Recently, avid's digidesign group released Pro Tools LE MBox 2 mini: a wee (6" * 1.75 * 5 inch, 1.1 lb) usb 1.1 based audio only interface (no midi and again no firewire or "pro" version as there is with the regular Mbox 2's) that includes Pro Tools LE audio/midi recording and editing software that, at 300 USD, promises to put the Pro Tools experience into even more musician's hands. For those who already use existing protools systems, the Mini promises to be an expensive dongle that will finally enable access to Pro Tools LE software while working on the go. Whether it's a price current LE owners will be willing to swallow is another matter.
Pro Tools systems are the industry standard for recording. It is the Microsoft Office of the digital audio studio domain. The LE line of Pro Tools products has let home and indie studio musicians/engineers access the (near) same features as the Pro Tools HD systems found in many professional studios - at a fraction of their professional price. The advantage of using the LE software is that one can easily take audio files made at home into an HD studio for the full bore studio treatment. File exchange is also facilitated: just like word and power point files can be easily swapped. Read any of the discussions on product sites about software musicians or dj's use, and you'll see most of the time in the discussions on technology, pro tools is the final audio mix system of choice - Logic, Digital Performer or Live for sequencing, but ProTools for the final audio mix.
The Pro Tools LE systems come in a variety of configurations, from the $2500 digi002 8 channel audio/midi mixers/control surfaces to the variety of mobile MBox (usb) and MBox pro (firewire) systems, and now the $300 MBox 2 mini. With Avid's acquisition of M-Audio, Digidesign also recently released a special version of the software, M-powered Pro Tools, specially designed to work with certain M-Audio devices with audio/midi interfaces. So, for 279 on top of your instrument purchase you can use Pro Tools software with these interfaces.
The disappointing disadvantage to these systems is that use of the software requires that one of the specified interfaces be attached to the computer when using the software. Forget about whipping out your laptop to edit your work while you're on a train/plane somewhere: unless you have that hardware plugged in, the software won't start. And if you already have a protools system and then get an m-audio, m-powered aware device, can you use that m-audio device to boot up your protools LE software? No. You have to buy the m-powered pro tools version of le to use directly with those devices. Of course you can use those devices with pro tools - when your pro tools hardware is attached.
Think of the hardware interfaces as giant iLoks, or dongles that won't let you access the software without some hardware authorization device attached. At least, i'm guessing this is digidesign's rationale for not allowing paid and licensed users to access the software without the hardware attached. Hence begins the rant.
Technorati Tags: audio, pro tools, technology
Audio is one of the last holdouts for arcane protection mechanisms. While many companies like Ableton and Native Instruments have moved to online registration systems for their software, there are still several key Old School manufacturers that rely on some form of crippling physical authentication. While some companies (apple with Logic Pro is an example) use their own proprietary format USB dongles, ILok's are the major dongle of choice for many in the audio world - and they have a lovely insurance policy if something happens to your iLok - you can pay $30 a year for "zero downtime" to get *temporary* licenses back should your lok be lost or stolen, and then one gets the permanent licenses from the software vendor - somehow - but that only works if the company using the iLok system agrees to that replacement policy.
One of the biggest audio effects makers, WAVES, does not support ANY recovery of license authorizations if your iLok is lost or stolen. Instead, they say "Waves does not offer replacement keys for lost or stolen iLok keys or authorizations. We suggest insuring your iLok key to cover the possibility of such misfortune happening." Does that mean they expect license holders to have to repurchase the software? YES! that's what the insurance is for, stupid: buy new software. This i fail to understand - what i fail to understand is WHY NOT just work like a credit card when it's reported lost or stolen: with a credit card, as soon as you report it lost or stolen, the issuer kills the numbers and issues new ones on new cards. Surely the same could happen with these plugins? Authorization is validated at each use on any machine: if the numbers have been cancelled, the dongle no longer functions.
Plainly there's a business model that says NOT supporting something this straightforward with zeros and ones is in the company's interest, and since Waves has the lion's share of the effects market in big production work, what motivation is there to change? As many many posters on many audio forums note, all waves plugins have been hacked and work flawlessly on the PC (too bad for mac users!) so once again, the only group this copy protection strategy hurts are legitimate users.
But i digress. This is about Pro Tools. As for Pro Tools, their hardware acts like such an authorization dongle, and is equally if not more exasperatingly irritating than a dongle because usually their physical dongle hardware has some heft to it. The MBox 2 Mini is small, but it's not tiny. On the plus side, it has a kensignton lock port on it (try that with an iLok! ha!). And it does offer what's reputed to be a good headphone jack which is nice for editing on the go. So a dongle with some features that may actually be useful when NOT RECORDING just editing.
Don't get me wrong: for someone looking for a decent audio interface that will let them into a Pro Tools space, this could be just great. For those who want midi and more than two tracks on a portalbe interface, there's other MBox's. For those already there with pro Tools who have been wanting a way to edit their sessions on the go, the MBox 2 Mini may just be the dongle to set one free - relatively speaking.
It will be interesting to see how many people who already have digi002's for instance add the Mbox 2 Mini to their gear finally just to get on the go with their session editing - of course, carrying their usb hub, too, so that they can plug in all those platform specific dongles.
Posted by mc at January 9, 2007 4:59 PM