Okay--now I can talk

[DigiTechSupt]

Originally Posted by M-ManLA

Heck DTS if he don't post something I will. I have a nice little list already started. I'll post that later though.

Actually, one of my things isn't even with Pro Tools. It is with the Avid Site itself. It is still in a mess. I'm sure there is still being work involved with it, but it is not like the old digidesign site where everything was easily found. It is a chore now to find an user guide or even get some bigger, higher resolution pictures to look at the products. Take newegg.com for example, lots of products, and it is very easy to navigate the web site. Avid web designers only have a fraction of what they have to organize everything. I think that the site should have main links to Video, Audio, MIDI Instuments, then Hardware, and Storage/SAN. There should be also a separate tab, that will easily get over to video tutorials. For example, have all the Media Composer and Pinnacle under video, Pro Tools and Euphonix under Audio, etc. Each link should be like a mini web site too, detailing the latest of information. I think that the Plug in Browser should be revamped. Have every product tagged, so for instance if a compressor is in a bundle, it should at least have a tag on it so it will be easy to either search for or filter by the user, and show up the results for that compressor whether it be in the bundle or standalone. This will be something good to work with the plug in programmers as well. Lastly, when you log in, your "My Avid" page should be the main hub for what you do when you visit the site. There should be some customization (nothing extreme, just enough) for the user so they can arrange their screen to how they see fit. It should list their current products, and notify them of any updates or promotion of any sort. It would also be nice if there was a pace ilok widget that integrated into the user area as well, having an all-in-one place for all of your DAW, software, and plug in authorizations in one spot, making it also easier to manages and move, transfer, activate, and delete licenses.



I think the interfaces is just the appetizer. I'm sure Avid have more under the shop than those.

Yes, the Avid website is still in the works! It's a little funny - I recall way back when we made changes to the Digidesign website and people complained that it was difficult to navigate - now here we are a few years down the line and that tune has changed completely..!

Avid web designers only have a fraction of what they have to organize everything.

Well...not exactly. Newegg didn't have to take data from several different companies using several different asset management systems and merge them into one, nor do they have to have local language translations of all that data. I'm not justifying anything, just pointing out that the analogy really doesn't work...

All great suggestions, though, and ones I'll be passing to the web team for consideration.

[garnoil]

Just fire the entire Avid Web site team and hire some one that knows what they are doing. I mean really, how many "chances" to get the website right do these people get? It is not that difficult if you hire the right people to do it...let me guess...Avid does not have the money to pay a real, professional, web design company to finally produce a fully working website site that enhances the productivity, raises its public profile, and increases sales! Don't you think that it is an absolute joke and quite pathetic that a "state of the art" software developer (like Avid) can not even put up a Website that has at least been fully tested for usability? What credibility does Avid have when the website is a mess. Just hire the right people for the right job. Tech support should not be telling Web development, or passing on "users complaints or suggestions as to how to fix the corporate website".

[Cloud_9]

Originally Posted by garnoil

Just fire the entire Avid Web site team and hire some one that knows what they are doing. I mean really, how many "chances" to get the website right do these people get? It is not that difficult if you hire the right people to do it...let me guess...Avid does not have the money to pay a real, professional, web design company to finally produce a fully working website site that enhances the productivity, raises its public profile, and increases sales! Don't you think that it is an absolute joke and quite pathetic that a "state of the art" software developer (like Avid) can not even put up a Website that has at least been fully tested for usability? What credibility does Avid have when the website is a mess. Just hire the right people for the right job. Tech support should not be telling Web development, or passing on "users complaints or suggestions as to how to fix the corporate website".

Harsh, but true. I do not necesarily subscribe to the firing of the whole team, but I would think that they need at least some better project management. Clear views and clear goals work wonders.

[Dism]

So it seems (according to the opinion of the DUC) that the best business plan for Avid would be:

Stop firing people, and then fire everyone, and re-hire new people. Unlock all their software, so their hardware is no longer needed, but keep making new hardware so we can criticize it. Put in every feature imaginable from every other DAW, but stability must be perfect, and work seamlessly on every platform. We need free tech support, a new website, and a full roadmap of their business model for the next decade. Lower prices, and higher quality is a must, plus integration from every other company so we can as much other software/hardware as we like with no restrictions.

By the way... if it all doesn't happen by tomorrow, we're leaving Pro Tools for Logic/Reaper/Cubase/Nuendo! Better get on it!

[TREXROCK]

Seriously anyone investing in a TDM card at this stage is MAD, completely MAD.

It's unbelievable how many people take the time to come on here and bash PT all while trying to make the people who have invested in HD feel like they made the worst mistake of there life. If you guys don't like it then go use something else? I realize AVID does make some bad moves here and there but IMO they still make the best DAW out there.

Here is my 2 cents coming from someone who has recently upgraded from LE during the promotion.

Let me start by saying I could not be happier with the upgrade. My workflow has sped up, my system is 4 times as stable and I have much more power than the my previous all native set up.
There are lot of people on here who underestimate the value of TDM processing, TDM is the number one reason for HD's high stability. It is the sharing of processing power that really makes a difference. My LE rig was crashing all the time with a 4 core Mac Pro and 6 gb ram. For the all native systems, you are asking your computer to do everything, mix engine, RTAS, OS operations, etc. This to me is what creates the instability in LE rigs when doing huge mixes. As far as the hardware goes the 192io sounds great and to go apogee or lynx I believe is a matter of taste not what is superior in quality. If I had went the apogee/ LE route I would be in at around 5k for converters alone, then 2000 for the CPTK and still not have any TDM processing and no ADC. To me thats a much cleaner way to go than the turbo charged LE route. I had many restless nights juggling the options and I don't regret my decision for a minute.

What's right for one is what's right for one. If someone has truly outgrown LE then it's time for them to make the move and it's worth the investment. There are lot of people here that have the opinion that HD only belongs in big facilities. I have to disagree because studios are going smaller and smaller to keep overhead down but within these smaller places there still needs to be a level of quality that can rival the 1000 per day rooms. I have a band myself and know alot of other bands and artists who simply cannot afford that kind of rate on their own. Going HD with some great outboard and mics has really helped me close the gap between me and the bigger places in my area who are way overcharging.

As far as the speculation that the 192 will be out of support in a year I don't think that will happen considering the amount of them that went out in the promotion. They just took the mbox out of commission and that came out in 2002. There is still support for the 002 even after 003 has been out for sometime so I think that 192 io will stick for a while yet.

That's my experience so anyone can take what they will from it. I just can't get around the fact there are people on here who are convinced that PTHD is a total rip and that you can buy this and that for so much cheaper. If that is how someone feels than do it and screw off I say, this is a board for PT users to discuss and troubleshoot not someone who hates it and thinks everyone should use something else.

[studiojimi]

Originally Posted by TREXROCK

That's my experience so anyone can take what they will from it. I just can't get around the fact there are people on here who are convinced that PTHD is a total rip and that you can buy this and that for so much cheaper. If that is how someone feels than do it and screw off I say, this is a board for PT users to discuss and troubleshoot not someone who hates it and thinks everyone should use something else.

actually we do it ALL here.

[Fidelis]

Here is my bet on this:

AVID will release 3 new types of HD cards:

1) New and much more powerfull PCIe HD Accel cards, where you run TDM plugins, etc... with much more voice counts.

2) A new and cheaper PCIe card with less DSP, just enought to run the mixer. So you have no latency when recording. When mixing, all the plugins will run from the computer. That's the Protools HD Native. So you could buy this card plus the new OMNI interface and you have the so dreamed and not so expensive, PT HD (native).

3) A new card to run Protools native from Laptops.

Let's see how it goes.

[Ted Spencer]

Originally Posted by Keybeeetsss

Like Dism said, 18 is enough for a normal band

For you maybe, but not for many, many others.

For me, the drum kit and room alone for 'a band' might total 12-16 mics/tracks, depending on the size of the kit and/or special situations (as with Shawn Pelton who uses a second bass drum as a "passive resonator", and a second snare). The total for everything could easily be 30 or more, even just for d/b/g/g/p/v. Clinton studios here in NYC (sadly, just recently closed), had a 40 input Neve that I struggled to budget mics/channels with on any number of film score sessions I did there (while admittedly I'm not exactly talking about a "band" in this case). On the high end, I would say I've probably done live sessions where 60+ mics/channels were involved, and there are quite a few folks whose tracking dates would make that look puny.

On the mixing side, it's just as important. In my own studio I use 32 hardware outs, and have been strongly tempted to expand to 48 for mixing to my console, which I still strongly prefer for mixing pop records (although I'll certainly be looking into this "HEAT" thing...). Even just for tracking and overdubbing, bringing back 100% discreet channels to a console for monitoring is much easier to work with (and better sounding) than the ITB alternative.

So HD is the only way to go for folks like me, and the amount of a given studio's I/O is a very important factor...

[RussUK]

Originally Posted by TREXROCK

It's unbelievable how many people take the time to come on here and bash PT all while trying to make the people who have invested in HD feel like they made the worst mistake of there life. If you guys don't like it then go use something else? I realize AVID does make some bad moves here and there but IMO they still make the best DAW out there.

As a newbie I'll cut you some slack, but just to set the record straight some of us big Avid critics have invested around 10years each and tens of thousands of dollars in PT.

We think the grass roots team at Avid are complete stars, doing an impossible job in a difficult environment. They are fanatics, musicians and have invested their lives into PT, they care deeply. But there are also those of us on the outside of Avid who care just as deeply, that's why we voice concerns and criticism.

The management, are perhaps not as caring or doing so well, just check the stock to see the vote of confidence there, even after the announcement of 'killer' product.

Check back a few years and see me getting bashed for saying the kind of stuff you are writing here, some of Avid's greatest critics used to be their biggest fan-boys...

We pray for our beloved Pro Tools, but who knows where it's going in the hands of the current leadership?

[studiojimi]

Originally Posted by RussUK

We pray for our beloved Pro Tools, but who knows where it's going in the hands of the current leadership?

TOTAL ENLIGHTENMENT RULES.

i hear choirs of angels on high

AMEN.