help i need some info about pro tools

[geniedon]

hi people,
i'm very new to pro tools and want to find out alot about this program, i have been told it is the industry standard so here's some questions i need answering.

1. what is the difference between pro tools le and pro tools tdm.

2. do i have to use either pro tools le or pro tools tdm with hardware (i've been told i need to use either mbox,digi 002, digi 001) or is there a way i can use it just as software like cubase sx or pro logic

thanks
geniedon

[bombastique]

1. LE uses the computers processor while TDM uses processors on a DSP card that goes into a PCI slot in the computer. TDM has more editing features, can play back more tracks and has better effects available.

2. Pro Tools requires the Digidesign hardware to run (except for the free versions for OS9 and Win2k).

[geniedon]

thank you very much

[howie15]

genie, another thing to consider about TDM vs. LE, a big thing that I'm sure bomb knows but forgot to mention is.....price.
Average LE setup like the 002 rack is $1200.00 or $2000 for the 002 with control surface.
If you are buying PT TDM new, probably HD3, you won't get a setup under $10,000.00.

Howie J

[axeman69]

Hell, I wish it was only 10,000. We're currently running multiple M-Audio Delta 1010s. We can do 24 concurrent tracks. We were throwing around the idea of switching to an HD Acell system till we started looking at the price for a system comparible to the system we already have.

HD 1 core card 7995.
192 I/O Interface 3995
192 A/D expansion card 1295 (x2)
192 D/A Expansion card 1195 (x2)
and another 8 grand if you want a decent control surface

+ a dual CPU G5 to run the whole shebang and another 500.00 + in cabling.

This is would give me, I believe, 32 tracks in and out. This is before doing any upgrades on outboard, mic pres, or in the mic closet.

We opted to stay with what we have and spend the money elsewhere.

[af-gdoubleyou]

You don't need a G5 to run HD, because the Mac is used as a graphic interface, a lowly G4/400 will work fine with HD system.

[axeman69]

Originally posted by gdoubleyou
You don't need a G5 to run HD, because the Mac is used as a graphic interface, a lowly G4/400 will work fine with HD system.

I thought a G5 was required for the most recent Acell hardware and drivers. If not, I stand corrected.

[bombastique]

HD Accell compato info here:

http://www.digidesign.com/compato/osx/hd/g4.cfm

[af-gdoubleyou]

HD system, not the new Accel cards.

The studio I frequent has two HD systems one on a G4/400, and one on a G4/550. each has two DSP cards.

[daceymathers]

The main difference is in the hardware and how the audio proccessing is handled. PTLE is a host based system, which means the CPU of the computer handles all audio processing. This results in quite a bit of delay as the CPU tries to handle everything at once, this delay is called latency. PT TDM on the other hand uses quite expensive plugin cards, each of which contains 6 DSP chips. All audio processing is done by these cards, rather than the CPU and latency is almost eliminated.Although the underlying hardware and audio processing of PTLE and PT TDM are completely different the software interface sitting on top is essentially identical. There are a couple of extra features on the TDM software but if you learn the PTLE software then move to TDM you will be hard pressed to tell the difference except for the lack of latency and the generally superior TDM plug-ins.

[JeffBarnett]

Let me be the first to welcome you to seven years ago.