Avid Demonstrates Several New Products at NAB
April 25, 2006
Las Vegas, NV - Avid Technology has unveiled version 7 of the Avid Liquid Chrome HD family - the newest addition to the Avid Liquid line of editing software and hardware for advanced videographers who want to work with formats that require SDI (serial digital interface) and HD-SDI capabilities.
As the most versatile standard-definition (SD) and high-definition (HD) video editing tool in the Avid Liquid line, Avid Liquid Chrome HD v7 offers customers enhanced format flexibility, new effects tools, enhancements to its integrated toolset, and greater output capabilities - all within a single application. With Avid Liquid Chrome HD, users can create extremely high-quality SD and HD video productions from start to finish - and deliver completed projects on professional digital tape formats, DVD, and a range of streaming formats for the Web.
The Avid Liquid Chrome HD family of solutions integrates Avid Liquid software with a range of SDI hardware. The product line combines video, audio, DVD, and effects creation in a single application - and equips users with additional features such as enhanced secondary color correction, multicam support for up to 16 cameras, and Avid's industry standard Open Timeline for editing and playing back different formats and resolutions in real-time.
New capabilities offered in version 7 of the Avid Liquid Chrome HD family include:
-- Additional format flexibility - offers native support for WM9, DivX and MPEG-4 to edit and repurpose for the Web, allowing editors to make edits to existing media content (without timely transcodes), and mix this footage with other sources;
-- XDCAM HD support - delivers the ability to capture and edit XDCAM HD material, including proxy-based workflows, and real-time mix and match with other formats;
-- Increased FX power - introduces RT Timewarp, stabilize and more than 50 Commotion and Magic Bullet Movie Looks effects, allowing editors to now have more creative choices to enhance the style and quality of their work;
-- Enhanced integration - provides custom music creation with SmartSound, empowering editors to quickly create soundtracks from a library of musical styles and tempos. Soundtracks are now added directly to the timeline and update automatically as the length of the soundtrack is trimmed;
-- Expanded output to new formats - delivers custom templates for output to next-gen formats and devices such as Flash video, Sony PlayStation Portable, and Apple iPod.
The Avid Liquid Chrome HD family includes three scalable offerings designed to meet a range of professional needs. These systems include:
-- Avid Liquid Chrome HD Plus - a package priced at $4,995 USMSRP for independent videographers who are looking for an integrated application with SD SDI I/O and four channels of AES/EBU audio;
-- Avid Liquid Chrome HD Deluxe - a more comprehensive solution priced at $7,995 USMSRP that offers all of the functionality of Liquid Chrome HD Plus and adds HD SDI I/O;
-- Avid Liquid Chrome HD Elite - the most advanced system in the line priced at $11,995 USMSRP, including comprehensive SD and HD I/O in a rack-mountable broadcast chassis.
Avid Unleashes Mac HD and Avid Mojo SDI for Avid Xpress Pro
NAB 2006, Las Vegas (Booth #SL701)
Avid Technology announced version 5.5 of Avid Xpress® Pro software and unveiled Avid Mojo® SDI, the newest member in Avid’s line of Digital Nonlinear Accelerator™ products. Avid Xpress Pro v.5.5 software now delivers HD capabilities for both Mac and Windows-based systems. The new Avid Mojo SDI works seamlessly with Avid Xpress Pro, providing high-quality, advanced analog and digital SDI (Serial Digital Interface) I/O connections for professional video and audio projects.
“The Avid Xpress Pro family is all about empowering digital content creators with tools that meet their needs for creating professional-quality film and video productions on a modest budget,” said Tim Wilson, senior product marketing manager for Avid. “Mac customers have been waiting for a product with robust multi-format HD editing and media management features. Both Mac and PC customers have been requesting new I/O that offers the highest-quality audio and video connections. We’re delivering on both of those requests at NAB, and as a result, we know that we’ll continue to see many high-profile projects created on Avid Xpress Pro.”
Avid Xpress Pro v 5.5
Avid Xpress Pro v 5.5 software combines professional video, audio, film, effects, encoding tools, and custom music creation software – for both Mac and PC platforms in a single box. The software supports native HDV and DVCPRO HD for acquisition, editing, and output; real-time effects and 2:3 pulldown insertion over FireWire; and Avid DNxHD™ encoding to create effects, transitions, and titles with uncompromised image quality.
Avid’s unique Open Timeline enables users to mix HDV, DVCPRO HD, and Avid DNxHD formats with SD and DV media in the same timeline in real-time, reducing the time it takes to complete projects that incorporate media from multiple sources.
Other enhancements in version 5.5 include:
• HD and improved format support for Mac OS X systems – supports new 10-bit uncompressed SD and native DV50 formats as well as HDV, DVCPRO HD, and Avid DNxHD;
• Real-time multicam support for Mac OS X systems – allows simultaneous playback of any DV, SD, or HD multicam views, for on-the-fly editing in real-time;
• Tapeless workflow for Mac OS X systems – includes streamlined support for Panasonic P2 and Sony XDCAM, so users can efficiently transfer tapeless media without digitizing, transcoding, or shuttling through tapes to find a shot;
• Direct ingest of XDCAM HD over FireWire – allows Avid Xpress Pro editors to capitalize on the opportunities of HD file-based production with the new Sony XDCAM HD format;
• New film and pulldown support for Mac OS X systems – enables editors to capture 24p footage to disk transparently over FireWire, via normal and advanced pulldown, without the need for third-party applications or transcoding. It also includes mixed film gauges and 3-perf tracking for expanded film support;
• AVX™2 plug-in support for deep colorspace and advanced keyframing for Mac OS X systems – offers full control over custom parameter curves and 16-bit rendering for preserving the full color space of effects for both native Avid and third-party effects. The animation control saves time and offers the highest-quality processing;
• Full-screen SD and HD monitoring using the host graphics card for both Mac and PC – enables users to monitor SD and HD projects without the need for expensive I/O and broadcast monitors by using the on-board Mac or PC graphics card and LCD or Plasma displays. Users can either monitor over the UI on a single-monitor solution such as a laptop, or use a two-head display for dedicated output;
• Enhanced performance with HDV splicing for Mac and PC systems – delivers ability for long GOP material to only be re-rendered at edit points, providing much faster preparation for output than creating an entirely new stream;
• Varicam support for both Mac and PC systems – Allows for the capture of material from Panasonic’s popular Varicam cameras.
In addition, Avid plans to offer Universal Binary support in future versions of Avid Xpress Pro, for forthcoming Intel-based Macs.
Avid Mojo SDI
Avid Mojo SDI is a portable, advanced analog and digital SDI I/O device with high-quality professional video and audio connections supporting most professional decks and cameras.
Connecting to Macs and PCs via FireWire, the Avid Mojo SDI Digital Nonlinear Accelerator offers the same analog connectivity of Avid Mojo, but adds SDI I/O and AES/EBU digital audio I/O to expand Avid Xpress Pro solutions to work with mastering-quality SD cameras and decks. Available for both the Avid Xpress Pro family and the new Avid Media Composer family of products, the Avid Mojo SDI Digital Nonlinear Accelerator offers:
• SDI video I/O – supplies improved quality and flexibility via uncompressed SD digital video I/O in addition to component, S-video, and composite I/O, and FireWire. This provides the highest-quality monitoring as well as full capture and digital cut support to mastering-quality SD decks;
• Flexible digital and analog audio – delivers up to eight channels of embedded audio over SDI, four channels over AES/EBU, four channels over line RCA, and two channels over optical S/PDIF – enabling full compatibility with professional audio devices;
• Simultaneous output of video and effects to client monitor and tape – offers the ability to see video in its proper color space on output with support for both waveform/vectorscope and split-screen in color-correction mode; and
• Audio punch-in – enables users to punch-in up to four channels of audio for applications such as recording voice-overs, enabled by Avid Mojo SDI’s bi-directional signal flow that allows monitoring during capture.
Pricing and Availability
Pricing for the Avid Xpress Pro software and Avid Mojo SDI is as follows:
• Avid Xpress Pro software is priced at $1,695 USMSRP.
• Avid Mojo SDI is priced at $2,495 USMSRP.
Avid Xpress Pro v 5.5 and Avid Mojo SDI are expected to begin shipping in June 2006. Upgrades are expected to be available for existing Avid Xpress Pro and Avid Xpress Pro HD customers.
New Avid FX and 3D Tools, Adds Blu-ray Support
NAB 2006, Las Vegas (Booth #SL701)
Avid Technology announced version 5.5 of Avid® Studio Toolkit, which delivers significant enhancements to a set of tightly integrated, industry-leading software applications, including Avid 3D, Avid FX, and Avid DVD by Sonic™. Ideal for any content creator using Avid Xpress® Pro software – as well as any system in the new Media Composer® family (announced today in a separate release: Avid Media Composer)
Avid Studio Toolkit delivers new creative toolsets and user interfaces for Avid FX and Avid 3D, as well as enhanced authoring options, including support for the revolutionary Blu-ray™ Disc format. With Avid Studio Toolkit, film and video professionals can create more compelling graphics, composites, titles, and effects; distribute completed projects to tape, DVD, or the Web; and ultimately expand the creative services they offer to their customers.
“Avid Studio Toolkit empowers professionals to be even more creative by transforming the world’s most popular editing tools – Avid Xpress Pro and Media Composer – into state-of-the-art production suites,” said Patrick McLean, senior product marketing manager for Avid. “It’s the most robust and affordable way for independent professionals to create stunning graphics, composites, titles, and effects for their DV, SD, HD, and film projects before distributing the final versions to HD tape, DVD, and the Web. Blu-ray is one of the hottest new delivery formats to hit the market, and by supporting it in our latest version of Avid Studio Toolkit, we’re ensuring that our customers have access to the latest and greatest distribution technologies.”
New enhancements to Avid Studio Toolkit v 5.5 include:
• Updated UI, new paint engine, and more for Avid FX – providing content creators with a complete titling, FX, and compositing solution. With Avid FX version 5.5, editors can benefit from:
o AVX™ 2 support for 16-bit color;
o streamlined UI for improved integration and ease-of-use;
o a new paint engine for touch up and rotoscoping;
o Raster-to-Vector conversion tool for easily bringing corporate logos and other graphics into a vector-animation environment, including 3D extrusion;
o new motion key feature, to remove unwanted objects from the frame; and
o new subtitling workflow for adding subtitles to their work.
• Updated UI, new title features and more for Avid 3D – delivering more powerful “3D for the Video Guy,” via an updated UI that allows any editor to import, animate, and light 3D models and create compelling text animations with greater ease. It includes directly accessible controls for animation keyframing, task-oriented workflow, and new title animation features and camera animation. This makes it easier to create text animations, import and light models, create unique 3D looks, and export back to the Avid editor.
• Integrated Blu-ray support in Avid DVD by Sonic™ – allowing Avid Xpress Pro and Media Composer users to output HDV projects to Blu-ray discs. Avid DVD by Sonic offers new HD and 16:9 menu support as well as HDMV output, enabling customers to make the most of the next generation of DVDs.
• Expanded I/O with Avid Mojo® SDI – providing digital and analog SDI I/O to expand interoperability with mastering quality SD cameras and decks (announced today in a separate release: Avid Xpress Pro)
Pricing and Availability
Version 5.5 of the Avid Studio Toolkit v5.5 is priced at $1,995 USMSRP and is expected to begin shipping in mid-2006.
For more information go to:
www.avid.com
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