DIGIDESIGN PREVIEWS PRO TOOLS 8
Version 8 will be employed across Digidesign's product line, including Pro Tools|HD, Pro Tools LE, and Pro Tools M-Powered. The updated user interface has been enhanced for less fatigue on the eyes during long sessions. This includes a more modern color palette and higher contrast text and graphics.
All key Pro Tools functions still reside on the right side of the interface, but enhancements, such as dockable Editor windows and a configurable Edit window toolbar, make it easier to navigate.
For composers and musicians, Pro Tools 8 includes a bundle of more than 70 plug-ins and virtual instruments. New music creation features include: fully integrated, dockable MIDI and Score Editor windows; music creation and sound processing plug-ins, including 20 new AIR effects and five new virtual instruments (Mini Grand piano, Boom drum machine, DB-33 tonewheel organ, Vacuum tube-modeled synthesizer, and Xpand!2 sample player); and high quality amplifier simulation via Digidesign's guitar amp emulator Eleven Free and Bomb Factory's Tech21 SansAmp.
Notable post production improvements include Elastic Pitch, which makes it easy to transpose music in realtime right in the Edit window; 10 inserts per channel; enhanced controller integration with Digidesign and M-Audio control surfaces; ICON integration enhancements; and HD QuickTime support on Mac OS X.
Support for the new Satellite Link option allows users to control up to five Pro Tools|HD systems as one. The Avid Media Composer-based Video Satellite option brings Avid HD/SD video playback into Pro Tools|HD, while the Video Satellite LE option brings QuickTime HD/SD or Avid SD video playback into the Pro Tools|HD workflow without sacrificing audio track counts or processing power.
For project studio owners, Pro Tools LE 8 and Pro Tools M-Powered 8 have been expanded to support up to 48 simultaneous audio tracks.
The V.8 release will be available for Windows Vista (32-bit Business or Ultimate), Windows XP, and Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard).