Inside the Avid Audio Post Ecosystem: Powering the Future of Sound
Modern post production is a diverse landscape of rapidly evolving disciplines, delivery formats, workflows, and technologies. Content production has grown steadily relative to budgets and time scales. To thrive in this environment requires talent and commitment, but also flexibility, versatility, and the right tools to keep you moving fast and sounding your best.
Your reputation is built on quality and consistency, and your business is built on being able to say “yes” to the widest range of projects.
Scalable, Integrated Audio Post Systems
Avid has the most scalable—and widely used—audio post solutions in the industry. From a laptop-based editing and mixing station to a cinema dub stage, there’s software, audio, video, and sync connectivity, and a control surface to fit every scenario.
At any stage of your business or career, there are powerful options for expansion and reinvestment, bringing immediate benefits and new opportunities.
Pro Tools Ultimate
Pro Tools Ultimate unlocks huge track and I/O capacity for the largest projects, multiple video tracks and video editing, as well as specialist workflows like field recorder conforming.
It also powers hybrid, DSP-accelerated mixing and synchronization with Pro Tools | HDX hardware, and the ability to link together multiple ‘satellite’ workstations.
And, of course, Pro Tools Ultimate is the common language in the audio post industry, making it easy to share, split and merge projects, and move your work between home, VO booth, and mix stage. It supports rich timeline interchange with all major video editing packages, Avid NEXIS storage workflows, and direct, round-trip file compatibility with Media Composer.
We continually add new audio post capabilities and workflows to Pro Tools—see what you’ve been missing if you’re not on an active subscription plan here.
Pro Tools Hardware Systems
Pro Tools integrates seamlessly with all Avid audio interfaces, peripherals, and control surfaces, making it easy to transition your projects and studio setup. Your ideal setup depends on the kinds of work you want to take on, your connectivity requirements, and and the delivery formats you need to support.
Key questions are: will you be recording voice overs, ADR, Foley, or even music? How many inputs and outputs will you need, and which connection formats? Do you need networked audio? Are you being offered surround or immersive mixes? What scale of projects do you want to support?
The following sections break down the options and best choices for different scenarios.
Audio Interfaces
The industry-wide adoption of Pro Tools for large-scale mixing and recording is built on the heritage of DSP hardware accelerators: specialist processors dedicated to audio.
Pro Tools | HDX is the flagship, PCIe based solution: the only hardware platform that can host your entire mix as well as your plugins, or give you best-of-both-worlds hybrid- native operation.
HDX also provides direct connectivity to Pro Tools | MTRX family and legacy Avid audio interfaces as well as the Pro Tools | Sync X peripheral.
In recording situations from Voice Overs to orchestral sessions, a DSP-enhanced system makes a big difference. You’ll benefit from near-zero latency straight through Pro Tools without thinking about buffers, separate mixer apps, or external routing—just like using a hardware mixer. Talent can monitor themselves free from distracting echoes.
The HDX platform also provides guaranteed, predictable performance for any level of project, letting you offload all or part of your mix and plugin processing from your computer, and even run multiple Pro Tools workstations in parallel using Avid’s Satellite Link network protocol.
Audio Interfaces
For the ultimate in performance, flexibility, and integration, Avid offers the Pro Tools | MTRX Studio and MTRX II interfaces, which can connect via Thunderbolt or directly to a Pro Tools | HDX DSP accelerator card. MTRX Studio is cost effective and compact if you’re mixing up to 9.1.6. Connectivity comprises 64 channels of Dante, 16 analog inputs and outputs, 2 ADAT ports, 2 mic inputs, and 2 headphone outputs.
MTRX II supports massive I/O requirements across multiple formats, and HDX interconnectivity for multiple simultaneous Pro Tools workstations.
Both options include fully customizable monitoring configuration with remote control from Avid control surfaces and consoles. They provide room correction and easy switching between formats.
If you’re primarily mixing rather than recording, a Thunderbolt-connected MTRX solution may have you covered. If you need to scale-up later, add more connectivity with MTRX II option cards or additional units, and even add HDX using the same I/O.
Pro Tools | Carbon
Pro Tools | Carbon is a compact, (1U) network-connected audio interface with HDX DSP on board. It can be expanded beyond its 8 analog ins/outs and ADAT ports by adding up to two Pro Tools | Carbon Pre units.
It's a great all-in-one solution for recording, editing, and mixing in formats up to 7.1, 7.1.2, or 5.1.4.
Pro Tools | Carbon Pre can also be used to add additional banks of 8 remote-controlled mic and line channels to a MTRX-based rig.
Video and Sync solutions
Pro Tools can play back video on your desktop, in a window, or full screen on any display. If you need to send video to an external monitor with frame-edge sync over HDMI, SDI, or other format, Pro Tools can route video playback to third-party video interfaces from AJA or Blackmagic and add a timecode overlay. You can even inject ADR wipes and text using Non-Linear Applications’ Cue Pro for Pro Tools.
Pro Tools | Sync X is an Avid hardware interface for anyone needing connectivity to timecode or clock references. When working with a video reference and video hardware, or locking multiple Pro Tools systems via Avid’s Satellite Link network protocol, Sync X gives you the rock-solid frame-edge alignment essential for dialog and FX editing.
Consoles and Control Surfaces
When mixing, navigating large projects, or managing a session with a client or artist, everything runs more smoothly when you have hands-on control beyond your keyboard and mouse.
Physical faders on all the expandable Avid surfaces snap straight to where you’re working in your mix with a click or touch, and give you the intuitive, subtle mix rides you can’t get with a mouse.
Again, it's all about scalability and configurability: from the Avid Control app on iPad/Android, to the Avid S1 and Dock desktop surfaces, right up to the Avid S4 and S6 modular consoles. All options use the EUCON control protocol for deep integration with Pro Tools and other compatible DAWs, monitor controllers, and NLEs.
There’s a common workflow throughout the range of control surfaces, so you can move between systems comfortably, without compromising on functionality when space is tight. Touch screens provide navigation and track selection, custom soft keys and macros, panning and plugin controls, and visual feedback. On-screen controls spill out to physical encoders with the Avid Dock and Avid S4/S6 center sections. Channel encoders on the Avid S1 and larger consoles can all be repurposed and recalled as plugin controls.
All Avid consoles, surfaces, and the Avid Control app feature a deep customization and soft key system, giving you access to your most used functions, and even letting you build and trigger complex macros. Pro Tools itself has a flexible shortcut editor, which paired with SoundFlow lets you go as deep as you want automating and customizing operations.
Shared Storage
Pro Tools projects and media can be stored on any volumes available to your computer, including network-attached storage. An intelligent disk caching system helps to maintain consistent playback in a range of situations.
For guaranteed performance, collaborative workflows, and room independence, Avid NEXIS is optimized to work with Pro Tools. NEXIS is the dedicated production storage used by teams in many post production and broadcast facilities.
Integrated Tools
The Avid audio post ecosystem is enriched by a huge marketplace of third-party software that integrates directly with Pro Tools. Customize your sound design palette with mix plugins and instruments, speed up and automate editing with ARA plugins, and enable specialist workflows with Pro Tools SDK-powered apps.
Plugins
Pro Tools Studio and Ultimate include a suite of real-time and clip-based AAX plugins providing all the essential mix processing you need for your projects, running natively or on HDX hardware processors. A world of third-party plugins let you perfect your unique sound and meet industry standards.
ARA Tools
Clip and track-level processing is greatly simplified using ARA plugins. Essential workflows like noise elimination, dialog isolation, and phase alignment can all be accomplished right in your session timeline. Pro Tools supports a range of industry-leading plugins via ARA 2 from Acon Digital, Celemony, Dreamtonics, iZotope, NoiseWorks, Sound Radix, Steinberg, Synchro Arts, and Waves.
Integrated Apps
The Pro Tools SDK and Scripting API allow for deep integrations with third-party apps. Powerful macros and workflow automation can be added with SoundFlow ADR, Foley, and language re-versioning are facilitated by Non-Linear Applications’ Cue Pro. Managing re-cuts and conforming is revolutionized by The Cargo Cult’s Matchbox 2. Facilities can even use the Scripting SDK to code their own custom integrations with media management systems and in-house processes.
Where to Go for More Information
The Avid audio post production ecosystem offers a flexible range of mixing, recording, and monitoring options, paired with modular control surfaces and consoles—all powered by the industry’s most widely used software platform: Pro Tools.