HD Driver and Core Audio on Mac
Q) Where can the new HD Driver be downloaded?
A) The new HD Driver is only available in customer Avid Accounts and via the Avid Application Manager. There must be a valid Pro Tools HD plan in the customer account for the current HD Driver download to be available.
Q) Can the new HD Driver (Pro Tools HD 12.6.1 and higher) be used with previous Pro Tools HD releases?
A) Yes, but it will disable some normal Pro Tools functionality. With the advent of the new HDX/HD Native Core Audio driver, Pro Tools is now able to access HD hardware in 2 separate ways:
- The traditional way, with DSP plugins and the HD mixer, but no interoperability with other Core Audio apps.
- The new “Avid Audio Server” way, where Pro Tools treats the HD engine purely as an audio I/O; no DSP plugins, but yes to interoperability with other Core Audio apps.
You can’t choose which of these modes to operate in; older versions (12.6 and prior) will always use option 2, while newer versions (12.6.1 and higher) will always use option 1. This means that if you install the new HD Driver (12.6.1 and higher) over an earlier Pro Tools version you will ONLY be able to use the HD hardware for Audio only. You will not be able to use DSP plug-ins, nor will you be able to connect to a SYNC HD peripheral.
If you wish to uninstall the new HD Driver you can simply delete the AvidAudioServer.app file located in /Applications/Avid/AvidAudioServer/
Q) Which applications will be able to use the new HD Driver?
A) The AvidAudioServer allows the HDX or HD Native hardware to be selected as the main output in System Preferences > Sound so that any Mac application that uses Core Audio can route audio through it.
Q) What is the maximum number of simultaneous inputs/outputs for the AvidAudioServer?
A) 64 inputs and 64 outputs is the maximum that a Mac application can use simultaneously. For HDX systems that have more than one HDX card, the first 64 inputs/outputs will be used.
Q) With the new HD Driver (Pro Tools HD 12.6.1 and higher) installed, can HDX/HD Native Hardware be used with Pro Tools HD and another Core Audio app at the same time?
A) Although the new HD Driver now has support for use with both Pro Tools HD and Core Audio applications (such as iTunes and other DAWs), it can only be used exclusively with either one, but not simultaneously. For example, let’s imagine you have iTunes and Pro Tools HD open at the same time. If the HDX/HD Native Hardware is being used with Pro Tools, you will not be able to use it to play audio thru iTunes until you quit Pro Tools HD. Closing Pro Tools HD will release the HD Driver and then it can be used for iTunes playback.
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