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So in the lead up to the opening day of NAB2015 the Videocraft team have attended the AvidConnect2015 and here is the download from James Taylor (@VideocraftJames) on the real exciting moves forward for Avid. I suppose I make no apologies for my strong support of Avid, which has really come out of the years working with their products and always achieving great results. Their editing software and shared storage systems for me have been through the toughest projects, and when everything else around them may have failed, they have kept running time and time again! So, yes, I am a big fan of Avid!I am super excited about their latest shared storage offering, the new ISIS 1000. We have all been asking Avid for an ‘entry level’ ISIS, and they have delivered! Compact size, great price and the bandwidth you need to get the job done well. It comes in a 20TB capacity (16TB usable capacity), and is expandable as well. Best thing is that around $25K AUD, we have a system that uses the same ISIS software as their flagship ISIS 7500 and 5500 systems, all at a price that you would expect to pay for low end packages. ISIS is fully qualified with Premiere, FCP and of course Media Composer, so you are safe in the knowledge that your shared storage will just work, no matter if you are on Mac or PC (or even Linux!), and it can keep up with what editing system you choose to use as well. I think that the ISIS product line is probably one of the best product lines Avid makes, and I would strongly recommend looking at the ISIS 1000 if you are in need of a new storage system. It even makes sense on small systems too, as if you have a single edit suite, you can now easily add an ingest suite and spread the ingest and edit tasks, meaning you don’t have to stop editing to bring in lots of media. Even in small systems like this, the time savings in labour alone would go a long way to paying for the system. The ISIS 1000 would be great for feature film edits and the like as well, so check it out!Media ComposerSo, Media Composer continues to make steps each year, and this year is no exception. Media Composer 8.4 has just been announced, and the biggest news here is that we now have the ability to set your own raster size, so you have complete resolution independence. You want to do 8K, no worries! Also, Avid have optimised the playback for ProRes and XAVC codecs, so even more than ever Avid have the ‘go-to’ editor for the most demanding projects that will just work all day and all night. Here is a summary of the announcements made at AvidConnect 2015 Artist Suite Innovations New benchmark for live sound production: Avid introduces the flagship Avid VENUE | S6L live sound mixing system, featuring a modern, intuitive touch-based interface that enables audio professionals to easily handle the largest, most complex tours and events. Affordable licensing and subscription options: Avid introduces the next release of Sibelius®, the latest version of the world’s most popular music composition software, giving composers more choice over how they acquire and use their tools, create music scores, and collaborate with others. The release also offers new workflow and mobile features, including multi-touch gestures and Microsoft ® Surface™ Pro 3 support, and moves Sibelius on to the Avid MediaCentral Platform. Powerful, integrated high-resolution video production: Avid introduces Avid Artist | DNxIO, helping video professionals meet the growing demands of high-res video production with best-in-class hardware and the industry’s preeminent Media Composer® video editing software Free versions of industry-standard media creation solutions: Avid announced plans to open video editing to everyone with the upcoming Media Composer | First, a free version of the video editing software used by top Hollywood Oscar and Emmy winners. The company also announced that Pro Tools | First, the free version of its renowned music creation software, is starting to roll out to the more than 70,000 people who pre-registered for the product. Media Suite Innovations Open, end-to-end, integrated media asset management: Avid introduces Interplay® | MAM 5, enabling organizations both large and small to manage the entire content lifecycle and reduce media operation costs. This release completes the integration of all Media Suite modules into the MediaCentral Platform. Storage Suite Innovations Proven real-time shared storage for smaller teams: Avid introduces ISIS® | 1000 shared storage, bringing small production teams the same collaborative power proven on blockbuster films, prime-time television, and mission-critical news broadcasts—customized for their needs, at a price they can afford. The Avid Advantage: New Service Offerings and Initiatives Avid announced another important milestone and continued momentum of The Avid Advantage, the company’s vision to transform expectations for service delivery in the media industry. With the introduction of innovative new professional service offerings, education delivery options, certification programs, and customer care enhancements, Avid is helping customers maximize efficiency, accelerate their return on media production technology investments, and deepen their joint collaboration with Avid. Avid Everywhere for Education Avid Everywhere is driving the development of new solutions, training, and certification options that provide educators with more choice and flexibility and enable them to reach larger numbers of students. Students can now experience industry-leading Avid creative tools for free, and then step up to the full products with affordable subscriptions. Educators and students can collaborate and connect more effectively using cutting-edge cloud-based solutions. Additionally, it is easier than ever for students to get the industry recognized Avid certifications they need to succeed after graduation.