Avid Media Composer 3.5 Review (page 2)
The Extras
While other software packages out there come in formidable editing bundles, including audio, DVD and graphics software, Avid Media Composer is still primarily "just an editor." I happen to think this is a very good thing to focus on. That's not to say that Media Composer exists in a vacuum, of course.
Media Composer 3.5 comes bundled with a decent amount of external software to handle common video and audio tasks.
For your effects needs, Boris Continuum Complete is accessible from within the Avid interface.
Sorenson Squeeze is also included to handle your web or DVD outputs.
And, speaking of DVDs, there's also Sonic's Avid DVD to create full DVD titles (though this is Windows-only), and Avid FX is designed to do your motion graphics and effects work.
There's also an install of one of my favorite applications, SmartSound's SonicFire Pro, for creating soundtracks to your videos.
Conclusion
Media Composer 3.5 builds on an already formidable editing package and is definitely worth the upgrade price, especially if you're using some of the new tapeless formats like P2 and SxS. If you're new to the world of Avid editing, now is a great time to jump in, with the features of Media Composer never being higher and the price never being lower. This release is stable and solid, and it definitely feels like an Avid.
4.0 Update
Avid recently announced the release of the 4.0 version of Media Composer, following very quickly on the tail of the 3.5 release. The main new feature that Media Composer 4 brings to the table is a fully open timeline that will allow you to edit any combination of video resolutions, frame rates and formats in the same sequence. Other additions include transition preservation, allowing you to keep your dissolves and other transitions intact when replacing footage from your original clip; more undo levels; and the ability to view all 16 of your audio tracks in the mixer at once.
Tech Specs
Minimum System Requirements for - Windows
Processors: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.33GHz
System Memory: 2GB of RAM
Note 1: With complex sequences (multiple effects/streams) or
compressed HD resolutions, 4GB of RAM is recommended.
Note 2: Vista requires 4GB of RAM.
Graphics Card: NVidia Quadro FX 560 or higher
Note 1: Only NVidia cards are supported.
Note 2: Full-screen playback feature requires a minimum of
128MB of graphics memory.
Internal Hard Drive: 40GB minimum hard disk drive
Note 1: Any media drives need to be 7200RPM or greater
Optical Drive: DVD capable drive required for product installation
Minimum System Requirements for - Mac
Processors: Intel dual, dual core 2.66GHz Xeon, Intel Core 2 Duo 2.33GHz (laptops)
System Memory: 2GB of RAM
Note 1: With complex sequences (multiple effects/streams) or
compressed HD resolutions, 4GB of RAM is recommended.
Graphics Card: NVidia GeForce family
Note 1: Full-screen playback feature requires a minimum of
128MB of graphics memory.
Internal Hard Drive: 40GB minimum hard disk drive
Note 1: Any media drives need to be 7200RPM or greater.
Optical Drive: DVD capable drive required for product
installation
OS: Windows XP Home or Professional (SP2 or later, 32-bit); Windows Vista (SP1 or later, 32-bit or 64-bit)
CPU: Intel or AMD with 3GHz processor or faster (multiple CPUs and/or multi-core CPUs are recommended)
RAM: 1GB (2GB recommended)
Hard Drive Space: 5GB hard disk space required for installation (including third-party software)
Capture Formats: Analog, DV, HDV, DVCPRO HD, DVCPRO 50
Workflow
Batch Capture: Yes
Automatic Scene Detection: Yes
User Interface: Timeline
Number of Video Tracks: Unlimited
Number of Audio Tracks: Unlimited
Nesting Tracks: Yes
Audio/Video Level Envelopes: Yes
Audio Scrub: Yes
Effects/Rendering
Keyframe Animation: Yes
Background Rendering: No
Third-Party Plug-in Support: Yes
Output
MPEG-2 Encoding: Yes
MPEG-4 Encoding: Yes
Audio Output Formats: PCM, Dolby Digital
DVD Authoring Software Included: Corel DVD MovieFactory
Strengths
- Great interface, media management and editing tools
Weaknesses
- Still an expensive editor, very picky about system requirements
John Burkhart is the production facilitator of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts in Asia, an international film school.
Editor's note: At the time of this writing, Avid Media Composer 4.0 was just announced. We look forward to putting it through its paces soon, but it will include the features included in Media Composer 3.5 and will add even more notable features.
Avid Technology, Inc.
Avid Technology Park
1 Park West
Tewksbury, MA 01876
www.avid.com
$2,495 physical $2,295 download
