ProAudio Review - May 2008 - (Page 34) POST | REVIEW by Steve Murphy Solid State Logic Pro-Convert V5 Audio Project Translation Tool This well-appointed conversion solution from SSL puts the Holy Translation Grail within reach. Transferring a multitrack session with edits and handles intact from one DAW application to another is a generally fragile process—a process that can break in many different ways and at many different places. The commonly supported EDL (Edit Decision List) and object-oriented exchange standards—most notably OMF, AAF, MXF, AES31 and OpenTL—are no doubt powerful tools. Developed to varying degrees of success by manufacturer consortiums and associations, these standards have gone a long way towards realizing the near-divine quest for free and unfettered media project exchange. But unilateral changes, application updates, multiple standards versions, handling errors, unsupported/mismatched features and file formats, and countless other quirks introduced by specific platforms conspire to routinely shift the sand underneath what those of us on the sending or receiving end hope will be a stable and predictable transfer process. Add to that the large install base of programs that offer no standard EDL standards support (many “LE” versions) and/or charge a premium to get it as an add-on, and the shifting sands start to spin. Enter the Pro-Convert V5 ($699) audio project translation tool from Solid State Logic. | FEATURES SSL acquired developer Cui Bono Soft and its well-regarded interchange application EDL-Convert just prior to the 2007 AES convention in New York, where it promptly announced the first major update to the software in several years. In the years since its introduction in 2001, EDL-Convert has grown to be one of favorite stealth ninja tools of post houses. With the acquisition and the addition of significant new and updated features, SSL hopes to bring this powerful “secret weapon”—rebranded as Solid State Logic Pro-Convert V5 —to a much wider user base. Pro-Convert aims to be a one-size-fits-all tool that acts as a go-between for a variety of popular DAW and NLE platforms. Depending on the selected source and output targets, Pro-Convert allows for the translation of edit points, fades, crossfades, markers and PQ data, clip gain, volume and pan curves/automation, track names, clip names and other session data. The program supports what I would describe as three levels of conversion integration: proprietary, intermediary, and open standard. At the highest level, Pro-Convert can access and translate an application’s native session file format directly without the need for any intermediary export steps. For example, a stunning new feature in ProConvert V5 is the ability to directly read and write proprietary Digidesign Pro Tools 7.x session files (*.PTF), in addition to the previously supported Pro Tools 5.1 format. Other native session file formats supported include Adobe Audition/Cool Edit (*.SES), Steinberg Wavelab Montage (*.MON) and SSL’s own Soundscape Arrangement format (*.ARR). At the intermediary level, Pro-Convert supports several application-specific interchange formats. These formats were created by a platform’s developer to facilitate the exchange of session data between various versions of the same application, within an application “family” or suite, or the KEY FEATURES DAW/NLE session conversion supporting over 40 different audio applications and versions; contextsensitive feature set and method of conversion per export format; standalone Audio Tool file format and attribute conversion. PRICE $699 CONTACT Solid State Logic | ☎ ➲ solid-state-logic.com Fades Automation and Markers Dialogue Box import/export of a specific set of tracks from one project to another within the same application. Unlike proprietary session formats, these intermediaries are XML- or text-based EDLs and thus expose the session data in a readable and ultimately parse-able manner. Also unlike the proprietary formats, the SSL continues on page 36 ➤ 34 | ProAudio Review | May 2008 www.proaudioreview.com http://solid-state-logic.com http://www.proaudioreview.com
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