Avid debuts HD news system

Avid Technology has introduced an end-to-end HD news system designed to enable broadcasters to produce HD programming more cost-effectively. With this system, broadcasters can easily acquire, edit, network, manage assets, playback and control functionality of Sony XDCAM HD (LongGoP HD MPEG-2) content, with a workflow designed to deliver time, storage and bandwidth savings.

The HD news system consists of the new AirSpeed multistream production server, (v1.0), an updated version of NewsCutter software (v 7.5), the Avid Interplay production asset management system (v 1.6) and the Avid Unity shared storage system. For additional news production functionality, Avid also introduced a new version of its journalist audio and video editing and scripting solution, iNEWS Instinct 2.0, as well as a new version of its newsroom automation and control solution, iNEWS Command 2.0.

By offering native support for the XDCAM HD system across its newsroom solutions, Avid has removed transcode processes, allowing users to work with a high-quality HD codec. The camera records directly to SDHC memory cards in the QuickTime (.MOV) format for Final Cut Pro, and optionally to SxS media compatible with Sony’s XDCAM EX format. Recording in the editing system’s native format eliminates the time-consuming transfer step and speeds up the post-production workflow.