Archive notice: This article was originally published on August 29, 2008. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
The newly launched Avid DS v10 runs on a powerful new platform and provides additional capabilities including workflows with comprehensive color-space management, advanced color correction, Avid Interplay support, improved conforming, real-time GPU processing, expanded dual-link feature support, integration with Avid shared-storage solutions and a new stereoscopic 3D container. Avid DS customers can now manage their project pipelines more effectively, take on a wider variety of projects and work at the highest quality while continuing to deliver the best final product to their clients.
Gus Comegys, Director of Creative Editorial at FotoKem in Burbank, California, commented on the new Avid DS v10: “We demand a great deal from our Avid DS system. Over the course of a week, we have to work on many different projects—from PAL trailers to television series, and from effects work to 4:4:4 features that are then recorded out to film. As beta testers, we spent several months working on different projects with the new version of Avid DS. We were most impressed by the improved performance, color management and new secondary color-correction tools. The fact that we have all effects directly in 4:4:4 in real time alone saves us an incredible amount of time. Speed, accuracy and a certain style in execution, regardless of the project or how tight the deadline is—that is what our customers expect from us. Avid DS v10 is therefore the perfect platform for continuing to meet those expectations.”
What’s New in Avid DS v10?
The Avid DS system provides multistream 10-bit uncompressed HD, the Avid DNxHD codec, SD finishing and mastering, and HD RGB and 2K/4K file-based editing with real-time playback up to 2K. Avid DS v10 was developed specifically for broadcasters and post-production facilities working on high-end projects such as television commercials, music videos, promotional spots, feature films and trailers, or projects requiring workflows with comprehensive color-space management.
The Avid DS v10 system offers a wide range of new features and capabilities:
A New Platform Avid DS v10 is built on a new platform that delivers significant improvements in performance and speed, giving users greater productivity and more creative freedom. Avid DS v10 is equipped with an HP xw8600 featuring dual quad-core 3.0 GHz CPUs, 8 GB of RAM, an Nvidia QuadroFX 3700 (G92 GPU) and a dual-link I/O card, supplied in a rack-mountable breakout box.
Real-Time GPU Processing Real-time processing multiplies GPU performance, allowing a large proportion of processes and effects to run in real time. Customers with GPU platforms therefore have much more time to try new ideas. They can work faster and increase overall productivity.
Additional Support for 720p23.98 Sequences This additional option allows users to output native 720p23.98 over SDI or convert to 1080p23.98. Two of the industry’s most widely used HD formats can now be processed in real time.
Color-Space Management Tools Additional tools are now available for managing color spaces, including preserving color definitions and defining and managing look-up tables (LUTs). The system supports the most widely used LUTs, including 3D LUTs in Thomson Luther, Kodak KDM and Iridas .itx formats, and provides expanded 1D LUT support for tape-based ingest. Customers can now create RGB sequences with specialized LUTs and view complex LUTs in the system viewer.
DPX Improvements An improved DPX parser now supports several DPX 2.0 capabilities for RGB and RGBA formats, including Filmlight RBGA. Avid DS can also now perform file-based DPX conforms from AFEs (Avid File Exchange) originating in Avid Media Composer and Avid Symphony systems.
Further Improvements
Color correction as in Avid Symphony — real-time secondary color-correction tools previously available only in Avid Symphony products;
Support for new formats — support for a wide range of new HD YUV 4:2:2 formats, including 1080p 50, 1080p 59.94 and 1080p 60;
Interplay support — connectivity to Avid Interplay to access different media using the same indexer as Avid Media Composer, ensuring a simple, seamless workflow between the two systems. Media can be moved by drag and drop from the Interplay Access system into the Avid DS project folder, and master clips can be checked into the Interplay Asset Manager;
Node Builder — provides an interface that allows customers to create property pages, for example to display only selected parameters from an effect tree containing multiple effects;
Stereoscopic Container — enables the creation of 48i sequences and allows two streams for the left and right eyes to be edited individually, with output through the dual-link card;
Unity 64-bit Client Support — comprehensive support for Unity MediaNet 5.1 when using 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Avid DS on XP 64;
New Timeline Functions — simplifies conforming through source-side effects and includes various new commands that can be applied in the timeline to select effect filters with identical parameters.
Pricing & Availability: Avid DS v10 is scheduled to ship in September 2008. A turnkey system starts at €54,383 and includes a CPU workstation, 30-inch monitor, 8 TB of SAS storage, a WACOM tablet, a license for Avid DS v10 software, DS 10 RP (Remote Processing), Media Composer software and Avid Metafuze. Avid also offers a range of upgrade options for existing Avid DS customers. Please contact your dealer or Avid sales representative.
