Avid has announced Pro Tools 11, which they describe as a major upgrade of its industry-leading digital audio workstation that redefines music and audio production for today's workflows. They tell us that this latest version enables audio professionals to take on the most demanding productions with new, high-powered audio and video engines, 64-bit architecture, expanded metering, and direct HD video workflows.

Chris Gahagan, senior vice president of Products and Services at Avid, told us, "Pro Tools 11 represents a quantum leap in creative power. The newly designed architecture turbo-charges production with more plug-in processing, the ability to run more virtual instruments--and a host of new features--letting users create ambitiously, without holding anything back."

Avid believes that Pro Tools 11 delivers the features, performance, and workflows professionals need to take on today's increasingly complex sessions and tighter timelines. They say that the key benefits and features include:

Fully redesigned audio engine and 64-bit architecture

• New Avid Audio Engine -- Delivers multiple times the processing power of Pro Tools 10 on the same hardware configurations.
• 64-bit architecture -- Exponentially increases the number of simultaneous virtual instruments and the performance to handle the most sophisticated sessions.
• Offline bounce -- Delivers mixes up to 150 times faster than real time.
• Low-latency input buffer -- Ensures ultra-low latency record monitoring without sacrificing plug-in performance.
• Dynamic host processing -- Maximizes plug-in count by reallocating processing resources as needed.

Expanded metering

• Extended standards support -- Features a broad range of built-in metering standards, from peak and average to VU and PPM, to maintain adherence to regional broadcast requirements.
• Gain reduction -- Shows gain reduction for all dynamics plug-ins on each channel.

Direct HD video workflows

• Built-in Avid Video Engine -- Enables audio post professionals to play and edit a wide range of HD video formats including Avid DNxHD®, directly in the Pro Tools timeline without transcoding, using the same core engine as in Media Composer®.
• Video interface support -- Enables monitoring of DNxHD and QuickTime media through Avid Nitris® DX, Avid Mojo® DX, and other video interfaces.

Tim Palmer, mixer and engineer for U2, Robert Plant, Ozzy Osbourne, The Cure, and INXS, had this to say, "In the world of professional mixing, I constantly need more processing power, and the extra power in Pro Tools 11 is exactly what I need. I love the new metering and the new sends view is excellent.  It is really impressive. Pro Tools 11 is a big leap forward."

Pricing and Availability:

Pro Tools 11 and Pro Tools HD 11 will be available in the online Avid Store and at Avid resellers worldwide later in Q2 2013.  Pricing will be as follows:

Pro Tools 11 software (full version)-- $699 USD
Pro Tools 10 to 11 upgrade-- $299 USD
Pro Tools 9 to 11 upgrade-- $399 USD
Pro Tools Express to Pro Tools 11 cross grade-- $499 USD
Pro Tools HD 10 to 11 upgrade-- $599 USD
Pro Tools HD 9 to 11 upgrade-- $999 USD

More information:

• Pro Tools 11

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