Avid DS|HD Review

Avid turns its formidable Avid|DS (formerly Softimage|DS) editing and compositing system into a fire-breathing behemoth with this just-released high definition version, Avid|DS HD. Like some kind of luxo-sport utility vehicle, its video versatility is ideal for scaling all kinds of editing and compositing terrain.

[Click for full size image -- 239kb] Avid|DS HD Screen Shot

If you're editing high definition video on a computer, you've probably noticed a problem that reminds you of working with digital video in the old days of the early-to-mid 90s -- any time you want effects, you have to pay with time. Lots of it. In the old days, a one-second dissolve would take two minutes to render. Ironically, because of high definition video's gigantic file sizes, here we are again, in that sleepy little village where nobody really wants to go for long: RenderLand.

However, with this new version of DS HD, Avid has gone a long way toward easing the agony of rendering. For $300,000, you get a turnkey editing and compositing system capable of editing forty minutes of uncompressed high definition video. Add to that interoperability with other Avid products, its great Effects Tree method of compositing, powerful paint tools and text handling that crosses the line between the 2D and 3D worlds, and you have an editing system that qualifies as the luxo-SUV of the editing world: Its video versatility is ideal for scaling all kinds of editing and compositing terrain.

How Fast?
Is it fast enough to edit HD? Well, yes, but not if you want to create effects in real time. No computer editor is currently fast enough to do that. So the tricks Avid set into motion for DS HD will surely go a long way toward solving the rendering problem, especially as processor speeds increase. Actually the rendering problem is a non-issue if you're just interested in dissolves. I timed lots of dissolves rendering, and they averaged about 3 seconds to render a one-second dissolve, and it's even faster if you use multiple machines to do the heavy lifting (more about that later). I can deal with a short wait, though, especially given the gorgeous fidelity of high definition video makes it seem worth it. Let me add here that it's a wonderful thrill seeing my old friend, video, all gussied up in its high definition tuxedo. Wow. This is video?! Better yet, Avid officials muse that all this rendering is only temporary. "I expect in a couple of years, if not sooner, we'll be in real time with DS HD," predicted Mike Stodja, Managing Director of Softimage Operations at Avid.

The effects tree lets you create a composite sequence by "twanging," "kissing," and "ripping".

Select the Process Remotely checkbox in DS HD and let other machines render while you keep working.

But what's the real secret to quickly rendering a multi-layer composite in high definition? Two words: Remote processing (RP, see its dialog box at right). This new feature comes close to solving the rendering problem when dealing with those fat HD files, at least five times bigger than their 601 equivalents. RP lets you spread the work across multiple processors in your shop that may not be busy all night long. Best of all, DS lets you keep working while your effects and composites render stealthily in the background. But you'll pay dearly for that privilege: A license for two machines is included with the system, but if you want more than two machines sharing the processing load, licenses are sold on a per-CPU basis, at $4000 per CPU or a two-pack at $6400.

RP works by first asking you to choose which machine will be doing the remote processing, then the license is checked out. Next you call up the processing window, and choose whether the rendering will take place locally, on remote CPUs, or both. Then you're off and running. And, the hardware requirements are not as hefty for those remote machines, either -- all you need is at least a Pentium III 500 MHz box with 256 MB of RAM, and any run-of-the-mill graphics card will do.

As with the standard DS, another strength here is that DS HD, Avid Media Composer and Symphony users can share projects and read each others' files, as well as share OMF audio files from ProTools digital audio workstations. Great idea, especially in light of the fact that reliable studies show that 65% of DS owners are also in possession of a Media Composer. Tapping even deeper into the synergy of the Avid and Softimage merger is the ability to render Softimage animations directly onto the DS timeline, even from a remote location. DS files are .gen files, so while an expert compositor is working away layering video clips and keying graphics, a Softimage 3D animator can place his segments directly onto that same timeline. That's what I call true interoperability. Too bad this works only with Softimage animation products.

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