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Avid Unveils Industry's Most Complete All-in-One Professional Production Suite: Avid Xpress Studio
New solution is first to integrate industry-leading video, audio, 3-D animation, compositing and titling, and DVD authoring applications
- plus dedicated hardware - at a breakthrough price
Avid Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVID) today introduced the Avid Xpress® Studio system - the industry's first all-in-one content creation suite for DV professionals that includes highly integrated video editing, audio production, 3-D animation, compositing and titling, and DVD authoring software products combined with professional video and audio production hardware. All of the applications in the Avid Xpress Studio system interoperate seamlessly together on the same computer, empowering individual content creators to work across multiple media disciplines in a single production environment.
"Today's DV professionals do much more than just edit. They're facing increasing pressure to include a broader range of creative elements in their work - while trying to get jobs done faster, and for less money. The Avid Xpress Studio is the first package to truly cover all the bases, and represents a stunning value," said Tim Wilson, senior manager of product marketing for Avid. "As the only company with expertise in developing software and hardware for the video, film, audio, and 3D industries, Avid is positioned to deliver a complete package of seamlessly integrated production applications that offer new creative possibilities for professionals doing a wide range of work - including commercial production, corporate/industrial projects, event videography, music videos, and independent films."
Industry-Leading Applications Working Together, Also Available Separately
The five powerful software applications included in the Avid Xpress Studio system, which are also available for individual purchase, are:
- Avid Xpress Pro. Avid Xpress Pro software provides professional film and video editing capabilities, including multicam support, OneStep Auto Correct color correction, real-time moving alpha channels, MetaSync tracks, and collaborative editing with support for the Avid Unity LANshare EX networked-storage environment. The software also offers image stabilization, real-time pan and zoom, 24p editing, script-based editing, and support for a wide range of export formats, including Windows Media 9 HD, MPEG 2, and Macromedia Flash.
- Avid Pro Tools® LE. Based on Academy Award®-winning Pro Tools technology from Avid's Digidesign® division, Avid Pro Tools LE offers flexibility, power, and simplicity for audio editing and effects. The system supports up to 32 tracks of sample-accurate, 24-bit/96-kHz audio and up to 256 MIDI tracks. In addition, Avid Pro Tools LE includes the Digidesign DV Toolkit software package and a wide range of audio plug-ins that allow users to shift pitch, clean up background noise, replace dialogue, and instantly change the tempo of audio files.
- Avid 3D. Featuring the industry-leading 3-D animation and effects capabilities of SOFTIMAGE®|XSI® software, Avid 3D offers a powerful new 3-D creation and effects environment designed for the needs of video editors. The product also features a library of customizable 3-D models, texture maps, and animation scenes - all of which can be modified by users.
- Avid FX. Based on the award-winning, industry-leading Boris Red titling and compositing package, Avid FX operates as an AVX plug-in for the Avid Xpress Pro application and offers more than 1,500 customizable title, effects, and transition templates. Avid FX also delivers advanced compositing, DVE technology, native vector titling, motion tracking, vector paint, and rotoscoping.
- Avid DVD by Sonic. Developed expressly for Avid by Sonic Solutions, the leader in DVD creation software, Avid DVD by Sonic supports the OpenDVD standard, which allows DVDs to be edited without requiring re-authoring. Avid DVD by Sonic smoothly combines 4:3 and 16:9 media in a single project (when encoded by Sorenson Squeeze, included with Avid Xpress Pro), supports double-layer discs, and offers additional integration enhancements, including creation of chapter marks and thumbnails in the Avid Xpress Pro timeline. A future release will support Windows HD DVD authoring.
The Avid Xpress Studio will be available in two versions - Avid Xpress Studio Essentials and Avid Xpress Studio Complete - that combine these five powerful software applications with different levels of professional hardware.
- Avid Xpress Studio Essentials - includes the Digidesign Mbox hardware, a 2-channel USB audio peripheral that integrates audio and MIDI recording, editing, and real-time mixing.
- Avid Xpress Studio Complete - replaces Mbox hardware with the eight-fader Digi 002®, which provides professional audio and MIDI I/O connections and touch-sensitive motorized faders for automation control designed to work with both the Avid Xpress Pro and Avid Pro Tools LE applications. Avid Xpress Studio Complete also includes the Avid Mojo Digital Nonlinear Accelerator (Avid DNA), which offers simultaneous real-time output of multiple streams of video and 3-D effects to client monitor and tape, the ability to mix uncompressed graphics and animation with DV media in real time, and many more performance-enhancing capabilities.
Unparalleled Interoperability
The software and hardware components of the Avid Xpress Studio system have been optimized to work together using open standards, such as MXF, AAF, OMF®, MetaSync, and the AVX plug-in architecture.
The extensive list of interoperability options includes the ability to:
- create DVD chapter marks and poster frames within the Avid Xpress Pro timeline, and then easily export these elements for DVD encoding;
- designate a section of the Avid Xpress Pro timeline to be opened within Avid 3D using MetaSync;
- have MXF-rendered footage from Avid 3D appear automatically in an Avid Xpress Pro bin;
- use Avid FX motion tracking, rotoscoping, and advanced title and graphic animation with Avid Xpress Pro software, creating a robust compositing environment inside the editing application;
- display an Avid 3D camera view and Avid FX composite window on an external broadcast monitor in real time using the Avid Mojo accelerator;
- use the Avid Mojo accelerator for video connections and the Digidesign Mbox or Digi 002 for audio connections while maintaining sync;
- use the Digi 002 control surface to adjust audio levels in both the Avid Xpress Pro and Avid Pro Tools LE applications.
Pricing & Availability
Avid Xpress Studio Essentials is priced at $3,995 USMSRP, compared to a total retail value of more than $8,000 USMSRP for purchasing the products individually. Avid Xpress Studio Complete is priced at $6,995 USMSRP, compared to a total retail value of nearly $12,000 USMSRP for purchasing the products individually.
Prices for the individual applications are:
- Avid Xpress Pro: $1,695 USMSRP (available for both Mac and Windows)
- Pro Tools LE, including Digidesign DV Toolkit software and Mbox hardware: $1,490 USMSRP (Mac and Windows)
- Digi 002, including Avid Pro Tools LE and Digidesign DV Toolkit software: $3,490 USMSRP (Mac and Windows)
- Avid 3D: $1,495 USMSRP (Windows only)
- Avid FX: $1,595 USMSRP (Mac and Windows)
- Avid DVD by Sonic: $1,995 USMSRP (Windows only)
- Avid Mojo: $1,695 USMSRP (Mac and Windows)
Avid Xpress Studio Essentials and Avid Xpress Studio Complete are expected to be available in Q2 2004 through Avid's worldwide reseller channel and the Avid store (www.avidstore.com). Both versions are currently qualified to run on CPUs from HP - Avid's preferred PC platform provider for Windows-based systems. The individual components of the Avid Xpress Studio will also be available for purchase. Upgrade pricing for existing Avid Xpress DV, Avid Xpress Pro, and Avid Mojo customers is available on www.avid.com.
For more information about the Avid Xpress Studio, please visit: www.avid.com.
About Avid Technology, Inc.
Avid Technology, Inc. is the world leader in digital nonlinear media creation, management, and distribution solutions, enabling film, video, audio, animation, games, and broadcast professionals to work more efficiently, productively, and creatively. For more information about the company's Oscar®, Grammy®, and Emmy® award-winning products and services, please visit: www.avid.com.
© 2004 Avid Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. Product features, specifications, system requirements, and availability are subject to change without notice. All prices are USMSRP for the U.S. and Canada only and are subject to change without notice. Contact your local Avid office or reseller for prices outside the U.S. and Canada. Avid, Film Composer, Avid Xpress, Avid Mojo, Pro Tools, Avid DNA, Digital Nonlinear Accelerator, Digi 002, Mbox, MetaSync, Digidesign, Avid Unity, SOFTIMAGE, OMF, AVX, and XSI are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Avid received an Oscar statuette representing the 1998 Scientific and Technical Award for the concept, design, and engineering of the Avid Film Composer® system for motion picture editing. Digidesign, Avid's audio division, received an Oscar statuette representing the 2003 Scientific and Technical Award for the design, development, and implementation of its Pro Tools digital audio workstation. Sonic is a trademark of Sonic Solutions. Oscar and Academy Award are trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Emmy is a registered trademark of ATAS/NATAS. Grammy is a trademark of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, Inc. All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.
NOTE TO EDITORS: In the name SOFTIMAGE®|XSI® noted in this news release, there is a pipe symbol between SOFTIMAGE® and XSI®. This symbol may not appear properly in some systems.
CONTACT: Avid Technology, Inc.
Alice Eubank, 978-640-3325,
alice_eubank@avid.com
or
Weber Shandwick
Laura Shea, 617-520-7015,
lshea@webershandwick.com
SOURCE: Avid Technology, Inc.