PT 6....I don't get the hype

[noiseintheattic]

I'm digidesign's biggest fan, but man have they *&^% the bed on this one. Please don't release new software until it's stable. Personally, when I'm hired on a job, I'll insist on 5.1.1. If they want PT 6, I tell them they're liable for all the downtime. Yes I think PT 6 has a few great new features, but let's face it, it's not worth the headache of constant re-booting.
To be fair, I've been forced to work with PT 6 on several different macs and pro tools hardware (mixplus,HD,Digi001) and I experience pretty much the same thing everytime....crash.
Please digidesign, I truly am on your side, but less hype and more stability.
Thank you.

[Jeffrey Talbot]

Well
Not everyone has had the same experience. i'm on a dual 1.25G4, PT6 Mix system and have never had to re-boot the computer due to a crash of Pro-Tools or any other app for that matter.

OSX is a very different animal than OS9. If your just learning OSX, here are a few things to keep in mind.

1. If you EVER pull the plug on OSX, or in any way not shut down the OS properly, you'll need to re-bood in Single User mode, and run FSCK -Y to repair your HD. This takes only a few seconds, but saves tons of otherwise down time. If you are un-familiar with this process, you'll want to check out the discussions on apple.com.

2. NEVER use any type of OS9 Disc repair utilities on an OSX volume.. no Norton, no Disk Warrior.. just don't do it, you'll be very sorry.

Past that, learning how to repair permissoins will also go a long way in problem solving.

I've been on PT6 for a month now with no serious down town. The DigiBase part of the program still seems a bit buggy, and I have had to Force Quite PT a time or two, but I've NEVER had to re-boot in those cases. And if for some reason you think it's necessary to re-boot with you force quit PT, it simply is not necessary.

PT6 isn't perfect, but really, but I think that ALL software has SOME problems. On the whole, I actually find OSX & PT6 MORE stable than OS9 and PT5.1.1 was. At least when there are problems, no having to reboot is a huge time saver alone.

Hang in there, it'll only get better!
Good Luck

[digiengineer]

Originally posted by Jeffrey Talbot:
Well
Not everyone has had the same experience.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">I agree. While PT 6 is not perfect, I have found it much more stable then the release of 5.3.1, even the beta copy of 6 was stable. There are still some bugs to find, especially with a new OS update every month from Apple, and a new OS being released this summer.

FYI: I've been running 6 on a few systems since December, i've had 1 crash using DigiBase (Beta) and the final release has been flawless running an Igniter card, importing tracks and merging sessions.

[tomhartman]

Originally posted by Jeffrey Talbot:
Well
Not everyone has had the same experience. i'm on a dual 1.25G4, PT6 Mix system and have never had to re-boot the computer due to a crash of Pro-Tools or any other app for that matter.

OSX is a very different animal than OS9. If your just learning OSX, here are a few things to keep in mind.

1. If you EVER pull the plug on OSX, or in any way not shut down the OS properly, you'll need to re-bood in Single User mode, and run FSCK -Y to repair your HD. This takes only a few seconds, but saves tons of otherwise down time. If you are un-familiar with this process, you'll want to check out the discussions on apple.com.

k

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Jeff, where are these discussion threads on apple.com? I'd like to check them out...OSX is pretty intimidating to me right now....I'm still using PT 5.1 and just looking at OSX in my off time (dual boot machine). Even after using the Mac for years and years this feels like learning a whole new machine...

[Burt]

I've been running PTs 6 for a week.. not very long, but its getting a good workout. No crashes at all yet - and 5.1.3 used to bomb me out to the Finder when I tried to Consolidate Region whilst playing back audio at the same time at least 1 out of 20/30 times.

The new Beat Detective features are without doubt the main reason I'm happy with PT's 6. I can now happily ditch my Logic/PC setup that I was running alongside PT's 5.1.3 for Midi purposes...

The only complaint I have is sluggish screen re-draws and jerkiness whilst selecting audio. I've got a 733 QS so I'm a bit surprised at this.

Otherwise... I'm very happy.

Burt

[jimlongo]

[quote]Originally posted by tomhartman:

Jeff, where are these discussion threads on apple.com? I'd like to check them out...OSX is pretty intimidating to me right now....I'm still using PT 5.1 and just looking at OSX in my off time (dual boot machine). Even after using the Mac for years and years this feels like learning a whole new machine...

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Apple OSX forums can be pretty helpful.
Also check MacFixit and Macintouch for good troubleshooting info.
Many things are somewhat the same yet different at the same time, it does take some getting used to. But I found that looking at it like it is new and embracing that newness instead of complaining about all the things that are not like they used to be will help quite a bit.

BTW PT6 has been rock solid on my dual867 with MIX hardware. #1 best feature - being able to peruse the DUC while capturing DV movie files. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]


HTH, Jim

[Philthy]

Originally posted by Burt:

The only complaint I have is sluggish screen re-draws and jerkiness whilst selecting audio. I've got a 733 QS so I'm a bit surprised at this.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Dual 1.42 is the first mac that I've seen where OS X didn't feel painfully slow. OS X uses a lot of horsepower just to draw.

Next version of X is due out early this summer- supposed to be a big upgrade. Hopefully performance will be a factor. Another key factor will be the next family of processors, which also might come as early as this summer.

[noiseintheattic]

Thank you all for not slamming my message. I was in a bad mood that day, and I'm back on the patch. A little nicotine flowing through my blood made me feel better about PT 6 and will give it another try.
Thanks.

[nostatic]

v5 doesn't run under OSX. I refuse to boot into OS9. Case closed...at least for me. So v6 is a big deal.

[audiobob]

I've had my share of unexpected quits with 10.2.4 but going back to 10.2.3 solved that problem. Now very solid.