Las Vegas, Nevada – (April 22, 2001) – At the 2001 National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) conference, Avid Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVID) today announced significant enhancements to its integrated post-production solutions.
A major release of Avid Unity™ MediaNet, the addition of Pro Tools® support, and a new Avid Unity Media Services offering – Avid Unity ProEncode™ – dramatically improve the digital media production process. Avid Unity MediaNet version 2.0 is the newest version of Avid’s media network for professional content creation and distribution and includes expanded integration capabilities with support for a broader variety of clients such as Windows 2000 and Pro Tools Macintosh clients, port server capability that allows Ethernet-networked systems to connect to MediaNet and increased storage capacity of up to 7.3 terabytes.
“Efficient workflow is not just about doing things faster – it is also about doing more and doing it better – but without significant additional investments in time and resources,” said Joe Bentivegna, vice president and general manager of Avid Media Solutions. “These releases demonstrate what we’re driving for: workflow improvement and enhanced creativity, without additional burdens to creative or administrative personnel. Full support for Pro Tools by Avid Unity MediaNet, the introduction of MediaNet 2.0, and the shipping of ProEncode means that Avid offers more options for media sharing and distribution along with true hands-off management and administration.”
Avid Unity MediaNet 2.0
The support of Pro Tools software (Macintosh) on the Avid Unity media network, introduced with MediaNet 1.2.2, will be enhanced substantially by version 2.0. The full integration of Pro Tools into the MediaNet environment creates post-production and broadcast workflows that are more seamless and productive than ever. Also introduced previously is the ability to use file transfer protocol to remotely mount an Avid Unity MediaNet workspace. This functionality greatly expands the accessibility of MediaNet to both Avid and non-Avid systems.
Version 2.0 expands MediaNet’s reach by adding support for Ethernet-connected clients through a “Port Server”, which provides the necessary intermediary to the MediaNet system. This feature is critical because it allows virtually any computer-based system to be integrated into the MediaNet environment. Products that run on non-standard operating systems, such as SGI-IRIX, can now become part of the Avid Unity workgroup. “With Avid Unity MediaNet 2.0, Avid continues to broaden the collaborative workgroup by incorporating almost any system our customers want to connect,” said Tim Claman, director of product marketing.
Avid Unity ProEncode
“Avid has always believed that sparks of creativity fly throughout the editing process and that we can best serve editors by managing the steps that don’t add creative value,” said Bentivegna. “ProEncode is a perfect example of this commitment because it takes a bits and bytes task that can distract the editor, and moves it entirely into the background. What remains is a workstation that is free to explore other, more profitable, ways to move the media.”
ProEncode fully automates the conversion of video and audio – into Web streaming, broadband and other formats – so that Avid editors can work on more than one revenue-generating project simultaneously. More time to work with original media translates into more opportunities to capitalize on new distribution channels, such as streaming media over the Web, interactive TV and beyond. ProEncode automates the computing-intensive task of encoding media into formats suitable for distribution via the Web, CD-ROM, or broadband. Once the editor selects a format from within the Avid editing application, the encoding is done automatically, including monitoring of progress, handling any errors and delivering to the correct location. The time-consuming trans-coding operation is moved to a lower cost, dedicated CPU. ProEncode also uses Cleaner 5 – a Media 100 offering which enables multi-format, multi-data rate streaming encoding from a single solution.
Pricing and Availability
Avid Unity MediaNet version 2.0 is scheduled to ship in June 2001, and pricing is not yet available. The ProEncode product is available in conjunction with the Avid Unity shared media network. Pricing depends on configuration, starting at $11,000 USMSRP.
