Logic Pro Vrs. Digital Performer, features? scoring capabilties? Options

[chagos]

greetings all,

I am getting ready to do a bit of a drastic change in the studio. I'm bswitching from a Pro Tools based studio to more of a MIDI enviromnet.

I'm looking into either Logic Pro or Digital Performer to be the main workhorse, and I'll keep a Pro Tools LE rig on the side for everything else.

I mainly do sound design and film scoring/music.
I am somewhat new to Logic since the last version I used was 5.5.1 and I have never used DP.

I am semi-pro, working on many indie films, games and animations.

I have been using Pro Tools, Live, and Reason together for the last few years, but the time has come to get a more sturdy midi program. Almost all of my work is done exclusively through MIDI, mostly by softsynths or plug ins(hence the reason I am moving over pro tools)

I'm mainly just wondering what everyones opinions are on the two sequencers I mentioned. Should I go for Logic or DP?

I've read about both and they both seem to get pretty good reviews, and they both would do the job I need them for. So, i guess I would just like some user feedback.

do both have timecode?
does DP support most plug ins( example: native instruments)?
do both bounce to quicktime?
do they both support 5.1 surround routing and mixing?
rewire?

Any information on either of these would be great, as I am really cautious about a change like this.

Thanks so much for the help. Its appreciated.

(oh, i'll be using os x.3.9, G5, etc.)

[hahaworld]

I've never used DP, so I'm going to put my vote in for Logic. I've been using it for about 4 years now, and it gets easier the more you use it (just like everything else). There is a learning curve, but why is that a problem? Everything worthwhile in life has a learning curve or costs some effort, so I think we all need to quit whining about the learning curve. Once I learned how to do audio in Logic, I dumped ProTools like a bad girlfriend. I don't intend to look back, either. I don't think the ProTools folks are too interested in keeping the Mac users happy. So be it. Logic spanks ProTools like a redheaded stepchild.

HOWEVER, I will concur that Apple's Logic support leaves a lot to be desired. I had some serious technical issues with Logic earlier this year, and no one on the phone support line was able to help me. I actually had one tech guy tell me, "Well...I guess you'll just have to figure it out yourself." Hmm...Apple, if you're reading this, how about putting some more effort into tech support training? A tech guy should never say, "Figure it out yourself." That's just bad bid-ness.

Anyway, if you want to skip some of the learning curve in Logic, find a friend who uses it and get them to show you how to do stuff. It's a lot more intuitive and you'll learn more in a 2-hour session from hands on tutoring than you'll ever learn reading the manual (which is pretty confusing). Also, I've learned more from third-party authors about Logic than I ever have from the supplied manuals. Sometimes I think the guys who write manuals (especially manual indexes) get off on obfuscation. If you're like me, in the past month I've gone to the index of the manual 20 times or more to find some information only to discover that the index has absolutely no alphabetical reference for the issue I'm curious about. Then you go digging and waste an hour or more trying to find out what you need to know because the contents pages and the index basically suck. Come to think of it, Mac's help system has always sucked. I rarely find anything I'm looking for that's worth anything in Mac Help or on the Apple support website. It's a jumbled mess, in my opinion.

Okay. I've whined enough (after I told everyone to quit whining!). Have a great day, and after all is said and done, good and bad, Logic rocks my world.

hahaworld