In the run-up to NAB, Avid has added new functionality to its NLE line-up, including native XDCAM format support and a system for 3D monitoring in the composer window as well as full-screen in Avid Media Composer and Symphony. Additionally, Avid is switching from required hardware dongles to system activation keys for product licensing. Also new is Avid Media Access (AMA), a system architecture for allowing users to link clips from P2- or XDCAM-based devices into their bins without transcoding or transferring the media to their own systems.
Other new functions in the 2009 line-up include keyframable color-correction, which lets color adjustments be made using advanced keyframes during the offline, rather than in the online; a new 2D tracking engine called Fluid Stabilizer to help remove camera movement in combination with Avid’s SteadyGlide feature; a few FX enhancements, including improvements in CPU/GPU performance; and a system for allowing control of Media Composer 3.5 via Pro Tools on the same system for full-res, synced-up video playback.
The biggest potential for money-saving is likely to come from the new 3D workflows, which will give producers of stereoscopic material more choices in post, and the keyframable offline color adjustments, which will allow a lot of crucial color decisions to be made during the creative edit, rather than queued up for application during the more expensive online session.
Speaking of online sessions and more choices in post, Avid also added native support for R3D files from the Red digital cinema camera to Avid DS v10.1.1. The DS will now include the ability to apply .RLX color presets to footage in the Avid as well as the ability to create project and sequence settings for 2K, 3K, and 4K Red projects. The DS will create HD RGB 4:4:4 proxies from the high-res source to allow real-time monitoring and faster system response during the edit. And Avid MetaFuze will automate the conversion of various media formats to DNxHD for offlining in Media Composer and finishing in Symphony.
It turns out that not all of Avid’s latest announcements are uncontroversial — there’s an effort to convince Avid to keep supporting the dongle, at least for customers who request it, on the Web: www.savethedongle.com.
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