with the excitment over new thinking, and the upgrades to MC 3.0 and the DX line, there have been no mention of the DS (as far as I can tell).. is there a roadmap for the next version of DS? We're in the initial stages of evaluating a new system for finishing, and would like to know what the general plan is for the DS. There are rumors of lack of development for the platform, and with the ommision of the flagship product in the new rollout, it has us concerned about future supprt / development.

Anyone have a link or a referencing post about the plans / features for the next DS? does it work with the new DX Nitirs hardware? etc.

any info would be great :)

thanks,

Glenn

From this thread: http://community.avid.com/forums/t/57522.aspx

Q. Are there any updates for DS Nitris?
A. We are not announcing any feature release for DS as part of this announcement.
However, DS development is ongoing, and we plan to announce improvements for the DS system later this year.

Q. What about DS pricing?
A. While we are not announcing any feature updates, we are announcing new more  accessible pricing on DS of $99,995 for the turnkey with 5TB of storage.

Stay with the DS!

It doesn't make any sense that Avid won't talk about it's Flagship product while rolling out it's new, lower end solutions.  They mention NewsCutter.  I guess they have to keep all those customers who own both Media Composer and NewsCutter happy.

Speculation is a big no-no here on the Avid.com forums, but I have heard officially that they are indeed developing the next version of DS They are apparently planning a 'big launch' sometime between now and when the Sun expands to engulf Earth's orbit.  Of course, that's just a rough guess on the time frame

Unfortunately, in the absence of any official info from Avid right now, the rumor mill churns overtime.  Invariably, the 'DS is Dead' rumor is usually the first thing to pop out.   I wouldn't worry about it.

What kind of work do you need your finishing system to do? 

 If you want to know more about what's coming out for the new DS...

First look at the AVID DS Assist 8.4 and with is optional component that can be added and just think for an moment that those component could capture and output...add an HP XW8600 (8 core + 64 bit Windows ).  See the big picture!!!

Then go on DS WIKKI and just look at the top 5 2007 DS wish list.  I don't say that everyting is there...but you should find interesting features...

At the end...don't forget the STEREOSCOPIC 3D

 We do mostly :30 spots, with maybe 20% of our work long form. Currently we use FCP and Adrenaline and After Effects to produce our work, but recently we've had new jobs that require much more versioning for different markets. keeping track of every element in avid and doing the compositing of graphics in After Effects has worked well for us up till now, but the need for us to be able to version 8 spots in a client supervised session has made us look at other options.

I'm still trying to map out our tech investment, and the lack of info where DS is going from Avid has made it difficult. We're looking at DS and Smoke, and at this point, I have a much clearer view of where Autodesk is with their '09 Smoke system

GCapps, If you need a system that has a lot of big features...go with Discreet. but if you want something not too expensive and have a good workflow...choose AVID DS!  After Effects will always be there to do stuff that AVID DS could not do.

AVID/Softimage made some good thinking recently for there new version...Don't try to put small features of Media Composer into DS...put them together and use a good AVID workflow. 

If you don't have time to implimente a new feature or rebuilt an old one...just bundle them!!!     They should probably do the same thing with the Tracker and the Keyer... Encourage Imagineer and The Foundry to port Monet or Keylight as a plug-in.  After Effects already bundle Keylight with the software and Monet_AE exist...  AVID/Softimage should do the same.

I really hope that AVID will listen the AVID DS users and if they have a new way of thinking...we should see something that will blow our mind in the next years...

Please go on http://dswiki.wikispaces.com/ and post your demands and information...

Patch:

Encourage The Foundry to port Keylight as a plug-in

Keylight has been a plug-in for DS for over 7 years now.

T.

>>keeping track of every element in avid and doing the compositing of graphics in After Effects has worked well for us up till now, but the need for us to be able to version 8 spots in a client supervised session has made us look at other options.<<

I often create hundreds of versions of trailers for TV. Pre and Post Street, Nick and Disney versions, Internationals, coming soon, Now etc. Using the reference clip ability for DS and being able to grade shots, swap them out and add effects once, and have changes ripple automagically throughout all the spots has been a huge timesaver, and much easier to track. Try the DS assist free download. It will give you a good idea of what you can accomplish.

Plus, if you already have the Adrenaline, the bins will conform in the DS.

Michael