If you’re thinking about purchasing Autodesk’s Smoke, despite its current hefty price tag ($15,000), you may want to hold off until the fall. Autodesk has made a major announcement at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) convention in Las Vegas this weekend, stating that the software bundle will see a drastic price reduction with the next release. Down from $15,000 to just $3496, the new version of the popular editing and finishing software is apparently aimed at people already using Adobe After Effects, Final Cut Pro, Avid’s Media Composer, or The Foundry’s Nuke.
The new version of Smoke includes some nifty new features and support for more video formats, including ConnectFX, which puts visual effects into the timeline, and lowers system requirements. ConnectFX is a “Powerful node-based compositing inside the timeline for high-end effects and advanced compositing without leaving the editorial environment.”
According to Dexinger, Smoke will run on all of the most recent generations of Apple iMac, MacBook Pro, and Mac Pro systems, and the bundle will support Thunderbolt. Additionally, Autodesk will also focus on brining support for more codecs to the new version of Smoke, including: Supports Red, Arriraw, ProRes, DNxHD, H.264, P2, and XDCAM.
There was no mention as to whether Autodesk was working on an iOS version of its product, unlike Avid and Apple.
