D24...............What happened to it ?

[PSI]

I m just about to buy my first TDM Pro Tools system and was wondering what happened to the d24 Protools solution, 32 tracks is enuff for me but I dont currently see it offered in their product line up. Does any one know if their are any Known disavantages to purchasing a d24 system and if so please inform me .

Thanks in advance.

[Avid]

I'm sure some dealers still have some of these in stock, we just aren't making new ones, so it's not on the current Products list.

A couple things I can think of, but they haven't kept thousands of people from doing a lot of good work on the original Pro Tools|24 systems.

There are some plug-ins, like Virus, a few Waves plug-ins, and maybe others that require a MIX card because they use chips that are on the mix cards that aren't on the original pt 24 cards. Most plug-ins do run on a Pro Tools 24 system, though.

The original Pro Tools|24 only allows using DirectConnect as part of the new “RTAS on disk tracks” feature in Pro Tools v5.1 or higher, and requires a MIX card to be used as a TDM plug-in.

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Bruce Paine
WebAdmin
Digidesign Customer Service

[uno1234]

But you can simply add a mix farm later for a simple, relatively inexpensive upgrade.


....right?

[Avid]

Sure, that's a benefit of the PT|24. You can just add a MIX Farm (for a lot less than a MIX Core) and the farm becomes a MIX Core with the presence of the original d24 card. Or you can do a number of different hardware exchanges, like trading in the DSP Farm for a MIX farm.

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Bruce Paine
WebAdmin
Digidesign Customer Service

[PSI]

Thanks Bruce.

[Peter Steinbach]

Hi Bruce-
I'm sure you've answered this before, but just to be sure: If I have a D24 card, and add a mix farm, do the voices increase to 64? Thanks in advance, PS

[Avid]

Yes, a MIX Farm card with the presence of a d24 card makes the MIX Farm act exactly as a MIX Core, with 64 voices and any of the other features you see listed in the Products section for a MIX system. Adding another MIX farm to a d24/MIX Farm combo would give you a MIXplus. The d/24 card is capable of being used for additional I/O, and some of the processing, like the mixer.
So the drawback is that it takes another PCI slot without being able to give much more plug-in power. But of course that is offset by saving a lot of money on a MIX core. If PCI slots are an issue, then there is still the more expensive option of trading in the d24 for a MIX core.

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Bruce Paine
WebAdmin
Digidesign Customer Service

[duffy]

Bruce,

Could you elaborate on the DSP issue of adding a mix farm to the d24. ie. percentage that you gain vs. what is availible.
Thanks,
duffy

[ProdInfo]

A MIXFarm has 2 to 3 times as much processing power as a DSP Farm, depending on the plugins one uses. The Pro Tools|24 system comes with a single DSP Farm, so if you were to add a MIXFarm, you'd have quite a bit more power- something like 2 or 3 more DSP Farm's worth. Also, as Bruce has mentioned, you'd gain quite a bit of track count and be able to run certain newer plugins that take advantage of the greater power in the MIX chips.

George Cochrane
Product Specialist
Digidesign

[duffy]

Thanks George,

I interpreted Bruce's as there wasn't much more DSP gained for plugs but you got more track count.


duffy