OT: Media Composer 5

Not trying to start a flame war, but some pretty nice features:

[avid.com]

Features that immediately jump out:

?Directly access and edit RED files through AMA, without transcoding (images are scaled to HD frame size)

?Work natively with QuickTime video formats, including Apple ProRes and H.264

"Thanks to AMA, you can natively access and edit any movie that can be played in Apple?s QuickTime Player (including Apple ProRes and .mov files captured by Canon 5D and 7D cameras) right in Media Composer ? no transcoding, rewrapping, or logging and transferring required."

? Edit video and audio by dragging and dropping elements in the timeline

That's a big move towards making FCP editors comfortable.


? Monitor video externally with support for the Matrox MXO2 Mini

About time for 3rd party monitoring support! That's huge to me.

- Justin Barham -

I hope Apple takes this as a wake up call. Because Avid is making FCP seem like the Media Composer of five years ago when Avid was tied to the omf and FCP's Quicktime architecture was a god send.

Now, Avid needs something like Color in the toolkit. I gotta say i'm excited about both the CS5 and MC5 releases.



www.strypesinpost.com

WOW!!!! This is huge for Avid, if they can make it stable!

Avid also announced the plan to buy Euphonix as well! Controllers that work in both FCP and MC would be a dream come true!

TimMirk Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Avid also announced the plan to buy Euphonix as
> well! Controllers that work in both FCP and MC
> would be a dream come true!


This is cool. However, I winder how long they will support FCS now?

- Justin Barham -

Yeah...heard about this earlier today from Dan Berube. This is huge folks. No more crappy DNxHD codec Gamma shifts between Mac & PC. No more transcoding. Wow. This could bring Avid back in the fold for mid & lower markets where FCP has taken over (if they drop their prices on units & Support Contracts). Looks like I will have to upgrade my old Avid dongle (don't even remember what version I have...it's been 7 years since I used Avid on my Mac).

Hmmm...wonder what the buzz is over in my old stompin' grounds...the Avid Media Composer - Mac forum. Be right back...

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

Nice move AVID! As much as I love FCP and feel as if it is part of my body, if AVID were price competitive with FCS and had the ancillary programs that are the rest of FCS, I would consider moving to AVID. Unless Apple spends some serious effort and development on improving the underlying architecture and code for FCP, I think a lot of us would consider a jump to AVID. It would make running a TV series nice.

Don't forget that MC has also had integrated stereo 3D support since MC 4.0 too. That shows a lot of confidence on AVID's part that 3D will grow and become a significant business or they wouldn't have bothered. Now if they can just pair MC with some better supporting apps and give MC a better audio mixer and tools.

As an impartial observer (I truly like both companies and both software), it seems that AVID is really trying to win market share back while our beloved FCP is just kind of treading water. Competition is good for all of us, regardless of whether we use FCS or AVID or both.

Dan

Yeah boy...I hear you loud and clear Dan...and if Avid started allowing collaboration with Kona & Blackmagic products as well??? Wow - that would make me look long and hard at them again. Probably not even that hard. I would simply upgrade my system and have both on there. FCP is not making this decision difficult either.

It is absolutely true that Apple has put all their focus in iPhone, iPad, and that stuff (rightfully so - it's a flippin' cash cow)...and they are letting Final Cut Pro sort of dangle:

* Major layoff of the Dev Team.
* No "major upgrades" in years.
* Same old hard interface.

Avid is ringing the dinner bell and that usually means good things for us. That means Apple will have to "sh!t or get off the pot" with FCP or a alot of us will be going back.

It's about damn time Avid got their collective heads out of their butts and got back in the race. They got too big for their britches and FCP passed them up. It will be very interesting to see how Apple reacts to this. Very interesting times right now. I love this business.

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

So does LAFCPUG become Los Angeles Final Composer User Group?

I'll be very interested to see AVID's promised drag-and-drop interface. If they can remove the tedium of constantly selecting and de-selecting tracks, and support output to the Matrox, it will really be a great platform.

A variant on Color would be nice, but something closer to Motion (to replace the hideous Marquee) would be even better.

FCP needs to retaliate by buttoning up their media management, whenever Apple feels like getting around to it. Still, as a user of both AVID and FCP, one-upmanship like this makes me very excited.

Jeff

______________
Now twittering @jeffrey723

This is awesome news and really underlines Avid's all new user-centric approach. These are the very FCP-only features that are touted time and again by those of us who use or have used both Avid and FCP systems ... if Avid have done this right (and judging from recent performance theres no reason to assume otherwise) then they've just gone a long way towards winning back (and winning new) customers. Great news. Together with Adobe's CS5, and potentially the open sourcing of EditShare's Lightworks acquisition, there are interesting times ahead for FCP users.

I would go back! Having suffered from huge multiclip desasters.
Does MC5 work with XSAN?

I just found out from Avid...the timeline will be DRAG & DROP (uh-oh FCP). Works with any FCP ProRes / H.264 file.

Only bummer...no support for AJA / Blackmagic devices. Still need Avid hardware (cha-CHING!)

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

I thought you could integrate the Matrox MX02 Mini though at least for monitoring? Not bad if you don't need to final output to tape.

The last few traditional on-lines I have been involved in, I would rather bring a QT file to a Point 360 or Dubbs Inc. on a pocket drive and let them mess with HDCAM SR decks, tri-level sync generators and a bazillion menu items and things that can and do go wrong with final outputting and QCing final masters.

Dan

You can. The MXO2 Mini is supported for monitoring only. Only the MXO2 Mini, though. No other non-Avid output devices are supported right now.

>I would go back! Having suffered from huge multiclip desasters.

What disaster, Hamaca?



www.strypesinpost.com

Cool!

AJA Announces Ki Pro Support for Avid Systems via Avid Media Access Architecture

[www.aja.com]

Yeah Dan...that's what I just did. I just completed a commercial spot for our upcoming EA SPORTS MMA Fight Game...it's gonna air on CBS Saturday Night, April 17th after 9:00 during "Fight Night" (3 Championship bouts). I finished it in After Effects and Final Cut Pro and shipped 720p and 1080i versions with separate surround sound and stereo audio stems to Filmcore in LA via Aspera for them to lay off to HDCam and deliver to CBS for me. Saves us $1000 for the deck rental and the hassle of tape.

Yeah and they are saying in the other camp that MC5 will work with the Ki Pro (which we use vigorously at my studio)...so, why do we need Final Cut Pro again? Tape is dying...and I cannot wait for the funeral.

C'mon Apple...knock my socks off at NAB this year. Show me you still care bout the Pro Apps Nation. Avid is knocking at the door...and they are baring gifts.

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

It might be time for someone to write that book on moving to "Avid Media Composer for FCP Editors."

All the best,

Tom

Apple - are you reading this? The worlds most avid Final Cut Pro enthusiasts actually considering switching back to AVID? Don't drop the ball.

Unless we're all planning to do it on Linux or Windows, Apple really shouldn't care.

Media Composer runs fine on my mac!

Exactly Andy, so Apple still get your money ... happy Apple :-)

>Unless we're all planning to do it on Linux or Windows, Apple really shouldn't care.

Until Avid decides to port MC over to Linux, then Apple would really need to beef up their Final Cut development team or switch over to their day job of selling iPhones.



www.strypesinpost.com

FYI (veeeeery interrrrrrrrrrrresting):

Media Composer 5 Software (High-speed video editing software?ideal for offline, file-based, and mobile editing)

What?s new

? Directly access and edit RED files through AMA, without transcoding (images are scaled to HD frame size)
? Work natively with QuickTime video formats, including Apple ProRes and H.264
? Edit video and audio by dragging and dropping elements in the timeline
? Keep high-end finishing projects in-house and gain great color precision with HD-RGB support (including dual-link I/O support with Nitris DX systems)
? Monitor video externally with support for the Matrox MXO2 Mini
? Mix and match frame sizes and aspect ratios ? in addition to formats, frame rates, and resolutions ? in the same timeline
? Take a break during long renders and have your system email you when the job?s done
? Import AVCHD files directly from cameras and other devices
? Capture to and edit XDCAM HD and DVC PRO HD formats from baseband without additional hardware
? Access low-res XDCAM proxies for offline work, with full-quality audio
? Import text-based ancillary data and embed it in the video signal with the new ?Data Track? and SMPTE 436M support using Nitris DX- and Mojo DX-based systems
? View stereo audio tracks as single channels in the timeline for easier handling
? Create high-quality sounds and mixes with support for RTAS audio processing plug-ins
? Natively access and edit 4:2:2 MPEG-2 media from the new Canon cameras using AMA

Work Directly with RED Using the Newly Improved AMA.
With Media Composer 5, AMA (Avid Media Access) has been completely reengineered, so you can work natively with more file-based media formats now and in the future. With the new and improved AMA, you can speed up RED workflows by directly accessing RED files (.R3D) in Media Composer without having to prepare them through MetaFuze (all footage is scaled to HD frame size). Plus, you have access to its full metadata and color management data too.

Edit QuickTime Formats Natively
Get native access to all popular QuickTime formats, with full access to clip metadata. Thanks to AMA, you can natively access and edit any movie that can be played in Apple?s QuickTime Player (including Apple ProRes and .mov files captured by Canon 5D and 7D cameras) right in Media Composer ? no transcoding, rewrapping, or logging and transferring required.

Drag and Drop Video and Audio to Edit
Get comfortable ? with Media Composer 5, you can truly edit the way you like. In addition to the standard way of editing, you can also now directly manipulate elements in the timeline to edit video and audio. Drag and drop clips anywhere you want on the timeline to rearrange sequences. And grab a clip?s in or out point and drag to trim a scene, dialog, or music.

Get Full-Quality HD-RGB Processing
Keep those finishing jobs in house, and deliver the highest quality color and effects work, with support for full-quality 4:4:4 HD-RGB color space processing in Media Composer. With the higher resolution detail, you can perform color correction, keying, and effects work with greater precision and ease. And if you have a Nitris DX-based system, you can digitize, process, monitor, and output (output in Symphony systems only) projects in HD-RGB, using the two HD SDI connections to handle the high-bandwidth resolutions.

Monitor Video Externally through Matrox MXO2 Mini
If you don?t have a Nitris DX- or Mojo DX-based system, Media Composer 5 opens the door to third-party workflows, enabling you to monitor video externally using the Matrox MXO2 Mini interface, which is available for Mac and Windows systems. When paired with Media Composer software, MXO2 Mini becomes a dedicated, high-quality monitor-only solution for file-based or workgroup production, so you can view your video work in real time without any major expense.

Um...this is pretty spectacular for Avid or I would not be talking about this. If you work in a Digital short form Workflow (like me - which means you don't need the Avid hardware), this is approaching a "must have".

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

Or just reverse engineer while reading the Avid to FCP text