For folks who are wondering why they should upgrade to new Avid Media Composer versions, Steve Cohen (Splice Here) has summarized the latest features. Here's an overview (versions 3.0.5 and beyond):
16 tracks of playable audio. - Realtime audio dissolves.
- Multiple tracks of realtime visual effects.
- Select everything to the right.
- Realtime timecode burnin.
- Spectramatte.
- Faster waveform display
- Faster saves, even with big bins.
- Timeline responsiveness.
- Overall responsiveness.
- Stability.
- Scroll Wheel support.
- OS X Leopard.
- Improved locators.
- Additional improvements to segment and trim modes.
- High Def.
For Steve's full post, check out: Time to Upgrade (Splice Here).