Autodesk Smoke 2013 Reply. The integration between the editor (MC) and DS is still not that great. It still requires me to export out. And third, at $9,495.25, it's WAY more than. They HAVE to give DS users MC because of the lack of AMA and other file based media import issues. And now with smoke on mac priced at $3495, they have.

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• Integration Between Autodesk Smoke For Mac And Pc

When I watch this demo, it reminds me of what MC already can do with its Avid FX and from Boris. However, I think that Avid could/should do a better job at integrating the two into one so it's seamless. I think that's what Smoke is, an integration of multiple powerful software or plugins. What I'm interested is more demo in their color grading and editing capability. You have just illustrasted on of Avid's biggest, classic failures. Have not heard of Avid DS? It does an huge amount of what smoke does.

Yes there are missing / limited features. But the fact that you as an Avid customer know about smoke but not DS illustrates either the failure of Avid's marketing focus or Avid's seeming desire to milk DS till it dies of starvation. That rant aside, DS is an amazing integrated edting system. There is a free, fully functional learning edition (something smoke does NOT have) which you can downlaod and install and truly learn to decide if DS is useful for you. Smoke only gives you a 30 day trial. And I will tell you that unless you did NOTHING else for 30 days, smoke's learning curve is so steep that you will be highly frustrated and not really know if it fits your needs. Just something else to consider.

Jef, thanks for the informaiton on Avid DS. And yes, I have not heard of it. That is really awesome. I'll definitely check it out - not that I will purchase either Smoke or DS but I like to keep my choices open. I'm sure there are plenty of Avid MC or DS tutorials out there, but I like the way the Autodesk have their for Smoke. It's quite easy to find them and it's done by professional and not their customers. And yes, by watching the Smoke demo, my head already starts to spin.

I sensed the learnig curve is quite steep as I mentioned in my first post. If Avid DS has something similar or better than Smoke, it's definitely worth looking at since I already familar with MC. I just watched the Avid' DS ' tutorial and I'm not too impressed. First of, the quality of the video was less than decent when view at full screen on my 22' monitor. Second, the integration between the editor (MC) and DS is still not that great. It still requires me to export out. And third, at, it's WAY more than Smoke at.

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And it looks like the DS is not a complete set as compare to Smoke. With the DS, it looks like MC is still require which is going to be more than $12K or so before it's all set and done. And as I've said before, integration is still lacking. I prefer something like Smoke or worst, something like the Adobe Suites. I just watched the Avid' DS ' tutorial and I'm not too impressed. First of, the quality of the video was less than decent when view at full screen on my 22' monitor.

Autodesk Smoke Download

Second, the integration between the editor (MC) and DS is still not that great. It still requires me to export out.

And third, at, it's WAY more than Smoke at. And it looks like the DS is not a complete set as compare to Smoke. With the DS, it looks like MC is still require which is going to be more than $12K or so before it's all set and done. And as I've said before, integration is still lacking. I prefer something like Smoke or worst, something like the Adobe Suites.

Once again, proving my point that Avid gives no love to DS. First - integration between MC and DS. Depends what you mean by that.

DS is a very capable editor all by itself. DS stands for Digital Studio. It was orignally designed to do everything you needed to in one application - in one timeline. You don't really need MC at all.

EXCEPT for the fact that Avid has chosen to not spend a lot of money on continuing development on DS. So to get most of the recent file based footage into DS with any sanity, they provide a FREE license of the CURRENT version of MC. So you get MC 6.5.2 with DS 11. The only real editing tools not supported in DS is Multicam. If you are talking about getting a project from MC to DS, well that is what an AFE or AAF is for.

Works pretty well. (More later). I edit spots from start to finish all the time in DS.

I AMA footage into MC, transcode to MXF, make an AFE of the the transcoded bin, open that in DS and go to town. Would I want to edit an hour long doc on DS from scratch? DS is really good at finishing long form. Once in DS you have MUCH better efx than MC. Better than smoke? But darn close. There is a really strong node based compositing system built right inside.

Very good color correction. The paint tool is great (some flame guys feel it is better than flame's paint). Render management is great. Audio tools are better than MC. The biggest drawback IMHO is no integrated 3D space (not talking stereo but a 3D camera, et al.).

That is inexcusable in this day and age. So I guess I do not get your comment on lack of integration other than you have probably never been given a demo by someone who can really make DS sing.

There are some, no doubt. And the price is one of them. This is another area where Avid has shot themselves in the foot. They HAVE to give DS users MC because of the lack of AMA and other file based media import issues.

And now with smoke on mac priced at $3495, they have very little price adjustment room. With MC priced at $2500 and given the fact that MC is included with DS, if Avid wants to become price competitive, they really can only charge up to a $1000 premium for DS.

And that - as you are proving with your evaluation of the product as presented - might not even be enough of an incentive. Avid needs to address this. But they probably won't if their past interest in DS is any indication. So why even consider DS? Well there are some reasons.

DS is much stronger than smoke in a shared project environment. We have 5 DS systems attached to a Terrablock with a common project server. Any system can work on any project. Smoke has never been that flexible (I keep asking). If you are in an environment where you want to finish Avid projects with more powerful tools, DS integration is good.

Much better than smoke. But do not believe the marketing BS on the Avid web page about Total Conform.

It needs serious revision. Also, all is not sweetness and light with smoke.

Be sure you dig into all the web boards and see what people are saying - good and bad. It has been massively reworked and as such is a bit raw right now.

Integration Between Autodesk Smoke For Mac And Pc

And the fact that it is mac based only right now is a bit of a worry if you believe in the value of a workstation as the engine. So it really depends on what your needs are. And as noted, the DS learning edition is free, fully functional (except for output) and has no time limit. As you might be able to tell, I have a love - hate relationship with DS. I love working with the tool.

I hate how Avid has ignored it. The fact that it is mac based only right now is a bit of a worry if you believe in the value of a workstation as the engine.At the relaunch event that I attended last year I asked whether there were any plans to migrate Smoke to other platforms.

I was told very firmly 'definitely not'. Given that Apple appears to see itself as more of consumer electronics company than anything else at the moment this would have to figure in any purchase decision. While I was editing on smoke, they also said that they would NEVER move off of the SGI platform.