I have been an Avid editor for at least 10 years now, but I always thought that they were catering to their higher-end users and news stations – not people like me.  I couldn’t have been more wrong.  It appears that Avid is listening to their user base, and it definitely shows in Media Composer version 5.  First the big news – Avid now supports third-party hardware!  I couldn’t believe it!  Don’t get me wrong, I love working on an Adrenaline just like the next guy, but I definitely couldn’t afford one.  Now that Matrox is on board with their MXO2 Mini, editing on an Avid just became affordable again.

Third party HD monitoring

The Matrox MXO2 mini provides professional level monitoring, with support for HDMI as well as component, composite and S-Video.  This is huge news in and of itself, but Avid decided to go a few steps further with some groundbreaking developments for Media Composer 5.  Let me say that the coolness factor just went up a few notches!

Avid and Quicktime living in harmony

First let’s talk about Quicktime.  Avid and Quicktime go back a long way, but Quicktime support has always been “tricky” – to say the least.  You always had to have Avid’s supported version of Quicktime (which was always a few versions old) and you had to wait for all Quicktime files to import to Avid’s specs.  Obviously, this was done to help provide us with a truly robust media management platform (what Avid is best known for in the editing world) but it was always a bit of a pain.

Now with Media Composer 5, Avid provides native Quicktime support – including support for ProRes.  What does this mean to you?  Well, simply put, you can import all of your Canon 7D or Canon 5D Mark II camera footage (h.264 .mov files) directly into a bin in Avid and start working with it right away.  No more long imports.  As Bob Russo puts it, “if Quicktime can play the file, Avid can play the file.”  The import is done through Avid’s AMA architecture (Avid Media Access) which was introduced in Media Composer 3.5 to work with P2 and XDCAM media.  Version 5 extends the ability of AMA to work natively with RED files, ProRes files and anything with a .mov. These files become un-managed media, which is great if your in a hurry but terrible if you’re not very organized.  Luckily, Avid has a great way of managing these media files, allowing you to consolidate the footage after you are done editing.  Consolidating the footage adds it to Avid’s powerful database.  Other platforms have this option too, but Avid handles it the best in my opinion.

The toolset just got smarter

Other enhancements include the use of a “smart tool” similar to what ProTools has been using for years.  This allows for you to edit with less keystrokes and a more intuitive user interface.  Think of the smart tool as a cursor that has the ability to change tools based on its location on screen without the need to press a keystroke to change your editing tool.  As you will see in the video below, Bob Russo demonstrates the use of the smart tool on a sample timeline.  It makes editing much quicker for those of us that are under the direction of demanding producers.  This was my “wow” moment in the demo.  For those of you that don’t utilize this type of editing environment (read that as non-FCP users) you will be amazed at how blazingly fast you will become in the edit suite.

The list of upgrades goes on and on . . .

• Mix and match frame sizes and aspect ratios — in addition to formats, frame rates, and resolutions — in the same timeline
• Take a break during long renders and have your system email you when the job’s done
• Import AVCHD files directly from cameras and other devices
• Capture to and edit XDCAM HD and DVC PRO HD formats from baseband without additional hardware
• Access low-res XDCAM proxies for offline work, with full-quality audio
• Import text-based ancillary data and embed it in the video signal with the new “Data Track” and SMPTE 436M support using Nitris DX- and Mojo DX-based systems
• View stereo audio tracks as single channels in the timeline for easier handling
• Create high-quality sounds and mixes with support for RTAS audio processing plug-ins
• Natively access and edit 4:2:2 MPEG-2 media from the new Canon cameras using AMA

Kudos to you Avid, for listening to your user base.  I, for one, am truly impressed. For more information visit Avid’s site and to see a sneak preview of Media Composer 5 check out our video below from NAB 2010.