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Keep your production’s original media, Avid project files, bins, and exports in one Aspect project. Mount that project on each editor’s computer, then use Mimiq to make the mounted drive appear to Media Composer as shared Avid NEXIS storage. You can open and save the Avid project directly on the mounted drive, pin the footage you are working with for local playback, and share the same media with your team. Teams using bin locking can work in different bins within the same Avid project.

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Before you start

The 30-day Mimiq license is a paid rental, separate from Hedge’s free trial. Keep it active for the duration of your edit. Use a combination of Media Composer, Mimiq, and operating system versions listed in Hedge’s compatibility requirements.

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1. Put your original media on Aspect

Create an Aspect project using Active Storage, then upload the original camera media, production audio, graphics, and other source material. Keep camera-card folder structures intact when the format depends on accompanying files. Use folders such as Raw Media, Avid Projects, and Exports to separate source footage from editorial work. Invite your editors to the Aspect project with the access they need. An Aspect project is the shared storage you mount. An Avid project is the project folder you will create inside that storage. One does not replace the other.
Put the originals on Aspect even if you plan to edit with Avid-generated proxies. Your team can keep both the source media and the editorial media together throughout the production.

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2. Mount the Aspect project

1

Open the drive view

In the Aspect desktop app, select the drive icon in the left sidebar.
2

Mount the whole project

Find the project and select Mount. Mount the project itself for this workflow so Avid has access to the drive root.
3

Check the mounted drive

Reveal the mounted path in Finder or File Explorer. Confirm that you can see your uploaded media and create a folder at the root.On macOS, the path may look like /Volumes/Example Film. On Windows, use the drive letter shown by Aspect, such as Z:.
Keep the project name and mounted path consistent during the edit. On each workstation, check the actual path before opening Avid; a different drive letter or a renamed volume can require relinking source media. Do not assume that Windows assigns the same drive letter on every computer. See Mount your first project for the full mounting walkthrough.

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3. Install and activate Mimiq

Mimiq lets Media Composer recognize eligible third-party storage as Avid NEXIS storage. Aspect continues to handle the mounted files, streaming, caching, and synchronization.
1

Quit Media Composer

Complete the storage setup before launching Avid.
2

Install Mimiq

Download the installer for macOS or Windows, run it, and complete any installation prompts.
3

Activate your 30-day license

Launch Mimiq and activate it with your Mimiq Pro license key. Confirm that the license is active on this computer.
4

Check the Aspect volume in Mimiq

With your Aspect project mounted, open Mimiq from the menu bar on macOS or the system tray on Windows.Find the mounted Aspect volume and confirm that it shows a green status. If it is missing or not green, check the mount, read and write permissions, license, and version compatibility before continuing.
For each editing session, use this order: mount Aspect → launch Mimiq → launch Media Composer.

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4. Confirm that Avid sees NEXIS storage

Launch Media Composer with the Aspect project mounted and Mimiq running. If Avid displays a prompt about third-party storage emulating Avid NEXIS, choose Yes. Check that your mounted Aspect volume appears under Avid NEXIS Drives:
Open Avid Media Composer → About Avid Media Composer → Hardware → Avid NEXIS Drives.
On versions that expose it, check Settings → Project → General → Enable Bin Sharing on 3rd party storage emulating Avid NEXIS/ISIS. Current Mimiq versions may handle this without a separate manual step; follow Hedge’s setup instructions for your version.
Seeing the drive in Finder or File Explorer confirms that Aspect is mounted. Seeing it under Avid NEXIS Drives confirms that Media Composer recognizes the emulated shared storage. Check both before putting an active Avid project on the drive.

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5. Create or move your Avid project onto Aspect

In Media Composer’s project selection window, choose the mounted Aspect drive as your project location. Depending on your Avid version, use the External location or browse to the drive. Create the Avid project inside Avid Projects, for example Avid Projects/Example Film. Set Search data folder to Local default so Avid’s search index stays on the workstation. For an existing project, close it on every workstation first. Copy the complete Avid project folder into Avid Projects, wait for Aspect to finish uploading it, then open the project from that mounted location. Keep your existing copy as a backup during the move. The project folder contains the .avp project file, .avb bin files, and associated settings. Bins hold your clips and sequences; moving only the .avp file does not bring the bins or source media with it. As you work, your mounted project might look like this:
The tree shows the main files; keep Avid’s additional settings and support files with the project. Let Avid manage the contents of Avid MediaFiles.

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Set the media destination

Open Settings → Media Creation and select the mounted Aspect drive for the media you want to share, including imports, transcodes, and shared renders. Avid creates its managed media structure at the drive root. For MXF media on emulated shared storage, that is typically Avid MediaFiles/MXF/ComputerName.1. Give each workstation a unique computer name so Avid can use separate media folders. Keep Avid MediaFiles at the root, with its exact name. Do not place it inside Raw Media or Avid Projects, and do not mix a local-disk numbered-folder layout with Avid’s shared-storage layout on the same volume. Use Avid’s Source Browser to browse to Raw Media on the mounted Aspect project and link the footage into a bin. Install any source-format plug-ins required by your camera media. For formats or sequences that need lighter editorial media, use Consolidate/Transcode in Avid and choose the mounted Aspect drive as the destination. Select an appropriate DNxHD or DNxHR resolution for the project; DNxHR LB is one option for a lightweight offline edit. Avid writes these files into its managed media folders. Pin the files you will actually play in the edit:
  1. In the Aspect desktop app, select the original media, Avid-generated media, audio, and graphics needed for your current sequence.
  2. Choose Pin for those files or folders.
  3. Keep Aspect running until pinning finishes, then open the sequence and check playback.
If your timeline uses transcoded MXF media, pin that media as well as any linked originals it still uses. Pinning the .avp and .avb files alone does not pin their referenced footage.
Pin the current episode, scene, or day’s footage instead of the entire production. The originals stay on Aspect, while your working media is available on the local cache drive. Continue opening it through the mounted path.
Pinning downloads complete files and keeps them locally. It does not transcode the media or create a separate editorial copy. Each editor chooses what to pin on their own computer. See Pinning for more detail.

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7. Collaborate with your team

Have each editor mount the same Aspect project. Choose a shared Avid project with verified bin locking, or use the handoff workflow below. Keep Aspect and Mimiq running while editing, and allow saved changes to finish synchronizing before handing work to another editor.

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If your team uses bin locking

Bin locking gives one editor write access to a bin while others can read it. Editors can work in different bins at the same time. It does not merge two people’s changes to the same bin. Each participating workstation needs the appropriate Avid license, an active Mimiq setup, and read and write access to the shared project. Before starting a shared edit, verify locking between two computers using a test bin:
  1. Editor A opens the bin and confirms that they hold the lock.
  2. Editor B opens the same bin and confirms that it is read-only and identifies Editor A’s computer as the owner.
  3. Editor A saves and closes the bin, then waits for Aspect to finish synchronizing.
  4. Editor B refreshes the bin or project and acquires write access. Confirm that the latest changes are present before editing.
Mimiq documents these Avid lock states: Save and close bins when you finish with them. For a handoff, the receiving editor should refresh and confirm ownership before making changes. Avoid renaming or moving bins while teammates have them open.
If both computers can write to the test bin, stop simultaneous editing and check the setup. A green volume in Mimiq or locally pinned files does not, by itself, verify bin locking between teammates. Stay online during a shared edit so saves and lock changes can synchronize.

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If your team does not use bin locking

You can still share the original media and collaborate through planned handoffs. Keep one editor responsible for an Avid project at a time, or give each editor a separate Avid project folder and exchange closed bins when needed. For a handoff, the outgoing editor saves and closes the project, waits for synchronization to finish, and tells the next editor it is ready. The next editor confirms that the latest files have arrived before opening the project. Pinning improves access to the media; it does not reserve a project or bin for you. Arrange exclusive ownership before working offline on any shared project files.

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Make playback more reliable

Start with the network and the local drive that holds Aspect’s cache:
  • Use Ethernet. A wired connection gives more consistent results than Wi-Fi for streaming media and synchronizing work.
  • Use a fast SSD or NVMe cache drive. For an external drive, use a fast connection such as Thunderbolt and keep it connected throughout the session.
  • Use the right filesystem. Choose APFS for a Mac cache drive or NTFS for Windows. Avoid exFAT for an active editing cache.
  • Allow enough space. A 50–200 GB automatic cache is a useful starting point if disk space allows. Budget for the full size of pinned media as well, plus Avid’s caches, renders, and operating-system free space. A large edit may need substantially more.
  • Keep the workstation awake. Prevent sleep or disk disconnection during pinning, playback, renders, and uploads.
Configure the cache through Aspect’s cache settings. Keep that local cache on the workstation or attached drive, outside the mounted Aspect project.

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Match the media to your connection

For media that is not pinned, consider the combined bitrate of all streams playing at once, including multicam angles. Leave headroom for audio, other users, uploads, and network variation. For example, four 100 Mbps video streams need about 400 Mbps before overhead. A connection advertised as 500 Mbps may leave little margin. Pin the working media ahead of time or use lower-bitrate Avid editorial media when streaming cannot keep up.

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Tune Media Composer

Use Avid’s system requirements and computer optimization guides for settings specific to your workstation and Avid version.

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Finish the session

Export review files to Exports in the mounted Aspect project, then save your bins and close the Avid project. Wait for Aspect to finish synchronizing before quitting the desktop app, unmounting, or disconnecting the cache drive. Your team can open the updated project after the handoff, or use Aspect’s sharing and review tools to send the export for feedback.

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Troubleshooting

Quit Avid. Confirm that the project is mounted in Aspect, then check that Mimiq lists the volume with a green status and an active license. Relaunch Mimiq if the mount was added after it started, then launch Avid again.Check read and write access at the drive root and the supported Avid/Mimiq version combination. If the volume still does not appear, contact Aspect support with your OS, Aspect, Mimiq, and Media Composer versions. Complete this check before moving an active project onto the drive.
Confirm that the same Aspect project is mounted at the expected path, uploads have finished, and the files can be opened from the mounted drive. Linked source files may need relinking if their path changed.For Avid-managed media, check that Avid MediaFiles is at the drive root and that Avid’s shared-storage folder structure is intact. Allow media creation, uploads, and Avid’s media database scan to finish. Avoid moving or renaming Avid-managed media folders to fix the problem.
Confirm that both editors opened the same project and bin from the same Aspect project. Check synchronization status, keep both workstations online, and refresh the bin or project in Avid.Repeat the two-computer lock check. Use a single-editor handoff until ownership and refresh work as expected; do not delete lock files while another editor may be working.
Confirm that pinning has finished for the files the sequence actually uses, including transcoded media. Check cache-drive speed, connection, free space, codec requirements, and Avid’s memory and playback settings. Pinning removes the need to stream those files, but decoding and effects still depend on the workstation.

Mount your first project

Set up the Aspect drive and check synchronization.

Pinning

Keep the media for your current edit available locally.

Mimiq setup

Check installation, volume recognition, and Avid settings.

Mimiq bin locking

Understand lock ownership and bin refresh.