Jumping Ship

[ckevperry]

I respect all those who are going to stick with the NT platform. It truly is a robust and very stable platform for Protools. But there are those of use who just can't afford to wait on this and are sickened too much to be caught in the "stagnant" version of Protools. How silly is it for a client to come to me wanting me to do such and such in PT and I have to say "Oh I don't have that feature in my Protools, we're a year behind."

I really thought the plugins were about to catch up on the PC side, but this has ruined it for a good while. Waves ain't going anywhere. McDSP is on hold indefinitely. In the words of McDSP, no one is going to develop "until Digidesign figures out what they are doing."

This had to happen of course. You couldn't expect Digi to keep developing their software on a soon to be extinct OS. But the problem is that this has put a lag, probably for good, between the two platform's development times. You think your ticked off now? What about the next release and the next....

So I would ask that those looking to jump to the Mac side sign on to this thread. Just as a show to Digi. Maybe thats what they wanted to see I don't know. They had to expect it.

------------------
Kevin Perry
Chameleon Music

[Echo studios]

Being tired of waiting and broken promises on the NT platform, I'll probably switch to MAC too before the end of the year.

-Dan
ECHO

[Eduardo Apolonia]

I agree with Kevin.
I am forced to go to Mac because I can not change sessions between Mac Protools, The plugins are not beeing developed for NT, Waves TDM Gold Bundle is a big investement for a bunch of good plugins that don't work well and some times makes the client ask me a silly question like, why does your Protools take 10 minutes to open a session (when it does open correctly, some times it can't assign the plugins that were assigned when the session was saved). And I think that the NT will never get close to the Mac side (2 years was enough to prove that it could get the same as Mac and it didn't.


I am tired of having a 2class Protools.


Digidesign is making me spend $4000 on a Mac with all the specifications necessary and $2000 more for a expansion chassis so that I can fit my Mixplus and samplecell 2+ on the Mac. My PC had 4 PCI slots so I didn't had any expansion chassis.
I hope Digidesign is aware of the money that everybody that changes from PC to MAC will have to pay, not speaking of the software you lose.

I have PC software that I invested that will not work in a Mac and there is no trade in.


I hope that some day Protools will be the same on both plattaforms, for me, 2 years of hope that things would get to the same level was enough.


I will stay tuned to this forum to see how things develop.


Good luck to you all that are staying on the NT plattaform. Maybe some day I will return to the Windows plattaform.



[This message has been edited by Eduardo Apolonia (edited October 17, 2000).]

[Wolfgang Eller]

At the end of this week I will get my MAC.
Then I will give me 2 weeks time to learn MAC. After 4 weeks I will have ported my hole PT NT sessions to MAC and at the beginning of December I`m copletely MAC and never return (although I`m afraid in 4 to 5 years Apple is out of business).

Regards Wolfgang

[NCM engineering]

Switching from 5 seats of PT/NT to 5 seats on MAC has become a very serious topic in my shop. Before it was something that was a "last resort" type of action. Every day it comes closer and closer. A very sad day indeed here in Seattle. The NT is a fairly good product, but we can't afford the "wait and see" game DIGI is making us play. We need boxes with support, that work and have a clear upgrade path. Seems like The MAC option is quickly crashing down on us.

[yestour]

I have 3 systems running NT/Windows, I can not afford to drop the platform and switch to Mac. I hope that someone can figure this mess out.

[Camilo Orozco]

Hello,
I am tired of waiting until PT/NT catches up... Its been two long years asking for plugins, for QT, etc..., I dont like to be treated as a SECOND class customer, remember... we paid *THE SAME* amount of money as the MAC guys for a program that´s supposed to have the SAME features as the MAC version by this days. This features will not be there in the near future.

I am jumping.

I will do the same as Wolfgang, a couple of weeks to understand the MAC, then JUMP.

See you at the MAC forum.
Camilo.

Maybe some day I'll return.
I will miss:
6 PCI slot Motherboard
Cheap Matrox Dual monitor card
WaveLab and DirectX Plugins
Sound Forge
etc...

[TerryM]

Although I had some problems installing the digi001 system on an via board, it all works quite well.I am satisfied with the operational characteristics of both the software and hardware. My wife finds the mix interface easy to use and likes the granularity of the edit controls.
As for the Mac(Motorola)/Windows(Intel) and software upgrade paths.....it sounds like Digidesign would do well to fork over an SDK and let some Code Monkies like myself at it.

[Jeffrey Percival]

I've heard many talk about switching to a Mac Pro Tools system and how much this is going to cost them. I'd like to suggest that any company who would treat us this way probably isn't worth staying with. Especially in today's PC DAW market place. With Nuendo and Paris 3.0(among others)on the horizon it's becoming alot easier to stay with Windows, but not stay with Digidesign. If I switch, I'll switch to one of the above, save the cost of a new Mac computer and pocket the money I'll get out of my Pro Tools hardware, since all other PC DAW systems cost half as much. I've heard all this stuff about how NT systems account for only 1 percent of Digidesign sales and that it's simply economics. Tell me this, who is responsible for increasing sales on the NT platform? HELLO! Digidesign!!! not me, not you. When, IF, the product ever competes with it's equally priced Mac counterpart or the other Windows options out there in terms of "bang for the buck", it will sell like crazy. Digi must accomplish this FIRST, then sales will follow. Now THAT'S simple economics. If you want your product to sell better, make a better product - what a concept. Yes, this requires investment, risk, etc. I'm tired of being made to feel like it's me and my fellow consumers, or Microsoft, or plug-in manufacturers that are the missing pieces of the puzzle. Digi acts like Win 2000 is going to be around for a few more months and then it will be gone so "better not work toward compatibility, it will be a waste of time". BALONEY! Win 2000 or a later version thereof will be around for years to come. Will it go through changes? I hope so. OS's should be constantly improving. Will Digi and everyone else have to alter there code to keep up with these changes? Yes...

TO DIGI: Stop whining about all the other factors and players. Take responsibility, step up to the plate. If PT TDM for Windows fails, it will be your responsibility. Unfortunately, your customers will pay the biggest price of all.

I, for one, will not switch to a Mac just to stay with Digi. I will stay with Windows and go with one of the many other alternatives in the very near future if Digi doesn't change their attitude toward there Windows customers and there Windows product.

Jeff Percival
Personics Recording
Phoenix, AZ

[Road_Hogs]

It would be interesting in hearing Avid's stance on Digi Intel development. I had heard that when Avid bought Digi there was a big push into the NT environment to the point of putting it on the desktop for most of the Digi staff (at least in sales). I've gone so far as to contact Avid PR to express my dismay and would encourage anyone else who care to do the same.

Cheers,
Toby Gray - possible future mac owner and not liking the idea very much ;-)