Thank you for raising this important question. In my experience, the best
approach is to open the Pro Tools session and export each track as a WAV or
BWF file, adhering to a clearly defined target specification. I recommend
referring to *IASA-TC 04: Guidelines on the Production and Preservation of
Digital Audio Objects <https://www.iasa-web.org/tc04/audio-preservation>*
as a foundation for setting preservation standards.
It's also worth noting that .PTS / .PTX files may only be forward- or
backward-compatible with a limited range of Pro Tools versions. If you
choose to retain these original session files for potential future access,
you should plan to maintain a legacy workstation with the appropriate
operating system and compatible version of Pro Tools.
Best regards,
Darnelle
[image: UNLV Logo] <http://unlv.edu/>
Darnelle O. Melvin
Special Collections and Archives Metadata Librarian
Associate Professor
University Libraries
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
darnelle.melvin_at_unlv.edu
Office: 702-895-2146 <17028952146>
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On Thu, Aug 7, 2025 at 9:23 AM May, Kari L <
0000017296d931ec-dmarc-request_at_lists.clir.org> wrote:
> Hello,
>
> We have recently been working with a collection that contains .PTS / .PTX
> files from Pro Tools (Avid). We are considering various approaches to
> preserving them but would be grateful for input on practices/workflows from
> anyone else who already has experience working with these formats.
>
> Many thanks,
>
> Kari May
> Digital Archivist & Preservation Librarian
> University of Pittsburgh Library System
> 7500 Thomas Blvd, Room 205
> Pittsburgh, PA, 15260
> 412.648.5676
> karimay_at_pitt.edu<mailto:karimay_at_pitt.edu>
>
> "There are no answers- only choices." -Gibarian, Solaris
>
Received on Thu Aug 07 2025 - 13:12:01 EDT