Media Composer 6.0.4 or 6.5.3, Symphony 6.0.4 or 6.5.3, or NewsCutter 10.0.4 or 10.5.3 have been updated to allow Media Composer 7.0 and NewsCutter 11.0 licenses to activate the software. For Windows based systems, you must use the Full installer. The Update Patch installer for Windows does not include this change. All Mac installers are Full installers and include this feature. This software can be obtained on the Video Download Center.

The chart below explains what earlier versions of Media Composer, Symphony and NewsCutter can run with a new Media Composer 7.0, Symphony Option, and NewsCutter 11.0 license (dongle or software).

* Customers who wish to run Symphony v5.5 or earlier will need to use a Symphony v5.5 dongle license, or a version-specific Symphony software license (e.g. to run Symphony v5.5, a v5.5 software license is needed.)
**NewsCutter 11.0 includes Interplay connectivity by default.

Software Licensing

· Downgrades:

Media Composer and NewsCutter

1. If you have activated Media Composer 7.0 or NewsCutter 11.0, uninstall the editing applicaiton without deactivating.
2. Install either Media Composer 6.0.4/6.5.3 or NewsCutter 10.0.4/10.5.3 using the Full installer and the software will already be activated to run.

Symphony

1. If you have activated Media Composer 7.0 and the Symphony Option, uninstall Media Composer 7.0 without deactivating.
2. Install Symphony 6.5.3 or 6.0.4 using the Full installer and the software will already be activated to run.

· New Installations:

• If you have not activated Media Composer 7.0 or NewsCutter 11.0 you can use the Activation IDs provided with your v7.0/11.0 purchase to activate v6.0.4/6.5.3 or v10.0.4/10.5.3.
• If you purchased the Symphony Option you can enter your Media Composer 7.0 System ID and Symphony Option Activation ID to activate and run Symphony 6.0.4/6.5.3

· Downgrades:

Media Composer and NewsCutter

1. If you have upgraded your VLS to Media Composer 7.0 or NewsCutter 11.0, uninstall the client software without deactivating.
2. Install either Media Composer 6.0.4/6.5.3 or NewsCutter 10.0.4/10.5.3 using the Full installer, and the software will be already activated to run.

1. If you have activated Media Composer 7.0 and the Symphony Option on yor VLS, uninstall Media Composer 7.0 on all of the client systems.
2. Install Symphony 6.5.3 or 6.0.4 on the clients using the Full installer and the software will be already activated to run.

• Media Composer 6.0.4/6.5.3 or NewsCutter 10.0.4/10.5.3 clients will activate if there are available seats of Media Composer 7.0 or NewsCutter 11.0 on the VLS.
• Symphony 6.5.3 or 6.0.4 will activate if there are seats of the Symphony Option available.

• A dongle licensed with a Media Composer 7.0 will run full installers of Media Composer 7.0, 6.5.3, 6.0.4 and 5.5 and prior
• A dongle licensed with a Media Composer 7.0: Interplay Edition will run full installers of Media Composer 7.0, 6.5.3, 6.0.4
  • Media Composer 5.5 and previous will not be able to be licensed with a Media Composer 7.0 Interplay Edition dongle.
• A dongle licensed with a Media Composer 7.0 with Symphony Option will only run full installers of Symphony 6.0.4 and 6.5.3.
  • Symphony 5.5 and previous will not be able to be licensed with a dongle blessed for the Symphony Option.
• A dongle licensed with a NewsCutter 11.0 will run full installers of NewsCutter 11.0, 10.5.3, 10.0.4 and 9.5 and prior

A failure to launch issue has been reported with Pro Tools 11 after simultaneously running Final Cut Pro X and Pro Tools 11 with the Video Engine enabled. The first time this circumstance is met Pro Tools and Final Cut Pro X will operate together normally.   However, the next time Pro Tools is launched the application will hang at Initializing Audio Engine.  This launch failure will persist until Pro Tools is deleted and a Pro Tools bootcache file is removed from the system.

Locating the Pro Tools bootcache file:

In Finder, Click the Go Menu (or Shift+Cmd+G)
Type in "/private" (without quotes) and press enter
Open the var folder
Open the db folder
Open the BootCaches folder
There will be several folders in this directory that need to be explored in search of a file called "app.com.avid.ProTools.playlist"
The name of the folder that contains "app.com.avid.ProTools.playlist" will vary on each system.
Once you have located "app.com.avid.ProTools.playlist" drag it to the trash and empty the trash

After you have deleted "app.com.avid.ProTools.playlist" reinstall Pro Tools 11

Notes:

• The Verionser.avd relies on a previous license to be present on the system in order to properly populate the System ID and Serial Number fields - this could be a dongle or a previously activated software license. It is imperative that the Licensing Files are not manually deleted or moved during the upgrade process.
• The Versioner only works for upgrades. New systems should be activated with the Activation ID provided with your new system.
• Your system must be registered and covered under an active ExpertPlus or Elite support plan.
• Upgrades to Media Composer 7 and NewsCutter 11: Customers with ExpertPlus or Elite support plans will receive the following upgrades through the FlexVersioner. Symphony customers should download Media Composer 7.0; the FlexVersioner.avd file will activate the Symphony Option automatically when you activate Media Composer 7.0. All upgrades under support plans will include Interplay Edition for this release. There is no separate installer for Media Composer Interplay Edition, the Interplay functionality is unlocked by the Activation ID in the FlexVersioner file.

Avid-Qualified Systems and IO Hardware:

See the attachments at the bottom of this article.

Avid Configuration Guidelines and Slot Configurations

3rd-party Open IO hardware:

3rd-party Open IO hardware is qualified by each manufacturer. For the latest information, refer to the manufacturer's website. For a general overview and links to the manufacturer's sites, see the following document:

Open IO Frequently Asked Questions

Important: Avid dedicates a significant amount of engineering resources and time to test and qualify specific platform configurations. Please note that we cannot provide support should you choose to use a non-Avid-qualified system.

System Recommendations for Feature Performance

Location of MI cache files will be in either:

C:\ProgramData\Avid\AvidMI\

C:\Program Files\Avid\AvidMI\state

1. Login to one of your Media Indexer servers (e.g. MI01)
2. Click Start > Programs > Avid > Avid Service Framework > Service Configuration
3. In Service Configuration, hostnames should populate on the left.  Look for the bolded out host (this is the computer you are on).  Click the triangle, and select Avid Interplay Media Indexer.
4. You may be prompted to enter Password.  Ask staff if you are unsure.
5. Once you are in, click Yes on unrestricted security
6. Click the Configure button at bottom
7. The Media Table window appears. 
8. Click Export.  Save this file to Desktop.  Open the text file (ensure it lists all the ISIS UNC paths, as listed from your Media Table) 
9. Important: when done, close Media Table > in High Availability options, make note of Group Name and Weight in Group > deselect Join High Availability Group and click Apply > close Service Configuration
10. Click Start > Programs > Avid > Avid Service Framework > Avid Workgroup Properties > click STOP (wait for services to Stop) > click Apply then OK.  This allows MI02 to takeover, and Editors can still connect with Interplay.
11. On MI01, open My Computer > C:\ProgramData\Avid\AvidMI\ ***Alternate Path C:\Program Files\Avid\AvidMI\state
12. You will see many files with .cache and one file with .bak
13. Create a new folder on the Desktop: name it ‘old cache’
14. Cut & move all .cache files plus .bak to ‘old cache’
15. Click Start > Programs > Avid > Avid Service Framework > Avid Workgroup Properties > click START (wait for services to Start) > click Apply then OK
16. Click Start > Programs > Avid > Avid Service Framework > Service Configuration
17. As this launches, you may be prompted to enter a “workgroup name.