Among NLE manufacturers, Canopus has enjoyed a relatively small but rabid following. Recently Canopus combined its premium EDIUS Pro 3 NLE software with several previously optional packages (modules for P2, DVCPRO-HD, DVCPRO 50, VariCam and XDCAM) to produce EDIUS Broadcast, a one-stop NLE solution providing support for Panasonic’s P2/HVX200/VariCam, HDV 720/24p and 1080/24F and Sony’s XDCAM format.

EDIUS Pro 3 is a tight, fast, few-frills editing system. It delivers most of the necessary tools, though it’s not as well-rounded as the competition. At the time of this review, there were several developments involving Canopus. First, the company had been acquired by Grass Valley. Second, Canopus had announced EDIUS 4.0. I won’t spend too much time on the EDIUS software itself; instead we’ll focus on the accessory packages that constitute EDIUS Broadcast.

Does the “Broadcast” package have much to offer HVX, HDV or HDCAM shooters, especially in comparison to formidable competitors, such as Apple or Avid? In a word, yes. In three words, good golly yes. EDIUS Broadcast has far and away the best P2 integration of any of the major NLE packages. Avid and Apple should both go to “Canopus School” to learn how tapeless integration should be done. The EDIUS Broadcast integration for P2 is just about perfect; after using Broadcast, I was a lot less satisfied with my newly purchased G5 Mac/FCP system. EDIUS lets you edit straight from the P2 card, import directly to the hard disk, export back to a P2 card in the proper MXF file format and directory structure and maintain the metadata throughout the process. It plays back DVCPRO-HD footage in real time on a laptop that could barely squeak out 2 fps using another popular NLE. There’s also real time playback, live 1394 capture, print-to-tape, print-to-card and import-from-card. This is how it should be done, folks! Congratulations to Canopus for hitting this nail squarely on the head. EDIUS Broadcast is the only NLE on the market that supports every mode and frame rate of the HVX200.

EDIUS Broadcast is also about the only NLE (at the time of this writing) that supports HDV 720/24p and 1080/24F and does so very well, capturing straight from the camera and playing back 24p/24F HDV in real time. And while I didn’t have an opportunity to test XDCAM, EDIUS Broadcast’s excellent P2/MXF and HDV support leave me no doubt that it will excel at XDCAM also.

Canopus did a great job on EDIUS Broadcast. I can’t wait to get my hands on version 4.0.

Barry Green is a producer at Fierceley Independent Films, based in Las Vegas, and the author of The DVX Book and The HVX Book (www.dvxuser.com).