Can I export a Pro Tools compatible format if the studio uses PT?
And vice versa.

OMF files are one of the ways projects are shared.
 
You can also just export the WAV files.
 
The short answer is yes.

Have a look at http://aatranslator.com.au
 
that might help out in different situations between daws.
 
The last time I read up on it OMF do not include midi though, big drawback.
Basically audio tracks and clips only.
 
So far I have not seen a single daw that save midi clips - as they do with audio clips - on disk.
Midi is always somewhere obscured it seems.

Thank you all. I am using a Roland FA-08 and can export 16 seperate wav files of which
I would for the majority use Sonar. But its great to know I could use them on PT as well.
Thanks for the feedback and tips it really sold me on purchasing Sonar.
 
 

I've heard OMF referred to as other-mo-fo's file.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Media_Framework_Interchange
 
It's a handy way to remember the initials.
 
So far as I know, no one uses it unless they are moving a project from one DAW to another.

Thanks for the info. Was hoping there was some standard out there. I used
it with Avid Media Composer for Video. Didn't realize it supports audio.

I've tracked a lot of sessions in Pro Tools studios and edited in SONAR. Rather than messing with OMF, I just took the raw WAV files, brought them into SONAR, and did all the editing/mixing in SONAR. That way I didn't need the OMF parameters showing pan etc.
 
I'm not interested in transferring parameters between applications, only files, so I can use the unique attributes of the target program. If you transfer right after tracking (capture), then all you really need is broadcast WAV files.

Thanks for the tip. I think thats the way to go for me. I appreciate the help and 
your experience. I am recently purchased an FA-08 and can export each of 16 wav tracks.
So hearing your advice gives me good vibes. Thanks for your time.

Yeah, OMF is a really underdeveloped standard. I get projects handed to me in OMF sometimes (one just this last week in fact), and I don't object to that, but the first thing I do with them is go and set everything flat as if I'd just got the WAVs. It's really poor at handling anything more sophisticated than the raw audio.

If your PT session has lots of clips that don't start at the beginning then I think OMF becomes a valid solution. It's just a tool that you would use if you've tracked things in PT and are beginning to mix in Sonar. Just make sure you note the tempo in PT as Sonar will ask what it is when opening the OMF file. I've done this and everything lines up perfectly in Sonar. In fact, I was excited how easy it was to move from one Program to the other.
 
Now if you've done a full mix in PT and want to move that into Sonar... that's a bit tricky. It can be done if each plugin you've used in PT is available as a VST and you're able to use the plugin itself to save the preset. You'll have to match the panning law to what was used in your PT session. Any VSTi's will have to be printed beforehand... and all automation, panning and levels will have to be done by hand... if you have a bunch of automation then it starts getting to the point of asking why you would switch programs? If you're mixing someone else's project then I don't see why you wouldn't just start from scratch anyways...
 
The benefit of using OMF over simply importing Broadcast waves is that OMF will remember the track layout whereas importing Broadcast waves will put each clip on a different track. For example, if you have a guitar solo during the intro and then again at the bridge and they are two separate clips - Importing waves will put them on separate tracks while OMF will put them on the same track. This isn't an issue if you only have single clips per track... but if there are a bunch of overdubs in Pro Tools, then I think OMF is definitely the way to go.