Pro Audio FAQ

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Q: S6 looks impressive, but I prefer the familiarity of ICON. Why should I invest in S6?
A: If you’re familiar with ICON, you’ll feel right at home with S6. That’s because the teams who
designed ICON and System 5 are the ones who created S6, giving you the best of both worlds
while adding a host of exciting new capabilities that will take your mixing experience to a whole
new level. S6 features a traditional console-style layout similar to ICON, but offers many
ergonomic improvements based on ICON customer feedback. S6 also features a unique
modularity that enables you to customize the surface for your workflow and budgetary needs.
What’s more, while S6 provides the deep Pro Tools control only available from Avid control
surfaces, you can also control and mix Logic, Cubase, and other EUCON-enabled DAW
projects to expand your capabilities. And the multipoint touchscreen provides new ways of
seeing, accessing, and manipulating your mix. If you know ICON, take a tour of S6 at your -'>,-%
E*F*--*E and see it in action.

Q: How does S6 compare in price to ICON?

A: Avid S6 is priced favorably compared to ICON and offers more functionality, better build quality,
higher quality faders, scalability, and configuration options. While the smallest S6 M10-based
surface is priced slightly more than a D-Command surface with the same number of faders, S6
provides more knob controls per channel (five as opposed to two), plus a central touchscreen
and EUCON support to control multiple DAWs in addition to Pro Tools. S6 M40-based surfaces
are priced about the same as D-Control, but can include high-resolution TFT channel displays
for metering and scrolling Pro Tools waveforms. S6 is also much more cost effective than
System 5-MC, providing better ergonomics and unique modularity, which makes scaling up a
system in the future easy. All S6 surfaces also offer the choice of being housed in a desktop
frame or freestanding leg assembly.

Q: Why doesn’t S6 include the DSP I need to deal with sessions that require multiple
DAWs?
A: With its high-speed Ethernet connectivity, S6 M40-based surfaces can reliably and directly
control up to eight audio workstations on your network simultaneously—even systems in
different rooms across your facility. Control multiple Pro Tools workstations (with up to 756
channels per Pro Tools|HDX system), as well as other EUCON-enabled DAWs, from a single
surface. You can even set up a Pro Tools|HDX or HD Native system as a stem recorder that
also acts as a full monitor matrix. If your facility still requires standalone DSP mixing in addition
to mixing multiple DAWs, the Avid System 5 family offers a range of hybrid consoles that
provide unprecedented sound quality, performance, and flexibility.

Q: Why can’t I access some Pro Tools functions from the S6 surface?
A: In addition to the deep DAW control, ergonomics, visual feedback, and many other workflow
benefits that S6 provides, it’s also a software-based control surface that will be updated with
features and improvements on an ongoing basis. For the latest S6 software updates and
information, visit our S6 blog. We also welcome customer requests and are happy to consider
any new features you’d like to see in the future to enhance your workflow.

Q: When will S6 be available?

A: S6 will ship in Q4 2013, however, we expect a large demand for the initial systems. To ensure
that you receive yours before year-end, we recommend pre-ordering a surface from an Avid
reseller right away.

Q: I’m interested in S6, but want to learn more—where can I get a demo?
A: Avid will be demonstrating S6 in select cities across the globe starting in October 2013. Avid pro
audio resellers will have S6 surfaces on display later in Q4 for one-on-one hands-on demos.
Contact your local Avid reseller for more information. We will also offer a wide array of online
content to help you understand what you can do with S6, so be sure to check our Avid S6
product page often.

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 Q: I would like to order an S6 surface. How do I do this?
A: You can configure and order your own S6 through Avid Elite resellers—find your nearest one
here.

Q: In what ways is S6 customizable?

A: S6 is available in standard configurations and customized surfaces, depending on the Master
Touchscreen Module (the main engine) you choose. S6 surfaces that feature the S6 M10
engine are available in three pre-configurations and offer limited customization by way of frame
and surface options. As a modular system, M10-based surfaces are scalable in 8-fader buckets,
from 8 to 24 faders. S6 surfaces that feature the S6 M40 engine support more modules,
allowing for greater customizability. S6 M40-based surfaces can be scaled horizontally and
vertically, with up to 64 faders and nine knobs per channel, and support S6 Display Modules,
which feature high-res TFT displays. All M40-based configurations enable you to position the
master modules, Producer’s Desk option, and blank panels in any way,

from far left to far right in the frame. In addition, you can outfit any S6 surface with options such
as leg assemblies, Script Tray, Sliding Keyboard Tray, VESA monitor mount, and Speaker
Bridge Mount. You can also add a two-module wide Producer’s Desk, which provides a built-in
computer screen and keyboard, and blank channel strips.

Q: What is the price of an S6?

A: Contact your local Avid reseller, who will be happy to price out both pre-configured and custom
systems for you to match your exact workflow requirements and budget.

Q: I’m interested in a small 5-knob S6 M10 surface, but would like to use the S6 Display
Module for metering—can I add one as an option?
A: S6 M10-based surfaces do not support S6 Display Modules, but note that all S6 surfaces
feature built-in 30-segment metering LEDs right next to each fader. Though the S6 M40 and S6
M10 Master Touchscreen Modules look identical, the S6 M40 has a more powerful engine and
includes the additional hardware and software required to support the S6 Display Modules.
These high-res TFT displays provide advanced metering, as well as routing and group
information, automation mode display, clip names, scrolling Pro Tools waveforms, and more. If
you’re interested in a small surface, you can configure an S6 M40-based system with as few as
eight faders across and five knobs deep, with the S6 Display at the top of your channel strip.

Q: How does the S6 monitoring system work?

A: S6 comes with the XMON digitally controlled analog monitoring system. You can access the
controls for XMON from the S6 M40 or S6 M10 touchscreen. XMON can handle 7.1 surround
and stereo inputs and outputs, and has facilities for talkback, listen-back, and more.

Q: After I buy and install an S6, can I change the frame size and add more channels?
A: Yes. Thanks to its modular design, S6 can be easily scaled to accommodate your changing
business needs by adding channel modules, blanks, the Producer’s Desk, and other options.
Contact your local Avid reseller to see what modules and options are available and for upgrade
pricing.

Q: Is S6 available as a dual-operator system like System 5?

A: Yes, you can place two S6 systems in the same room with Ethernet access to multiple
networked DAWs, with solo linking through Satellite Link. Contact your local Avid reseller for
more details about your workflow possibilities.

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 Q: I would like to stack multiple 8-fader modules above each other in the same strip—is this
possible?
A: Because the Fader Module is a different depth than the Knob and Process Modules, it’s not
possible to stack fader modules vertically on a channel strip. However, you can change the
positions of the Process Modules and Knob Modules across your surface.

Q: What frame widths are available for S6?

A: You can configure S6 frame widths from two modules wide—essentially 8-fader channel strips
and stacked M40 or M10 and S6 Automation Modules at 26.6 inches wide (250 mm)—to nine
modules wide, with 64-fader channel strips and stacked M40 and S6 Automation Modules at
105.5 inches wide (2,680 mm).

Q: Does the center section always have to have the M40 or M10 Touchscreen Module above
the S6 Automation Module?
A: With S6 M40 surfaces, you have the option to place both modules side by side at the bottom
nearest the buffer bar or stacked one above the other. You can also stack a fader module below
the M40 Touchscreen Module if you wish.

Q: Is there a talkback mic built into S6?

A: S6 does not have a built-in talkback mic, but you can use the included mount to connect any
XLR gooseneck mic with pass-through to the back of the surface.

Q: Does S6 come shipped fully assembled?

A: S6 ships as a collection of boxes for each module and option. This approach lowers shipping
costs and ensures that each component is carefully packed to prevent shipping damage. The
surface comes with detailed instructions, making it fairly easy to assemble the modules and
frame. Assembly service may be available from your local Avid reseller.

Q: Do the scrolling waveforms on the S6 Display Modules work with DAWs other than Pro
Tools?
A: The scrolling waveform feature on these displays is only available when using Pro Tools HD
11.1 and above.

Q: Does any audio pass through the control surface?

A: S6 is an Ethernet control surface that connects to your DAW using the high-speed EUCON
protocol, so all audio is routed through your Pro Tools HD Series interfaces and XMON monitor
system, instead of through the control surface.

Q: What type of Ethernet network does S6 use?

A: S6 uses a standard Gigabit Ethernet network—switches are provided with your purchase.

Pro Tools 11 and Pro Tools 11 HD Questions

Q: What Avid system hardware does Pro Tools 11 support?

A: Pro Tools 11 will be qualified to work with the following Avid systems and interfaces:
• Pro Tools|HDX
• Pro Tools|HD Native
• All Pro Tools HD Series interfaces
• 003 and 002 family
• Mbox family (second and third generation)
• Eleven Rack
• Fast Track Solo and Duo
• Mojo DX
• Nitris DX
• Avid Live Sound systems with an FWx or HDx option card
• Avid Live Sound systems with a built-in Pro Tools interface

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 Please note that the following hardware are not be supported with Pro Tools 11:
• 192 I/O
• 192 Digital I/O
• 96 I/O
• 96i I/O
• SYNC (original !blue)
• SYNC HD (original !blue)
• MIDI I/O
• Pro Control
• Control|24
• Command|8

Q: Why isn’t Avid supporting legacy Pro Control and Control|24 with Pro Tools 11?
A: We strive to support hardware and software products as long as possible. Control|24 enjoyed one of the
longer technology lifespans, having been released over 12 years ago. This product is even older than
Pro Tools|HD, Mbox, and 002, which are also unsupported with Pro Tools 11. The time it would take to
develop and thoroughly test firmware upgrades to meet current Pro Tools performance specifications
would severely impact our ability to ship products and deliver the new feature innovations. To safeguard
your investment, we offer a hardware exchanges from Pro Control and Control|24 to C|24 for $6,399 US
GRP—a $3,600 discount off the retail price.

Q: Why isn’t Avid supporting legacy Pro Tools|HD and Pro Tools|HD Accel systems with Pro Tools
11?
A: The technology in these systems is over 11 years old and not capable of meeting the
performance specifications of Pro Tools 11. It‘s important to note that customers have gotten 3–
11 years of use out of their original system investment in an environment where tech cycles
typically span only 3–5 years.

Q: Why isn’t Avid supporting legacy "blue Pro Tools|HD interfaces with Pro Tools 11?
A: In 2011, Avid announced that Pro Tools 10 would be the last software release to support the legacy
!blue interfaces. The time required to thoroughly test and develop firmware upgrades for future
versions would severely impact our ability to develop and deliver new feature innovations. These
interfaces will not be qualified or thoroughly tested for use with Pro Tools 11, and we will not offer
customer support to troubleshoot issues. However, we will not !turn off support for these interfaces if
you do choose to use them with an HDX or HD Native system on your own accord.

Q: Why isn’t Avid supporting TDM and RTAS plug-in formats with Pro Tools 11?
A: The original RTAS and TDM technology is 15 years old, limited by a 32-bit environment that‘s
not optimized to deliver such Pro Tools 11 capabilities as:
• 64-bit architecture, which provides much more accessible RAM to virtual instruments and
effects
• Offline bounce
• Time-stamped automation
• Sonic parity between DSP and native systems (uniform 32-bit floating-point audio
processing)
• 1,000 dB of additional processing headroom (compared to the fixed math processing of
• TDM)
• Modern graphics library and remote plug-in user interface support for developers
To ease the transition for customers and developers, we will include Pro Tools 10 licenses with all
Pro Tools 11 purchases, which can be co-installed to serve as a bridge to AAX and provide
compatibility with older sessions, as plug-ins are ported to the 64-bit AAX format.

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 Q: I’m already using AAX plug-ins in Pro Tools/Pro Tools HD 10. Will these plug-ins continue
working with Pro Tools 11?
A: The AAX plug-ins you‘re been using with Pro Tools 10 are 32-bit. For compatibility with Pro Tools 11,
the software code needs to be compiled for 64-bit. The Pro Tools 11 installer includes installation
files for all Avid 64-bit AAX plug-ins. We‘ve been working closely with plug-in developers to ensure
that their 64-bit AAX plug-ins are available for download soon. For the latest info, check out our plug-
in finder.

Q: How do I find out which plug-ins will be supported in Pro Tools 11?
A: Once Pro Tools 11 is released, you‘ll find a list of all supported 64-bit AAX plug-ins on the
Audio Plug-in Finder page.
Q: I’ve invested a lot in RTAS and TDM plug-ins—is it going to be expensive to upgrade to
AAX?
A: Avid and our development partners are making every effort to keep costs minimal. Some things to
note:
• All Avid AAX plug-in upgrades will come at no charge with Pro Tools 11
• Many third-party developers are offering AAX versions of their plug-ins free of charge to
existing customers—check the plug-in manufacturer‘s website for upgrade info
• Most third-party AAX plug-ins to date have been reasonably priced—check the plug-in
manufacturer‘s website for pricing

Q: Why should I upgrade to Pro Tools 11 when many of the plug-ins I use are not yet
compatible?
A: Pro Tools 11 delivers such a boost in power and workflow enablement that most professionals will
want to take advantage of it immediately. And now there are over 600 AAX plugins available and
more are arriving each day. To ensure that customers retain backward compatibility with older plug-
in formats while our partners continue to port their plug-ins to 64-bit AAX, customers can co-install
and run both Pro Tools 10 and 11 on the same system, requiring no reboot of the CPU.

Q: Are all of the AIR virtual instruments available for AAX 64-bit?
A: Yes. All AIR instruments are coming soon as AAX plug-ins compatible with Pro Tools 11. For more
information visit the AIR Pro Tools Creative Collection page.

Q: Does Waves support AAX?

A: Yes, the latest Waves plug-ins are coming soon for AAX Native and are in beta for Pro Tools
11. At this time, Waves does not support AAX DSP, but if you‘re looking for alternatives to Waves
plug-ins, there are many great-sounding third-party plug-ins that provide the guaranteed peak
performance and increased headroom of the AAX DSP format. Visit the Audio Plug-in Finder page
for a full listing of AAX DSP and AAX Native plug-ins.

Q: Why isn’t the Complete Production Toolkit supported with Pro Tools 11?
A: To ensure the greatest level of reliability and performance to customers who need extremely high
tracks and channel counts, the premium set of tools previously available to Complete Production
Toolkit owners will only be available to customers using the latest Pro Tools|HD family hardware
with Pro Tools HD software. If you own the CPTK, you will have the opportunity to upgrade to Pro
Tools HD 11 software for $999.

Q: Is there a trade-in program for Avid hardware and cards that are no longer supported?
A: Yes. We offer trade-in programs for legacy Pro Tools|HD and HD Accel systems, legacy !blue$
Pro Tools|HD interfaces, and Digi 002 family, 003 family, and Mbox Pro interfaces. For more
information, see our Ongoing Special Offers pages.

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 Q: I have an older Pro Tools|HD system and several legacy interfaces—am I eligible for a
discount on a Pro Tools|HDX system with newer Pro Tools HD Series interfaces?
A: Yes, we are committed to making the transition to Pro Tools 11 as easy as possible for our
customers. We offer a hardware exchange program in which you can trade in your legacy HD
system towards the purchase of an HDX system, and trade in your legacy I/O towards the
purchase of a Pro Tools HD Series interface—all at great savings. For details, see our Ongoing
Special Offers page.

Q: Are Pro Tools 11 discounts available to students and educators?

A: Yes, Avid is committed to supporting students and educators. We offer academic versions of Pro
Tools to educators and students—you can get the full version of Pro Tools 11 Academic for
$295 (USD), or upgrade to Pro Tools 11 Academic from a previous version starting at $99. For
more information visit the Avid for Education page.
If you‘re a student who purchased a previous version of Pro Tools Academic and are still within
the 4-year window of complimentary upgrades, then you may be eligible to receive your Pro Tools
11 upgrade at no charge. For students who fall outside of this 4-year window, plus teachers and
other educators who own Pro Tools Academic, you can purchase an upgrade in the online Avid
Store or from your local Avid Education reseller.

Q: Is Pro Tools 11 compatible with Avid Live Sound systems?

A: Yes. You can use Pro Tools 11 when using a VENUE HDx Option Card with a Pro Tools|HDX or Pro
Tools|HD Native card, or when using an FWx Option Card or SC48 system with a connected
FireWire laptop.

Avid DS Family Final Sale Date / End of Support FAQ

As of October 1, 2013, the DS product family will no longer be available for purchase.
Q: What is Avid’s plan for existing DS customers?
A: To leverage the worlds #1 editor with a complete suite of production tools that empower you to
create, deliver, and collaborate, Avid has worked with our partner%*D*'(%G')+C,E*%to secure an
exclusive promotional offer on eyeon products, available only to Avid DS customers.
DS owners will get special promotional pricing for Fusion, Dimension and Generation at a combined
price of just $1,250 US MSRP – that’s more than a 50% savings. Fusion's advanced node-based
VFX supercomputing environment and high-level image processing application directly integrates
with the Media Composer timeline, while Dimension’s Optical Flow and Disparity Tools provide a
precise and inclusive series of solutions for Stereo Productions. Combined with the project and team
communication and collaboration engine Generation, Avid DS users are able to transition to
powerful, efficient toolset to continue to create innovative content.
Q: Will this offer be available worldwide?
A: Yes. For specific pricing in your region please contact your regional sales representative (to find a
Reseller, click here; to find a local Avid office, click here.)
Q: How long will this offer be available?
A: This offer will be available through the end of 2013.
Q: Who do I contact to take advantage of the eyeon for DS customers promotional pricing?
A: DS customers will receive the promotional code from Avid prior to purchasing through eyeon
Software.
1. DS customers must submit a request to Avid via the Avid DS License Request Form. Customers
must submit each DS license they wish to receive a promotional code for.
2. Avid will respond to the request with a promotional code (one per DS license) and information
about how to contact eyeon Software sales.
3. Customers will purchase eyeon Fusion, Dimension and Generation through eyeon Software, and
will redeem their promotional code(s) at time of purchase.

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