Audio Plug-ins
VST
- AU -
DX
- RTAS
- TDM
- HTDM - AAX -
MAS
PowerCore - LADSPA - LV2 -
DSSI- VAMP
Architectures
VST
VST (Virtual Studio Technology) is a real-time native plug-in format
created by Steinberg. Currently there are over 300 plug-ins made for
VST. It is becoming one of the most widely-used formats for audio
plug-ins. VST plug-ins differ from Direct X plug-ins in a few areas:
VST can be used on PC's or Mac's, it is dependent on the host
program.
AU
AU -Audio Units is the plug-in format developed by Apple to coincide
with their new audio and MIDI technologies in OS X. Certain programs
like Logic support Audio units exclusively, while other programs like
Digital Performer 4 support their own MAS format as well as Audio
Units. Audio Units are handled at the level of the OS X operating sytem
itself and for programmers they can have a certain advantages in that
two seperate engines exist for the GUI of the plug-in as well as the
sound engine itself, allowing for a more advance user interface
design.
DirectX
Direct X Plug-Ins Direct X is a real-time plug-in (i.e., Direct X
plug-ins can process or alter the sound without creating a new file).
Direct X uses "native processing" to function. Native processing uses
the existing power of your CPU to process audio. Native processing has
become more popular as CPU's keep getting faster. Direct X was created
by Microsoft for Windows users to play fast video games without using
DOS. Microsoft saw an opportunity to unify the gaming industry, their
result was Direct X. Direct X uses low level application programming
interfaces (API's) for high performance multimedia applications such as
plug-ins. It includes support for sound, music, graphics and network
applications. Host programs must implement Direct X to run
plug-ins.
RTAS
RTAS (Real Time Audio Suite) is a new plug-in format created by
Digidesign for Pro Tools LE. RTAS is the next generation of AudioSuite
plug-ins. RTAS uses host based processing, your CPU, to run. RTAS is
only limited by the available CPU processing power. RTAS offers similar
performance to TDM in that each plug-in is fully automatable.
TDM
TDM (Time Domain Multiplex) is a plug-in format created by Digidesign
for Pro Tools systems. TDM can only function with Digidesign Farm
cards. The number of plug-ins that you use depends on how many Farm
cards you have and the type of plug-in. TDM is a 24 bit, 256 channel
path that integrates mixing and real time digital signal processing.
This plug-in format offers zero latency and is fully automatable.
HTDM
HTDM stands for "Host TDM" and refers to Plug-Ins that do all audio
processing on the host CPU instead of the DSP chips found on your TDM
hardware. They use a single, shared DSP on the TDM system to allow the
audio from these host Plug-In processes to stream in or out of the
system. The faster your computer, the more Plug-Ins you will be able to
run. HTDM Plug-Ins allow the power and flexibility of host-based
processing for synths and sampling to directly integrate into Pro
Tools. You can work with these Plug-Ins as you would use standard TDM
Plug-Ins, including major benefits like using Pro Tools automation (in
addition to MIDI) to automate parameters, or using control surfaces for
hands-on control of Plug-In parameters.
AAX
AAX (Avid Audio
eXtension) is Avid’s new advanced plug-in format, offering
workflows and sound parity when sharing sessions between
DSP-accelerated and native-based Pro Tools systems. The format
comes in two flavors: AAX DSP—compatible with Pro Tools|HDX
systems only (TDM is not supported in Pro Tools|HDX) AAX
Native—compatible with any system running Pro Tools/Pro Tools
HD 10 software
MAS
MAS (MOTU Audio System) is a real-time native plug-in format created by
Mark of the Unicorn. MAS was created as a proprietary plug-in format
for Performer and Digital Performer. MAS plug-ins are fully automatable
and do not require external DSP. MAS is becoming a widely supported
format by third party developers and currently supports a wide range of
software synthesizers. Available on Macintosh OS systems that use MAS.
Host programs must implement MAS to run plug-ins.
PowerCore
The Powercore format is a hardware-supported plugin that can be used in
VST and Audio Unit compatible applications. Hardware supported plugins
require the hardware be present to run. They also take strain off the
CPU by doing the processing in hardware, hence there is less of a drain
on the computer for processing audio in real time. Future development of the
PowerCore platform has been ceased. As part of a larger
strategic review, they have decided to cease further
development of the PowerCore product range, including hardware
units as well as software for the PowerCore platform. With the
most recent release of software version 4.0, PowerCore is
fully compatible with current operating systems, such as Mac
OS X Leopard, Mac OS X Snow Leopard, Windows XP, Windows Vista
and Windows 7, as well as the most popular DAWs – 32 bit and
64 bit.
LADSPA
LADSPA is an acronym for Linux Audio Developers Simple Plugin
API. It is a standard for handling filters and effects,
licensed under the GNU LGPL. It was originally designed for
Linux through consensus on the Linux Audio Developers Mailing
List, but works on a variety of other platforms. It is used in
many free audio software projects and there is a wide range of
LADSPA plugins available.
LV2
LV2 (LADSPA version 2) is an open standard for plugins and
matching host applications, mainly targeted at audio
processing and generation. LV2 is a simple but extensible
successor of LADSPA, intended to address the limitations of
LADSPA which many applications have outgrown.
Currently there is support for LV2 in Ardour, Qtractor,
Traverso DAW, and the Linux version of Audacity. LV2 replaces
the former DSSI plugin infrastructure.
DSSI
DSSI stands for Disposable Soft Synth Interface. It is a
virtual instrument (software synthesizer) plugin architecture
for use by music sequencer applications. It was designed for
applications running under Linux, although there is nothing
specific to Linux in the interface itself. It is distributed
under the terms of a combination of GNU Lesser General Public
License and some BSD licenses, all of which are free software
licences.
VAMP
Vamp is an audio processing plugin system for plugins that
extract descriptive information from audio data, typically
referred to as audio analysis plugins or audio feature
extraction plugins.
VST
is a trademark of Steinberg Soft- und Hardware GmbH.
Audio Units™ is a trademark of Apple
Computers Inc.
Real-Time
AudioSuite™
RTAS is a registered trademark of Avid Technologies Inc.
TDM (Time Domain
Multiplex) and AAX (Avid Audio eXtension) are plug-ins format created by Digidesign for Pro
Tools systems.
MAS (MOTU Audio System) plug-in format created by Mark of the
Unicorn.
DirectX®
is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation