So, if you haven't already heard. It appears that Avid's Protools HD/Mpowered has been cracked by a group known as XVX. XVX seem to be the Robin Hood of the audio plugin warez scene at the moment, having cracked many of the so called "uncrackable" iLok plugins.
Piracy is ofcourse, very naughty. I am not endorsing it.
Having used a legit version of ProTools HD myself for a year or so I would say that the whole mystique of the Protools HD system and ICON was completely destroyed when i experienced its ability to crash as often as any other program. I don't really know whether this was down to me or the system. I wasn't exactly pushing the system to its limit.... This is however, only my own personal experience.
Hopefully the cracking of Protools will spur Avid to get there act together and not be complacent that they are the industry standard and that people will mindlessly buy their products because of this reason. My belief is, they won't be the industry standard for much longer unless they start listening to their customers and reducing their prices.
I guess the biggest problem for Avid is the debasing of their top quality HD brand. If any kid can download what appears to be "protools HD" - will the top studio guys still want to use it?! Im assuming this is why top studios seem to lack programs like FL studio...
One of the most unacceptable drawbacks of the LE system for me was the fact that you cant edit anything without the mbox plugged in. ProTools prides itself on its ease of editing - they seem to forget that most people are not gonna wanna lug around their mbox on the train...! I guess this is why alot of people have migrated to ableton and logic - they are less of a headache.
Avid, like Apple, Sony and Dolby and many other companies have tried to build up an empire where you are only able to use their products. It seems like its the oldest trick in the book. Consumers give into these business models to get the product they want... and then find that after a few months they really should buy an add on, or something that makes it 'better'. The app store is probably the best example of this business model.
In the end it doesnt really matter what program you use to make music. Just because a program is very expensive, it doesnt mean its gonna make good music! These days you can do everything in the box, and with a site like this, you can access a lot of free/donationware plugins quickly. So go forth, and make amazing music!!!
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