Digidesign D24 (1997)

[chrisNova777]

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/feb98/articles/protools.htm

Around the end of 1997, Digidesign brought out their first 24-bit card, the d24,

http://www.oldschooldaw.com/forums/index.php?topic=74



http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/feb98/articles/protools.htm

The PT24 'core' system consists of the new d24 half-length PCI card, a DSP Farm PCI card, and the Pro Tools 4.1 software. The card can handle 24 tracks of 24-bit audio, although by the time you read this a DAE software update should be available which will enable it to handle 32 tracks. The 888/24 interface uses Crystal A/D and D/A converters (dynamic range of 110dB for the A/Ds and 102dB for the D/As, according to Digidesign). The new interface is virtually identical to the 888 interface in most other respects, although it can now be used in stand-alone mode without being connected to the computer.

The computer I was lent for the review uses a 604 processor running at a clock speed of 350MHz and came fitted with 64Mb of RAM, a 4Gb internal hard drive, a CD-ROM drive and a Zip drive. The processor speed of this computer means that users should have no trouble in working with many tracks of audio and carrying out intensive signal-processing with ease, while the internal drive has enough speed and capacity to provide at least 16 tracks of audio on reasonably-sized projects. The data rate necessary to achieve full 24-track, 24-bit performance is 3.6Mb per second of sustained throughput, and for this a SCSI accelerator card and a fast, 'Ultra-wide' SCSI hard drive are required. This last point means that a 6-slot PowerMac would also be required, because Pro Tools does not support the use of SCSI accelerator cards on 3-slot machines. In addition, 64Mb is the absolute minimum amount of RAM for Pro Tools 4.1 software. The PowerMac 9600/350 certainly seems to have the right specifications.

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In 1997 Pro Tools reached 24 bit, 48 tracks. It was at this point that the migration from more conventional studio technology to the Pro Tools platform took place within the industry -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pro_Tools#History

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pro_Tools#Timeline