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As systems become more and more complex, it has becoming harder and harder to fit a complete nonlinear editing system review in the confines of a single magazine article. Rather than going into a subsystem-by-subsystem analysis as I have done in the past, I will offer my reactions to working with the Discreet edit*plus nonlinear editing system over an extended period. This review is based on version 5.0 of Discreet edit*plus software, which I used on two systems: a Matrox DigiSuite engine in an IBM dual-processor IntelliStation and the Pinnacle Systems' TARGA platform with the 3D option.
One Box To Do ft Al
The Discreet edit* family is a set of products that goes counter to the trend of creating different products for each market segment. Discreet believes that they have developed a general-purpose toolbox that can suit many market-segment requirements.
For example, they offer editing tools that serve the needs of news editors, such as directto-timeline editing, the ability to record voiceover tracks directly to the timeline, and the ability to network with broadcast servers. The system offers offline editors the tools that they need, inchiding exceptional metadata compatibility with high-end fire* and smoke* online finishing systems, a good set of trim tools, good media asset management tools, a "multi-cam" function, and an operational process that will not be distracting to editors. For graphics designers and graphics/effects compositors, the software features 99 video tracks, the rich integration of other Discreet software such as 3D Studio MAX, effect* and paint*, as well as bundled software from third-party manufacturers (Artel Software's Boris FX, Inscriber CG, and Crystal 3D Vortex). Many third-party plug-ins (e.g. Ultimatte) are also available.
For film editors, Discreet is compatible with the optional Slingshot software. For the multimedia developer, there are a variety of compression tools for outputting a range of QuickTime, MPEG-1, and AVI files. edit* also has an easy-tounderstand file storage architecture.
Finally, for the general-purpose post house editor, there is the favored keyboard editing techniques (including many keyboard shortcuts), the ability to mix compressed and non-compressed video, networking, batch-digitizing, and incredible real-time capabilities including optional real-time 3D DVE effects. Editors can work in either 16:9 or 4:3 aspect ratios.
Customization
The system offers a mappable keyboard and many desktop customization...