Thinking of buying Avid can someone help.

[Rich Rubasch]

why is it so brillant?

Well, at one time the Avid code was one of the longest written code for any software app. They literally thought of everything in a complex, but very fluid interface.

Is it different to Pinnicale’s Liquid editing suite?, if so how different?
Not sure, but Pinnacle users would have you believe it is a lot like and Avid…and now Avid has bought Pinnacle so the Liquid line will probably become more Avid like.

does it give film effect?
Hmmm…it can edit at various frame rates and does excellent frame rate conversions…and there are plug ins for film look, but rendering is long.

does it give surround sound?
I don’t believe Avid software is editing and outputting in surround. This is left to the audio post houses.

does it let u import mpeg?
As far as I know, Avid wil not import MPEG nor wil it allow you to edit in MPEG-2 like some Premier systems.

Avid is a solid, turnkey system. They have excellent support and a huge support community. Having skills as an editor on an Avid could mean the difference between getting the job or not.

My 2

[Grinner Hester]

why is it so brillant?

Because they say so. Their products were brilliant in the 90s. Now, it’s stability that is purchased as there are many solutions for less that do more, regardless of which software/hardware your looking at.

Is it different to Pinnicale’s Liquid editing suite?, if so how different?

That stability thang.

does it give film effect?

Define “it”. You can get plugins for any of the softwares available. Some offer 24p and some don’t.

does it give surround sound?

no

does it let u import mpeg?

no

Avid is a company, not an it. They make a large handfull of different solutions ranging from bogus to freakin’ sweet. The price ranges reflact their coolness.
On the low end, you’ll be buying Avid products to increase you marketablity as an editor. On the highend, you’ll buy them for stability/piece of mind.
Scope out avid.com to study up on their products.

[Michael Phillips]

Film look can be achieved with the FluidFilm effect to create 24p from 60i sources. The rest of the look can be done with filters and color correction – third party filters or included. Film look is based on a lot of different factors including the original footage – lighting, camera movement, depth of field etc.

As far as MPEG, Xpro 5.1 and MCA 2.1 support MPEG4 as captured from IMX cameras – MPEG2 profile will be part of the release later this year which include other MPEG2 formats such as HDV.

Michael

[Chris Baker]

Grin,
You siad it perfectly in your first sentence! Going to school in the 90’s Avid was IT. A production house wasn’t a production house unless it had Avid, you weren’t an editor if you didn’t edit on Avid. So when we started our own company it had to be Avid, problem was we could only afford the XPress which even four years ago was 28500.00. While it has had its ups and downs the system is fairly solid but it does have its limitations and IMO they are really starting to show with some of the new, cheaper systems out there. For the price of a trade in at Avid we can get a FCP system which does a hell of a lot more and still have money left over. So now I think we will be switching to FCP and I cross my fingers that we are making the right choice. BTW Grin I saw your reel and was reely impressed! What did you use for the effects and what system do you have?