Pro Tools
Encyclopedia : P : PR : PRO : Pro Tools
As one of the first programs to provide CD-quality (16-bit and 44.1 kHz) multitrack editing on a personal computer, use of Pro Tools quickly grew in the sound recording field. It originally became popular because of its simple, streamlined interface for non-linear, non-destructive audio editing. This appealed to analog producers making the switch to computer-based production.
Pro Tools systems
Digidesign offers systems depending on the needs and budget of potential customers:
The professional-level Pro Tools|HD system uses expensive PCI cards to perform audio processing on DSP (digital signal processing) chips to reduce computing burden on the CPU. Similarly, it utilizes TDM (a proprietary interconnect based on time-division multiplexing) to communicate with external I/O devices and other DSP cards to reduce burden on the computer's PCI bus.
Pro Tools HD uses three types of PCI cards: Core, Process and Accel. All three contain 9 DSP chips. Each Pro Tools system requires a Core card. Additional Process or Accel cards may be added to a system to increase capability. Accel cards are the latest generation and offer faster DSP chips and additional RAM compared to Process cards.
Consumer-level systems (such as the Digi 001, Digi 002, Digi 002/R, and MBox or MBox2) perform all processing on the host CPU. Consumer systems offer limited track counts (32 in LE vs. up to 192 in HD), fewer internal routing options, and a feature-reduced version of the Pro Tools application (called Pro Tools LE, or Limited Edition).
A fairly new addition to the range is the ICON: Integrated Console Environment, combining a tactile control surface and a Pro Tools|HD Accel system in one unit. Designed as a replacement for existing studio consoles, it attempts to give the user the feel and control of an analog system, but with a powerful Pro Tools core.
In April 2005, Digidesign released Pro Tools M-Powered which brought almost all Pro Tools LE functionality to a subset of M-Audio USB, Firewire and PCI interfaces.
Pro Tools Free was released as a free demo version and is the only version of Pro Tools that does not require some form of Digidesign or M-Audio hardware to run. It is limited to 8 audio tracks and 48 MIDI tracks. It will only run on Windows 98/ME and Mac OS 9.
Pro Tools timeline
- 1987 - Sound Tools released as "the first tapeless recording studio"
- 1991 - Renamed Pro Tools I and adds support for NuBus DSP
- 1994 - Pro Tools III released adding support for third party DSP plug-ins
- 1995 - Avid Technology purchases Digidesign
- 1997 - Pro Tools|24 adds support for 24-bit audio
- 1998 - Pro Tools|MIX adds expanded DSP capabilities for mixing audio
- 1999 - Digi 001 and Pro Tools LE ship
- 2002 - Professional Pro Tools|HD system adds support for 96kHz and 192kHz HD audio
- 2002 - Consumer Digi 002 and Mbox systems released
- 2003 - Pro Tools|HD Accel system adds additional DSP capabilities
- 2004 - Digidesign acquires Bomb Factory, a leading provider of DSP mixing effects
- 2004 - Digidesign receives an Academy Award for development of Pro Tools
- 2005 - Digidesign extends Pro Tools into live sound with VENUE
- 2005 - Mbox 2 is released as an update to the original Mbox
- 2005 - Pro Tools 7 software is released
- 2006 - Mac OS X on Intel (LE and M-Powered) announced for May 2006.
Pro Tools in culture
Due to its popularity in the marketplace, the name Pro Tools (or the verb 'protooling' and the noun 'tools') is sometimes used to refer to any computer-based music editing (much in the way that Photoshop is sometimes used to refer to image editing). With a negative connotation, it is often used in arguments that music recorded and edited in a digital environment lacks the "soul" of music recorded live and/or on analog equipment, and its capability to "fix" parts that are out of time or out of pitch, opening up the music market to a new group of less talented, more marketable people. See also: rockism.
External links
- [Digidesign company website]
- [M-Audio company website]
- [Digidesign resellers and ICON commissioning Specialists]
- [Digidesign resellers]
- [Pro Tools Users Group]
- [M-AUDIO - Pro Tools M-Powered 7]
- [Pro Tools by Avid:audio editing and sound design tools.]
- [Mbox 2 Introduced]
- [Mbox with ProTools LE for casual amateur recording or something else? - Mac Forums]
- [Introduction to Pro Tools] at [Sweetwater.com]
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.