Avid announced the release of Avid DS v10 at an industry event held at the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood on August 20. The release of version 10, which comes only several months after the new line of Mojo DX and Nitris DX based products was introduced, marks the tenth anniversary for the advanced finishing system. The shipping date for the system is at the end of September 2008. The price for the full turnkey system is around $59,900.

The new Avid DS v10 brings significant enhancements to the effects rich SD/HD/2k/4k toolset.

This is just a short review of the new features and improvements that greatly enhance the speed and capabilities of Avid DS v10 and boost its value as a finishing system of choice for client supervised sessions.

Avid DS v10 marks a departure from the real time Avid Nitris hardware although existing Nitris hardware can still be used in legacy configurations. This of course doesn’t mean that the editing system has retired the real time effects. On the contrary, one of the most significant improvements is the real time processing of effects including primary and the new secondary color corrector in resolutions of up to 2k in both 4:4:4 and 4:2:2 sampling structures.

A range of new features focuses on DI functionality of the system. They include support for industry standard and custom 3D LUTs, improved file based conform, better handling of DPX files and overall improvements to color management and speed.

DPX files can now be conformed via AFE using MetaFuze in addition to the older EDL method used by most DI workstations. This means that effects from the Media Composer offline timeline can be transferred to Avid DS when working in 2k and 4k resolutions.

Facility integration has been strengthened by addition of 720 23.98p output capability and the addition of the latest Sony 1080 59.94/60p high definition standard. Interaction with Avid Interplay and Unity environments has been improved.

Stereoscopic viewing can be easily setup using the new Stereoscopic Container option. The stereoscopic outputs from the system allow for anaglyph, field sequential, over/under and L/R configuration.

The supported computer platforms include the powerful HP XW8600 in 64 bit Windows XP. Other supported platforms are HP XW8200, XW8400 and XW9300. Instead of two displays the system now comes with one 30” monitor although it is possible to configure it in a legacy mode with two smaller displays.

The value of the system is greatly enhanced by the inclusion of a full version of Media Composer with each Avid DS v10. Media Composer can be used as a preparation and conversion utility for file based workflows or as a fully featured offline editing software.

Each system also ships with easy to use MetaFuze utility, Remote Processing license (render station license) and a Software Only license. The Software Only station has the full DS v10 toolset and the ability to connect to a broadcast monitor with an optional AJA XENA 2ke or Lh card.

The turnkey system is equally exciting–a dual quad-core 3.0 GHz XW8600 workstation from Hewlett Packard with 8GB of SDRAM, NVIDIA Quadro FX 3700 graphics card and AJA 2Ke 4:4:4 I/O card with a breakout box. The peripherals include 30” monitor or a set of two 20” displays, graphics tablet, and fail safe local storage in 8TB or 16TB configurations.

As impressive as these specifications are most producers don’t care much about the technical aspects of the finishing system as long as it delivers on time and on budget. Avid DS v10 answers this requirement by being one of the fastest and most flexible systems on the market.

Avid DS is not the only finishing choice available to producers. Proper selection of a finishing system can be a hard task in a brand driven world of post production. Avid DS is particularly suited for finishing projects offline edited on another Avid system such as Media Composer. Vertical workflow integration within Avid’s family of products ensures that you spend the minimum amount of time in the finishing bay rebuilding the offline effects.

Avid DS is a superior choice for cross platform finishing as well. Access to fast and sophisticated effects is invaluable for feature film HD conforms and DIs. Any shows that require extensive visual effects work such as commercials, promos or music videos can be finished with ease on Avid DS regardless of the offline platform.

Updated July 25, 2009

More and more producers are considering the RED ONE camera acquisition yet many fundamental questions about the post production workflow remain shrouded in mystery.

This article is an attempt to clarify the RED post process. It is intended for producers who need to decide if the RED is a viable option for their specific circumstances. Those who need specific step-by-step technical instructions on the RED workflow should start their research at www.red.com.

Everything about the RED is a work in progress. What this really means is that the camera system and the post production processes are getting better and easier every day. Frequent firmware updates for RED ONE are an integral part of the RED philosophy. These updates often affect post production handling of RED ONE dailies.

The Camera Basics

The RED ONE camera records so called “RAW” files onto a hard disc or solid state memory cards. These files are compressed and unprocessed data dumps from the imaging sensor. The files must be processed in post in order to create high quality images.

The image size can be as high as 4k which is more than sufficient for theatrical projection. The camera can also be configured to record smaller frame sizes and various frame rates up to 120 fps.

In addition to the RAW files the camera also generates QuickTime proxy files that are suitable for immediate viewing. At this time the QuickTime proxies are compatible with Intel Macintosh only. The proxy files are vehicles for QuickTime player viewing. They can not be emailed or recorded to a DVD-R disc without the corresponding RAW files. All picture and audio content reside inside the RAW files and proxies merely point to the RAW files.

Offline Editing

Various NLEs like Avid Media Composer, Final Cut Pro and Premiere Pro are capable of handling RED dailies.

QuickTime proxies can be used for editing in Final Cut Pro but there are known issues that affect this approach. At best it is suitable for short form editing. This is the most simple RED workflow

In Final Cut Pro it is advisable to convert the QuickTime proxies into hard coded files prior to editing. ProRes is a good choice in FCP. Alternately, RAW files are captured to Final Cut Pro using the RED Log and Capture plugin from red.com.

The recent addition of QuickTime timecode import in Media Composer made it possible to use RED proxy files in Media Composer without third party utilities but on Macintosh platform only.

There are other ways to capture the RED media in Avid Media Composer. Avid MetaFuze can be used to convert RAW R3D files directly to DNxHD encoded files for Media Composer. This process retains all the metadata necessary for the finishing process.

Older Avid workflows used RED proxies and third party tools like MetaCheater or RedRushes. They can still be viable on older versions of Media Composer that can not read QuickTime timecode. Third party tools can bridge this gap by generating an ALE file which connects RED media with the corresponding metadata inside Media Composer. Please review step by step Avid RED workflow at www.avid.com/red.

Adobe Premiere Pro can access the RED R3D files without any intermediate steps.

Capturing RAW files can be very time consuming. Smaller productions may use multiple computers to speed up the process and larger productions typically outsource the RED dailies service to post facilities that use high throughput workflows and equipment.

Finishing (DI)

The real advantage of the RED ONE is the ability to produce film quality images. Digital intermediate is an important step when a filmout is required. Overall, the process is very similar to the established film style DI.

Assimilate, Adobe and DVS are the only RED Digital Cinema partners capable of working natively with RED raw files at this time. Most other systems like Digital Vision Film Master, Quantel Pablo, Avid DS, SpeedGrade, Smoke, Flame and others offer non-native, direct RED R3D support. You can learn more about native vs. non-native RED support.

Any other DI system capable of handling standard 10-bit log DPX or 16-bit TIFF files can also be used for this purpose.

There are third party tools like Monkey Extract, CineXML and Crimson that facilitate the various stages of RED post production.

Finishing (HD or SD)

The material captured into an offline edit system can be used for HD or SD finishing provided it was captured at an appropriate frame size and compression (or no compression) quality.

Even the camera QuickTime proxies can be used for the final output as long as the picture quality is acceptable.

There is a very important picture quality issue to address here. Like film, raw files can record a very wide dynamic range. When film is transferred to tape the telecine colorist makes decisions on how to transfer this content to videotape which has a smaller dynamic range. Picture information often has to be sacrificed in this process and it comes to the artistry of the colorist to make this information loss as transparent as possible.

RAW files are the equivalent of 35mm film. They are typically captured to an offline system without a skilled colorist making decisions on how to best transfer wide dynamic range of RAW files into 10-bit or 8-bit video. It is either the automatic process inside the camera or the assistant editor or who makes these blanket decisions without taking picture content into consideration. Relying on an automated process to make color choices and repair production mistakes almost always generates unusable shots that have to be retransferred manually.

While it is possible to use the same material from offline edit for your final delivery, you may be severely limiting the visual quality of the piece.

Final Thoughts

The RED ONE post production is as complex as it gets although there are different levels depending on your finishing and delivery choices. At its most complex it resembles file based video workflow and film based DI combined.

It is very important to test out your entire workflow prior to the offline editing stage and make sure that  everything in the chain is performing as expected. It is entirely possible that before you lock picture new tools and methods will be available which in turn may require additional testing.

Although this complexity can raise the post production cost it is important to consider the high end picture quality and production side savings when making your decision whether or not to shoot with the RED ONE.

Igor Ridanovic is a co-founder or RED Los Angeles User Group.

Read the November 2008 article here.

RED Digital Cinema has announced several new camera products at NAB 2008.

There were many speculations about improvements to the existing RED ONE camera but few suspected RED EPIC which is an entirely new 5K camera.

RED EPIC is not going to be available until 2009 but the specifications are truly impressive. The camera boasts a new Mysterium X imaging sensor capable of recording 5k RAW or RGB images images at 100MB/S.

RED EPIC can shoot at frame rates of 1-100FPS and has WiFi remote control capability. The camera comes in black aluminum styling similar to RED ONE. Most of existing RED ONE accessories are compatible with EPIC.

RED Digital Cinema also showed Scarlet. This new camera features a smaller 2/3″ Mysterium X imaging sensor that produces images at 3k. Scarlet has similar specifications to EPIC with the ability to shoot up to 120 frames per second. Scarlet body is smaller but still compatible with most accessories designed for RED ONE. Scarlet will ship in early 2009.

The cost of EPIC is going to around $30,000 (USD) with upgrade options for customers who purchase RED ONE in the period before EPIC is released. For more information visit RED Digital Cinema.

Avid Technology may not officially participate in this year’s NAB but its presence is felt on the show floor. The company has just released additional information on pricing and availability of the new Mojo DX and Nitris DX hardware as well as Media Composer, Symphony and NewsCutter software.

The news can be summed up as “slashed prices” and “new gear.” The new products are expected to ship by June of 2008.

Avid Xpress Pro has been retired and replaced by Media Composer. This editing software can be used with no special hardware. For added productivity and I/O options Mojo SDI, Mojo DX and Nitris DX are available. Media Composer is available for both Mac and Windows Vista.

Symphony software runs only with Nitris DX hardware. It is available on both Mac and Windows Vista workstations.

NewsCutter can work as software only or with Mojo DX or Nitris DX hardware.

The price points are (USD):

Symphony Nitris DX $35,995

Media Composer Nitris DX $21,995

Media Composer Mojo DX $9,995

Media Composer (software only) $2,495

NewsCutter Nitris DX $24,995

NewsCutter Mojo DX $19,995

NewsCutter (software only) $4,995

8 core workstations are included in some of the above pricing.

Among notable new features are real time performance improvements in both SD and HD, native support for DVCPRO HD, XDCAM HD, AVC-I, XDCAM-EX and HDV. The performance improvements are achieved through intelligent task apportioning between the CPU, graphics card and the dedicated hardware (Mojo DX, Nitris DX).

For more information see this article.

Avid Technology unveiled a streamlined line of products at a pre-NAB 2008 event held at Universal Studios Hollywood. The event was a part of the “New Thinking” campaign designed to connect and listen to the user base.