Splice Now by Steve Cohen

Avid began distributing Media Composer 6 today. The new version has been upgraded to offer 64-bit support, and includes many new features, including a complete reinvention of the application’s approach to 3D-Stereo editing, the ability to mix in 5.1 and 7.1, “Open I/O” which allows you to use a variety of third party hardware options, tabbed bins, and a “reskinning” of the user interface. If you purchased version 5.5 in the last month or so, the upgrade is free, otherwise, it’s $300. Pricing for new licenses remains the same as with previous versions, and Avid has instituted a permanent “cross-grade” from FCP7 for $1500.

This version represents a bigger break from the past than previous upgrades. The new UI looks a lot like Premiere, and depending on your taste, you’re either going to love it or hate it. As with Version 5 and 5.5, it offers a brightness slider, but the lighter settings, which I suspect will be a lot easier to look at over the course of a long day, are flatter and less dimensional than in the past, making icons and buttons harder to see. Some icons have been changed, too, notably Mark In and Mark Out, and some terminology has been altered (Locators are now called Markers).

64-bit is important, but for the moment, it only permits the application to address more RAM. There’s no background rendering or saving or timeline manipulation, or any of the other exciting things that you may associate with the concept — that’s all been left for the future. read more...