Post by Randi Altman

BURLINGTON, MA — Since Apple introduced FCP X and followed up with 10.1, the masses who didn’t jump to Adobe’s Premiere Pro have been eagerly awaiting the next iteration of Avid Media Composer. Well wait no more. It’s here, it’s 64-bit, offers a familiar but rejuvenated UI and it will work with all the Media Composer projects you have ever created.

There are also updated stereo tools, two more formats supported by AMA, and more openness thanks to a new SDK. There is also a software version of Symphony and lower pricing.

On a recent conference call, Avid’s Angus Mackay ran us through the newest features. The product is available for purchase on November 15.

Version 6 is actually the sixth release of Media Composer in three years, points out Mackay, adding that this update is a complete rebuild from the app’s core, designed with openness in mind and with huge increases in productivity thanks to its 64-bit design. Some advantages of this include access to greater amounts of RAM and improved performance, playback, and responsiveness, as well as increases in the speed in which users can play numerous formats.

Mackay acknowledges that the porting the product over to 64-bit was a huge undertaking, but says the architecture itself doesn’t dictate what you present to customers or what your UI is. “We did it while preserving all the muscle memory and our customer’s investment in training.”

The updated user interface was designed to modernize it, taking advantage of contemporary best practices while still respecting existing users. “They can preserve all of their work,” says Mackay (pictured).  “We’ve moved toward a tab interface, cleaned up the clutter, but still existing users will feel comfortable and familiar with the updates.”  read more...