Editing Avid Technology

{{Short description|American multimedia technology company}}
{{About|the technology and [[multimedia]] company|the educational program|Advancement Via Individual Determination|other uses|AVID (disambiguation)}}
{{Paid contributions|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Avid Technology, Inc.
| logo = Pure Purple AVID Logo.svg
| type = [[Privately held company|Private]]
| founder = Bill Warner
| key_people = Wellford Dillard ([[Chief executive officer|CEO]])
| industry = [[Computer software]], Technology, [[Multimedia]]
| products = [[Pro Tools]], [[Media Composer]], [[Sibelius (scorewriter)|Sibelius]], Avid Play [[Venue (sound system)|Avid VENUE]], Avid NEXIS, MediaCentral, FastServe, [[MBOX Studio]], Pro Tools Carbon, Pro Tools MTRX, Airspeed, Avid Maestro Graphics.
| revenue = {{increase}} US$417 million (2022)
| operating_income = {{increase}} US$53.9 million (2022)
| net_income = {{increase}} US$55.2 million (2022)
| assets = {{increase}} US$287 million (2022)
| owner = [[Symphony Technology Group]]
| subsid = 
| website = {{URL|https://www.avid.com/}}
| foundation = {{start date and age|1987|08}}
| location = [[Burlington, Massachusetts]], United States
| footnotes = <ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/896841/000089684123000019/avid-20221231.htm |title=Avid Technology, Inc. 2022 Annual Report (Form 10-K) |date=March 1, 2023 |publisher=U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission}}</ref>
}}

'''Avid Technology, Inc.''' is a global technology company headquartered in [[Burlington, Massachusetts]], and was founded in August 1987 by Bill Warner. It develops software, SaaS, and hardware products used in media and entertainment. 

==History==
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 [[Georges Méliès|Melies]] played with time and sequences in the early 1900s".<ref>Russell Evans, Practical DV Filmmaking, Focal Press, 2005 {{ISBN|0-240-80738-3}}, {{ISBN|978-0-240-80738-6}} page 13</ref> 

By the early 1990s, Avid products began to replace such tools as the [[Moviola]], [[Steenbeck]], and KEM flatbed editors, allowing [[Film editor|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 [[Edit decision list|EDL]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Kennedy|first1=Ashley|title=Fun Facts and Dates in Digital Editing 'Firsts'|date=10 December 2011|url=https://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/fun-facts-and-dates-in-digital-editing-firsts/|access-date=27 April 2017}}</ref> 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 (film)|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 Awards|Academy Award]] for editing ''[[The English Patient (film)|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]]).<ref>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
</ref>
[[File:Avid logo.svg|thumb|Avid logo, 1999-2008]]
In 1994 Avid introduced [[Open Media Framework Interchange|Open Media Framework]] (OMF) as an open standard file format for sharing media and related metadata.

Over the years, Avid has released numerous freeware versions of Media Composer. Initially this included [[Avid Free DV]]: a free edition of Media Composer with limited functionality; Avid Xpress DV: a consumer edition of Media Composer; and then Avid [[Xpress Pro]]: a prosumer edition of [[Media Composer]]. These editions were discontinued in 2008 as the flagship Media Composer was lowered in price. Later, Avid released Media Composer | First, which included a large portion of Media Composer's functionality but its exporting workflows publishing finished videos directly to web services like YouTube. 

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.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Avid+Technology+Announces+Revaluation+of+Acquisition+Charges%3B+First...-a054243535| title=Avid Technology Announces Revaluation of Acquisition Charges}}</ref>

In February 2018, Avid appointed Jeff Rosica as CEO, after terminating Louis Hernandez Jr, who was accused of workplace misconduct.<ref>{{cite news |title=Avid Technology Announces Appointment of Jeff Rosica as Chief Executive Officer and Termination of Louis Hernandez, Jr. |url=https://www.avid.com/press-room/2018/02/jeff-rosica-appointed-ceo |access-date=19 October 2019 |work=Avid |date=26 February 2018}}</ref>

In November 2023, Avid Technology was acquired by an affiliate of [[Symphony Technology Group|STG]] for $1.4 billion.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Giardina |first=Carolyn |date=November 7, 2023 |title=Private Equity Firm STG Completes Acquisition of Avid for $1.4B |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/stg-completes-avid-acquisition-1235638903/ |work=The Hollywood Reporter}}</ref> This process delisted Avid from the public stock exchange, making it private. 

In April 2024, Avid appointed Wellford Dillard as CEO, succeeding Jeff Rosica.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Giardina |first=Carolyn |date=2024-04-02 |title=Avid Names Wellford Dillard as CEO |url=https://variety.com/2024/artisans/news/avid-ceo-wellford-dillard-1235958156/ |access-date=2025-05-22 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Products ==
* [[Media Composer]]
* [[Pro Tools]]
* [[Sibelius (scorewriter)|Sibelius]]

== Awards ==
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.<ref>[http://www.uml.edu/it/newsletter/content/print_1_210811_210811.html Steve Hall Charged With Ensuring Reliable, Consistent IT Service] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130131063836/http://www.uml.edu/it/newsletter/content/print_1_210811_210811.html |date=2013-01-31 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/curiosity/topics/william-warner.htm Curiosity Expert: William J. Warner]</ref>

1999: At the 71st Academy Awards, Avid Technology Inc. was awarded an [[Academy Awards|Oscar]] for the concept, system design and engineering of the Avid Film Composer for motion picture editing which was accepted by founder Bill Warner.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/ampas_awards/DisplayMain.jsp?curTime=1400952638216 |title=Oscars Awards Database |access-date=2014-05-25 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140525081821/http://awardsdatabase.oscars.org/ampas_awards/DisplayMain.jsp?curTime=1400952638216 |archive-date=2014-05-25 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== Acquisitions ==
{| class="wikitable"
|- style="text-align:left"
! Acquired
!  Company
! Details
!Sold
|-
! rowspan="2" |1993
|[[EditDroid]]
|A computerized analog [[non-linear editing]] (NLE) system which was developed by [[Lucasfilm]] spin-off company.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-06-28 |title=Lucasfilm: Inside Lucasfilm {{!}} Company History |url=http://www.lucasfilm.com/inside/history/ |access-date=2022-06-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120628080154/http://www.lucasfilm.com/inside/history/ |archive-date=2012-06-28 }}</ref>
|
|-
| DiVA Corporation
| developer of Videoshop, Quicktime-based home video editing software
|
|-
! rowspan="3" | 1994
| [[Digidesign]]
| developer of [[Pro Tools]], digital audio workstation, and [[Venue (sound system)|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{{Clarify|reason=|date=December 2019}}
|
|-
! rowspan="2" | 1995
| Elastic Reality, Inc.
| developer of [[Avid Elastic Reality|Elastic Reality]], morphing software
|
|-
| Parallax Software
| developer of [[Avid Matador|Matador]], [[Avid Media Illusion|Illusion]] and Jester, ink-and-paint software
|
|-
! rowspan="2" | 1998
|[[Softimage (company)|Softimage]]
| developer of [[Softimage 3D|Softimage{{!}}3D]], 3D graphics software (previously subsidiary of [[Microsoft]])
|2008 (to [[Autodesk]])
|-
| NewStar
| strategic alliance Avstar with [[Grass Valley (company)|Grass Valley]]—then owners of [[Lightworks]]{{Clarify|reason=|date=December 2019}}
|
|-
! rowspan="2" | 2000
| Motion Factory
| developer of interactive 3D software for games and the Web<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.awn.com/news/avid-acquires-3d-software-company-motion-factory|title=Avid Acquires 3D Software Company Motion Factory|website=Animation World Network|language=en|access-date=2019-12-17}}</ref>
|
|-
| Pluto Technology
| [[Direct to disk recording|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<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cerithomas.com/blog/2010/2/24/digidelivery-the-demise-of-a-great-product.html|title=Digidelivery – The demise of a great product|website=Ceri Thomas|date=24 February 2010 |language=en-US|access-date=2019-12-17}}</ref>
|2007 (to [[Aspera (company)|Aspera]])
|-
! rowspan="3" | 2004
| NXN
|[[Media asset management|Media Asset Management]] software components
|
|-
|[[Bomb Factory Studio|Bomb Factory]]
| audio plug-ins developer 
|
|-
| [[M-Audio]]
| audio interfaces and equipment manufacturer
|2012 (to [[InMusic Brands|inMusic]])
|-
! rowspan="2" | 2005
|[[Pinnacle Systems, Inc.|Pinnacle Systems]]
|[[digital video]] hardware and software manufacturer
|2012 (to [[Corel]])
|-
| Wizoo
| virtual instrument, plug-in effect and sample library designer;<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.soundonsound.com/news/digidesign-buy-wizoo|title=Digidesign buy Wizoo|website=www.soundonsound.com|access-date=2019-12-17}}</ref> developed AIR (Advanced Instrument Research), series of plug-ins and virtual instruments subsequently included in [[Pro Tools]]
|2012 (to inMusic)
|-
! rowspan="4" | 2006
| Medéa Corporation
| high-speed [[RAID]] storage manufacturer
|
|-
| Sundance Digital
| broadcast automation software
|
|-
|[[Sibelius Software]]
| developer of [[Sibelius (scorewriter)|Sibelius]], notation software
|
|-
| Maximum Throughput<ref>{{Cite web |title=Avid Acquires Maximum Throughput {{!}} Mergr M&A Deal Summary |url=https://mergr.com/transaction/avid-technology-acquires-maximum-throughput |access-date=2024-10-31 |website=mergr.com}}</ref>
| developer of MAXedit, visual effects editing software<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fxguide.com/quicktakes/more-transitions-avid-acquired-max-t/|title=More transitions – Avid acquired Max-T|last1=September 23|first1=Alex Udell|last2=Pm|first2=2009 at 6:06|date=2009-09-08|website=fxguide|language=en-US|access-date=2019-12-17}}</ref>
|
|-
! rowspan="2" | 2010
| Blue Order Solutions AG<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kerschbaumer |first=Ken |date=2010-03-12 |title=Avid Acquires Blue Order, Ties Media Asset Management to Production Workflows |url=https://www.sportsvideo.org/2010/03/12/avid-acquires-blue-order-ties-media-asset-management-to-production-workflows/ |access-date=2024-10-31 |website=Sports Video Group |language=en}}</ref>
|[[Media asset management]] software
|
|-
|[[Euphonix]]<ref>{{Cite web |author1=TVTechnology |date=2010-04-22 |title=Avid Acquires Euphonix |url=https://www.tvtechnology.com/news/avid-acquires-euphonix |access-date=2024-10-31 |website=TVTechnology |language=en}}</ref>
| 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<ref>{{Cite web|title=Avid Acquires Rocket Network's Assets|url=https://www.mixonline.com/recording/avid-acquires-rocket-networks-assets-375474|date=2003-04-10|website=Mixonline|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-14}}</ref>
|
|-
! 2015
| Orad Systems
| developer of 3D real-time graphics and video servers products, then integrated into the MediaCentral Platform<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.avid.com/press-room/2015/06/orad-hi-tec-systems|title=Avid Completes Acquisition of Orad Hi-Tec Systems|website=www.avid.com|access-date=2019-12-17}}</ref> 
|
|-
!2024
|Wolftech
|provider of story-centric workflow management solutions to large broadcasters, enhancing collaboration and efficiency in news gathering & story creation
|
|}

==See also==
*[[List of music software]]
*[[List of video editing software]]
*[[List of scorewriters]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.avid.com/ Official website] 
{{Finance links historical
| name = Avid Technology
| symbol = AVID
| reuters = AVID.O
| bloomberg = AVID:US
| sec_cik = 896841
| yahoo = AVID
| google = AVID:NASDAQ
}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1987 establishments in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Companies based in Burlington, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Companies formerly listed on the Nasdaq]]
[[Category:Electronics companies established in 1987]]
[[Category:American companies established in 1987]]
[[Category:Audio equipment manufacturers of the United States]]
[[Category:Manufacturing companies based in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Software companies based in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Software companies established in 1987]]
[[Category:Manufacturers of professional audio equipment]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Scientific and Technical Academy Award of Merit]]
[[Category:1993 initial public offerings]]
[[Category:2023 mergers and acquisitions]]
[[Category:Software companies of the United States]]
[[Category:YouTube channels launched in 2005]]
[[Category:Audio software companies]]