Avid brings the most advanced technology in AV post-production to Broadcast IT 2011

Avid makes available to Broadcast IT 2011 visitors its latest proposals in audio and video post-production, as well as demonstrations and practical applications of its products.

Avid has divided its presence in this edition of Broadcast into two different spaces, the first of which is intended for the 2011 product demonstration with two areas: one focused on video workflow demonstrations and the other on audio.

In the video workflow, visitors will be able to see how to maximize their collaborative environment with the powerful editing tool Media Composer 5.5.3 working with shared storage systems such as Isis 5000 that offer maximum performance, reliability and ease for greater productivity. This application offers speed, flexibility, reliability and organization when editing movies, television shows, advertisements and other digital multimedia material.

The possibilities that Media Composer offers go beyond any other editor. It has the most powerful editing tools, the most reliable multimedia material management, as well as the most innovative functions that allow producers, directors or editors to make edits how and where they want.

Likewise in the audio workflow, you can enjoy the new Pro Tools HDX digital audio systems, with Pro Tools 10 software, which provide more performance, more sound quality and radically new possibilities in terms of music production and audio post-production. Both options are designed to deliver high-quality, scalable, and efficient solutions to meet changing industry needs; and offer smoother operation, faster workflows and easier collaboration than ever for professionals.

Pro Tools HDX

The new Pro Tools HDX, with a single board and in conjunction with the new Pro Tools 10 software, has five times more processing capacity, with four times more tracks that can be processed in real time, making 64 input/output channels possible for each processing board, which, in turn, allows us to have a gigantic system with fewer boards. The aforementioned additional headroom of more than 1000 dB frees us from the problems that occur when numerous channels begin to be added and a saturation point is reached, where noise and distortion begin to appear. With this unique capacity of more than a thousand dB in the sum, this problem disappears. In addition, the processing is carried out in 32 bits in floating point.

Good news for users who have HD system hardware/interfaces is that these are fully compatible with the new cards, which means that the new investment does not require losing previous investments.

Another great novelty is the new plug-in format, AAX (Avid Audio eXtension), which allows a better and more efficient workflow, with better sound quality and the possibility of sharing sessions between systems that have dedicated DSP acceleration and native systems. We will now have two plug-in formats, AAX DSP, which uses DSP acceleration of the boards, and AAX Native, which uses the host computer's CPU.

The new Pro Tools HD 10 software allows you to have up to 256 audio tracks per processing card (up to 768 with three cards, which gives an idea of its potential), supporting mixes of enormous complexity. It also allows a much higher response thanks to the new “disk cache”, which allows entire sessions to be loaded into RAM (taking into account that nowadays it is possible to have 16 or more gigabytes of RAM), at the same time that the number of tracks can be expanded through disks placed on the network, using storage systems such as Avid Unity ISIS.

With the new Pro Tools 10 software, Avid introduces new tools that save time in workflows, such as the sought-after Clip Gain feature, which separates premix levels from the famous mixing automation in Pro Tools; This incredibly speeds up and improves the workflow between editors and mixers. Another functionality is a 24-hour timeline that facilitates the creation of multiple projects (those carried out offline or in other systems, and which will later be completed on our workstation) in a single timeline. It is also possible to work with various file formats and various resolutions, all combined in the same project.

On the other hand, the acquisition of Euphonix by Avid allows the EQ and dynamic processing capabilities of the Avid System 5M (formerly Euphonix) professional control consoles to become embedded in the software, specifically in the new Avid Channel Strip plug-in, and in the future they will also have the Euphonix color control surface. Finally, it is also possible to control up to 12 Pro Tools|HD systems from a single Master system, using the Satellite Link option, and mix over two systems from a D-Command control surface using the Multi-mode function.

Training Area

At its other stand, Avid is going to hold an eminently practical seminar, within the new Training Area, a space enabled by Broadcast where different exhibiting companies teach courses on new technologies in digital audio and video. Specifically, Avid will show professionals creative applications used by the video, film and audio production industries. The course will focus on how to edit faster and easier with Media Composer and Pro Tools, led by the company's expert instructors Gabriel Corbella and Irene Vinader.

Each day there will be 6 different sessions: the first of them consists of a workflow between Media Composer and Pro Tools to show how to edit a sequence using the simple and powerful tools of Media Composer, and import the exact sequence into Pro Tools. There you can add the basic music and prepare it to send it over the web. The second is about the Media Composer for FCP users, encouraging the use of Avid's “Smart Tool” to edit multi-camera shots, and to edit a “storyboard”. Likewise, it allows you to know the similarities in editing techniques between Media Composer and Final Cut Pro.

The third addresses Post Production Audio Creativity with Pro Tools, which facilitates knowledge of efficient shaping techniques for sound effects with images, in a quick and simple way, as well as the use of powerful plug-ins to create background effects, using the Pro Tools audio tools. The fourth session is about editing effects using Media Composer, explaining how to use some of Media Composer's most powerful effects, including changing speed, adding quick transitions from the timeline and the effects palette. Additionally, it teaches how to add key frames to your own effects.

The fifth consists of Post Audio Mixing with Pro Tools, which shows the flexibility of audio routing in Pro Tools and how to work with stems; the ways to automate mixes and the method to create “mix-downs” to adapt them to the shipping platform; and the sixth and final session revolves around editing a Script with Media Composer, a simple method to become an expert script editor, by showing the best way to edit a script, using Avid's Script Integration and Script Sync tools.

Added to these practical sessions, during the 26th and 27th, Avid offers Media Composer and Pro Tools users the opportunity to take the free exam and obtain their Avid User Certification in these systems.
On the other hand, Avid has confirmed its participation as a speaker in the round table of the Technical Conference “Levels of Integration in Digital Television” that will take place on Friday, October 28 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and where Avid will present its vision and strategy with Integrated Media Enterprise and MAM solutions.