Avid Delivers Game-Changing Graphics Innovations for Sports and News Production

LAS VEGAS, April 16, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NAB (Booth #SU902) Avid® AVID today introduced powerful new graphics production toolsets that deliver rich video and graphics capabilities, integrated 4K workflows, and powerful broadcast enhancements for news and sports production. The newly updated Avid graphics toolset provides a complete and integrated workflow for live and studio productions with real-time broadcast graphics. These releases continue the rapid momentum Avid Everywhere™ has generated throughout the industry, and demonstrate the progress Avid has made in integrating the industry-leading production solutions acquired from Orad into the Avid MediaCentral™ Platform.

The new 4Designer graphics authoring tool is a complete toolset for creating captivating 2D and 3D motion graphics for broadcast productions, in a wide range of resolutions. The Avid graphics toolset also includes the latest version of Maestro, which gives broadcasters the fastest and easiest way to manage and play out high-quality on-air 3D graphics, and supports video ingest and playout. Maestro is tightly integrated with the MediaCentral Platform, offering the most extensive graphics production workflows in the industry. Also new is the Avid Spark telestrator, a fast turnaround sports enhancement tool which streamlines production, enabling users to quickly add captivating visual enhancements.

"Broadcasters around the world have asked for more advanced solutions to streamline and enhance their video and graphics workflows," said Dana Ruzicka, vice president and chief product officer at Avid. "The new Avid graphics production solutions provide news and sports broadcasters with the advanced workflows they need to create stunning 4K graphics content with greater speed and efficiency."

Introducing Avid 4Designer—State-of-the-art Graphics Authoring for Broadcast News and More
The new 4Designer graphics authoring software offers a complete solution for creating captivating 2D and 3D motion graphics in a wide range of resolutions. This feature-rich toolset provides broadcasters with the tools they need to create stunning real-time visual content for news, elections, sports events, weather segments, business reports, and more. As the successor to the award-winning 3Designer, 4Designer offers more power, speed, and new features in a more modern interface, yet maintains the same workflows and compatibility with existing 3Designer templates.

4Designer is part of the newly updated Avid graphics toolset, which provides a complete and integrated workflow for incorporating real-time graphics into live and studio news productions. Thanks to its modular architecture, the graphics toolset can be customized for a wide variety of media environments, and integrates seamlessly with solutions across the Avid MediaCentral Platform, as well as third-party news and editing applications.

The Avid graphics toolset also includes a new version of Maestro, a complete on-air graphics solution that enables broadcasters to easily compose and play out stunning, high-resolution graphics and animation. New features include the Maestro Media Engine which supports video ingest and playout, native user rights management, rich graphics templates, and efficient repurposing of graphic content – all from an intuitive user interface. Thanks to its modular architecture, Maestro can be customized for a wide variety of environments and integrates seamlessly with iNEWS® and iNEWS | Command for playlist creation and execution, Media Composer® for post-production graphics editing, and MediaCentral | UX, a cloud-based, web front-end to the Avid MediaCentral Platform. 

Introducing Avid Spark—Accelerated Graphics Production for Sports

The new Avid Spark live sports enhancement telestration tool enables on-air commentators to draw and add graphics to a video in real time, giving audiences better visual insight into key plays, game flow, and analysis. Designed for fast operation, Avid Spark provides feature-rich capabilities to accelerate and simplify graphics production. An easy-to-use touchscreen interface eliminates the need for a dedicated operator. Unlike traditional telestrators, Avid Spark allows users to draw graphics in both onscreen and in-field perspectives, ensuring a realistic viewing experience. Ideal for small to mid-size operations, Avid Spark helps broadcasters produce better game visuals, attract a wider audience, and deliver more compelling content that stands apart from the competition.

Avid Spark is designed to help sports broadcasters deliver compelling graphics content, streamline production workflows, and ultimately boost fan engagement and ratings. Avid's sports solutions provide a comprehensive end-to-end solution from ingest to distribution, by offering real-time editing with PlayMaker HD and 4K sports replay server, data driven graphics with 3DPlay, on-air graphics with Maestro and sports enhancements with MVP and Avid Spark. Customers can elevate their studio look with TD Control and display multiple high-resolution studio displays simultaneously from a single touch interface.

Availability
Avid Spark is expected to be available in Q2 2016.
4Designer is expected to be available in Q2 2016.
Maestro is expected to be available in Q2 2016.

About Avid
Through Avid Everywhere™, Avid delivers the industry's most open, innovative and comprehensive media platform connecting content creation with collaboration, asset protection, distribution and consumption. Media organizations and creative professionals use Avid solutions to create the most listened to, most watched and most loved media in the world—from the most prestigious and award-winning feature films, to the most popular television shows, news programs and televised sporting events, as well as a majority of today's most celebrated music recordings and live concerts. Industry leading solutions include Avid NEXIS™ Pro Tools®, Media Composer®, ISIS®, Interplay®, ProSet and RealSet, Maestro, PlayMaker, and Sibelius®. For more information about Avid solutions and services, visit www.avid.com, connect with Avid on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, or subscribe to Avid Blogs.

© 2016 Avid Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. Avid, the Avid logo, Avid Everywhere, Avid NEXIS, iNEWS, Interplay, ISIS, AirSpeed, MediaCentral, Media Composer, Pro Tools, and Sibelius are trademarks or registered trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries. The Interplay name is used with the permission of the Interplay Entertainment Corp. which bears no responsibility for Avid products. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Product features, specifications, system requirements and availability are subject to change without notice.