A couple of Avid related things came across the tubes today. First, B&H photo and video has a quick look at the Avid Media Composer 3.0 and the Avid Mojo DX. In short, they liked the responsiveness of the new version and the performance of the app when using different codecs. I have my own copy of MC Soft 3.0 which I have installed and played around with. I’m currently in a more long form job on Final Cut Pro so I haven’t had time yet to really kick the tires on a real and proper edit but I will soon. From what I have read and what I have seen from using version 3 thus far, I can agree that it feels like a much more stable and overall faster application than any NLE I’ve work with from Avid. I look forward to a full edit so I really dig in.

Second, Avid’s new CEO Gray Greenfield sent out a letter today outlining Avid’s new corporate strategy and what seems like a general update in where Avid is with the “new thinking” campaign. Five bullet points are as follows (from the letter):

• Build competitive tools with differentiated performance, at the right price

• Translate customer feedback into flexible, reliable, high-quality solutions

• Become more “open,” offering greater interoperability between Avid systems and third-party products

• Refresh our product lines more frequently; an

• Better leverage the innovation from all areas within the company to advance the market competitiveness of our offerings.

They seem to be holding true to these things thus far and I think most who use Avid products and follow the course of the company would agree that the new offerings are a great improvement and the company seems more open to listening to users than ever before. It’s nice to see the CEO directly addressing customers. Now if only we could get some official word from Steve Jobs as to the future direction of Final Cut Pro and the pro apps … pardon me while I hold my breath.