mvegas:

in the early 90's I was in school earning my degree in communications.  We were already using Sony flatbed editors

No you weren't.  Sony never made flatbed editors.  You were either using the Sony RM-440 U-matic videotape editing system, or you were using Steenbeck, KEM, Moviola or Showcron flatbeds.  Those were the widely available choices in the West in the early 90's.  JVC had a U-Matic system as well.  And later, JVC had a VHS system.  "Frame-Accuracy" was just a theoretical concept at that time.

The very first Avid NLE - the prototype - ran on an Apple Lisa computer.  I don't think any commercial models were sold.  The first commercial Avid was a non-starter.  You'd offline, and then use Auto-Assemble to do a tape to tape recreation on U-Matic, just so you didn't have something horrible to show your clients in review.  The picture on the Avid was so low-rez, you couldn't even judge focus or read a slate that didn't fill the frame.

Does anybody remember the first Montage system?  The one that used 16 Betamax decks?  There was one here in Dallas, and it was a monster.

There was also the EditDroid, Lightworks, Montage that was optical disk based, the EMC2 - DOS/PC contender, Media 100, a thing called "The Cube," and a Macromedia product, the name of which escapes me, that eventually became FCP.

Here's some more history, as I recall it.

Apple's Manager for Multimedia products, stated that "Avid's product represents a pioneering step in the convergence of personal computing and electronic media - an area of strategic interest for Apple. We're especially pleased at how well-integrated the Avid functionality is with the Macintosh platform."

"Apple and Avid's philosophies are closely aligned.

This was well before FCP, and Avid and Apple were close partners.  This wasn't to last for long.  Not surprisingly, Apple's intro of FCP pretty much soured the romance.  I recall an Avid engineer claiming that they co-developed Quicktime with Apple.

Avid bought Digidesign a bit later, as they were Digi's largest customer by far.  Avid hitched their wagon to Digi, and could ill afford any pricing or availability shenanigans.

Avid went public during the year that I worked for them.  That provided a cash infusion that allowed Avid to beef up their marketing, which in turn allowed them to conquer the market. Avid put sales offices across the USA and in Europe.

I was the first "Applications Editor" or demo guy in the Southwest and West territory.  I worked with a salesman who did the deal, and just about everybody we demoed to bought a system.  I've never before or since seen sales people receive such great treatment from potential customers.  We were treated like VIPs by all the post houses and corporate media departments we visited.  Most everybody was very excited about Avid Technology, and couldn't wait to get their hands on one.

When I was there, Media 100 had a superior quality picture (3/4" resolution!), and were wowing people at demos with their Page Turn transition.  For a while, it looked like EMC had a competitive product at about half the Avid price.  This was at a time when PCs were perceived as being for number crunchers, and Apples were for creative types

Avid 99:

The first commercial Avid was a non-starter.  You'd offline, and then use Auto-Assemble to do a tape to tape recreation on U-Matic, just so you didn't have something horrible to show your clients in review.  The picture on the Avid was so low-rez, you couldn't even judge focus or read a slate that didn't fill the frame.

That is what I saw. The editing was limited because I couldn't see anything wider than a medium shot. I was cutting commercials at the time, but even for that, it was too lo res. The conform was on Umatic or Beta. Has anyone got a version like this? I never saw a Lisa so I presume it was on a IIc. Editdroid, what happened to that ?

Avid 99:

This was well before FCP, and Avid and Apple were close partners.  This wasn't to last for long.  Not surprisingly, Apple's intro of FCP pretty much soured the romance.

Somewhere about 1997 or 1998, Avid went to Apple and asked for a change in it's hardware architecture so Avid could expand it's product capabilities (the development of open GL and Adrenaline), and Apple declined the request. At that point, Avid was left with no choice but to build a PCI extender chassis and subsequently developed a PC based version of it's products - up to that point in time, Avid was exclusive to the Mac platforms. The resulting "rift" between the two left a very sour taste in the mouths of both companies, which still has repercussions to this day - witness FCP, which would probably have never come into existance if Avid and Apple today had the same relationship they had in the beginning times.  

christopher@fearlesstv.com:

Editdroid, what happened to that ?

Editdroid was a pre-ILM George Lucas developed product, and essentially became the ancestor of Media Composer.

christopher@fearlesstv.com:

 I never saw a Lisa so I presume it was on a IIc. Editdroid, what happened to that ?

The Lisa was a precursor to the Macintosh, before the first Mac, Mac Plus, and Mac SE. 

Here's a link to the Wiki article:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Lisa

Editdroid:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EditDroid

This was at a time when PCs were perceived as being for number crunchers, and Apples were for creative type.

.- This wrong and outdated perception still exists.

Cut my first projects on a crash-assembly-edit top-load 3/4" system, using a Kaypro 4 for graphics!  Went on to Convergence, CMX, etc.  I jumped into early non-linear with a Digital F/X setup (anyone remember Composium?!) wherein I'd digitize the footage and edit in a non-linear fashion, then use the resultant EDL (which my Mac Quadra would spit out on a properly formatted CMX floppy, btw) at a traditional post house, or conform right there with the Digital F/X controlling the decks and inserting graphics (including frame by frame animation!) right there in my suite.

...and I wasn't in the room, but when Apple went to the funky G-4 Avid didn't have the PCI slots to run everything and was forced to create the external PCI configuration.  I'm pretty sure Avid saw the danger in having all their CPU eggs in one basket at that time, as well as the FCP writing on the wall.  I'm gratified at how Avid ultimately responded to these business developments in a strategically sensible way, offering all computer users everywhere a polished platform-agnostic editing tool.

"Avid ultimately responded to these business developments in a strategically sensible way, offering all computer users everywhere a polished platform-agnostic editing tool."

I wish they would really do this and make their hardware usable by 3rd party apps! What is wrong with this stupid company?If they want to sell hardware why don't they make it compatible? I have 36 suites I would love to equip with hardware that works with both FCP and Avid. We're settling for MXO boxes because Avid won't step up to the plate.

well, there you go.   (as an aside, I'm sitting in front of a Frankenstein Avid/FCP/Premiere contraption using Mojo SDI and Kona LHe to great effect.  Admittedly, I only have one suite. Yes, two different hardware boxes.  And entirely different ways those apps interact/don't play nice with the hardware attached. My clients don't care, and the investment is negligable)

When I think of the horrors of even cabling my Ampex 1" suite - not mentioning the sync concerns and stuff -  I feel like kissing my mouse. But I resist.

Intestingly (maybe) I just found an Avid Effects manual from Media Composer 5.2 (1994)... It looks quite different, but also remarkably similar.

Avid 99:

Does anybody remember the first Montage system?

Indeed - we used (loose term) a Montage attached to 3 SP Beta decks.  It was so clunky and slow to use that the SP decks went into circulation and the PC (DX2-66 I think) became a database with mine sweeper!  Happy days.  Then the station bought a Collage by Pixel Power (? I think) for graphics.  At the time of delivery they were promising their next product to include non-linear edit capability as well as its CG features.  Never saw it or know if it ever came out...

I've got a coffee mug with Panasonic Postbox MX on it that is still working reliably after 15 years.  I have to install fresh coffee every time I want to use it and if you use a straw, you can drink the coffee from any part of the mug - non linear drinking.  A "replace" or "undo" function is not advisable - in that case you need to flush its cache and start again.

This is a great thread, thanks for starting it.

I used just about all those systems when I working in Atlanta. I spent many, many hours grinding away on the first Montage doing commercials, corporates, docos and promos. Job baskets full of tapes - a lot of clatter in that machine room when it was running!  A slow day was when you lost a few decks and were down to 12 or so Betas. It was a revolutionary and very filmic machine compared to linear tape. I remember the EMC device as the big competitor to Avid in the beginning. The Edit Droid was a remarkably elegant system. The late 80's / very early 90's was an explosive time in the editing business.  It was also a sad time as we watched the old warhorses of the film days slowly retired . . . a new and amazing digital revolution had begun.

If you had told me then that I would be doing a reasonable portion of my work from home and sending it to ad agencies anywhere in the world via the internet (what is that?) I would have thought you were totally crazy . . . 

The way back machine.  WOW !!!

I am holding in my hands a Certificate of Accomplishment from Avid Technology dated Spring 1992.  It states "you have successfully completed Avid Course 101, Introduction to Media Composer Editing."  Instructor Darlene Allen.  Vice President David P. Aucoin.

Just a few weeks prior to this, the Mississippi production company I was employed by had purchased the system. If I remember correctly, the purchase price was somewhere around $80,000. I vividly remember the boss man stating "I coulda had a couple of BMWs for the price of this thing".  As the Avid came in the front door, our 8-plate Steinbeck and mag recorders were being loaded into a van at the back door.  A major shift had taken place. Through our learning curve and a few dumb mistakes, we had clients referring to the Avid as "divA".

All was good in the world of editorial.

However, the most exciting day for me was when we realized that it was possible to transmit an EDL from the Avid directly into our Sony 9000 edit controller, and proceed to online with the greatest of ease.  Very cool !!!

It wasn't long before we had two or three Avid suites running and the rest is history . . .

I seem to remember that the 1st Avid I saw had a verrry poor image quality. Does any one know when the 1st viewable AVR codecs came out?