New Pro Tools Hardware

[theblackmoon]

I know this is not what most people were expecting, but I don't think it's that bad.

Digidesign userbase was basically hoping for a product between LE and HD. I think that HD "native" fills that gap...

I don't think they will ever release PT without a dongle of some sort. For small professional studios I think this PCIe solution is a good call, but I may be wrong...

Also there are some rumours that AU would be integrated to PT, wich would be awesome.

 

[AndrewPGlover]

On the bright side everybody who chose to participate in the "raise your level" program or whatever it was called seemed to make a pretty good call. Even HD2 with a 192 at that time would be similarly priced to an entry level Avid Native HD entry setup.

 

[egan.]

Writing the word Native on proprietary PCIe cards does not = Native.

I'm not totally pleased with this either, but yeah, actually it does if the PCI card isn't processing audio.

Back on topic, the most analogous product I can think of is the apogee symphony PCIe card which runs about $1k with no software. I still think they missed the omni+card price point by a grand but sweetwater is never the cheapest place to get digi stuff so it may well end up being a $5k package at the end of the day. I'm holding out for a laptop solution but the pci card step seemed pretty inevitable to me. I would be happy to use an express card or something similar if it came down to it.

 

[BLUElightCory]

It uses the computer's processor(s) for DSP, it does not have onboard DSP. It is, therefore, native.

If anyone else can think of a way to get 64 channels of I/O without using a card please feel free to share it with the group. I don't think USB/Firewire is going to cut it.

 

[JeffTD]

If anyone else can think of a way to get 64 channels of I/O without using a card please feel free to share it with the group. I don't think USB/Firewire is going to cut it.

Not like it matters when they artificially limit the HD Omni to 8 ins at a time anyways.

 

[egan.]

I hosed you by deleting my post as I read the manual, but it does look like it is limited as such. If that's correct it's pretty baffling. Oh well. Lynx stuff would be the best option then.

 

[black.death]

I'm not totally pleased with this either, but yeah, actually it does if the PCI card isn't processing audio.

lulz, alright how about dongle does not equal native.

regardless, this was weak as hell.

 

[::XeS::]

C'mon guys....what did you expect? I said to you what I predicted...
It's avid...if he would sell a native HD interface, the price would be the same of the current HD systems.....otherwise no one will buy the actual HD (dsp cards + interfaces).
Look at the price of the new M-box family...it's just insane! So do 2+2 and you have the possible price of a new native interface.
But moreover.....what's the difference from the actual HD and the new native? it's just ridicolous....you need a fucking pcie card in both the cases.

 

[Jarkko Mattheiszen]

lulz, alright how about dongle does not equal native.

regardless, this was weak as hell.

Yes it does, you don't seem to comprehend the meaning of the word 'native.' It's just very different from what we were hoping.

 

[Pedro Teixeira]

Wow this sucks....setiously... So much money for a freaking dongle and not to mention the interface... and it's still limited? What? And what plugins will it run, does anyone know? RTAS? VST? AU?

 

[greyskull]

This is for the high end Mac-Pro user, quite an attractive option.
However... I still wanna be able to edit on my fucking laptop without an interface!
The speculation is that pro tools 9 which will be fully native will be announced at NAMM allegedly.
Who knows.

 

[Jarkko Mattheiszen]

There are still rumors that we will soon see a truly native version of the software and that this was just the high-end -announcement. After all, we haven't seen anything about the new software yet.

 

[::XeS::]

In my opinion a native version of the software will cost at least 2 grands.....

 

[Kazrog]

Consistent with their history:
http://mixonline.com/TECnology-Hall-of-Fame/digidesign-pro-tools-090106/

At the same time, in 1991, on the Amiga, you could get Sunrize Studio 16 for considerably less coin - the Amiga also cost less than the Mac, and offered a high res, 4096 color graphics engine and a multitasking UNIX-oriented operating system - as opposed to the black and white, single-tasking, crash prone Macs of the time. Sunrize Studio 16 could run more tracks (16 instead of 2) and could sync up seamlessly with the popular Amiga MIDI Sequencer Bars & Pipes (which was better even than Cubase at the time) - all at once on the same machine with completely snappy, responsive user interface updates and rock solid stability.

http://www.amiga-hardware.com/showhardware.cgi?HARDID=1292

So - after 20 years of paying attention to this stuff since its inception (yes, I was only 13 years old but I paid attention even then), does it surprise me when Digidesign/Avid positions themselves in the market in almost the exact same way? Not a all. Still, there are a lot of aspects of Pro Tools software that appeal to many folks over all other DAW applications, and ultimately it's the app that keeps their user base coming back. I will say that their platform is incredibly stable, in part because of how restrictive it is. It's all a tradeoff, and the stability and top-notch editing features of Pro Tools, plus its industry standard reputation seem to be the ongoing selling points bringing in new users every year as well.

 

[AEL89]

This is clearly aimed at the high end of the market still. Anyone using the new interfaces is serious about their IO and AD/DA. This was posted on the AIR blog:

Apple Logic – $500
Apogee Symphony 64 – $995
Apogee Symphony IO – $1700
16 input card – $2000
16 output card – $2000

TOTAL – $7200

Avid Pro Tools HD FREE
Avid PT HD Native – $3000
Avid HD I/O 16in/out – $3650

TOTAL – $6650

These native cards are also compatible with 192s (and 96s) and they're hardly slouches compared to the new interfaces. I'm hopeful for more news soon but I'm definitely going to start saving anyway.

 

[FloridaRolf]

their platform is incredibly stable

 

[Ermz]

Every move this company makes, causes me to be all that much more glad that I moved entirely away from their platform earlier in the year.

Here's another to add to this list:

Apple Logic – $500
Apogee Symphony 64 – $995
Apogee Symphony IO – $1700
16 input card – $2000
16 output card – $2000

TOTAL – $7200

Avid Pro Tools HD FREE
Avid PT HD Native – $3000
Avid HD I/O 16in/out – $3650

TOTAL – $6650

Reaper - $150
RME RayDAT - $849
SSL Alpha-Link MADI AX - $2479

Total: $3478

...and you get another 8 I/O.

 

[Jarkko Mattheiszen]

Yeah. For the first time since moving to ProTools I actually feel like I might start considering other DAW options when I get to building my "real" rig. Sucks, because I absolutely love the software.

 

[Kazrog]

Oh sure, their platform can be amazingly unstable if you don't follow their exact config instructions. You absolutely cannot update your OS until they clear it, etc. But a well run Pro Tools rig can have serious uptime factor, it's very stable in my experience.

I think it's obvious why most of us (myself included) don't run Pro Tools HD (I'm a Cubase/RME guy), but I'm not trying to stomp on my friends who love it, and I can see what keeps them there.

 

[drew_drummer]

I just want the fucking HD software without the track limitations and with delay compensation - why can't this company fucking just listen to people!!