Archive notice: This article was originally published on October 2, 2006. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.Avid announces the availability of Interplay, which according to the manufacturer is the world’s first nonlinear “Workflow Engine”. It combines integrated asset management, workflow automation and security control in one system and is thus intended to form an enterprise-wide solution for large and small postproduction and broadcast customers.
Avid Interplay was presented at NAB 2006 and is based on a client-server engine that gives teams shared access to data, ensures a smooth project flow and minimises time-consuming production tasks. With numerous tools for search, archiving, viewing, logging, automatic transcoding, dual-resolution encoding and intelligent tracking of multi-resolution proxy files, Avid Interplay is in principle open to any media-production environment. The solution is also is able to process over 100 file formats. These can come from the media field, but also from non-media fields such as text files or files from spreadsheet programs. Avid promises cooperation with production tools from practically any third-party provider.
Through the possibility of expansion with optional toolsets, the highly scalable workflow solution is intended to be capable of being expanded without difficulty so that it can also handle complex workflows for large customers and replace time-consuming tasks with automated processes.
In the basic configuration, the Avid Interplay system contains the components:
- Interplay Engine – a PC server that is connected to an Avid Unity Media Network and grants secure access to active and archived media holdings of all Interplay services,
- Interplay Access – the user interface for the Interplay Engine, which provides media search, check-out/check-in, version-control and administration functions for all standard desktops and laptops on the network.
Avid offers the following optional toolsets:
- Interplay Assist – a simple tool with which videos can be played on desktops and laptops in the network, images selected and markers and locator points with annotations inserted. This avoids the time-consuming search for information before the editing process begins.
- Interplay Transcode – a networked media service that automatically and transparently converts source media into any required production format according to the user’s specifications.
- Interplay Low-Res Encode – a hardware-supported ingest system that records low-resolution material from tape or other sources while the high-resolution version is captured in parallel in the same shared-storage system.
- Interplay Archive – a network service for reviewing archived material on a low-resolution proxy for easy selection directly from the editing interface or via the Interplay Access Client.
- Interplay Transfer – a network service that enables users to initiate background media transfers between workgroups or archives across WANs, while simultaneously tracking files and avoiding redundancies.
Avid Interplay is available immediately through Avid dealers worldwide and the company’s direct sales operation. Prices for the Avid Interplay system, including the Interplay Engine and Access toolsets, start at 16,700 euros and depend on the composition of the system.
Avid Interplay is supported directly from the factory by the latest releases of Avid Media Composer (V2.6), NewsCutter (V6.6), iNEWs Instinct (V1.6), Symphony Nitris (V1.6) and Avid Unity Systems (V4.2.1). Customers with an Avid support contract receive free upgrades to these versions.
Further Links:
- Avid Interplay (manufacturer’s website)
