Dolby E is a data stream that is carried as stereo PCM audio.  It is always used together with video on a video tape or in a MXF or Quicktime movie file and is an encode of one or more mixes of the program. Typically, it is an encoding of a 5.1 mix and a stereo mix.  The PCM audio is divided into frames, one for each video frame.  But the data doesn't fill up the entire PCM audio stream.  If you look at a Dolby E stream in an audio editor you will see gaps of silence between bursts of data.  The silent portion of audio between the start of the video frame and the start of the burst is called the guard band.  The guard band is there so editing programs can edit the audio on video frame boundaries without affecting the Dolby E data.

A common question is "where should the Dolby E stream be placed to have the correct guard band?"  The good news is that the Neyrinck SoundCode For Dolby E encoder automatically inserts the guard band according to Dolby standards so you don't have to worry about it.  The WAV file is time-stamped so it is sample accurately placed into any workstation software.  If you are interested in learning more about the guard band placement, follow the link below to Dolby's web site for some nitty-gritty details.

 

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Pro Tools lets you choose a preference to work in Film or SMPTE format.  Many users get confused by this because they think that it affects their speaker layout or how audio is handled internal to Pro Tools.  This setup choice only affects the default order of Pro Tools hardware inputs and outputs.  It is not a speaker layout but rather a preferred hardware channel output ordering.  When you set up a bus, input, or output in the I/O Setup dialog, Pro Tools will order them according to your preference by default.  You can always modify it after it has been created.   As long as you connect your monitoring system or layback VTR correctly, you can use either order.  Often VTR layback delivery specifications will order tracks in SMPTE order so it makes the connections more straightforward.  If your monitoring system is connected to output channels 1-8 as L,R,C,Lf,Ls,Rs, then you should use SMPTE format to simplify creating your outputs.   The setting has no effect on how Pro Tools deals with 5.1 internally.  Pro Tools always displays tracks and meters in film order and always makes all internal connections to plug-ins in film order.