Avid Editing Application®

ReadMe for Media Composer® v2022.7

Revision History
Date

Description

March 29, 2023

Added a Note to Media Composer Notes.

October 11, 2022

Updated Qualified Hardware and Operating Systems

September 20, 2022

Added MCCET-4612 to Fixed in Media Composer v2022.7

September 9, 2022

Updated Compatibility Chart for NVIDIA Driver Support

August 23, 2022

Added support for macOS version 12.5.1

July 13, 2022

Added a note about new Match Frame results for Group and MultiGroup
subclips

IMPORTANT: Avid periodically makes software updates available for download on
Avid.com at the following location:www.avid.com/us/support/downloads. Pleasecheck the above site regularly for information on available downloads for yourproduct.
Important Information

Avid® recommends that you read all the information in this ReadMe file thoroughly before
installing or using any new software release.
Important: Search the Avid Knowledge Base for the most up-to-date ReadMe file, whichcontains the latest information that might have become available after the documentation was
published.
This document describes compatibility issues with previous releases, software installation
instructions, hardware and software requirements, and summary information on system andmemory requirements. This document also lists hardware and software limitations.

Contents
If You Need Help. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Media Composer Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Changed in Media Composer v2022.7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Fixed in Media Composer v2022.7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Notes on Software Licensing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Qualified Hardware and Operating Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Feature Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Compatibility Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Setting up the NVIDIA Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Shared Storage Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222

Symbols and Conventions

Symbols and Conventions
Avid documentation uses the following symbols and conventions:Symbol or Convention Meaning or Actionn

A note provides important related information, reminders, recommendations, andstrong suggestions.

c

A caution means that a specific action you take could cause harm to yourcomputer or cause you to lose data.

w

A warning describes an action that could cause you physical harm. Follow theguidelines in this document or on the unit itself when handling electricalequipment.

n

A user tip provides a helpful hint that can aid users in getting the most from theirsystem.

n

A shortcut shows the user keyboard or mouse shortcuts for a procedure orcommand.

>This symbol indicates menu commands (and subcommands) in the order you
select them. For example, File > Import means to open the File menu and thenselect the Import command.
This symbol indicates a single-step procedure. Multiple arrows in a list indicatethat you perform one of the actions listed.

(Windows), (Windows
This text indicates that the information applies only to the specified operating
only), (macOS), or (macOS system, either Windows or macOS.
only)
Bold font

Bold font is primarily used in task instructions to identify user interface items andkeyboard sequences.

Italic font

Italic font is used to emphasize certain words and to indicate variables.

Courier Bold font

Courier Bold font identifies text that you type.

Ctrl+key or mouse action

Press and hold the first key while you press the last key or perform the mouseaction. For example, Command+Option+C or Ctrl+drag.

| (pipe character)

The pipe character is used in some Avid product names, such as MediaCentral |Production Management. In this document, the pipe is used in product names
when they are in headings or at their first use in text.

3

If You Need Help

If You Need Help
If you are having trouble using your Avid product:
1. Retry the action, carefully following the instructions given for that task in this guide. It isespecially important to check each step of your workflow.
2. Check this ReadMe file for the latest information that might have become available after the
documentation was published. Also check online for the most up-to-date ReadMe because
the online version is updated whenever new information becomes available. To view theonline ReadMe, select ReadMe from the Help menu, or visit the Knowledge Base at
http://www.avid.com/readme.
3. Check the documentation that came with your Avid application or your hardware formaintenance or hardware-related issues. In addition to the printed documentation suppliedwith your editing application, the documentation is supplied in PDF format when you install
the application. Topics that you print from the Help have limited page layout and formatting
features. If you want to print a higher quality version of Help information, Avid recommends
that you print all or part of the PDF version of the appropriate Avid manual included in theOnline Library for your editing application. To access the Online Library, select Help >Online Library from within your Avid editing application.
4. Visit Avid Online Support at www.avid.com/onlineSupport/. Online support is available 24
hours per day, 7 days per week. Search the Knowledge Base to find answers, to view error
messages, to access troubleshooting tips, to download updates, and to read or join online
message-board discussions.

Media Composer Notes
without QuickTime installed, such as macOS Catalina and later, may experiencec Systems
import issues with some file formats and wrappers. In certain instances, unsupported files
may not trigger any response in Media Composer during an import operation. Dependingon the codec used, it may be necessary to link and transcode the file using theConsolidate/Transcode window before working with it in a project. Please refer to thefollowing document on the Avid Knowledge Base page for more information on formats
that are not supported without QuickTime:https://avid.secure.force.com/pkb/articles/en_US/Compatibility/Media-Composer-File-Type-Sup
port-on-macOS-Catalina(macOS Only) macOS Catalina does not support 32 bit applications. The legacy Title Tool,c Marquee
Title Tool and QuickTime legacy codecs are no longer installed when you installMedia Composer. If you are installing Media Composer on a system with a pre-CatalinaOS, a separate installer is provided that allows you to choose to install the Title Tool,4

If You Need Help

Marquee, and QuickTime legacy codecs. Only install legacy codecs if QuickTime is
installed on your system. The installer is Media Composer Legacy Components 2021.12.1
Mac. You can get the installer from MyAvid, Link, or the download center.
Only) macOS Catalina or higher does not support DMF (Dynamic Mediac (macOS
Folders).
If you intend to use full-frame stereoscopic with an Avid Artist DNxIQ, youc MCDEV-11537
may want to remain with Media Composer v2018.12.x until the issues with Stereoscopic
support are resolved in a future version.
Frame results for the subclip of a Group or MultiGroup clip created in Mediac MatchComposer v2022.7 and later will load the original subclip of the Group or MultiGroup clip.
If using subclips of a Group or MultiGroup clip created in an earlier version of Media
Composer, the same Match Frame operation will load the Group or MultiGroup clip.
•(MCCET- 2541) When working with Avid Artist DNxIO or Avid Artist DNxIQ, you should
disable the Line In recording input (BlackMagic Audio in the Windows OS).

•

Avid recommends that you do not install Desktop Video software version 10.10.1 on Media
Composer versions prior to v2018.5.1.

•

Avid Artist DNxIO and Avid Artist DNxIQ: If you are using Avid Artist DNxIO, Avid
Artist DNxIQ, or a BlackMagic Designs video device, please update to Desktop Video
software version v11.0 or higher. If you are using Avid Artist DNxIV and Avid Artist DNxIP
please update to AJA software v15.2 or later.

•

Qualified Operating Systems: For information on qualified operating systems, see
Qualified Hardware and Operating Systems.

•

Dongle Info (macOS Only): The Dongle Sentinel driver installer is no longer automaticallyinstalled when you install the editing application. The driver is now located in the
Avid_Utilities folder (/Applications/Utilities/Avid_Utilities/Sentinel_Driver). If you have adongle, manually install the driver from this location.

installing the Sentinel Driver, check your System Preferences and select “Securityc Whenand Privacy.” You may need to choose to Allow the driver to be accessed.
•

Media Composer now includes a dnxmov2mxf executable in the \Program Files\Avid\Avid
Media Composer\SupportingFiles\Utilities folder. This executable allows you to manuallyconvert MOV files with DNX essence with separately stored alpha to an MXF OP1a filewith DNX essence and embedded alpha.
The tool is available for Windows, osX and Linux. To run on Windows, Visual C++
Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015 or Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2017is required.

5

If You Need Help

Run the command from a command prompt on Windows or from terminal on macOS.
DNXMOV2MXF usage is:
dnxmov2mxf path_to_mov [path_to_mxf]
Notes on Working with SRT
For details on working with SRT, search for “Open IO Support for SRT” in the Help.
Decoded Output•

Due to the compressed streaming nature of SRT, and the variety of SRT decoding
applications and devices available, the decoded output may not be in sync with the Media
Composer desktop. Depending on the decoder being used, the output may be up to several
seconds out of sync. Adjusting the buffering settings in the decoder as well as the SRT
latency setting can help to improve the delay depending on your network's quality of service.

SRT Quality Bitrates•

The default quality settings for a 1080p/29.97 project are 5-15 Mbits/sec for low,
10-30Mbps for medium and 30-80 Mbps for high. Bitrates will vary, and might exceed theaverage values, based on the media being sent over SRT. Bitrates are scaled based on theframe rate and raster size, and may vary in the actual bitstream based on how efficiently thecodec can compress the frames.

•

Only 8b quality is supported with SRT. Media Composer will automatically set the I/O to 8b
quality if Media Composer is set to draft or 10b.

Projects and Media Support:•

2K/UHD/4K projects will be downconverted to HD formats at the same frame rate. For
example, if you are working on a UHD 4k 23.976 projects, it will be converted to an HD
23.976p project.

•Interlaced formats are not natively supported, but will be converted to progressive format at
the equivalent frame rate.

•

SRT will mix multi-channel audio to stereo audio.

•

RGB is not natively supported and will be converted to YUV.

SRT plug-in is supported with Media Composer | Enterprise and Media Composer |n The
Ultimate licenses only.
Security Guidelines
As system and network security attacks become increasingly more inventive and persistent, Avid
has adopted a new security strategy to help you, our customer and partner, better protect yourassets and intellectual property. As you might know, Avid has traditionally recommended6

Changed in Media Composer v2022.7

Symantec Endpoint Protection as the preferred and qualified solution for much of the Avid
product line. As of Q3, 2020, Avid introduced a more flexible strategy that provides general
guidelines for protecting your Avid systems. This new policy allows you to choose the best
security solution for your organization, while still following Avid best practices. Avid Media
Composer allows you to install an endpoint detection and response solution on yoursystem.While Avid does not support any specific solution, you can find general guidelines andinformation related to CrowdStrike Falcon on the following Avid Knowledge Base page:https://avid.secure.force.com/pkb/articles/en_US/troubleshooting/en239659

Changed in Media Composer v2022.7
This release supports macOS version 12.5.1.

Fixed in Media Composer v2022.7
The following have been fixed:➤

Bug Number: MCCET-4612. Media Composer Options were not enabled when using a dongle
for activation.

➤

Bug Number: MCDEV-16141. (Titler+) Text entry lagged behind keyboard input andsometimes caused a "Not Responding" state.

➤

Bug Number: MCDEV-16503. (Titler+) Avid Titler+ Dashboard disappeared when using a dual
monitor setup with a floating Composer window.

➤

Bug Number: MCDEV-16089. (Titler+) Position (X and Y axis) did not align with global
coordinate system and was affected by Rotation.

➤

Bug Number: MCDEV-16591. (Titler+) Changes to font size were not retained when switching
between Move Mode and Text Mode.

➤

Bug Number: MCDEV-14303. (Titler+) Each Backspace (Delete) entry on an empty text layer
was registered as an event, preventing the Undo command from functioning as expected, andsometimes causing text to vanish.

➤

Bug Number: MCDEV-16414. (Titler+) Quitting Media Composer while Avid Titler+
Dashboard and Effect Editor were open caused a Segmentation fault.

7Fixed in Media Composer v2022.7➤

Bug Number: MCDEV-15669. (Titler+) Performance was significantly affected when multiplelines of text extended beyond boundaries of the viewer.

➤

Bug Number: MCDEV-15220. (Titler+) Clicking in viewer after rendering created anunintended keyframe.

➤

Bug Number: MCDEV-14340. (Titler+) Hebrew text justification was erratic.

➤

Bug Number: MCDEV-16415. (Titler+) Background layers were not displayed properly after
restarting Media Composer.

➤

Bug Number: MCDEV-16622. (Titler+) Properties for a new layer (such as opacity) were notset correctly after selecting multiple, existing layers and deleting an instance of Titler+.

➤

Bug Number: MCDEV-13776. (Titler+) Viewer displayed previously rendered results and did
not update after changes were made to the effect.

➤

Bug Number: MCCET-4626. “EssentialResourceNotAvailableError" message appeared whenstarting Media Composer and prevented the application from opening.

➤

Bug Number: MCCET-4648. (macOS) “Project is Locked for Write” message appeared when
opening an Avid project located on shared storage that was emulating Avid NEXIS.

➤

Bug Number: MCCET-4600. Users of Media Composer | Enterprise were interrupted with amessage about supported versions of the administration server used to create current definitions.

➤

Bug Number: MCCET-4601. Media Composer | Enterprise would not launch properly whenlogging in with case-sensitive usernames and upper-case letters.

➤

Bug Number: MCCET-4478. Avid NEXIS users experienced significant performance issues
when bin indexing and noticed bandwidth irregularities in the Avid NEXIS Management
Console.

➤Bug Number: MCCET-4633. DNxIQ experienced sync issues when starting up.
Note: Format information is not stored persistently in some hardware devices and requires
software to apply the necessary settings. As a result, it is important to know what devices may beaffected when shutting down or restarting a computer.

➤

Bug Number: MCCET-4640. Removing markers on a clip while the Inspector Tool was open
caused Exception errors.

8Fixed in Media Composer v2022.7➤

Bug Number: MCCET-4657. In some instances, the "Exception: SETTING CLASS NOTREGISTERED" error message appeared after using the Command Palette to move the Segment
Mode (Lift/Overwrite) button.

➤

Bug Number: MCCET-4576. Timecode window experienced a display glitch when switching
between user profiles.

➤

Bug Number: MCCET-4501. Scrolling behavior was dependent on size of Timeline window
and did not work when scrollbar was hidden.

➤

Bug Number: MCCET-4382. In some instances, Dynamic Relink settings reverted to "MostRecent".

➤Bug Number: MCCET-4490. Creation Date for Clips and Sequences in the Find window were
sorted incorrectly when the regional format for the operating system was set to "English (United
Kingdom)".

➤

Bug Number: MCCET-3592. Changes made to Color Space for external projects located on
Avid NEXIS were not reflected in the "Select Project" window.

➤

Bug Number: MCCET-4557. The ability to set a "Search Data Directory" location for Bin
index and PhraseFind index was missing in the Search Settings window.

➤

Bug Number: MCCET-4508. In some instances, switching user profiles in Media Composerbrought other apps to the foreground.

➤

Bug Number: MCCET-4371. Vector-based objects were not resizing properly whenshift+clicking the direction handle and dragging away from the control point.

➤

Bug Number: MCCET-4056. When applying the Matte Key effect to an Apple ProRes 4444
clip in the Timeline, the fill layer was not preserved.

➤

Bug Number: MCCET-4535. Using Cmd+O to open multiple, selected bins would open
previously tabbed bins as floating windows.

➤

Bug Number: MCCET-4548. Moving files to the Trash with either the context menu or the
Delete key shortcut caused Media Composer to refresh the project and redraw the bin window. In
some instances, this caused the application to not respond, particularly with large projects.

➤

Bug Number: MCCET-4430. Nested clips that contained offline media appeared colored, as
though they were online, even if missing media was located in a nested layer.

9Fixed in Media Composer v2022.7➤

Bug Number: MCCET-4558. In some instances, Media Composer | Enterprise would notlaunch due to Avid NEXIS configuration errors, and users were not presented with any warning
or informational message.

➤

Bug Number: MCCET-4449. When working with MultiCamera sequences, Media Composer
performance slowed down and eventually did not respond.
Note: Use the Play Length Toggle feature on MultiCamera sequences to improve performance.

➤

Bug Number: MCCET-4332. In some instances, transcoding of linked clips caused a change instart timecode and duration.

➤

Bug Number: MCCET-4498. Lassoing clips in a bin's Frame View while using a combinationof Shift, Control (Windows) and Command (macOS) keys to select or deselect clips did not work
properly.

➤

Bug Number: MCCET-4494. Checking in sequences to MediaCentral | Production
Management produced thumbnails with "No Head Frame".

➤

Bug Number: MCCET-4577. Saving a new Bin View caused the bin columns to become wider.

➤

Bug Number: MCCET-4551. Default Starting Timecode in the General Settings for a Project
were not retained after pressing the Enter or Return key on the keyboard.

➤

Bug Number: MCCET-4457. Transition Manipulation was broken while the Composer window
was set to "Show Single Monitor".
Note: Transition Manipulation is no longer allowed when the Composer window is set to "ShowSingle Monitor".

➤

Bug Number: MCCET-4499. Values typed into the "Adjust Pan / Volume" window were notapplied after pressing the Enter or Return key on the keyboard.

➤

Bug Number: MCCET-4437. Set AudioSuite Plugin - In/Out" did not work after using theUndo command in Media Composer.

➤

Bug Number: MCCET-4621. The "Undo-Redo List" in Media Composer did not display entire
list of recent actions.

➤

Bug Number: MCCET-4622. Incorrect text was displayed for the title and a checkbox in the"Avid I/O Manager" section of the Media Composer installers for languages other than English.

10Limitations

Limitations
The following are known limitations➤•

Photoshop PSD files are not supported for AMA linking if QuickTime is not installed.

•

Some fonts, by their design, are available only in Bold. On the macOS system it can happen
that selecting a font does not produce any visual changes. Try selecting “Bold.”•If you launch a project and receive an “Enable 3rd Party Emulation” warning, even if you
select Enable in the warning dialog, you should also perform the following: Select File >Settings and click the Project tab. Click General Settings and select “Enable Bin Sharing on
3rd party storage emulating Avid NEXIS/ISIS.”

Bug Number: MCCET-4710. (Windows)(MediaCentral | Production Management) “Exception:
Structured Exception” error appears when starting Media Composer and "Connecting toMediaIndexer" status is displayed on splash screen.
Workaround: Restart Media Composer.

➤

Bug Number: MCDEV-15413. In some instances, clips that will link and play cannot be madeinto a proxy if it includes a broken data track.

➤

Bug Number: MCDEV-16119. (Avid Artist DNxIQ) When trying to capture audio, you might
receive an “Audio/video is unexpectedly no longer coming into the system” exception error. Notethat this only happens the first time, subsequent audio captures are successful.
Workaround: Perform a capture with video first and then turn video off for the subsequentcaptures.

➤

Bug Number: MCDEV-15829. If you perform a clean install of Windows 11, Media Composer
does not see the RED plug-in. This does not occur if you perform an upgrade from Windows 10
to Windows 11.

➤

Bug Number: MCDEV-15843. (Windows 11) In some instances, you cannot drag and dropfrom the File Explorer to a bin.
Workaround: Use the Media Composer Source Browser to import or link your media.

➤

Bug Number: MCDEV-14845. Avid Media Composer | Enterprise Admin Tool does not restrict
NDI when Media Composer is in software only mode.

➤

Bug Number: MCCET-3702. Image Quality issues when adding UHD progressive clips to an
HD interlace sequence:

11

Limitations

The process Media Composer uses to mix and match video formats in a sequence is to transformthe source clip's frame rate and frame layout to meet the project specifications; the motion
adapters are added first, then spatial adapters are applied in order to provide expected playback
dimensions.
For example, if you have a UHD 50p clip that you want to add to a 1080i Timeline, the UHD clip
first gets split into 2 separate fields (UHD format), then each field gets independently resized to
1920x540 in HD. The export process puts those resized fields back together into a progressive
HD frame but does not maintain the clarity of the original progressive frame.
Workaround: If you first transcode the UHD progressive clip to HD progressive and then add
the HD clip to the interlace sequence, it forces the resize operation from UHD to HD to be done
before the split gets into interlace mode.

➤

Bug Number: MCCET-3788. You might receive a “clip name is a clip in a multi-essence filethat cannot be exported using the specified Embedded in AAF setting” when exporting
embedded AAFs with OP1a audio clips.
Workaround: Consolidate the OP1a clips to Avid OP-Atom prior to performing the export.

➤

Bug Number: MCDEV-12988. (macOS) The AMA Drastic plug-in is not supported with Media
Composer v2020.4➤

Bug Number: MCDEV-12735. Maestro graphics do not appear correctly in the Timeline if yoursystem uses the Radeon video card.

➤

Bug Number: MCDEV-11481. Promoting a title from the Title Tool application to Avid Titler+
cannot be performed if it includes a motion adapter.

➤

Bug Number: MCDEV-11796. DPX files larger than 10bit might fail to link correctly.
Workaround: Go to File > Settings and click the User tab. In the Link Settings, click the Link
Options tab and make sure Alpha Channel is set to Ignore.

➤

Bug Number: MCDEV-14376. Media Tool ignores the “Current project” filtering option andlists MXF OP1a media files that are not associated with the current project.

➤

Bug Number: MCDEV-8641. (AMD Graphics). Systems with AMD graphics cards might
display tearing when performing Full Screen playback.

➤

Bug Number: MCDEV-9269. (Media Composer | Cloud) After performing a remote download
operation on a sequence containing AVC-I 100 remote media, the downloaded media appears as
XAVC-I 100.

12

Before Installing the Editing Application

Workaround: Download the entire master clips.

➤

Bug Number: (macOS). You may occasionally see the menu bar flash followed by a brief
beach ball. To fix this, deactivate “Displays have separate spaces” under System Preferences >Mission Control settings.

➤

Bug Number: MCDEV-9011. Intermittently, when working with the XDCAM Nablet Plug-in,
you might see “Failed to get the sample position from the AMA Plug-in” errors if you havewaveforms enabled in the Timeline.

➤

Bug Number: COGS-2560. While working in the Script Window, text operations(cut/copy/paste/delete/editing) can only be done in edit mode. See “Editing a Script” in the Help.

➤

Bug Number: MCDEV-5385. MultiCam editing with Panasonic LongG media is not supportedwith this release.

Before Installing the Editing Application(Windows) Overwriting During the Install Process

If you are upgrading from version v2020.12.x or later, you can choose to perform an overwrite
during the install process. For versions prior to that, you must perform a manual uninstall first.
Media Composer | Enterprise and Media Composer | Distributed Processing

If you are working with Media Composer | Enterprise or Media Composer | Distributed
Processing, please refer to the “Installation Prerequisites” section in the Media Composer |Enterprise Administration Guide and Media Composer | Distributed Processing Administration
Guide to make sure you have compatible Avid MediaCentral Cloud UX Platform ISO and Avid
MediaCentral Cloud UX Feature Pack ISO versions.
Avid DX Driver Separate Installer

The Avid DX Driver is not automatically installed when you install the editing application. If
you need to install the Avid DX Driver to work with your Avid IO device, you can install it
separately.
The installer is located:•(macOS) /Applications/Utilities/Avid Utilities•(Windows) Program Files\Avid\Utilities\DXDrivers

13

Before Installing the Editing Application

Before Installing the Editing Application in a MediaCentral | Production Management
Environment

Carefully read through the “Avid Editor Compatibility Matrix” guide (found using the followinglink) before upgrading. It might be necessary to also upgrade the MediaCentral Production
Management components on the editing client.
http://avid.force.com/pkb/articles/en_US/compatibility/Avid-Video-Compatibility-Charts
Buffer Error Message

The editing application requires a minimum of 8GB RAM. If you try to install the editing
application on a system with less than 8GB RAM, you will receive a buffer error and installation
will not proceed.
Download Note

To avoid “File Path too long” or a “File cannot be copied” warning while unzipping thedownloaded installer, try placing the installer .zip on the root level of your C:\ drive and unzip itfrom that location.
User Right to Raise Thread Priority(Windows) Note for Domain Administrators: If your editing systems are part of a domain, youmust give the user the right to “Increase Scheduling Priority.” This must be done within the
Domain Group Policy on the domain controller by giving the right explicitly to the user or giving
the right to a group and adding the user to that group. You will not be able to launch as a regularuser if this is not set properly.
If you are part of a domain, a Domain Administrator should install and perform the first launchof the editing application.
Install as Administrator

You need to first install and launch the editing application as an Administrator. If you are in a
Shared Storage environment, mount your workspaces as an Administrator. You may then log off
and log back in as a Standard user, if necessary.

14

After Installing the Editing Application

After Installing the Editing Application
AMA Plug-Ins

You cannot install the AMA Plug-ins while the editing application background services are
running. Make sure you Stop the services before installing the AMA Plug-Ins. The stop/startbackground services icon is on the menu bar (macOS) or taskbar (Windows). Once you install
the new AMA plug-in, restart the services. See “Starting and Stopping Avid Background
Services” in the Help.

Notes on Software Licensing
If You Upgrade Your Operating System
If you need to upgrade your operating system after you install your Avid editing application, first
deactivate your software. After you upgrade your operating system and, if required, reinstallyour application, you can reactivate your software. For information on activating anddeactivating your software license, see the Installation Guide for Avid Editing Applications.

Minimum RAM Recommendation
For this release Avid recommends 16 GB minimum, 32 GB recommended. Some features might
require more RAM and specific hardware. See “Feature Performance” on page 16 for more info.

Qualified Hardware and Operating Systems
Some features are processor-intensive and require specific hardware. See “Feature Performance”
on page 16 for more info.
For 3rd-Party Open IO hardware qualification refer to the manufacturer’s documentation. See theOpen IO Frequently Asked Questions document on the Knowledge Base:
http://avid.force.com/pkb/articles/en_US/faq/en422991
The following lists the qualified Operating Systems. Depending upon your hardware thequalified Operating Systems are:•

Windows 10 64-bit 21H1or later (Professional and Enterprise)•

Windows 11 64-bit 21H2 or later (Professional and Enterprise)•macOS 10.15.7, 11.x to 11.6.7, 12.x to 12.5.1

15

Feature Performancen macOS 10.14.6 Mojave is not supported with Media Composer 22.4 and later releases.
n Avid has not qualified macOS 12.x with the CrowdStrike anti-virus application.
the release of macOS 10.13.x and higher, Apple requires manual approval of loadingn WithKernel Extensions (KEXTs). (For example BlackMagic, and AJA IO devices install Kernel
Extensions.) At installation time, you should get a dialog saying that the KEXT was not loaded.
You must go the “Security & Privacy” system preference and manually approve the KEXT. Keep
the Security & Privacy pane open after you install the I/O device drivers so that you will see thenotice that the driver has been blocked and press the “allow” button within 30 minutes of
installing or the driver will be permanently blocked.

Qualified Workstations and Laptops
For a list of qualified Windows and macOS systems, go to the following page: Avid qualified
systems. Select either the Windows or macOS CPU Specifications pdf.

Feature Performance
A number of features in this editing application are processor-intensive. As a result, you mightexperience problems if you are working on an older system. The following chart shows the
hardware that Avid has successfully qualified when using these features. For a list of thequalified systems, see Qualified Workstations and Laptops.
FeatureDescription

Recommended System

16K projects

96GB RAM minimum

48 Core Intel CPU systems with Nvidia
RTX graphics

Editing High Resolution, 64 GB RAM minimum, 96 GB
High Frame Rate XAVC-I recommended
Media (UHD/4k in
59.94p)4 streams of media andcolor adapters

HP Z8, Z6,
Lenovo P920, P720, P620 systems
Dell 7920, Dell 7820•

Dual gold 6254 3.1 Ghz turbo to 4.0
Ghz 18-core (72 with HT)•

Dual Xeon Gold 6154 3.0 Ghz, turbo
up to 3.7 Ghz 18-core (72 cores with
Hyperthreading)•

AMD WX-7100•

Nvidia RTX 5000, RTX 6000, AMD
WX9100Storage: 10Gb Ethernet Avid NEXIS

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Feature Performance

FeatureDescription

Recommended System

1080p/50 XAVC Long
Baseband Capture

16 GB RAM minimum

Qualified PC Dual 6 Core or higher
Qualified Mac Pro 6 core or higher, 12core with Hyperthreading

Editing High Resolution, 32GB Min, 64 GB recommended
High Frame Rate DNxHRMedia (UHD/4k in
59.94p)HP Z8, Z6,
Lenovo P920, P720, P620 systems
HP Z840
HP Z640/Z620
Dell 7920/7910
Dell 7820/7810
Lenovo P910/P900/
Lenovo P710/P700•

NVIDIA RTX 5000, 6000, AMD
WX9100•NVIDIA P5000, M5000 or K5200
and AMD WX-7100
PCIe Gen3 Gfx card (recommended)

Mac Pro•12 core (24 with Hyperthreading)
3 GHz

•

Dual AMD FirePro 500/700 Graphics
card

Storage: 10Gb Ethernet Avid NEXIS
Editing High Resolution 16 GB RAM minimum
Media (Higher than 2K+)

Qualified PC Dual 6 Core or higher
Qualified Mac Pro 6 core or higher, 12core with Hyperthreading

DMF and Background
Transcode, Background
Render32 GB RAM recommended

Media Composer | Cloud

16 GB RAM minimum. 24 GB or i7 Quad core or higher withhigher recommended depending Hyperthreading
upon system model.

Qualified PC Dual 6 Core or higher
Qualified Mac Pro 6 core or higher, 12core with Hyperthreading

J2K Capture

Qualified PC Dual 6 Core or higher
Qualified Mac Pro 6 core or higher, 12core with Hyperthreading17

Feature Performance

FeatureDescription

Recommended System

XDCAM Long GOP
9-way MultiCam withhigh stream countsequences

Avid recommends 16 GB RAM

Qualified PC Dual 6 Core or higher
Qualified Mac Pro 6 core or higher, 12core with Hyperthreading
Storage: 2 x 1 Gb Ethernet or higher Avid
NEXIS

Stereoscopic 3D

For optimal performance with
Qualified PC Dual 6 Core or higher
Stereoscopic 3D, use these higher
Qualified Mac Pro 6 core or higher, 12
performance systems. Avid
core with Hyperthreading
recommends a minimum of 16GB
RAM when using Stereoscopic
3D.

XDCAM HD50 Capture
HD RGB 4444
Apple ProRes 4444
DNxHD 4444

Qualified systems
HD RGB capture requires a highend workstation.

Qualified PC Dual 6 Core or higher
Qualified Mac Pro 6 core or higher, 12core with Hyperthreading
Storage: 10Gb Ethernet Avid NEXISAMA (QuickTime)

AMA is a processor intensive
operation. Lower end platforms
may not offer optimum
performance. Highly compressed
codecs such as H.264 will exhibit
minimal real-time performance.

Recommendation of qualified systems
depends on your planned use of thisfeature. Heavy usage of highly
compressed codecs requires the high end
systems. (Dual 6 Core or Dual 8 Coresystems)

AMA (RED)AMA is a processor intensive
operation. Older platforms may
not offer optimum performance.
you will get better performancewith higher end workstations.

Qualified Xeon Workstations

AVCI-Intra Capture

NOTE: RED plug-in uses the Graphics
Processor. Better performance with highperformance graphics cards.

AVC-Intra capture with software 24 core and higher Windows systems
codecs is supported.
only.

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Avid Artist I/O Device Compatibility

FeatureDescription

Recommended System

AVCI-Intra

AVC-Intra(AVC-I) is a highquality, low bit-rate HD codec
and is very CPU intensive.

4-Way MultiCam Playback
Dual Quad Core, Dual 6 Core or Dual 8Core Systems
Four Stream Playback:
Dual Quad Core, Dual 6 Core or Dual 8Core Systems
AMA Workflows: Dual Quad, Dual 6 orDual 8 core systems

Avid Artist I/O Device Compatibility
The following table shows the minimum version Media Composer supported with the Avid
Artist I/O devices.
You must download the appropriate Avid Artist software from your Avid Master Account.

DeviceMinimum supported version Media
ComposerAvid Artist | DNxIOMedia Composer v8.4.1 and higher

Avid Artist | DNxIQMedia Composerv8.8.3 and higher

Avid Artist | DNxIVMedia Composer v8.10 and higher

Avid Artist | DNxIPMedia Composer v2018.8

Avid Artist | DNxIDMedia Composer v2018.9

Compatibility Chart
The following table lists the NVIDIA® driver, QuickTime®, Windows Media™, shared storage,Sony® XDCAM™, Panasonic® P2, and Avid Artist Series versions that were qualified with theAvid editing applications. You can also refer to Documentation and version matrix.

19Compatibility Chart

IMPORTANT: For information on third party support (for example, Sorenson, Boris,etc) see the third party’s web site.
Item

Versions

Comments

QuickTime Support

v7.7.9 (Windows)
v10.x, (v7.x legacy) (macOS)

Note: QuickTime v10X does not include
QuickTime Pro options.
Note: QuickTime is not supported with
Windows 10.
https://avid.secure.force.com/pkb/articles/en_US/How_To/QuickTime-Support-an
d-Security-on-Windows

Avid Interplay
SupportSee Knowledge Base article oncompatibility.

IMPORTANT: The Avid Interplay
components that get installed on theediting application must be updated to
the Avid Interplay version that is released
with the editing application. These
include the Media Indexer, Interplay
Access, Interplay Framework, Interplay
Transfer Client and ProEncode Client.
The Avid Interplay Server components
can remain on the previous releases listed
as supported. For details, see the “Avid
Editing Application Compatibility with
Interplay Releases” doc on the
Knowledge Base.

NVIDIA Driver
Supportv472.98

See “Setting up the NVIDIA Card” onpage 21.
For setting up the driver for stereoscopic,
see the NVIDIA setup info in the
Stereoscopic 3D Workflow Guide.
This version supports NVIDIA vGPU
Software 13.2 for Virtual Machines. For
more information visit Nvidia.com.

Shared Storage
SupportAvid NEXIS and Avid ISIS®.

Sony XDCAM driver v2.13 (XDCAM Transfer formacOS)

See “Shared Storage Support” onpage 22.

The VFAM firmware version for
PDW-U1 is 2.600.
The PDW-U2 is 2.810.
Windows FAM v2.3.2 and VFAM
The driver can be downloaded fromv5.0.2Sony's website http://esupport.sony.com/.

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Media Composer Compatibility with Audio Devices

Item

Versions

Comments

Panasonic P2 drive(macOS) v3.1.7

There is currently no P2 writeback
support for macOS clients.

(Windows) v2.24
Avid Artist Series(Euphonix)

EuControl software v3.4

See the User’s Guide for information on
Artist Series Color setup information.

Media Composer Compatibility with Audio Devices
For details on compatible audio hardware and software:
Audio Hardware and Software

Refer To

Control Surfaces

Supported Control Surfaces

Avid Artist I/O

Supported Avid Artist I/O Devices

Media Composer and ProTools Co-install

Co-install information for Media Composer and
ProTools

Setting up the NVIDIA Card
To set up the NVIDIA card, you must make sure you have the correct display driver version(install the display driver if necessary, and set the correct display settings. See the “Compatibility
Chart” on page 19 for information on the supported driver(s).
Prior to setting up the NVIDIA card, check to make sure you have the correct display driver
version. If you do not have the correct NVIDIA driver, you can install it from the Nvidia website- Nvidia.com.
To check the NVIDIA display driver version:

1. Right-click the Desktop and select NVIDIA Control Panel. You can also open the Windows
Control Panel and double-click the NVIDIA Control Panel icon.
2. Click System Information at the bottom left corner of the NVIDIA Control Panel.
The version number is listed in the Graphics card information section on the ForceWare
version line.

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Shared Storage Support

To install the NVIDIA display driver:

1. Download the applicable Nvidia driver from the Nvidia website - Nvidia.com.
2. Double-click the file for the applicable driver.
3. Follow the on-screen instructions, and then restart your system.
To setup multiple displays:

1. Right-click the Desktop, and select Nvidia Control Panel.
2. In the settings window in the left of the window, click Set up multiple displays.
3. Select or deselect the desired monitors listed.
To set the Driver for Avid Editing Environments

1. Right-click the Desktop, and select Nvidia Control Panel.
2. Select the Desktop menu selection in the Control Panel menu bar.
3. Enable Desktop > Video Editing Mode.
4. Click Manage 3D Settings.
5. Click the Global Setting tab.
6. Under Global presets, select Base Profile.
7. Scroll to locate the Power Management Mode. Select Prefer maximum performance.
8. Click Apply.
Reboot after installing the Nvidia software even if you are not prompted to do so.
Never use the Windows “roll back driver” feature on the Nvidia driver. The driver version mustmatch the rest of the components the Nvidia installer installs.

Shared Storage Support
For information on Shared Storage Support, see the Avid NEXIS and Avid ISIS tables in thefollowing document:
http://resources.avid.com/SupportFiles/Attachments/MediaCentral_Compatibility_Matrix.pdf

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Shared Storage Support

Legal Notices
Product specifications are subject to change without notice and do not represent a commitment on the part of Avid Technology, Inc.
This product is subject to the terms and conditions of a software license agreement provided with the software. The product may
only be used in accordance with the license agreement.
This product may be protected by one or more U.S. and non-U.S patents. Details are available at www.avid.com/patents.
No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying and recording, for any purpose without the express written permission of Avid Technology, Inc.
Copyright © 2021 Avid Technology, Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved.
Portions © Copyright 2003-2007 of MOG Solutions.

Attn. Government User(s). Restricted Rights Legend
U.S. GOVERNMENT RESTRICTED RIGHTS. This Software and its documentation are “commercial computer software” or“commercial computer software documentation.” In the event that such Software or documentation is acquired by or on behalf of aunit or agency of the U.S. Government, all rights with respect to this Software and documentation are subject to the terms of theLicense Agreement, pursuant to FAR §12.212(a) and/or DFARS §227.7202-1(a), as applicable.

Trademarks
Avid, the Avid Logo, Avid Everywhere, Avid DNXHD, Avid DNXHR, Avid Nexis, AirSpeed, Eleven, EUCON, Interplay, iNEWS, ISIS,
Mbox, MediaCentral, Media Composer, NewsCutter, Pro Tools, ProSet and RealSet, Maestro, PlayMaker, Sibelius, Symphony, andall related product names and logos, are registered or unregistered trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. 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. For a full list of Avid trademarks, see:
http://www.avid.com/US/about-avid/legal-notices/trademarks.
Adobe and Photoshop are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or
other countries. Apple and Macintosh are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Windows
is either a registered trademark or trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All othertrademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.

Avid Media Composer ReadMe • Created 3/29/23

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