AVID Annouces Media Composer 7 at NAB

The Pro Video Coalition has the coverage of AVID's Sunday night event. And AVID has a video at their web site, and you can sign up to get more info when it arrives.Instead of 4K they have Flex Frame which lets you edit in either 720 or 1080, but have up to a 4k or 5k frame that you can pan and scan within (pretty lame since you can do 4K in FCP 7!). I am sure it will be a nice pan and scan, but still not very impressive.And you can now treat any AMA folder as if is an AVID Media Folder, so it will automatically process, and can now transcode in the background (though I still prefer Premiere where you don't need to transcode). And AMA is promised to work better. Background transcoding is great (though I would be happier with not having to transcode) and watch folders are a good idea, but nothing revolutionary.Faster Audio waveforms is a much needed feature, as it always seemed slow and unresponsive. Still have to look at the waveform in the timeline for the viewer clips though, which is slow.The price drop is a good idea, and is what it should have been since their $999 Final Cut Pro Crossgrade offer. $999 for Media Composer 7, and $1499 for Symphony and upgrades from 6.5 for $299 and $399 for earlier programs. I hate how 7.5 will be a paid update too, maybe they need something like creative cloud for $50 a month?I hope there is more as this doesn't seem like the revolution that will put AVID back in the black. I hope AVID manages to stick around, but I would think they need to start really making impressive additions to Media Composer and not just ho hum features.

Will AVID be delisted from NASDAQ?

Cinescophilia has the news that AVID has been notified that they may be delisted from NASDAQ because they are so behind on some of their forms.Wow, further proof that AVID is doing incredibly badly right now.I think AVID needs to innovate but I don't want to see them go under.

Creative Cow asks if AVID is sinking or sunk

Creative Cow has a short article on the dire straights of AVID. I didn't realize that they were hemorrhaging money that much for that long, or just how much they lost on their consumer editing programs!While AVID does have it's place, I do think it is a dinosaur that needs a lot of updating, and a price drop to be really competitive. I don't think FCP X is a competitor though. A 64 Bit FCP 7 could still take back over from the whole left by it's passing, but FCP X just has too many things wrong with it to really take over for all professional applications.

Under $1000 for a way to monitor 1080p with worldwide frame rates using thunderbolt

Allan Tépper at the Pro Video Coalition has a great solution for monitoring video using thunderbolt and a Sony KDL-40BX420E, which will work with US power and supports, both PAL and NTSC frame rates as well as 23.976 and 24 FPS. Very very cool. The monitor is grey market in the US, so he also recommends a third party warranty. This is a inexpensive and great solution for monitoring.

SLC Cut on AVID

SLCCut, has a an interesting letter to AVID on how they need to update to keep it in line with Premiere and FCP X if they want to stay relevant in the future.Some of it I agree with, but some I don't. Yes, the interface needs updating in a major way, the title tool needs serious updating (as does handling of still photos and the like, which he doesn't talk about), but the organization I do like, though it could use more, like Meta search.Still I do think many of us left AVID because we found something that worked better in many ways, and now are going back and while it has seen some great little updates, there is nothing groundbreaking in the latest version over much earlier versions.And I know they are trying to please their old customers, but it is true that that will only work for current editors, and new editors may move to other tools if AVID does not add some inovation on top of their old venerable tools.

AVID update Available

Go to AVID's download's page for 6.5.0.1 of Media Composer, Symphony and 10.5.0.1 of Newscutter.New features include:Support for the new Sony XDCAM AMA Plug-in version 2.1XDCAM and XCAM EX SupportFrameChase Editing with Sony XDCam Station (XDS Series)Support for an updated version of the Sony SR SStP plug-in (HDCAM SR)No longer have to uninstall the P2 or XDCAM before performing a legacy P2 or XDCAM import

iChat theater has issues, but is still a wonderful solution that Adobe and AVID need to implement

I know, I know iChat theater is old technology and has been out since Final Cut Pro 7 was was released, but it is still awesome tech. If you have a web camera or iSight you can share what you are viewing in Final Cut Pro 7 using iChat (or messages in Mountain Lion) and you can hear the person on either end and see Timecode as well. It has it's issues (audio often drops out and you have to restart the computer to get it back, and often it is hard to get the chat to actually start), but overall it works very well and allows for remote monitoring of an edit.Sure you can share your screen with Skype, but that shared the whole screen, timeline and all, and the video is small. iChat theater allows you to share just what is playing back from Final Cut Pro. It is awesome for editors who like to work at home, and producers who like to do the same. And it works very well overall.The problem is that Final Cut Pro 7 is EOL and will never be updated again, and is really showing it's age. Sure many companies have such an investment that they are still using it before the go with AVID (though I prefer Premiere Pro, if only it were more stable). And neither Premier Pro or Media Composer have anything like it.iChat theater and Final Cut Pro 7 is an elegant solution to a problem that is very relevant today (editors working remotely), and a new solution needs to be implemented in AVID and Premiere Pro.I wonder if it could be done via a plug in like BlackMagic or AJA, as if it was going out via video to Messages or Skype or a proprietary messaging program? The thing is it is such a great piece of software that the competitors need it (even if FCP X doesn't have it anymore either).Working from home means companies need less edit bays, editors get more sanity from not driving, and it is better for the environment not having to drive, so someone please come up with a solution and fast!