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June 20, 2008

software

Pro Tools now ready for Leopard

Posted Jun. 20, ’08, 6:59 AM PT by Derik DeLong
Category | Software

Pro Tools I’ll admit it. I’m totally inept at editing sound. I can’t even figure out GarageBand. Luckily, Dan and Cyrus don’t have this same limitation. They can slice and dice audio until I’m saying inappropriate things.

Pro Tools is definitely a step above GarageBand. It’s also been updated to 7.4.2. The new version brings Leopard compatibility. It’s qualified for use with 10.5.3.

I can’t wait for Leopard compatibility to stop being news. I’d anticipate Snow Leopard compatibility to be next, but that barely seems interesting considering many users likely won’t upgrade.

Now I just need to hope none of you readers are motivated or vindictive enough to use old MacUser podcast recordings to make me say even more inappropriate things.


5 Comments

Ward Author Profile Page said:

It's taken them 8 months to update for Leopard?

Lazy.

June 20, 2008 9:37 AM
tjs said:

Pro Tools is owned by Avid. If you know the video world and have experience with them you know they are very slow and cautious about using new hardware and software. A year after release for a new version is the way they work.

June 20, 2008 9:54 AM
Zack Garrett said:

Pro Tools? Blechh! If you haven't move on to Logic 8 by now, you have my sympathies.

June 20, 2008 10:37 AM
NicleT said:

Yes and... wooops, here comes OS X - 10.6!!!

June 20, 2008 11:33 AM
Chuckels said:

But of course, it doesn't work.
It installs, and it launches. Then the problems start.
Take my advice, work with copies of your session folders, not the originals.
Sadly, we will have to wait for the slew of 'Customer Support' (CS) updates coming in the next few weeks before we can use just the same functionality we had under 10.4.9.
Don't forget we haven't been able to update to 10.4.10 or 11, let alone Leopard yet. Another good reason for keeping your studio computer off the internet, what with being behind on OS, browser and security updates - but hey, who wants to do more than one thing with their computer? Whoever heard of such a thing?
Obviously not Avid/Digidesign, who NINE YEARS after the first release of OS X still haven't delivered multi-client CoreAudio drivers (unlike EVERY SINGLE OTHER audio hardware manufacturer), meaning you have to quit Pro Tools before you can run another program requiring your sound hardware I/O (i.e. any other audio application, even iTunes, or a bit of Flash on a web page in Safari).
Don't forget that their "CoreAudio Manager" kludgy workaround only lets you use two channels of your hardware in other applications anyway, so you'll need to buy another piece of multi-out hardware from a different manufacturer if you wanted to, for example, work with surround sound in your DVD authoring package.
(Hint to Avid, people who buy your product to record and produce surround sound projects - Pro Tools forte, apparently - may well wish to monitor playback of the end result in surround sound).
To be clear, CS updates, which are required for stable operation, are not supported. Hence you will install Pro Tools, experience a problem, contact tech support, and hopefully be told that it is a known bug addressed in CS update and be told which version to download. Tough luck if it's an unknown bug.
The person on the phone will probably verbally give you the warning that appears when you download the update: CS updates may introduce other problems and updated systems are "not qualified".
Then when you experience another problem and contact technical support again, you are no longer eligible for support.
What a crock of shit. This is what they deliver while positioned at the highest price-point in the market?
And let's not talk about supporting Mac OS X's own AudioUnit component architecture, or the oldest, original native streaming audio plug-in format: VST.
The code required to do this could be done by a first year CompSci student in a week. (In fact, writing an API wrapper is a common first-year CompSci assignment). There's no licenses to pay to do this, why the hell not?
Of course I know that wrappers are available from third-parties for pennies, but why is it not integrated? Pro Tools has some shortcomings I would consider basic essentials to be able to describe yourself as "supporting" a platform.
I don't want to bang on any longer, but regarding this update my position is simple:
You're not supporting Leopard until you support Time Machine.
As I can't do much else with my computer if I install Pro Tools (before this update, I couldn't even install Safari 3), what's the point in updating to Leopard at all?

June 22, 2008 4:39 PM

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