Next-Gen Upgrade: Moving to the Avid Artist | DNxIO
By Jim Bask
Mad Old Nut weighs in on the Avid’s break out box
In the real world of commercial post, no one likes to be the first to try out new tech. Fortunately for you, the good people at Mad Old Nut Productions have put the new Avid Artist | DNxIO through its paces so you don’t have to.
We caught up with Mad Old Nut founder and president Todd Ulman for an honest opinion of the DNxIO hardware and what was involved in transitioning to the new system.
Before we get to the interview, a little background: the DNxIO is Avid’s latest hardware interface and the successor to the venerable Nitris system. Among other things it brings with it support for Thunderbolt devices (read trashcan Mac Pro’s), Ultra HD, 2K and 4K formats, and hardware encoding to Avid’s DNxHR codec. The hardware itself is manufactured by Blackmagic, but it’s the customization and support behind it that make the BOB [acronym: Break Out Box] uniquely Avid.
As to our interviewee, Mad Old Nut productions is one of the hottest post-production and Avid rental facilities in Hollywood 
right now, with clients like The Walking Dead, Gotham and Legends of Tomorrow. With that kind of clientele Todd and his staff can’t
afford any hiccups in the technology they provide. In fact–as you’ll see in the interview–that’s one of the very reasons they chose to adopt the DNxIO BOB in their facility–the reputation of Avid for standing behind their certified systems. With around a hundred Avid systems currently out with clients, they clearly are counting on that reliability to deliver.
Pro Video Coaltion: I guess first off, what was the main reason for the decision to buy the DNxIO?
TODD ULMAN: The lack of garbage can [current gen Mac Pro] support for the Nitris DX, the Thunderbolt support, and Avid-branded hardware from Blackmagic. Previously, we just used a lot of Blackmagic, like their Thunderbolt IO–their 4K stuff. So, once an Avid-branded unit came out, we wanted to jump on it to see if it’s faster and better and all that jazz; or was it a case of paying a little bit more money just to have the Avid name on there?
PVC: So how did it work out?
TODD ULMAN: When we first installed it, the DNxHR acceleration wasn’t in there, so that was a problem. But once they rolled out the proper driver and the DNxHR support, it was a vast improvement. Whenever we do DNxHR now, it always happens in the DNxIO suite…[continue reading]