Kenton Vannatten
Forum Replies Created
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There are big differences b/t XPro and MC software:
There are certain features available to the MC user that the XPro user does not have (I don’t know exactly what the specifics are, but you can run a search on the avid.com forums)
AFAIK, an individual can not buy MC Academic software– it is only available to institutions.
The difference between XPro and XPro Academic are pretty much nil, the software functions the same in all aspects, the biggest drawback is lack of included 3rd party applications and printed manuals.
I would imagine that the same would hold true for MC and MC Academic versions (with exception to the fact that individuals can not acquire it)
Also, the biggest and most important difference is that it is a violation of the End User License Agreement to use any Avid Academic software in a FOR PROFIT situation.
Kenton VanNatten
Avid Editor (for hire) -
The extra files show up on just about everything, not just QuickTimes.
I delete them or have my folder view set to arrange by type so they are not in the way of the “real” files.
Kenton VanNatten
Avid Editor (for hire) -
[quote]”isn’t it true that rendering takes place in case of every different format that I import into Avid (e.g. avi, jpg, tga or mpeg files?) Also, what happens when creating masks or importing transparent objects for keying? How do all these work?”[/quote]
Not necessarily rendering per se, what happens whenever you import anything is that Avid creates a .omf file that corresponds to the media you are importing. So, when you have a jpg and import it, Avid creates it’s omf media file and a master clip. This allows you to keep the jpg safely as it is in original form and the Avid uses it’s own omf file wrapper.
The same holds true when capturing, omf media files get created, it’s just a little more “subtle” I guess you could say.
Avid works by having a Master Clip (in your Bin) and a Media File(s) that corresponds to the Master Clip. The advantage here is that you can completely lose all the Media Files and as long as you have the Master Clips you can recover the missing Media by doing a simple Batch Capture or Batch Import.
And as far as creating masks/alphas for keying, you just create them (ie in Photoshop) and import them with the correct Import settings.
Here is a great document (it’s a little out of date, but much of it is still very relevant) Read through this and it may explain a lot.
Kenton VanNatten
Avid Editor (for hire) -
There’s a couple things that could be causing your issues, but off the bat, I’d guess that you don’t have the video card display drivers installed correctly (likely wrong version)
Or it’s possible that you have your monitors set up incorrectly, if you have the Primary monitor set to be the right, then you will get the windows jumping around behavior with certain video cards.
Did you delete your settings files too when you re-installed or did you back them up to a safe location prior to re-installing?
I’m not sure about the capture issue right now, What FW card do you have installed?
PS, it’s been awhile since you’ve posted your question, you may get more urgent/frequent viewers on the Avid Commnuity Forums… here is a direct link to the XpressDV (for PC) forum. https://avid.com/exchange/forums/47/ShowForum.aspx
Good luck.
Kenton VanNatten
Avid Editor (for hire) -
[quoting]”Avid offers the same support for Xpress Pro that it offers for Adrenaline and higher systems. It’s called Avid Assurance and costs $495/year”
They didn’t offer this until just recently at the XpressPro level, so the above comments were made based on the previous conditions.
PS, I agree that XpressPro is a great solution for the independent freelance editor (such as myself) or a small post house.
Kenton VanNatten
Avid Editor (for hire) -
QUOTING: “I was origionally told that I had to go to their online forums (Which are moderated by people like you and me, not employees of AVID)”
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the peer-to-peer/user-to-user support you get on the Avid forums, it’s one of the best and most active forums I know. Don’t knock it until you try it.
Your big time call into Mr. Krall would’ve been completely unnecessary as you would’ve found the answer in a matter of minutes on the Avid forums. This is why they have the user support forum in the first place for the XpressPro and lower product line.
But, since you’re obviously “above” that level of support I guess you can make your calls…. and feel important.
Kenton VanNatten
Avid Editor (for hire) -
Many times the difference is subjective. I’ve never personally used Vegas, but I doubt that the “quality” will vary (esp if your primary source is DV), from what I’ve read on various forums, people complain about Avid’s lack of options for file type importing and also I think I’ve heard that renders are slower. Again this is all subjective.
My true advice is that if Vegas is working for you and you’re happy with it, continue using it. It’s only a tool after all. But, if you want to “peek over the fence” and see what color the grass is, find a reseller that would be willing to loan you an Avid XpressPro system for a bit.
I would recommend Avid FreeDV as a taste tester, but I feel it’s designed more to allow a user to get to know the interface and workflow in an Avid system and would not necessarily live up to your expectations given your prior experience on Vegas. To truly try and compare oranges here you’d have to get your hands on an XpressPro system.
Kenton VanNatten
Avid Editor (for hire) -
Actually there is a Master Volume control that controls the output volume and it’s in two places that I can think of. One is on the Audio Tool, (you may have to expand the view by clicking the speaker icon?) the other is on the Timeline if you’re viewing audio meters in the Timeline you will have a speaker icon to the left of the meters, press and hold it and a slider will appear.
Kenton VanNatten
Avid Editor (for hire) -
There is a ReadME for 5.5 that was released about a week ago, I can’t seem to find it on the Avid site right now, so I’m looking back through the forum posts.
Kenton VanNatten
Avid Editor (for hire) -
“it seems I can’t move a clip any way I want to. I can?t just move the clip in any direction, I first have to move the cursor to the appropriate position”
You might have “default snap to edit” turned on, You can turn it off, then use CTRL to apply it when needed.
Another thing that I think is valuable info when coming from FCP or Premiere (I’m a former Prem 5.0-6.5 user myself) is: Don’t THINK like Premiere, learn how Avid thinks, and your experience with it will be much smoother. The more you try to make it work like Premiere, the harder the transition will be.
But as stated above, let us know specifics and maybe we can help determine what it is you’re doing or how to do it better.
Kenton VanNatten
Avid Editor (for hire)