AVID Announces Extensive HD support through Xpress Pro

by Tony Fonseca
Published on Apr 18, 2004 12:00 AM



Not to be outdone by their west coast rivals, Avid rivaled Apple's announcement of Final Cut Pro HD with some potent announcements of their own. The theme as of late has been program integration. Every company is trying to offer complete solutions within program environments that are seamless and complimentary. Adobe pioneered it with Photo Shop, Illustrator, and Page Maker, Apple perfected it with Final Cut Pro, DVD Studio Pro, Soundtrack, and Motion, and now Avid is jumping into the integrated suite arena for the first time.

Today, at the National Assocation of Broadcasters annual Convention in Las Vegas Avid unveiled what it refers to as "the industry's most complete all in one professional production Suite." Avid Xpress Studio brings a new face as well as new functionality to the Xpress family. The Avid Xpress NLE is the heart of this application package that includes Avid Xpress Pro, Avid Pro Tools LE, Avid 3D, Avid FX, and Avid DVD.

Avid users will come know some first time offerings such as the Avid DVD program, which was created by Sonic specifically as a component of this Avid suite. Avid 3D is also a brand new offering that was created with technology and software from Avid's Softimage subsidiary. Avid 3D may be particularly worthwhile for people doing text effects and light CG effects.

The suite comes in two flavors, one will hurt your wallet a bit and the other will hurt a lot. Avid Xpress Studio Essentials ($3,995) comes with everything aforementioned plus the Digidesign Mbox audio hardware, while Avid Xpress Studio Complete ($6,995) also ships with the Mojo DNA (Digital Nonlinear Accelerator) and the Digi 002 control surface.

Avid also announced HD support through its stand alone Xpress Pro software NLE. Following in Apple's footsteps, chose to dodge the HDV bullet but plans to offer support on later revisions. Avid also announced support for its DN x HD encoding technology. Version 4.5 of the software will have features such as Material Exchange Format (MXF), Panasonic DV50 compatibility, WMV HD direct export, and SmartSound Sonic Fire Professional Soundtrack creation.