Avid Debuts Next-gen Graphics Platform
At IBC 2011, Avid showed new products as well as underlined its message that it plays well with others. The company unveiled Avid Motion Graphics, its next-generation graphics platform that features a real-time 2D/3D graphics engine and uses technology from Brainstorm Multimedia. The new platform is a migration path for Deko users and offers a dedicated controller and user-programmable keyboard for playout of sequenced graphics; templated workflows; automated playout; data-drive graphics, post production extension; multi-channel distribution; interfaces with graphics tools and formats; and distributed architecture. Avid is aiming this platform at graphic artists and journalists in sports, news and live events work but is also targeting post production and channel branding. But smaller local and regional TV stations using Deko products are clearly a target, since the new platform offers an NRCS (newsrooms computer systems) plug-in to integrate graphics into the newsroom and full control of any graphics parameter up to air-time. In Q4 2011, Deko users will get first crack at the Avid Motion Graphics platform, using existing Deko software. The platform is expected to be available in Q2 2012.  Avid Motion Graphics Hardware. Click on image for larger view. Avid also announced additions to its open, high-speed Ethernet control protocol, EUCON. FilmLight's Baselight and Colorfront's On-Set Dailies now offer native support for EUCON protocol, enabling colorists to control the color grading features by using Avid's more cost effective Artist Color. FilmLight and Colorfront join a list of partners announced at NAB 2011 and previously, including Apple, Autodesk, Assimilate, Blackmagic Design, Image Systems, Pomfort, and RED. EUCON-enabled Avid control surfaces and consoles are designed to appeal to audio engineers, video editors, and colorists who want increased tactile control of their projects. The company also showed doubled storage capacity--to 32TB--for up to 875 hours of storage (50 Mbps media) for its AvidNewsVision turnkey solution, and more than 60 percent increased storage capacity for its ISIS 7000 Version 2.4. Angus Mackay, Segment Marketing Manager of Professional Video, pointed me to Avid's technology preview, featured in its IBC 2011 booth, which highlighted more format support and third party options. "Among the features we're showing is support for the AMA format, which means no transcoding is necessary," he says. "We're also showing support for RED EPIC files, DNX 4:4:4 and Avid Artist Color...all in one box." Avid wasn't the only company to showcase an "all in one box" concept. Whether it was Adobe acquiring IRIDAS to integrate professional color correction into Creative Suite, or Autodesk expanding Smoke on Mac, the "all in one box" solution is enjoying a resurgence. Though the all-in-one box is typically found at the lower end of the content creation market--wide and deep considering that production for the Internet and mobile falls into this category--Avid clearly is aiming some of its new technology at its traditional professional markets. But the company is also hedging its bets by offering more--more features, more file formats, more tools--to more people…Smart move, considering today's volatile and fragmented marketplaces.
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