At Avid Connect an event which Avid claim has drawn almost 1,100 people from 43 countries, Avid CEO Louis Hernandez Jr unveiled Avid Everywhere, their version of the digital media future. Ironically the event was not broadcast via video or even audio, so users has to settle for a simply live web text updates. 

In a preamble where he said “Every aspect of our life is changing and being digitized — from digital music downloads, to smart phones, tablets, video chat, digital wallets, analytics – our world is undergoing tremendous change.” and then he turned to content creation “And our industry is changing as well - digital editing, digital distribution, HD, 3D, 4K, 8K.” LHJ then went on to show how he believes Avid would be a major player in connecting digital asset creation with digital consumers.

What Is Avid Everywhere?

Avid Everywhere is essentially a content sharing and distribution platform down to the lowest level of the creation process. In other words it covers everything from collaboration during the creation process by connecting users of Pro Tools and Media Composer and the other Avid creation product work flows, right through to the storage, distribution, monetization and archiving of assets.

The centre of the system is Avid MediaCentral Platform (previously Avid Interplay Pulse), then there’s the Artist Suite - Avid Media Composer, Avid Pro Tools, etc. - are all in this application and sit upon the platform. LHJ said “Artist Suite delivers unparalleled fluid collaboration with anyone on the platform, wherever they are, on premise or in the cloud.” In his words “Another application, the Media Suite includes modules for media management for each phase of the value chain, spanning content creation through distribution and monetization, all in a secure environment.” and then finally leading to Avid Storage Suite which he said “Imagine you can connect to any third-party storage or the Avid storage all in one place. This is what we’re talking about, this is the Storage Suite, You’ll be able to search for all assets on the platform as if they are in the same place” 

What does all this mean to the humble Pro Tools user? Here are the top line points from Avid Everywhere…

Avid Everywhere - Flexible Software Licences

During his presentation LHJ said “No assets actually go in the cloud only the tools; we also provide complete choice in how you acquire the tools, whether you purchase them outright or take advantage of one of our flexible licensing options.” As part of the Avid Artist Suite flexible purchase and licence options should be coming to Pro Tools. This was what many on Twitter thought was meant as they tweeted from the event.

Avid Everywhere - Cloud Collaboration

Cloud based collaboration will be coming to Pro Tools, offering Pro Tools users both text and video based chat and ways to share content with one another as part of the creation process.

Avid Everywhere - Metadata Content In Pro Tools

Avid have made metadata a core part of Avid Everywhere and have gone for an open metadata system, with the ability to pick up metadata from a range of existing metadata formats, so that users can keep track of their content.

Avid Everywhere

So there it is, the big reveal Avid have been working up to for the last few months. We’ll start to fill in the details in the next few days and let you know of the response from the industry. In the meantime let us know what you think of Avid’s vision of the media future.