Digidesign have announced the immediate availability of updater installers for v8.0.3 for Mac OS X and that 8.0.3 for other platforms will be available soon. Also full web installers for the Mac version should be available in about a week.

Pro Tools 8.0.3 — Downloads & Details

December 15, 2009 — In our ongoing effort to provide you with the best experience possible, Avid has released Pro Tools 8.0.3, a free software update that provides many fixes. 

Pro Tools 8.0.3 is a free update for all Pro Tools 8 owners. Version 8.0.3 supports the following operating systems:

• Mac OS X 10.6.1 – 10.6.2 (Snow Leopard)
• Mac OS X 10.5.5 – 10.5.8 (Leopard)
• Windows XP (Home or Professional, 32-bit)
• Windows Vista Service Pack 2 (32-bit)
• Windows Vista Service Pack 2 (64-bit) – Pro Tools M-Powered Essential only
• Windows 7 (32 and 64-bit) – Pro Tools M-Powered Essential only (Pro Tools HD, LE, and M-Powered can be used on Windows 7 as a public beta)

Please Note: Pro Tools 8.0.3 software (and higher) does not support some retired products:

• Original Mbox
• Expansion|HD Chassis
• Macintosh PowerPC Computers

Please read the EOSS (End of Software Support) Announcements for more information.

Pro Tools 8.0.3 Updates for Mac OS X — December 15, 2009
For Pro Tools 8.0.3 details and downloads, see the following pages:

• Pro Tools HD 8.0.3 Update for Mac OS X
• Pro Tools LE 8.0.3 Update for Mac OS X
• Pro Tools M-Powered 8.0.3 Update for Mac OS X

Not Yet Available — Coming Soon

• Pro Tools HD 8.0.3 Update for Windows
• Pro Tools LE 8.0.3 Update for Windows
• Pro Tools M-Powered 8.0.3 Update for Windows
• Pro Tools M-Powered Essential 8.0.3 Update for Windows
• Pro Tools M-Powered Essential 8.0.3 Update for Mac OS X

What they have fixed and left behind makes interesting reading…

Edit Tool Selection via Keyboard Shortcuts is Inconsistent (Item #88083)
In previous versions of Pro Tools, it was easy to accidentally hit the same keyboard shortcut twice and inadvertently switch between Edit Tool types. You can now enable Edit/Tool Mode Keyboard Lock in the Options menu to avoid this. When checked, this option locks the ability to change tool types (for example, to change from the normal Trimmer to the Scrub Trimmer) via keyboard shortcuts. However, tool types can still be changed via the mouse or right-clicking, and you can also still switch between tools (such as switching from the Grabber to the Trimmer) via keyboard shortcut. This option affects the following Edit and Tool modes: Grid, Zoom, Trim, Grabber, and Pencil. 

DigiBase Databases are Created on Every Volume Seen, Regardless of Designation (Item #117627)
Beginning in Pro Tools 8.0.3, Digidesign Database files for each volume are now stored on the system drive only, in the location: /Library/Application Support/Digidesign. The benefits of this change are that Pro Tools will no longer write database files on all mounted volumes, volumes can be ejected from the OS while Pro Tools is running, and it resolves potential corruption issues that could occur when changing read/write permissions on some shared storage systems. With this new behavior, in order to maintain a volume’s index when moving a drive from one system to another, make a copy of the volume’s Digidesign Database file from the location mentioned above and place it in the same location on the second system before launching Pro Tools on the second system. Alternately, a volume’s index can be re-created on the second Pro Tools system. Old Digidesign Database files located at the root level of your volumes can be safely deleted with Pro Tools 8.0.3, although users sharing hard drives with older Pro Tools systems may wish to keep the older Digidesign Database files. 

“Don’t Show This Again” Option Added to Some Error and Warning Dialogs (Item #119037)
Pro Tools 8.0.3 adds a new “Don’t Show This Again” option to some common error and warning dialogs. By checking this box in the error dialog, Pro Tools will no longer post that specific dialog or warning. Once checked, this setting is saved with the system. The list of dialogs which have been chosen can be cleared/reset at anytime in Setup > Preferences > Display by clicking the Reset button next to Reset “Don’t Show This Again” Settings.


Shortcuts for Certain Functions Not Operating (Item #119423)
Keyboard shortcuts to toggle Remote Mode on/off, and to toggle LTC generation on/off, have been added.
• To enable/disable Remote Mode, press Ctrl+Opt+Cmd+J (Mac) or Ctrl+Win+Alt+J (Windows).
• If using an ICON, use the 9-pin Remote switch.
• To enable/disable LTC Generating (GEN LTC), press Ctrl+Cmd+J (Mac) or Ctrl+Win+J (Win).
 
Preference for QuickTime Playback Priority No Longer Needed (Item #117243)
The Preferences > Operation setting for QuickTime Playback Priority has been removed (contemporary CPU performance makes it no longer necessary).
 

Sound Designer 2 Session file format (Mac only)  
Due to our adoption of a more modern disk subsystem, Pro Tools 8.0.3 will no longer support the Sound Designer 2 (SD2) Session format on Mac. Pro Tools will no longer have the ability to create new SD2 sessions, and you will be prompted to convert legacy SD2 sessions to WAV on open (the same behavior which occurs on Windows-based Pro Tools systems). Pro Tools will still be able to preview SD 2 audio files, import and convert them to a supported format, and bounce/export to SD2.

The last item although now a major surprise will be a pain for Mac users with SDII sessions archived away. It will mean it will take longer to get an old session back up and running.

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