7.4 is going in the wrong direction

[DanDan]

I recently updated my rig from 6.9.4 to 7.4. What a strange new world Digi have come up with.
Almost everything has changed. In all cases the processes of operation have become vastly more complex. There are many more buffers etc. Options and choices abound everywhere. We have a whole new engine in there for Elastic time, which appears to be similar to GarageBand!
I would like to wave a big red flag to Digidesign.
I have liked ProTools for many reasons.
It is a multitrack recorder with really sophisticated editing.
It is a superb mixing environment.
It's extreme powers can be hidden away until needed.
The resulting screens with complexity hidden are as easy to use as a word processor.

7.4 is a big departure. It is complex. It has many new features which many of us will rarely or never use. It is slow to boot up. It is Bloatware.

Worst of all. IT IS NOT RELIABLE. I am getting -9073 errors on an internal SATA Cuda, newly formatted with few tracks and plugs running.

A working professional needs his tools to work. That is the primary requirement- RELIABILITY.

Digi, clearly you have teams of skilled programmers, who are apparently not getting out much.
They are obviously capable of writing incredible software. However could you focus them for a while on making sure that PT actually works?


I note Logic appears to have gone to Weight Watchers.


Best Regards, Dan FitzGerald AMIOA
www.soundsound.ie

[usd]

hi dan! digi is aware of the -9073 errors and this forum is full of threads regarding to those ones. and enough "workarounds" as well! for example...

http://duc.digidesign.com/showflat.p...&Number=961597

i must say, that 7.4. is the best protools version i´ve ever worked with. and rock solid as well!!
i know this is no real help for your actual problems but maybe you should post a little more information about your configuration and your current problems. the DUC is glad to help...
cheers, alex

[DanDan]

Hi Alex, thanks for your encouraging words. However I am not at all convinced. I had considerable trouble with 6.4 and 6.7. One of those is no longer downloadable I noticed. There were issues with the introduction of ADC and also HDTDM. I note HDTDM is now gone.
My system is HD3 Accel. G5 Dual 1.8. 2G RAM.
I have tried the various buffer settings etc. etc, but that mysterious -9073 pops up now and again. It appears random. I did notice somewhere that Digi recommend partitioning drives over 200G. Mine is 250 and not partitioned. However I am running only 20 tracks or so with a very light plug in and editing load.
My post was not really just about this current error message. It is an unashamed rant in an attempt to convince Digi of the importance of Reliability.
Overall since I bought PT I have to say it is simply not reliable. My previous rig was an O2R with a Fostex D160 and later D2424. Rock solid. Turn it on and get to work. No interruptions due to crashes, errors and so on.
I am sure if the talented programmers were to take RELIABILITY as the prime requirement, prioritised over all others, we would have a wonderful product. If I were starting out right now, I would not like the look of PT at all. Too fussy, and nobody I have asked claims it to be reliable.

Thanks for the positivity though.
DD

[usd]

dan, i´am working with protools since V5. it´s all about getting your system properly configured and running (within digi´s compatibility grid). you´ll find the link at the top of this forum in red. if so you should have no problems. and did you tried the general troubleshooting stuff?

http://duc.digidesign.com/showflat.p...&Number=177661

what about your 6.9 system? was it running stable? it looks like you´re complaining about PT reliability in general!? and believe me, it is reliable!!
cheers, alex

[25ghosts]

I note Logic appears to have gone to Weight Watchers.

I dont know what you mean by this but I can tell you that if reliability is what you're seeking the Logic is the wrong way to go.

I've been on PT since version 6.9 - 7.4.1 is THE most stable version that I have worked with. I have NO real problems and I love PT which is NEVER quitting on me.

Sounds like you've just left OS 9 - since you mention the HTDM stuff. Was that ever compatible with OS X ?

UNIX (OS X) is the future and still fairly new to user based software like PT. PT is still written in "Old" code language. Once the transition is complete - maybe in 5 years you'll have PT combined with pure UNIX horsepower for the years to come,

For now.... IMO - PT is THE most stable application available. And that when incl. ALL available apps for the Mac. Nothing beats the stability of PT.

[innesireinar]

25Ghosts,
I've seen that you're running 7.4.1 and I suppose you are already on Leopard. I'd like to switch on Leopard as soon as the first series of macpro will be qualified.
I'd like to know which no-Digi plugs run fine on Leopard. I don't have any info about Arturia synths, Stylus, TC VSS3, Sonnonx stuff, NI stuff, AutoTune. If you have any experiences about this stuff, please let me know.

[Lee Blaske]

I dont know what you mean by this but I can tell you that if reliability is what you're seeking the Logic is the wrong way to go.

No need to bash Logic. Apple has really been doing some great work with it. My PT HD rig using Logic 8.0.1 as a front end for TDM is working very well, and the ability to use Core Audio and MIDI means I can really use NI plug-ins and Logic's EXS-24 sampler efficiently. Integration is as good as I can remember, and that's a credit to both Digidesign and Apple.

[Touchwood Studios]

10.4.10 G5 Dual 2.5 6GB RAM 7.4 cs3 very reliable so far a couple of small issues but with easy workarounds so show stoppers for me.

[Eric Lambert]

No need to bash Logic. Apple has really been doing some great work with it. My PT HD rig using Logic 8.0.1 as a front end for TDM is working very well

I've been digging pretty deep lately to find out how successful people have been with ProTools and Logic because I'm considering the switch as well. It seems that for every 1 success story there are 10 horror stories. Yours is working well, but from my sampling of the community, yours is a an uncommon story. Having never used it I can't say 1st hand, but I do read a lot and I've talked to a lot of other composers about it.

[25ghosts]

No need to bash Logic. Apple has really been doing some great work with it. My PT HD rig using Logic 8.0.1 as a front end for TDM is working very well, and the ability to use Core Audio and MIDI means I can really use NI plug-ins and Logic's EXS-24 sampler efficiently. Integration is as good as I can remember, and that's a credit to both Digidesign and Apple.

No Disrespect Lee, but Logic 7 forced me to switch to PT. I had been using Logic as a front end to PT Hardware since '98. I know the app like the back of my hand. But since Apple took over Logic it has been a steady downhill for that once great app. Today Logic is nothing else but a souped up version of garage band sporting DAE support only because it used be like that. The DAE/TDM support is a Joke. TDM = 100% in PT TDM = 5% in Logic. No ADC etc etc etc.

I know a whole lot of studio owners here in Germany who used be running Logic as front end for their commercial facilities. The have ALL switched to PT since L7. I dont think that the reason is a conspiracy towards apple or something in that neck of the woods. Merely that Logic has descended to a semi pro application which BTW offers NO PRO support what so ever.

Dont take my word for - just glance at the Logic forum and you'll find discontent. A whole lot of it.


I love apple for the Mac and OS X - but I hate them for what they did to Emagic and Logic. They should have kept their hands off of this one. Professional software is something Apple has nothing on. They should stick to Operating Systems and Email Applications - and leave the rest up to the people who know what they are doing.