Avid Media Composer - professional program for video editing. Edit your projects faster and in ways you never thought possible. Media Composer 5.5.3 more open and interactive than ever, so you can work with virtually any media format and extend the program with add-ons from Avid or from third party manufacturers. Media Composer works where other video editing systems are powerless. Edit the way you want, in real time, with full-featured, ACE-certified editing and creative tools. Experience the fastest file-based technology workflows on earth. The program easily integrates with video and audio editors, supports tapeless production technology, multi-camera HD editing, works with various multimedia formats and much more...
Avid Media Composer software does not depend on additional external hardware, designed for film and video editing. Media Composer is widely used in the creation of most films, television shows and commercials in today's film and video industry.

Among the new features:
Support for the QuickTime codec, incl. Apple ProRes and H.264
Support for RED R3D format without transcoding
RGB 4-4-4 digitization (via Dual Link SDI to NitrisDX) and subsequent editing in this format
Matrox MXO2 Mini support for monitoring
Working with stereo sound on the timeline as with one master clip
Support for RTAS audio plugins
Further improvements to the interface
XDCAM proxy support
Import AVCHD, AVCCAM and NXCAM

Peculiarities:
Intuitive media management integrated into Media Composer. Powerful trimming tools. One step color correction. Image stabilization. Working with alpha channel in real time. Processing of 16-bit AVX effects. No other application has such a range of features and similar functionality that Media Composer offers.

Editing different formats on the same timeline
Combine HD, SD, DV, cinema formats and resolutions, as well as Avid AVR and Meridien JFIF on one timeline without additional rendering, transcoding or re-digitizing. Editing DVCPRO HD and HDV without additional rendering. Multi-camera editing in real time HD, SD and DV video. 24p support. Ability to capture 24p over IEEE-1394. Avid Media Composer is compatible with Avid Unity and Avid Interplay.

Sony XDCAM and Panasonic P2 support
Save your time! Now in Avid Media Composer you can edit material from Sony XDCAM and Panasonic P2 without pre-capture. Sony XDCAM support includes low-res, DV and IMX high-res editing.

Encoding in Avid DNxHD
If you're working with HD, then you need the industry's first HD codec, Avid's DNxHD, which allows you to maintain 1:1 native HD quality at a bandwidth comparable to SD. The new Avid DNxHD format delivers incredible high-definition quality and maximizes disk space savings by allowing you to work with your project in HD across multiple workstations. The bit rate is 145 Mbps (for 8-bit video in 4:2:2) and 220 Mbps (for 10-bit video in 4:2:2) at 720p and 1080p/i resolutions.

10-bit real-time color correction
Avid Media Composer has powerful color grading tools based on Avid Symphony technology. With one click of the mouse button, you can analyze the colors and color correct the entire sequence at once.

Image Stabilization with SteadyGlide
Now you can automatically stabilize footage that, for some reason, such as camera shake, has become unsuitable for use in a project. As a result, you will significantly save your costs and time for work.

fluid motion
With FluidFilm, you can create slow motion and "fit-to-fill" effects from any video using patented pixel morphing technology. Speed ​​and position are controlled by keyframes defined on the curve. You can also make your 30i footage look like 24p film footage with the FluidFilm function.

Recording 4-channel audio through a microphone
Record 4-channel audio directly to the timeline, without wasting time capturing and editing material. During dialogue or narration, you can record several voices on the timeline at once, which will significantly reduce the time for voice acting.

View video in full screen mode via DVI output
Now you can display SD and HD content in full screen mode on LCD monitor using a standard DVI connector.

Professional tools for working with film material
Avid Film Composer's metadata management features are built into every Media Composer system. Capture footage from 24p to 25p in real time, and automatic synchronization video and audio sources. Also, when working with film material, additional metadata are available such as: Timecode, KeyKode, DPX, VXF and UNC.

Superior media management
Quick and easy systematization, markup and localization of media sources. Move and rename clips without losing links as all events are automatically updated. Intuitive, customizable media management features are built into the Avid editing environment and are specifically designed to handle large and complex projects.

Key features of Avid Media Composer:
Ability to edit and work with effects for 10-bit SD and HD video
Universal Library codecs for simultaneous work with DV, IMX, SD and HD materials on the same timeline.
Support for working with DVCPRO HD and DVCPRO 50 without additional resampling (capture / output according to IEEE 1394)
Support for working with HDV without additional rendering
Up to 11 streams of uncompressed SD video (more streams possible at lower resolutions)
Ability to work with digital negative (DI) off-line
AVX2 support
Quality switching mode for maximum performance
Optimization of work on multiprocessor stations

Mounting options:
Working with video materials with different resolutions on the same timeline
Real-time multi-camera editing (9 SD sources, 3 HD sources)
SteadyGlide feature for Motion Tracking and Stabilization
Compatible with ABVB AVRs and Meridien JFIF
Consolidation and transcoding of media data to various resolutions
24 video and audio tracks (unlimited number of video layers through the ability to work with multiple sequences at once)
24 MetaSync tracks
Film Composer Toolbox
Applying uncompressed effects regardless of the resolution of the clip itself
Audio dissolve effect in real time
Support for 4:3 and 16:9 formats
Dividing DV material into scenes
Working with long GOP sequences
Support capture 24P in 24, 25 or 30 frame project
PAL 24P and 25P
Video Archive Function
Ability to edit while capturing (must have Avid Unity MediaManager)
23.976, 24 and film editing with the ability to convert the sequence from 24 to 23.976
Ability to capture 24P over IEEE-1394 for 24fps projects

Digital video effects and compositing:
10-bit effects and filters Boris Continuum Complete
Customizable real-time 3D effects: Warp, Picture-in-Picture, Corner Pinning, Shapes, Video Titles
And also in real time: Dissolves, Superimposition, Resize, Flips, Flops, Wipes, Conceals, Squeezes, Masks and Picture-in-Picture
Panasonic Varicam off-speed support
Moving Mattes in real time
Chroma key and luma key in real time
Real-time alpha channel keying
Compositing an unlimited number of layers
Customizable speed effects including FluidMotion
FluidFilm effect to give 50i and 60i footage a cinematic look
Support for AVX 1.5 & AVX 2.0 plugins, including 3rd party realtime plugins
ExpertRender for rendering effects
Paint, AniMatte, Scratch Removal capabilities for frame-by-frame processing
Pan & Zoom creates video from static images in high definition
Deep Defocus, blur, mosaic
Aspect Ratio Tools
High quality SpectraMatte keyer with SpectraGraph capability

10-bit color correction:
Professional-grade real-time color grading tools
One Step AutoCorrect
Patented NaturalMatch for easy color matching
color effects in real time, customizable with keyframes
Three monitor windows for color grading
Displaying ChromaCurve and ChromaGraph
Waveform and Vectorscope display

Integrated tools for creating titles and graphics:
Uncompressed graphics and real-time titles
2D and 3D titrations including Marquee
Drum and running line
Saving heading styles created by the user

Maximum convenience and compatibility
Support for Avid Studio Toolkit (Avid FX, Avid DVD and Avid 3D)
Support for the entire Avid Unity line, including Avid Unity MediaManager and Avid Unity TransferManager compatible environments
Ability to edit while capturing media
Full compatibility of bins, sequences, cuts, compositions, sound settings, effects and Avid media with Avid Xpress, Media Composer, Film Composer and Symphony systems
Compatible with Avid DS Nitris systems with AFE
Sony XDCAM support including MPEG copies low resolution and IMX
Panasonic P2 support
AAF import/export
Working with MXF or OMF
HD and SD video encoding in Windows Media
LTC timecode output
Support for Photoshop and After Effects layers
24-bit audio files compatible with Digidesign Pro Tools systems
Remote control playback and capture

Project and metadata management
Multi-level search, selection and sorting functions
View modes: Frame, script and text
Ability to change file metadata directly in the bean
Unlimited bins
Media Consolidation Feature
Folder hierarchy (folders within folders) inside the project window
Individual settings for User, Project and Site
Blocking media data from possible changes
Support for Avid Unity MediaManager for advanced searches and local and remote metadata management

Coding for Web + Interactive Delivery
WMV HD and Windows Media 9, H.264 MPEG4, MPEG 1&2, QuickTime, Flash and RealMedia encoding
WMV HD for HD content to be burned to DVD-ROM
Export Windows Media (ASF), QuickTime 7.0 and MPEG-2
QuickTime Reference Movie Output
Sonic DVDit
Sorenson Squeeze
SmartSound SonicFire Pro
Boris Continuum Complete
Noise Industries Factory Tools

System requirements:
Computer: Avid-qualified Windows-based computer or laptop
OS: Windows 7 Pro (64-bit), XP Pro SP2/SP3 (32-bit), Vista Business SP2 (32-bit and 64-bit), Vista Ultimate SP2 (64-bit)
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.33 GHz processor or faster
Memory: 2 GB of RAM (4 GB of RAM recommended; Windows Vista requires 4 GB of RAM)
Graphics Card: NVIDIA Quadro FX family (FX 560 or higher)
Internal hard drive: Minimum 80 GB 7200 rpm hard disk

New\Changes in Avid Media Composer v.5.5.3:
Capture, monitor, and output video with support for the AJA Io Express interface
Natively access and edit Sony HDCAM SR Lite media through AMA (Avid Media Access)
Accelerate Panasonic AVC-Intra projects-and use multiple streams-with support for the new Nitris DX AVC-Intra hardware interface
Take hands-on control of your video and audio editing/mixing with EUCON support for Artist Control, Artist Mix, and Artist Transport control surfaces (watch the video)
Find the right clips fast with support for the new PhraseFind option (watch the video)
Directly manipulate transitions in the timeline with the expanded smart tool(watch the video)
Be more creative with updates to production suite (watch the video)
Quickly find files across local and shared storage bins using the improved Find tool
Capture and monitor audio in Media Composer projects using Pro Tools hardware
Specify audio track formats during import or through AMA, and expand your creative palette with 20 included AIR effects plug-ins
Be more creative with new updates to the included Production Suite (sold separately from download purchases)
Get more flexibility with audio signal routing when sending material to air (Send to Playback), with up to 16 audio output channels
View portions of the software interface in localized languages, including Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Korean, French, Spanish, German, and Italian
Get better Long GOP performance when using Send to Playback with AirSpeed ​​servers
Use proxies of H.264 material in AirSpeed ​​MultiStream environments for faster response time and increased stream counts
New format support with 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.

OS: Windows XP\Se7en (32-bit\64-bit)
Interface: English
Tablet: in stock (functionality tested).

Avid, which owns the well-known amateur video editor Pinnacle Studio, offers one more of its creations in addition to it. This program is presented by the developer as an advanced video editor close to the professional level. A long and complicated history with the renaming of this program has finally led to the fact that now we have the opportunity to start with clean slate, that is, from the first version. Yes, yes, it is this figure that is present in the name of the program in question. What is characteristic - the developer decided not to even focus the user's attention on this one. So, on the splash screen of the program, the version number is simply missing!

The installer of the program resembles the Pinnacle Studio installer to hell, but it's stupid to be surprised at such a "coincidence". The developer is the same.

The package includes a set of plug-ins from RedGiant - and again I recall Pinnacle Studio, which traditionally includes such creations of third-party developers.

At the first launch of the program, the user will be greeted with a welcome window with suggestions to start learning how to work in the editor and select a folder on the hard disk, the contents of which will always be available in the Avid Studio library without unnecessary import time.

The program settings are called by the menu command Customize → Control Panel or by pressing Ctrl+Alt+C. There are few interesting parameters here, with the exception of two important ones. The first one is hidden in the paragraph Storage locations. First, the user is advised to define a folder for temporary files (and do not be confused by the translation of the name of this folder - Display files). It creates and stores all temporary files that the program creates during operation. And therefore, this folder should be located on a free speed drive. However, this rule refers not only to the program under consideration, but to all non-linear video editing in general.

The second important parameter is setting the default project format (item Project Options). There are two dozen most common standards in the drop-down list, from which you need to choose the one with which you most often work. Although you can do without it, just remember to check the box " Detect format from first clip...". If this box is checked, the program will automatically create a project with the parameters corresponding to the first imported clip.

Avid Studio supports projects that have the following characteristics:

The presence in the list of such a format as 1920 × 1080/50 (60) p indicates the "advancement" of the program. On the other hand, you cannot create a project with dimensions or frame rates other than those listed above. With this limitation, Avid Studio, alas, resembles an ordinary amateur combine.

Finally, in the very last paragraph - Test- the user is given the opportunity to adjust the quality of the displayed content, and, most importantly, display the preview window on the second monitor. As we will see later, this may be necessary condition for a complete installation.

Let's explore the Avid Studio workspace. It is a conglomeration of windows, which, unfortunately, are rigidly fixed in their positions. Separating a window, dragging it to a second monitor is impossible. Windows are resized as desired by dragging their borders with the mouse or a special orange crosshair, but there are certain limitations.

The materials window is located in the upper left part of the program window, the type of displayed media is selected by the tabs: Collections, Effects, Transitions, Sound effects, Disc menu. The display of media material is quite convenient, there is both sorting by file type and a quick search that allows you to find the desired clip or photo. The material can be displayed in tabular form or icons, the size of which is changed using the slider.

The preview window is located at the top right, there are all the tools necessary for viewing: frame-by-frame scrolling, a scrubbing wheel that variably changes the playback speed.

If you have a second monitor at your disposal, then it makes sense to transfer the entire view to it (we noted this item in the program settings for a reason). Thus, the edited video can also be viewed with high precision, and there is more than enough space to work with the timeline.

The next aspect that you need to pay attention to, in theory, should have been considered first of all. It's about the video capture module. By the way, the owner of a modern video camera that records video on a memory card, this module might come in handy too. And that's why.

Here, in addition to the standard DV-capture, such functions as import from disks are implemented, as well as direct capture from sources working via WDM ( Windows Driver model, windows driver model) - any webcam or other device. In addition, there is also such interesting opportunity, like capturing static frames, which can be used to create home cartoons, for example.

But back to the program interface. Looking at it, many users may have unnecessary associations with an amateur program. Believe me, it's not. The tools that the developer gave such an unpretentious look are quite consistent with the requirements for advanced video editor tools. For example, the icon with gears in the upper left corner of the timeline is designed to quickly change project parameters. Clicking on this button brings up a dialog box where you can change the aspect ratio of the frame, size and frequency.

The following buttons, located a little to the right, are also not made for beauty. The first of these buttons enables the display of additional tools for working with audio on the timeline: two volume controls (general volume and volume at the current clip position) and a button for calling the adjustment module surround sound (Panorama). If the sound in the clip is five-channel, then the user will be able to shift in any direction.

I am glad that the change of all the listed parameters (except for the overall volume of the clip - the orange slider on the timeline) is made by means of control points, automatically or manually created on the timeline.

The next button with the treble clef icon opens the Scorefilter module. This audio library allows you to select the desired musical accompaniment of arbitrary duration and add it to the project. It's just a pity that there is no children's theme in the kit by default ... However, for this, there is a button Additionally. Pressing it will take you straight to Avid e-shop where you can find and purchase the missing materials.

The treble clef is followed by a clear button that launches the captioning module. Its capabilities are quite rich, and the quantity and quality of the design templates and animations present here will be enough for any user, even the most demanding masterpiece maker.

In order for us to be able to compare future versions of the program with this one in the future, it is necessary to fix the number of effects and filters available in Avid Studio.

effects	Transitions	Design Templates	Title Templates	Disc Menu Templates
538	297	308	113	72

Just a giant list. This program again resembles an amateur harvester, in which the emphasis is on user friendliness. How else to express this friendliness? Of course, the number of ready-made presets!

As in any good video editor there are no limits on the size of windows and tracks, Avid Studio is free from such limits. For example, there are cases when working with key points requires increasing the height of the track. Fortunately, in the program under consideration, this height can be changed as you like: just hook the bottom border with the mouse and drag it until the required size is reached. At least half the height of the screen.

Timeline scaling is no less flexible. To do this, in its lower part there is a special strip with a movable marker, the boundaries of which can be moved apart with the mouse. Thus, the scale of the project display on the timeline decreases or increases.

Also, unlike amateur video editors, Avid Studio allows you to place the material on any track and in any of its places, while automatically shifting the clip to the beginning of the track or to the border of the adjacent clip does not occur. However, the behavior of clips in the timeline can be changed on the fly by selecting the appropriate option from the drop-down list located in the upper right corner of the timeline.

Let's move on to working with effects and filters. Probably, those who have already dealt with various video editors will only need to know one fact: in Avid Studio, filters and effects added to a clip are configured in a separate pop-up window. Now let's analyze this phrase in more detail.

There are two fundamentally different approaches to working with filters and effects in current video processing programs. So, in most video editors, a separate window called by the user is used to adjust the effect ( Sony Vegas Pro, Edius, etc.). Moreover, each type of transformation can have its own separate windows.

A separate window for adjusting the geometry of the frame in Sony Vegas Pro

There is another way. For example, in Adobe program Premiere Pro filter settings are available in a special panel, always in front of the user's eyes. Just click on the desired clip on the timeline, and a tree-like list of its parameters will appear in the specified panel, which can be changed with a couple of clicks.

The Effect Controls Panel Adobe Premiere Pro

The program under consideration, as already mentioned, uses the first of the described approaches - a separate window, called either by double clicking on the clip, or by selecting the appropriate item from the drop-down menu. The downside here is that this window always expands to almost full screen, you can change its size, but only up to a certain limit.

In this window, you can find all the filters and effects that are present in the program without exception. Their exact settings are made here, in the right part of the module window. By the way, in the same effects editing module, you can also find a much-needed filter like video stabilization. It should be noted that the stabilization calculation is extremely slow. An HD video lasting about one minute was processed for half an hour. At the same time, the processor load is low: all the Intel Core i7 cores were hardly half used during operation.

We will not consider the pros and cons of both ways of working with effects and filters; comparing different programs is a separate conversation that does not fit into the scope of the review. Moreover, any user who has been working in one program for a long time probably develops a stable attitude towards something familiar. So, a Vegas fan is deeply disgusted and incomprehensible to the presence of the effects panel, he knows that in order to change the properties of a clip, you need to call or open a special separate window. Conversely, pop-up windows are incomprehensible and unnecessary for those who are used to always having all the elements and modules in front of their eyes.

Despite the fact that the developer has collected in one such window almost all the filters and effects that can be applied to the video, some operations are still performed using other tools. To find them, you need to click right click mouse on the video - this technique is used in almost all video editors.

Thus, the clip playback speed is changed in the module called by the command Speed. Unfortunately, the 500% limitation present here does not make it possible to increase the speed even higher.

It would be unfair if we did not mention such a handy tool for amateurs as automatic video editing (see articles Automatic Video Editing: Part 1, Part 2). Avid Studio also has this tool, and even two!

The first one, smartslide, designed to create a slideshow of photos with musical accompaniment. Second, SmartMovie, automatically generates video clips. Both of these modules are launched by the buttons of the same name located at the bottom of the Libraries.

Creating a photo slideshow is extremely simple: just drag and drop desired photos in the field intended for them, add music and decide on rather meager settings.

Video editing is also easy. A minute's work with the simplest settings, and you can proceed to next step: view the resulting video, continue editing it on the timeline "manually" or, finally, export the resulting movie to disk or to a file.

Creating an automovie takes a little time, during which the program cuts the clips, arranges them in chronological order and supplies the joints with various transitions. As a result of the work, the user will see a finished - however, boring and monotonous - film, consisting of almost identical segments (scenes).

Let's move on to the final stages of working with video: export to a finished file and disk authoring (unlike most "serious" video editors, Avid Studio also provides the ability to author). tab Disk- and at the disposal of the user comes a simple disk authoring, consisting of all the minimum necessary tools.

The program allows you to create three types of discs: Blu-ray, AVCHD and DVD.

Additional export settings contain a sufficient number of parameters. Sufficient for quality settings, but, alas, not for normal authoring, during which the material should not be transcoded.

Regardless of which disc option is selected, regardless of the various settings, the program stubbornly recodes the video, which does not need it at all, as it ideally fits the Blu-ray standards. That is why it is not clear why there is a checkbox in the export settings " Always re-encode the entire movie"? Hmm ... As if the program can not recode the entire movie. Luckily, no re-encoding takes place during DVD creation: standard definition MPEG-2 is simply repackaged into the proper VOBs.

Exporting video to a file is possible ... Wow, not a bad list:

It seems that almost all the formats that are popular today are collected here, even MKV is available (this “Matryoshka”, beloved by many, is hiding under the name DivX Plus HD).

And again, whatever one may say, the settings (rather rich), and the complete recoding of all the material located on the timeline is provided to you. It doesn’t matter at all whether the exported video was processed with some kind of filters, effects, or remained on the timeline as it is, untouched by anything…

With such a mania for transcoding, Avid Studio resembles a professional video editor.

Paragraph " Network"It could well be called simply" YouTube". Because in the list Type of» there is only one YouTube. True, the four templates available here, from 360p to 1080p, smooth out the picture quite well. But still, I think, some kind of Vimeo still needs to be added.

The review will be incomplete if we do not mention the speed and quality of the program's encoding. To "calculate" this data, we will use a ready-made, more than once tested project, which was calculated many times in different video editors when preparing the article "Multi-core processors in popular video editors".

To avoid errors during the creation process exact copy mentioned project, let's use the friendship of Avid products. This friendship is expressed in Avid Studio's ability to import projects created in Pinnacle Studio.

Since Avid Studio can export to Full HD at 50 progressive frames per second (namely, these are the characteristics of a similar file), we will certainly export to this format, measuring the operating time.

But what is? Inadequately long rendering time is simply confusing: rendering in AVC 1920x1080 50p took 1616 seconds, rendering in MPEG-2 720x576 - 789 seconds! What's the trouble? After all, the slowest of the video editors considered in the mentioned comparative article showed almost three times best result(By the way, the slowest video editor was just the same Pinnacle Studio - put a smiley)!

It was enough to watch the rendering process to understand at what stage the program stumbles, where is this notorious bottleneck, which tragically increases the rendering time. It turned out that the program sharply reduces the rendering speed as soon as it starts encoding a section of the video, the speed of which is increased by 400% (in the figure below, this section has oblique shading).

Let's follow this process with our own eyes:

Now knowing weakness program, let's try to free it from such overwork and remove the effect of changing the speed of the video clip.

O miracle! The render time for a clip without playback speed conversions was 264 seconds in AVC 1920×1080 50p and just 83 seconds in standard definition MPEG-2! Subsequent experiments only made sure that there is some flaw in the program engine, for which changing the playback speed of a clip on the timeline is an extremely difficult task, which greatly increases the final encoding time.

And yet, something is missing ... Specifics, I guess. What is the limit of changing the speed of a clip, after which the program starts rendering the video for an abnormally long time? We tried to find out this too. Nine different projects were created in Avid Studio, each lasting 20 seconds. The same video file was used as the source video, and the difference between the projects is that the duration of the video in each of them is different. Further, the very threshold was found experimentally, beyond which it is not recommended for Avid to go. Here it is: 200%. If a clip located on the timeline is accelerated by more than 200%, then the rendering speed of the final video will drop tenfold. The reader can admire these figures summarized in one chart. And in order to get a visual clarity, let's add to the same diagram the results of rendering exactly the same projects, but obtained in Adobe Premiere Pro CS5 (Adobe Premiere Pro was chosen only because this program is the only video editor that turned out to be "at hand" ).

The diagram clearly shows how this 200% limit works in Avid Studio. There is no doubt that we are seeing some kind of flaw, or, if you like, an error in the program code, which with a high degree of probability will be fixed by the developer in the very near future (if, of course, he knows about the existence of the error).

As for the quality of the H.264 encoder built into the program, no complaints can be made about it. The quality of the video received in the program is indistinguishable from the quality of the original video. Well, well - almost indistinguishable.

It may even seem strange, because the program uses a weak profile when encoding. [email protected] instead of more "advanced" [email protected], which encoded the original file shot with the Panasonic HDC-SD700 camcorder. The only conclusion we can draw is this: the codec is very good!

The rest of the conclusions the reader, most likely, has already made himself. This program, being a kind of layer between an amateur and a professional video editor, is ideal for someone who lacks the functionality of Pinnacle Studio, but hundreds of Vegas Pro tools seem superfluous.

Avid Studio

More than a year has passed since the advent of the high definition (HD) format. To date, this format is the leader, although 4K breathes in its back. This is especially noticeable in the segment of amateur video cameras. And for many people who have bought such video cameras, the question arises of how to edit this video in order to maintain high quality. Editing software vendors are analyzing this market and are not sitting idly by releasing new video editing software and updating old ones. This article will focus on one such program, which at one time caused a large number of questions and misunderstandings. This program is Avid Studio.

Those who get acquainted with the program Avid Studio, in order to decide whether to purchase it or not, immediately ask themselves the question: What is it? Redesigned Pinnacle Studio, or something else that looks a lot like it? Even the manufacturer releases the same program under different labels. Assemblies of programs that can be found on the Internet also use different names and pictures that mislead users. I will try to answer the question, what is Avid Studio anyway, what are its pros and cons, and whether those who worked at Pinnacle should switch to it. This review draws not only on my experience with Avid Studio, but also on the opinions of other people who have worked with this program.

It can also be added that the developers of the Avid Studio program, which now owns the famous Pinnacle, are positioning the new video editor as a more advanced, and if not professional, then semi-professional video editing tool. As with the introduction of Pinnacle, Avid Studio is confused about the number. On the one hand, this is the first version of the new video editor, on the other hand, the developer is trying to hide it, or, better to say, not very advertised, this figure is missing in the program splash screen and on the box.

Read about other video editing software on the page "Programs for video editing"

Description of the program for video editing Avid Studio

As already mentioned, both Pinnacle and Avid Studio have the same manufacturer, so these programs have a lot in common. Now I will touch on the main issues that you will encounter if you decide to buy Avid Studio. At the very beginning of work on the project, for further convenience, it is better for you to create special folder on your hard drive, and place (copy!) There all the files that you need to work. The "Import" tab - perhaps, you will only need it when capturing video from external sources, you can open files from the computer from the main program window. You also need to select a folder for storing temporary files. It creates and stores all the files that the program creates during operation. It will be better if this folder is located on another hard drive, but not on the system one. Before you create a project, define its parameters. They can only be installed from the list available in the program. Naturally, Avid Studio also works with high definition (1920 by 1080 pixels, 25 or 50 frames per second).

Now a very important point. The manufacturers of the Avid Studio program have come up with one trick for users. When you add your video, photo, or something else to the so-called library, and after some time you want to delete files not used in this movie from it, these files are deleted not only from the library, but also completely from the computer. You can, of course, check the box on the special tab that "delete only from the library", but someday you will forget to do this and lose important information. To protect yourself from such trouble, create a copy of the folder in which the project files are located. In general, compared to Pinnacle, Avid Studio has a lot of inconvenience. For example, tools such as Equalizer, which you have to use quite often. There was no visual control at all. You turn the knobs, but what changes and how much is absolutely incomprehensible.

You can't swap timeline windows, but you can resize them relative to each other. The interface of the Avid Studio program, on the one hand, is quite simple and understandable, on the other hand, there are all the necessary tools for a full-fledged editing. At the top of the window there are tabs, each of which is relevant at a certain stage of work. The Effects, Transitions, Disc Menu tabs are all pretty handy. On the left side, there is sorting, a quick search that allows you to find the desired clip or. On the right is the viewport. There are all the tools necessary for viewing: control buttons, frame-by-frame playback, a scroll wheel that changes the playback speed.

If you have a second monitor, then you can transfer the view window to it, only specify this option in the settings. Thus, the edited video can be viewed with high fidelity, and there is enough space for several video tracks. By the way, video tracks in Avid Studio are implemented no worse than in other professional editing programs. They can be changed both in length and height, the beginning of each plot is indicated by a picture, which is very convenient. Avid Studio allows you to add material to any track, anywhere, without automatically shifting to the beginning of the track or to the border of an adjacent clip (if configured). Also in the Avid Studio program there is also a titler. Not God knows what, but you can make titles (there are all sorts of templates and animation).

Built into Avid Studio great amount transitions and effects. There are more than half a thousand effects alone, and a bunch of transitions, templates for titles and menus. This is one of the significant differences between this program and other video editors. Although, in my opinion, more than 90% of the transitions and almost half of the effects are completely stupid and useless, and only clog up the program. When working with effects, it is possible to set key points. But, unfortunately, there are no smooth motion paths, such as curves in Photoshop. I can't help but mention one, or rather, two tools that are present in the Avid Studio program - SmartMovie and SmartSlide. They are liked by amateurs and disliked by professionals. With SmartMovie, you can make a "like a video clip" in a few seconds, and SmartSlide makes a "like a slide show."

Why don't professional operators like them? The fact is that in order to make a really good video clip, you need to work with your hands and brains, you need to know what plot where to cut and where to put, what effect and where it is appropriate to apply, and so on. It takes a lot of time to create a video clip, but the result of a good specialist will be high level. Both technically and creatively. The same goes for creating slideshows. But all sorts of hack operators working for money, mainly at weddings, actively use these buttons, and as a result, they fool the newlyweds by offering "a wedding clip inexpensively." Such clips are absolutely meaningless and inexpressive, the musical accompaniment there is in no way connected with the video sequence, but it is done quickly - one, two, and you're done. Check out my slideshows on the Create Photo Slideshow page. No program can do anything like this on its own, and it takes a lot of time for a person to learn how to do something similar.

After the editing is done, you need to recalculate all this and save it as a movie, that is, now we are talking about exporting video in Avid Studio. Here again, the creators of the program went too far, stuffed unnecessary things here too. For example, output to YouTube. This youtube is already full different kind with videos shot for no reason and for no reason, it is very difficult to find something worthwhile in this dump. The main advantage of the program is that you can display your video in high definition (Full HD), there are several settings. With the right settings, you can get a decent quality of video encoding (in my opinion, it's better to use the H.264 codec).

It's hard to say for sure what settings you'd better put in the output. I will advise you to do this: shoot a small fragment of video with your video camera (preferably under adverse lighting conditions, for example, in an apartment, and so that there is an object moving in the frame, for example, a person). Then recode this small fragment in Avid Studio, and make several files with different output settings. After that, take the same frame from different videos and compare it. In this case, you will find a lot of interesting things, you will see something that you cannot notice when playing this video. Then you will know exactly what is best, and you will be able to choose the option that suits you.

Another thing to add is that Avid Studio has a built-in tool for creating menus for discs. There is a sufficient amount ready-made templates which you can edit to your liking if you wish. Avid Studio allows you to create three types of discs: Blu-ray, AVCHD and DVD. In general, if you decide to buy the Avid Studio program in order to edit your home video, then you save on other programs. I mean programs for creating titles, special effects, video encoding, sound processing and creating menus. A professional needs all this. The Avid Studio program is, so to speak, all in one bottle. Naturally, all these additional modules are not very rich in settings and features, but on the other hand, they will allow you to go through all the stages of creating a video using one program, and if you learn how to use them wisely, then you can have a good result.

Avid Technology, Inc., a manufacturer of equipment and software for production computer games, cinema, video and animated films, previously known only to professionals. Avid products have earned recognition in the professional field and have been repeatedly awarded with such prestigious awards as Oscar, Grammy and Emmy. Ask any professional in the field of video, and he will certainly answer you what the systems of the Avid Xpress family are, the sound engineer must know the Pro Tools program and the Digidesign brand, and those who work in 3D graphics must have heard of the SoftImage | XSI package. And it all belongs to Avid Technology, Inc. today.

Digidesign, by the way, is largely an independent entity and often acts as a distributor of its professional audio solutions. But besides Digidesign, Avid has recently owned an equally famous sound hardware company M-Audio (Midiman), which also means a lot in the market. digital sound. And if Digidesign is more known to professionals in the field of sound, then M-Audio to computer people. In the late 90s, M-Audio products gained popularity under the Midiman trademark, and the name of the M-Audio company appeared later, so many, knowing Midiman products well, do not identify them today with either M-Audio, much less Avid . Midiman's main focus was on hardware audio/MIDI interfaces, accessories and loudspeakers in the lower to mid-range price ranges, and as such the company was widely known in consumer circles, although many of its products, especially in the field of MIDI interfaces and control devices, not neglected and professionals.

In the computer environment, on the contrary, the most famous brand is M-Audio with such popular models PCI boards like the Audiophile 2496 and Revolution 7.1, as well as speakers from the LX series, keyboards from the Evolution MK series, etc. Two years ago, M-Audio's positions looked very stable and nothing foreshadowed any changes, but at the end of 2004, this company became part of the Avid-Digidesign audio division. Today, Digidesign, as part of the concern, continues its activities in the field of expensive professional solutions, and M-Audio is engaged in the same thing as before, relatively inexpensive, but high-quality products for the lower and middle budget ranges.

Last year, Avid Technology bought another well-known company, Pinnacle Systems, which also specialized in the production of relatively inexpensive but high-quality products, but already in the field of video. However, Pinnacle also had professional solutions, such as the MediaStream broadcast server and the Deko live graphics system. They certainly expanded Avid's line of professional broadcast products, but overall the company is still better known in the mainstream market, where over 10 million Pinnacle-branded digital video capture and editing devices have now been sold.

Thus, the acquisition of M-Audio and Pinnacle for Avid served as the basis for the formation of a new direction this is inexpensive audio and video equipment and software for a wide range of users. According to Avid, these acquisitions are part of a long-term development plan and are intended to serve the rising generation of video enthusiasts as they learn the basics of video and audio—thus building a base of potential users of Avid professional products. However, it cannot be said that the company's old and new products do not intersect in anything, since Avid also had relatively inexpensive solutions, which we will recall below.

Be that as it may, but today Avid offers a line of products Avid Liquid 7 and Avid Liquid Pro 7 (formerly Pinnacle Liquid Edition). True, Pinnacle Systems still has Pinnacle Studio 10, Dazzle Video Creator and other budget products.

Affordable Avid Liquid editing system provides processing of video of any format (SD, HD/HDV) on a single timeline and includes built-in tools for DVD authoring, audio editing, as well as the ability to use more than a thousand effects in real time, and counted as standard ( SD) and high definition (HD) resolution. Liquid version 7 is probably the cheapest HDV video editing software available right now. The timeline displays up to ten layers of video in real time with 2D and 3D effects, allows you to perform color correction and rear projection (keying). Dealing with complex multi-camera projects is simplified with new multi-camera editing tools previously only available in professional products.

To speed up the work Liquid uses SmartEDIT technology with extended support for any SD and HD format (DV, MPEG-2 IBP, MPEG-2 I Frame, HDV, uncompressed SD, WM9, DivX, MPEG-4), which eliminates the need to convert or transcoding material for output to HDV or rendering to DVD. The built-in DVD authoring tool allows you to implement the entire process of preparing and burning a disc directly from the editing bar, and this ingenious solution is very convenient to use. Right during the editing process, you can create video discs with animated buttons, a video background and automatic placement of marks right on the timeline when editing video in a project. And thanks to the same SmartEDIT technology, you can capture and edit video immediately in MPEG-2 format without the subsequent lengthy conversion.

Other new features of the 7th version of the product include the EZ-Capture function, which is used to quickly capture digital video. Once captured, video can be immediately transcoded to MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, M-JPEG, DivX or DV. At the same time, during editing of video recorded in MPEG format, a linear change in the playback speed is performed in real time (except, of course, MPEG-2 IBP, when the video is encoded in two directions).

The program has advanced sound editing functions with support for VST plugins and the ability to create a Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound track. In principle, the ideology and interface of the Pinnacle Liquid Edition program have remained unchanged in the Avid Liquid 7 package. Of the innovations of Avid, only support for the Avid Open Timeline scale should be noted.

To run the Avid Liquid 7 program, a regular PC is enough (preferably, of course, with Pentium processor 4 not lower than 1.8 GHz). The computer must have a sound card and an OHCI-compliant IEEE-1394 interface for digital video input/output. If your PC is powerful enough, then with Liquid you can edit while rendering complex effects and compositions in the background to the final format without slowing down current work. For this, of course, it is better to use multiprocessor systems or multi-core processors.

As for Avid Liquid Pro, it is no longer just a program, but a whole software and hardware complex that includes the Avid Liquid program and a switching unit that provides convenient connection analog and digital video and audio sources and connected to a computer via USB 2.0 interface. The block carries out switching with both household and professional equipment and has component, S-Video, composite and DV-inputs-outputs. Audio is recorded and output using a stereo RCA jack, S/PDIF digital input, and Dolby Digital 5.1 (RCA) surround sound outputs. Thus, this unit can be used not only as a switcher, but also as a decoder for digital video and real-time surround sound.

The Avid Liquid 7 package costs about $500, while the Avid Liquid Pro 7 package costs twice as much.

The Avid Liquid package can also be used for professional work with video sources like Betacam SP, Digital Betacam and even Digital HD. True, you will have to buy very expensive external units (Breakout Box) to encode / decode the video signal and input balanced XLR audio.

The Liquid Chrome HD version of the Avid Liquid package with the Analog Breakout Box lets you work with analog formats professionally. The Analog Breakout Box costs about $1,500 and has component, composite, Y-C (S-Video) inputs and outputs, and XLR audio inputs and outputs.

The Digital Plus Breakout Box for the Liquid Chrome HD edition is even more expensive, at over $2,000, and has SDI digital inputs and outputs, AES/EBU audio and monitor outputs (Composite RCA).

And finally, the most expensive one (about $5,000) is the HD Breakout Box an external HD-SDI switching module with a digital interface for Cine Wave (for working with HD tape recorders and for preparing HDTV). It has two standard BNC connectors (input-output) for connecting studio equipment and provides the ability to work with professional widescreen High Definition digital video.

Accordingly, hardware and software systems with these blocks will be called differently, namely: Avid Liquid Chrome HD Plus, Avid Liquid Chrome HD Deluxe and Avid Liquid Chrome HD Elite.

Thus, depending on the complexity of these blocks and the presence of certain inputs and outputs in them, the corresponding system will find application in one or another line of video and audio equipment.

The Avid Xpress family of products is considered the professional solution containing the most full set tools for working with video in real time, as well as with sound and even with film material on PC and Mac platforms. This software is intended for professionals who need advanced system features for the realization of creative ideas, as well as for independent film and video studios.

This family consists of the following products: Avid Xpress DV, Avid Xpress Pro, Avid Xpress Pro/Avid Mojo PowerPack, and Avid Xpress Studio HD.

As the names suggest, Avid Xpress DV is a basic, simplified version designed for DV digital video, and in this sense is not much different from Avid Liquid both in features and in price (about $600). This version allows you to implement more than one hundred customizable effects in real time, has in its arsenal the possibility of automatic color correction, and also provides an easy-to-use data management system. Basically, Avid Xpress DV was created specifically for DV editors who need a professional video editing tool. However, in the future, the possibilities of Avid Xpress DV became much wider, in particular due to the Avid Xpress Pro package, which provides rough film editing, support for multicamera mode, 3D effects in OpenGL, DVD burning, networking based on network solution Avid Unity LANshare and more. In addition, this package works with the Avid Mojo DNA digital non-linear accelerator, which provides real-time rendering of most effects and allows you to work with professional Betacam SP video recorders via a component interface, and component video can be digitized without compression.

There are many reasons why many of today's feature films and television shows are made on Avid systems today, but one of them is that these systems are well capable of implementing any editing ideas and are, in fact, the industry standard. Avid Xpress Pro software includes support for 24p film projects and automatic color correction.

The last and most full version The software from Avid is called Xpress Pro HD and is a full-featured editing environment for working with media in HD, DV, SD and film formats. It's also ideal as a portable rough cut tool for any professional hardware system that Avid has always been known for.

Avid Xpress Pro and Xpress Pro HD are priced at $2,075 (note that Xpress Pro HD is currently only available for the PC platform, and Xpress Pro for both PC and Mac).

The Avid Xpress Pro/Avid Mojo PowerPack hardware and software system, in addition to the Xpress Pro program, includes an Avid Mojo DNA (Digital Nonlinear Accelerator) switching unit, the latter not only for video input, but also for hardware acceleration of effects rendering.

Let's list the additional features of Avid Xpress Pro when working with Avid Mojo this is the conversion of media data at the input-output; work in slave mode from external sources of synchronization; input-output of uncompressed video; output to film with frame-by-frame accuracy; multi-channel overlay of announcer's text (voice over); 20-bit analog audio inputs/outputs; input-output S-Video; high frequency component input/output (4:2:2). Component input/output is connected with a special combo cable (from S-Video and RCA composite video output). This cable is purchased separately.

Thus, when you buy an Avid Mojo DNA external unit, you get the opportunity to work with video without compression, as well as playback and record the results of editing on tape without preliminary rendering. In addition to the traditional FireWire interface, the block has all analog inputs/outputs, including component YUV and a sync input. In addition to the DV format, the system supports editing files in HDV, DVCPRO HD and Avid DNxHD formats. It should be noted that this mounting system already has good prospects today. So, with the introduction of E-VTR technology for transmitting video between various devices standard will suffice gigabit ethernet, so the lack of an SDI interface in the near future will not be a problem for professional broadcasting (as you know, our television is also gradually switching to digital formats).

The latest version of Avid Xpress Pro 5.2 offers native HDV editing along with an Open Timeline feature that allows users to mix and match various formats including DV, DV50, uncompressed SD, DVCPRO HD, Avid DNxHD and HDV, all within the same editing timeline (timeline). Multicamera Capabilities new version greatly enhanced to allow the user to mix and match different formats, making the transition to HD easier for those who currently have SD cameras but want to switch to HDV in the near future.

Avid Xpress Pro 5.2 includes Sonic's Avid DVD, Sorenson Squeeze encoder, Smartsound Pro audio editor, and Noise Industries plugins.

Speaking of Avid products, one cannot but mention the famous Pro Tools music editor from Digidesign, Avid's audio division. The latest version 7 is included in Pro Tools|HD, Pro Tools LE and Pro Tools M-Powered. Compared to the previous version, this version has a number of improvements and is characterized by enhanced capabilities for recording and editing audio and MIDI, wider and flexibility mixing, as well as great convenience for operation.

Pro Tools 7 is a multi-platform program (cross-platform), that is, it can work on both Mac OS X (Tiger) and Windows XP operating systems.

Pro Tools has many features and capabilities that will be useful to professional audio engineers. This software can handle REX and ACID file formats, most popular for loops and samples. When creating arrangements, you can build any combination of audio and MIDI data. The features of the latest version of the program include Instrument Tracks for quick and easy installation of virtual instruments and MIDI modules. When working with MIDI program allows for non-destructive editing in real time, and the new functions Link Track and Edit Selection allow you to address commands to multiple tracks at the same time. In addition, all previously available MIDI capabilities have been improved.

Pro Tools 7 has improved support for working with multiprocessor computers, as well as support for the RTAS environment. Thanks to this, the number of additional modules that can be connected to Pro Tools 7 when using a dual-processor computer has increased by one and a half times.

And although the capabilities of the program have expanded significantly compared to previous versions, working with it has become easier and more convenient. The new menu system is more logical, there is a tooltip system that pops up when you hover over an object, and so on. Besides latest version The program supports all the hardware elements of the complexes of previous versions, so the transition is usually painless.

It should be said about the possibility of the Pro Tools program with a motorized digital mixing console Digidesign Digi-002. Actually, this device exists in two versions: in the version of the remote control with the usual knobs and sliders and in the version of the switching unit (Rack), which is cheaper, but implements almost the same functions as the remote control, with the exception of control.

Both versions are connected via the IEEE-1394 (FireWire) interface and implement the functions of a digital disk recorder (HDR) on a computer with a sampling frequency of up to 96 kHz and a coding depth of up to 24 bits. Thus, all data (including audio, MIDI, and control commands) is transferred to the computer over a single FireWire cable. The devices have eight analog audio inputs/outputs (including four microphones with preamps), as well as eight ADAT optical inputs, two S/PDIF digital inputs, MIDI inputs/outputs (16 channels per input and 32 channels per output), and, Naturally, IEEE-1394.

When used as a controller, the Digi-002 supports bi-directional communication with the software. The console features eight touch-sensitive motorized sliders (faders), eight rotary encoders, ten four-character parameter displays, and transport controls, giving you control of virtually all Pro Tools LE software features, as well as plug-in functions. It is interesting to note that with Pro Tools LE 6.1, the digital console works in close cooperation: not only moving the sliders on the console changes the settings of the program, but also changing the settings on the computer causes the motorized sliders to move. The mixing console version of the Digi-002 can be used in stand-alone mode as a digital mixer (8x2) with four sends (two internal and two external), EQs, dynamic processing, effects and static automation.

Digi-002 devices are quite expensive (our remote control costs about $3,000, and the option in the form of a block is $1,600), but after the acquisition of M-Audio, Avid software owners have the opportunity to buy cheaper remotes manufactured by M- audio. For example, the M-Audio ProjectMix I/O digital mixer is considered a complete analogue of the Digi-002, but costs half as much 1.5 thousand dollars. Just like the Digi-002, it is a full-fledged 8x4x2 digital mixer with digitization 96 kHz/24 bit, with touch-sensitive motorized faders, built-in EQ, dynamics processing, delay, reverb, MIDI In/Out, ADAT, S-PDIF, FireWire, etc. However, you need to be careful when purchasing this device, because only a special version of the software M-Audio Pro Tools M-Powered is suitable for working with it. In fact, this is the same Pro Tools, but specially adapted to work with M-Audio audio interfaces (a set of drivers, for example) and therefore compatible with all devices of the specified company that work via FireWire and Delta interfaces. However, the Pro Tools M-Powered program is relatively inexpensive - about $ 300, but connecting the M-Audio remote control to other systems from Digidesign is unlikely to succeed (you can, of course, try, but the manufacturer does not guarantee anything here).

However, Digidesign also has a budget hardware solution for working with sound - this is an external Mbox connection box that connects to a computer via USB. The two-channel device is equipped with microphone preamps and has the ability to monitor the input signal without delay in hardware. Mbox analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters support 16 and 24 bits at 44.1 or 48 kHz sampling rates when digitizing. The digital interface also supports up to 24 bits. The device is powered by USB, so it does not need an additional power supply. Mbox works with Pro Tools LE version 5.3.3 under Windows XP or Pro Tools LE 6.0 under Mac OS X, Pro Tools LE 5.2.1 under Mac OS 9. And with the purchase of the Avid Mojo DNA external box described above, it becomes possible to synchronize sound from video, that is, this complex can be used for scoring films.

By gathering all the software and hardware in Avid Xpress Studio Complete, you can see a fully synchronized picture simultaneously on your TV and computer monitors and hear synchronized audio at any stage of editing. This means that you will have a real professional studio designed for work of any degree of complexity.

Avid Xpress Studio Complete includes the following software packages:

• Avid Xpress Pro software package for professional film and video work, including editing, multi-camera support, OneStep Auto Correct color correction, real-time mask movement with alpha channel, MetaSync tracks, composition network complexes with a single disk array based on Avid Unity LANshare EX. The software also provides image stabilization, real-time Pan&Zoom, 24p editing, text based editing, support for a large number of export formats including Windows Media 9 HD, MPEG-2 and Macromedia Flash;
• Avid Pro Tools LE An audio system (developed by Digidesign) that provides flexibility, high performance, ease of working with audio, including all sorts of sound effects. The system supports up to 32 tracks of 24bit/96kHz audio with 100% precision and up to 256 MIDI tracks. In addition, Avid Pro Tools LE includes the Digidesign DV Toolkit software package and a variety of audio plug-ins that allow users to fix various audio deficiencies and change the reading speed of audio files;
• Avid 3D is a 3D animation and effects application based on SoftImage|XSI software. This software provides users with tools for 3D animation and for effects needed in film editing. The application is equipped with a library of 3D models, textures and animation scenes, all of which can be modified by users;
• Avid FX An effects suite based on Boris Red's video title and editing software packages. Avid FX works as an AVX plug-in for Avid Xpress Pro software and offers over 1,500 customizable titles, effects and transitions. Here implemented Hi-tech compositing, DVE effects, vector titling and painting, motion tracking and rotoscoping;
• Avid DVD A package developed for Avid by Sonic Solutions supports the OpenDVD standard. The package combines 4:3 and 16:9 audiovisual content in a single project (when encoded with Sorenson Squeeze included with Avid Xpress Pro), supports dual-layer discs, and offers staging options right on the Avid Xpress Pro timeline.

In addition to the computer and monitors, Avid Xpress Studio Complete includes additional hardware modules:

• The Digi-002 is an 8-channel audio console that provides professional audio, MIDI and microphone connections. Highly sensitive sliders control audio tracks in both Avid Xpress Pro and Avid Pro Tools LE;
• Avid Mojo is a hardware module that combines the functions of an I / O block, an accelerator and a synchronizer. The module provides simultaneous real-time output of multi-stream video with 3D effects to a TV monitor and for recording to tape, allows you to mix uncompressed graphics and animation with real-time video, synchronizes audio and video information on computer and TV monitors, and also performs many other tasks.

Avid Xpress Studio's integrated hardware and software support industry standards and formats, including MXF, AAF, OMF, MetaSync, and AVX plug-in architecture. Full compatibility of software and hardware parts of all components of the complex is guaranteed.

You can, for example, play edited material on Avid Xpress Studio Complete: the actor will see it on a TV monitor, and hear the background sound in the headphones. Then, guided by the video image, he will say the necessary remarks, which will be synchronously recorded on one of the additional audio tracks directly below the playback material of the edited movie. Thus, what was previously available only when working with expensive specialized, and sometimes closed from outside editing systems, can now be implemented on relatively inexpensive complexes from Avid. Editing systems of any level allow you to work with various video formats (up to uncompressed video), and materials in any of these formats can be played and mixed on the same timeline. If the work is carried out with a complex 3D graphics, then the ability to immediately observe the result on a television monitor without the need for a miscalculation is also a significant saving of time and effort.

Thus, new products from Avid are affordable and highly professional technical and technological solutions with ample opportunities for high-quality production of modern cinematographic and television products.