'Visually Lossless' Addition to DNx Family Supports 32-Bit Float for Effects and Color Processing
Avid editors got a pre-IBC treat as Media Composer 2018.9 was released last week, on the eve of the show.
Notably, the new release introduces DNxUncompressed, a “visually lossless” DNx format with 32-bit float support for effects and color processing. This means you can pull 16-bit or higher-quality formats onto the timeline and maintain full quality through FX, color-correction, or media encoding.
Avid Media Composer interface
Avid
To help keep users sane, Avid said it has improved by six to eight times the speed of exporting the 16-bit DPX files that will be required for high-quality export of DNxUncompressed media. The new format will eventually be SMPTE certified, Avid said, to enable support in other applications and tools. And, yes, it works in the free Media Composer First as well as Media Composer and Media Composer Ultimate for render, mixdown, consolidate and import.
Right now, DNXUncompressed supports 4:2:2 32-bit float and RGB 32-bit float, but support for other formats is planned. Read Avid’s DNxUncompressed FAQ for the details.
Here’s a quick rundown of what all is new in Media Composer, straight from Avid. For more release notes, see the full details posted at Avid’s pro video editing forum.
Live Timeline Additions – You can solo, mute, and change audio gain during playback. You can also choose to set certain Edit Marker window behavior during playback.
AMA File Export Change – Export options have been updated.
DNxUncompressed – With the introduction of DNxUncompressed, it is now possible to import, render, transcode and mix-down at uncompressed quality.
Default Stream Count Limitations in Media Composer – Real-time streams are no longer limited to 12.
DPX Export Improvement – Exporting DPX files is much faster than in previous releases.
HLG Scope: Display 75% graticule for Graphics white – The HLG scope waveform displays an orange horizontal line to show graphics white at 75%.
