The Avid HD Omni.
This Pro Tools interface is a new concept for Avid. Normally, an HD system necessitates having the prerequisite Core PCI card, some sort of compatible I/O (made by Avid, SSL, Apogee, etc), mic preamps, a console or dedicated monitoring solution, etc, etc. The HD Omni is designed to streamline this process for engineers who don’t necessarily need a ton of I/O or who don’t want a bunch of external hardware. The Avid Omni is a single rack space 14x26 interface that comes with mic pres and 8 analog outputs (enough to mix 7.1 surround). The typical Pro Tools HD I/O comes with no mic pres--just line and digital inputs and outputs. With the HD Omni, you get 2 mic preamps, 4 line inputs, and 8 line outputs. 8 channels of AES or ADAT and two channels of SPDIF fills out the input configuration The aforementioned 8 analog outputs are complemented with 18 channels of digital (16 AES or ADAT and two SPDIF). The Avid HD Omni also lets you switch between two pairs of studio monitors, as well as build a separate custom cue mix. It even runs as a standalone mixer, meaning you can monitor sounds sources plugged into the HD Omni, even if Pro Tools and/or your computer is turned off. The HD Omni appears to be a great addition to the Pro Tools HD line, as a more compact solution for users who still want to be able to run Pro Tools HD. It costs about $3, 000.
The Avid HD MADI
The HD MADI is the first Avid interface to support MADI I/O for Pro Tools. MADI connections are often used to interface with digital consoles or dedicated routing hardware, transmitting large numbers of audio channels around studios or in live sound installations. MADI enables the transmission of 64 channels of audio over coaxial or fiber optic lines. Now you can easily integrate an HD interface with that type of setup. Previously, the outputs of a HD interface would have needed to go to a separate device to convert between digital formats (MADI, AES/EBU, TDIF, ADAT, etc). SSL makes a device, the Delta link, which essentially does the exact same thing as the new HD MADI, and it also works with Pro Tools. Larger studios have been asking for an interface like this for some time.
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