Is Avid Xpress DV (now selling for only $300) still effective technology? For weddings and occasional commercial and corporate work in DV25 format, is Avid Xpress DV 4 a good way to become an "Avid editor"? (I want to work in a post-production studio, and most employers in my area want people with experience in Avid, Final Cut Pro, or both.)

In terms of bang for the buck, Avid Liquid 7 seems to offer far more bells and whistles for under $500. Its disadvantage, however, is its proprietary interface. It seems to be a very different animal than most NLE software interfaces.

If I ever need to edit HD, HDV, or other formats, then Liquid 7 may make sense instead of shelling out $999 to upgrade from Xpress DV 4 to Xpress Pro HD.

Tim,

At the price points, Liquid is a more 'complete' system. Meaning it has an integrated workflow with all of it's elements. It is, as you noted, not the industry standard Avid interface.

Avid Xress is still effective technology, yes. It's exactly the same as XpressPro, with fewer bells and whistles. Learning Xpress will teach you the basic Avid Interface. But you can get a peek at it for free with Avid Free DV. It's only a two track solution, sort of Avid's version of Moviemaker. But you can get an idea of how to import, and lay down a timeline, simple cuts and such.

I cut on Xpress Pro.

As far as unique, every editor has a unique approach. The advantage of the Avid legacy versions is that the interface translates up. But, a good editor is a good editor and changing interfaces is just a temporary work slowdown. There are some that do not understand that (and will ask FCP or Avid or Premiere ONLY when they do).

I am happy with Liquid. It is easy to use. It can require an update computer if you want HD workflows, but SD can work on something created in the last 3 years. AL7 needs a service pack to be complete, but Avid has focused on it and we should see it by the end of Feb.

I live in Europe, so do not take my words as 'the bible' because in the USA it can be different.
Here in Europe if you want to become a 'pro' Avid is a must. Almost everything in the 'pro' arena is edited with some flavor of Avid. Besides all the Avid products works in a similar way, so it is easy to move up to more powerful products like 'Media Composer' or others.
However I agree with the above posts. Liquid is more complete, and has a better workflow than Xpress.
So, you have a difficult choice.
What about myself? I edit in Avid Xpress Pro.

Well, I may not have a choice after all. I plan to enroll in a masters degree program in Media Arts & Science at Indiana University next year (after knocking out some prereqs and putting together a portfolio this year). The applications they teach (and probably sell to students at ultra-low academic prices) are all Adobe. The 3D courses employ Maya and 3ds Max. So I'm going to hold off on buying any kind of Avid product unless I need to learn it for my day job.

Thanks to everyone for their opinions!

Tim,
Maya is a strong skill set, very valuable in compositing and CGI industry, be sure to get as much training as possible.

The ADOBE suite is a good industry wide set of apps. Photoshop and of course After Effects are widely used by lots of people with various NLE's.

And don't forget student discounts are very generous for the AVID bundle if you still want to learn it.

Good luck in school.

Thanks, Richard.

I start my Photoshop class in May. I'm looking at a possible promotion at work that would qualify me for 100 percent tuition reimbursement. Talk about the best of both worlds!

Fingers crossed....

TJB