Which Protools?

[thriii]

my semester is pretty much over and I want to buy protools with my student discount but at www.academicsuperstore.com they have protools listed under DigiDesign and also under M-Audio..could some1 explain to me the difference between the 2 and also which 1 I would want to get? Also I'm not tryin to spend more than 600 right now

M-Audio:http://www.academicsuperstore.com/mfg/?c=M-Audio
DigiDesign:http://www.academicsuperstore.com/mfg/?c=Digidesign

If these aren't the correct protools could someone point me to what i would need? I have a MBP if that helps any

 

[zimv20]

avid owns digidesign. then avid bought m-audio and decided to offer a version of PT (often referred to as PT-M) that runs on m-audio boxes.

PT-M is very similar in features to PTLE, which came before PT-M and runs with only a handful of devices (such as mbox and 002), made by digi.

PTLE is bundled free with its hardware. PT-M is an additional charge with the m-audio hardware. but both are PT and are offered by the same company, in the end.

digidesign.com offers, or used to offer, a software comparison chart. as i mentioned, PT-M and PTLE are extremely similar in functionality, but you'll need LE if you want (iirc) DV Toolkit. also, LE offers a lower buffer size than PT-M, which is important for low latency monitoring.