Dear Avid, I am an ultimate user but this 32 channel limit!

[LDS]

Originally Posted by Bob Olhsson

My impression is that HD (ultimate?) is being directed more toward video/motion picture post-production work while vanilla is aimed at music production.

Imagine an owner of a 48 channel SSL console walking into Sweetwater, only to be offered the choice of a 32 I/O version of Pro Tools for 'music'... or a 64 I/O version of Pro Tools designed for 3OA, Dolby Atmos and other post production tasks at ten times the price. I would expect a lot of people's reactions to be exactly the same as this thread. A scoff, and a thanks-but-no-thanks.

There is a lot of gatekeeping going on with Avid. It will be interesting to see what happens in the coming years now that a new Mac Pro is available. Some users have reported 700+ voices running natively with only 40% CPU usage. That seems to really undermine the function of HDX3 in post production.

[JFreak]

Track count has nothing to do with music or post, it is just what you need or do not need. If you need it you buy it, nothing so exceptional.

And remember, LE had 18 i/o limit. If it had had 32 at that time I am not sure if I ever had gone the MIX/HD route. Sure it is harsh if you need to buy ultimate for that 33rd input, but if you need it then you need it. Back in the day I needed that 19th input and that was it. And by the way, MIX3 had i/o limit of 48

[falcowe]

I think something else that is hampering AVID's ProTools product stack is the absolutely atrocious naming scheme. There is ProTools, ProTools first, ProTools Ultimate, HDX1-3 and Native. And something that seems to be conflated all over the place is voices and IO. They aren' the same thing. I agree that AVID should just let your computer run what it can run. But to LDS's point running 700 voices is not the same thing as the IO limitation (as I am sure you know). And you need Ultimate to run HDX, but you can also run Ultimate with limitation with HD Native or even more limitations with just the software only. So unbelievably confusing! Why is there a limitation between HD Native and HDX! Isn't HD Native running on the host? Why isn't ProTools Ultimate Software only not called HD Native?!? Isn't Software only running on the host too? Is the only reason HD Native still exists (in only a Thunderbolt version <rolling eyes>). So I hardly blame users for the confusion between voices and IO, and why in the world HDX exists especially at such a high entry cost.

[LDS]

Originally Posted by JFreak

Track count has nothing to do with music or post, it is just what you need or do not need. If you need it you buy it, nothing so exceptional.

And remember, LE had 18 i/o limit. If it had had 32 at that time I am not sure if I ever had gone the MIX/HD route. Sure it is harsh if you need to buy ultimate for that 33rd input, but if you need it then you need it. Back in the day I needed that 19th input and that was it. And by the way, MIX3 had i/o limit of 48

Pro Tools ultimate doesn't offer more than 32 I/O. You need Avid hardware to do that, which is what makes it problematic. In the world of post, you don't need Avid hardware anywhere near as much as you once did thanks to voice packs. You can mix 700 voices in Dolby Atmos tomorrow without ever buying a single piece of Avid hardware. It fundamentally moves the requirement for HDX to being quite specific to I/O counts. In post production that probably means a growing degree of exclusivity in facilities with Dolby Atmos RMUs, or Harrison MPC5s, or Neve DFC3Ds, rather than just day to day 5.1/7.1/1.2.3OA stuff.

As HDX becomes less relevant in post production, it only becomes more far-fetched to expect it as any kind of reasonable solution for 33 or 65 inputs in music production. It feels like Pro Tools has a bit of an identity crisis on its hands. I'm not really surprised threads like these exist. It goes beyond just confusion. It leaves a lot of people questioning whether Pro Tools is actually the best tool for the job anymore.

[capt kirk]

Ive used a lot of gear, and Pro Tools is the best tool for the PROFESSIONAL job of mixing and editing. Thats what it was made for. If you need more i/o you have to pay , simple. Thats how the world of protools works. If you cant afford stuff, get bigger clients or sumpthin.....why complain, it is what it is.....
bugs is a different story.
ProTools works, it makes hit product, ALL DAY/YEAR/DECADES LONG.....

Going on 9 years with 1 crash, tons of work, and no expectations that Avid owes me anything.

[killah_trakz]

Originally Posted by capt kirk

Ive used a lot of gear, and Pro Tools is the best tool for the PROFESSIONAL job of mixing and editing. Thats what it was made for. If you need more i/o you have to pay , simple. Thats how the world of protools works. If you cant afford stuff, get bigger clients or sumpthin.....why complain, it is what it is.....

bugs is a different story.

ProTools works, it makes hit product, ALL DAY/YEAR/DECADES LONG.....



Going on 9 years with 1 crash, tons of work, and no expectations that Avid owes me anything.

Lol. Yeah, ok.

Sent from my Pixel 3a XL using Tapatalk

[musicman691]

Originally Posted by capt kirk

Ive used a lot of gear, and Pro Tools is the best tool for the PROFESSIONAL job of mixing and editing. Thats what it was made for. If you need more i/o you have to pay , simple. Thats how the world of protools works. If you cant afford stuff, get bigger clients or sumpthin.....why complain, it is what it is.....
bugs is a different story.
ProTools works, it makes hit product, ALL DAY/YEAR/DECADES LONG.....

Going on 9 years with 1 crash, tons of work, and no expectations that Avid owes me anything.

Exactly. The only crashes I've ever had have been due to pilot error or lazyness in setting up my system.

[LDS]

Originally Posted by capt kirk

Ive used a lot of gear, and Pro Tools is the best tool for the PROFESSIONAL job of mixing and editing. Thats what it was made for. If you need more i/o you have to pay , simple. Thats how the world of protools works. If you cant afford stuff, get bigger clients or sumpthin.....why complain, it is what it is.....
bugs is a different story.
ProTools works, it makes hit product, ALL DAY/YEAR/DECADES LONG.....

Going on 9 years with 1 crash, tons of work, and no expectations that Avid owes me anything.

Did you just credit Avid for making your hits? Because Bruce Springsteen did it with a 4 track PortaStudio and four SM57s. You really should ask for a refund.

[arche3]

I don't get these posts. why announce you are leaving avid? just leave. I have just as much to be upset at avid as anyone but the technical glitches etc are just part of this business now for the past 20 years. the hardware i/o etc is solvable. just buy avid interfaces.

[JFreak]

Originally Posted by arche3

I don't get these posts. why announce you are leaving avid? just leave.

Same reason people start to badmouth other people instead of just letting it go; one part wants to hold on and another part feels bad. Then some people react in a negative way. Such is life. But if you have lived long enough, you know that those who shout the loudest have least to say.