Avid Announces Avid DS 11

Latest version accelerates high-end content creation workflows with hands-on color correction, expanded hardware and file format support, a resolution independent canvas and full Media Composer 6 conform

Burlington, MA, July 16, 2011—Avid® today announced the release of Avid DS 11, the newest version of the company’s full-featured editing, graphics creation, color correction, and compositing solution. With new features such as hands-on color correction with Avid Artist Color integration, expanded file format and hardware support, 16 channels of embedded audio, total conform to Media Composer® 6 and Symphony® 6,  and more, DS 11 enables customers to maximize creativity and enhance productivity through more integrated, flexible workflows.

“With DS 11 our customers have all the editing, compositing, painting, conforming, and finishing tools they need to create and deliver projects fast,” said David Colantuoni, senior director of product management at Avid. “We’re pleased to deliver enhanced integration and flexibility in DS 11—providing our customers with the highest quality tools that can help them spend more time on creating rather than rendering or exporting to other applications.”

What’s New in Avid DS 11

·         Avid Artist Color and Avid Artist Transport Integration – Offers greater hands-on precision and the ability to speed up color correction, grading, editing, and navigation with support for Artist Color and Artist Transport control surfaces. These surfaces are now supported across all Avid professional video editing products.

·         Resolution Independent Canvas – Allows editors to customize the size for source generators and visual effects, saving time and improving quality for high resolution graphics creation.

·         Blending modes in timeline – Accelerates workflows by blending operations directly on the timeline to single or multiple clips or containers.

·         Long-GOP Support – Enables editors to connect to and play Long-GOP MXF essence (such as from XDCAM) when conforming from Media Composer or Symphony, eliminating transcoding time.

·         Avid DNxHD® 444  - Allows users to edit high-resolution media in real time—in master quality—using the high-quality compressed Avid DNxHD 444 codec.

·         HDR File Support – Enables use of HDR imagery in projects with support for the Open EXR and TIFF DCDM format

·         16 Channels Embedded SDI Audio – Enables bigger, richer audio mixes with capture and output up to 16 channels of audio (up from 8) or send up to 16 channels of audio through AFE from Media Composer.

·         RED SDK – Enhances flexibility with support for RED EPIC and SCARLET camera footage.

·         Media Composer 6/Symphony 6 Conform – Speeds workflows with the ability to send high-resolution 2D sequences to Avid DS directly from Media Composer 6 or Symphony 6. In addition, DS 11 integrates with the latest version of Avid Interplay® and Avid ISIS® shared storage systems to simultaneously access and share media.

·         Third-party hardware support – Supports KONA 3G hardware, as well as any hardware supported by Media Composer and Symphony.

Availability
Avid DS 11 software is available now.  Pricing begins at SMRP $10,299 USD for professional licenses and each comes standard with a copy of Media Composer® 6 software. Upgrade pricing begins SMRP $5,199 USD. Avid DS 11 can also be purchased as a turnkey hardware/software system for an additional cost.

About Avid
Avid creates the digital audio and video technology used to make the most listened to, most watched and most loved media in the world – from the most prestigious and award-winning feature films, music recordings, television shows, live concert tours and news broadcasts, to music and movies made at home. Some of Avid’s most influential and pioneering solutions include Media Composer®, Pro Tools®, Interplay®, ISIS®, VENUE, Sibelius® and System 5. For more information about Avid solutions and services, visit www.avid.com, connect with Avid on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Google+; or subscribe to Avid Buzz.