2019.x

Table Of Contents
6 Working with Plug-In Effects
You can use AVX plug-in effects to add new effects or to update existing effects. This chapter
describes how to work with these plug-in effects.
Understanding AVX Plug-Ins
Freeing Memory Used by AVX 1.x Plug-ins
Installing AVX Plug-ins
Locating the AVX 1.x Plug-Ins Folder (Windows Only)
Updating and Promoting AVX Plug-ins
Assigning Multiple Tracks in Plug-in Effects
Using AVX Plug-In Controls
Using the Client Monitor to Preview a Plug-In Effect
Troubleshooting AVX Plug-Ins
Understanding AVX Plug-Ins
Third-party plug-in effects use the Avid Visual Extensions (AVX) standard. AVX is a cross-platform
software architecture that allows software effect modules to work with a host application such as
Media Composer.
Avid also develops some AVX plug-in effects and supplies them with Media Composer. For example,
the Illusion FX category of effects are AVX plug-in effects.
Third-party plug-in effects appear in the Effect Palette in their own category (usually the name of the
plug-in vendor). Individual effects each have a plug-in icon. Plug-in effects behave in Media
Composer in much the same way as standard Avid-supplied effects. For example, when you apply a
plug-in effect to a sequence, the plug-in effect icon appears in the Timeline. You can also save and
apply effect templates based on plug-in effects.
Media Composer supports both 1.x and 2.0 versions of the AVX standard. AVX 2.0 supports
advanced keyframes and allows plug-in vendors to take advantage of 16-bit effects processing, while
AVX 1.x does not. AVX 2.0 plug-ins automatically use advanced keyframes, so you do not need to
promote them. A particular AVX 2.0 effect might or might not support 16-bit processing. For more
information on 16-bit effects processing, see “Using 16-Bit Processing Support for
Rendered Effects” on page 138.
Some vendors let you promote AVX 1.x plug-ins to an AVX 2.0 version. For more information, see
“Updating and Promoting AVX Plug-ins” on page 148.
In general, AVX plug-ins are resolution-independent and automatically scale to the resolution of the
clip. If an older AVX plug-in does not scale correctly with HD resolutions, please contact the plug-in
vendor.