Why has Protools become so successful???

[nukmusic]

Why has Protools become so successful???

It can't just be the features, cause DIGI seems to be one step behind most audio programs. Is it just because of the reputation of the AVID systems? I started recording yyyyyears ago with the original ADATS, then discovered Cakewalk. DAW editing got me hooked. Got protools because it was easy to transfers to other studios, kinda like ADATS use to be

Just something one my mind?

[Lalaman]

Why has Protools become so successful???

Because they used to have the best concept in the past by delivering SW and HW in one package. It helped to easen the shaky performance of instable PCs.
They are still pretty good and on top have a very successful marketing strategy.

However, if I demoed my current rig to you, fellas, Digi could be loosing some marketshare. Not too big maybe, but some for sure.

Lalaman

[FatBelly]

What is your current rig that you speak of?


FatBelly Slim

[Lalaman]

LynxTwo card with Samplitude.

Lalaman

[lemix]

Why has Protools become so successful???

Hmmm...I could see similarities with the NS10's domination in studios all over>very smart marketing !...

cheers,

[PeeTee]

Why? Pro Tools can do multi-track sample-accurate editing and accurately lock to tape.

[Chris Cavell]

Well,

They were one of the first to come out with a digital sound card...that included software with the WAY AHEAD OF ITS TIME notion of truly non-destructive editing with region playlists as opposed to rendered files, and included disc authoring software that recognized playlists instead of only rendered files. They were the only company offering such advanced tools for a VERY long time (in computer terms anyway). They followed this with a regular and steady stream of enhancements to the software and hardware that make PT what it is today.


To recap:
-We started with 2-track non-destructive digital editing with the notion of region based playlists.
-moved to multitrack capability with the same region based non-destructive style
-introduced a limited, but just as good as any other at the time, very technical midi support (you had to KNOW your midi and how it worked...this part of the software hasn't improved much over the years)
-introduced DSP chip based real time plugins
-introduced surround DAW capabilities
-introduced host processor real time plugins
-improved on the editing tools
-created a Light Edition of the system for the "project" market
-introduced the ability to handle professional audio needs alongside Video
-created a FREE version of the software with more capabilities than most NON-FREE versions under $500 at the time
-continued to upgrade the mix engine and enhance the video capabilities
-introduced a high definition version to meet the potential of DVD formats
-one of the first to take advantage of REWIRE technology
-and on and on and on....

It turns out that Digi is rarely if ever very far behind the other software manufacturers...AAMOF, they have in the past been the pioneers which the other developers have emulated.

-Chris

[Zep Dude]

Pro Tools became the studio standard for one reason: XLR jacks!

They were the only company with a product under $50k that had a balanced interface (the 888). Everyone else (Studio Vision, Dig Performer) catered to the consumer demo people and failed to offer important pro features like balanced interface, external clocking, video sync etc. Even the companies that tried to address this didn't do it well. As much as people like to slam Digi these days, in the late 90's when you went into the studio and needed to lock things up, a Pro Tools system was the only thing you could count on -so when it came time to go digital all the studios bought the only thing that worked, Pro Tools.

Also, the TDM thing was very important because it offered very little latency for recording sessions and of course vastly greater plugin power. Also, the best plugins historically were TDM. These things are still true but, of course the native world is becoming much more usable and generally TDM plugins are available as native as well.

[Bastiaan]

The interface of ptle and protools is one and the same and the coolest i ever saw. Very simple and straightforward and easy to grasp for someone only used to tapemachines and mixingconsoles.

[Rabidium]

Yeah, I think that last one' on the money. It's because the software's so damn good. It's not perfect, hell it's not even close to the level of say Photoshop, but like photoshop there's usually more than one way to do anything, and most functions are married intuitively to their tasks. I'm not saying it couldn't be better, in fact, we maybe should start a thread about software improvements, but I think the software has as much to do with the dominance as anything. Even today, few peices of software offer what PT does, and no one else has the legacy or familiarity-of-use behind them that PT does. I'm not saying it won't fall apart under them, many dominant software companies have managed to work themselves out of a monopoly, just look at quark, lotus and novell.
-Oalf