Peter Gotcher and Evan Brooks established the American based digital audio company Digidesign in 1984. In order to raise money for the founders' band so they could purchase drum machines, Digidesign originated when the pair were successful in selling EPROM chips. Digidesign is part of the Avid Group whom acquired the company in 1995. Pro Tools is Digidesign's flagship software product and when coupled with suitable hardware this is commonly known as a digital audio workstation or DAW for short. Pro Tools is available in three variations: Pro Tools|HD, Pro Tools LE, and Pro Tools M-Powered.
For Pro Tools|HD you need a Digidesign TDM system and interface. This version was created ultimately for professional recording studios. The next version is Pro Tools LE, this is a complete package created for home users and some post-production facilities. As well as the Pro Tools LE software in this edition, you will also find hardware such as the M-Box 2 or Digi 003. Finally, Pro Tools M-Powered was designed in co-operation with M-Audio. This Pro Tools application has been adapted to run specifically on M-Audio hardware. This version is generally comparable in power to Digidesign Pro Tools LE systems and is usually dubbed as M-Audio Pro Tools M-Powered.
As well as the fantastic Pro Tools software itself, Digidesign also produce a number of products for the Pro Tools platform, which include many Pro Tools plug-ins. Digidesign also produce an extensive range of hardware add-ons compatible with Pro Tools, such as control surfaces, audio interfaces, MIDI interfaces and Synchronizers.
