TABLE OF CONTENTS In this chapter I will present an overview of the Version 5 software running on Pro Tools TDM systems for people thinking about buying pointing out the more recently added features for those thinking of upgrading. Pro Tools LE systems will also be discussed in some detail.
Digidesign s Pro Tools system has always included a software application and various hardware components. The hardware consists of one or more cards for the computer along with one or more audio interfaces, while the software offers a multi-track waveform editor along with a mixing console emulation, and controls and commands to let you record and play back audio from hard disk. One of the reasons the system has achieved such widespread popularity is because Digidesign has always encouraged other software developers to include options to use Pro Tools hardware for recording and playback of audio. So plenty of musicians and composers who bought Pro Tools systems chose to control the hardware using the MIDI + Audio sequencer of their choice such as Logic Audio or Digital Performer. There were two main reasons for this. First, if you needed to do any MIDI sequencing, previous versions of the Pro Tools software were so poorly equipped for this that you had to be crazy to even attempt anything much more than a simple bassline or keyboard pad . Second, many people who bought Pro Tools systems had previously used one of the popular MIDI sequencers and bought Pro Tools hardware as this was the first audio...
