Avid Media Composer 5.5 is coming to Videoguys! If you are having problems viewing this e-mail or would like to see it in your web browser click this link or copy and paste it in your browser for all these great specials. http://www.webvideoguys.com/mc55.html
It's Official: Avid Media Composer 5.5 Order Online at videoguys.com or Call Us at 800-323-2325 |
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Last week Avid announced that they would be releasing and shipping the newest version of Media Composer on March 8th - a full month before NAB! This is very exciting news and it created a flury of tweets, blog posts and discussions in user groups and forums. At last years NAB, Avid announced Media Composer 5, and it was he hit of the show. It won numerous honors throughout the industry at NAB and throughout the year and was even named the Videoguys Top Product of 2010. It looks like the new version 5.5 is going to continue the momentum and we expect the awards to keep on coming in 2011. What's new in Media Composer 5.5
Now here's the Videoguys' opinion on why Media Composer 5.5 is so great: 1) Avid Media Composer 5.5 is more open! When Avid announced that Media Composer 5 would support the mighty Matrox MXO2 Mini, it sent shockwaves through the industry at last year's NAB. This was one giant step forward for Avid editors and now, with Media Composer 5.5, Avid takes another step in the right direction with support for the AJA I/O Express. The AJA I/O Express gives you both SDI in and out, as well as HDMI output for monitoring. While Avid didn't allow Matrox to turn on capture for the MXO2 Mini, they have added some new format support for MXO2 Mini with Media Composer 5.5. Matrox MX02 Mini now includes SD 23.976, 720p 23.98, 1080p 23.98, 1080p 24, 1080p 25, and 1080p 29.97 as well as the ability to select PsF or true P output in 1080p modes. Also MX02 Mini with Max acceleration has been qualified on Mac OS systems. So now Avid gives you two great 3rd party hardware solutions to choose from, along with their existing NitrisDX and MOJODX hardware.
Like I said, it's another step in the right direction. What would have made this one a HUGE leap would have been support for the installed base of KONA cards and the inclusion of the full MXO2 family of devices. Well folks, this isn't hppening yet, but it's pretty clear this is the direction Avid is going down and it's just a matter of time before we get what we really want, full support for 3rd party hardware from Matrox, AJA and others.
2) More AMA support for more tapeless workflows Hopefully we'll be getting AMA support for AVCHD footage sometime in the near future. There are millions of AVCHD camcorders and mini HD Video recorders that capture into AVCHD being used everyday, all over the world. While the camcorders that record this footage may not be considered professional, Avid editors are asked to handle this footage all the time. Because they are so small and simple to use, many professional news organizations and creative filmmmakers are integrating them into their workflows, just as they have with DSLRs. 3) The Smart Tool gets Smarter
The new 5.5 Smart Tool allows you to manipulate transitions directly from the timeline. This will save me lots of time and extra steps. I really like how it gives you handles to easily modify the start and stop points of the transition. They also add a new transition manipulation viewer that looks pretty cool and I can't wait to start playing around with it! It's going to make fine tuning my transitions so much easier! Now editors also get more control over the Smart Tool, which should make experienced Avid editors much happier. 4) Artist Control Surface Support Last year Avid purchased a company, Euphonix, that makes control surfaces. A few months before Avid purchased them, we started carrying their new Artist Series of products. I'm a really big fan of the Artist Series - which is now supported in Avid Media Composer 5.5, on both PC and Mac platforms! It should be noted that while I'll just be talking about MC5.5 here, the Avid Artist Series products support a bunch of software including ProTools.
I have to admit, I have not seen or used PhraseFind, but I can see how it can save editors a tremendous amount of time. First a disclaimer: PhraseFind is not included with Avid Media Composer 5.5., it is a $495. PhraseFind allows you to locate clips and find your footage based on voice recognition. You can buy different languages packs that even take into account the region (ie. British English, North American English). For a limited time Avid is offering Media Composer 5 Owners a FREE Upgrade to Media Composer 5.5 with their PhraseFind purchase. Conclusion: I'm very excited about Media Composer 5.5 and Avid's steady march towards making Media Composer an open platform for all editors. As a $149 download upgrade directly from Avid I think it's a fair price for a bunch of new features and improved performance. If you're still using an older version of Media Composer (or Avid Xpress Pro or Xpress DV) you definitely want to take advantage of this upgrade, and even more important you want to jump on it now while you still can for $695. After March 8th the cost of the upgrade for MC4 or older Avid editors goes to $895. You can save even more by taking advantage of our MC5 upgrade bundles with your choice of G-Tech G-Raid, Blu-ray Burner or Training bundles for $749.95! As I mentioned at the beginning of the article, Avid Media Composer 5.5 has created quite a lot of excitement throughout the industry. Avid has posted a bunch of really useful videos on their website:
We've been blogging them all, and you can follow it here using our MC5.5 TAG |
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In Avid's own words the AJA Io Express is an excellent choice for those who don't need the power and acceleration of a Nitris DX or Mojo DX system, Io Express gives you high-quality audio and HD/SD video capture, monitoring, and output. When you pair the Io Express with Media Composer 5.5, you get a complete capture, editing, monitoring, and output system for your laptop or desktop computer in a more cost-effective solution.
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Another new feature added to Media Composer with the 5.0 release was the Smart Tool. I am a big fan of the Smart Tool, I really like how it simplifies the editing workflow for me and people like me who are more used to editing with Final Cut Pro or Adobe Premiere Pro. While seasoned Avid editors have mixed feelings about the Smart Tool, I love it and I'm really happy to see Avid expanding it's usefulness in MC 5.5
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