Is there a point to HD Native any more?
 

Other than the ability to get more than 32 inputs into Protools at the same, time; is there a point to the HD Native system now that Avid sells the HD (Ultimate) software separate from any hardware requirement?

The HD/Ultimate software does everything that the HD Native hardware used to allow, other than the expanded input capability, right? Is there anything else that is unique to the HD Native cards?

Re: Is there a point to HD Native any more?
 

I think for the cues? Isn't HD native have the same setup for headphones cues as hdx?

I've always been HDaccell and now Hdx so don't really know.

Re: Is there a point to HD Native any more?
 

Is there any benefit to the overall stability by using an HD Native card over just the native software? either for recording or playback? Does it put less strain on the system than the native only software?

I want going to upgrade to the Ultimate software soon. trying to figure out if I need to get the HD native card or not. Most of my work is live classical music or small bands. I could get by for most of my jobs with the 32 inputs, probably.

Just wondering what the HD Native interface gets you that the Ultimate software by itself doesn't.

Re: Is there a point to HD Native any more?
 

It does no DSP processing. Everything is done on the host computer. You would need Native card if you have some 192s or Avid interfaces you needed to plug in. I went from HD5 (TDM) to Native and was FLOORED at how much more freedom you are allotted. No more worrying about voice counts and such. I have a beefy enough machine to handle tracking for the most part unless sessions get into the hundreds of tracks.

I recently switched to HDX and it has not been pleasant. Too many bugs in the system for me at moment. Part of that is buggy PT software. 12.5 was mega stable for me in Native. Not so much in HDX land with 2018.x.

So for you, if you don't have Avid interfaces, HD Native Card I think is useless. There is something called Low Latency Monitoring. Which I've never used in nearly 20 years of using Pro Tools HD. YMMV.

Re: Is there a point to HD Native any more?
 

It's not just the Avid interfaces.

Focusrite, Antelope, Appogee, Lynx, and Waves all make interfaces with DigiLink ports to connect to the HD Native or DX cards. Which allows you to get more than 32 inputs into your system.

I'm thinking about upgrading to the Focusrite Red 4Pre (assuming they come out with Windows drivers sometime soon).

Re: Is there a point to HD Native any more?
 

Expanded inputs and sample accuracy... apparently. I've never tried it with HD native, but TDM provided some really tight parallel processing happening with external hardware as inserts. Without Avid hardware, you are left to the rather lacklustre ten of a millisecond latency adjustments of the I/O offset window.

It would be real nice if they introduced an outboard hardware 'ping' feature like cubase, reaper, etc use.

Re: Is there a point to HD Native any more?
 

Brian, Could I use my (silver and blue face) 192 interfaces with HD Native Cards? What advantages would I have from making the change? I currently have 2x Digidesign 192 Analog IO's (each fitted with 16 Analog Inputs) 1x HD Core Card + 2x HD Accell Cards. I am running PTHD10.3 on a Apple MacPro Eight Core tower. Thanks.

Re: Is there a point to HD Native any more?
 

Just a data point here: you can't use a SYNC HD without the HD Native hardware. But if you don't need SYNC, then don't worry about it...

Re: Is there a point to HD Native any more?
 

192's still work fine with the HDN card(I have 2 192's and 2x HD IO boxes and all work dandy). This includes Pro Tools 2018.7. Why I stay with my HDN rig:
1-I can go to 64 IO(running 40 now with 8 hardware insert paths)

2-I can do 6 stereo headphone mixes within a session(some 3rd party hardware/software tops out at 4 mixes, like UA Apollo)


If 32 IO and 4 HP mixes is enough, then HDN is probably not a great investment for you( but I would lean toward a Thunderbolt solution over either USB or firewire):o

Re: Is there a point to HD Native any more?
 

It depends what kind of upgrade you are considering. There probably isn't a huge improvement to be made by moving to a HD Native card with Pro Tools HD10 or earlier. Pro Tools as a 64 bit application (PT11+) is really where the power of native systems was unleashed.

If you are considering a whole system upgrade (HD native and Ultimate 2018 for example), it would be pretty impressive in comparison... but you may also need to upgrade your computer at the same time.

How's that for a swings and roundabouts response? :cool:

Re: Is there a point to HD Native any more?
 

Isn't the mixer on the card, just not plug-ins?

Re: Is there a point to HD Native any more?
 

You're saying that the Protools mixer runs from the HD Native card? or just on the HDX card?

I'm specifically looking to compare the capabilities of Protools Ultimate running on the HD Native card, vs. Protools Ultimate running just as a native only software app on my laptop.

Re: Is there a point to HD Native any more?
 

For HD Native, the on-card mixer is for low latency monitoring only (similar to what you'd find on other interfaces, although obviously better integrated with Pro Tools). The “real” Pro Tools mixer is running on the CPU. (HDX runs the mixer on the cards.)


https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews...ools-hd-native

Re: Is there a point to HD Native any more?
 

I love HDN. I got into my system really, really cheap when HD-Native was first announced with PT-9.

I had a 24|Mix system that worked fine but wasn't really able to do a lot of things I needed to. I bought an old, old D-24 core card on ebay for $50 and it was accepted as a trade in for my core card and HD license (and that cost about $1100 IIRC.

Over the years I have come to love HDN and would take it over HDX (but that's just me).

At the time I was running PT-9 Vanilla and although the HDN card doesn't do processing I saw a decent sized drop in system usage. I was using two used 192s (1 analog and one digital) for a while but sold my DM-3200 and now use an HD Omni I picked up for $499 used and the digital 192.

I love the Omni and although I wish it were 8x8 and had a remote it sounds killer, has really, really nice preamps (much nicer than I expected) and gives good monitoring as well.

I plan on keeping HDN as long as I can. Right now I'm using a 2012 Mac Mini Server with the card in a Thunderbolt chassis and it's great. Latency is super low (it used to be better than HDX, not sure if that's still true) and the system is rock solid.

No complaints except I eventually want to get a new HD interface. I don't have a ton of mic pres, but my ADL-600 and API A2D are going into the Omni's line inputs while my UA-610 and meager collection of outboard go through a pair of Behringer ADA8200s into a 192 Digital.

I would guess that there isn't any difference (aside from number of inputs) to the HD Digital, but those 8x8x8 and 16 Analog boxes look killer.

Re: Is there a point to HD Native any more?
 

Surprised that no one has mentioned delay composition for Hardware inserts. If you're using a hybrid setup like I am, every time you send audio to a hardware device, latency is incurred. Granted, you can alter the Hardware insert delays in settings but it's not automatic and is not accurate (settings are in "milliseconds", not samples and not precise).

I use an Apogee symphony and it's been a pain to nudge all that audio afterwards. I just ordered an HD native thunderbolt card to use the Symphony in Pro Tools HD mode. I'm hoping everything then feels seamless and I can trust the sync while using a variety of outboard gear.

Blake

Re: Is there a point to HD Native any more?
 

I just sold my HDN TB interface so I can get a Thunderbridge for my 32 channels of Symphony I/O. Latency with HDN is too high to work for vocals. I almost always had to use LLM, which is limited to one send, so I can't use my headphone mixing system when LLN is active. Further, it's not any more stable than other native interfaces. With Thunderbridge I can effectively run LLN for just vocals via Maestro, while the rest of the band runs normally.

All that said, I was disappointed with HDX as well, so I still run Accel for critical sessions.

Re: Is there a point to HD Native any more?
 

Matt.. very interesting.

When using the HD Native card in Pro Tools mode, are you able to use Apogees Mixer via Maestro?