avid express pro hd or avid express studio or final cut pro hd
 

i'm looking to get a system with one of the three editing programs or final cut and one of the avids on the same apple computer if possible. any info on these editing software programs wold be greatly appreciated, pros, cons or experiences bad or good

Torrey harris
1-225-315-6677 cell
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www.intheoutdoors.tv

What are you planning to shoot? SD, DV, HDV, HD? What type of editing are you planning? Each of htese platforms has strenghts and weaknesses.

richard
i could be editing all of these formats(dv,sd,hdv,hd).
i produce outdoor videos and tv shows for the hunting and fishing industry.
i need something that is very stable and full of features 3d,audio and titling.
basiclly a whole studio in one

torrey

Do you have a preference for platform? FCP runs only on Mac, Avid will run on PC or Mac. FCP has HDV support now, Avid won't have it till September. (SOrry, I re-read your post and see you're on an apple)

Okay, it's a tough call. Apple has some good input cards for SD video, like Kona and Aja, Avid studio uses the mojo, not quite as flexible for input, but acts as an accelerator for output. The Avid studio system comes with the audio board, and some nice 3d apps, which you are not likely to use for an outdoor show.

If you think it will be likely that you will have to port your show to a finishing suite for broadcast, I'd stay with Avid. If you're planning everything in-house, and are comfortable with Apple, I'd stay with FCP. They're both good systems.

just out of curosity what are you running and what platform

my experience with editing is a dps(leitch) velocity, and a little bit of final cut pro 4 on a apple laptop. I really liked the velocity but to purchase the hd version would be about 25,ooo.oo and a complete studio system with either the avid or final cut would be half that. i would prefer apple only because while i had the laptop i had no problems but i had a lot of problems with the velocity.

torrey

If you want to edit HD, Final Cut is probably the cheapest way to do it.
Final Cut HD system, including storage (RAID 0, no fault tolerance) and HD capture card (i.e. decklink, kona2) - around $20k

HD broadcast monitor - $35k list (street is lower); the cheap ghetto way is to use a LCD monitor and the appropriate convertor box... this costs a few thousand. Color accuracy will be off.

HD vectorscope?

HD deck- rental may cost several hundred or more a day, and likely makes the most sense.


Or... just offline on your system and do the online on a HD capable system.

2- Possible advantage of Avid: a knowledgeable user base. A common gripe about Final Cut is that the users generally don't know how to use the tools. No 2-pops on OMF export, broadcast masters with improper audio levels or illegal colors, etc.
If there's an Avid user's group in your city, it could be an excellent resource.

3- Other possible advantages to Avid is that there are more Avid online facilities available if you need someone to do your online (color correction, quality control, audio levels).
Final Cut online should be cheaper... and if such a facility doesn't exist in your city, Automatic Duck should be decent in translating your project to Avid.

4- I haven't tried Avid. Final Cut however is a very capable system

Torrey,

I'm running ExpressPro on dual Xeon PC. I've used Media Composers as well. Played around a bit with FCP, my boss had one at his desk, my Avid on mine. So I'm comfortable hearing complaints and praise about both systems. I'm not running the HD version yet (5.12)... I'm wrapping up a documentary to get it into distribution in the coming month, then I'll up the ram to two gigs, load in service pack two, and download the HD version for fifty bucks.