| Wellsir,
There are relatively few boxes that can actually qualify as Digidesign interfaces (Agogee Rosetta 800 or AD8000s, Prism Dream, perhaps the Myteks). Therefore, if a user is using a converter box that is not classified as an "interface", I don't think Digi would be responsible for providing latency compensation. Those users who used non-interface boxes connected digitally would incur further delays anyway from the digital transfers from the Digi "interfaces". There are a whole slew of different converters and latencies out there. I have a feeling Digi is NOT going to include latency comprensation for all of them.
But, I feel that a lot of the gripe of latency compensation comes not just from using hardware I/Os but plugins and internal bussing. I'm getting kind of tired of using only RTAS plugs for my individual drum tracks to keep them in phase. It seems a waste on an HD3 and RTAS does not support bussing which means that sidechains and key inputs are disabled. So much for my gates. So, in going TDM I guess its time adjuster. But, you add a plug on one track, all your other tracks go out the window and need to be readjusted.
The bussing is an issue as well. To those of us who use a lot of mults and parallel processing the bussing latency is very annoying. Processing a track with different plugs on different mults runs into the same problem as the drums. Only this time, RTAS plugins do not work on the Aux inputs (TDM bussing). You can duplicate the track itself but then you increase your hard disk strain as well as make editing of that particular track much more difficult by having to remember to be in the proper grouping at all times.
Most of the time, the latency incurred by running a track through a hardware insert doesen't bother me. We're talking about 2 ms here so MOST often (not always), the feel and groove of the song is not really affected. Obviously phase coherency is an issue, but if you've got completelyu isolated overdub tracks (live tracks with bleed is a different story) then that's not really a huge issue, save drums or stereo material. As long as any 3rd party converter kept these specs realistic (not 1000 samples or some crap like that), I don't think this will be a problem.
My belief is that Digi will first correct TDM bussing latency (good for the mult guys), then perhaps include a fix for plugin latency (good for the drum guys and the big latency plugs). If there's any hardware latency compensation at first, I'd be shocked. Any at all would probably be limited to DIGI interfaces. Perhaps in the interface profile for 3rd party "interfaces", they will allow the inclusion of a modifier to allow latency compensation. That's a BIG maybe. Anyone who uses 3rd party converters hooked up to their Digi interfaces digitally is most likely on their own. Including a feature in PT where a user could program their only latency values as per their individual converters would most likely not be high on Digi's priority list. Especially since it has been so difficult to get Delay compensation happening in the first place.
This is the price you pay for using a system designed for telephone communications......... |