IZ RADAR STUDIO: RADAR x Pro Tools Turnkey Solution

[Drew Mazurek]

Originally Posted by Barry Johns

It's way more than that!!!!!!!

No it's not. It's a Radar, and it can be booted as a Windows PC to run the DAW of your choice. Where does the way more than that part come in?

I owned a Radar from 2000 til 2003. I am very familiar with the product.

[DigitalMetal]

It is very interesting how people are instantly captivated by it and Cant see that it is a PC that simply focuses on the DAW and hides the OS.

[John_Toolbox]

The marketing picture shows an all in one box that runs PT, with a lot of IO shown in the picture, a remote and a touchscreen. Then it says it's only $5000.... It got my attention, even though I figured there was a catch.

[Bob Olhsson]

It looks like an ideal product for a studio centered around an analog recording console which has always been RADAR's market. It also looks like it and the controller would make a great companion for Avid's S3 surface.

[Bill Denton]

With Apple screwing the pro audio pooch both price-wise and in the external stuff you have to buy, I would not be surprised if a lot of price-conscious large facilities have been giving Windows a look.

But, for the big guys, the problems with Windows are writ large in this very forum. Many of these problems are not Windows problems as much as they are user problems...not buying the correct hardware, not running their machines as dedicated audio computers (which, by the way, IZ recommends you do with the IZ RADAR STUDIO)...but, whatever the root cause, the big guys simply don't have time to mess around with problems...they need boxes they can plug in and go with!

But a lot of people don't understand that there is a hell of a lot more to Windows besides what they see on their desktops. Up until a couple of years ago, if you went to an ATM in the US, odds are you were interacting with Windows XP. Microsoft has a long history of offering customized, skinnified, and/or embedded versions of Windows for very device-specific uses.

So, IZ takes a customized version of Windows, adds it to their well-proven hardware, and adds some carefully spec'd (and possibly even customized) hardware...and folks, we have a winnah!

I could be wrong, but I think this could be a lot more of a game-changer than some here realize...

[Bob Olhsson]

I've found windows 8.1 to be as or more effortless than a new mac. All the chest-thumping windows gurus whine about 8 because you can't easily make it look like an early '90s NT machine and it makes their jobs a lot less important. From this former mac user's standpoint it's more like a system 9 mac than a current mac only without the instability.

[Bill Denton]

Originally Posted by Bob Olhsson

I've found windows 8.1 to be as or more effortless than a new mac. All the chest-thumping windows gurus whine about 8 because you can't easily make it look like an early '90s NT machine and it makes their jobs a lot less important. From this former mac user's standpoint it's more like a system 9 mac than a current mac only without the instability.

I'm afraid I must take issue with you on that one...

While the Metro interface would be fine if I were only doing ordinary "home computer" stuff, or if I were only running one application, such as Pro Tools...there is simply no way for me to be productive as a programmer while using it.

I would love to be able to sit down and punch a couple of tiles and be going, during a typical programming session I will have the following tools open:

• MS Visual Studio - my integrated development environment, where I do most of my actual coding.
• ASP.NET and NET Framework documentation (runs in a web browser)...I can remember most of the stuff I use on a regular basis, but sometimes I have to do a little digging to find out the best approach for doing something I haven't done before.
• SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)...I can do some of my database stuff in Visual Studio, but a lot of the stuff I need to do can only be done in SSMS.
• SQL Server Books Online...SQL Server documentation...again, I remember the common stuff, but new features are always being added to SQL Server, and I take advantage of them when applicable.
• Notepad++...a handy little text editor that I use for a variety of purposes including examining text files I receive as input or generate as output...as a convenient "stash" I use for code snippets, as a name stash (so I don't end up with "Date of Birth" at the top of a form and "Birthday (dd/mm/yyyy)" at the bottom.
• Calculator...handy when you're positioning elements on a page or form.
• Command Prompt...some of the "utility" programs I write don't have a user interface...I have to start them from a command line during testing.
• Excel...I often create programs that read and/or write from/to Excel spreadsheets.
• Outlook...A lot of stuff I write uses SQL Mail to automatically send email...I have to have Outlook open when I'm testing.
• Internet Explorer...always used for testing when I'm working on web stuff.
• Chrome/Firefox...open when needed for testing.
• Photoshop Elements...designers often send me graphics elements in inconsistent sizes...this is a good quick 'n dirty tool for resizing them.

(And before some smartazz jumps in with "You always tell us to only have Pro Tools open"...the above programs are not "real time" applications, and they are designed to play nicely with each other)

I tried using the Metro interface when working with all of that stuff (after all, I'm already doing some coding for it) and it just did not work well at all. So, I stick with the "desktop" with all of my little links on the Taskbar at the bottom of the screen.

And Bob, don't you know it's not nice to pick on crippled people... I suffer from what's known as peripheral neuropathy, which sometimes affects my ability to "feel" things I touch. I've gotten to where I do okay on my Windows phone, but I still have problems with the Metro interface on my laptop and Android on my tablet...I do a "swipe" and the screen looks like it was attacked by a lion or something...

But, as usual, I look at it as the right tool for the job...and if I ever win the lottery I'll strictly be "punching tiles" after that...

[LukeHoward]

It's a bit unclear whether the converters in the box can be used with HD Native/HDX.

[Bob Olhsson]

Bill, you also couldn't do most of that stuff on a mac. For recording and editing audio, correspondence and web browsing it's excellent and I prefer it to current macs. I also don't need to use the metro interface.

[LoZion]

Originally Posted by LukeHoward

It's a bit unclear whether the converters in the box can be used with HD Native/HDX.

Good question. What I understand is in Workstation mode, PT sees Radar's I/O thru ASIO but if using the PCI/e cards, you have to add I/O that those card can detect, therefore losing the ability to use Radar's converters, which is a shame really...