IAC DISCUSSION FORUMS

I know a number of IAC members use Avid Liquid, and they will probably be aware that it is an 'end of line' product. This was announced three years ago - along with the stated intention of Avid to bring out a 'new generation' (newgen) editor as its replacement. I can't say what is happening about a 'newgen', but I can say that there will be no future of any kind for Liquid, per se.

The furore of Liquid users on the Avid forums struck home in a very short time with the Avid hierarchy - and the CEO herself, in fact, entered the discussion and came up with the following ...

http://community.avid.com/forums/p/8090 ... spx#451778

In short, Liquid is really dead, and buried. There will be no mid range product to replace it. But in recognition (???) of the user base, they are offering Liquid users who have registered before March 10th an upgrade to Avid Media Composer (which costs £1000s, and is used by Film Studios - in fact, AVATAR was edited on it) - for just $495. we are still waiting to hear whether, as is normal with these things, that means £495 (at £=$), or whether we will get the same 'value purchase' as those in the USA - and have it for around £335. The offer is for a limited period. (June I think). It is a comparatively small window of opportunity (if that is the right word). There is no doubt that it is a good offer, limited, as I say, to registered Liquid users only: they have recognised that some buy the product and don't bother registering it, hence the short period in which to get it registered if that is the case.

I have downloaded a 30-day demo of MC - and it is a BEAST: unbelievably powerful (with motion tracking, animatte, morphing capabilities and so on), and at the same time, totally unlike any 'conventional' editor on the market. This is because it has been designed to replicate the film editing tables, and not the customary computer based nle workflow.

It is nothing like Liquid - and doesn't even have some of the capabilities of Liquid. Nevertheless, it is unbelievably powerful - if one is prepared to spend time learning a totally new workflow (new to every PC based NLE I'd say!).

Liquid still works (and to my mind, better than any other NLE!) but of course, it is gradually dropping off the radar as far as recognising the new file formats and working with the new operating systems are concerned. Eventually it would be necessary to find other ways to convert and import material into Liquid. Although MC is totally different, for me the best way to move on is upwards, and not downwards - which is how I would regard having to move to one of the other mid range editors I'm afraid (just my personal view - don't hit me for it!!).

Point is, this offer to move to MC is really quite short lived. (The users of Avid Xpress Pro - which was also dropped a while back - were given a similar offer - but at nearly three times the 'upgrade' cost (£1000), so this really is a good deal ... if you can cope with the way it works!

I don't use Liquid but have been down the road of using NLE software that became obsolete after changes of ownership and promises of new and better versions that never materialised in the end we were offered nothing. (the software was EdiotDV that became Media 100 Cinestream then Autodesk Cinestream then nothing). So I had to learn a new system, as I was used to Mac based systems I took up with FCP; another huge learning curve. I feel that the Avid offer is pretty good and Media Composer will be around and developed for years; yes, very different but an industry standard; good luck to all you Liquid users in your future adventures

ned c

The offer is now announced, although Liquid users have still to be contacted.

The package includes Media Composer 4.x, Boris Continuum Complete, SoniFire Pro, Avid DVD (Sonic), Avid FX, Sorenson Squeeze, and a QuickStart guide.

Price? A saving of approximately 80% on the current 'National' price. So, as the software costs roughly £2000 here, it would be around £400. Roughly.

That is unbelievable value for money (Boris and SonicFire would cost almost that much on their own). It is a limited time offer (June), and it is offered ONLY to Liquid users (any version, apparently) who have registered by March 10th and who have ticked the 'keep me informed ...' box on the registration page.

If that's you, at least have a look at what MC can do with the 30 day trial version (available on the Avid website). There will never be another oppportunity to buy the Film industry's standard editor, in software only form, at such a low price.

The offer has now virtually been confirmed: it represents a cut of approximately 80% in the price of Media Composer 4 in each location.

The deal includes Boris Continuum Complete, SonicFire Pro 5, AVID DVD, Sorenson Squeeze. (There may be another as well - my memory has blanked out)

To get it, you MUST have been registered by March 10th: we were warned of this cut-off point - it was to prevent buying of Liquid for selling on (Liquid + MC upgrade still equals considerably less than MC), and eBay scams and so on.

Also, to get the inviting email, you must have ticked the box ' keep me informed - ' on the registration page. Howver, provided you have registered, Marianna (Avid's Advocate) will help rectify that situation - in the early weeks of the offer. She can be accessed via the Avid 'Chat With Avid' forum.

The estimate of Liquid users round the world is, if I remember correctly, about 120,000, the emails are going out in 'groups: as of this date, the European webstore has still to receive the upgrade - this. we have been told, will be happeneing this wekend. All eligible to receive the offer should do so by this coming Wednesday (17th March). Allow for a day or so - if you haven't heard by Friday, start asking questions on the Avid site (if you want to take up the offer, that is!). I think that the offer will be such that the upgrade will only be usable by the registered Liquid user - so be careful if buying to sell on: it may not work for anyone else. I'm not sure if it's even possible to make the upgrade restricted in this way - but the messages seem to imply that. I could well be wrong... if you're eligible and want to gamble ...