MCXing it Up; Avid on a PC

Only two flies ever landed in Avid's honey. The first was the proliferation of low cost PC peripherals and software packages that allowed broadcast quality nonlinear editing to be achieved for a fraction of Avid's price range. The second was the market shift from Apple Macs, upon which Avid based most of its systems (although Avid's research, based sales in the MAC and PC markets, lead Avid to believe that the majority of video editors still prefer the MAC platform).

Still, Avid dominates, because with few exceptions (DraCo's Casablanca, JVC's Timegate, FAST's A/V Master Pro and Matrox's Digisuite) few OEMs have managed to offer a turnkey PC system as proprietary and complete as Avid's. In addition, no one has yet captured the red flag of generic brand recognition that is so important to editors who buy whatever the client's drones rattle off as the current suite requisites.

Enter the curious Avid MCXpress, a software-only product designed to offer Avid editing on a suitably equipped WindowsNT platform. One must wonder. Did someone at Avid see the declining market share of Apple and decide to explore PC market penetration? Frankly, we don't think the underlying computer brand makes a difference to Avid users, since the configuration is, in most cases, dedicated to NLE.

Is MCXpress evidence of a change of horses at Avid or is this the product of a skunk works group? Frankly, we can't tell. All Mac-based Avid products are intended to occupy distinct places on a vertical price scale. MCXpress (MCX) is a solo product with no upward migration path to better features. Recently Avid introduced the Avid Symphony, a WindowsNT based nonlinear, uncompressed finishing system retailing at $XXX. While MCX may be a standalone product, users will be happy to know the 1.6 version's EDLs can be read by the full line of Avid products, making MCX an ideal, low cost, system for a wide range of applications from offline to broadcast.

When coupled with the Truevision TARGA 2000 RTX boards, MCX produces broadcast quality results with many effects in real time. It will also operate with the TARGA 2000 DTX for equal quality, though users will have to wait to render all effects. It is our belief that this year, the benchmark for broadcast NLEs will demand at least BetaSP quality with real time dissolves, 2-D wipes and title crawls. MCX meets these demands and should be considered as a serious choice when shopping for a PC-based editing platform.

Configuration

We would strongly suggest that any editor wanting to use MCX without wasting a week of billable work, consider buying the software from a reputable value added reseller (VAR) as part of a complete, turnkey installation. Avid gladly supplies names of authorized resellers, in a wide range of geographical locations, whenever a potential customer calls.

Both VARs recommend going with the best computer platform you can afford, recommending from a short list of boxes they know will work. Beware. Some computer workstations will simply not work with TARGA RTX boards and/or Avid. Frantolezzi highly recommends the Intergraph line of computers when clients require top-line hardware and 365/24/7 technical support included in the hardware price. Bushey builds her own boxes from off-the-shelf components and achieves high customer satisfaction.

Our system installation was a bit more aggressive than most, since we had on hand a demo RAID from N-Store Corporation that we wanted to employ as our media storage module. Assuming you would want a RAID in your system, the task of building your own is four part:

1. Get the computer to operate the TARGA board using a small, inboard, fast, ultra-wide SCSI hard drive, audiovideo source and playback system.

2. Get the RAID and host computer working together (we recommend RAID-0 as the fastest configuration, though it does not offer crash protection, or RAID-3, which is a bit slower but offers parity backup of all drives). For more information on RAIDs see "XXX" in the XXX issue of Videography.

3. Get the TARGA tweaked to the RAID for highest audiovideo throughput.

4. Get Avid MCX working.

Our test system was an Intergraph TD-425 workstation with dual monitors with an inboard Seagate 9 gig Barracuda, the N-Store RAID and TARGA RTX 2000. By carefully progressing through each step above, we were able to access the technical support of each of the four vendors associated with our platform, isolating each issue appropriately. The issues were many and complex, mostly associated with obtaining a high level of data transmission during acquisition.

Project Organization

MCX uses the common Avid nomenclature and work path for producing edits. A project is defined, footage is digitized into a Media Library, individual clips are trimmed, clips are placed on the timeline in order of play, the timeline is fine tuned, titles are added, effects are added, and the project is "printed" to videotape.

Generally, we have found that NLEs currently break out into two categories of organization and operation, which we like to call "Timeline Based," and "Clip Based." Premiere 4.0, DPS VideoActionNT and JVC's Timegate, for example, are Timeline Based, tending to use direct access of timeline elements, usually through the mouse or trackball, to control all functions. Avid, DraCo's Casablanca and Discreet Logic's edit (formerly D-Vision) are examples of Clip Based, where most of the work is done in clip windows with extensive keyboard support.

This distinction is important since editors who are already familiar with one category of editing may find it more difficult to switch to the opposite category than switch within categories.

Acquisition or Digitizing

One begins an Avid session by creating a Project (a simple file naming process) and loading a media library with clips. The media library may serve any number of projects. Within projects,
various "sequences" (or edit decision lists), may be stored. Acquisition to the medial library begins with the Digitize command, bringing up a control screen that offers direct VTR control (if the system is equipped with a third party VTR-computer interface, such as Sony's XXX), batch digitizing, waveform-vectorscope, video processing, audio gain, SMPTE code, etc.

A nice feature is the ability to select which element is to be digitized (video, and either or both tracks of audio) for each clip. Names for clips are automatically sequenced numerically, but the operator cannot assign a name prior to digitizing. This requires naming the clips as a separate step.

If clips are digitized using the time code option, the data required to recapture the clip is stored separately from the clip. Avid provides excellent recovery capabilities from crashes and accidental erasures of media files. If files are ever lost, the system continues to operate by retaining the identity of the missing clips, but showing them as ghosted entries, indicating that they are no longer available to the system.

We simulated a crash by erasing several files. The software provided excellent resources to aid us in identifying our original tape sources and batch digitized the missing files with little trouble.
This routine works well for editing in a low-quality-high-volume offline edit and then recapturing for high-quality-low-volume online printout. Animation, audio, multimedia and graphic files can also be imported.

Selecting Clips from the Media Library

Once the clips are digitized, the user may view them as a list of entries in a textual database in the project file by simply clicking and dragging the names of the clips. In the project file, the clips are described in column that list the name, in and out SMPTE codes, media type etc. The user can eliminate columns or add columns to store additional categories of information. A "topic" column, for instance, would allow input of the clip's content. Another column for focal distance (CU, MLS, etc.) or a column for "character" to name who is in the shot, can be created at the discretion of the editor. All entries may be then sorted alphabetically or numerically and Avid supports key word search of any column for managing large databases of clips.

The project file can also be toggled to a storyboard mode that allows each clip in the project to be shown as a large or small picon. The frozen frame of each picon may be changed to the user's choice and the picons can be dragged about the window to create a visual storyboard of the anticipated video.

A side note here. It is clear that the designers of MCX have anticipated and provided many features which would be helpful to a wide range of editing styles and editors. In order to do this, a designer, will by necessity, create services which are nearly useless to some editors.

We found, the storyboard utility to be such a feature, since we prefer to get to the business of cutting the timeline as fast as possible. Every step in between, however helpful, however well-advised for the meticulous management of data, is in our view, time and money wasted. You may certainly feel different, but we were brought up on systems that, frankly, did not offer the abundance of features that Avid offers, and for our taste, we'd prefer to digitize directly to the timeline, but alas, no one offers that capability yet. One should note, also, that Avid also offers shortcuts and some very robust timeline editing features which recapture a lot of time lost in organization, so even if, like us, you are a "digitize and realize" editor, you will no doubt be able to adapt your style to MCX.

Trimming Clips

Okay. One more step before the timeline. Once you have your clips gathered in the project file, you simply click on each one to bring up a "media player" window that works like a VCR controller on steroids. This module lets you mark ins and outs without affecting the underlying clip data. Whatever you trim here will be what appears, lengthwise, on the timeline. Here, also, you can "split" the clip into "subclips." ("Split" is the wrong nomenclature and implies a separation of video from audio in most systems. I would prefer "Cut," "Scissors," or "Divide.")
Subclipping is very handy because there are times when a long, captured sequence needs to be cut up into two or more shots. Subclipping creates a new entry in the project file list, allowing the clip to be renamed and re-described. Subclips, however, always maintain their identity as being part of a parent data file, making them easy to find and identify.

One attribute of MCX was troubling to us here. As each clip is opened for trimming, its media player remains on the computer screen. Eventually you have a lot of small screens all over the place. We would like an option, like Discreet Logic's Edit, for having only one media player window into which we load each clip and vacate it as each new clip is selected.

Onto the Timeline

Timeline "sequences" (Avid's term for an edit) are created in Avid by dragging trimmed or raw clips from the project workspace (list or storyboard mode) or the source viewer to the timeline, one-by-one, in order of play. Dragging from the source viewer is best, because this allows the editor to pre-select what tracks of the source clip (one video, four audio tracks) to carry to the timeline and the duration of the clip.

Once clips have been assembled on the timeline, the sequence may be scrubbed or played using VCR-like controls above the timeline.

Immediate Effects

The MCX timeline features two video tracks and four, mono audio tracks, with extensive mix down and nesting capabilities. Using Truevision's RTX and DTX boards, certain effects are enhanced and/or accelerated. For instance, with the RTX board, a 2-D picture-in-picture effect plays instantly without rendering.

All effects, except picture-in-picture effects and titles are addressed within the main timeline (MCX, unlike Premiere and VideoActionNT, does not employ the overlapping of two track to visually represent a transition). Transitions are initiated by clicking on the cut-line between two clips and selecting a transition type.

MCX offers four basic types of transitions, Motion Effects, Filter Effects, Layered Effects, and Transition Effects. Motion effects, such as slow motion, fit-to-fill, freeze, strobe and reverse play, are initiated from the source viewer and rendered as soon as the controls are okayed.

Filter effects, including blur, brightness, flips, hue, invert, posterize and saturation, are selected from a pull-down list within the Filter Editor window, which appears after a clip is selected and the Add Effect button is pressed.

Layered effects require that a video clip be placed on the second video track after which an elaborate picture-in-picture control window may be actuated. The window features a small preview screen and controls for vertical/horizontal position, width/height, border width, transparency, border color, key control and a slider to control the preview playback. MCX allows only two layers to be created before a rendering is necessary. If the editor requires more than two layers, the first layered effect must be entered into the timeline on the V-1 timeline and a subsequent layer added as described above.

Chromakey effects are also supported in MCX, with a window that appears much like the layered effect window, with choices for alpha, chroma, luminance and transparency keys.

Transition effects include dissolves, wipes, and page turns.

Transition effects are initiated by clicking on the cut-line between any two clips. This brings up a well-featured Trim Viewer control screen that features a preview screen and two smaller screens that represent the tail and head of the two, transitioned clips. Of course, using the TARGA 2000 DTX board, all transitions appear in real time. Back on the timeline, the transition is represented by a yellow highlight on the cut-line. Below the cut-line, a series of filmstrip frames appears to indicate how many overlap frames exist for each clip on either side of the cut point. A red line under the effect indicates that the effect has not been rendered.

Title That Clip

Titling in MCX is facilitated by a fully featured character generator which appears to have been designed by Inscriber Technology, creators of Inscriber/CG. Many of the Inscriber-type controls, shadow direction and style selection, for instance are identical in MCX's titler. Weather or not you know Inscriber, or any character generator, you will find this one of the easiest modules producing the most sophisticated results.

Titles may be created over graphic backgrounds to stand alone or they can be created to superimpose video clips (using the second video track of MCX) in still, crawl or roll motions. Using the TARGA 2000 DTX board, titles can be made to appear and move over the video in real time.

Refining the Edit

Since MCX is not a timeline-based NLE as defined above, don't expect to be able to grab clips on the timeline, drag them to new positions or drag their in and out points to change duration. Moving clips, inserting them between other clips or replacing other clips with a placement must be done using cut, copy, paste and various insert-type controls. This tends to produce a keyboard intensive edit that some editors prefer because it avoids wrist strain on the mouse hand, and for some editors, is faster and more organized.

Trimming a clip on the timeline, for instance, involves double-clicking the clip to activate its trim window. Here, adjust the in and out points. When the clip returns to the timeline, your selection of various rippling tools will determine whether the timeline closes or opens a gap for the clip or allows the clip to overwrite other clips and in which direction these adjustments occur. As you can imagine, MCX editing is a rather cerebral exercise, which allows for many levels of control not offered in most timeline-based NLEs.

Audio Attributes

Audio clips are acquired and edited the same as video clips in MCX, with four tracks available at one time. If further tracks are required a mixdown must be created to replace two or more tracks. Each track is individually controlled by radio buttons on the left of the timeline. When operating with the TARGA 2000 DTX or RTX boards, audio is supported directly from the TARGA board and no synch problems were encountered.

A useful feature in MCX is the simultaneous display of both balance and volume control lines and nodes which appear as green and red lines respectively. Although a four track vertical-slide mix panel can be activated, this is only useful for setting volume controls for the entire track and does not interact with the node points for automatic mixing controls. Waveform display in the audio tracks is also supported and is useful in finding precise editing points.

Backing Up and Printing to Tape

Since MCX does not offer an automatic backup routine, it is recommended that editors frequently copy their sequences to a floppy disk (the files are small pointer files taking very little space) or other secure medium. The undo and redo command allows for 32 levels.

MCX supports a wide assortment of finishing tools, including a VTR controllable print-to-tape function if the system is equipped with an appropriate VTR interface. Editors who wish to capture huge amounts of clips in low resolution, boil down their edits and then recapture the essential elements of the EDL at higher resolution will like MCX's facilities for linking clip data back to the original tape elements.

Once a sequence is complete (or even at interim phases before completion) the editor merely goes to the Tool menu to access the "print-to-video" command, load a blank tape and watch the show play. Avid also offers several options for printing to CD-ROM in both Truevision TARGA format and popular compression codecs.

New Features in Version 1.6

Many users feared that Avid would not further develop the MCXpress software. That fear can now be set to rest with the extensively upgraded 1.6 version. Now, users can import of EDLs from all popular editing systems.

A great new feature is Media Consolodation, which eliminates from the hard drive all unused clips that do not appear in a finished timeline EDL. We can use this every day when adding new projects or revising old ones.

Audio and video tracks can now be locked together so that a trim in the audio will result in a simultaneous trim in the video (or vice versa). In addition, for unlocked audio/video clips, whenever the synch is lost, MCXpress generates a numerical indicator right on the timeline that informs the editor how many frames the synch is shifted.

Documentation

The MCXpress documentation includes both a small installation manual and a large, 400+ page Tutorial & Reference Guide. The guide is richly illustrated with screen grabs, diagrams and photos. The text is easy to understand if you are a beginner and yet sophisticated enough for a seasoned editor to appreciate. The tutorials, which are supported by footage which is included and installed from the CD, take the new user through all of the issues necessary to become reasonably proficient (i.e up to the threshold of your own talent).

Executive Summary

We found Avid MCXpress, when installed with Truevision TARGA 2000 RTX or DTX and a suitable array of fast-wide SCSI hard drives to be an excellent choice for nonlinear editing. Combining the world renowned reputation of Avid with the cost-effective and market-dominating PC format was a brilliant move on Avid's part. The software itself is worthy of this merger; it is stable, well-featured, moderately easy to learn and professionally designed.

MCXpress, like its Apple-based sisters, is a nonlinear editing program designed for the professional who prefers working with traditional trimming and clip movement techniques, based on the clip's properties, rather than by adjustments to the clip's dimensions on the timeline. Based on this philosophy, Avid offers very powerful tools for producing accurate edits quickly and with minimal user fatigue.

We would hope that Avid has further plans for products exploiting the PC platform. It's recent acquisition of Softimage would indicate that Avid has plans beyond its traditional Apple allegiance and we await them with eager anticipation.