is DP on windows reliable ?

[porya]

Hi

I'm planning to move to DP cause i really love this DAW and looking for a full featured DAW so i can do all the writing/editing/mixing in one place, also i score for film and animations .

I trying DP's demo at the moment i had some problems with it, on is it won't close on exit, sometimes when i bounce a instrument track there is no sound on the bounced file, problem with some plugins and automation ...
i'm starting to feel like DP is still not reliable on windows or maybe I'm doing something wrong ???
so please share your experience about DP on windows !

[azeroth]

Hi Porya,

i switch from Mac to PC with DP8 and at the moment i can tell you that everything's working pretty good for me. I'm on Windows Seven 64 bit SP1. I experienced some problems with DP since my firewall were enabled on my system but after i disabled it, performances and stability were back to my PC and DP.

DP8 on windows is maybe a little bit "too young" to be equal to the Mac version but i think everything should be at the top in a few updates. Take care about plug-ins that Digital Performer does not offer in the "basic package". In fact many people had issues with plug-ins from other editors or developpers.

Have a nice day ! Regards:)

[porya]

Hi Azeroth

Thank you so much for the reply, glad to hear it's working fine there, i have some problems with demo as i mentioned, most annoying one is DP hangs on exit and the other one is sometimes when i bounce an instrument track there is no sound in the bounced file ! do you think that could be fixed if i disable my firewall ?

and could you please tell me what you mean by "basic package" ?


thank you

[NazRat]

The no sound issue in the bounce is most likely a problem with your selections, i.e. you didn't select a MIDI file with the instrument track, didn't select the data in the tracks or didn't select the correct source in the bounce dialog. Also, have you tried 'freezing' tracks?

[NazRat]

Take care about plug-ins that Digital Performer does not offer in the "basic package". In fact many people had issues with plug-ins from other editors or developpers.

What plugins? It would be helpful if there was a list of plugs with issues. I know early on I had some issues with VST plugs validating, but those have since been fixed either by MOTU or third party updates. I haven't really had a chance to push the Windows version yet, so before I do, if you know of any specific plugs, please post them. Thanks.

[porya]

The no sound issue in the bounce is most likely a problem with your selections, i.e. you didn't select a MIDI file with the instrument track, didn't select the data in the tracks or didn't select the correct source in the bounce dialog. Also, have you tried 'freezing' tracks?

I didn't tried Freezing yet but, i'm sure the selection of source in the bounce dialog was correct !!

[blindows]

azeroth, have you moved DP sessions from mac to pc, and how do you do this?

[azeroth]

I nevere tried to move DP projects from Mac to PC (i was on logic before my swith to PC).

Concerning "bacis plug-ins" i mean plugs that are not part of DP application. I noticed that sometimes vst plugins crashed on windows (especially free one). I think the best way to get DP stable on Windows is to use it on a dedicated machine without network layer and firewall (it's not a problem for me i have a second machine to go on the internet, or other stuffs like that). In general, firewall use to check I/O in realtime to your PC from the internet rather than antivirus check, scan in realtime the machine, etc.

I would say that Windows and Mac can offer each other good performances but for musicians who use DAWs (not only DP), Windows plateform have to be more optimized to be at the same level than Mac (it's very important ot select the right components to be quiet). Except this detail, i could not go back to Mac plateform for 2 main reasons (in my opinion):

- for the same level of performances, PC is less expensive than Mac.
- On PC i can access to VST plug-ins and select / replace hardware components at the best price (i changed several months ago my PSU on my mac pro 2006 and i paid 200€ and had to give back my old one).

you can have a very powerful machine for less than 1300$ (32 Go RAM, 512 Go SSD, i7 4ghz, motherboard chipset Z97 with thunderbolt 2, HDMI ports, USB3.0, etc.)

[NazRat]

azeroth, have you moved DP sessions from mac to pc, and how do you do this?

I've been experimenting with this for an eventual move to Windows and from what little info has been posted about cross platform compatibility I have divined that it's best to open and resave all your projects on your Mac in DP8 before moving them. That way you will not have any file extensions or resource fork issues. Also convert any old projects that use SD2 files to WAV. If you're working between platforms, VST is the way to go - there will be issues with AU plugs. I am using a common session drive formatted ExFat and it works fine without needing any additional software on either platform. Old Mac projects need to be updated first before moving to ExFat/FAT32 drives. A note I read somewhere is if you want to share sample drives between platforms, Kontakt cannot read ExFat drives. A fix may already be out there or in the works. I have not gotten to test that yet. That's about it.

Any project created in DP8 is cross platform with no issues, it's the earlier version projects that will get you. Also if you want a good free multiple desktop solution you can find it here: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysi ... s/cc817881. I've experimented running Vienna in a separate desktop with success. If you're using Win8/8.1 just put all the apps you want to open in alternate desktops in the TaskBar. The Metro UI is only available in Desktop 1.

[Eddy Yates]

It's "solid", in that it doesn't shut down randomly. I AM having some problems that MOTU said are bugs, primarily in using Video. MOTU Tech said to install the video in the same HD as the DP8 program, but I still get big slowdown for almost every function. Since about a third of my work is with video, I'm hoping they get this fixed, because DP8 is otherwise, a pretty wonderful program. The video will also often not "stick" to DP8, and I have to re-set it.
I am also having problems with instrument plugins not developed by MOTU, such as Real Guitar 3. I mainly use a MUSE Receptor, so that isn't too much of a problem except for plugins that don't work on MUSE....like Real Guitar 3!
The only other random problem I'm having is that when I hit "Control Z" to undo an action, DP8 acts like I slapped it's little face, gives me an error msg, but doesn't shut down. I just have to click on the error screen and it's back to normal. Doesn't happen every time, but enough to be annoying.