Thinking about going AVID

DC said:
One thing Avid needs to implement - like yesterday - is freakin' 1080 24pA 2:3 removal at the file level!
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Amen! If Avid could do that, along with it's native MXF support, well, I'd click on the Final Cut Pro icon a lot less. :)

Latin, the all-in-one is Xpress Pro Studio, but in my opinion the interoperability between the apps is a little sketchy. I'd probably just buy Avid Xpress Pro if I were you and then pick and choose your DVD authoring app, audio app, and effects app based on perference. The apps that Avid bundle in the studio package are not always the best, IMO.
 
Most prosumer level editors use Avid Xpress Pro. That's the stripped down, yet still very powerful version of Avid. If I remember correctly, Avid MediaComposer is a more powerful Xpress Pro, with more features, functionality, etc. After that though, I can never remember which name is which for Avid. I remember that some full blown Avid stand alone systems reach into the 20,000 dollar range, but that was a long time ago so I don't know the state of the industry currently.

You can learn the interface and functionality logic by cutting on Xpress Pro though.
 
You can also export projects from Xpress Pro and move up the Avid chain with ease. One of the advantages of Avid.

The order of systems is thus:

Avid DS Nitris (not stricktly an editor) ~$100,000 range (I think)

Avid Symphony Nitris ~$80,000 range (I think)

Avid Media Composer Adrenaline ~$25,000 range with Adrenaline hardware. There is a software only version.

Avid Xpress Pro $1600 range
 
Avid is a big jump from Vegas. It is fantastic, but Avid - especially Xpress Pro is a great editor, and only that. You will need to rely on a good compositing/motion graphics package to get the most out of Avid. The Studio is nice but I would go XPRO and spend the saved money from MC Soft on After effects or combustion, also a Avid's DVD authoring is basic. Encore is great on the PC side. You get Sorenson with AVid and that will handle 99% of any of your transcoding needs. It is really great software.

Also Avid is a difficult software title to teach your self. I would highly recommend some training materials with your purchase.

Videoguys.com also does great package deals where they throw in free resources and training dvd's with Avid purchase.

Best of luck with your purchase decisions.
 
triplej96 said:
Avid does have a steep learning curve. I'm still learning been cutting on it for like 2 years but once you get it down (and don't have any more error messages) it is a joy to cut with.
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See, here's the thing with Avid . . .

It isn't an NLE that behaves the way your OS does. For example, FCP behaves in a very Mac-like way. Avid, on the hand, was designed on principles that incorporate 100 years of filmmaking/editing techniques and terms. This is very apparent when you use it.

In 1989, before non-linear digital editing, Avid was born. They had to cater to the editing veterans of the film industry of the day. They needed to make sure that when an editor got with an Avid, that he/she wouldn't be alienated by the interface. It had to have a similar feel to what the editor already knew. And I think they were successful doing that.

Here it is, 2007, every editor in the world cuts on a computer. The Avid interface hasn't changed much. Is it a good thing? I don't know. But that's how it is. "The Avid Way" continues . . .


krestofre said:
Avid Media Composer Adrenaline ~$25,000 range with Adrenaline hardware. There is a software only version.
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Avid Media Composer (software-only version) is around $5,000. If you upgrade from Xpress Pro, I think it is around $2,000. I might be wrong though, as pricing schemes are always changing.
 
Thanks for all the explaining about the software packages, bundles etc... it is probably just as confusing as the actual interface will be, lol

I have a DVD Authoring program and I have After Effects... however I will be looking else wear for Visual Effects, at least for a while... I am open to learning everything but I need to concentrate on being a good editor first since I am getting into it at the same time that I am developing my Director and DP hats...

I do want to keep doing my own color correction though, and I am a bit confused about that one in terms of the software that comes with Xpress Pro and it's capabilities... could you guys explain that to me? What do you use?

Maybe separately you could explain the Visual Effects capabilities and limitations in the software included in Xpress Pro. If there isn't too much maybe I will concentrate on learning those too.
 
CC in Avid Xpress/Media Composer is VERY powerful. You can do alot (no secondary CC though).

Xpress_Pro_Screencap_01.jpg


As far as visual FX, if you have After Effects, you have everything you need for 95% of the visual effects you will produce. Avid can't offer anything at that price point that is better.
 
Well if you have curves then you got everything. Well 90% of everything I would use. I am sure it also does the corrections in 32-bit right?

I guess AE is very powerful, everyone keeps saying it is... I haven't installed it yet though.
 
yea but I have had some major trust issued associated with Vegas and people just giving me a look about it...

I bet if I was more proficient, experienced and had "mad skills" in Vegas that I could offset some of that initial hump, but I am quite certain that there are a few people I wouldn't be able to convince no matter how good I am or what I've done
well... IF I got a film into Sundance or something else like that and that was cut in Vegas I guess that would probably get even those guys to consider Vegas for a budgeted project, but they would still try to "just edit it on AVID"
 
I recently built my own dedicated Avid PC. I have Final Cut Studio, and it's difficult to say that one is better than the other; they are simply different. I'm an Apple user, but there's no way I could get that kind of power out of a Mac without spending twice the money.


I would recommend getting as close as you can to the qualified parts, or else be prepared for the possibility of software/hardware errors.


Finally, you might want to consider "Avid Editing" (Third Edition) by Sam Kauffmann. It was very helpful in quickly learning what Avid is all about.
 
Avid Editing... thanks... I understand there is tons of tutorials and workshops, even certifications and what nots... I am really looking forward to crunch time :)

I am not sure I understood what you said first about the power out of a Mac but I am guessing you meant that you need to spend twice as much money to get the same performance out of a PC? If so that isn't necessarily true but you do need a sick rig to keep up with a 64-bit environment... which brings up an UBER important point!!!

Is there a 64-bit Windows version yet?

which brings me to yet an other question:

Has anyone used it in Vista? Vista 64-bit?
 
No Vista Support as of yet.

Also Avid is very specific about the OS. It is Qualified on XP PRO...

DO not listen to the people who tell you that windows xp media center edition is the same thing...It is not and Avid certainly knows it. I had to purchase a retail copy of XP PRO to reinstall over my MCE to get the avid bugs to go away.

Also a good rule is to only use INTEL processors and only NVIDIA graphics chipsets....and make sure your 1394 card is a TI chipset.

There are a lot of little details to get right if you are building your NLE machine for Avid.

I would recommend a few posts on the Avid forum at Avid.com. They have a much more active "avid" forum than DVXUSER
 
HAHAHAHA.... I know from experience how different MC is from XP... it ruined many a days in my life, lol... I have XP-64 but Microcrap doesn't really support it and won't till the market shifts over by itself. I too am running XP-32 Pro, so OS... check.

I see... ok... well I will definitely go there for time-critical research but I will continue here for now as I am waiting on one more piece till I have everything aligned to build what I hope will be a promising foundation to a real-time full screen 1080p rig... though I don't know how far or close I am to that mark really, LOL!!!

Ok... here is what I have managed to secure so far:

AVID version:
Xpress Pro

OS:
XP 32-bit Pro

CPU:
Q6600 @ 3.3GHz

RAM:
2 x 1GB @ 4-4-4-12-2T 1000MHz
or
4 x 1GB @ 4-4-4-12-2T 950MHz (possibly a wee bit faster)

Video card:
8800 GTS 640MB
or
8800 GTX (FX4600 BIOS)

MOTHERBOARD:
ASUS P5N32-E SLI

RAID CONTROLLER:
Mobo's nForce 570i SLI MCP

Sound Card:
X-Fi ExtremeMusic (modified OpAmps)

Firewire:
MoBo's
 
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I don't think I have much to add to what has already been said, but I feel compelled to tell you my avid story... :-D

Before 2003 I edited everything on Premiere and used it very comfortably...
In 2003 I was at a new job and they had just purchased an AVID Xpress DV system... so I HAD TO LEARN it if I wanted to get paid... (They already had an archaic mac avid that had cost approx. 20,000... it was reliable but old, so they bought the cheap PC version with a certified workstation...)

I had a rough time with it... it was unbelievable... I felt like instead of going forward with technology, the AVID was VERY backwards and I hated it!!!

It was nothing like Premiere, which used Windows for pretty much eveything, for storing the files, effects, plugins, etc...

Later on however, it was the simplicity of the AVID workflow that wrapped around me... that's it. It was (and still is) dead simple.

Let me explain.

AVID is like its' own OS. You have to organize folders and settings INSIDE AVID and not on windows.

The shortcuts are dead easy and the color correction rules... The thing that was the most difficult for me was that I was so submerged in Premiere that I couldn't easily understand avid...

In premiere (like Vegas and many others) it works like windows... you cut/paste/drag and drop, the settings are very familiar... SOOOOO I would suggest in approaching AVID as if it was an operating system working inside Windows... it has its own copy/paste methods and its own way to organize files.

But it really is simple and very effective...
My salvation was the forums at AVID.com... I swear that the minute I posted something it would get responded immediately... very cool...

NOW, avid has been good to me, but if you're efficient at Vegas or whatever.. I wouldn't make the jump... the truth is that you're not missing much... I mean it is easier to find a job, because many businesses have avid, but if you're a working indy, don't sweat it... Vegas probably has more stuff than Avid...

AND yes avid is JUST a tool... IF you ever go to sundance, nobody watching your movie will ever be questioning your editing tool... they'll be questioning your editing skills and NOBODY (except tech freaks like me will ever care what editing system you used)...

OK, this is turning into a novel. Good luck with whatever you decide.
THE END
:-D
 
Hey, thank you very much for your story... it surely will help that you gave me that OS-like heads up... I kinda didn't like that you chose to capitalize "if" when you were talking about me going to Sundance though :thumbsup:

I will surely enjoy it's simplicity once I learn where's what and while I wish I didn't have to learn anything else I am now remembering that when I set out to learn how to edit I said to myself I'd really do it and not just give it a try... one of the things I realized I would have to do was to try a few different programs and after using Vegas to get started since I was hearing it is the most intuitive I am glad I am going to check out "the AVID" (why does everyone call it like that, lol!) because that is where all the work is, and since so many people use it, so many people believe in it and so many people pay for it, then there really is no other choice... I am surely not going to uninstall Vegas though :D
 
:zombie_smiley:


The wall of bricks just hit me... it seems the wall was just the appetizer... I see a whole shopping mall with parking structure and all coming down on me next...


It seems I may have a problem with my X-Fi sound card... but no audio is the least of my problems... WTF is my stuffs?!?!?!? hahahahaha...

I need some morphine...
 
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