Last Thursday was a big day for filmmakers as both Canon and RED had significant announcements of their new products. Being an editor, I was most excited about Avid’s announcement the same day of Media Composer 6, slated for release on November 15. It’ll still be $2,499 but the Final Cut Pro version 1 – 7 cross grade is now a permanent $1,499 (Why not include X in there? My bet is it would be hard to prove you’re an FCPX owner). I haven’t seen a mention of upgrade pricing yet but I’d expect under $500 when moving from a version 5. And educational pricing is still an amazing $295, with four years of free upgrades.

To recap, there was a lot of news announced with this release; read StudioDaily’s original story here. Here’s how Avid summarizes Media Composer 6’s top features on its website:

  • Get better performance and speed to handle complex editing, now that Media Composer is a 64-bit app
  • Work with the Avid or third-party hardware you want—with Avid Open I/O, third-party manufacturers can now make their I/O hardware work with Media Composer
  • Manage and edit stereoscopic 3D projects with a comprehensive set of editorial tools and workflows
  • Take hands-on control of all color correction and grading functions with Artist Color (watch the video)
  • Create 5.1 and 7.1 surround mixes directly within Media Composer, or import from Pro Tools
  • Work more creatively with audio with new mixer features and support for additional Pro Tools hardware
  • Work more easily and efficiently—but not differently—with the sleek and sexy new user interface (watch the video)
  • Get full native ProRes support on Mac (encode and decode) and Windows (decode only) for easy integration into any ProRes workflow
  • Instantly access, screen, and edit AVCHD clips and RED EPIC footage through AMA
  • Accelerate your RGB 4:4:4 workflow with Avid DNxHD 444, which delivers exceptional image quality in a low bandwidth format
  • Conveniently purchase stock footage, plug-ins, and more through the Avid Marketplace
  • Get direct access to user guides and documentation from within the interface
  • Access additional ancillary data when working with XDCAM HD material
  • Work more easily with animated effects with many keyframe editor improvements
  • Get Avid FX (Boris RED), Avid DVD, and Sorenson Squeeze in all versions of the software
  • Manage multiple licenses more easily with unified licensing

I think the biggest thing in Avid’s bullet list is that Media Composer is now 64-bit. While we won’t see the kind of performance you get with Adobe Premiere Pro’s Mercury Playback engine, this 64-bit release finally sets up Media Composer for all those advanced features (background tasks, playback interactivity) we’ve been watching trickle into its competitors. And with the aggressive way Avid has been updating Media Composer during the last couple of years, we’ll likely begin seeing them sooner rather than later.

The second biggest piece of news in this announcement is the expanded Avid Open I/O that will now allow third-party hardware support as long as device companies write the driver. It was a natural progression of the new “open” Avid and vendors like AJA, Blackmagic, Matrox and others have already promised to deliver.

Blackmagic Design soon announced Desktop Video 9.0, “a major new software update with advanced capture and playback for the Avid Media Composer 6 family of software including Avid Symphony and Avid NewsCutter, for both Windows 7 and Mac OS X,” with the following features:

  • Certified by Avid for Avid Media Composer 6, Avid Symphony, Avid NewsCutter.
  • Uncompressed and DNxHD capture and playback in Avid Media Composer 6.
  • RealTime effects in Avid Media Composer 6.
  • Advanced dual-stream 3D workflow capturing left and right eye to separate files in Avid Media Composer 6.

And AJA got in on the fun, too, by announcing support for MC6, NewsCutter 10.0 and Symphony 6 on all of AJA’s newest desktop solutions and mobile I/O devices:

The current family of KONA cards, KONA 3G, KONA 3, KONA LHi and KONA LHe Plus, will all support Avid Media Composer 6, NewsCutter 10 and Symphony 6 with the addition of Avid Open I/O enabling support for third-party audio and video interfaces.

Avid also drastically reduced the price of its own hardware, which seems to be overshadowed by all the talk of Open I/O. A Mojo DX will now be $3,000 while a Nitris DX will be $5,500—thousands less than the previous costs. Avid had to do this to make their hardware competitive with third-party vendors. But they still have to let the world know what the advantages to Avid hardware might be over others. I couldn’t find a price link on the Avid website but this blog post has them listed:

 

 

 

 

Another item that seems lost in the shuffle is the new Avid support option called Avid Vantage. This is a low-cost, $149, year-long support plan that offers unlimited online support for the full year.

The bullets:

  • Get unlimited online customer support for a full year
  • For a limited time, get a $99 coupon to use towards an Avid software purchase* on Avid.com, including the latest upgrades
  • Unlock your favorite plug-ins and effects:
    • Pro Tools users: Choose four Avid audio plug-ins to use for one year
    • Media Composer/Symphony users: Get five NewBlueFX plug-ins to use for one year
  • Save 50% on Avid Support Codes to get expert phone support when you need it

Oh … and it’s also worth noting that Media Composer 6 has a new interface. Not an FCPX like we’re-changing-everything interface but rather more modern- looking design with tabbed bins and tools, as well as a slew of subtle changes. This early review takes you through a lot of those interface changes. All the new Canon and RED cameras in the world are meaningless without good options to edit and post the footage they shoot. That’s why I think Avid’s announcement was the most significant announcement by far.