You can select between an external Thunderbolt interface (ideal for those using a laptop or iMac), or a PCIe core card (for those working with a desktop machine).
HD Native Systems, like most HD systems, has a few configurations to suit different setups. As many modern producers work completely in the box, their machines tend to be pretty powerful and can easily handle the tasks at hand. As the “native” in the title suggests, this system provides no additional processing power (meaning no access to AAX DSP plug-ins) in favor of relying solely on your computer.
As the rise of the “laptop producer” took hold, it became apparent that there was a need for the software elements of Pro Tools HD, but not necessarily the hardware-provided DSP boost.
Introduced in 2011, the HD Native system is Avid’s response to a changing market and the way more and more artists and engineers make music. Let’s get in deeper with each of them! Pro Tools | HD Native
The current lineup of HD systems reflects this, providing options for DSP and non-DSP powered systems. Needless to say, computing power has increased exponentially since the early days of Pro Tools HD systems, and while the benefits of external DSP are still the same as before (less taxing on your computer, improved latency), they are certainly no longer required to complete complex recording and mixing tasks. The software/hardware one-two punch also helps reduce latency, an integral feature when overdubbing audio and mixing with outboard gear in addition to plug-ins. Outside of the added punch of more processing power (including not having to rely on your computer for a good chunk of plug-in processing), the Pro Tools software that completes the HD system offers some advanced features not found in the “standard” host-based versions of Pro Tools, historically giving you access to input monitoring (though this feature trickled down to all versions of Pro Tools 12), surround mixing, advanced video support, and many others. In addition to lowering your recording’s latency to essentially imperceptible levels (necessarily for multi-track recording), the acceleration chips gave you the ability to monitor through TDM plug-ins a feat that might be commonplace now, but was ground-breaking at the time. The benefits here are obvious, especially in a somewhat historical context, since your typical desktop, in 2000, was not packing the power to handle the required processing on its own. Rather than leave all the processing to your computer, HD’s hardware is composed of DSP acceleration chips, which offset many of the computing tasks required by the software, famously supporting its Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) and now AAX DSP plug-in formats. "HD systems are a combination of an advanced feature-set version of Pro Tools software and specific external hardware." Needless to say, these machines were not going to be able to hack 32-track recordings by themselves with low latency and stability. We take for granted current laptops and desktops that can handle our 60-plus track mixes today, but go back just 15 or so years ago, and top-of-the-line computing saw you limited to dual 500 MHz processing. A long, long time ago, before the era of iOS devices and computers with 64GB of RAM, engineers and musicians lived in a place known as the late 1990s. However, to understand where Pro Tools HD systems are today, it helps to take a look at their origins. The short answer is that HD systems are a combination of an advanced feature-set version of Pro Tools software and specific external hardware, besides converters or an audio interface. Since no DAW provides an inherent “sound” (the audio being digital at that point), what’s the deal here? What is the difference between “standard” software-only Pro Tools and Pro Tools HD? While many are familiar with Pro Tools from home and project studios, thanks to the host-based versions of Pro Tools (meaning they require no external hardware outside of an audio interface), most studios running Pro Tools are using a Pro Tools HD system.
Walk into the typical professional recording studio, and chances are very likely you are going to see Avid’s Pro Tools running as the DAW of choice, even among increasingly stiff competition from other software and recording systems.