from Sony Vegas to Avid
 

I am currently using Sony Vegas Pro 8.1.
Most of my editing is for wedding video.
The problem with Vegas is real time and i can't wait for Vegas to wake up one day and make it hardware accelerator compatible.
I am not sure what kind of Avid I need.
I do have good computer that i build that have all the goodies.
Just need to know which of the avid i should go with.

Media Composer seems to be the jumping in point. Nice package from what I can tell.

Best to check this page of system requirement for Media Composer. they used to have Xpress Pro etc, but slimmed down the product line and dropped the price on MC.

Does it come with hardware accelerator?

Yes, for $4k. :)

The thing about Avid is it is VERY hardware dependent, so your computer may or may not be tricked out properly to run it. Avid works well with nVIDIA video cards, b/c it uses the card's GPU to help handle the load.

So in a sense, even when you're using the software only version of Avid, your video card is acting like a hardware excellerator (to a certain extent).

I would really consider talking to Videoguys, they know Avid inside out and have good prices.

I've used Vegas 8.0c and Avid Media Composer 3.1, and I have to say that there are things about Avid that seem prehistoric compared to Vegas. But there are also things that show why it is such a highly regarded professional tool. In terms of speed, Avid is considerably faster, IMHO.

Ouch. Prehistoric. Be kind to your elders. Just kidding. One of the problems Avid faces is that they're afraid to change the interface drastically because so many older editors are familiar with it. But, with version 3, Avid has shown that it isn't as much as a resource hog or reliant on $30k I/O hardware.

I've used Vegas 8.0c (home) and still running Xpress DV 3.5.3, (work) and looking (If I can squeeze the $$ out of the powers that be) upgrade to MC3. If I could combine the two programs into one it would be about perfect. ;-) In this economy though I might still be using XDV for a while longer.

Avid will run on just about any box, the issue is they only certify certain systems, then train customer support on those systems and only offer support on certified systems. So you can go with the certified system and get support or go it alone.

I have seen Xpro 4.2 run on a HP XW6000 9 (non-certified,) with hardware add-ons sucessfully.

AVID will run on more machines than FCP will - which makes it less 'hardware specific' then FCP in my book. Yet no one seems to gripe about how 'hardware specific' Final Cut is, or the fact that you need a very narrowly defined OS to run it on. (AVID ships WITH copies for MAC and PC included)

But do check the system specs at AVID.COM before jumping in. As others have stated, Media Composer is only 'certified' on specific configurations, in order to keep customer support trouble shooting at a reasonable level. Doesn't mean it won't run on a non-certified system, just means you'll have to do your own trouble shooting - or use the AVID forum which is what most of us do anyway.

Hardware accellerators come in the form of MOJO boxes or DNA Adrenaline Boxes - or you can buy a car instead.

I may be wrong but by "hardware specific" I don't think he was talking about the type of operating system but rather the other internal components such as graphic cards that all have to be in agreement in order for Avid to work properly.

Yeah, I know what he was talking about.

My point being - there are specific configurations that are 'certified' by AVID as being (more or less) error-free. APPLE does the same thing - it simply limits the type and hardware that FCP will run on - to specific APPLE systems.

I brought it up because some people COMPLAIN that AVID is too 'limiting' in it's hardware-specific configurations. It was a wry attempt at humor by illustrating how limiting APPLE's specs are concerning FCP.

MC will run pretty darn fast as a software only app on a certified machine. I suspect adding a MOJO or ADRENALINE may not be necessary, depending on his needs.

Try Edius
 

I've just given up on Vegas now, Avid not supporting my beloved Liquid any more!

After visiting Broadcast Expo last week, I've been playing with Edius and wow! it just works! There are a couple of little nags but I think this is the way to go - for me certainly!

Alan (London)

I'm a Liquid fan too. It still works fine and I'm using it until it becomes clear what Avid are going to replace it with.
So am watching this thread with interest!