performer can export audio to the MP3 audio file format, either using the Bounce to Disk command or the Export Selected Bites command in the Soundbites window mini-menu. For details, refer to the Digital Performer User Guide.
