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New Avid Xpress Studio HD and Avid Xpress Pro HD PowerPack deliver powerful, integrated content creation tools at breakthrough prices.
Avid Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVID) today unveiled the newest offerings in
its Avid Xpress(R) family of content creation tools - the Avid Xpress Studio
HD all-in-one production suite, and the Avid Xpress Pro HD PowerPack. The Avid
Xpress Studio HD system, which now starts at just $3,495 USMSRP, is the industry's
first HD content creation suite to include highly integrated HD video editing,
audio production, 3D animation, compositing and titling, and DVD authoring software
applications combined with professional video and audio production hardware.
The new Avid Xpress Pro HD PowerPack brings together two offerings - the Avid
Xpress Pro HD software and the Avid(R) Studio Toolkit HD - in a powerful software
bundle at the breakthrough price of $2,495 USMSRP.
"When we introduced Avid Xpress Studio last year, we did what others in
our industry couldn't - we delivered seamless interoperability between an unprecedented
group of content creation applications and hardware, all within a single, affordable
package. With Avid Xpress Studio HD, we're raising the bar again," said
Tim Wilson, senior product marketing manager for Avid. "We've packed this
new version with tons of functionality, including native DVCPRO HD and Avid
DNxHD(TM) support, groundbreaking 24p editing capabilities, and tighter integration
between the software apps - all at an even more affordable price. Plus, with
the new PowerPack option, we're giving Avid Xpress Pro HD customers a wider
range of choices so they can select the toolset that's best suited for their
needs - and will give them the biggest bang for the buck."
Avid Xpress Studio HD
The Avid Xpress Studio HD suite is built around five industry-leading software
applications, including Avid Xpress Pro HD, Avid Pro Tools(R) LE, Avid 3D, Avid
FX, and Avid DVD by Sonic(TM). The system brings the entire media production
process into one unified product, enabling professional content creators to
offer services such as video editing, audio postproduction, graphics, compositing,
titles, effects, and distribution via tape, DVD, or the Web.
The Avid Xpress Studio HD system supports native DVCPRO HD for acquisition,
editing, and output over IEEE-1394, plus Avid DNxHD encoding to create effects,
transitions, and titles with the image quality of uncompressed HD files - but
the bandwidth of SD files. Users can mix both DVCPRO HD and Avid DNxHD media
with SD media in the same timeline in real time, and complete projects in a
variety of ways, including output back to DVCPRO HD tape, SD DVD, or export
to MPEG-2 HD, MPEG-4 AVC (H.264) or WMV-HD. The system also includes:
-- Support for more SD and HD formats and frame rates for Avid 3D - including
10-bit uncompressed SD, DV25, DVCPRO 25, DVCPRO 50, as well as Avid DNxHD 1080i/59.94,
1080i/50, 1080p/25, 1080p/23.976, 720p/23.976, and 1080p/24;
-- New animation and modeling tools for Avid 3D - including motion presets,
parent-child animation, geometry creation with Boolean editing, and new title
animation rigs;
-- New Template Mode for Avid FX - including streamlined launching and effects
application, and one-step editing of title templates directly inside the Avid
FX Library Browser; and,
-- Enhancements to Avid DVD by Sonic - including new menu/background templates,
plus a wide range of new options for managing content, importing and adding
files, and enhancing the workspace view.
The Avid Xpress Studio HD system comes in two versions. Avid Xpress Studio
HD Essentials includes the Digidesign(R) Mbox(TM) hardware for integrating audio
I/O with the recording, editing, and real-time mixing capabilities of the Pro
Tools LE software. Avid Xpress Studio HD Complete includes the eight-channel
Digi 002(R) for professional audio and touch-sensitive motorized faders for
automation control within both the Avid Xpress Pro HD and Avid Pro Tools LE
applications. Avid Xpress Studio HD Complete also includes the Avid Mojo(TM)
Digital Nonlinear Accelerator(TM) (Avid DNA(TM)) for real-time output of multiple
streams of video and 3-D effects to client monitor and tape, SD display of HD
media, and the ability to mix uncompressed graphics and animation with DV media
in real time.
Avid Xpress Pro HD PowerPack
The Avid Xpress Pro HD PowerPack combines the latest release of Avid Xpress
Pro HD software with the Avid Studio Toolkit HD suite of software offerings,
which includes Avid 3D, Avid FX, and Avid DVD by Sonic. Together, this package
provides a robust yet affordable way for content creators to work on HD video
projects, create graphics, composites, titles, and effects, and distribute their
work to HD tape, DVD, or the Web.
Pricing & Availability
All of the content creation applications found in the Avid Xpress Studio HD
and Avid Xpress Pro HD PowerPack systems may be purchased individually; prices
for these individual applications can be found on the Avid website at www.avid.com.
Specific pricing for the new Avid Xpress family offerings is as follows:
-- The Avid Xpress Pro HD PowerPack system is priced at $2,495 USMSRP (compared
to a total retail value of more than $6,000 USMSRP to purchase the products
individually, and just $800 more than Avid Xpress Pro HD alone).
-- The Avid Xpress Studio HD Essentials system is priced at $3,495 USMSRP (compared
to a total retail value of more than $8,000 USMSRP to purchase the products
individually, and only $1,000 USMSRP more than Avid Xpress Pro HD PowerPack).
-- The Avid Xpress Studio HD Complete system is priced at $5,995 USMSRP (compared
to a total retail value of more than $12,000 USMSRP to purchase the products
individually, and the same price as Avid Xpress Pro HD, Avid Mojo and the Digi
002 alone).
Upgrade pricing for existing Avid Xpress DV, Avid Xpress Pro, Avid Xpress Pro
HD, and Avid Xpress Studio customers is available on www.avid.com.
The Avid Xpress Studio HD systems (Essentials and Complete) and the Avid Xpress
Pro HD PowerPack are available now through Avid's worldwide reseller channel
and the Avid store (www.avidstore.com). The new products are currently qualified
to run on CPUs from HP - Avid's preferred platform provider for Windows-based
systems.
For more information about the Avid Xpress family of products, please visit:
www.avid.com.
About Avid Technology, Inc.
Avid Technology, Inc. is the world leader in digital nonlinear media creation,
management, and distribution solutions, enabling film, video, audio, animation,
games, and broadcast professionals to work more efficiently, productively, and
creatively. For more information about the company's Oscar(R), Grammy(R), and
Emmy(R) award-winning products and services, please visit: www.avid.com.
(C) 2005 Avid Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. Product features, specifications,
system requirements, and availability are subject to change without notice.
Promotions and discounts are subject to availability and change without notice.
All prices are USMSRP for the U.S. and Canada only and are subject to change
without notice. Contact your local Avid office or reseller for prices outside
the U.S. and Canada. Avid, Digidesign, Digital Nonlinear Accelerator, Avid DNxHD,
Film Composer, Mbox, Pro Tools, Digi 002, Avid DNA, Avid Mojo, and Avid Xpress
are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. in the
United States and/or other countries. Avid received an Oscar statuette representing
the 1998 Scientific and Technical Award for the concept, design, and engineering
of the Avid Film Composer(R) system for motion picture editing. Digidesign,
Avid's audio division, received an Oscar statuette representing the 2003 Scientific
and Technical Award for the design, development, and implementation of its Pro
Tools digital audio workstation. Oscar is a trademark and service mark of the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Emmy is a registered trademark
of ATAS/NATAS. Grammy is a trademark of the National Academy of Recording Arts
and Sciences, Inc. Sonic is a trademark of Sonic Solutions. All other trademarks
contained herein are the property of their respective owners.
