We need a Thunderbolt HDX system

[Heck]

Everyone knew this was coming, including Avid.

I just want to remind everyone that Avid has had a Thunderbolt HD IO since 2011!!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtuIFBIFJOQ

They have been working closely with Intel on this tech for a long time now and perhaps they were waiting for Thunderbolt 2 but it looks like all the pieces are falling together. The Mac Pro has been announced, Apple has made its move like it or not. Thunderbolt 2 has been announced.

It's Avid's play now. My suggestion to anyone in need of and HD IO/HDX system is to keep your money until they announce.

We need to use the power of our dollars to get them to speed up the roll out. We're here dropping thousands of dollars on gear we'd like to keep for as long as possible.

So I say, let's start a movement! If you can wait and your business can continue delivering without upgrading DO NOT BUY AVID UNTIL THEY RELEASE THUNDERBOLT SOLUTIONS!! ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!

[corp]

There's a % of people who visit this site that always knew this was coming and viewed TB as a great interface but there's some on this site who have posted relentlessly that TB would never take off..... That would be the ones pushing product......

This is why many were upset on the long awaited HDX which fell short on many fronts. Avid produce a mobile DSP box connecting with TB in a small format

[Electrox]

Originally Posted by Firechild

Electrox, well that is your style of working.
However most professional studios look for the ultimate computer power and then a Tower is the way to go and will always be.
Even if they make the CPU`s smaller and smaller there will be a need for cooling and here is where space come in. You need a tower to hold the fans and coolers. Maybe you have never looked inside a Tower,whether it is a Mac Pro or a HP PC ?
You can even put two ( or more ) CPU´s inside a tower.
I hate working on laptops, iPads even more. Why should I use a laptop when I work 99.99 percent in my studio where a tower is installed in my machine room?
Also all of use use at least two monitors, at least 4 HD´s with a couple of external Firewire backup hd´s, dual Ethernet ports, 10+ USB ports , 2 I/O interface , so adding a laptop here is just silly.
AVID, bring me more PCIe cards, thank you.

The New Mac Pro will be a GREAT machine to work on. I submit that it's NOT a tower, though. It fits in my backpack. Good luck with those PCIe cards in the future.

[Firechild]

Thanks for quoting an old post.
yes, sadly Apple chose to get rid of internal PCIe slots in the new Mac Mini deluxe. However in the PC world they know that you can never get more bandwidth outside the box than inside . For thunderbolt there is two added i/o controllers that will add latency, one to get out from the motherboard and one in the recieving thunderbolt device. Thunderbolt is not going to replace PCIe ever, because it is a extended"arm" out from the PCie protocol.
But sure a thunderbolt hdx box would be nice anyway.

[Electrox]

Most people on this forum respond to older posts. Yours was dated 9/30/2012, roughly nine months ago. The idea that "in the box" cards for Apple was against what Steve Jobs wanted while he was alive. I have attended lectures given by him and several other Apple employees. It went against his idea of simplicity. I agree. The general public have been given a standard that can create more useful ways of working for some who wish to think "outside the box". What has happen is that companies, such as Avid, have been slow to respond to these newer technologies. It is my feeling that the users, like you, have been a bit perplexed as to why anything would need to change. There have been comments here about how mixing on headphones is dangerous, studios on laptops are not "pro", and all of it seems like a bunch of hogwash to me. "Pro" defines the users of these tools - and not the tools, the spaces, nor the size of speakers one uses. It is a term I take seriously. The new Mac machines can all be used by the audio pro to accomplish some great work. I am glad that these older systems work for all of you. I personally always have an eye on what's coming down the pike, and I have several sources that keep me informed on changes that might affect the audio world. It has been a long haul to get some of you thinking beyond the traditional way of doing things. I don't think Avid has much more of a future selling cards for the Mac market!
As an aside, my ID lists me as joining this forum in 1969. I had joined the forum in the first 6 months of its creation under Digidesign. My number was one of the first few hundred to join. Somewhere along the line they updated the forum and my number was erased and my year of joining was changed from that first year to 1969.

[Bob Olhsson]

What cards did was allow a relatively inexpensive macintosh, always a high-end consumer computer, to perform work that had previously required a far more expensive workstation.

The mac became a major media production platform as a low cost alternative in spite of Apple and never because of them. I agree that "pro" defines the person and not the gear but most pro photographers would never choose a point and shoot camera over one allowing continued use of the thousands of dollars worth of interchangeable lenses they already own. For a pro who by definition is expected to deliver top quality work on a deadline, the DAW software and computer are by far the most inexpensive of our tools. This new mac "pro" offers an obsolete CPU while supporting totally untested connectivity that may or frankly may not work. It wouldn't be the first time Apple released something "innovative" that flat out doesn't work. Those of us who began using macs in the late '80s know this scenario all too well.

[TOM@METRO]

Originally Posted by Bob Olhsson

What cards did was allow a relatively inexpensive macintosh, always a high-end consumer computer, to perform work that had previously required a far more expensive workstation.

The mac became a major media production platform as a low cost alternative in spite of Apple and never because of them. I agree that "pro" defines the person and not the gear but most pro photographers would never choose a point and shoot camera over one allowing continued use of the thousands of dollars worth of interchangeable lenses they already own. For a pro who by definition is expected to deliver top quality work on a deadline, the DAW software and computer are by far the most inexpensive of our tools. This new mac "pro" offers an obsolete CPU while supporting totally untested connectivity that may or frankly may not work. It wouldn't be the first time Apple released something "innovative" that flat out doesn't work. Those of us who began using macs in the late '80s know this scenario all too well.

Thank you Bob.

[nst7]

Bob, you have mentioned "obsolete cpu" a couple of times about the new Mac Pro.

In fact they are next generation E5's that are not even out yet.

[Electrox]

Originally Posted by Bob Olhsson

What cards did was allow a relatively inexpensive macintosh, always a high-end consumer computer, to perform work that had previously required a far more expensive workstation.

The mac became a major media production platform as a low cost alternative in spite of Apple and never because of them. I agree that "pro" defines the person and not the gear but most pro photographers would never choose a point and shoot camera over one allowing continued use of the thousands of dollars worth of interchangeable lenses they already own. For a pro who by definition is expected to deliver top quality work on a deadline, the DAW software and computer are by far the most inexpensive of our tools. This new mac "pro" offers an obsolete CPU while supporting totally untested connectivity that may or frankly may not work. It wouldn't be the first time Apple released something "innovative" that flat out doesn't work. Those of us who began using macs in the late '80s know this scenario all too well.

Wait, totally untested connectivity? Really? Wasn't Avid's interface used in that youtube video dated from February 2011? see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtuIFBIFJOQ
I have been in this business using computers with music since I worked with Dr. T software on the Commodore 64 and friends of Emagic on the Atari in the early 1980's. The Mac became a low cost alternative largely because of Opcode and, of all things, Digidesign.
And be careful when you say "never chose a point and click camera". Because I have worked with literally some of the best Pro photographers out there - and they would use whatever they wanted to fulfill their art - point-click, poloroids, Nikons, Hasselblads - all tools.
What you seem to be defending is a system that you all got comfortable with. Although you fear the costs of those higher priced workstations I am here to tell you that they are all mostly gone - extinct, like the older Mac Tower. Apple was also once viewed as a toy by IBM when they released their Windows system. I know - I was there to ask many of them what they thought when they decided to first attend the music trade shows. Times change - Where are the IBM "serious music systems" now? I remember the same arguments with their engineers. I would say "these are TOOLS! People become Pros, machines don't define Pros". Now my iPhone runs the Fairlight I used to use in the 1980's (and no one has even bothered with the Synclavier app). We have come a long way. I know losing cards for some of you is a tough pill to swallow, but if this is what forces Avid to redesign and innovate, why would this be bad? And if this is what allows several other companies to innovate and Avid falls behind from NOT innovating fast enough, well, I've seen this happen repeatedly over the years also. What you CAN be sure of is the Mac community has some big changes in audio in the next few years. Ready or not, ...

[Touchwood Studios]

Originally Posted by Firechild

But sure a thunderbolt hdx box would be nice anyway.

Option 1 expandable DSP add a UAD DSP card or Use a different interface.
Would like to pay $9000 ( HDX Card - Magma 3T chassis - 8X8X8 interface)

or buy a all in one TB with no ability to hook up a different or not be able to expand the DSP or I/O in a all in one Avid box for $12,000.00.

Because if Avid built one it would be more expensive and less flexible than buy your own separate boxes.

OTH buy a rack and put it all in one box yourself.