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Originally Posted by dawhead  I think you have reversed the link between Ardour (the open source component) and the X-Dubber. Ardour wasn't written to make the X-Dubber happen. The X-Dubber is a product that exists in part because Ardour exists. Ardour was under development for years before Harrison got involved (or SSL, for that matter), and its existence, functionality and future development are not based on the sales of some number of units of any particular hardware product.
I suspect that a little research will reveal that Harrison continues to provide support for products that are older than ProTools.
I am not aware of any examples of a previous open source pro-audio oriented product. By contrast, there are at least a dozen major open source software projects in the world (just little things like operating systems, web servers, databases and so forth) that are effectively maintained by their user communities. If you're rooted in the pro-audio world it can be tough to see how deep and wide the impact of open source software really is, but if you read the IT trade press you will realize that these products are seen as more than viable alternatives to proprietary software, and in some cases are the market leader.
Its far from clear to me that the ProTools user community can do much one way or another about the ongoing success of Digidesign/Avid. I think you may also underestimate the size and vested interest of the Ardour user community. |
your points are noted, but I do not know if we are on the same page as far as the useage of a system such as the x-dubber-
In Audio post, which is a market Harrison has been a leader in for 30 years, is a very small community- It also is about as vertical a market as one might find in an industry. Hardware and software being used in this has to be nearly "mil-spec" due to the critical nature of schedules and the high prices which are charged for the services.
The notion of "open-source" app development is a new one for this industry- but it is not one for other mission critical applications- There lay the rub, when software might have more twisted flow chart as to who is working on what module of an application and how it might be qualified in QA before being added to the build.
With Digi, It took literally a decade before ProTools REALLY was stable enough for that sort of application- And now it is being used in a similar capacity that X-Dubber is geared for- It is in use at Fox, Disney, Todd-AO, Warner Bros on a day to day basis-
I am not certain if Universal and Sony have switched to it, but they would be in the minorty as to the major film sound installations.
As far as the users having a say in PT's longitivity- they have some influence certainly- they have a direct effect however in buying the items which maintain the companies viability- I do not think Harrison does have a similar cash flow, so I would put my money on Avid/Digi being a stronger company on that front.
As to the size of the Ardour community, perhaps you are right, however in Los Angeles I know of no one using it in a professional context. That is not to say they aren't, but If the comunity were THAT big, I am sure I would hear of someone out there.
THis is not at all to imply that Ardour is not a great application, but at least in my experience, It has made no impact in the audio community that I am familiar with.
And since I do film sound as my day job, I am ALWAYS suspicous of new technology- It is a part of the job description.
charles maynes