Testimonials

Corporate Users:

Independent Producers:

Local Production Company Bets on 1 Beyond

Actual Email from an Actual 1 Beyond Customer

Dr. Greg Sindmack

Educators:

No Budget? No Problem: Media Educator Funds Video Lab with No School Funds

Spider Alton, The Fessenden School (West Newton, MA)

Wedding Videographers:

David Hanrahan, All Star Digital Video

Dele Edebiri, Dele Video Productions

Documentarians / Filmmakers:

Betsy Connor Bowen

Post-Production:

An Article from SHOOT Magazine: Going Native

Actual Email from an Actual 1 Beyond Customer.

This is my story.

In early 1999, I had been doing video editing for about ten years. I could see that technology was passing me by so I decided to purchase a computer to do nonlinear editing. I had prepared myself to the make the transition. What I was not prepared for was the hunt to find an affordable system that had everything I wanted. I wanted a plug and play system. Plug it in and go. Many hours of research led me to the harsh reality that these systems -- at that time -- were out of my price range. Phone call after phone call was made to all of the major computer manufacturers. I talked to just about every technician and support tech. in the country. Always the same story, we don't support that program or we don't use this or that type of equipment, etc. I had done my homework and knew what I wanted; they just couldn't provide it. Each referring me to another. It seemed what I wanted was only provided by their commercial divisions at a price that would make Hollywood gag. After all, I was just a small time videographer doing this part-time on a shoestring budget. Somehow I ended up talking to someone at Canopus. I remember the guy said to me, "You need to call this company in Massachusetts called 1 Beyond."

As I'm dialing the phone, I vowed to myself that if this didn't work I would be resigned to linear editing for the rest of my life. "1 Beyond, may I help you?" Oh what a sweet voice. "I certainly hope so", I replied. "I'm looking for a computer editing system and here's what I want." As I began to tell her what I wanted, it must have sounded like a child's Christmas list to Santa, she kept saying things like: "Good choice, excellent, no problem, I see you've done your homework, let me suggest this instead." As I finished my wish list, I'm thinking this is too easy. "OK," I said, "What's the damage? Just a ball park figure." I waited, then it came. "Are you serious?" I said. She replied, "that's the very best I can do." I didn't tell her that the price she just quoted me was almost $1,200 less than the cheapest price I had been quoted from others, and it had everything I wanted.

"What's your name?" I asked. "Rony Sebok," she replied. "Well Rony, You just sold an editing system." And with I that, began my nonlinear editing career and a very pleasurable relationship with 1 Beyond that has lasted for the past four years and three 1 Beyond video editing systems. As I watch the video industry evolve and new home video editing systems come to my local stores, I know that I am 1 Beyond the rest of them with these powerful editing systems. Thanks Rony, Terry, George, Andy, and the rest of the 1 Beyond staff for your dedicated service to video editing.

Support?

You talk about a support group. There is no one -- and I mean no one -- that has called 1 Beyond support more than yours truly. I'm not going to lie to you. In the beginning there were some major problems. Oh, not with the system but rather the operator. You see the system was a plug and play and that's just what it did. No one told me that I would have to have some knowledge of how computers and the programs worked. Now I'm not the type that gets a lot out of reading manuals. Tell me or show me and I've got it. So back to the phone I went. It wasn't long and Rony gave me a short course in getting started.

As technology progressed so did my desire to stay on the cutting edge. The next system I purchased had the latest in DVD burning. As with any new technology there is a learning curve and always some bugs to work out. Again, Rony was right there to help. If she didn't have the answer, which was seldom, Andy or George did. If they were stumped, I got to talk to the man himself, Terry Cullen. Now I ask you, how many company presidents will get on the phone and work you through your problems just like a big brother? That, my friends, is SUPPORT.

Anyone that has ever worked with computers knows that they will eventually get you to a point you want to use them as a boat anchor. I don't worry when that happens because I pick up the phone and when I hear that sweet voice on the other end say, "1 Beyond, can I help you?" I know that whatever the problem is, I have the best support group working on it.

As a footnote:
I called one night late expecting to leave a message for some one to call me the next day. To my surprise, again that sweet voice answered the phone. "Good Lord, Rony. Doesn't Terry give you guys a rest? He must be a real slave driver." Long pause. "No, I guess we all just really like working here."

Imagine that, people that really love their work and do whatever it takes to get the job done. Amazing, simply amazing.

Thanks 1 Beyond.

Rick Heckenkamp
RSVP
Richard's Sound & Video Productions
Charlotte, North Carolina

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Local Production Company Bets on 1 Beyond

Started by Emmy-award winner Michael Kolowich in late 2001, DigiNovations is a cutting-edge production company with seven 1 Beyond systems. Based in Concord, Mass., DigiNovations consists of two companies: MemoryWorks, which serves individual and family events as well as sports videography; and North Bridge Productions, which concentrates on commercial, corporate, and non-profit institutions. DigiNovations has produced videos for clients such as MIT, Trinity Church in Boston, Jenzabar Software, AOL, and Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown.

Early in his career, Kolowich was a television news reporter and producer for several television stations in the Boston and Providence, RI, markets. He was trained in broadcast journalism at both CBS News and Westinghouse Broadcasting. While a reporter at WGBH-TV in Boston, Kolowich received an Emmy for Outstanding News Reporting by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

Kolowich bought his first 1 Beyond system in 1998. He was so happy with the service and the system, he purchased three more 1 Beyond DV Pro 880 systems and two DV Pro 883s. He also owns a DV Pro 2800 laptop system.

Kolowich was introduced to nonlinear editing when he bought his first Avid in 1996. It was an Avid Xpress analog system on a Mac PowerPC. What was most frustrating was the image degradation he found with the Avid not using native DV. “It was frustrating to shoot in DV but covert to MJPEG to edit … and then have to convert back to DV,” he said.

Kolowich wanted a more open, flexible system because of his need to add storage and other applications as technology progressed. “It was clear to me that with a proprietary platform, vendors had you over a barrel when it came to adding hard drive capacity and other features like Firewire direct input,” he said. “Such a system wasn’t viable for a business like mine.”

Kolowich was in Newtonville Camera talking about this frustration one day when he learned of a system that supported editing in native DV on an open Windows PC platform. “The other nice thing was that 1 Beyond was 1/10 the price of an Avid. So I called 1 Beyond that day.”

Kolowich initially purchased his Avid system for $35,000. Two and one-half years later, he bought his first 1 Beyond for about $4,500. “The difference in quality and workflow improvement was stunning. I felt I was actually gaining features and capabilities going from the Avid to 1 Beyond, while saving big bucks.” Kolowich decided to start his own production company and bought two more 1 Beyond systems in 2001.

Getting his employees up and running was not a concern for him. “I found that even though they were all Mac users, they flowed easily into the Windows 2000 environment. It was easy because of the applications. That is what matters when dealing with video and workflow, not the operating system,” he said. “And the combination of Adobe Premiere and DV Storm at that time was excellent in the way it handled projects. We saw substantial productivity from Day One.”

Kolowich is just as excited about the next level of applications available today. “I have been using Adobe Premiere Pro and the Adobe Video Collection for three weeks, and I am just as excited by this step up in capabilities as I was when I moved from an Avid to 1 Beyond,” he said. “I have more control of the image, better workflow in large projects, tighter integration with applications such as After Effects and Photoshop. Also Adobe’s new Encore DVD is huge, in my opinion, given its strong integration with Premiere Pro.”

At any given time, DigiNovations has 30 to 35 active projects. Given the storage requirements for each project, removable hard drives and modularity are key. “The
1 Beyond systems are quite capable. We have storage capacity approaching of 1 terabyte on every one of our systems.”

But it is more than just the systems that Kolowich admires; it is the time, knowledge, and expertise that have gone into developing 1 Beyond’s line of products from technology perspective. “I don’t have time to study and experiment with all the components out there. I don’t have time to figure out the limits of throughput and memory consumption, network loads, and CPU capacity. I can’t tell you how many video capture cards I put into a Windows 98 system before I called 1 Beyond. I was lucky to get a minute of video captured before these old cards choked.”

Kolowich believes 1 Beyond has stayed on top of technology as well as the practical issue of what components work with other components. “They take the arrows in their backs so I don’t have to,” he said. “They spend the time and energy to figure out what video cards really do work with these machines, and how to match the computer configuration to the unique and extreme demands of real-time video.”

1 Beyond’s partnerships with Adobe and Canopus are also valuable to Kolowich. “I can get a straight story from 1 Beyond because of those relationships, and I can plan my business accordingly,” he said.

“We are active customers – and it is nice to know that there is a knowledgeable company that build these systems. Even though 1 Beyond now has customers all across the country, they haven’t lost their personal level of commitment to individual customers. That’s important to me.”

DigiNovations is located on the web at www.video-production-services.com.

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No Budget? No Problem: Media Educator Funds Video Lab with No School Funds

As the video arts teacher at F.A. Day Middle School in Newton, Mass., Tim Teelin teaches classes in video production, short films, and stop-motion animation. He also oversees a daily student news program, broadcast via closed circuit television, and he runs the video club, which includes ongoing student and faculty projects.

Teelin was using an analog nonlinear editing system with a Panasonic switching port and wanted to upgrade to digital video. Teelin first learned of 1 Beyond through Newtonville Camera. “I had been trained in Final Cut Pro, Avid, and Premiere when I used video systems at public access stations. So I went to 1 Beyond’s offices and test-drove a system. After a great test drive, I decided to buy only from 1 Beyond. These systems are professional grade and offer a higher quality end product for a great value.”

With budget cutbacks, Tim’s school lacked the appropriate funds to purchase these systems, and it is not always easy to generate money during a time of budget cuts. The school’s parent-teacher organization held a fundraiser, allowing it to raise money for the specific needs at F.A. Day. During the event, Teelin explained to parents what he wanted to do with the video lab and how much money was needed, which wasn’t much compared to other school budget line items.

As a result of presentation, Teelin was fortunate to be one of the beneficiaries of the funds raised. He received the funding he needed to purchase three real-time 1 Beyond DV editing systems: Around $10,000. “The faculty loves the systems as much as the students do.”

The overall price of a 1 Beyond system was one positive feature for Teelin. “For the same price as Apple’s Final Cut Pro software alone, I received a full editing package plus a top-of-the-line accelerator card with analog and DV I/O, which offers real-time rendering. You couldn’t ask for more.”
In addition to a great turnkey system price, Teelin says several other factors made 1 Beyond attractive. “I have had a great experience with their customer and technical support,” he said. “Whenever I have a problem, I call and get the help I need. That is one of the best features.”

Teelin also cites several technical advantages that allow users to begin editing essentially “out of the box.” For example, 1 Beyond configures its systems to avoid conflicts, allowing Teelin to spend more time teaching and less time on system maintenance. “1 Beyond makes sure all video and audio settings are preset so the systems function properly and there are no conflicts between the various components of the software and the hardware. 1 Beyond created a file that contains the appropriate settings for my customized 1 Beyond systems so I don’t spend time worrying about how they will perform,” he said.

Teelin finds other 1 Beyond innovations indispensable. “The preferences and settings save valuable time when working with students. The 1 Beyond manual that comes with the system easily explains techniques that help students with backing up, archiving, and managing project files easily. It offers them a structure before they start editing. They don’t have to worry about organizing their work because it is already done for them,” he said. “I have students who are now setting up files at home in the same way, so they benefit from what they learn in the Lab,” he said.

Since 1 Beyond’s technology is solid, it makes Teelin’s job easier as a video arts teacher as well as a computer specialist who must maintain and service the systems. “I’d rather spend my time helping students with the arc of a story or how to make a cool transition or title. 1 Beyond offers one the best tools to help me do my job and get kids excited about production, editing, and effects.”

These features are especially helpful when – as in a classroom – there are multiple systems to deal with. “The value that 1 Beyond provides is clear,” said Teelin “when you get more than three systems going in a classroom. You see the benefits of the behind-the-scenes work put into these systems, which are tuned for video editing.”

Teelin says he would “absolutely” recommend 1 Beyond to colleagues, and “also to students who want to do this kind of work at home.”

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Corporate Users

Rick Teeter
Advertising Manager
Harsco Track Technologies

Rick is the advertising manager for Harsco Track Technologies,
an international supplier of railway track maintenance equipment and services for private and government-owned railways. It is a division of the Infrastructure and Construction Group of Harsco Corporation, a diversified, global provider of industrial services and engineered products. Harsco is one of the oldest continuously operating industrial organizations in the U.S., tracing its lineage to 1742.

1 Beyond in Technology
Previously, I was editing on an older linear-based system that was just too slow. It couldn’t keep up with my demands. I had been pushing to buy a digital system for some time and read about 1 Beyond in the trades so I checked out their pricing options.

I also had looked at a Mac-based DV system, including a camera and a deck. When I
compared the 1 Beyond system to a comparable Mac system, 1 Beyond was about one-third cheaper and much more powerful than the Final Cut Pro system. The price, coupled with the power that PC systems offer today, made for a much better solution, which was purchased this past December.

1 Beyond in Service & Support
1 Beyond can support me much better. I had a CD-ROM that I had to develop for prospective customers in China. They were supposed to come to the U.S. to see equipment of ours, but were unable to travel. We decided to send them a CD-ROM presentation. I went to Knoxville, TN to shoot the equipment. I then had two days to turn the raw footage into a CD-ROM.

This was my first time developing such a project and it was nice to know that I wasn’t alone – I was able to call 1 Beyond and get help when I needed to get my project out of the PC and onto a CD. Thanks to their help every step of the way, I was able to get the project done very quickly. Not only do they have the technical knowledge, but thanks to their in-house training and production facilities, they can answer any production or editing question that you can throw at them.

1 Beyond in Training
After that project, I went to 1 Beyond for additional training, which was excellent. They covered a lot of material, and the trainer answered all of my questions. I would definitely recommend 1 Beyond to anyone looking to purchase a DV editing system for corporate videos and other marketing materials.

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Independent Producers

Joel Dulberg

Emmy-award winning post-production professional, spent more than 30 years at 60 Minutes in New York. He recently retired from CBS and has formed his own production company. He enlisted the help of 1 Beyond to get him up and running as quickly and as
easily as possible.

Joel uses a 1 Beyond 440 DVStorm system.

1 Beyond in Service
I've just started my new post-production business so I am in the embryonic stages, and 1 Beyond has been with me every step of the way. They helped me get going right out of the box, and they were responsive and helpful.

1 Beyond in Technology
I read about 1 Beyond, but I wasn't sure if I should go with a Final Cut Pro system or a PC. A friend recommended I speak with 1 Beyond before buying anything. While I had never used a PC before, it was easy to learn and very intuitive. I was blown away by the 1 Beyond system. Analog I/O, Real-Time, feature for feature there was no comparison to the Mac. In fact, I was so impressed, I invited them to demo the system to a number of editors at 60 Minutes, and they too were all amazed by the editing speed and power. 13 simultaneous layers in Real-Time is hard to believe until you see it!

1 Beyond in Value
I saved money and all of the projects I've produced have been well received. Without question, the work I am doing on the 1 Beyond system is broadcast quality; it can – and does – go on air.

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Dr. Greg Sindmack

Dr. Greg Sindmack kicked the tires of a 1 Beyond system at a recent “Videomaker Academy” class in Chico, Calif. He liked it so much he decided to buy one because he found it to be rock solid. This stability allowed him to quickly learn the basics of video editing quickly.

On the first day of a three-day seminar, Dr. Sindmack decided to work on a 1 Beyond system after reviewing the hardware specs in his handbook. “Even on paper, the system looked better than the otherclones available in the classroom. I made sure I got there early the next day to get that system,” he said.

While others in the class were taking a course in rebooting their systems after they crashed, Dr. Sindmack was taking the class he wanted in the basics of DV editing. “The 1 Beyond system worked flawlessly and performed extremely well. After working on Premiere 6.5, it was great to see how easy it was to learn and excel quickly at digital video editing.”

The system performed so well in class, he decided to buy a 1 Beyond DV Pro 990 DVS, which includes Dual Intel Xeon Pentium 4 processors and 440 GB of hard drive storage (22.5 hours of DV). He is using the system to develop videos to train those who assist him with advanced laparoscopic surgery. He also plans to develop videos to accompany lectures for medical residents, as well as for papers he delivers at scientific conferences.

“1 Beyond has configured the software to expedite video making and more importantly, created a backup method using ‘Z templates’ that are lifesavers if ever a crash should occur. 1 Beyond has also configured the hard drives to store programs separately from data files as further protection in case of any misadventures from novice users.”

After purchasing the system, Dr. Sindmack took advantage of 1 Beyond’s training. He spent four days in classes focusing on StormEdit, Adobe Premiere, and DVD authoring. He found 1 Beyond’s training classes to be very beneficial. “The classes were full of practical information and were well organized, as the instructors are folks in the business of video editing,” he said.

But his purchase is not all business. “As a hobby, my wife and I take vacations to exotic locations, and I plan to use the system to edit video footage, as well as compile still images and archive them on DVDs,” he said. “The 1 Beyond system affords me a lot of flexibility in what I can accomplish. 1 Beyond helped make digital video editing so easy, that even physicians can learn to do it in a very short time.”

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Spider Alton
The Fessenden School

Why did you buy a system from 1 Beyond?
I decided on the 1 Beyond system because the price was the best value for the type of system I purchased.

How has the system had an effect at The Fessenden School?
A lot of people see the value of the system. They also see how much better the image quality is in the productions we are doing. So the need for more DV-edited projects is expanding.

Was the system easy to learn?
Since I had never used a PC before, I was learning new system commands as I went, which were different from the Mac. That’s where 1 Beyond’s customer support always assisted me and excelled.

How has the customer/technical support been?
They were very responsive and helpful; they have never let me down.

Would you recommend 1 Beyond to a colleague?
Yes, I would recommend them to another school looking to get into DV editing and production.

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Wedding/Event Videographers

David Hanrahan
All Star Digital Video

Why did you buy a system from 1 Beyond?
I was waiting for a system that I could afford, as well as one that would allow me to work without losing any image quality.

How has it impacted your business?
I have been doing weddings since 1980 and thanks to the 1 Beyond system, I am in a new league in terms of production value and quality. My clients have no problem agreeing to higher rates after seeing the advanced special effects and the final product that I can create. People who view my demo tape have never gone with another videographer.

Was the system easy to learn?
Yes, the system was easy to learn because I stuck with it, and in about a month I was able to master it. Within seven days of my getting the system I was able to produce a video product that played well at a national tradeshow.

How has the customer /technical support been?
The support I have received has been very good. I have always been able to get the help I need.

Would you recommend 1 Beyond to a colleague?
I recommend 1 Beyond to everyone I know. In fact, other wedding videographers come and use my system because they have clients that need the level of quality that only 1 Beyond’s system can produce.

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Dele Edebiri
Dele Video Productions

Why did you buy a system from 1 Beyond?
I looked at other vendors, but they were too pricey. I bought the system from 1 Beyond because it was very affordable and the company came recommended. They also were very helpful in terms of educating me about the type of system that was right for my needs.

How has it impacted your business?
I can do effects, transitions, anything that other high-end systems can do for a fraction of the cost.

Was the system easy to learn?
Yes, it was easy to learn. There are a lot of features to become familiar with, and 1 Beyond has been very helpful.

How has the customer/technical support been?
The staff has been very accessible.

Would you recommend 1 Beyond to a colleague?
I would absolutely recommend them to other people … I do all the time.

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Documentarians / Filmmakers

Betsy Connor Bowen
(Image from Betsy’s documentary, “Oak Hill Road Wars,” a story about 30 years of litigation over a single public easement in Maine.)

Why did you buy a system from 1 Beyond?
I originally was on a PC but then became convinced that Mac was the way to go for video. However, through my son’s school, I quickly learned the PC platform could help me edit video more cheaply and with a lot more power. So I converted back to the PC, and I am very happy I did.

Why? How has it impacted your video projects?
I was using Edit DV on a Mac, but I wanted something more sophisticated. So when I decided to go to Adobe Premiere I went back to a PC. For the money, I was able to get much more storage and speed than a Mac. And from what I understand, technology advances more quickly in the PC sector. My Mac friends seem to always be waiting for technology I already have, such as real-time rendering.

Was the system easy to learn?
For me, there were days when I was on the phone constantly with 1 Beyond when I wasn’t flipping through the manual, but the support team was always there to lend a helping hand. They got me through difficult times, and they did it with grace, patience, and dignity.

How has customer/technical support been?
I have been very happy with the support; 1 Beyond was wonderful. You never are a happy camper when you call customer support, but 1 Beyond always helped me work things through so I could get moving again.

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Post-Production

This unsolicited story from a customer that was published in Shoot Magazine in 1998. 1 Beyond has since moved into larger office space in Somerville, Mass.)

Going Native:
A new non-linear editing system enters the marketplace and sets a new standard
Fred Muchnick

Once upon a time…
It is late October 1998 and I have decided to acquire a non-linear video editing system (NLE). I have spent the last six months surfing the web reading everything I can on the matter. There’s a feeling of anonymity to the whole procedure. I can’t get a handle on what these systems do, who really makes them, where is the technology headed, and why buy now?

My decision to look into editing systems emerges from the anger I feel at having to rent, rent, rent all the time. Just when I finish a job, it’s time to return the system. There’s not a moment to waste. No time to exercise some creativity or start some personal projects I’ve always wanted to do. Plus, were I to own an NLE, I could be more flexible with my schedule, deliver faster, and maybe my company’s workload would increase.

One Saturday, with a morning to kill, I wander into Newtonville Camera and approach the video counter where Bob Moisan greets me. I ask him if he has any NLE’s for sale. "Funny you should ask," he answers. "Here comes Terry." Moments later I am face to face with a gentleman in his late forties, perhaps early fifties, with an impeccably groomed white goatee and a glint in his eye. This is Terry Cullen, founder and president of 1 Beyond.

We talk. I explain my needs. He explains his system. All the while phone calls come in on his cellular phone. Potential customers, satisfied clients, technical questions from his manufacturing people. We spend two hours talking, exchanging views. Our parting shot is that I will stop by his office tomorrow to see the editing system he is building for a client.

We meet at 2 PM at his office on the Charlestown waterfront. After some searching I reach his door and ring the bell. He greets me with remote phone in hand. He has just made another sale. We go into the workspace a room with a fireplace and a view of the Boston skyline and harbor. Here and there computers sit quietly humming away. An LCD video projector sits on one wall, pointed towards an oversized electric screen. On the floor are stacks of CD’s, CD-ROM’s, videotapes (analog and digital) and industry publications.

On a table facing the water is the beast; a 21" monitor, two NTSC 14" Sony monitors, a keyboard, sound mixer, power panel, a mouse, a Sony DV-900 deck, assorted cables and one or two mini DV tapes. Underneath the table is a tower with interchangeable hard disk cassettes (Terry: "They just started making these and I thought they were perfect for video editing so I just had to buy them").

Over the next two hours, Terry walks me through the 1 Beyond NLE ND Video Pro 3300 through 7700 product line. We are working with Firewire and Adobe Premiere. He explains many things that have heretofore been undecipherable to me. We talk speed, performance (see specs to 1 Beyond’s products on their web site), manageability. The 1 Beyond system is rapidly proving itself to be more powerful than just about anything else currently on the market and for a fraction of the cost.

Terry, I learn, is on the cutting edge of systems development for the NLE market. He has not only decided to build an open (as opposed to proprietary) system, but understands that capturing DV without conversion or recompression of any kind, (i.e. highest possible quality, no loss editing) is where the industry is headed. Simply put: the digital pattern stored in, say, a Sony VX-1000 camera is the exact pattern that is stored on those hard disk cassettes in his tower. You work with the original video in its highest possible quality. Hence the new term Native Digital Video. Virtually all high-end companies are wed to MJEPG with millions invested in this 15-year-old technology. Even at its best MJPEG is characterized as "lossy". Every time you compress, you loose more quality. This means that I am looking at one of the first on-line suites that fits inside the trunk of an automobile.

At first I am a little queasy. Is this possible? I decide it is. I decide that Terry is not like most of us in the film and video business. We are storytellers. We don’t understand. Terry comes to this business with a background of EE / Computer Science / Harvard Business School after having spent a career in high tech having run and started several businesses. He is a computer sage disguised as a film/video guy. That afternoon I place my order for a 1 Beyond 7700 NLE.

As the days pass I bug Terry, calling him, asking for a progress report on the system. He tells me his construction people in Marlboro are at work putting it together. He adds that the system I will be acquiring will be one of the fastest PC’s possible. I believe him. After all, how many NLE’s work on dual Pentium processors, half a gig of memory and 130 gig’s of disk? That’s almost 10 hours of DV at its highest quality! With each passing day, completion of the system becomes more and more of a reality until one day; it is ready for delivery.

Shades of Henry Ford
In order to flesh out the content for this article, I call Terry and ask him to outline his production and business approach. He tells me one of his heroes is Henry Ford (which explains why Terry is such a nut about cars and why he collects them. Motorcycles too). "…Ford went against all marketing direction at the time he started his company. There were already 200 automakers at the time he started. Everyone was making high end. He said, "I want to make a car everyone can afford." Everyone said he would fail because there was a small market, no room and no profit in the low end. He said I will create a market that doesn’t exist and he made it happen. This is what is happening here. I am keeping the overhead very low on the systems, even though it’s high quality. I believe it will open up the market to many people who couldn’t dream of having this kind of system before.

"A democratization of technology?" I wonder. I ask him to continue.

"A number of things have come together at the same time: the new DV format, powerful PC’s at reasonable prices, low cost, high speed and high volume disks, software that’s broadcast quality, powerful and easy to use, and operating systems that can handle the data rates and processing necessary for video editing. Even dual processor architecture like Windows NT. Now you can have powerful editing tools on a standard, open PC to take advantage of all technology as it becomes available. You’re no longer the captive market of one limited manufacturer."

The great editing software debate
"Why are you choosing to install Premiere on your 1 Beyond editing systems?" I inquire.
"Software is like religion. You learn one and everything else seems a little bit strange. However, Premiere is perhaps the most popular ‘open system’ software and the new version has the look, feel and power of the high-end software while adding up to date features like three point editing and 99 tracks… It was given the Best Editor Award at NAB this spring".

I tell Terry that I was trained up in Tewksbury, MA by a certified Avid editor. I add that Avid is all I’ve ever known. We compare notes. Everything Avid does, Premiere seems to do as well. As for new software, like the EditDV, we agree it could be simpler, but it doesn’t have the depth of tools, which comes from having millions of users. (Terry: "When you go camping you don’t take your Swiss Army knife because it has 20 tools. You typically use two. You take it because, should the unexpected arise, you’ve got the other 18 to bail you out." Terry will also install easier software if a client so chooses and adds "one of the benefits of open systems is you can change in the future, or even have multiple editors if you choose. You're never locked in to any hardware or software!" If a client chooses, his system will also take Media Studio Pro, RexEdit and just about any other editing software on the market. Again, these are the benefits of an open, standard system, compatible with the 90+ percent of the market that beckons both hardware and software developers alike.

I ask him why Premiere suffers from such a poor past reputation. We conclude that when Premiere came out about five or six years ago, computers were simply too clunky to be able to handle its enormous potential and system requirements. As a result, people were left with a bad taste in the mouth. Over time hardware and Premiere grew to be more powerful until today, when we finally have affordable equipment that can tame the most demanding of operations. Now PC’s are so fast that software in some cases can actually out perform some hardware that used to be added to accelerate operations!

Essentially, the debate on what software to use becomes moot when the hardware reaches a level of performance that can handle it. And so, Premiere, having quietly spent the last five years perfecting itself, continues to act respectably in an increasingly competitive marketplace. To which one must add that it now contains many effects that other high-end proprietary editors must jump to Adobe’s After Effects to perform. And, can no doubt work with objects from Photoshop, Illustrator, and Pagemaker (all Adobe products) better than other editing software.

And they lived happily ever after…
The story comes to an end. My system is delivered. I begin working. What began as a Saturday morning trip to Newtonville Camera ends with me sitting in front of a 1 Beyond NLE custom made to my needs at a price I can afford by a company run not by answering machines but by a human being. I feel this is just the beginning. I am grateful for having had the courage to put my company on the cutting edge of technological innovation. I am doubly grateful for having bumped into Terry Cullen. I feel like keeping all of this knowledge and competitive edge to myself but I know 1 Beyond is growing regardless. I write this article and publish it, to perhaps speed the process, knowing more readers would like to know about possible alternatives and decide to follow the same path. Who was it that said there is strength in numbers?

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