Is Protools Hd Worth The Money?, upgrading, waiting or simply switching? Options

[xfiles]

Dear macmusicians.
As a long time reader, i would first like to thank all the macmusic staff for their great and profitable work.

As a professional producer and songwriter, i've been using Digidesign products since their very beginning (my first digi was a SoundTools). I'm familiar with the idea of upgrading computer based solutions as the technology permanently evolves but I expect to get something out of it.

Therefore I am VERY disapointed with Digidesign's attitude towards their customers. It seems to be nowadays a generality for manufacturers (including Apple) to sell promises instead of true improvements as well as treating their customers of "walking wallets"...

I was planning to invest in a new Protools HD, for our main room, but the closer I look at it, the more i get the feeling that it is a very uncleaver choice. I really wonder if it's worth the money.

The truth is that nothing is EVER compatible between Digidesign products. The only solution for my studio to be up to date is:

1- Change ALL my digidesign hardware. This means upgrading for a very expensive price, all my processing cards (mix cube and 2 mix farms that i have bought only 10 month ago).

2- Throw out my 4 TDM SampleCell cards (knowing that there is nothing to replace them exept Soft-SampleCell which will never give me the 64 stereo voices needed for emulating symphonics with Miroslav collection for exemple). What an improvment...

3- I will also have to change my brand new USD as well as my three 888 interfaces. (I know I can use them if I buy 3 new Digi interfaces just to connect my old ones). Wow !!! Great deal !!!

4- Most plug-ins (ie TC) are still NOT compatible with HD systems... Anyway, I know I'll have to PAY expensive updates JUST to stay compatible. Who cares, i'm rich!?

5- Major sequencers including my favorite (Logic Audio) don't currently support ProTools HD.
I guess i will have to do with the ridiculous MIDI features of PT 5.

6- I was expecting Digidesign (the big leader) to announce an OS X version of their softwares but they simply let their competitors do it... Knowing (as Steeve Jobs announced it) that the new Mac product line will only support OS X by January, How much $$$ will I have to spend again to upgrade my henceforth costly Digi set up (Plugs and why not hardware again?)

7- BTW Thanks for strongly advising me to buy a very expensive Geronimo 2000 video card that will never be supported by OS X according to Appian themselves.

8- I've heard of big problems with the new Digidesign sync interface.

9- Best of all, I have been told that Digidesign may change their approach and favorise their development on PC's. I guess I will just have to upgrade again...

10- Does anyone at Digidesign care about their customers desesperatly waiting for a simple and efficient way to "direct connect" the growing collection of the amazing VST instruments.

All theses points lead me to reconsider my next investments. Considering it is nowaday easy to find mix farms at an affordable price and that ProTools mix systems are rock solid, I would suggest any "Digidesign shareholder" to wait and see...

Meanwhile I will certainly buy a new G4 just to experiment alternative solutions. The main problems with theses new compititors is that they are good looking, they offer great possibilities, they support many popular standarts and are a hell of a lot cheaper.


Cheers,

[III777III]

EVERYONE that has been reading this post, would you guys agree that digi has allways kept there products in the POST demain?

i mean, first you get the automation, then 24bit, then 192 then?
there prices have allways kept there poducts out of reach from music end users and into the BIG rooms that charge the BIG bucks.

i gather there market targets are the money making studios and 75%+ of there annual tax expense budget, sounds correct to you guys?

Even in logic 5 i cant seem to get a perfect break on automation , its not as accurate as pro tools at all, there audio editing needs TONS of work to improve logics accuracy, and lots of logic audio is flaky and un reliable, yet emagic has still been the best UP digi's crack!!, no one else comes closer then emagic., even with there own LOGIC CONTROL/PRO CONROL clone that you get complaints too with regarding some faders are not accurate too and have been returned to shops.

But one thing for sure is when i do POST work in a room that has a PTHD system is that it feels the closest to tape ever, and tape has no BIT limit!!!, also Pro Tools is SOLID!!,

So what im getting at is someone has to be the one to PUSH it all to the max, although we have to agree its a buisness and they also push this too far as well.

But i have one thing to say to digi, why dont they make a fully step up system for all levels with pay as you go add on hardware per track, then everyone can benefir and especially digi been able to garantee there customer a REAl upgradable investment, and not a hoax like the last 11 years they pulled off and keep getting away with.

ofcourse we all know this CraP but no one sais anything about it, thought i would again here.