Here are some of the top hardware and software offerings for digital video editing
| Product | Platform/ Capabilities | Contact |
 Discreet smoke HD $260,000 turnkey |
SGI Octane2. Uncompressed HD editing with instant response on two layers, add up to two more real time layers as needed – it’s a complete online editing system. Extremely sophisticated color correction and uncanny tracking controls, along with lots of fantastic plug-ins make this a favorite of the high-end commercial production editing and compositing crowd. Here's our latest review. | Discreet 10 rue Duke Montréal, Québec, Canada H3C 2L7 Tel: 514.393.1616 discreet.com |
 Electronic Farm Mule Price is modular, the base Mule software for O2 starts at $7000 |
SGI O2, Octane, Octane2 and Onyx2. Mule is an advanced multi-role disk based editing and effects software package. Built as a modular system, it can be tailored to suit your needs and requirements allowing you to add options when you need them. Currently available for Mule 2.0 is the HD option, and features timeline-based editing and application of VFX and AFX in both SD and HD resolutions. Mule handles uncompressed/compressed, YUV/RGB/24P resolution independent material. Additional optional modules for Mule are Acre, a HD module for Mule; Autumn, an advanced colour corrector and Pig, a paint module for Mule. | The Electronic
Farm Spain Apartado No. 1814 ES-07080 Palma de Mallorca Phone +34 971 166 571 electronicfarm.com |
 Softimage|DS 4.0 $120K turnkey |
Windows 2000. DS’ unique interface brings the tools to the (uncompressed) video rather than the other way around. Its deep, broad creative toolset makes it well-suited for TV commercials, music videos, station promos and TV programs which feature graphics and effects. Newest innovation is an uncompressed high definition version that is capable of conforming and finishing programs at multiple uncompressed HDTV and SDTV formats including 720P, 1080P, 1080I, PAL, and NTSC, and also supports 24p progressive scanning.. Here's a tutorial that gives you a pretty good idea of the awesome power of this system, and here's a look at the new $300K DS|HD system. | Softimage 3510 St-Laurent Boulevard, Suite 400 Montréal, Québec H2X 2V2 Canada (514)840-0477 softimage.com |
 Avid Symphony version 3.5 $105,000 Symphony Universal Online Option $20,000 |
Windows 2000. Capable of real time, multilayer, uncompressed editing and special effects, including color correction, keying, compositing, paint, character generation, 3D effects and audio editing and mixing. Symphony includes the full Media Composer Version v10 feature set and adds the conforming, real-time finishing and multi-format mastering tools required for high-end television editorial finishing. New for version 3 are real time Ultimatte keying, motion tracking/image stabilization and improved color correction. Symphony Universal adds 24P/25P Universal editing and mastering for multi-format output of PAL, NTSC, 16:9, and 4:3. And the best part is that the majority of digital video editors are already trained to use it. |
Avid Technology,
Inc. 1 Park West |
Avid Media Composer v10.5 $85K turnkey |
Windows 2000, Mac Standard of the nonlinear editing industry with its classic 3-point editing, now with more compositing features and effects acceleration. Now the big selling point is real time dual-stream uncompressed video. Now you can edit multicam with nine real time sources rolling at the same time. Also, you get real time customizable 2D and 3D effects, real-time color effects, real-time dual-channel color correction and lots more. Hey, there's a good reason why more broadcasts and major motion pictures are edited on Avid systems than all others combined! |
Avid Technology,
Inc. 1 Park West |
 Accom Affinity $43K turnkey |
Mac Remember the IMMIX VideoCube? Here's the latest version. Clean video, features ability to composite 50 layers in one pass, but more than two layers still must be rendered. Big price reductions and forthcoming uncompressed features were announced last year. Best of all, you get Accom's high quality real-time Abekas frame-based 3D DVE. | Accom, Inc. 1490 O'Brien Drive Menlo Park, CA 94025 650-328-3818 info@accom.com accom.com |
 Media 100 xr with HDRfx $18K, boards and software |
Mac. Media 100 xr on-line digital content creation system for the Mac includes support for component, composite, DV, SDI and S-video formats. Also comes with real time FX Option, Boris FX, Media Cleaner EZ and Video Spice Rack Pro Hardware and Software for $17,995. | Media 100 USA 290 Donald Lynch Blvd. Marlboro, MA 01752 Tel 508 460 1600 media100.com |
Media 100 iFinish V80 $15K |
Windows 2000. Here's the nearly-identical NT version of Media 100 -- the iFinish V80 streaming media production system for Windows NT. This "i" version stresses streaming video, but edits broadcast quality video, too. Includes support for component, composite, DV, SDI and S-video formats. Also comes with real time FX Option, Boris FX, Media Cleaner EZ and Video Spice Rack Pro. Real time MPEG option available as well. Hardware and software retail at $14,995. Here's a review and tutorial. | Media 100 USA 290 Donald Lynch Blvd. Marlboro, MA 01752 Tel 508 460 1600 media100.com |
 Matrox DigiSuite DTV $12K turnkey |
Windows 2000. Offers native DV, DV50, and MPEG-2 multi-format editing with built-in support for DVD authoring. For extra punch and even more real time features, try the uncompressed Matrox DigiSuite. Here's more about the Matrox DigiSuite DTV. | Matrox Electronic
Systems 1055 St. Regis Blvd Dorval, Quebec Canada, H9P 2T4 800-361-4903 matrox.com |
Avid Xpress 4.5 $13K boards/software |
Mac/Windows 2000. This system has a unique way of editing layers so they’re nondestructive. The user interface is a lot like Avid's Media Composer. Pricing is $13K for the Plus model, $20K for Deluxe and $30K for Elite. The Deluxe and Elite models include the TurboPack bundle. Xpress 4.5 has the ability to deliver media anywhere – from an uncompressed video option for television and DVD to one-step Web streaming content creation using the included Media Cleaner EZ from Terran Interactive. | Avid Technology,
Inc. Metropolitan Technology Park 1 Park West Tewksbury, MA 01876 800-949-AVID avid.com |
 Discreet Edit 6 $8K Software |
Windows 2000. This great software package is available in five different flavors depending on the hardware you're using. The best are options 1 and 2 using Matrox DigiSuite LE and Matrox DigiSuite capture cards. Now version 6 adds multicam, more compositing features, DV compatibility and better interaction with other discreet, Inc. products. A great way to edit uncompressed video without compressing your bank account. Here's a closer look. | Discreet 10 rue Duke Montréal, Québec, Canada H3C 2L7 514 393-1616 discreet.com |
 Pinnacle Pro-ONE $1199 |
Windows 98/Me/2000/XP. Pinnacle's newest entry in the DV capture card derby sports the ability to create two 3D effects in real time, multiple layering and extensive keyframability of effects. Includes the full version of Adobe Premiere 6. See a shootout-style review of it and others in its class here. | Pinnacle Systems
Inc. 280 North Bernardo Ave. Mountain View, CA 94043 800b474-6622 pinnaclesys.com |
 dpsVelocity 3D Deluxe $6,249 |
Windows 2000. Dual-stream capture card/software package with DV option. This latest evolution of dpsVelocity features lots of real-time 3D effects, Web-friendly features and great technology. dpsVelocity-3D Deluxe NLE Bundle includes Reality Studio Digital Disk Recorder card, dpsReality software, V3DX real time 3D effects module, professional rack mountable AV breakout box, dpsVelocity software, Power CG titling software, Digital Fusion DFX, and DVD QuickBuilder. Here's more about dpsVelocity's release. | Digital
Processing Systems Inc. 11 Spiral Dr., Suite 10 Florence, KY 41042 859 371-5533 dps.com |
 Incite Studio 2.6 $3,495.00, enables real time 3D effects, $2,495.00 without 3D effects |
Windows 2000. Software designed to run on Matrox DigiSuite, DigiSuite LE and DigiSuite DTV hardware. Incite provides an easy to use editing interface, multiple editing modes, lots of utilities, and plenty of real-time effects with unlimited keyframing. This is a great system for those of us who still have lots of analog tape machines lying around -- use these machines along with hard-disk-based clips all on the same timeline. It's the best example of hybrid editing on the market. Here's a review of the latest version of Incite. | Incite Multimedia
Corporation 4 chemin du Tir-au-Canon CH-1227 CAROUGE Geneva (Switzerland) +41 - 22 / 308.57.57 inciteonline.com |
 United Media On-line Express 3.0 $12,990 turnkey $2,995 software |
Win98/Me/NT/2000. NT If you compare edit systems to wristwatches, most contemporary systems are like the digital models with all their modes and settings. If you want to set or change anything, you must first push the mode switch. On-line Express could be compared more to an analog watch with a quartz movement -- while it can still do its job as accurately as a digital watch, it's a little easier to deal with, especially for those who grew up in the analog world. The result is a solid cutter, and best of all, it's able to get the most out of its up-to-date underbelly, the highly capable Matrox DigiSuite hardware. Definitely worth a closer look. Here's our review. |
United Media,
Inc. |
 MacroSystem Kron $5,495 |
Proprietary. Here's the top of the line, with the ability to work in either MPEG-2 or native DV, the ability to swap out or add more disks, and a faster processor -- an AMD K6 500 MHz -- which doesn't sound that fast, but in this Windows- and Mac- OS-free environment, this will give you lots more rendering power for complex composites. The unit also offers lower compression ratios for the highest quality of the group. Add an extra $1000 and you can burn a DVD of your work. |
Macrosystem
US 5485 Conestoga Court Boulder, CO 80301 303-440-5311 Sales Line 877-554-2846 draco.com |
 Applied Magic Screenplay $3,995 |
Proprietary. The ScreenPlay has everything the Basic Sequel has, plus a larger hard drive (60 GB), DV input, Merge capabilities for multi-layering of both audio and video, Envelope Controls (for manipulation of Transitions, Audio, & Titles), Additional Special Effects, Additional Transitions, and Additional Color Effects. ScreenPlay also allows for 2 additional higher quality video capture settings when recording video. | Applied Magic
5845 Owens Ave. Carlsbad, CA 92008 760-931-6417 applied-magic.com |
 MacroSystem Avio Pro $2,295 |
Proprietary. The Avio Pro is the Avio DV with the following added: Scrub audio, 10 projects (DV & Basic allow 3 projects), 6 stereo audio tracks (DV & Basic have 3 stereo audio tracks), auto split with DV input, Clipboard for sharing scenes within projects (the DV & Basic AVIO can't share clips), adjustable record time, and a Scene button for multi-layering. | Macrosystem
US 5485 Conestoga Court Boulder, CO 80301 303-440-5311 Sales Line 877-554-2846 draco.com |
 Applied Magic Sequel $1,995 |
Proprietary. No DV input here, but there is a CD-ROM drive and SCSI port, both of which aren't included in the Avio. The CD ROM Drive lets you to import audio direct from a music CD, read images (like GIF & BMP), and TrueType fonts. And, the advantage of the SCSI port is the ability to attach additional storage, or to use SCSI disks you already have for extra storage. | Applied Magic
5845 Owens Ave. Carlsbad, CA 92008 760-931-6417 applied-magic.com |
MacroSystem Avio DV $1,795 |
Proprietary. For DV users, this is the basic unit that sports the ability to bring in your DV shots without any digital-to-analog conversion, or vice versa. It gives you a choice of storing the video as MPEG-II (the standard internal format for the AVIO) or as Native DV. | Macrosystem
US 5485 Conestoga Court Boulder, CO 80301 303-440-5311 Sales Line 877-554-2846 draco.com |
MacroSystem Avio $1,295 |
Proprietary. Here's the bare-bones version in the crowd of stand-alone editors. For this price, you get plenty of real time effects, but are limited in the speed of the processor and the amount of footage you can store in its hard disk. But if you want to edit DV footage, you'll have to spring for an upgrade to the Avio DV, and that'll cost you $500. | Macrosystem
US 5485 Conestoga Court Boulder, CO 80301 303-440-5311 Sales Line 877-554-2846 draco.com |
![NewTek Video Toaster [2]](../../2001/12_dec/images/toaster.jpg) NewTek Video Toaster [2] Now in Beta, $495 upgrade from Toaster 1 |
Windows 2000/XP. Now in Beta and set for April 2002 release, Video Toaster [2] claims to be the only real time, multi-format, software driven, dual mode, nonlinear editor in existence. Relying on a combination of hardware acceleration and Newtek's own editing software, we've seen early version of this and were quite impressed. Keep an eye on this one. Here's an FAQ about Toaster [2]. | NewTek 8200 IH-10 West Suite 900 San Antonio, TX 78230 210-370-8000 newtek.com |
 Canopus DVRex-M1 $2,149.95 with Premiere 5.1 |
Win98/Windows 2000. Great DV editing bundle using Sony's DVBK-1 hardware/software codec. Overcomes the 2GB file limitation. Seamless capture along with render-free, synchronization error-free audio. DVRex's high quality, real time full-screen preview and RexFX make this system a winner. | Canopus Corporation 711 Charcot Avenue San Jose, CA 95131 408-954-4500 justedit.com |
 Canopus DVStorm SE Plus $1299 |
Win98/Me/NT/2000/XP. Here's a well-designed DV editing system with real time features that increase in capability with the power of your computer's processor. Even though you'll need to buy a monster computer to get the most out of this new package, hugekly powerful computers are cheap these days. Canopus is now releasing some 3D effects for Storm, but they're not as keyframable as we'd like. But Storm's real time layering and filtering capabilities are tops in its class. See how DVStorm stacks up against two other contenders in this shootout-style review. | Canopus Corporation 711 Charcot Avenue San Jose, CA 95131 408-954-4500 justedit.com |
 Matrox RT2500 $900 includes Premiere 6 and more. |
Windows 98/Me/2000/XP. New version combines all the features of RT2000 into one card. Includes Adobe Premiere 6 and lots more for $999. Matrox Flex 3D architecture provides broadcast-quality 3D DVE and 32-bit uncompressed animated graphics in a native DV editing environment. Includes MPEG-2 output for DVD, Video CD, and web video streaming applications, with 1394 and analog video output. A great deal, especially with the newest version of the software (2.0) that features keyframeable transitions and the MEGA Pack with hundreds of new effects. We think RT2500's video quality is the best in its class. See how RT2500 stacks up against two other contenders in this shootout-style review. | Matrox Electronic
Systems 1055 St. Regis Blvd Dorval, Quebec Canada, H9P 2T4 800-361-4903 matrox.com |
 Apple Final Cut Pro 3.0 $999 |
Mac. Designed by Premiere creator Randy Ubillos, Final Cut Pro 3.0 combines video editing, compositing and special effects in a great looking interface. The most exciting news of all is Matrox's recent announcement of RTMac, hardware acceleration that'll finally add real time features to Final Cut. And, new for version 3.0 is the ability to load transitions and titles in RAM, giving you real time previewing on Mac G4s that run at 500MHz or faster. | Apple Computer,
Inc. 1 Infinite Loop Cupertino, CA 95014 408 996-1010 apple.com |
 in:sync Speed Razor 2000X, (pricing depends on video system) |
Windows 2000. Fully multithreaded, nonlinear video editing and compositing software that delivers full screen D1 uncompressed quality video, fully field rendered NTSC or PAL. It features unlimited video and audio layers, and real time audio mixing for up to 20 audio layers with DAT quality output. Works with almost all editing hardware, and is offered in real time dual stream or single stream configurations. Even though this editing software has changed little in the past two years, it's still a favorite of many. Here's more. | in-sync corporation
7920 Norfolk Avenue 7th Floor Bethesda, Maryland 20814 800 864-7272 in-sync.com |
 Vegas Video 3.0 $420 |
Windows98, Me, 2000, XP. Here's Sonic Foundry's software-based video editor that can composite video and edit audio as well as any application on the market today. All you need is an OHCI-compliant DV card to get the DV footage in and out of your computer, and the rest is handled by Vegas Video. With a powerful computer and lots of RAM, you can layer sophisticated effects and preview them in real time. With a 700 MHz PC with 256 MB of RAM, it's not so powerful, but you can still preview dissolves in real time. Even edit on a notebook. Here's our glowing review. | Sonic Foundry,
Inc. 1617 Sherman Ave. Madison, WI 53704 800 577-6642 sonicfoundry.com |
 Adobe Premiere 6 $549, upgrade, $149 |
Mac/PC. The popular timeline-based editing software is able to switch between timeline-style and 3-point-style editing. New version 6 offers built-in, cross-platform support for a large selection of DV devices, an enhanced user interface, new professional editing tools and seamless integration with other Adobe applications including After Effects, Photoshop and GoLive. Here's our review. | Adobe Systems
Inc. 345 Park Avenue San Jose, California 95110-2704 USA 408 536-6000 adobe.com |
 Canopus DVRaptorRT $500 w/Adobe
Premiere 6 $1600 for DVC Pro w/Adobe Premiere 6 LE |
Win98/NT/Windows 2000. A DV and i.LINK card that links your DV camera to your PC. Capture your DV footage through the i.LINK connection while simultaneously viewing full motion video on your computer display and video monitor. Also includes TitleMotion, Adobe Premiere and Boris FX for video editing and effects. With seamless capture the DVRaptor will fill up your AV hard drives with video, spanning multiple volumes. Read more. | Canopus Corporation 711 Charcot Avenue San Jose, CA 95131 408-954-4500 justedit.com |
 Ulead MediaStudio Pro 6.5 $495 |
Windows 95/98, NT, Me, 2000, XP. Feature-packed timeline editing software with particular strength in text and rotoscoping functions. Offers native MPEG-2 and DV support. Six modules bring you multi-track video editing, video capture, audio editing, video painting, vector graphics creation and also includes built-in DVD/VCD authoring. | Ulead Systems,
Inc. 970 W. 190th St., Suite 520 Torrance, CA 90502 310-523-9393 ulead.com |