The Government Video Update : Products

International Video Evidence Symposium and Training Conference

ejose — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 15:11:00 GMT

LEVA, the Law Enforcement and Emergency Services Video Association, is holding their annual conference October 22nd through the 24th at the Florida Hotel & Conference Center in Orlando, Florida.

This International Video Evidence Symposium and Training Conference is always a great opportunity to explore the science of Forensic Video Analysis and to also pick up some new video production skills.

If you'd like to know a bit more about LEVA, check out this video, featuring John Walsh of America's Most Wanted.

Avid has been a proud sponsor of LEVA since 1994 and we'll be there again this year, along with Ocean Systems and their dTective Forensic Video Analysis software.

Hope to see you in Orlando!

Government HD Technologies Seminar in San Diego

ejose — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 19:08:00 GMT

The Avid Government Solutions team is hosting a 2-hour seminar in San Diego at the US Grant Hotel on Tuesday, September 9th, 2008, from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm.

The seminar will focus on new HD technologies for government video professionals.

The latest HD and file-based video formats offer more than just better images. They enable powerful workflows that allow you to work faster than ever before – on a laptop in the field, or in robust media production networks.

High-definition Blu-ray and HD podcasting are also changing the way media is distributed. Join us for a 2-hour seminar and explore these new technologies:

- HDV: Low-cost high-definition acquisition and editing

- Sony XDCAM: File-based media acquisition on optical disks

- Sony XDCAM EX and Panasonic P2: File-based media acquisition on memory cards

- Blu-ray authoring- HD encoding for Web delivery- Real-time HD editing technologies

- Media production networks and asset management

You'll also have the opportunity to see Media Composer Nitris DX.

Government video professionals can register for this New Video Technologies Seminar online. Space is limited, so sign up soon. We look forward to seeing you in San Diego!

Join us at Avid's DC Roadshow

ejose — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 19:02:00 GMT

Avid is hosting its New Thinking Road Show in Washington, DC on Wednesday, June 4th from 6:30pm to 9:30pm. This is a great chance to get an up-close look at Avid's new Media Composer 3.0 software and the new Mojo DX and Nitris DX hardware. The Avid Government Solutions team will be there and we look forward to meeting you.

When:
Wednesday, June 4th
6:30pm to 9:30pm

Where:
The Ronald Reagan Building Rotunda Room
1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC.

You can reserve your seat for Avid's DC Roadshow by clicking here.

Hope to see you there!

Update your Avid software even if your system isn't connected to the Internet

ejose — Thu, 15 May 2008 00:39:00 GMT

We were visiting a customer last week who had not updated their Media Composer software for quite some time, since their Media Composers were not connected to the Internet. The good news is you don't have to have your Media Composer online to get the latest software. If you have a valid Support Contract and have registered with the Avid Download Center, you can download your software on any Internet-connected computer. Just save the software to a thumb drive, pop it into your edit system and install the updates.

If you're a Government customer and you don't have a thumb drive, I can help with that too! I have shiny new 1GB Avid thumb drives for the first 40 next 22 government customers who send me a message including their name, government email address and government mailing address.

SubCap Tool Makes Open Captions Easy

ejose — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 21:07:00 GMT

We've been on the road for the past couple of weeks. First it was Las Vegas, where we unveiled the new Media Composer 3.0 software, which Avid will be shipping in June. Then we spent a week at the 2008 Department of Defense Visual Information Conference in Baltimore. At both shows, one of the features Avid Government customers were most excited about was the SubCap Tool, which will be shipping with Media Composer 3.0 in June.

The SubCap Tool lets you easily create on-screen subtitles for Section 508 compliance, or for visual translations of foreign dialog. You drop the SubCap tool on your top-most video track and then point it to an EBU-N19 formatted subtitle log file (.STL). You can set the font size, color and placement. Hit play and you have real-time open captions. You can also use the SubCap Tool to create subtitles from scratch, if you don't already have a log file. When you're done, you can export a subtitle file (.STL) for quick creation of subtitles in DVD authoring applications.

Click here for a quick demo of the new SubCap Tool.

The SubCap Tool will be included with Media Composer 3.0, which will be available for download in June for current Media Composer customers with Support contracts. Avid Xpress Pro customers can upgrade and download Media Composer 3.0 for $318 on Avid's GSA Schedule, or purchase a box with documentation and third-party applications for $399. Upgrades are also available from Avid Xpress DV and Avid Liquid. For more information, contact the Avid Government Solutions Team at 800-497-2843.

HP xw8000: A Workhorse On Its Last Leg

ejose — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 13:20:00 GMT

Avid government customers who are still using the HP xw8000 computer with their Avid Xpress Pro or Media Composer systems should start thinking about upgrading.

The last release of Avid software to support the xw8000 is the x.7 release of Avid Symphony Nitris, Avid NewsCutter XP, NewsCutter, Avid Media Composer Software and Avid Media Composer Adrenaline.

HP and Avid stopped shipping the xw8000 in December of 2004.

The latest HP computer supported by Avid is the xw8400, a quad core 2.66 GHz system.

The HP xw8400 is available on Avid's GSA Schedule. For more information, please contact the Avid Government Solutions team at 800.497.AVID.

End-of-Year Savings for Federal Customers

ejose — Tue, 01 May 2007 10:56:00 GMT

The Avid Government Solutions team has announced special end-of-year pricing for Federal Government customers.

The promotional pricing includes editing system upgrades, Avid Unity upgrades and Avid Interplay purchases.

You can find the details here.

The special pricing expires September 26th, 2007.

Free Avid Tutorials

ejose — Sat, 28 Apr 2007 12:08:00 GMT

Avid offers online video tutorials on a variety of subjects, including Working with HD in Media Composer and Avid Xpress Pro, XDCAM and P2 workflow, Avid Studio Toolkit training and more.

Check them out here.

If you're looking for more in-depth training on every Avid-related subject imaginable, check out ALEX – the Avid Learning Excellerator.

New Forensic Video Analysis Training Lab

ejose — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 17:14:00 GMT

When you think of Avid, you think of the creative work done in film and video. You probably don't think of Avid tools being used to catch criminals. Across the United States, thousands of law enforcement agencies use Avid systems, combined with dTective software from Ocean Systems, to analyze CCTV video, leading to guilty pleas or convictions.

The Law Enforcement and Emergency Services Video Association (LEVA), the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and the University of Indianapolis have joined forces to create the country's first forensic video processing training facility.

In the photo above, LEVA instructor Grant Fredericks teaches a class in the new lab.

You can read more about the new lab here.

To learn more about dTective, powered by Avid systems, check out the these video clips.