So. I guess the PTIEP isn't getting updated to AAX.

[Suges]

What with Avid spinning the AIR Group off to inMusic.

It's too bad. They're all really good in my opinion, especially Transfuser.

[spenner]

They could rebrand it and make it an instrument expansion pack for VST, AAX, and AU. IMO, the IEP bundle is too good and has too much potential to be sidelined. AIR Group says they will continue to develop for Pro Tools so this could simply mean including the AAX format with new products.

[Suges]

Originally Posted by spenner

They could rebrand it and make it an instrument expansion pack for VST, AAX, and AU. IMO, the IEP bundle is too good and has too much potential to be sidelined. AIR Group says they will continue to develop for Pro Tools so this could simply mean including the AAX format with new products.

Oh man that would be great news, I hope you're right.

[Righty27]

Aren't many of the 'stock' ProTools non-instrument plugins also from AIR?

One would think that future ProTools releases starting from 11 would require a good selection of plugins/instruments ... however Avid/PT hopes to differentiate itself from competing products (traditionally as the 'industry standard' pro DAW), capable products like Logic are much cheaper and include many stock VIs/plugins.

So, will Avid develop their own or bundle 3P products ... or maybe the disposal includes a commitment to keep bundling the AIR products (helping the sale price)? Wouldn't there be a backwards compatibility issue for PT10 sessions in PT11 if the AIR plugins were lost (although it looks like the process of converting to AAX is well underway - didn't they already commit to converting the VIs also)?

And why acquire AIR and then turn your back on the installed user base - apart from technical capabilities, intellectual properly, etc., what they are basically buying is a brand and customers? Hopefully, this will be positive news for IEP users (which I've just joined) and the new owners will start tracking the relevant DUC threads, if they haven't been doing so already!

[Suges]

Originally Posted by Righty27

Aren't many of the 'stock' ProTools non-instrument plugins also from AIR?

One would think that future ProTools releases starting from 11 would require a good selection of plugins/instruments ... however Avid/PT hopes to differentiate itself from competing products (traditionally as the 'industry standard' pro DAW), capable products like Logic are much cheaper and include many stock VIs/plugins.

So, will Avid develop their own or bundle 3P products ... or maybe the disposal includes a commitment to keep bundling the AIR products (helping the sale price)? Wouldn't there be a backwards compatibility issue for PT10 sessions in PT11 if the AIR plugins were lost (although it looks like the process of converting to AAX is well underway - didn't they already commit to converting the VIs also)?

And why acquire AIR and then turn your back on the installed user base - apart from technical capabilities, intellectual properly, etc., what they are basically buying is a brand and customers? Hopefully, this will be positive news for IEP users (which I've just joined) and the new owners will start tracking the relevant DUC threads, if they haven't been doing so already!

All good points, and I totally forgot about the "standard suite" of plugins included with PT that AIR makes. They're great sounding too!

I hate speculating about what's going on inside a company. I mean, nobody but them really knows for sure, right? But it is clear to me they're having big problems over there. Another round of layoffs is imminent, etc, so I have to question any commitments they might have made; it might be that they just can't meet them, no matter what their intentions.

I've seen real evidence of their problems with the Mbox Pro (3rd Gen). It was in a "usable but broken" state (if you were a Mac user) for about two years before they finally issued a fix last week, and they "committed" to having it fixed from the start. I can only infer that with all the layoffs and other financial troubles their engineering teams are now tiny and understaffed, and their to-do lists are long and daunting. And they just "get to it when they can". So that's why I'm worried about these AIR plugins.

Plus those of us who actually write songs with Pro Tools seem to be a minority, so we might not be a priority for them. They'd want to shore up all the mixing and post functionality first and maybe get to the AIR stuff in two years!

Ah well. No point worrying about any of this. I'll reserve judgment until PT11 drops.

[Righty27]

Some positive-sounding insight - http://blog.mixonline.com/mixblog/20...nds-from-avid/

Hopefully, current users of existing products will be able to benefit from whatever they have up their sleeve (which must have been executed by Avid) ... only just got my IEP and AAX sounds almost inevitable!

[Noiselab]

Here's my concern: with the sell-off of AIR, what's going to happen to pricing for the next release of IEP (if there is ever an update release)? Will it be a full cost upgrade? Avid has likely already reaped the bulk of the revenue from the IEP. That doesn't give InMusic much financial runway to work with for new AIR products or update releases.

...and support is a potential nightmare scenario.

I'd really hate to see the AIR suite (including IEP) languish! I really think that all of the AIR tools are pure genius, and I hope that the AIR product team gets all of the kudos and future opportunities that they deserve under the new ownership. We all benefit from AIR's past and future success.

NL

[Righty27]

InMusic will obviously have made assumptions on the potential of each of these brands ... and for the AIR products, they will surely look to leverage the existing customer base.

PT11/AAX gives them a clear opportunity to get some 'easy' upgrade $ from IEP users ... hopefully, these customers will have a free (or cheap) upgrade path and they won't look to cash in quickly. New business can come from VST, AU, etc. but IEP is in a competitive market and they run the risk of customers jumping ship e.g. to Komplete (who could see a relatively high upgrade fee as an opportunity for a crossgrade offer).