The Future of HDX?

[Dantesjuice]

With the new release of Intels "skylake" processors supporting TB3 / USB C, almost all new mobo's supporting the new Z170 chipset will have mostly USB 3.0/3.1 and the new USB C type connectors.

From what iv already seen, it seems like pcie x 1 (the small connector) will be faded out as it has no where even close to the bandwidth of pcie x 16, TB/USB3/USB C. Not to mention that the new trashcan mac pros's can only connect via cables. Also the new mac books only have 2 jacks, 1 USB C connector and 1 headphone jack. My guess is that the next series of macs, macbooks and macpros will all be using the new USB C connector since thats going to be the next standard.

With that said, do you think the next HD system will be via cabled connection ie...TB3, USB3/3.1 or USB C. Or do you think they will stay with pcie but use the x 16 slot format? Maybe an interface that also serves as an expansion chassis?

[propower]

I wish they would -
Package HDX functionality into little cards exactly the size of the ones in the HD I/O. Configure the HD I/O frames as 4X DSP cards or 4X I/O cards or any combination. Add one more connector to the frame (on the new card) for chaining DSP cards from one box to the next

So many things could be done...

In the "just about no effort" seats - repackage cards into TB boxes.

In the "it's already done seats" Sonnet Echo III.

[Brandonx1]

hdx is pciex4. I don't know what the new he dsp cars will be, if they make dsp cards moving forward. dSP seems very unnecessary to me in this day and age.

[Darryl Ramm]

I am not sure what the point of the OP really is. HDX cards are not that old and in the big picture of Avid having very few resources to do anything... I expect they will not be changing HDN or HDX cards in a long while.... PCs will keep having PCIe slots and you can effectively install these cards in any slot that will physically accommodate them, more PCIe lanes in a slot do not make any difference.

PCIe card slots are not going anywhere soon on *high-end* PCs/Workstations. Intel and the PC vendors are not as stupid/arrogant as Apple with it's overpriced and closed trashcans.

The elephant in the room may be more the TDM/Digilink connection to the card than than the card connection to computer. I expect and next major move would be to replace Digilink. Maybe with AVB and hopefully with a bridge box/dual interface boxes for compatibility. When introducing those products maybe there would be repackaging of HDX DSP cards.

[Wall2Wall]

Avid needs to stop being Blockbuster in a Netflix world. Put the darn DSP cards in a brand new Avid Interface ala apollo/digigrid. Connect via ethernet like digigrid. Removes all the dancing around the ever-changing protocols, slots, connectors, etc.

[Drew Mazurek]

It will almost certainly be AVB and ethernet based. Whether or not they combine the I/O with the DSP remains to be seen.

[Bob Olhsson]

If I were Avid, I'd create an HDX server. HDX is far more of a niche product than HD ever was. Its place is very large facilities.

[Dantesjuice]

Interesting that no one thinks avid will move towards the USB C connector given that it will be the standard that both PC and Mac will be using? Ethernet does sound interesting though as some companies already use them for audio and most mobo's have atleast 2. But even ethernet sounds primitive, and i would think that in the near future everything will be wifi and ethernet ports (for most consumer systems) will go away.

The old accel cards were pcie x1 right, the long connector? Then they moved to the newer short pcie connector for more bandwidth correct? Just seems to make sense they would start using a platform that doesn't change every few years. Or at least move towards an external system that doesn't require cards being installed in the computer. Then they could keep their cards the same, and just change connectors every few years depending on whats trending.

What if they did a modular system like burl and the mothership? Then users could tailor their I/O as needed and everything would basically take place outside the computer. Then they could use whatever connector is popular at the time, like how UAD's older interfaces were firewire but also had a TB expansion slot. Couldn't they allow their design to have a "port" that could just be swapped out to meet the needs of whatever connection type is standard at the time? For instance, i could swap out the card on the back of my new HD rig from "TB" to the new USB C connector or Ethernet, whichever one is supported at the time.

Thoughts?

[Wall2Wall]

Originally Posted by Bob Olhsson

If I were Avid, I'd create an HDX server. HDX is far more of a niche product than HD ever was. Its place is very large facilities.

Indeed. That's pretty much what Digigird is but with regular intel chips and linux. The issue with PT is that Digigrid is not integrated. Avid can do similar product but integrate it with PT.

IF Windows 10 can produce the type of low latency set up as Digigrid with it's intel/linux set up, Avid can do a "Windows 10 AAX Native server". Then all the AAX Native plugins on the market, including Waves, Soundtoys, Slate, Auto-tune, etc will then be DSP without end users having to pay anything extra and without developers having to do any more coding. Those that own AAX-DSP versions already have native licenses as well.

Pro Tools DSP would be back in a big way.

[Bob Olhsson]

Every future audio interface will be USB 3. There may well be an HD native version but Ethernet would make lots more sense. A lot of big broadcasters want no part of anything else. Eliminating analog connections is a massive savings.