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Pro audio hardware and software maker Avid has announced its first Thunderbolt interface for audio workstation leader Pro Tools. The new Pro Tools HD Native Thunderbolt external interface or PCIe card gives the editing suite the best performance and lowest latency of any digital recording studio package, the company says.
Users of the Avid Studio iPad app are seeing a pop-up informing them that support is discontinued, notes TUAW. As a replacement, people are being directed to Pinnacle Studio, a similar video editing app owned by Corel, but currently free through September 18th. Avid Studio is still available for $5.
Pro Tools maker Avid is selling music technology company M-Audio to inMusic. Avid has agreed to the sale in order to focus on media enterprise and other professional customers, and to improve its operating performance. It is also passing its line of video editing apps to Corel Corporation at the same time as the M-Audio sale.
Avid has released an important update to the iPad version of Studio. The app handles basic- to mid-level video editing tasks. Version 1.1 lets users record voiceovers directly to the timeline, and adds 14 new transitions, plus a variety of interface enhancements. New swiping gestures, for example, can be used to advance frame-by-frame or 10-by-10, and enter mark-in and mark-out points.
Avid has released a new, scaled-down iPad version of its Avid Studio editing suite. Users assemble video clips in a Storyboard view, and use tools like the Precision Trimmer to make more exact cuts. Completed videos can also contain photos and audio; in every case, media is pulled either directly from an iOS library or an externally connected device.
Tiffen has released v3.0.5 of Dfx, its effects suite for photo and video editing. The upgrade critically adds support for Avid's new 64-bit editing tools, including Media Composer 6, Symphony 6 and NewsCutter 10. Also newly supported is a host of Sony cameras. The list includes DSLRs like the A550, A580, A700, A850, and A900, but also the NEX-3, NEX-5/5N, NEX-C3, and several SLT-series cameras: the A33, A35, A55V, A65V, and A77V. Remaining cameras on the list are the XCD-SX910CR and the STV680 VGA.
Avid has announced several major software updates, most notably Media Composer 6. The video editor has switched to a new 64-bit architecture, and sports an overhauled interface designed to speed up tasks. Some other changes include native ProRes compatibility, support for Avid Open I/O-compatible third-party hardware, new stereoscopic and and Artist Color tools, and the ability to create 5.1 or 7.1 surround mixes without outside tools.
Avid has introduced an update to its hardware/software digital audio platform, releasing Pro Tools 10 and the new Pro Tools|HDX workstation card. The HDX hardware is claimed to be much faster than its predecessor, bringing a 5X boost in processing power and support for 64 I/O channels.
Avid is presently selling Pro Tools bundles including normally expensive plugins, notes The Loop. A person buying Pro Tools 9 with an Mbox interface or Pro Tools MP with an M-Audio interface will get Eleven LE, Strike and Velvet for free. Together those Pro Tools add-ons are worth about $950, according to Avid.
Adobe leapt on Final Cut Pro X frustrations Friday with a new switcher promo. Anyone with a copy of Final Cut Pro or even Avid Media Composer can get a 50 percent discount on either Premiere Pro CS5.5 or CS5.5 Production Premium. The software house gave a knowing tweak to Apple that chastised it for dropping imports of the old version and traditional imports from tape.
Apple has quietly posted an FAQ for Final Cut Pro X to tackle the complaints and concerns in the wake of a controversial release. The answers more formally address questions to the media and make multiple promises of updates. Multicam editing is coming to a future Final Cut Pro update, something which Apple says it couldn't roll into a minor patch but had to come soon.
Apple's video editing software lead Randy Ubillos quietly addressed some of the fears of professional video editors following the rocky introduction of Final Cut Pro X. Shortly before the company's more technical help, Ubillos was adamant to a CreativeCow forum member that the feature set wasn't concrete. Alluding to an upgrade pattern similar to iMovie, he saw it as a foundation for a larger platform.
Avid has used the NAB show to unveil Interplay Central, its next-gen tools for media creation, distribution and management for on-the-go pros. To facilitate production when in the field, the platform is delivered through both web- and mobile-based apps. The platform allows production teams to collaborate with open, flexible workflows. Avid introduced two additional software suites, Avid InGame and Avid NewsVision 2.0 , both of which offer end-to-end solutions for video production. The company also took the opportunity to introduce a new storage solution for the small- to mid-sized content creation market, the ISIS 5000-16.
Importing Final Cut Pro projects into Avid Media Composer was made simpler when v5 of AMC was announced with its featured "Avid Media Access" ability, but now plug-in maker Automatic Duck has updated its Pro Export FCP plug-in to v4.05 to make the import and re-linking of media files considerably easier. In addition, the company posted bug-fix updates to two other plug-ins, Pro Import FCP (now at v2.09) and Media Copy (now at v3.01).
After years of selling various levels and editions of Pro Tools with hardware and software options, developer Avid will reunify the package into a single product -- Pro Tools 9 -- that adapts to the hardware users run it on and configures itself accordingly as a premiere Digital Audio Workstation (DAW). Previous users of "lighter" versions will see more "new" features, but even top-line Pro Tools HD users will notice significant improvements, changes and additions, including a doubling of MIDI tracks and busses, complete Core Audio support and variable stereo pan depths, among many others.
Avid has introduced several new products in its M-Audio line of audio hardware, each paired with an update to the consumer-level edition of Pro Tools. Electronista had a chance to preview the new products at a special event in New York City. The new bundles include KeyStudio, Recording Studio, and Vocal Studio.
Canon's turn at NAB launches was headlined today by two pro-grade camcorders. The XF300 and XF305 both use Canon's XF Codec to capture 50Mbps, 4:2:2 1080p video and store it directly on dual CompactFlash cards. The output gives it twice as much color resolution compared to regular HDV and should also be a widespread standard with Apple's Final Cut Studio, Adobe Premiere, Avid and other editing suites.
Canon on Tuesday said it would be releasing an MPEG-2 Full HD (4:2:2) file-based recording codec that would debut in an unannounced but upcoming professional video camera from the company. The MPEG-2 Codec would bring with it twice the color resolution of the HDV profile format and be compatible with industry-standard editing and processing software. The codec would also have 50Mbps data recording speeds.
The Blu-ray Disc Association today published details of the final specification for 3D-enhanced Blu-ray video. Simply titled Blu-ray 3D, the format will send a stereoscopic 1080p image but, despite the extra data, will only use about 50 percent more data than a traditional, 2D-only image. The relatively efficient storage is helped by an efficient variant of the H.264 video code known as Multiview Video Coding (MVC) that is also backwards-compatible with 2D devices.
Avid has revamped its M-Audio Oxygen collection of USB-attached MIDI controllers. Each keyboard features DirectLink technology, which maps controls to production suites including Pro Tools, Cubase, Reason, Logic and GarageBand. Models are divided into 25-, 49- and 61-key versions.
Avid has formally unveiled the Digidesign Eleven Rack, a new music processing unit. The hardware is aimed at guitarists, and simulates a number of different amps from the likes of Fender, Vox, Marshall and Soldano, as well as stompboxes by companies like Ibanez, Electro-Harmonix and Univox. Convolution-based cabinet and mic emulations are used, the latter simulating dynamic, condenser and ribbon designs.
Reg Giant has released a new video effects plug-in, Magic Bullet Mojo. The software recreates the look used in many Hollywood blockbusters, warming the color temperature of skin, while simultaneously cooling it for shadows and backgrounds. A central slider adjusts both elements in unison.
Red Giant has released Magic Bullet Quick Looks, a new set of color-correction plug-ins for video editors. The software represents a scaled-down version of Magic Bullet Looks, which provides a full range of tools for tweaking visual styles. Quick Looks eliminates most custom options in favor of over 100 presets, based on the cinematography of famous films and TV shows.
GenArts has published v3.0 of its Sapphire plug-ins for Avid editing systems, specifically Symphony, NewsCutter and Media Composer. The focus of the update is on its 36 new effects, such as TVDamage, which reproduces broadcast artifacts like static and ghosting. Many are divided into specific themes, such as wipe and dissolve transitions, or texture- and Z-buffer-based effects. Some also attempt to recreate specific mediums, such as the Technicolor 2Strip and 3Strip plug-ins.
Red Giant Software has released Red Giant Warp, a new sets of effects generation plug-ins for video editing suites. Contained in Warp are three different tools, beginning with Corner Pin, which takes material from outside clips and pins it with a different perspective inside a working video. The plug-in additionally sports extra offset controls and integration with Mocha for After Effects.
Automatic Duck says it has released v4.0 of Pro Export FCP, its plug-in for Final Cut Pro. The software is used to export Final Cut Pro projects to other editing platforms, such as Quantel's Q eQ or iQ systems. The v4.0 update introduces expanded support for Avid software, through the option of MXF export; this lets FCP users avoid redigitizing. Similarly, users should now be able to carry over Avid-supported effects such as PIP, 3DWarp and Superimpose.
Red Giant Software has announced Radium Glow, a new 3D glow simulator that goes beyond simple blurring effects. Instead of just adding simple blur, the software gives pinpoint control over the glow effect and has edge effects, masking and output functions. The three included plug-ins add neon-style effects and can be combined with Red Giant's Trapcode Particular (the company's separate 3-D particle plug-in) and other plug-ins to give sparkle and shimmer effects. Radium Glow is available now for $100 and works with on Mac OS X 10.4.4 or later, on After Effects, Premier Pro, Final Cut Pro, Motion and Avid AVX.
EditShare this week introduced a software solution that creates a single media file type which can be used in both Avid and Apple Final Cut Pro video editing applications. Used in conjunction with Editshare's Flow Ingest software, the Universal Media File technology allows the seamless acquisition of media in one format, and simultaneous output to multiple other formats. In shared workflow situations, the Universal Media File promises to add a new dimension to work environments by eliminating the need for file conversion, file duplication or the congestion of valuable ingest channels.
Following up on the earlier report, Kristopher Jones, spokesman for the NAB conference, said that while Avid and Apple will be missed, the spaces have already been filled. The trade show, which generates more than $50 billion in commerce for its business partners, is featuring 220 new exhibitors this year, making the final count around 1600 exhibitors, according to SetteB.IT. NAB 2008 is expected to cover over 900,000 square feet at the Las Vegas Convention Center and Las Vegas Hilton, while hosting over 111,000 attendees.
