-
What can you do on an OLD AVID??
Just wondering – I see these old Avid systems (say Media Composer 7.1 on an old mac that has 300MHz processor – pre G3) and I’m wondering, what can they do?
Is it worth getting one for cheap? Can it handle DV?
-
4 Replies
-
Old Avid’s are great. In fact, I’m still running a Mac Meridian system (granted, it’s on a fairly recent G4…). With an older system, you could probably support it through ebay. Get it up and running, maybe offline projects (it will support DV as long as you feed it an analog signal). Or you could save the money you’ll sink into it (the word ‘money pit’ comes to mind)and buy a NEW Avid, which will support FW DV, and just about anything else you can throw at it. And use the Mac Quadra as a doorstop.
Jon
“The Almighty tells me He can get me out of this mess. But He’s pretty sure you’re F%$#*D!”
-
Don’t waste your time/money. They are uber-limited as to what they can do (compared to today’s standards), they are weak, old, not really upgradeable, hard to find parts for (except on Ebay, but then you’re usually buying used parts, so what are you REALLY getting?). Jon’s term of “Money Pit” is excellent…they usually are.
Also, remember this: Avid systems are electronic. Electronics eventually wear out and die. An Avid Media Composer 7.1 is 10 years old…why would you waste money on a system that could die any DAY, that is hard to get parts for, and almost virtually impossible to find parts for the computer?
Get a new Avid system…you’ll be MUCH farther along in the long run. I’d rather have a software-only copy of Xpress Pro than a full Media Composer 7.1 system…I can do A LOT more with XPro (and a copy of Boris Red) than the MC 7.1.
The choice is up to you.
Good luck.
It’s not the tool you use, it’s the end product that counts.
-
Thanks for the tips guys!
So many knowledgeable people here 🙂
-
I agree with the above. Just the fact that these old systems run on old Macs is very frustrating. If you do get a long edit done just wait until the client has to have a dvd encoded or suddenly wants Magic Bullet film-looked across it all…. the new Avids are mostly affordable (never thought I’d say that about Avid) across the product line.
Life is linear. Edit life.
Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up