Chat With Avid

Transferring projects to a new computer

Tstep — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 19:45:40 GMT

I got a Mac that I want to use for editing projects with Xpress DV. Since my current project is on my old PC, I copied the project and settings to the Mac, and copied the OMFI files into a external hard drive, which is now connected to the Mac. When I open the project, though, I can't get the sound and video to play in sync. The audio plays, but the video freezes on one point and will not move forward like the audio. Does anyone know what I did wrong?

Promote DNxHD as an Acquisition Format?

BobbyMurcerFan — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:53:53 GMT

DNxHD is an excellent codec by all accounts. Has Avid considered promoting it as an acquisition (camera recording) format instead of merely an editing one? Avid obviously makes DNxHD chips and I am aware that the Ikegami Editcam records DNxHD 145, but this seems to be the only example of a camera using DNxHD.

Convergent Design uses Sony MPEG-2 chips in their wildly successful nanoFlash and FlashXDR recorders, but I believe DNxHD is a better codec. And while AMA makes working with other codecs easier, I have to think that there would be still advantages to working with native DNxHD files from both an editorial and a finishing point of view.

Finally, it also seems like a good way to get the Avid name out there and get camera and field recorder users to consider MC/Symphony/DS over the competition.

Does this make any sense? Thanks much.

Avid and AJA? - KiPro

jef — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 02:22:37 GMT

I realize that Avid does not want to give the hardware profit of IO to AJA just yet, but I must say that I am very worried about the AJA KiPro product.

I see this tool driving a whole lot of production to FCP based on the fact that KiPro currently creates only Apple ProRes files.

Why can't Avid form SOME partnership with AJA and get DNxHD as an option for the KiPro device? Has AJA made a deal with the devil (Apple) that is so tight that AJA won't even talk with Avid? Or is Avid so closed minded as to not see that helping film makers create easily used, high quality files in the field is in their best interest?

The AMA technology is a good idea. But getting even closer to the camera - in such a manner as the KiPro does - seems to be a no brainer. The current strengths of AMA are on codecs that were developed by the camera manufacturers - Sony mainly. Do we think that Apple will write an app for Avid to support AMA?

Who is the roadblock here? Avid - publicly offer AJA a free DNxHD license. You will profit handsomely on the back end.

Thanks,

Jef

Price Needed

J.Reed — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 00:10:54 GMT

What would be a ballpark retail figure on this system and would it be the correct system to run the Symphony Nitris software on?

HP turnkey platform

HP XW8600 Workstation
Dual Quad Core Xeon 3.00 GHz processors
500GB SATA 3G/s 7200rpm system drive
4GB system memory
NVidia Quadro FX3700 512MB PCIe graphics adapter
Microsoft Windows Vista Business SP1 (64 bit)

One other thing....would I be able to upgrade to Windows 7 on this system when the new platform comes out?

Thnx,

Cross-fade problem

Gilliam — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:39:49 GMT

Hope you will be able to assist me with my problem. I previously used Avid Liquid version 6 and noticed that the cross-fades didn’t work (it used to work and this is the only kind of ‘fade’ that I use between my scenes when editing my wedding videos). All the other types of fades work, just not the cross-fades.

I upgraded to version 7.2 but this didn’t solve the problem. I have already uninstalled the programmes, re-installed it, formatted my drives, put in a new graphics card, but the problem still occurs.

Do you have any suggestions what the problem may be or what I can do?

When Will Product Feature Requests be Overhauled?

BobbyMurcerFan — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 10:25:10 GMT

It was mentioned in the May 2009 Chat with Avid response that Avid is evaluating different options for getting input from customers on the priority of features requests.

While I can appreciate that voting can introduce problems like ballot box "stuffing," in its current state Product Feature Requests remains poorly implemented. (I've expressed this sentiment in the following thread, which includes well thought out dissenting points of view. http://community.avid.com/forums/p/61764/392163.aspx#392163)

The problem with the current layout is that it is one forum with no subforums. This is problematic because new product features frequently take years to implement. One flat forum coupled with the long lag time between requests and implementation causes even very useful/important suggestions to sift towards the back and become difficult to locate. This results in the following:

1. Duplicated request. It is very frustrating to see posts like "MC Needs Secondary Color Correction" to be recycled. The new poster has wasted their time b/c the request has already been made. And more experienced users usually stop posting useful suggestions or workarounds because they are well aware that the request has been made before and don't feel like repeating themselves.

2. "Lost" requests. For example, I've posted requesting improvements to vectorscopes and waveform monitors. I have no idea what's going on with these suggestions. I'd have to do a forum search and I doubt there is any feedback from Avid. A few weeks ago I was at an Avid MC 4.0 presentation and asked an Avid presenter about disabling individual effects and some other features. He very reasonably suggested "Why not make a product feature request?" I didn't have to heart to tell him that I've already made a product feature requests about other issues and have grown to find the whole experience rather demoralizing (except in a few cases) because of the lack of feedback and the insane hoops that have to be jumped through to illustrate that workarounds, while very helpful and much appreciated, are almost never equal to the functionality that would be provided if the request were actually implemented. (He had worked long and hard all night tirelessly explaining the benefits of 4.0 and MC to a full house and didn't need to hear me complain.)

3. The forum is hard to sift through. As it stands now, product feature requests are listed first-in first-out. FIFO is very poor way to organize data. It winds up resembling someone else's cluttered desk. This does not help users who want to check to see if a request has already been made or who are searching for workarounds. But just as important, it doesn't help Avid. Let's say Avid wants to improve color correction in MC. There is no "Color Correction" section of Product Feature Requests, so a forum search has to be performed. Forum searches are tedious, often times miss posts and include false positives. Now you can say that Avid knows what needs to be added to MC's color correction capabilities and has its own internal list. But isn't Avid supposed to be listening to its customers more now and not assuming it knows exactly what we want? Isn't there information, ideas and nuances that Avid could find useful in Product Feature Requests threads? If so, then having the forum better organized only helps Avid.

4. Communication is stifled. The best communication takes place over time. This allows for a legitimate dialog. Currently, product feature requests often arises out of moments of inspiration or frustration, they gain traction for a few days and then lose steam. There is no continuity of discussion so ideas rarely become fully developed or vetted among the user community.

5. Symphony, DS and Mac platforms are neglected. Because the majority of Avid users run MC on PC platforms, suggestions related specifically to other setups are especially hard to find.

6. Disillusionment. Users stop posting requests because it's a frustrating process for the reasons noted above.

New Thinking was explained to us as Avid listening to customers, taking them seriously and communicating with them when appropriate. One would think that Product Feature Requests would play a key role in such an effort. But the forum's current incarnation makes this just about impossible.

I would like to suggest a Product Feature Requests forum something along the lines of the following:

1. A separate sub-section for DS. There is no reason to have DS and MC/Symphony share the same section when they share almost no code base and have significantly different interfaces.

2. Subforums within the MC/Symphony section, such as:

Audio

Color Correction

DVD Creation

Effects

External Hardware (Avid and 3rd Party)

Film/Matchback

Formats, Codecs and Camera Support

GUI

Marquee and Title Tool

Media Management, Capture and AMA

Rendering, Performance and Installation

Timeline

Everything Else

3. Have separate sections for Symphony-only and Mac-only suggestions.

A layout of this type would help alleviate the problems noted above. As for voting and more feedback from Avid, those would be welcome additions but have more complexity.

Thank you very much for reading this post and I look forward to Avid's reply.

Possible to steal software activations...

Dave G — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 07:47:38 GMT

I've purchased 7 copies of Media Composer 4 to install in our computer lab at school. I am concerned by the software activation because it seems very easy for someone to steal an activation from our labs.

When the software is registered, the system ID and activation code is necessary for the software to authenticate and activate over the 'net.

The problem is:

Start the Avid software (which has already been activated by an administrator) and load a project
Select "deactivate" to release the license, but don't clear registration data
Relaunch the software and select online activation
All of the necessary licensing information (the system ID and activation code) is viewable cleartext and able for anyone to copy down and use on their own computers to steal the activation

The solution is:

Please mask all or part of the activation key (ie: password masking)

Although the information is still in the system and can be used for reactivating without re-entering the code if it's accidentally deactivated, it can't be copied back off of the screen.

Thanks!

Dave

Avid DVD Sonic -10000 Error

Paul Winkle — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:57:35 GMT

When i try to burn a dvd i get a -10000 Access denied error. I am log in on a limited account as it is on a college campus. What folders is Avid trying to get to that are not being allowed to access

avid xpress pro 5.7 with windows 7

johnvu — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:51:05 GMT

recently I load AVID Xpress pro 5.5 in windows 7. Whwn play , only sound was heard, there was no picture.? Can some one help??

How Can I Import ASF. Files in Avid

Steve B — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:14:35 GMT

I use Avid Liquid version 7.2 Build (4296) and have been using this program for 6 years. I want to import and edit asf files. Is that possible without converting them first?

back to hardware dongle

Jesper Truelsen — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 20:55:37 GMT

Is it possible to go back to the hardware dongle!?

Let's Ask Out Kirk ;)

BobbyMurcerFan — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 08:58:39 GMT

I think we've expressed our appreciation and frustrations with Avid pretty well. While the dialogue should continue here, IMHO, how about a face-to-face with Kirk the next time she finds herself in LA?

We'll buy! Maybe first take her over to Terry's (I don't know him so I hope I didn't just put him out) and discuss MC, Symphony, etc. with the boxes in front of us. And then just have an opportunity to relax and talk in a more comfortable setting.

What do you say Kirk, will you go out with us?

batching a 50i rolling title to a25p project

bachul — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 09:37:40 GMT

Hi !

I try to batch a 1080/50i rolling title in a 1080/25p project, in order to make a 25p output of the movie i work for..

Of course, whebn i try to re-open the initial sequence in my new project, there comes an error message explaining the initial source is not at the wright format..

Do you have any idea of how to proceed ?

Thank you for your answers

Software Engineer contact?

cable — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 18:05:54 GMT

Greetings,

We are a file based commercial and film studio and have found moving data to the Avid's/Unity's to be too time consuming. We have written our own code to create MXF's and metadata to streamline the process. This works very well for us as we have a large render farm that is used to create the MXF's. However, we are interested in creating AAF's with embedded essence but are having trouble with the Avid's reading them even though as far as we can tell they should work.

Is there a way to discuss this with an engineer? Hire an engineer? Somehow work with Avid on this? Any tips? In short, what options are there for a studio like us to obtain development assistance from Avid?

Trevor Cable

Laika, Inc

Portland, OR

Chat With Avid Forum Responses - August 2009

Kirk Arnold — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 21:23:38 GMT

Hi everyone,

It’s hard to believe that it has been nearly 3 months since we last posted our responses to your questions. This quarter it looks like we have fewer questions and I suspect some of that has to do with the format of this forum, but more on that later.

Just as I did last quarter, I have enlisted the help of several experts from Avid’s product groups to provide information on some of the more technical topics. Responses to your questions are posted on a separate thread on this forum.

As I looked at your questions and posts there was lots of great feedback but some common themes jumped out at me. Number one, we need to do a better job of not only telling you and the market about interoperability between our audio and video solutions but we also need to help educate you on how to optimize these workflows and give you a better sense of “what is in it for you”. The second thing I picked up on is that while many of you agree that we are starting to make some progress in the area of openness, we need to accelerate our efforts in this area and expand our support for third parties and provide more timely updates.

I want to thank you for your thoughtful comments and suggestions. Your feedback, whether in this forum, in an email or in a casual conversation is always valuable to me but even more so now. In case you may not have heard, I have recently taken on an expanded role at Avid and now have the newly consolidated video and audio product organization as part of my operations group. In the months ahead, I look forward to taking your feedback and working with my team and others to act on that feedback.

I also wanted to take a minute to let you know that last month I had the chance to personally meet with a group of members from this forum at an impromptu meeting in LA. Thanks to community members like BobbyMurcerFan who made the original suggestion and TCurren at Alpha Dogs for allowing us to use his studio. I was able to take a few product folks along with me to the meeting. We had a great time and had a chance to hear some honest and direct feedback straight from folks in their own environment. I am also looking forward to meeting with other customers who are part of the Boston Avid User Group at their meeting this week on the east coast. Please let me know if there is a place where a few of you might be gathering – I or other leaders who are in the area - would be happy to set up an informal chat with you. It is a great opportunity for us!

As I mentioned last quarter, we are exploring new ways to reach our customers and next quarter I promise we will do something different. I can’t promise that I can attend every user or community group meeting but I can promise we will do something a little bit more personal and interactive.

Stay tuned and keep your feedback coming!

Kirk

EDITORS NOTE: There are eight questions and answer pairs in this month's response titled

“Q2 Chat with Avid Forum - Questions & Responses”

Provide More Information on Integrating ProTools w/ NLE Apps

BobbyMurcerFan — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 07:54:46 GMT

Avid owns the consensus best video editing and audio platforms. The reorganization of the company was designed to offer tighter integration across product lines and brands.

While Media Composer and Symphony users cry about limited audio tools, many of them would (begrudingly) opt for adding ProTools to their systems--even if they are not going to perform true audio mixing and finishing.

But Avid has yet to provide a clear presentation of EXACTLY how to integrate ProTools into an MC workflow. What version of ProTools is needed? What does it offer? What are all these different external boxes like MBox? Etc.

I'm not really asking for piecemeal explanation of these ?'s, though that would be nice.

What I am doing is saying that Avid is clearly not marketing ProTools effectively to its own NLE users. You have an audio product that should be able to meet the needs of your NLE customer base, yet ProTools is so poorly marketed and explained to us, that we often times use non-Avid audio solutions.

In short we are a captive audio tool client base that you have chosen to keep captive by not improving MC and Symphony's audio tools nearly enough. But you fail to actually market and CLEARLY EXPLAIN how your audio tool products can benefit us.

AVID hardware exchange program?

Markku — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 22:02:55 GMT

Is there one?

Was wondering why not as Digidesign has their harware exchange program. Wouldn't it make sense. Lots of old Mojo DNAs with customers (or SDIs) and who might upgrade to whatever if they were offered a nice exchange program. Good companies reward loayal customers.

Just a thought.

How is Avid faring in this tough economy? - Response

Kirk Arnold — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 17:18:53 GMT

I wanted to take a quick minute to say thank-you for all of your comments and questions to date - keep them coming! I’ve taken a look at all of the questions posted to the forum and instead of waiting until our scheduled Q&A in early May, I want to take this opportunity to answer a couple of questions that are particularly time sensitive.

How is Avid faring in this tough economy? Will we see more contraction/consolidation? Do you see the product line staying the same for the foreseeable future?

There is no question that this tough economy brings challenges for many of us, both as individuals and as businesses. In the last year, I think many of us have had to take a fresh look at not only the way we manage our businesses but how we conduct our lives and plan for the future. At Avid we were very fortunate that we had already started our business transformation before the downward shift in the global economy. In the third quarter of last year we implemented a number of more efficient processes and made some structural changes, including a reduction in force and the divestiture of business lines that were no longer a fit within our core video and audio strategies. This and our strong balance sheet are helping us to manage our business more effectively and address the economic challenges ahead of us. We are keeping a close watch and will continue to evaluate and implement programs to help us achieve greater efficiency allowing us to continue to invest in our commitment to customer service and the Avid solutions we deliver to our customers.

As I mentioned above, the changes in the economy have forced many of us to alter the way we do business and go about our lives. Constantly changing consumer behavior patterns, emergence of new technology players with more efficient and innovative technologies and the need for strong ROI on any major undertaking has created an environment that is not only rich with challenges but also opportunities. We are working closely with our customers to help find new ways to address their near-term challenges. At the same time, we are also working to understand the long-term implications and the opportunities that come with these changes. As we emerge from this economic period, there will likely be permanent changes in the way media is viewed or listened to, and we want to ensure that we can assist you in fulfilling these needs. I don’t expect you’ll see radical changes to our product lines in the near-term, but we are keeping an eye on a host of emerging opportunities.

I'm interested in your thoughts.

avid and students in europe

Frevan — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 12:37:59 GMT

Hi,

we are currently looking for new editors for our ENG-department. What we notice is that a lot of students don't know avid anymore. They all have FCP instead of avid. Is there a strategy to turn this around? They all say that Avid is way to expensive to buy as a student and FCP is a lot cheaper in hardware and software.

When they start with us they all get a basic avid training from our superusers and we can quickly change them around to Avid, but i would be way easier if they had more feeling for Avid instead of FCP.

Well, if they have feeling with both programms i'm even happier.

Is MC3 right for me

adamsonn — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 18:54:02 GMT

Hello Avid

Some of you may be familiar with my 2 recent posts bemoaning the fact that some of the basic features in Avid have been giving me problems during some quite tight deadlines.

These issues have given me some thoughts that would be helpful if they were answered by Avid.

(This is also related to the numerous posts around the product positioning and the traditional professional / film market vs. the growing band of less traditional users).

So a bit about me:

I am essentially a small boutique production company that focuses on the corporate market.

Basically a 1 man operation with an affiliation to other production companies that give me access to some skills and facilities that are not really cost effective for me to own myself (sound studios, animation skills etc).

Excluding my video and lighting equipment my post production suite really consists of 3 machines - 1 * Avid edit suite, 1 * Liquid Edit Suite and a general catch all PC that is connected to the Internet and mail etc.

All three are networked and the Internet PC is hopefully firewalled sufficently to stop any viruses from finding their way onto the other 2 machines.(holding thumbs)

The editing machines each have DVD IT / Photoshop and other sundry complementary editing apps installed on them so I can work between them and send files between PC's whilst renders are underway or DVD's are being compiled etc.

Simple and small and reasonably manageable.

No SAN or file servers are in place and no multi-user environments or unity's or Mojo's (which I miss not having the real time preview) are used.

I do corporate videos and adverts - generally I deliver on DVD, but adverts need to go out as QT files or on mini DV (well thats all I can give them).

Being married there is a rule from my wife that I produce an annual family video as well - that is about the sum total of the consumer work I do - but it gives me a chance to play around without a deadline and to learn new stuff and like the cobblers children's shoes it usually takes a long time to complete - longer than my wife would like anyway. But it is a test bed for me.

I orginally moved to Avid MC because Liquid was going EOL and even though it met all my needs (and still does) I realised that over time this would diminish and I would be left behind.

I could have gone to the competition (except FC as I am not an Apple shop) but I chose MC3 because of the reasonably attractive upgrade path which implicitly said MC3 is a suitable replacement for Liquid.

I like working with MC3 - the workflow is good, the media management in bins is good and I really dont have a problem with the editing process.

But

It is becoming apparent that Avid maybe to fussy for my requirements.

It appears to be (in hindsight) an enterprise application that needs dedicated support and specific and sometimes (in my part of the world) hard to get hardware.I.e. great in the corporate world - not so good in smaller companys.

At this moment I feel that maybe MC3's real home is the big movie production house and us smaller concerns should look at other options - options that are not built with such extensive molly-coddling in mind.

Really I would like Avid to say either one of the following so that I can understand where I am and not have to bug the forum members all the time with issues which, to me, should be accepted as they will just work.

1. Neil - Avid never was designed for your requirements and it is a tool better used in a large production house with big budgets and support teams who dont need to know what the obscure error messages mean because they have onsite technical support who will sort this out and they will always use exactly the right hardware.We would suggest that you go elsewhere for an editor that will operate under less formal specifications.

2. Neil - we are serious about trying to service a market like yours (along with our other more traditional customers) and as such we are busy ensuring that the application stability and fussiness is addressed so that we can compete in this market with a product that does not require specilaised skills and expertise.

Either answer will be fine - I just want to know where I stand in the eyes of Avid.

Bullets to shoot at the competition

luca.mg — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 05:47:33 GMT

I just want to bring to the attention of Kirk THIS thread from the feature request forum.

Avid, your sluggish certification process is driving me off the wall

red ant — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 14:07:48 GMT

reposted from the Mac forum at the suggestion of another user . here is part 1:

----

Hello AVID,

I recently bought Avid MC 3.5 upgrade from Xpress Pro.

I'm running it on a machine I have from a loaner, a 17" Mac Book Pro as listed in my specs.

The thing is my loaner is coming to an end and I looked at getting a certified PC laptop.

But I have my reservations about Vista, and going back to an 8-year old OS (XP Pro) feels kind of annoying after the pleasures of OSX.

Besides, I prefer Lenovo over every other PC laptop and your only Lenovo certified laptop (T61p) is a bit long in the tooth.

So I decided, ok, I can live with Mac laptop's flaws and get myself a new system.

But then I go and consult your outdated (Feb 23, 09) list of Avid certified systems.

I don't understand it. There are a lot of contradictions.

First, your top qualified system requires a 7200 rpm drive, which is not available in stores, but it's a customization. Fine, I'll order that and wait for delivery.

Then, you say that I can use both the 9400M or 9600 graphics adapter on the MacBook Pro. But you don't certify other models (13" for example) that use the 9400M graphics adapter.

Turns out, some machines have BOTH adapters, and one runs on the PCI bus, the other on the PCie bus. Cand you really run on both, or is the PCIe one required?

When I ask why I can't run the small MBP, a fiendly user advises that I should avoid integrated graphics (9400M).

ON the other hand, you do certify the 24" iMac which uses (guess what!) the 9400M graphics card.

So i go to the Apple store today looking for a suitable system. The kid is like a drug pusher, "I got this stuff, and then I got this better stuff-- this is my favorite stuff". Suddently I'm looking at a $3K+ 17" MacBook Pro with anti glare screen-- of course, the hard drive is still slow. But i get to poke around the machines and discover what's under the hood-- something your certified worksheet didn't tell me.

The kid is looking out for #1 (himself), trying to score the biggest possible sale. He doesn't know a thing about Avid, but he would love to sell me Final Cut Studio for $1600 plus, plus, plus.

He also advises against the 9400M adapter for Final Cut. Even though another kid tried to sell me an Imac with the 9400M adapter a few months ago as the best bang for the buck for FCP-- maybe that's why I didn't find him at the story today, probably he was fired for recommending customers a good deal instead of the most expensive crap.

Anyway, I have priorities of my own-- i want to get a good value and not more than I really need. I want to run Avid MC 3.5. and I don't want to pay a big commission to a sales rep. I want to say I have the best bang for the buck in my mobile editing system, which also doubles (such is life) as general business laptop.

But you, AVID, are not helping me do this. You give me limited options for systems that are 6 months old and I don't understand what other possibilities I have. I don't understand how to beat the Apple Store. I don't understand how to get the best bang for my buck. Do you want me to quit and move to another system?

I have Avid projects I'm still working on living on my hard drive. I had the chance to pay only $500 for a sweet MC 3.5 upgrade. But If I had to start from scratch, I would avoid the headaches and get myself Final Cut Pro in a machine that would run it and forget the @#!@$!@! headaches.

...

Please, help me out here. Update your certified systems more often. At least quarterly. Give us more choices. You want to beat Final Cut? MAKE IT EASY TO BUY A MACHINE THAT RUNS AVID. IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW GOOD YOUR SOFTWARE IS IF YOU CAN'T FIND THE RIGHT HARDWARE TO RUN IT.

What kind of graphics adapter do I really need? Can i run on a 5400 rpm drive as long as my media is on a 7200rpm? Can I use a small laptop screen provided I attach to an external monitor? What's essential? What's optional? Why can't you give me a straight, reasoned answer, that gives me some options? How hard is it, really, to test out more systems than you do?

Thanks for listening. Now please do something about this. Your outdated certified machines are driving me completely nuts. PUBLISH AN UPDATE ALREADY.

And while you're at it, please make sure that present and future versions of Avid and ProTools don't clash with each other when livng on the same machine. You did that to me with Xpress Pro. Now I'm taking a leap of faith that you won't repeat that sillliness.

Anyway, end (almost) of rant, but I have wasted hour upon hour trying to figure out what computer I need to buy and you're not making it easy. Why must you punish me for choosing your product?

Please tell. I filled out an email survey today saying I had upgraded and you said thanks. Now please do something to make my life with you a little easier.

3rd Party Hardware I/O?

vpcmike — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 22:29:20 GMT

Kirk -

Very nice to see you and the new management taking an active part of the forum. Welcome!

My biggest complaint about Avid is it's inability to work wiith 3rd pary hardware for input/output/monitoring. If you look at all of the ads for companies like Decklink, AJA, Motu, Matrox, etc., they all tout that they work with Adobe Premiere and Apple Final Cut Pro. Us Avid users are stuck with the Mojo (with it's consumer connectors), Mojo SDI, and now the Mojo DX and Nitris DX. The Nitris DX is a great device for all I/O, and in my opinion priced fairly reasonably for all of the features that it provides. But will Avid and its "New Thinking" open up their architecture to let Media Composer work with those same cards and devices as the other editors use? I would love to buy a Decklink or an AJA that has much more capability than a mojo for the same (or even cheaper) price.

Please give us the option to use I/O hardware other than Avid brand OEM devices.

My 10 cents

editmk — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 13:31:13 GMT

Hi.

First thank you so much for inventing an industry and bringing us what we have today which is incredible.

The industry is changing and Avid has responded with new shared storage, media compatibility and hardware such as Mojo and Nitris DX. However there is another part of the industry which is growing. I am an editor who post produces prime time broadcast programmes from my home and I am not alone. Budgets continue to drop and production companies who don't want the hassle of running their own facilities are looking for ways to cut costs. Editors with their own equipment are increasingly becoming the solution.

Although I am very impressed with your new hardware and back end servers it really means very little to me. I am never going to need or be able to justify the expense of a huge shared storage system. What I care about is my editing software.

What I want is an overhaul of Avid Media Composer. Currently it feels old. Waveforms update are slow as are timeline updates in general. In too many occasions I have to look for 3rd party applications like Media Manager, Switch and Prism for example to find solutions to fill Avid shortcomings.

Take graphics for example. The title tool was obviously inadequate and when you purchased Soft Image you plugged in Marquee. Solution you thought. However it has many flaws least of which is it that its timeline works differently to Avid. It should have been rewritten to fit properly.

The effects tool is another example. When you first introduced it, it was sufficient for the limited effects available. As the software grew you modified it and added the new curves. But have you tried using it recently? Everything is too small. Adjusting a curve just isn't easy.

The problem with the software I believe is in that has been built up over decades and bits have been bolted on. Not truly integrated. What I believe is needed is a new Avid Media Composer, 64 bit and with full multiprocessor support, rewritten from the ground up with the current tool set redesigned but logical for an avid editor.

Like a full screen effects tool with bigger curves. A title tool which is integrated not bolted on. Waveforms and thumbnails that cache.

Furthermore we need to see innovation not just in the hardware department but in the editing interface too. As a Sony EX3 owner I love the way you handled the integration with this new hardware option but we need more of that.

Automation for example. Linear edit suites had macros 15 years ago when I started in the industry. This is a feature which Photoshop has had for years now. I could save so much time with some simple automation.

Speaking of Photoshop, like editing a title by clicking the top left icon of the effect tool, I should be able to launch Photoshop and make adjustments to Photoshop documents from within avid. Then once saved in Photoshop I could jump back into avid with the changes I have just made transferred across.

How about being able to bring HD rushes into a SD project and then enabling resizes without quality loss. Like Avid Pan and Zoom does with images but with video. While we are at it, Avid Pan and Zoom is inadequate. I use Hi res images all the time. I should be able to rotate them for example.

How about shutting down the system after a long render, enabling me to leave my system rendering and get some sleep knowing my machine won't be on all night. SMS when render completes, a problem occurs or a tape change is needed during digitizing enabling me to leave my machine working knowing I will be kept informed.

Look, I love Avid and I am one of its staunchest advocates but we need some major input into the editing interface now. We need to bring it up to date functionally and even aesthetically. We need it to be a truly multi processor compatible 64 bit editing environment.

I believe it is what will help with the battle with FCP.

Thanks again for everything so far.

Mike Green

train the trainer courses

DAE — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 13:31:30 GMT

Hello,

I work at Carleton Univeristy in Ottawa and am trying to find out if there are any courses for "training the trainer" in an acedemic setting. I know there is one for Media Composer (train the trainer), but I'm looking for something for Newscutter that will help me train journalism students. I know there is the Avid certification course, but I'm looking for something more along the lines of "how to teach", not so much for technical training.

Any help, info or advice would be fantastic.

Cheers,

Dave