So the two questions I posed back on Oct 28th, are still unanswered.

If as an Pro Tools HD user with TDM hardware I take the support/upgrade deal to get PT 10 HD now, what happens when in a little while I want to take advantage of the HDX upgrade deal which includes the PT 9 HD to PT 10 upgrade which I have already bought?

 

What about folk who want to consider going from Pro Tools 9 HD to Pro Tools 10 HD with an HD Native card instead of an HDX card. – Max is looking into this one.

But things have moved on since then.

I have a Harpertown Mac Pro and it very much looks like if I want HDX I am going to have to replace the Mac Pro as well.

We then have the rumours about the future of the Mac Pro and Apple’s continuing move to the consumer market and away from the pro market. So should I spend a load on money on a machine and cards for a computer forma factor that might not be around?  On the other hand you can delay making just about any equipment related decision because of a rumour of what might be round the corner.

Taking all of this into consideration I have been looking at cross grading my HD2/192 system to an HD Native. I have read a lot over the weekend on the DUC about going from HD2 to HD Native and it seems to me that most of the negative comments relate to users using Pro Tools natively but not using an HD Native and there are clearly major differences between HD Native and non HD Native solutions. I only have to read my own HD Native review to see how impressed I was with it and how I failed break it. So my concern now is centred around the latency issue, again about which a lot has been said, but again most of the negative comments haven’t come from actual HD Native users.

On the Interface front I was looking at going with an HD I/O 8x8x8 but then I read Russ’s post about looking at Apogee and their Symphony I/O looks very interesting.

So anyone got any constructive advice about my next move?  Any one using HD Native in a mainly post environment but I do use it for music, so latency during recording is a concern for me, but the general consensus is if you run it at 32 sample buffer then it isn’t a problem. Is that your experience?

But going back to the 2 unanswered questions as well. Has Avid come up with an HD 2 PT9 HD to HD Native PT10HD upgrade path and offer?

Or do I sell my HD2 rig and buy an HD Native system, or do I keep the HD2 hardware as a fallback and take advantage of the HD Native offers that are going around at the moment?

Comments (3):

1. 

   Tamas Dragon said:
   November 7, 2011 at 10:06 am

   And this is You, who is really a knowledgeable protooler. What about those many confuse d users out there?
   Really, Avid should start to speak clearly about these things. I thought that they made plans before the release, but….
2. 

   Mike Thornton said:
   November 7, 2011 at 10:27 am

   Hi Tamas,

   Very true but I am interested in HD Native users, actual experiences using HD Native to do the job, is it actually up to it, rather than the Avid sales spin. I am sure I am not the only one going through this dilemma at the moment and some user experience advice would be very helpful for everyone.
3. 

   Mike Thornton said:
   November 7, 2011 at 10:29 am

   Then once we have established that it is up to the job, then we have the mess which is the upgrade pricing shambles to wade through….