Oakmozart
Forum Replies Created
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Michael doesn’t advertise it, but he’s a product designer (or Senior Product Designer) at Avid.
Good things are coming. You may have to wait another release or two, but major improvements are forthcoming. Be patient.
And you’re 100% correct about not having 2 rows in XPro…or the whole Media Composer interface, for that matter!
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Bill, you’ve just got to know who to talk to. An email/phone call to Marianna Montague or Tim Wilson can yield big results. I got a call from Tim Wilson out of the blue a week ago, just wanting to check up with some stuff. They take gripes/criticism VERY seriously, as they realize that their name alone will no longer make them king of the hill. But I totally understand where you’re coming from.
Regarding XPro, big things are coming. I don’t have any specifics, but some awesome improvements are on their way. XPro 6 should be pretty major, but from whispers I’ve heard out of Tewksbury, it sounds like XPro 7 will be incredible.
Marianna_Montague@avid.com
Tim_Wilson@avid.comStart there, and rest assured that you’ll be talking to Avid folks who truly CARE about their customers, and have big ears with lots of patience.
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I, too, am extremely disappointed by this release. There’s some good stuff in it, and I realize that we’ve been spoiled by 6.5. However, as was pointed out to me by a master AE user I know: the “solid” upgrades (5.0, 6.0, 7.0, etc.) are always great, but it’s the “dot” releases (5.5, 6.5, 7.5, etc.) that always seem to kick out the awesome new goodies, plus build/improve upon new features released in the previous “solid” version. Also, keep in mind that Adobe usually rolls out its “dot” releases within a year of their “solid” releases. Who knows what treasure lies within Adobe’s sleeves? We’ll find out in a year or so when 7.5 hits the shelves.
2 features I’m absolutely shocked that Adobe hasn’t included are 1394 (firewire) capture/output support…WITHOUT needing Premiere (this is a huge request by tons of users, since many AE artists don’t even own an NLE and therefore don’t need one if they’re just running effects on their own), as well as 3D extrusion capabilities. I love Boris Red and use it and Avid’s Marquee Title Tool for 3D extruded text. I’d love to have this ability in AE. I’ve been lobbying for it in combustion 5, as well (also due in the not-too-distant future).
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I just answered this question over at Avid’s forums on Avid.com. I’ll repost what I typed:
XPro and Media Composer have the same interface, along with XDV and Symphony. The big difference is that each higher-end product has more interface features.
Some of the interface features you’ll find in the Media Composer are:
*Center Duration
*Phantom Markers
*Sub-Frame Audio Editing
*Top/Tail Editing
*2 Rows of Buttons in the Composer Monitor (XPro only has one)
*Profile View in the Effect Editor
*Reverse Matchframe
*And some othersLots of handy items in there. You’ll probably notice on a Meridien system that the timeline scrolls as you play back, too…something that was removed from the newer Avid products (DNA line). Then you’ll notice effects in MC that are absent in XPro as well, such as: Animatte, Paint Effect, 3D Warp, Blur/Mosaic effects, Scratch Removal, etc. Symphony adds Motion Tracking, TRUE Image Stabilization, clone/erase/emboss/median/unsharpen/darken/lighten/gradient effects (don’t know if those are in Symphony Nitris, but they were in Symphony Meridien), secondary color-correction, a far-advanced primary color-correction toolset, Ultimatte keying (in the Meridien Symphonies, replaced with Avid’s own SpectraMatte in Symphony Nitris), etc. There’s some more goodies in there, but you can read the specs for yourself. 🙂
https://www.avid.com/products/symphony/features.shtml (Older Meridien Version)
https://www.avid.com/products/symphonyNitris/featurelist.asp
https://www.avid.com/products/composer/featurelist.html (Older Meridien Version)
https://www.avid.com/products/composer/adrenalinehd/featurelist.asp
https://www.avid.com/products/xpressprohd/featurelist.htmlI have been hounding Avid Engineering and Marketing to stop this silly practice of having different interface features in the different products, and give all the Avid products with the “Avid Interface” (all those except DS and Liquid) the FULL Media Composer interface. I’m not alone in this thought-process: there are many other professionals backing me on this. I think Avid may be starting to see the light, however, we won’t know until XPro 6 rolls out this spring (or even XPro 7, probably due late ’07).
Enjoy.
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Good to have you back, Valerie!
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For ultra-basic titles that won’t be animated, just faded on/off or shown with cuts, I use the Avid Title Tool. If I’m going to start getting wild, with animated titles and all, I use the Marquee Title Tool (Xpro 5 and up). When I reach Marquee’s limitations, I use Avid FX, from Xpress Studio. I usually don’t have to go any farther than that, but when I do, I use After Effects 6.5 Pro and its 300 hundred text presets, which I then tweak and make my own.
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Avid’s certified system of choice is the HP xw8200 (before that the xw8000). They used to use Compaq EVO’s and IBM Intellistations before that. I suggest contacting an ACSR at your nearest Reseller and picking their brain about what to get. Then go with those suggestions.
Good luck.
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When capturing the footage, did you turn on the sound in the Record tool so it would capture the video with the sound? I made that mistake once.
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Dennis-
I’m floored: you are THE ONLY person I’ve ever heard say they had problems with 4.6…it’s considered by many to be the last truly rock-solid XPro release Avid has kicked out.
XPro HD 5.2.1 is a pretty good release, very solid. A few users have talked about a few hiccups here and there, but I’ve not experienced them. I also haven’t experienced the CPU overload issue on my certified HP xw8000 workstation (dual-Xeon) in forever.
XPro HD 5.2.2 is due out any day. I’ve been told by folks I know at Avid that this will be the last update for XPro 5, because XPro 6 is due in Mar-April (no sooner than NAB will it be announced). With the scary and shaky launch of XPro 5 (horrible software), perhaps 5.2.1 is the version you should upgrade to, then get the free 5.2.2 release when available and hold off on 6 until it’s proven stable?
I know this probably sounds rude, but you might try browsing the Avid forums for a bit more info…there’s lots of great stuff over there that’s being talked about, that’s not being talked about here. No offense to the Cow, you, or the other awesome mods here–and I realize it’s not cool to advertise for another forum, but I’m talking about the official forums from Avid, so I don’t feel too bad. Drop a line over there, they’re nice. The mods are cool, too! 🙂
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A certified one. https://www.avid.com/products/xpressStudio/specs.asp Scroll down to the bottom for the laptops. Make sure you have the proper graphics card.
Other than that, XPro PowerPack should work perfectly on a laptop. If it works with XPro and Xpress Studio Essentials (essentially created for a laptop), logic would dictate that it will work with XPro PowerPack.
Good luck.