Pro Tools 1-3

[smilesdavis]

*WIP*

PRO TOOLS 1.0 (05-06-1991), "ProDECK, ProEDIT" (outsourced to OSC) - Price-wise, the basic 4-channel Pro Tools system has a suggested list price of $5995.00

Introducing PRO TOOLS: Pro Tools is professional recording's first completely integrated Multitrack Audio Production System.  In the future, everyone will be recording this way. But you can do it right now, with Pro Tools. Pro Tools takes the three most important recording technologies of today - digital audio, MIDI, and mix automation - and combines them into a single revolutionary system. With even more of the advanced random access editing capabilities that made our Sound TooIs1M the best selling direct to disk system in the world. The time to reinvent your studio is now.

Pro Tools includes two powerful  software applications for audio production:
- ProDECK for audio & MIDI recording, real-time effects and digital mixing with dynamic automation
- ProEDIT for fast flexible graphic editing of both digital audio and MIDI

Pro Tools features:
- Macintosh II based system
- 4 to 16 independent channels of high fidelity recording /playback
- Balanced XLR analog I /O, AES /EBU & S /PDIF digital I/O
- Unlimited virtual tracks
- Real time parametric E0 & digital effects (completely automatable)
- Dynamic & state -based automation with instant update
- MIDI recording, playback & event editing
- Graphic non-destructive editing of multiple tracks of audio and MIDI with track slipping, region trimming,
crossfades, etc.
- SMPTE synchronization
- Compatible with SampleCell, Pro Store, Studio Vision, Digital Performer, CS-1 and CS-10 Control Station

The Pro Tools system consists of four entirely new components and includes two software applications - ProDECK and ProEDIT - as well as two hardware applications - the Audio Card and Audio Interface.

Digidesign's stand was consistently packed with people wanting to see the new 4-channel ProTools. This offers comprehensive recording and editing features and a time saving function that automatically creates cues from a recording consisting of audio and
unwanted silences. 8- and 16- channel systems should be available by the beginning of 1992 but Digidesign already claim to be shipping around 300 systems per month and this seemed to be substantiated during a visit to their factory. - Studio Sound, Jan 1992

PRO TOOLS 1.01 (06-25-1991)

see screenshot below

PRO TOOLS 1.02 (09-12-1991)
PRO TOOLS 1.03 (02-20-1992)

PRO TOOLS 1.10 (04-01-1992, adds support for up to 4 cards/interfaces)

* 1-4 Pro Tools Audio Card (c) 1991, Digidesign, Inc. ASSY NO. 915000905" ("SA4 - Sound Accelerator 4",was able to process 4 channels due to 2x Motorola DSP 56001 @ 16 MHz each, Xilinx XC3030-100, MH030), 4-track Expansion Kit £5,106
Audio Card: The Audio Card is a high speed, 4- channel processor card designed to take up a single Macintosh II -type computer slot. When operating with one Audio Card, Pro Tools can only be configured as a basic 4- channel system, however, Digidesign is set to release a system accelerator card that will free up this constraint, allowing the system to be configured in 4- channel increments up to 16 channels. This optional accelerator card will serve to speed up the overall system and avoid data bottlenecks by providing a direct path from the audio cards to the hard disk drives, thus bypassing the Mac's internal processors. In this way, the Mac computer itself can be freed up to perform less number- intensive tasks (such as faster screen redrawing). - Studio Sound, Nov. 1991

* 1-4 442 I/O Audio Interface (aka Digidesign Audio Interface, Pro Tools Audio Interface, Quad Audio Interface (MH031), developed in alliance with Timeline
Audio Interface: The Audio Interface is Pro Tools' link with the outside digital and analogue world. It is a 1U high, rackmountable external I/O analogue and digital interface, whose front panel includes a power switch, an array of front panel indicators (showing sync, sample rate and digital status information) and recessed multiturn level pots. I/O ports include four electronically-balanced XLR analogue inputs and outputs (+4 dBm) [...] - Studio Sound, Nov. 1991

* 1-4 TDM Piggyback, Single Interface Master (c) 1993, Digidesign, Inc. PCB FAB. NUM 941001168,
* TDM cable
* System Accelerator ("SysAxe") by Grey Matter Response (GMR, Inc.) distr. by Digidesign £3,356 inc VAT, features a Motorola 68020 and a SCSI2 port to effectively replace the internal Macintosh II SCSI Bus to allow Pro Tools I/II to record a maximum of 16 voices (in steps of 4), legacy drivers: http://archive.digidesign.com/download/legacy/sysaxe/

PRO TOOLS 1.12 (06-25-1992)
PRO TOOLS 1.15 (1992)
PRO TOOLS 2.0 (03-26-1993, renamed to "Pro Tools and DAE")
PRO TOOLS 2.01-2.02 (1992)
PRO TOOLS 2.03 (08-18-1993)
PRO TOOLS 2.5 (06-20-1994, initial TDM release, TDM Starter Kit)
PRO TOOLS 2.51 (08-03-1994)
PRO TOOLS 3.0 (11-28-1994, PTIII NuBus release)
PRO TOOLS 3.1 (05-17-1995)
PRO TOOLS 3.1.1 (10-03-1995)
PRO TOOLS 3.2 (02-07-1996)
PRO TOOLS 3.4 FREE (1997) - Pro Tools v3.4 will run on MacOS versions up through 9.2.2