HD PT 8 to 10/11 HD vs non-HD Upgrade question

[jwold]

Greetings all. Yes, I'm late to the party and going to upgrade my system. I've been doing sweetening/VO recording for video for several years, mostly at a corporate level, some broadcast mixing for tv & radio and I usually receive AAF files from our 3 avids on a regular basis.

Wondering if I need to upgrade to an HD system or will the 'standard' Pro Tools system 10/11 just running off the box (planning on a new imac) and a Fireface interface work just fine?
My mixes can get complicated, but rarely larger than +16 tracks.
I'd like to save money if the system will work, but don't want to cheap out and cut myself off at the knees.

Any comments/advice appreciated.

[timothyd4y]

Sounds like a PT 11 native rig would serve you well.

[nst7]

A couple of things to keep in mind since you're on PT8. Starting with PT9 and continuing, virtually all the features of the DV Toolkit and Music Toolkit are now standard in Protools (and that is why those kits were discontinued). So you will have timecode/feet and frames, and all the function of Digitranslator as well (OMF/AAF).

What you won't have is surround, and there is no way to get that unless you buy an HD system, as there is no more Complete Toolkit option.

This may not matter if you're mainly doing work for video and broadcast. So if you don't need surround mixing, at least you'll have the basic timecode and DV Toolkit functionality even in regular PT11 and 10. The only missing feature from the DV Toolkit is the ability to have multiple video tracks. You are limited to one, unless you go for an HD system.

So as mentioned, you may be fine with just regular Protools.