2021.12 | Release Notes

[JFreak]

iLok's biggest fault is plugin version management. It does not tell you anything else the license supports except where it can be authorized. Zero information in this case.

Same plugin management is missing in PT. You just need to go through every vendor's homepages and see if there are updates and which OS/PT are supported.

PITA but what can you do. Point Avid is making here is once PT software and iLok software are Apple Silicon native, there will be a bunch of plugin updates coming and the most proactive already have updated to the new iLok requirements.

With that said, Avid extra plugins have not been updated for a while, but maybe they launch new installers along with Apple Silicon native PT. Who knows?

I am testing this M1 mac mini now and it is really a lot of work right now. As it was with the PPC to Intel transition as well.

[noiseboyuk]

Ah boy, thanks for the warning Janne. That IS a lot of work.

I'll skip this update for now, definitely. Only when I have the time/inclination between jobs. Feb maybe...

[Obsidian Dragon]

Originally Posted by noiseboyuk

So the big question is - without first installing 2021.12, how do I know WHICH plugins are not updated to the latest protocols?

Only the plugin manufacturers can provide the information, not iLok nor Avid.

What I often do is use a separate hard drive (a cloned drive is ideal) and upgrade on that drive to see what happens. If all goes well with your needed plugins, you are good. If things go poorly, simply swap back to your original drive and you are right bback to where you started. The price for a hard drive is relative cheap to offer you this option for testing your plugins.

[JFreak]

^^ this cloning method is soon obsolete. Apple with security chips will not boot from anything other than internal security controlled storage, which also means if the internal storage fails the computer becomes a doorstop

[Obsidian Dragon]

Originally Posted by noiseboyuk

I'll skip this update for now, definitely. Only when I have the time/inclination between jobs. Feb maybe...

In my opinion, Monterey is the culprit for some of the problems. If your running Intel on Big Sur, Protools 2021.12 seems to be running well. Even M1 on Big Sur works as far as I know,

[JFreak]

Originally Posted by Obsidian Dragon

In my opinion, Monterey is the culprit for some of the problems. If your running Intel on Big Sur, Protools 2021.12 seems to be running well. Even M1 on Big Sur works as far as I know,

Yes, Monterey 12.0 is a total disaster. However developers got seeded 12.1 release candidate just recently, so I for one am hoping things are improving.

[Eric Lambert]

Originally Posted by Obsidian Dragon

Only the plugin manufacturers can provide the information, not iLok nor Avid.

True, and not all are good with such announcements.

I still don't understand how we've gone this long, in an industry which only continues to grow, without an umbrella organization to which all these developers can pour, or receive, information. Individuals and 3rd parties have tried creating plugin organizers which listed current versions of plugins and links to updates, but they failed because developers didn't cooperate, making their jobs difficult.

And I guess that answers my own question, but it would be helpful if the plugin industry was more organized and integrated. One app listing all your plugins and their current status, kept up-to-date by developers, or someone... I'll continue to dream.

[LukeHoward]

This is pretty crude but, on macOS you can use the following in Terminal to enumerate plugin versions:

find "/Library/Application Support/Avid/Audio/Plug-Ins" -name Info.plist -print -exec /usr/libexec/PlistBuddy -c "Print CFBundleShortVersionString" "{}" \;

For better or worse, it also captures the version of PACE (iLok) against which the plugin was built, which may be useful with the current issue. I'll leave it to someone else to tabulate and prettify the output

[The Weed]

Originally Posted by noiseboyuk

Ah boy, thanks for the warning Janne. That IS a lot of work.

I'll skip this update for now, definitely. Only when I have the time/inclination between jobs. Feb maybe...

I'm on the latest Windows 10, just uninstalled Pro Tools 2021.10 and installed v2021.12. I have the Avid Complete Plug-in Bundle. I was not asked to move any of the Bundle's plug-ins to the Unused Plug-in Folder. I was asked to move the FB360 plug-ins to the Unused Plug-in Folder, because I had uninstalled it immediately after installing v2021.12 before actually opening the program. The reason I did that was because of some posts on the DUC about that particular plug-in causing issues.

I did have a complete image of my OS before doing any of the above so that if there were any problems I was 15 to 20 minutes from a working Pro Tools if something went wrong. FYI, I use Macrium Reflect - there is a free and paid version.

[gives]

Still running Catalina and have no issues, so no reason to update either on this one. I was told months ago by Jeff Komar to just stay where I am for what I am doing. Glad I did, but I know others do not have that option.

G