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Today a DV editor can choose from many Avids: Xpress Pro for $1,395, Xpress DV for $695, or even Free DV for, yes, free. These Avid choices are paralleled by three Apple products. For free, or nearly free, you can get iMovie 4. At only $299, Apple offers Final Cut Express. And, at $999, Apple has Final Cut Pro. Over the past nine months, Video Systems has reviewed four of these six options (to read our reviews, see the web-expanded version of this article at www.videosystems.com). This month we consider the fifth and sixth - Avid's mid-range Xpress DV and Avid's Free DV.
Before I compare Xpress DV and Free DV, it's useful to consider Express DV in comparison to the higher end Xpress Pro. Xpress DV, as you might expect, provides a full range of realtime effects. These include titles, keys, transitions, audio mixing, and audio punch-in. While Xpress Pro offers 115 realtime effects, Xpress DV offers 100. Not much difference in this realm.
In comparing the number of realtime video streams, you will not find much difference. Xpress DV supports four streams while Xpress Pro supports five.
As for the number of tracks, there are significant differences. Xpress Pro provides 24 video and 24 audio tracks, while Xpress DV provides eight of each. When it comes to tracks, Apple is far more liberal with Final Cut Express - the program offers up to 99 video and 99 audio tracks.
When it comes to compositing and effects, you get very similar functions from both Avid Xpress DV and Xpress Pro. These functions include keyframeable filters and effects, YUV rendering, AVX support, realtime Pan and Zoom, PIP, and a set of 2D effects. To work with 3D effects, you will need to move up to Xpress Pro.
Both Xpress DV and Xpress Pro provide very complete realtime Color Correction suites. Tools include "3 Up" color correction windows; separate HSL controls, ChromaCurves, and ChromaGraphs. Supporting functions include range-checking, broadcast safe indicators, plus vectorscopes and waveform monitors. Moreover, both products support Avid's NaturalMatch color correction as well as keyframeable color effects.
I found working with the three windows of Avid's color corrector an easy way of color-matching two scenes. You can throw the previous scene on...