Access To Legacy Pro Tools Versions With A Pro Tools Studio Perpetual License

[Porrist]

Hi All

Apologies, this seems like a simple question and I'm sure it's been answered at some point but I'm struggling to find a definitive Yes/No answer...

I have an old Pro Tools Perpetual License (up to PT 12.4) where the support plan expired back in 2017. I was always reluctant to move across to subscription (I'm a light user) but I've been offered a perpetual license upgrade - Pro Tools Studio
£238.00 Pro Tools Studio Annual Perpetual Upgrade & Support Plan which is very tempting at this price but I'm worried about upgrading past the capabilities of my system...

I'm assuming that If I took this upgrade I would be licensed to use Pro Tools Studio 2022.5 and associated products on a perpetual basis (even once the support plan expires) but my question is would I be able to use legacy versions of Pro Tools with the new license on a perpetual basis too? I'm using older hardware and Mac OS's and would like the versatility to chose the appropriate version to match my system rather than having to do an all-out OS update, Ideally I would like to be able to access versions ranging from PT10 - PT12 and through PT 2018 onwards (PT 2020 would arguably be the most compatible at this stage). If I could use legacy versions this would be a massive thumbs up so I would love a definitive answer...

If the answer is yes would there potentially be any issues with any of the bundled plugins once the support plan expires or (like with PT 12) does the perpetual licence cover all the bundled plugs/instruments?

Thanks in advance

[Darryl Ramm]

what exactly is "your system?". Mac versions of Pro Tools do not have a long life with the rate of change in macOS releases. What different Macs or bootable OSes do you have? and what are you going to do with the Apple silicon transition and eventual end of Pro Tools Intel releases on the Mac?

Why do you need to run Pro Tools 10? Legacy TDM or RTAS plugin support for old sessions? If you don't really need this legacy support you may just be making a lot of work for yourself. And any Pro Tools 11 or later session should run fine on any recent version of Pro Tools. With significant feature additions and improvements over the last few years.

Core plugins and VIs included with Pro Tools are perpetual, any others like the Avid Complete Plugin Bundle included via the subscription you get as a part of the annual support/renewal plan are not.

[Porrist]

Hi Darryl, thanks for the reply. I'm currently using a Mac Pro 5.1 running High Sierra 10.13.6. PT 12.4 is running on there but I can have issues with audio imports and occasional crashes (I've learned to save regularly) but would ideally like to bump up to the latest supported version 2020 I believe. I've got the option to move up to Mojave but would rather see the results of a newer version of PT before pushing the button.

To be honest PT 10 access is a 'want' rather than need, I've a few older projects I would like to access but it's not a deal breaker - PT 12 and onwards would be more than enough. I'll probably end up shifting away from Mac eventually which negates the concern around apple silicon but would still like the versatility of having access to legacy versions. Am I right in assuming that the legacy support isn't available once upgraded then?

Cheers!

[cvicente22]

Originally Posted by Porrist

Hi All

I'm assuming that If I took this upgrade I would be licensed to use Pro Tools Studio 2022.5 and associated products on a perpetual basis (even once the support plan expires) but my question is would I be able to use legacy versions of Pro Tools with the new license on a perpetual basis too? I'm using older hardware and Mac OS's and would like the versatility to chose the appropriate version to match my system rather than having to do an all-out OS update, Ideally I would like to be able to access versions ranging from PT10 - PT12 and through PT 2018 onwards (PT 2020 would arguably be the most compatible at this stage). If I could use legacy versions this would be a massive thumbs up so I would love a definitive answer...

If the answer is yes would there potentially be any issues with any of the bundled plugins once the support plan expires or (like with PT 12) does the perpetual licence cover all the bundled plugs/instruments?

Thanks in advance

Hi Porrist,

If you purchased a get current, the bundle license that you will receive shall include access to versions 10 to the latest version. As for the plugins it should be same with what you have with PT 12.4 but since you will receive an entitlement for a support and upgrade plan, add value plugins such as Avid Complete Plugin, HEAT, and the new Groovecell and Synthcell are going included as well, but please take note that these add value plugins are bound to the upgrade and support plan and will expire if not renewed.

Cheers,
Charles

[Porrist]

Hi Charles

Thanks for the reply, that sounds ideal... Much sppreciated

[Ben Jenssen]

According to this:
Pro Tools Operating System Compatibility Chart - avid.force.com
…PT2022.5 has:
macOS Mojave (10.14.6)
"untested, but expected compatibility"

High Sierra is supported on PT2020.12, which is what I have, and I can tell you that I can open sessions as far back as v5&6. They added that function sometime in 2020, I think.

[Darryl Ramm]

Originally Posted by cvicente22

Hi Porrist,

If you purchased a get current, the bundle license that you will receive shall include access to versions 10 to the latest version. As for the plugins it should be same with what you have with PT 12.4 but since you will receive an entitlement for a support and upgrade plan, add value plugins such as Avid Complete Plugin, HEAT, and the new Groovecell and Synthcell are going included as well, but please take note that these add value plugins are bound to the upgrade and support plan and will expire if not renewed.

Cheers,
Charles

Charles, for more general interest can you clarify what users will actually get to download, there is some pruning of versions not available to download from My Products or the Download Center. e.g. in my account no Pro Tools 11 versions, only 10.3.10. Will Avid support make other versions available to users? To users with expired support/update plans but who have legacy licenses?

[Darryl Ramm]

Great that Charles replied to you.

I was more trying to understand what you are trying to do/why. Hopefully you've tried troubleshooting the crashes.

If you do want to give the trashcan a maximum life and are a bit adventurous you can even get Monterey to run on a 5,1 with a little work and presumably then run 2022.5. I've not had a cheesegrater in a long time, but if I had one now I'd be very tempted to try that out and get off of 12.4 onto PT Studio 2022. You can download a free one month trial of the latest version of Pro Tools... and I'd be using that to check after doing a test install/upgrade to Monterey (a test install without trashing your current install). The free trial won't normally get you 2020 only the latest. If you needed to play/test for longer you could always get a one month subscription. And I'd be getting NVMe SSD storage into the Cheesegrater as well. All that makes them still a pretty nice box.

Avid has made clear in the past is if you purchase a reinstatement from an authorized reseller *not Avid* then you can sit on that update and use it at some time in the future when you want. Avid seems to be legally required to do that at least in some jurisdictions. So that might be a better approach for you if the idea of seeing an upgrade offer is too good to pass up.

My other personal thing is I could not imaging having Pro Tools without some of the plugins in the Complete Plugin Bundle, especially Eleven Mk II and related plugins. Maybe you don't need/want any or have all you need already with individual purchase. But for me giving up the separate Complete Plugin Subscription and having that included in the annual support/renewal plan did help.