Hey everyone…   

Great news!!!!!   Avid DS v10.2 has been released and is now live on both the Download Center and avid.com!!!!   

Upgrade Eligibility

- Customers who own DS 10.x software are eligible to download the DS 10.2 software at no charge from the Avid.com Download Center, starting August 31, 2009.

- Customers with a valid Avid support contract are eligible to download the DS 10.2 software from the Assurance download page, starting August 31, 2009.

- Customers with DS 8.x or earlier software may purchase a DS 10.2 software upgrade for $3849.

The software is available in two locations

1.       Avid Download Center for DS 10.x customer with valid support contracts.

2.       avid.com Download Center for DS customers that are currently running DS 10.x

Features and Enhancements

Avid DS 10.2 software also includes a lot of important new features and enhancements.  Some examples of these are:

- Advanced conform with a new AVX™2 architecture, making new plug-ins available to DS customers and greatly improving the workflow with Avid® Media Composer® and Avid Symphony® projects.

- Reduce capture time by 2 with Sony® SRW-5800 double speed playback, enabling capture of HD 4:2:2 formats at double the speed when using the SRW-5800 tape deck

- Improved workflow for RED™ projects, including import of audio contained in .r3d clips, the ability to save RED file setting to an RLX file, and support for the RED SDK v1.6.

- New Graphics-Link mode for playback of high-resolution sequences on an external monitor. This provides 10-bit 4:4:4 RGB color-managed display on a computer monitor or external monitor. Improved 2K playback provides true real-time playback on all variants of 2K frame size. This feature requires an NVIDIA Quadro FX 4600, FX 4800 or FX 5600 graphics card.

       NOTE 1: This feature is supported on the HP Z800 and the HP xw8600 with a qualified graphics card.

       It is not supported on other installed base systems.

       NOTE 2: This feature requires a new license file.

- HSL Keyer effect enhancements, with improved clipping and softness adjustments to Hue, Saturation and Luminence.

- And a lot more….

For a complete look at the features and enhancements included in Avid DS 10.2, please see the ReadMe document located with the download files or located on the Knowledge Base.  

Important Notes: 

- The Avid DS Support site has also been updated at http://aviddssupport.avid.com/ in support of Avid DS v10.2.    Sylvain rocks!!!!

- This release adds support for the new HP Z800 workstation and many other workflow, timeline and FX enhancements.

- Although Avid will begin shipping DS 10.2 software beginning August 31, 2009, the formallaunch will not occur until the week of September 7, 2009.  Web page updates, customer communications and other launch activities will occur at that time. 

Happy downloading and upgrading all……

Questions, comments…. post to the list.

Marianna

I neither own nor operate a DS, but as a client who may have to online long form from time to time, capturing a tape at double speed is freakin' amazing.  Just out of curiosity, what kind of theoretical bandwith is needed to do that for 4:4:4?

My understanding it that it doesn't work with 4:4:4.  It sends 2 streams of 4:2:2 over both links.

That is correct.  Dual speed capture is 4:2:2 and from a Sony 5800 only.

Does "Graphics-Link Mode" specifically not work with the FX5800 cards, or just not tested?

Yeah, I figured it had to utilize the dual link bandwith in order to do double speed, I was just wondering if anyone in the development department had done the math to figure out how many links 4:4:4 would take.  Quite a bit I'd imagine.  Very cool though.

Yes, it was tested but there is a bit of work required to fully support the extended memory on the FX5800 card. Plus, the power supply currently used in the Z800 is not sufficient for this "hungry" card.

Engineering plan to add the FX5800 to the qualified list later.

The FX5800 requires the optional 1110w power supply.

That is correct but it is not sufficient to validate its use just yet.  Engineering says that they need to do additional work to correctly detect the onboard RAM on the FX5800, and to obtain proper performances.

Please, do not just assume that using the bigger power supply is the solution.

C'mon Sylvain, you know us .... bleeding edge thrill seekers ...

Hi,

I asked this question on DS list but no luck so I try again.

Can you use this route: FX 4800 - Displayport-dreamcolor to monitor interlaced projects? If not how can you do that with the Dream color display?

Thanks,

Laurentiu