Venue SC48 and Pro Tools LE

[digidesigner]

Originally Posted by Sheldon Radford

Hi everyone,

I think there's a bit of confusion about this topic that needs clearing up.

The channel count is not set within Pro Tools LE itself, nor is it an artificially low number that's been put in place to drive HD sales, as some have suggested. The truth is much simpler and less conspiratorial: the software driver used for FWx (which handles communication and audio transfer between the FWx card and Pro Tools LE) was originally derived from an existing driver for the Digi 002 - hence the 18 channels.

To increase this number requires an entirely new software driver, as the original driver tops out at 18 channels. Developing a robust audio software driver is non-trivial work. It's not a matter of flipping a switch within the software code to enable more capacity. If it was this easy it would have been done by now!

So like all other cool things y'all are asking for we need to prioritize this work against all other requests, and make sure we're doing the most important things first.

Sheldon

Hi Sheldon!

But there was an PT native version that was released without 18 track limitation - Pro Tools M-Powered 7.3.1 Later it was said it was an "bug" that allowed this to happen. The only good bug I know of I must say :)
I have been using this version on my laptop for years for mobile 32 track recording from Yamaha consoles or any other adat capable devices.

Kristo

[Sheldon Radford]

Hi,

But there was an PT native version that was released without 18 track limitation

There are two key points:
1) How many channels of audio can be passed to/from the console and Pro Tools simultaneously (limited by the audio driver)
2) How many tracks can be recorded/played back simultaneously within Pro Tools
...and they're not related.

Pro Tools LE has supported more than 18 tracks for quite some time. The bottleneck for FWx is in the audio driver, as it supports a maximum of 18 channels of audio to/from the console.

It's possible to have 32 tracks playing back in Pro Tools, but you need to sub mix some of those tracks within the Pro Tools mixer before funneling them back through the FWx connection. Similarly, you can sub mix instruments within auxes, groups or matrixes on the console and assign these as inputs to Pro Tools, to fit within the max 18 limit.

Sheldon

[Sheldon Radford]

Hi Simon,

Out of curiosity, what other consoles and recording solutions are being considered in place of SC48?

Sheldon

[digidesigner]

The M-Powered 7.3.1 allows you 32 inputs and outputs I should of said not 18 track limitation but 18 I-O limitation. I am using the M-Audio Lightbridge interface that has 32 adat in 32 adat out. I am using mostly Yamaha M7 or in smaller places LS9 consoles, both have slots for Yamaha ADAT cards and it is really simple to get decent live recordings done with these setups.
I was really hoping to go SC48 as I use PT and own TDM plugins, but loosing the ability to track at least 32 tracks and aslo loosing 32+ faders that I currently have even with the small LS9 has kept me from going digi. Of course I have never worked on the Venue console, and maybe if I did the sound would blow me away and I would get one asap, but as there is no Venue consoles available in my country jet I need to wait. The market here is not big enough to justify a fully blown Venue setup in freelancer's hands.

[BradLyons]

I've mixed on virtually every digital console available at ALL price points---guys, the Venue family is really the best over-all sounding console money can buy. I use the DShow console, but the SC48 is EXACTLY THE SAME SOUND QUALITY, SAME PROCESSING, SAME ARCHITECTURE, SAME PRES, SAME CONVERTERS, SAME PRO TOOLS CAPABILITY (LE only, of course), as my DShow console. There is no other console anywhere near this price point that is capable of doing what the SC48 is capable of. I've sat down with Sheldon and others from Digidesign several times over the years since Dshow first came out and was simply known as Venue. We've gone over not just their product, but what the competition holds to compare. We've discussed customer feedback, input, needs, etc. The line-up of Venue consoles right now has absolutely hit the nail on the head giving users (4) options to choose from. Simply put, you just pick the configuration and price that suits your needs---EVERYTHING ELSE is the same, just less of this and less of that.

The family of consoles really is that---a family, pick the size that you need or what works for you. And well it's certainly possible that the console may not fit your needs, but as one of the top Venue product specialists designing systems in the field....I've yet to encounter a single user that wasn't blown away and didn't want this console. It's THAT good.....any of them.

The fact that the SC48 can handle only 20-TDM plugins isn't a downer, it's a huge plus! Who else is doing this? The fact that the SC48 is only able to record up to 18-tracks at a time via PTLE isn't a problem, remember that it's built-in! You don't have to buy an interface for your computer, plus the software (if PT M-Powered), plus expansion cards and cables for your console. It's all built-in, right there. Now, should you want to record more than 18-tracks well, just add the 16-channel output option and pickup an Alesis HD24 recorder--that's what many others do who aren't using Venue. The SC48 is one of the most affordable consoles on the market, yet it has a feature list that surpasses boards quite a few times its cost and a sound quality that has little to no competition.

IF you must have access to more than 18-inputs at a time and you must go right to PTHD, then look at the Profile MixRack. That's quite a bit more money, certainly more than an M7CL and less than a PM5D---BUT all you need is the 64-channel PTHD option and an HD2 Core. IF you wanted to record 48-tracks of PTHD with any other solution, well you'll need (3) 192I/O's each with an A/D card, all the cabling, a big rack to carry everything around in, and well a means to monitor. When using Venue as front-end to PTHD it's a HUGE cost-savings!!!

[Mike Z]

Originally Posted by digidesigner

The M-Powered 7.3.1 allows you 32 inputs and outputs I should of said not 18 track limitation but 18 I-O limitation.

I understand your point here but remember the M-Powered driver and LE 002/FWx driver are not the same.

[bobwitte]

Is there a 32 output option (or two 16 output options) to pipe ADAT to HD24's? Or what other options are there to record 32-48 channels?

[BradLyons]

You can have (32) outputs....that is the 16-outputs built-in and the 16-output expansion. Again at this price-point, that's the limitation. But if you really do need more, then the ProfileMixRack is what you should look at.