AVID Media Composer 2020.4 Update – 64-bit and Mac Pro Support

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by Jeff LochMay 4^th, 2020

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AVID has just released a new update for its popular editing software: Avid Media Composer 2020.4. This update finally transitions the software to 64-bit, which means it is now compatible with macOS Catalina and the latest Mac Pro. Also, Media Composer 2020.4 now supports ProRes for Windows users, while the new Universal Media Engine takes care of all the import/playback/editing/export tasks instead of Quicktime. Let’s take a closer look at it!

Avid Media Composer 2020.4 – 64-bit and Mac Pro Support

Apple was telling all software editors for more than two years that they will get rid of all the 32-bit apps with Catalina. Some companies made the switch to 64-bit, but others like AVID took way longer. Indeed, their leading non-linear editing system Avid Media Composer was still a 32-bit software, so it was not compatible with macOS Catalina and the latest Mac Pro that came out in winter last year.

Finally, with the latest Avid Media Composer 2020.4 update, the software is compatible with the latest Apple hardware and software. This feature was a long-awaited update for all AVID NLE users.

Avid Media Composer 2020.4 9×16 FrameFlex framing presets. Image credit: AVID

Universal Media Engine and ProRes RAW

Another major update under the hood is the addition of the new Universal Media Engine. Indeed, this new media engine “removes reliance on QuickTime to deliver better media importing, playback, editing, and export performance.” Time will tell us if this is a smart – and more efficient – move from AVID to partially get rid out of QuickTime.

On the other end, for Windows users, you can now create, edit, collaborate, and export ProRes media natively with full decoding (read/playback) and encoding (write/export). Otherwise, there is no word about support for ProRes RAW.

Avid Media Composer 2020.4 Bulk Edit. Image credit: AVID

Interface and UI Update

The AVID team also put a lot of work on the UI and interface possibilities in this latest Media Composer 2020.4 update. The idea is to make the software more efficient, and here is a list of all the improvements:

• Get a birds-eye view of an entire 128-track sequence with the Timeline Sequence Map, enabling faster navigation without scrolling or changing the view size.
• Quickly identify specific bins visually by applying any bin’s background color to its bin tab.
• Create and work with titles faster and more efficiently with many new Titler+ improvements.
• Modify multiple rows of a bin column at once with new bulk editing capabilities, enabling you to add text to clip names, append counter numbers to clip text, or even auto-generate a Comments column based on existing text, saving hours of manual work.
• Make quick bulk changes to clip information or statuses with multi-select capabilities.
• Select all muted clips in a sequence for easy identification and modification, and even unmute them all at once.
• Quickly strip silence from clips in a couple clicks to clean-up and separate sound elements.
• Easily create content for mobile video platforms and social media with new 9×16 and 1:1 Mask Margins and FrameFlex framing presets.
• Fine-tune color with more precision with the ability to make more granular gain value adjustments when working in ACES spaces, plus output media to 15 new color spaces.
• Edit and mix audio easily when using an Avid S1 control surface and/or the free Avid Control mobile app with support for audio metering and more video editing tasks.
• Keep your interface windows and layout locked in the same relative positions and sizes with blank panels that fill in the space whenever you close a tool or panel, keeping surrounding elements from shifting in and disrupting your editing muscle memory.
• Tune the brightness of the timeline and metadata viewer windows to your environment and liking with new sliders.
• Map the tools in the bottom toolbar in the timeline, giving you even more flexibility.
• Adjust fonts, font sizes, and the splitter the way you want in the Effect Palette.

Avid Media Composer 2020.4 Timeline Sequence Map. Image credit: AVID

Pricing and Availability

The Avid Media Composer 2020.4 update is free for all existing users. If you’re not an Avid Media Composer user, the software is $23.99/month or $239.00/year. For more information, you can visit the AVID website here.

What do you think about this latest Media Composer 2020.4 update? Do you still use Media Composer as your primary NLE? Let us know in the comments below!