Non compatible plugins. Why not?

[Armando]

I'm constantly amazed at the amount of new plugins being released that are not TDM,RTAS compatible. I assume it's mostly a $$/brand politics issue. Still, what would be the purpose to avoid a pretty big customer base such as this one??

[Drew Mazurek]

probably the money it costs to become a Digi partner. What does the SDK cost?

[rockridge98]

probably the money it costs to become a Digi partner. What does the SDK cost?

I'd like to know this too. I've thought about trying my hand at writing a Digi plugin, but you have to jump through hoops and prove your worthiness before they deign to even give out any information about the API or the development process, and I haven't been able to dig up any outside info about the interface.

[Ask the Developer Guy]

Three reasons that you see Plug-Ins on other platforms and not on TDM or RTAS are (1) The Digidesign Plug-In platform is not an open platform; we screen candidates in order to make sure that they have the intent, technical capability and means to deliver top-quality Plug-Ins. Many comparable platforms have SDKs that are available on request. (2) Developing a TDM Plug-In requires that the code be implemented on the DSP hardware platform that we use for our Pro Tools TDM systems; we provide developers with assistance in this task, but it does require a skill-set that is simply not as widely held as that of developing a Plug-In that does its magic on the host processor. (3) There is a VST-to-RTAS adapter from a company called Fxpansion that allows many virtual instruments and effects to be rendered into RTAS Plug-Ins. While these "wrapped" RTAS Plug-Ins do not have the control surface support, upgradability to TDM and other features that exist in most RTAS Plug-Ins, they can work well in the Pro Tools environment - for some developers, this basic compatibility suffices.

We receive applications from individuals and companies who wish to be developers and we review all of them. If you are interested in becoming a developer for Pro Tools, you can learn more here:

http://www.digidesign.com/developers...oper/index.cfm

There is no fee associated with signing up as a third party developer for Digidesign and the SDK, while its access is restricted, is free.