Digi Expansion HD chassis no longer supported?

[the dude]

It's hard to believe that this is news to anyone. Move along, there's nothing to see here folks

Thank You

its likened to just now finding out who won the previous presidential elections

[crizdee]

Originally Posted by WernerF

It's hard to believe that this is news to anyone. Move along, there's nothing to see here folks.

Hi,

This isn't news to us on the forum!! but to a great many users its news and is going to be news when they decide to upgrade their Macs!!

Chris

[WernerF]

I agree, but I was referring to most of us who have been here for over ten years, and that includes the OP.

[RKrizman]

Originally Posted by crizdee

Hi,

This isn't news to us on the forum!! but to a great many users its news and is going to be news when they decide to upgrade their Macs!!

Chris

Thanks Chris. It's a bum deal no matter how long anybody has known about it. No reason for it not to be put front and center by newly dissatisfied customers.

Salesperson: "No, don't get the Magma, get the Digi just to be safe".

-R

[Dism]

Originally Posted by RKrizman

Salesperson: "No, don't get the Magma, get the Digi just to be safe".

-R

Sure... but how many years ago was that? No offense, but any advice given 4 or more years ago should be considered obsolete when it comes to computers, regardless of whether or not anything is said to be "future proof."

Originally Posted by uno1234

If this was Apple or Intel or a larger ("real") company, the lawyers would be lining up for crap like this. They misled their customers, offered them an unsatisfactory experience, then dropped the product. They should be ashamed. (Well actually, they are, I've received a few apologies from product reps).

Crap like this continues to make Avid/Digidesign a substandard company.

Tell that to all those who still use G5s...

Computer related hardware gets old, and is discontinued for new stuff. Doesn't matter if it's Apple, Intel, MS, or any other company. In fact, Apple is faster at doing it than any other company. My first generation iPod Touch was dropped from support, and I can't put iOS4 on it. It's a little over 2 years old now, and I paid $500 for it. Apple is probably the worst example of maintaining legacy support.

[holden]

Originally Posted by Dism

... My first generation iPod Touch was dropped from support, and I can't put iOS4 on it. It's a little over 2 years old now, and I paid $500 for it. Apple is probably the worst example of maintaining legacy support.

Your example indicates a misunderstand of the problem. Consider spending $2620 on an Expansion|HD and getting less than three years out of it. Some got much less time out of it. The Expansion|HD is a piece of business equipment, not a piece of consumer electronics gear.

[Dism]

Originally Posted by holden

Your example indicates a misunderstand of the problem. Consider spending $2620 on an Expansion|HD and getting less than three years out of it. Some got much less time out of it. The Expansion|HD is a piece of business equipment, not a piece of consumer electronics gear.

Ok... a G5 is a better example. The last era of G5 was still sold new in 2006 right up until the Mac Pros came out. Since Snow Leopard came out over a year ago, Apple dropped official support. Avid followed suit with 8.0.3, and many other companies did very quickly.

My point is... regardless of what, specifically, whether it is used for business or pleasure (not even going to get into how often I use my iPod to control Pro Tools...), computer related technology gets old, fast. At least Avid gives us a warning when it happens. When 8.0.1 came out, they put up EOSS announcements all over the main site, and the duc. Apple didn't even give a hint when the G5 went out, they only said that 10.6 isn't PPC compatible when it was released. Same with iOS4.

There is always good and bad timing when it comes to technology. Hell, it was the same when VHS and BetaMAX were competing. DVD and LaserDisc, HDDVD and BlueRay. Did anyone have an Atari for audio back in the day?

Some times it's hard to judge when the best time to buy really is, and not everyone has the time to follow the trends. It's unfortunate, but it's something anyone who relies on technology for their business has to factor in.

That being said... it's not as if anything you already have suddenly won't continue to work. There are plenty of people using G4s... just not with Pro Tools 8.1. My iPod still continues to run 3.1. I have a G4 running 10.4.11.

The only thing you can do... is use what works.

[uno1234]

Originally Posted by Dism

Sure... but how many years ago was that? No offense, but any advice given 4 or more years ago should be considered obsolete when it comes to computers, regardless of whether or not anything is said to be "future proof."



Tell that to all those who still use G5s...

Computer related hardware gets old, and is discontinued for new stuff. Doesn't matter if it's Apple, Intel, MS, or any other company. In fact, Apple is faster at doing it than any other company. My first generation iPod Touch was dropped from support, and I can't put iOS4 on it. It's a little over 2 years old now, and I paid $500 for it. Apple is probably the worst example of maintaining legacy support.

Its support was discontinued 3 years from date of release. And less than 2 years since it was actually working reliably.

This is not like a G5 or an ipod Touch. We all get it. Technology goes out of date. But the Digi Chassis was particularly harsh for people.

[RKrizman]

Originally Posted by uno1234

Its support was discontinued 3 years from date of release. And less than 2 years since it was actually working reliably.

This is not like a G5 or an ipod Touch. We all get it. Technology goes out of date. But the Digi Chassis was particularly harsh for people.

yeah, I think it's odd actually, because I've always given Digi kudos for the upgrade paths. I mean, how hard is it to continue to support this piece of hardware or offer a deal on something else.

Anyhow, not all of us PT users live here on the forum, so this mini rant is for those who are just finding out about this. The rest of you dinosaurs, try not to get a headache rolling your eyes.

-R

[Will Russell]

I totally understand folks being upset by a expensive 3 yr old product being end of lifed. I also understand that we demand that these companies move forward and continue to improve and innovate. So at some time your expensive investment is going to lose support.

In the case if the Expansion|HD, I say good riddance! I needed slots for 4 of the older TDM cards (HD4) Yes I too paid top dollar for one when they first came out but what a piece of krap that unit was! Endless problems with plugin implementation, noisy, crashes all the time, constant calls to tech support. I took a loss and sold it on EBay for $800 after a year. I then bit the bullet and bought a MacPro and cross-graded my core and 2 process cards for a new HD3, and sold the last process card on Ebay. The system ROCKS now and I have paid off the investment.

FWIW- I find the need to buy a new computer every 2 years to the tune of 3K each time. This to me is simply the cost of doing business and staying current and competitive.

I hope this provides a helpful perspective.