http://www.avid.com/products/liquid/techspecs.asp

Hey there is a Liquid v 7.1 and it mentions JVC Pro HD metastream. What is that??? And capture from tape. I had to look into dark corners of Avid website to find this. I didn't see any press releases.In fact Liquid 7 isn't listed on Avid's HD page.

Stephen, I this what you were referring to in v 7.1?

Yes David. Liquid 7.1 is end to end for every framerate ProHD has to offer. You may have looked too deep in Avid's site because Liquid is right on the main product Page Click here.

Here is JVC's compatability chart as of last year. Now 7.1 brings all framerates in and out. I LOVE the compatability and the freedom of delivery formats and the mastering capability with the HDV all in it's native format (ie FAST in to out).

Thanks Stephen. One more question, do you know if 7.1 is shipping now??

I'm going to order their trial. Thanks for the info!!!!

Cheers,

Yes, It should say 7.1 right on the disk.

Has anyone out on the NAB floor been able to confirm whether or not the forthcoming Media Composer software-only release will allow ProHD 24p capture from the HD100? Now that we know AXP 5.5 still isn't going to do it- I'd be willing to just bite the bullet and upgrade to MC if it will.

We know that? Where did you read that?

The PR says: "The software supports native HDV and DVCPRO HD for acquisition, editing, and output; real-time effects and 2:3 pulldown insertion over FireWire;"

as well as: "HD and improved format support for Mac OS X systems – supports new 10-bit uncompressed SD and native DV50 formats as well as HDV, DVCPRO HD, and Avid DNxHD;"

and: "New film and pulldown support for Mac OS X systems – enables editors to capture 24p footage to disk transparently over FireWire, via normal and advanced pulldown, without the need for third-party applications or transcoding."

Anybody has a specific information that denies the support for 24p?

Read Steve Mullen's post on the first page of this thread from yesterday. Beyond what he heard directly from Avid's rep at NAB- the lack of ProHD 24 support is plain as day in the specs for AXP 5.5 on avid.com. Just go to the AXP main page and click on "tech specs" on the left hand pane, then scroll about a third of the way down to see the HDV project types. Here's what's listed:

Native HDV: 1080i/59.94, 1080i/50, 720p/29.97

That means no PROHD 24 capturing support for 5.5. The only way to work with 24p footage from the HD100 is to capture it in another app, convert it to DVCProHD, and import to AXP for editing- just as it currently is now with AXP 5.3 and 5.4.

What I'm hoping, though, is that the new MC will support it. The documentation for it isn't as clear. Avid lists 720p 24 as a workable project type- but doesn't distinguish whether it's HDV or DVCProHD specific. Has anyone tried to confirm this yet?

I read that. There have been instances of sales guys saying one thing and reality being very different. Also, the 'AXP main page' only refers to the current PC-based product. Unless there is an official announcement or spec sheet, saying that now we know is just a rumor. I realize that you just might be right... but let's hope not. :-)

No, you may be looking in the wrong place- the "Tech Specs" page is updated for version 5.5, and includes all of the information for the Mac version. Actually, the section that has the project types/frame rates in it is under the heading "Equally powerful on the Mac and PC, and the subheading "Here are just some of the features added to the Mac version of Avid Xpress Pro 5.5"

There is no 720 24p mode for HDV listed- just 29.97. There are also a couple of threads on the avid user forum confirming that there will be no 24p or 25p support for ProHD users. Our filmmaking brethren in Europe are mighty ticked off. Last December, Avid's support staff had predicted 25p support for the HD100 by 1st Q. of 2006, now it looks like they won't even have it in the 2nd Quarter.

This is nothing new. Avid didn't upgrade to a Windows XP compatible version of AXP until 2003- two years after its release. They're just now getting around to going High Def for Mac users about a year after all the other major editing platforms did. Staying "ahead of the technological curve" has never been one of Avid's top priorities with the Express Pro line.

Anyways- I don't want to lose sight of my actual question, since there's really no reason to believe at this point that AXP 5.5 will offer 24p support for the HD100- what about the new Media Composer?

Thanks Jake... I missed the updated page.

Trust me- I take no pleasure in bearing this kind of bad news. I was hoping, just as you were, that they'd support ProHD at 24p with this release.

Another tidbit over at the Avid forums- (and this is just rumor- the mods are gone over there because they're at NAB...) is that the Xpress Pro product line may not see another major release after 5.5. The folks over there are expecting Media Composer's new software-only package and the various editions of Liquid to take over the Pro and Prosumer users respectively going forward. We'll see if there's any truth to that in the coming days, hopefully.