Avid Technology
Company type | Private |
---|---|
Nasdaq: AVID | |
Industry | Computer software, Technology, Multimedia |
Founded | August 1987 |
Founder | Bill Warner |
Headquarters | Burlington, Massachusetts, United States |
Key people | Jeff Rosica (president & |
Products | Pro Tools, Media Composer, Sibelius, Avid Play Avid VENUE, Avid NEXIS, MediaCentral, FastServe, MBOX Studio, Pro Tools Carbon, Pro Tools MTRX, Airspeed, Avid Maestro Graphics. |
Revenue | |
Total assets | |
Total equity | |
Owner | Symphony Technology Group |
Number of employees | 1,485 (2022) |
Website | avid |
Footnotes / references [1] |
Avid Technology, Inc. is an American technology and multimedia company that develops digital non-linear editing (NLE) systems, video editing software, audio editing software, music notation software and management and distribution services. It is based in Burlington, Massachusetts, and was founded in August 1987 by Bill Warner.[2][3]
Avid products are used in the television and video industry to create television shows, feature films, and commercials. Media Composer, a professional non-linear editing system, is Avid's flagship product.[4]
History
[edit]Avid was founded by Bill Warner, a former marketing manager from Apollo Computer. A prototype of their first non-linear editing system, the Avid/1 Media Composer, was shown at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) convention in April 1988. The Avid/1 was based on an Apple Macintosh II computer, with special hardware and software of Avid's design installed. The Avid/1 was "the biggest shake-up in editing since Melies played with time and sequences in the early 1900s".[5] By the early 1990s, Avid products began to replace such tools as the Moviola, Steenbeck, and KEM flatbed editors, allowing editors to handle their film creations with greater ease. The first feature film edited using the Avid was Let's Kill All the Lawyers in 1992, directed by Ron Senkowski. The film was edited at a 30fps NTSC rate, then used Avid MediaMatch to generate a negative cutlist from the EDL.[6][7] The first feature film edited natively at 24fps with what was to become the Avid Film Composer was Emerson Park. The first studio film to be edited at 24fps was Lost in Yonkers, directed by Martha Coolidge. By 1994 only three feature films used the new digital editing system. By 1995 dozens had switched to Avid, and it signaled the beginning of the end of cutting celluloid. In 1996 Walter Murch accepted the Academy Award for editing The English Patient (which also won best picture), which he cut on the Avid. This was the first Editing Oscar awarded to a digitally edited film (although the final print was still created with traditional negative cutting).[8]
In 1994 Avid introduced Open Media Framework (OMF) as an open standard file format for sharing media and related metadata.
In the past, Avid released Avid Free DV, a free edition of Media Composer with limited functionality; Xpress DV, a consumer edition of Media Composer; and Xpress Pro, a prosumer edition of Media Composer. These editions were discontinued in 2008 as the flagship Media Composer was lowered in price.
On March 29, 1999, Avid Technology, Inc. adjusted the amount originally allocated to IPR&D and restated its third-quarter 1998 consolidated financial statements accordingly, considering the SEC's views.[9]
In February 2018, Avid appointed Jeff Rosica as CEO, after terminating Louis Hernandez Jr, who was accused of workplace misconduct.[10]
In May 2023, Reuters reported that Avid was exploring selling the company.[11]
In August 2023, Avid Technology entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by an affiliate of STG for $1.4 billion,[12] which was finalized three months later.[13]
Awards
[edit]In 1993, the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences awarded Avid Technology and all of the company's initial employees with a technical Emmy award for Outstanding Engineering Development for the Avid Media Composer video editing system.[14][15]
On March 21, 1999, at the 71st Academy Awards, Avid Technology Inc. was awarded an Oscar for the concept, system design and engineering of the Avid Film Composer for motion picture editing which was accepted by founder Bill Warner.[16]
Acquisitions
[edit]Acquired | Company | Details | Sold |
---|---|---|---|
1994 | EditDroid | A computerized analog non-linear editing (NLE) system which was developed by Lucasfilm spin-off company.[17] | |
1993 | DiVA Corporation | developer of Videoshop, Quicktime-based home video editing software | |
1994 | Digidesign | developer of Pro Tools, digital audio workstation, and Venue, brand of digital mixing consoles | |
Basys | ITN's newsroom computer and automation system (from Digital Equipment Corporation), then implemented into iNews in 2001 | ||
Newsview | Novell-based newsroom computer system[clarification needed] | ||
1995 | Elastic Reality, Inc. | developer of Elastic Reality, morphing software | |
Parallax Software | developer of Matador, Illusion and Jester, ink-and-paint software | ||
1998 | Softimage | developer of Softimage|3D, 3D graphics software (previously subsidiary of Microsoft) | 2008 (to Autodesk) |
NewStar | strategic alliance Avstar with Grass Valley—then owners of Lightworks[clarification needed] | ||
2000 | Motion Factory | developer of interactive 3D software for games and the Web[18] | |
Pluto Technology | DDR playback servers | ||
2002 | iKnowledge | developer of Active Content Manager, newsroom management software | |
2003 | Rocket Networks | private sharing network technology for Internet collaboration, then implemented in Digidelivery, encrypted file transfer system[19] | 2007 (to Aspera) |
2004 | NXN | Media Asset Management software components | |
Bomb Factory | audio plug-ins developer | ||
M-Audio | audio interfaces and equipment manufacturer | 2012 (to inMusic) | |
2005 | Pinnacle Systems | digital video hardware and software manufacturer | 2012 (to Corel) |
Wizoo | virtual instrument, plug-in effect and sample library designer;[20] developed AIR (Advanced Instrument Research), series of plug-ins and virtual instruments subsequently included in Pro Tools | 2012 (to inMusic) | |
2006 | Medéa Corporation | high-speed RAID storage manufacturer | |
Sundance Digital | broadcast automation software | ||
Sibelius Software | developer of Sibelius, notation software | ||
Maximum Throughput | developer of MAXedit, visual effects editing software[21] | ||
2010 | Blue Order Solutions AG | Media asset management software | |
Euphonix | digital mixing console and control surface manufacturer; EuCon protocols were integrated into Pro Tools; the Artist Series and System 5 Family were added to Avid control surfaces | ||
2012 | Rocket Network | provides online music recording studios[22] | |
2015 | Orad Systems | developer of 3D real-time graphics and video servers products, then integrated into the MediaCentral Platform[23] |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Avid Technology, Inc. 2022 Annual Report (Form 10-K)". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. March 1, 2023.
- ^ "About Avid". Avid Technology. Archived from the original on 16 January 2009. Retrieved 2009-01-16.
- ^ "Avid Corporate Background". Avid Technology. Archived from the original on 30 December 2008. Retrieved 2009-01-16.
- ^ "Avid unveils the all-new Media Composer 2019". APB+ News. 2019-06-19. Retrieved 2020-05-12.
- ^ Russell Evans, Practical DV Filmmaking, Focal Press, 2005 ISBN 0-240-80738-3, ISBN 978-0-240-80738-6 page 13
- ^ "Ron Senkowski". IMDb.
- ^ Kennedy, Ashley (10 December 2011). "Fun Facts and Dates in Digital Editing 'Firsts'". Retrieved 27 April 2017.
- ^ Scott Kirsner, Inventing the Movies: Hollywood's Epic Battle Between Innovation and the Status Quo, from Thomas Edison to Steve Jobs (2008) Publisher Scott Kirsner, ISBN 1-4382-0999-1, ISBN 978-1-4382-0999-9 page 84-85
- ^ "Avid Technology Announces Revaluation of Acquisition Charges".
- ^ "Avid Technology Announces Appointment of Jeff Rosica as Chief Executive Officer and Termination of Louis Hernandez, Jr". Avid. 26 February 2018. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
- ^ Vinn, Milana (2023-05-24). "Exclusive: Media editing software vendor Avid explores sale -sources". Reuters. Retrieved 2023-06-30.
- ^ "Avid Technology Enters into Definitive Agreement to Be Acquired by an Affiliate of STG for $1.4 Billion". GlobeNewswire News Room (Press release). 2023-08-09. Retrieved 2023-08-09.
- ^ Giardina, Carolyn (November 7, 2023). "Private Equity Firm STG Completes Acquisition of Avid for $1.4B". The Hollywood Reporter.
- ^ Steve Hall Charged With Ensuring Reliable, Consistent IT Service Archived 2013-01-31 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Curiosity Expert: William J. Warner
- ^ "Oscars Awards Database". Archived from the original on 2014-05-25. Retrieved 2014-05-25.
- ^ "Lucasfilm: Inside Lucasfilm | Company History". 2012-06-28. Archived from the original on 2012-06-28. Retrieved 2022-06-23.
- ^ "Avid Acquires 3D Software Company Motion Factory". Animation World Network. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
- ^ "Digidelivery – The demise of a great product". Ceri Thomas. 24 February 2010. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
- ^ "Digidesign buy Wizoo". www.soundonsound.com. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
- ^ September 23, Alex Udell; Pm, 2009 at 6:06 (2009-09-08). "More transitions – Avid acquired Max-T". fxguide. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Avid Acquires Rocket Network's Assets". Mixonline. 2003-04-10. Retrieved 2020-05-14.
- ^ "Avid Completes Acquisition of Orad Hi-Tec Systems". www.avid.com. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
External links
[edit]- Official website
- Historical business data for Avid Technology:
- SEC filings
- 1987 establishments in Massachusetts
- Companies based in Burlington, Massachusetts
- Companies formerly listed on the Nasdaq
- Electronics companies established in 1987
- American companies established in 1987
- Audio equipment manufacturers of the United States
- Manufacturing companies based in Massachusetts
- Software companies based in Massachusetts
- Software companies established in 1987
- Manufacturers of professional audio equipment
- Recipients of the Scientific and Technical Academy Award of Merit
- 1993 initial public offerings
- 2023 mergers and acquisitions
- Software companies of the United States