MBox or 001 for low budget film-maker?

[K.B.]

Hi
I'm a film-maker putting together my own soundtracks. I need to buy a setup that will allow me to take my track-lays to a professional post facility for the final mix.
I currently have a good PC with win 98 and 2000, a Midiman Audiophile card, and a Korg X5D.
So...
1) There is no MIDI on the MBox. Can I continue using the MIDI on my old card with ProTools (I suspect not) or with other software?
2) There is MIDI on the 001, but can I use the connections with Cubase and Logic?
3) Is there any difference in the way video is handled in ProTools on the MBox or 001?
4) Can I record using the MBox or 001 into other software?
5) If I need XP, is setting up a dual (triple!) boot straightforward?
The 001, though more expensive, appears to be the better choice, but the MBox is USB, and I think I might one day end up purchasing a laptop, so the MBox portability would be a plus.
Hope someone can help me.
Regards
Karel
[img]images/icons/confused.gif[/img]
p.s. for the curious there's a 'trailer' at http://www.filmcentre.co.uk/JL6June.html

[gerax]

Hi

I'm no MIDI expert, so I'll only answer to non-MIDI related questions;

3) Is there any difference in the way video is handled in ProTools on the MBox or 001?

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">I guess not, since the video playback is only handled by the software (Pro Tools) and the CPU power of your system, in this case the hardware you use isn't an issue.

4) Can I record using the MBox or 001 into other software?

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Yes, with the new ASIO driver you can run third party software (like Cubase or Nuendo, or Logic) using Digi's hardware, though it will need some tweaks in the configuration of the system; for this purpose do a search on the PT LE for Win forum, there's lots of topics with valuable infos.
With the Wave Driver you can do it too, but you'll only be able to use I/O 1&2 of the hardware (either Mbox or 001), while ASIO is a multichannel driver that will allow the non-Digi software to use all of the hardware I/Os.

5) If I need XP, is setting up a dual (triple!) boot straightforward?

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">My system is currently set up with a dual boot setup (Win XP Pro/Win 98SE), since I decided to stick to 98SE for some plug-ins that aren't available yet for XP (GRM Tools and a few others that I use for sound design work); if you want to do it it's quite simple and if done right the system works flawlessy (at least mine does); if you want more infos on this e-mail me. However the 99% of my work I do on XP, it's far more superior to any other MS OS to date.

Yes, the 001 is a little more expensive, though I think if you look for an used one on E-bay you can find it for $ 700/800, but I think it's a little more versatile than the Mbox; it also depends on how many phisical I/O you need for your tracking: the Mbox has 2 analog with preamps and the ADAT I/O, this coupled with a good preamp with A/D conversion (like Focusrite Octopre) can be a good quality solution, if you don't need to track many sources at once; the only thing that keeps me away from laptops is their relative inexpandability (you have to resort to external firewire drives for additional storage, not to mention that you shouldn't run audio on the same drive as the OS), but I work out of my studio, and don't need to carry my rig around, so I understand that for compositional needs a portable setup could be the best option, in this case I'd go Mbox; for a tower, studio setup I'd go 001.

I hope this helps

L.G.

[Chris Shaeffer]

1) There is no MIDI on the MBox. Can I continue using the MIDI on my old card with ProTools (I suspect not) or with other software?

You can use your existing MIDI hardware with other software, but I'm not sure if Pro Tools will recognize it. I'm bummed because I had a USB MIDI device hooked up when I installed Pro Tools and I THINK I recall it did recognize the MIDI ports, but I leant it to a friend and can't double check. Don't take my word for it.

2) There is MIDI on the 001, but can I use the connections with Cubase and Logic?

Not yet. My understanding is that Digi plans to fully support the MIDI I/O with its ASIO drivers, but at the moment their beta drivers disable the MIDI ports when the driver is in use. They come back when you launch Pro Tools again.

Take care,
Chris

[mBoxLuvr]

Im on the same boat, but dealing with Animations and short films. Even though I use a mac, I feel at my present workload, the mBox is fine.
Do you write your own tracks? I guess it depends on the complexity of your soundtracks too!
Good luck on your choice, either way you cant go wrong:O)

[Dale-c]

the Digi guys told me that as long as I didn't need more than 2 inputs at once that the Mbox was the way to go. I have really liked it. You can use external MIDI hardware with it but I have never tried. For what it's worth, I don't know if the 001 will be around much longer with the 002 rack out now. maybe so, you never know. I would like to see another firewire interface take its place. Something inbetween the Mbox and the 002 raack.

[JMS40]

Originally posted by Dalecoz:
For what it's worth, I don't know if the 001 will be around much longer with the 002 rack out now. maybe so, you never know.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">I wouldn't be to worried about the probability of 001 being discontinued.
It's a package that's well documented and supported here on the DUC both PCee and MAC.
There's also a good possibility you'll see 001 prices approaching Mbox in this transition and that'd make the choice more interesting.

[Freeheel]

another advantage of the 001 is that you can use five outputs to fake yourself a 5.1 mix. You can't pan between front and back, but panning is something better left to a proper mixing stage anyway.

[Drive d]

Not to mention very soon you will be able to get something called DV Toolkit from Digi and you can track Time Code and Feet and Frames with LE... All for about $700... Sweet!.... check E-Bay for 001... Alot of folks are trading up to the 002R and are letting their 001's go for a great price. Look for the DV toolkit around August or Sept. ( Of course it's just a rumor for now) but, I believe you will see it soon enough. Good Luck! Peace.
D- [img]images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]