RE: [Avid-L2] Re: Avid embracing third party hardware?

Oliver -

I think you underestimate the power of the Nitris DX. There is task
negotiation between Nitris, CPU and GPU that it controls. Check out a
z800's performance meters running software only and then with the Nitris
DX...not marketed well but tangible.

Dave Spraker
Account Executive & Avid Specialist
Professional Video and Tape
503.810.3642 - cell
<http://www.spraker.tv/blog/> www.spraker.tv/blog/

-----Original Message-----
From: Avid-L2@yahoogroups.com [mailto:Avid-L2@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of
oliverpetersvidy
Sent: Thursday, May 27, 2010 7:45 AM
To: Avid-L2@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [Avid-L2] Re: Avid embracing third party hardware?

> Dylan Reeve wrote:
> If Media Composer 5 can offer support for AJA and Blackmagic hardware
before
> Apple ships their new 'awesome' FCP then I think we'll see a lot of FCP
> suits suddenly turning into Avids

Well, maybe. Those owners who still remember the days of $100K+ edit systems
realize that it's dirt-cheap to own all 3 software suites (Avid, Adobe,
Apple) and then some. Best to have plenty of options. Many who've turned to
FCP, have also invested in AJA and/or BMD cards. They might be interested in
adding MC Soft to an FCP/AJA workstation, but they certainly won't buy
MC+MojoDX/NitrisDX. So this would be a good development as it means that
folks who have interest in adding MC Soft will do so.

Clearly the balancing act for Avid is how many Mojo/Nitris DX sales will
they lose as a result? Avid has always overstated the performance of its
hardware and inflated the price accordingly, because it was the only game in
town if you wanted to play in the Avid sandbox. Think back - excluding the
DNxcel HD card - the Adrenaline BOB did what the AJA Io did, but at 10x the
price. AJA Io + a Kona covered both bases at less money.

Today, other than raster-scaling, Mojo DX provides no real effects
acceleration. Nitris DX only adds the embedded DNxHD codec (plus more i/o
spigots). There's some tweaking in the effects pipelines, but you can get
just as much real-time on an MC Soft system without hardware as you can with
the DX hardware attached. Hardware effects acceleration went out with the
Nitris Classic boards and that's unlikely to come back. There's not enough
ROI for that R&D.

I think you'll eventually see all Avid i/o and control surface hardware
de-emphasized, with the possible exception of some high-end options. Think
about it. Once the Euphonix investment goes into full swing and you add to
this what's happening on the M-Audio side, does anyone really think Avid
will continue to make the mid-range ProTools surfaces like Command 8? I
doubt it. They'll focus on ICON, because they still bring value at that
level. I think the same model will be implemented on the video side.

As far as the next "awesome" version of FCP, I would caution not to put too
much stock in those rumors or arguments. As someone who spends the majority
of my sessions in FCP-land, I can attest that it gets the job done. Yes, a
lot of folks grumble about FCP's apparent "lack of development", but that's
really just their version of "the grass is greener". I think MC5 will get a
lot of loyal Avid editors to stay in the fold or possibly return, but I
doubt it will dramatically change the NLE market share distribution. For the
non-aligned, new, young editors, Adobe CS5 has far more interest and buzz
than MC5.

If Apple releases an even "average" update by the end of the year, we all
know it will be hailed as if it were the "second coming". So let's not kid
ourselves about the impact on the market. In the end, Avid embracing more
openness is a good thing that benefits Avid editors in important ways. It
keeps then in the game, but it won't change the game.

- Oliver

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

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