News

Avid to Demonstrate Speed and HD Functionality of Symphony Nitris at European Events (21/11/2005)

Company now accepting sales orders; on schedule to ship system in December

Avid Technology International B.V., a subsidiary of Avid Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ : AVID) today announced that it will be demonstrating its newest nonlinear editing solution, the Avid(R) Symphony(TM) Nitris(R) system, at events across Europe and EMEA during November and December. The Avid Symphony Nitris system Ð which is expected to ship in December Ð is the only nonlinear SD and HD finishing system to offer guaranteed real-time editing and effects for multi-stream 10-bit HD and SD media as well as HD Total Conform with the industry-standard Avid Media Composer(R) product family. By combining the proven Symphony finishing toolset with the Avid Nitris Digital Nonlinear Accelerator(TM) (Avid DNA(TM)) hardware, the Avid Symphony Nitris system is ideal for film and broadcast television professionals who need to handle large volumes of work that require intense image processing and a distributed workflow.

"IÕve seen some of our material in uncompressed HD and IÕm blown away by how good it looks," said Stephen Mirrione, Academy Award(TM)-winning editor for Traffic, and editor of the upcoming feature Babel. "Nothing is lost when we bring HD previews from another Avid system to the Symphony Nitris, giving me more control over the creative process, which is something IÕm extremely passionate about. WeÕve also eliminated the step of sending HD previews to an outside facility for processing Ð which helps us save time and money."

Work in Uncompressed with Compressed Deadlines

With unmatched performance, Avid Symphony Nitris offers a wide range of software and hardware features, including expansive video and audio I/O, support for a wide range of high-quality film, HD and SD formats, compositing and effects tools, real-time primary and secondary colour correction (including patented NaturalMatch(TM)), Universal Mastering, and project collaboration with Avid Unity(R) MediaNetwork.

In addition to showing the core finishing features and functionality of the system, Avid will demonstrate the following tools for the first time in Europe:

¥ Motion tracking with SteadyGlide Ð AvidÕs latest innovation in motion tracking provides editors with the flexibility to stabilise shaky shots while preserving desired camera motions, such as pans and tilts.

¥ 16-Bit SpectraMatte(TM) chroma keying Ð Real-time HD and SD chroma keying, enhanced with AvidÕs intuitive SpectraGraph(TM) UI and simultaneous alpha channel monitoring, gives professionals access to extremely responsive and high quality compositing tools.

"Editors at large post facilities, film studios and television networks are under tight deadlines to deliver high-quality HD and SD work, day-in and day-out, and they canÕt afford to work on a system that canÕt keep up with demand," said Matt Feury, senior product marketing manager at Avid. "To address this challenge, weÕve taken SymphonyÕs legendary finishing toolset to the next level by adding the unmatched real-time performance of the Nitris DNA hardware. Customers will not only appreciate the blazing speed of the system, but also how well individual features such as colour correction and motion tracking can work in tandem to accomplish complex tasks more efficiently than ever before. Based on the orders that are coming in, weÕre confident that Symphony Nitris is going to have a significant impact on the industry and enable a broad range of finishing customers to work more efficiently, productively and profitably."

Events

Avid is holding launch events across Europe and EMEA over the next month. Contact your local Avid office for more details.

Pricing & Availability

Turnkey Avid Symphony Nitris systems are expected to ship in December of 2005; price start at £57,700 / Euro 83,100. Avid also offers upgrade credits for both Avid and competitive systems.

www.avid.com/SymphonyNitris

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