Avid's founder, Bill Warner, literally wrote the book on nonlinear editing - when he figured out how to take video taped footage and copy it to digital hard disks, allowing video editors to use computers for random access editing. That was in 1987 and the company hasn't looked back. Avid's flagship video editing program, Media Composer, isn't a beginner's program - it is geared towards the professional and everyone knows it. In fact, since the mid-1990s, the majority of professionally edited TV shows and Big Screen movies have been edited on an Avid editing system. Avid has earned hundreds of awards for their program, including Oscars, Emmys and Grammys.

Hail to the King

While other companies followed suit with nonlinear programs, Media Composer has always been a step ahead, working at controlling the massive amount of data a film or video project can collect. And this is where Media Composer shines. While most electronic data like spreadsheets and word docs can be accessed through networks at work or within other collaborative settings, most video and music editing programs work with singular users only. Avid changed that long ago in the late '90s with its Unity MediaNet shared storage system, Media Composer version 3.5 improved upon it and Media Composer version 5, Avid's latest version, is the ultimate program for collaboration.

What's New

Smart Tool - is a feature that allows for drag-and-drop editing and trimming for direct manipulation of the video and audio clips in the timeline. In the past, users of Adobe Premiere or Apple's Final Cut might have found some frustration to working with Avid Media Composer when it comes to editing because of the need to change functions in your timeline, depending on the process you wish to perform. If you needed to trim a clip, you had to be in the Trim Mode and if you wanted to drag and drop clips you had to be in Segment Mode. Smart Tool is a tool sitting to the left of the timeline that lets you select which process you wish to manage at the moment, Edit, Trim, Splice, Overwrite, Ripple, etc. Each selection programs your cursor to work differently, and once you get it down you'll enjoy the ease of moving in and out of different editing functions.

RTSA - Editors can now also apply hundreds of real-time audio effects with support for Real-Time AudioSuite audio plug-ins. Media Composer was a bit lacking in audio sweetening arena in the past, perhaps relying on editors' desire to use high-end audio post production programs for any audio work other than for the most rudimentary sound editing. But Media Composer version 5 has beefed that ability up, too. Media Composer version 5 now has Real Time AudioSuite (RTAS) plugins that were developed for their Pro Tools program. Read our Avid Pro Tools Music Creation review

AMA (Avid Media Access) makes working with multi-formats easier for ingesting and immediately working with various formats. If you're moving into a tapeless world, or are considering using HDSLRs for your video production, this means you won't have format issues to deal with.

Through AMA, Media Composer version 5 works natively with QuickTime, Apple ProRes, H.264 video files, Canon XF codec and XDCAM proxies. Additionally, customers can now directly import the AVCHD format (not a function of AMA). So you have files from all sorts of different cameras and devices? No problem - Media Composer version 5 now allows you to mix and match frame sizes and aspect rations in the same timeline (originally introduced in Media Composer version 4). You can now import these files directly into Media Composer version 5 from a camera or other recording device, allowing you to edit directly without format rewrapping. RED files images are scaled to fit in the HD frame size and you can edit RED files without transcoding. While we realize most of our readers won't be working with RED footage, this illustrates the versatility and scope of AMA. Media Composer was pretty tight in the past, requiring that users work with exclusive file formats. Well you now have the ability to import QuickTime files into this program which really brings it into a universal 'one size CAN fit all' scenario - meaning if it plays in QuickTime, it'll play in Media Composer. We were unable to test this with RED files but by all reports read said the real-time playback of these files in Avid Media Composer version 5 was quite consistent.

eMail me - Media Composer is known for being a workhorse that you can throw all sorts of complex graphical, color correction, and effects work at, but all this processing takes time. Most editors know that 'render time' means 'break time' as they set everything up for a long drawn-out render while they go out for another cup of coffee. A little bonus feature with this version is that Media Composer version 5 will email you when the render is done, so you can confidently go on that break or grab a bite to eat knowing the processor is processing away.

Hardware support - Anyone who has worked with or knows someone who has worked with an Avid editing system will tell you that the program has a need for power and high consumption. Most post production houses that use Media Composer work with Nitris DX or Mojo DX systems. Previously, this meant a higher price tag than just the price of the software alone. But Media Composer version 5 now supports Matrox MX02 Mini interface, a hardware device that captures your files and turns your computer monitor into a low-cost external monitoring solution.

Media Management

You can't talk about Media Composer and not talk about its media management. Having complete access to your file's metadata is one of the biggest features Media Composer offers - and it is unmatched in any other editing program. For anyone editing a short 30-minute piece that has a raw-to-edit ratio of about 2-to-1(2 minutes of raw footage for every 1 minute of finished project), media management might not seem such a big deal. Except very few editors have such tight ratios. In most documentary cases, 30-minutes to an hour of raw footage usually translates to just a minute of footage that you'll use in your program, (30:1 or 60:1), and that will be edited down too. It's rumored that the Ridley Scott's "Life in a Day" documentary, for which average people worldwide were uploading footage shot on the same day in July, has a ration of 80:1 How does one keep track of all that data? Enter Media Composer's excellent media management system. As the world gets more complicated, files are stored all over the universe, and Media Composer keeps extreme details of the metadata like nobody else which helps keep you organized with little effort on your part.

Combining Media Composer with the Matrox MX02 Mini gives you a low-cost, fully professional suite. The Mini is small and lightweight, good for field recording, uses HDMI, RCA, S-Video, composite output and analog, and you'll be able to turn your HDMI screen into a true video monitor with color calibration. Formerly, Media Composer only worked with its Nitris DX or Mojo DX system for real-time playback on an external monitor, so working with the MX02 will save you a lot of expense. Read our review.