Avid’s New DS 10 Speeds Hi-Res Online Creative

Avid has launched Avid DS version 10, its latest offering of professional editing, compositing, keying, image-retouching, and paint and graphics capabilities in one application.
DS 10 runs on a high-performance platform and includes full color-managed workflows, advanced color-correction capabilities, Interplay support, improved conform options, GPU real-time processing, additional dual-link–feature support, integration with Avid shared-storage solutions, and a new stereoscopic 3D container. Customers will be able to more effectively manage their project pipeline, take on a wider variety of projects, work with the highest-quality images, and continue to deliver the best end product to their customers.
“We have a number of customers who use DS to create compelling packaging elements for sports broadcasters,” explains Angus Mackey, product marketing manager for editing products at Avid. “So much of sports content these days is footage shot in competition situations that then needs to be packaged or dressed up for show opens or montages. The broad image-processing toolset within DS version 10, as well as its ability to handle a variety of file-based formats, means that it’s a tool that our customers can use to create all of this compelling content right away.”
DS 10 supports a range of new HD YUV 4:2:2 formats — including 1080p 50, 1080p 59.94, and 1080p 60 — and offers full support for
10-bit YUV 4:2:2 and
HW support of 720p 23.98 sequences.
Designed for broadcasters or post-production facilities working on high-end projects that require color-managed workflows, the Avid DS system offers multistream, 10-bit uncompressed HD, Avid DNxHD and SD finishing and mastering, as well as HD-RGB and 2K/4K file-based editing with real-time playback up to 2K.
Avid DS 10 is built on a new system powered by the HP xw8600 with dual-quad 3.0-GHz CPUs and 8-GB RAM, the NVidia QuadroFX 3700 (G92 GPU), and a dual-link I/O card with a K3 rack-mountable breakout box. The platform is designed to offer customers a significant increase in performance and speed.
Among other system improvements, Avid DS 10 offers Avid Symphony-style color correction, interplay support, node builder, stereoscopic container, and new timeline functionality.
“A good deal of the sports content that is produced is scripted and shot specifically for certain applications,” Mackey explains, noting that player introductions are commonly shot on blue- or green-screen backgrounds and then must be built into various environments. “DS has a very deep impositing space. Its online-edit capabilities mixed with these processing tools mean that it’s an ideal solution for customers trying to create this kind of content.”
The Avid DS 10 system is scheduled to begin shipping in September.