Avid HDX Certified System f/New Macs (Digigrid)

[Josh Voyles]

Is there an Avid certified/supported system for new macs?

Basically, I'm looking to put together an HD system for work using one of the new Macs or possibly a Thunderbolt laptop.

I've seen a Sonnet chassis with the HDX cards work, but I'd rather tell the people spending the money "it will work" rather than "I've seen it work."

Also, If I do HDX with the Digigrid system will I need to use the Digigrid mixer or would I be able to get away without it?

[nst7]

Any of the new Macs of the last couple of years with Thunderbolt will work fine with either HDX or HD Native, as many people have already been doing this.

With HD Native, you have the option of the Thunderbolt version, but for the PCIe version, and HDX, the chassis options are fine as well.

Keep in mind that for HDX, the chassis options are more particular, as they need to be full size to accomodate the size of the card.

Also, some chassis are noisier than others with their internal fans. I believe the Magmas are the noisiest. Something to keep in mind unless these will be put in a separate room.


Note that the older HD TDM systems will not work with a thunderbolt chassis at all on a Mac, and will not be recognized.

[Josh Voyles]

I suppose a little more research on my part would have yielded the answer.

http://www.magma.com/blog/avid-appro...lshdx-hdnative

[nst7]

Here's another confirmation:

http://www.sweetwater.com/insync/is-...nsion-chassis/

From what I have seen posted, it seems the ones by Sonnet are quieter.

[propower]

Originally Posted by Josh Voyles

Also, If I do HDX with the Digigrid system will I need to use the Digigrid mixer or would I be able to get away without it?

The simple answer: When used with an HDX system the DigiGrid DSP server operates as an insert. All the configuration is done in ProTools (no SoundGrid Studio mixer).

Some details - For each HDX card there are two mini DigiLink connectors allowing for 64 I/O. SoundGrid will need some of these assigned to it in banks of 16 (16, 32, 48 etc). 16 will give 16 mono channels to SoundGrid allowing 16 Mono StudioRacks (8 stereo). Using StudioRack in HDX will add ~0.8ms + any plugin Latency (many have none) to the track (only important when recording).

Here is a good video showing how this works:
http://www.digigrid.net/videos/track...igrid-dli-dls/

[Josh Voyles]

Originally Posted by propower

The simple answer: When used with an HDX system the DigiGrid DSP server operates as an insert. All the configuration is done in ProTools (no SoundGrid Studio mixer).

Some details - For each HDX card there are two mini DigiLink connectors allowing for 64 I/O. SoundGrid will need some of these assigned to it in banks of 16 (16, 32, 48 etc). 16 will give 16 mono channels to SoundGrid allowing 16 Mono StudioRacks (8 stereo). Using StudioRack in HDX will add ~0.8ms + any plugin Latency (many have none) to the track (only important when recording).

Here is a good video showing how this works:
http://www.digigrid.net/videos/track...igrid-dli-dls/

If I went with plain Pro Tools native, would I be able to get lower latency? Even if using PT for the monitor mixing instead of Soundgrid Studio Mixer?

[Emcha_audio]

Originally Posted by Josh Voyles

If I went with plain Pro Tools native, would I be able to get lower latency? Even if using PT for the monitor mixing instead of Soundgrid Studio Mixer?

no

[propower]

Originally Posted by Josh Voyles

If I went with plain Pro Tools native, would I be able to get lower latency? Even if using PT for the monitor mixing instead of Soundgrid Studio Mixer?

The above post is correct. To get the 1.2/1.8 ms (96K/44.1K) latency you have to use the SoundGrid Studio Playback engine in ProTools (as opposed to the AVID one) and setup the SoundGrid system in SGP mode (Ethernet to computer) and not going through your HD Native card/box.

That said the SoundGrid Studio mixer (SGS Mixer) can easily be set up and running in the background, but all your work is done in ProTools and StudioRack. So PT is the monitor mixer but SGS is the engine. I can understand anyones preference though for keeping it all PT. If Waves is needed in that setup HDX/SG is the best solution (but is also the most expensive).