I've just ordered a new rig with an AMD Phenom 9850 Quad Core processor (4 gigs of RAM).  Now, I've heard that Avid has decided to discontinue Xpress Pro HD (which I've been using up untill this point) in favor of making Avid Media Composer their new, lower end but professional NLE and have cut the price in half. 

I was all set to go ahead and invest in AMC 3.0 but now I'm hearing that the Intel Processor's are required as well as very specific NVidia cards (I'm getting an 8800GT) and Windows XP Pro.  I can't help but find this a bit frustrating and I'm curious if anyone has gotten MC 3.0 to run well on an AMD system.  It just seems odd that they decide to try to market MC to the previous Xpress Pro users but don't do anything to make it any more flexable. 

Is it even worth it?  What kind of advantages does AMC 3.0 have over Xpress Pro 5.8?

Hi,

You heard right about Xpress Pro being discontinued, and you also heard right about the system requirements for Media Composer.

You might be able to get it to work with AMD processors, and if you search the forums you'll find a lot of information about people using 8800 cards.  It mostly depends on how much you enjoy tweaking around with computers and how critical the system is for you.

If you're going to use it to make money and you need it to run all day every day, I'd pay close attention to the system requirements.  If you're more of a hobbyist and system stability isn't as important to you, you might be able to get it running.

As for upgrading, there are great upgrade deals on, and these pages have more information about what you get with Media Composer that you don't get with Xpress Pro.

good luck,
Carl

I'm a freelance filmmaker/videographer.  I'm getting more clients and the incredibly long encoding/rednering times are killing me so I've decided to upgrade to a new rig that's hopefully a but more future proof (in case 4k becomes more affordable in the near future). 

I'm a bit frustrated though as it seems I don't have many options.  I'd like my NLE to be able to take advantage of a Quad-Core processor which Xpress Pro doesn't do and to be able to handle some of the upgrades in the future.  I've used Avid for years and this is really the first time I've ever considered moving to a different NLE.  It's a shame because I'm very comfortable with their workflow and media management. 

I'm just not sure what they expect someone in my position to do.  When I heard about the MC price but, I thought it was a smart way to reach out to some of the lower end people but now it seems like they're abandoning that market alltogether.  I really don't want to switch over to Premiere but there may not be any other option if Xpress Pro is discontinued and MC3.0 won't work on with my hardware.

 Carl is quite correct when he points out attention to system requirements. So far, pre 3.0, users with non-qualified hardware have had a 50/50 chance - some have been lucky, some have not. And even if it works initially, there's no guarantee for stability in the long run. I would imagine the same circumstances would apply to 3.0 as well. So it now becomes a question of how much are you willing to invest in your growing business? It sounds like you would be able to amortize a $15,000 investment fairly quickly - meaning Media Composer DX Nitris or $10,000 for MC DX Mojo. Both will give you both the processing and performance speed improvements you're looking for.  If you don't need analog inputs and outputs, Mojo DX would fit you just fine.

MalachiX:

I've heard that Avid has decided to discontinue Xpress Pro HD (which I've been using up untill this point) in favor of making Avid Media Composer their new, lower end but professional NLE and have cut the price in half.

 ...You see ? Here we go again. This is precisely the perception (And Schizophrenia) Avid must deal with and what will color the threads for years to come. If you lower the price on MC (Which I'm glad Avid did), the perception out their amoung Prosumer-Consumer type editors who are coming off Xpress Pro or Premiere or XDV is Generic - cross hardware - General PC compatibility like they were getting in earlier versions of Premiere and other editing apps which sell for a simular lower price.

There is an opportunity for Avid to embrace a larger market by making MC more compatible across more PC's, but not Generally Compatible as a Generic Editing App like Ulead Media Studio or stuff like that.

Notice the gentleman uses the phrasiology "Media Composer their new, lower end but Professional NLE." How can something be "Professional," & "Lower End" at the same time ? Aren't these terms mutually exclusive ? No ? OK, then can someone explain it to me, because I sure would like to know where our investment is heading ?

Sorry, but that's a lot more than I'm looking to invest.  I'm frugal to be sure but I'm not making enough to justify that kind of investment.  I was looking to spend around $1200 on a new rig and then the $500 to upgrade to MC 3.0.  $10,000-$15,000 is not only far too high but it would also mean that I'd spent more on my editing system then I did on all my camera equipment.

I guess I'm curious if the Avid upper-ups realize that they're essentially telling a sizable section of their users, "nice knowing you."  There are a lot of us who got used to Avid and the Avid workflow in school and then continued to use Avid Xpress Pro after we'd graduated.  If they've decided to discointue Xpress Pro and put all energy into a system with such rigid requirments then it seems a lot of us are going to simply have to turn elsewhere which is a shame.  I've used Avid almost exclusively for the last five years.  I really don't want to switch to Premiere CS3 but it seems a lot more system friendly and it's supporting multi-threaded processors which Xpress Pro does not.  I'd like another alternative but I'm not seeing one.

 

MalachiX:

Sorry, but that's a lot more than I'm looking to invest.  I'm frugal to be sure but I'm not making enough to justify that kind of investment.  I was looking to spend around $1200 on a new rig and then the $500 to upgrade to MC 3.0.  $10,000-$15,000 is not only far too high but it would also mean that I'd spent more on my editing system then I did on all my camera equipment.

 ....You see. Here we go again. Now do you see what I'm getting at ?

 

Laptopeditor:

...You see ? Here we go again. This is precisely the perception (And Schizophrenia) Avid must deal with and what will color the threads for years to come. If you lower the price on MC (Which I'm glad Avid did), the perception out their amoung Prosumer-Consumer type editors who are coming off Xpress Pro or Premiere or XDV is Generic - cross hardware - General PC compatibility like they were getting in earlier versions of Premiere and other editing apps which sell for a simular lower price.

There is an opportunity for Avid to embrace a larger market by making MC more compatible across more PC's, but not Generally Compatible as a Generic Editing App like Ulead Media Studio or stuff like that.

Notice the gentleman uses the phrasiology "Media Composer their new, lower end but Professional NLE." How can something be "Professional," & "Lower End" at the same time ? Aren't these terms mutually exclusive ? No ? OK, then can someone explain it to me, because I sure would like to know where our investment is heading ?

I got that perception both from the lowering of price and the fact that Xpress Pro was being discointinued and very affordable upgrades were being offered to previous users.  As I said, I'm very loyal to Avid but I also have to look after my change purse.  Wrong or not, I got the impression that the new focus on MC meant that it was going to carry over the Xpress Pro users but now it seems that people in my position are just expected to go elsewhere.  I realize there is always a price to pay for a professional app such as this one a lack of any AMD support and such specialized requirements are demands that a lot of previous Xpress Pro users such as myself may not be able to meet.  I just don't really understand why Avid would be willing to essentially dismiss a big part of their user-base.

 

 

 

MalachiX:

got that perception both from the lowering of price and the fact that Xpress Pro was being discointinued and very affordable upgrades were being offered to previous users. 

 

....Of course you did Why wouldn't you get that idea ?

MalachiX:

As I said, I'm very loyal to Avid but I also have to look after my change purse.  Wrong or not, I got the impression that the new focus on MC meant that it was going to carry over the Xpress Pro users but now it seems that people in my position are just expected to go elsewhere.

....And that is just stupid on Avid's part and shouldn't be allowed to happen. You are market share my friend. What company wants to let go of that ?

MalachiX:

I just don't really understand why Avid would be willing to essentially dismiss a big part of their user-base.

...Good question. I want to understand why as well.

 But at this point, you haven't tried to install MC 3.0 on your computer. Who knows? You might turn out to be one of the lucky ones. Perhaps you know someone who already purchased the software who would be willing to let you try to install and run it on your box temporarily to see whether it will work or not before you commit to buy.

 And by the way, the software by itself is $2,495.00

But at this point, you haven't tried to install MC 3.0 on your computer. Who knows? You might turn out to be one of the lucky ones. Perhaps you know someone who already purchased the software who would be willing to let you try to install and run it on your box temporarily to see whether it will work or not before you commit to buy.

 

Didn't you just get through telling me that even if it works at first there's no garuntee on future stability?  Besides, counting on being "a lucky one" would make all my old film professors who tatooed Murphy's Law onto my butt very unhappy. 

And by the way, the software by itself is $2,495.00

Yes but the upgrade for Xpress Pro users is $500.

 

 

 Well, if $500 is too much to risk, then perhaps you should go to Premiere.  Would you be spending less than $500 to do so?

In any case, the requirements for Xpress were every bit as strict as for MC.  Do you remember the nightmares that people with AMD processors had a few years back before the SSE 2.0 and SSE 3.0 code extensions were implemented by AMD?  If you've gone out and bought a PC because it's cheap but not useful for your intended purpose, then it isn't really cheap, is it?  As others have said, it may work, who knows?

Avid have always been strict with their requirements not because they want to be difficult, but because in the limited time available for thorough testing they want to be able to say, "buy brand X model Y computer and install our software and we guarantee that it will run."  When addressing a professional market they have to be able to do this to maintain credibility.

I'm currently running a system that is anything but Avid approved - the sound card is wrong, the O/S version is wrong, and the motherboard is not approved.  I'm in the fortunate position of being able to afford to maintain my existing workhorse in parallel until I'm confident enough to cut over, and being able to call on considerable free family help should I have issues.  Which in this case I haven't.

So if you've made the purchase, try an Avid install and see how you go.  If you haven't, then the price differential between an AMD box and Intel equivalent will still be way less than the difference between the upgrade cost and buying CS3.  And don't kid yourself.  Buying Premiere alone does not give you the functionality of the MC 3 upgrade.  CS3 is essential if you need an equivalent system.

jwrl:

Avid have always been strict with their requirements not because they want to be difficult, but because in the limited time available for thorough testing they want to be able to say, "buy brand X model Y computer and install our software and we guarantee that it will run." 

 

And that's mainly because Avid's software is some of the most demanding applications that've ever been written for a desktop environment. It pushes your computer right to the limits of it's performance.