Videoguys NAB2006 report: Avid
Lots of Big news from Avid!  · Avid Unleashes Mac HD and Avid Mojo SDI for Avid Xpress Pro  · Avid announces Avid DVD by Sonic with Blu-ray support  · Avid makes a “Big Splash†with Liquid  · Avid introduces Media Composer Software The buzz around the Avid booth at this year’s show was pretty strong. Avid made some very important announcements that added up to very good news for Avid editors at all levels. Avid Xpress Pro ver 5.5 
Avid has finally achieved parity for Xpress Pro users on both Mac & PC platforms. With the introduction of Xpress Pro ver 5.5 Mac users will now get the same great features as their PC counterparts. Avid Xpress Pro offers the broadest HD support of any editing software available. HDV 1080i & 720p, DVCPRO HD, 24p, P2, XDCAM HD over FireWire and of course Avid’s DNxHD CODEC. Avid’s open timeline allows you to mix DV & HDV footage on the same timeline and in multi-cam. AVX2 plug-in support provides superior colorspace and keyframing for both native Avid and 3rd party effects. New features in ver 5.5, for both PC & Mac users, include full screen SD & HD monitoring using the host graphics card and inexpensive flat screen displays, enhanced performance with HDV splicing provides faster final output by rendering only edit points and not the entire HDV segment, Varicam support and support for the new Mojo SDI. Registered Xpress Pro owners with a 5.x dongle will be able to download the 5.5 upgrade for free from the Avid website when it becomes available. Those with 4.x dongles will be able to purchase the 5.5 directly from Avid for $49.95. Anyone purchasing Avid Xpress Pro or one of our Xpress Pro Mojo bundles will be able to download v5.5 as soon as it becomes available for free. Avid is also running a $150 mail-in rebate on Xpress Pro Mojo bundles. Click here for more info ========================================= 
Avid Adds High-Definition Authoring to Avid DVD by Sonic One of the most exciting announcements from the NAB show was Avid & Sonic’s support for Blu-Ray. This makes Avid DVD by Sonic - BD Edition the first full-featured high-definition authoring software for our market. Before this announcement you had to pay over $10,000 for Blu-ray authoring. Avid DVD by Sonic BD will allow you to create DVDs with the same level of interactivity as today’s DVDs, only with HD footage and 16:9 menus. As we mentioned earlier, Pioneer Blu-Ray burners are starting to ship now, with Sony & Panasonic planning to release their own Blu-ray burners later this summer. The first Blu-ray players will be hitting the market later this spring. Avid DVD by Sonic - BD Edition will be available as part of the new Avid Studio Toolkit v5.5. The new Studio Toolkit v5.5 will also include a new version of Avid FX which will include all of the latest features introduced as part of Boris Red, and a new version of Avid 3D with a much easier to use interface and much more templates and 3D models to work with. The new Studio Toolkit v5.5 will have a $1,995 cost. Those who purchase Xpress Pro PowerPack and Xpress Pro Mojo PowerPack after April 23rd will be able to upgrade to the new Studio Toolkit v5.5 for $295 when it becomes available this summer. ======================================= 
Avid Liquid “Big Splash†Over the past year there has been much speculation about Avid Liquid and what exactly will be Avid’s plan for this powerful, all-in-one NLE and video production software. Avid made it perfectly clear that they are committed to developing Liquid and positioning it as the perfect NLE for the event video, small corporate, multimedia creation and pro-sumer market. Liquid was front and center on the main stage in the Avid booth, and was also featured at the Avid dealer meeting. On the show floor Avid was passing out $100 instant discount coupons for Liquid & Liquid Pro. Unfortunately these coupons (LIQ100) expire May 5th, so you better hurry if you want to take advantage of them. In addition to the show floor presence we were told about the new “Big Splash†promotion, which goes into effect with the new 7.1 releases. The “Big Splash†promotion gives you 3 additional software plug-ins to use with Liquid. 1. TitleDeko Pro gives you additional titling features including type on a curve and spell check. 2. Hollywood FX Pro gives you several additional libraries of 3D transitions and additional capabilities to control and customize each effect. 3. Magic Bullet movie looks are 55 filters that allow you to give your videos the look and feel of a Hollywood movie. New features in the 7.1 release of Liquid include export presets for Flash, Sony PSP and Apple iPod video, JVC-ProHD record to tape, DVDs with auto-loop, and XDCAM HD & IMX support. Liquid 7.1 will be available as free download for all Liquid 7 owners. Anyone purchasing any version of Liquid 7 from April 23rd on will get the “Big Splash†promotion software for free when it becomes available. Click here for more info or to order Avid Liquid ====================================== Mojo SDI Mojo SDI is a new Avid Digital Nonlinear Accelerator that is built upon the same technology and form factor as the Mojo. With Mojo SDI you’ll get all of the great features of Mojo plus SDI SD (standard def) input and output. You can simultaneously output video to both client monitor and tape. Mojo SDI delivers professional audio I/O including 8 channels of embedded audio over SDI, 4 channels over AES/EBU, 4 channels over RCA and 2 channels over optical S/PDIF. Audio punch-in enables up to 4 channels of audio for voice-overs. Mojo SDI will be shipping in late June with a price of $2,495. Existing Mojo owners will be able to trade-in and upgrade their existing Mojo to Mojo SDI for $1,500. I do not have the details yet on exactly how this trade-up offer will work. ====================================== 
Avid Media Composer Software The other big news from Avid was the announcement of Avid Media Composer software only for $4,995. While the price tag puts this out of reach for most of our customers, those working in and with bigger Avid shops will find this really big news. Now you can run Media Composer on a laptop to edit on the road, or bring your work home to work with on the software only as part of your bigger workflow with Adrenaline and Nitris.
Avid has finally achieved parity for Xpress Pro users on both Mac & PC platforms. With the introduction of Xpress Pro ver 5.5 Mac users will now get the same great features as their PC counterparts. Avid Xpress Pro offers the broadest HD support of any editing software available. HDV 1080i & 720p, DVCPRO HD, 24p, P2, XDCAM HD over FireWire and of course Avid’s DNxHD CODEC. Avid’s open timeline allows you to mix DV & HDV footage on the same timeline and in multi-cam. AVX2 plug-in support provides superior colorspace and keyframing for both native Avid and 3rd party effects. New features in ver 5.5, for both PC & Mac users, include full screen SD & HD monitoring using the host graphics card and inexpensive flat screen displays, enhanced performance with HDV splicing provides faster final output by rendering only edit points and not the entire HDV segment, Varicam support and support for the new Mojo SDI. Registered Xpress Pro owners with a 5.x dongle will be able to download the 5.5 upgrade for free from the Avid website when it becomes available. Those with 4.x dongles will be able to purchase the 5.5 directly from Avid for $49.95. Anyone purchasing Avid Xpress Pro or one of our Xpress Pro Mojo bundles will be able to download v5.5 as soon as it becomes available for free. Avid is also running a $150 mail-in rebate on Xpress Pro Mojo bundles. Click here for more info ========================================= Avid Adds High-Definition Authoring to Avid DVD by Sonic One of the most exciting announcements from the NAB show was Avid & Sonic’s support for Blu-Ray. This makes Avid DVD by Sonic - BD Edition the first full-featured high-definition authoring software for our market. Before this announcement you had to pay over $10,000 for Blu-ray authoring. Avid DVD by Sonic BD will allow you to create DVDs with the same level of interactivity as today’s DVDs, only with HD footage and 16:9 menus. As we mentioned earlier, Pioneer Blu-Ray burners are starting to ship now, with Sony & Panasonic planning to release their own Blu-ray burners later this summer. The first Blu-ray players will be hitting the market later this spring. Avid DVD by Sonic - BD Edition will be available as part of the new Avid Studio Toolkit v5.5. The new Studio Toolkit v5.5 will also include a new version of Avid FX which will include all of the latest features introduced as part of Boris Red, and a new version of Avid 3D with a much easier to use interface and much more templates and 3D models to work with. The new Studio Toolkit v5.5 will have a $1,995 cost. Those who purchase Xpress Pro PowerPack and Xpress Pro Mojo PowerPack after April 23rd will be able to upgrade to the new Studio Toolkit v5.5 for $295 when it becomes available this summer. ======================================= Avid Liquid “Big Splash†Over the past year there has been much speculation about Avid Liquid and what exactly will be Avid’s plan for this powerful, all-in-one NLE and video production software. Avid made it perfectly clear that they are committed to developing Liquid and positioning it as the perfect NLE for the event video, small corporate, multimedia creation and pro-sumer market. Liquid was front and center on the main stage in the Avid booth, and was also featured at the Avid dealer meeting. On the show floor Avid was passing out $100 instant discount coupons for Liquid & Liquid Pro. Unfortunately these coupons (LIQ100) expire May 5th, so you better hurry if you want to take advantage of them. In addition to the show floor presence we were told about the new “Big Splash†promotion, which goes into effect with the new 7.1 releases. The “Big Splash†promotion gives you 3 additional software plug-ins to use with Liquid. 1. TitleDeko Pro gives you additional titling features including type on a curve and spell check. 2. Hollywood FX Pro gives you several additional libraries of 3D transitions and additional capabilities to control and customize each effect. 3. Magic Bullet movie looks are 55 filters that allow you to give your videos the look and feel of a Hollywood movie. New features in the 7.1 release of Liquid include export presets for Flash, Sony PSP and Apple iPod video, JVC-ProHD record to tape, DVDs with auto-loop, and XDCAM HD & IMX support. Liquid 7.1 will be available as free download for all Liquid 7 owners. Anyone purchasing any version of Liquid 7 from April 23rd on will get the “Big Splash†promotion software for free when it becomes available. Click here for more info or to order Avid Liquid ====================================== Mojo SDI Mojo SDI is a new Avid Digital Nonlinear Accelerator that is built upon the same technology and form factor as the Mojo. With Mojo SDI you’ll get all of the great features of Mojo plus SDI SD (standard def) input and output. You can simultaneously output video to both client monitor and tape. Mojo SDI delivers professional audio I/O including 8 channels of embedded audio over SDI, 4 channels over AES/EBU, 4 channels over RCA and 2 channels over optical S/PDIF. Audio punch-in enables up to 4 channels of audio for voice-overs. Mojo SDI will be shipping in late June with a price of $2,495. Existing Mojo owners will be able to trade-in and upgrade their existing Mojo to Mojo SDI for $1,500. I do not have the details yet on exactly how this trade-up offer will work. ====================================== Avid Media Composer Software The other big news from Avid was the announcement of Avid Media Composer software only for $4,995. While the price tag puts this out of reach for most of our customers, those working in and with bigger Avid shops will find this really big news. Now you can run Media Composer on a laptop to edit on the road, or bring your work home to work with on the software only as part of your bigger workflow with Adrenaline and Nitris.
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