What do you like best about the product?

Avid Media Composer is a very mature product that gives you complete control over your project. It was the first to integrate a closed captioning data track. It doesn't do things automatically for you, although it does automatically link to a large variety of file formats. It's fine editing trim tools are intuitive and powerful. It can export to audio programs like Pro Tools flawlessly. It is a reliable program.

What do you dislike about the product?

Avid is sometimes slow about updating to the latest operating system. For example, Avid Media Composer is still not native with Apple Silicon processors, and has to be interpreted through Rosetta, which does not fully utilize the potential horsepower of the new processors.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

Video editing is a major part of our business, which produces and edits programs for broadcast, non-profits, companies, and for commercials.

What do you like best about the product?

Easy to learn, edit, export media files is a simple process
Titles can be added easily. Good software

What do you dislike about the product?

Nothing to dislike, overall good editing software.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

Export time takes much time.

Recommendations to others considering the product:

Strongly suggest using this for editing purpose.

What do you like best about the product?

I have been using Avid for over 5 years at work and for personal use. It’s so versatile and is very easy to use. It is also quite affordable. There are so glitches or bugs or delays in editing and the customer service team is quite helpful.

It also loads really quickly with no delays. I have also used other Avids with other projects and there has been no issues with transferring. Also, importing and exporting media and sequences is really quick with no delay.

What do you dislike about the product?

The interface could be a little nicer as it is all grey and black. I wish they had more
Colour options to brighten up your editing sequence. The way it saves can be a little complicated as projects.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

I haven’t faced any problems but the benefits are that there are so options and hidden tools that really enhance your editing experience. The customer service team and forums are really helpful. Sometimes it has an error when you add too many effects on a shot and shuts down but it only happens once a week.

Recommendations to others considering the product:

I think it’s really effective and a great alternative to Final Cut Pro if you need to switch for work reasons. I would sign up to forums for any editing help. I would pay the monthly membership if you’re using it for personal use to get a feel for it before you commit to a full membership.

What do you like best about the product?

Media Composer is suited to big projects, for example a documentary series with hundreds of hours of footage. Its bin system and hierarchy of clips and subclips are great for organising material – as long as you stick to a disciplined workflow and don't just throw stuff in the cupboard.
The trim feature is powerful and has several modes to suit your preference. There are several ways of doing most things and lots of options to customise the interface.
Multiple users can work on the same project simultaneously.

What do you dislike about the product?

Media Composer is not easy to learn. It can be counter-intuitive and features are tucked away in unexpected places.

Although the application can do most things, some tasks are over-complicated compared with Final Cut and Premier, or require a work-around.

The whole application is riddled with bugs, which is surprising considering how long it's been around. A look through Avid's own forums reveals thousands of pleas from desperate editors stopped in their tracks with a deadline looming. Niggly glitches appear and disappear for reasons unknown.

Media management can be a nightmare. Clips can come unlinked to their files, threatening the entire project. The relink command seldom if ever works.

Some features are very disappointing, for example shot stablization which often seems to make no difference. Compare that with Final Cut's "tripod mode" which works like a dream. Audio EQ is another area that falls far behind the competition. High-end editors find they need expensive plug-ins to get the best results. For a mature application that claims to be the choice of top professionals, everything should "come in the box."

Error messages are prolific and incomprehensible. Why can't they explain the problem in plain language? From forum posts it's clear that even the experts don't know what they mean.

The licensing procedure is rather clunky, made more difficult by Avid's website which seems more intent on marketing than providing useful information for users.

It's true that MC is widely used in broadcast and film studios, but that's partly because it was one of the first NLEs. It got a toehold in the industry when it was too expensive for those further down the food chain. Having struggled to master this difficult programme, many editors were reluctant to tackle another.

In my view Avid has rested on its laurels. It stood by while the opposition caught up and overtook. Now it tries to hold its place with new features which very few will need. It should concentrate on fixing what's broken and making the application more stable and user friendly. And it should make sure the box includes all the things that really matter.

I've been using MC for 17 years but If I was starting again knowing what I know now, it would not be my choice of editor. Sometimes I love it, but just as often it frustrates the hell out of me!

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

No solving any problems right now.

Recommendations to others considering the product:

There are better options for most things.

What do you like best about the product?

Multiple editors can work on 1 project fairly easily
keyboard only workflow
backwards compatibility

What do you dislike about the product?

interface a bit dated
certain things require too many steps or are too obtuse
very unfriendly to casual users

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

Media Composer is a reliable NLE and should be your first choice for big shows with lots of footage and lots of editors. Premiere is a lot less reliable

Recommendations to others considering the product:

Budget extra time to learn it because its hard

What do you like best about the product?

Extremely easy to collaborate with other stations on projects. Makes the process seamless between 2 users. Once understood, the processes are quick and instinctual. Any type of changes can be made quickly and efficiently and to your exact standards and liking.

What do you dislike about the product?

It can be very difficult to understand some of the features. Error messages are sometimes impossible to decode. Can be extremely overwhelming for beginners but with the right guidance is doable.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

So easy to collaborate with other people at the same time. Seamless exchange as long as work flow is done correctly and properly.

Recommendations to others considering the product:

Although more seamless to integrate other software in different video editing programs, this is used by the pros for a good reason.

What do you like best about the product?

MEdia Composer is the industry standard and it hits every marek on necessary options.

What do you dislike about the product?

Its kind of expensive but totally worth it.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

I am able to edit online or offline without having to keep large data files laying around on multiple systems or hard drives like other NLEs

Recommendations to others considering the product:

If you want to go pro go Avid MC. There really isn't any other option for the film industry. Every place you will go as an editor will ask if you are able to use an Avid rig so best to use it for your personal work as well.

What do you like best about the product?

I like the different and desperate bin layouts. This helps when I am editing different files for different stories (at the news station I work at). Most settings and layout are fairly user-friendly, especially once given an overview by a colleague.

What do you dislike about the product?

Although user-friendly, sometimes Media Composer can be tricky in knowing where every option is. Sometimes it freezes up and needs to be shutdown.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

I wouldn’t necessarily consider them “problems,” but it benefits ours company by being the main editing software we all (editors, photographers) use. There is a uniform look to stories.

Recommendations to others considering the product:

Highly recommend for a business or company

What do you like best about the product?

For me, there is not another editing software that is so stable and reliable as AVID is.

What do you dislike about the product?

The interface is not that user-friendly for someone not used to AVID.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

Editing for broadcasting television is being done better now with the usage of AVID.

What do you like best about the product?

The best thing about Avid is the talent pool that's experienced and comfortable with it. Most post production workflows are built around it because it's become so ubiquitous in the business.

What do you dislike about the product?

Many of the Avid tools are rudimentary at best. The VFX toolset, for example, is pretty weak compared to Adobe Premiere. It doesn't play well with others, particularly, so interfacing with non-Avid products for color or VFX can be difficult. They haven't really done much in the way of new features or upgrades.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

For multi-editor projects, the shared storage works very well for a team. You can have multiple editors, assistants and VFX editors all working off the same shared project. You drastically lower the chances that somebody accesses the wrong version of a project.

Recommendations to others considering the product:

Take another look at Adobe Premiere. They've made great strides and are much more available to support and work with customers.