|
|
|
| A Video Systems Publication | |
| A Primedia Property | |
| April 28, 2004 | Vol 3, No. 8 |
|
|
|
|
Table of Contents An Editor's View What a Show! Low-Gain "Precision" Antenna Kiki's Back! Acronym Predictions The Acronym HDV Best Press Conference of the Show Source Window The Making THE CUT Awards Apple Motion Avid DNxHD Adobe Video Collection Professional Edition Avid Xpress Studio Complete Serious Magic DV Rack DeckLink HD Pro and HDLink Cinelerra DVS CLIPSTER Leitch Velocity HD Digital Fusion SRHD3.0 Workstation Horita Pocket PA 12" Design PowerBlox JVC Clamshell HDV VCR CineForm Prospect Snell and Wilcox Comet Metaglue Diffuser and AAFixer Panasonic AJ-HD1200A DVCPRO HD VCR Kodak Display Manager and Look Manager Systems 1 Beyond Harmony Huge Systems SANStream EditShare ProMax 1TB SATA Arrays Facilis Technology TERRABLOCK Medéa G-RAID Tektronix WFMNLE Special Recognition for Streaming Media Products NOTE: More to Come! ADVERTISEMENT Chyron gives you graphics tools to "Empower Your Vision". HyperX is a new multi-format SD-HD real-time CG system. Clyps-HD is an HD clip server with up to 180 minutes of lower third animations. C-Mix HD is a multi-layer mixer with built-in upconverter. Advanced MOS now available for Avid & ENPS. www.chyron.com An Editor's View Back to top What a Show! I normally start off my NAB reports with the most entertaining presentations at NAB, but the best manufacturer-produced entertainment this year was found in the Hard Rock's Festival Hall in the late evening. Cricket (Avid's garage band), consisting of Mike Rockwell, Chief Technical Officer and Vice President of Engineering (bass), David Schleifer, Director of Avid Broadcast Solutions (lead guitar, the one on the right), Dana Ruzicka, Director of Avid Post Solutions (drums), Tim Claman, Director of Interoperability and Standards (keyboards, lead male vocal), Jonathan Howard, Chief Solutions Architect (guitar, on left), and Ellen Camloh, Broadcast Product Marketing Manager (guitar, lead female vocal), rocked the house! I confess I attended the Avid Worldwide User's Group party, primarily for the lurid fascination of seeing several of Avid's senior management and engineers act like rock stars, but I swear, they were really, REALLY GOOD! Amazing! This may have been one of the most happening parties of the week! I think Quantel's User Group party was also an excellent affair (but I cannot seem to remember much of it). Back to top I also got a good laugh at one of the handouts on the NAB floor. Broadcast Buyers Guide was handing out a package labeled Low-Gain "Precision" FM/UHF/VHF Antenna. The price listed on the label was $1.99. Inside the cellophane package the device was clearly visible: a paper clip! Back to top Lastly, a major part of attending NAB is catching up with old friends. These include manufacturers who have developed relationships over the course of your careers, and people you have worked closely with in times past. It was good for see so many such people at this convention. Many in attendance were delighted to see Kiki Stockhammer back and giving great demo on the stage in the Digital Juice booth. She had been absent from the last 3 NABs. It was great seeing and catching up with her. She is now a lead singer in the rock band, Warp 11. Digital Juice is one of the leaders in royalty-free graphics, looping animations/backgrounds, stock video, music, and layered Photoshop files. Back to top Before going into the best products on the floor I need to take a look at my "acronym predictions". I was correct that MXF was going to be big, but it was not as flashy as I expected. There were no "MXF HERE" or "MXF-COMPATIBLE" signs. Many products grew MXF-compatible as I predicted but it was no longer a "big deal". Strange that such tools should appear bigger when they do not exist than when they become "real". One example that clearly demonstrates the trend is the Omneon Spectrum Media Server. At NAB Omneon's big news was that DVCPRO HD support was announced. (Omneon Spectrum becomes the first media server capable of supporting all leading HD broadcast formats simultaneously, including HD MPEG and HDCAM in addition to DVCPRO HD.) This popular media server product has been QuickTime-based since the beginning. Omneon also announced with much less fanfare that they were supporting MXF for its entire line of Spectrum media servers. You can still opt for a QuickTime file wrapper, but with Omneon joining the MXF Group of the Pro-MPEG Forum, and with their "close involvement in the development of the new standard", the implications were clear that MXF will grow to become the standard metadata wrapper for most Omneon Spectrums. Another server, Pinnacle's MediaStream 900 was recognized for outstanding new MXF product/system design by the ProMPEG Forum. The MSS 900 was the first video server sold commercially that natively supports the MXF standard. I saw several similar incidents where MXF support was announced but the new versions or new products that came with the announcement were the primary focus and MXF support appeared to be under-emphasized. Back to top I am sorry to report that HDV was a major disappointment for me -- offering more promises than the anticipated reality. There were many edit systems (1 Beyond, Adobe, Apple, Applied Magic, Avid Technology, BOXX Technologies, Canopus, KDDI, MAGIX, MainConcept, Mediaware, Pinnacle Systems, Sony Vegas, and Ulead, etc.) that announced that they are or will soon be able to edit HDV, but other than the previously announced JVC camcorders, there is no other method of acquisition. Sharp was not at NAB. Canon had nothing. Sony had a non-working model under glass. One Sony graph indicated a 2006 appearance! I believe that might have been a mistake, and it will be out earlier than that. JVC had the new CU-VH1US-P clamshell HDV VCR ($1,995 MSRP), and the JVC JY-HD10U camcorder that previewd at the previous NAB, but the new (non-working) 3-chip (Rockwell/JVC-developed 2/3" CMOS chips) camcorder revolved on a pedestal on the stage. Back to top On the other hand, AAF technology was much further advanced than expected -- revealed in the AAF Interoperability Campus at NAB. AAF is both a metadata and media interchange standard -- free to all as Open Source code. The AAF Association emphasizes that their goal is to support innovation while establishing a baseline of interoperability so that audio and video media and metadata can be easily exchanged across different platforms and applications by different manufacturers. The association is made up of both manufacturers (large and small) and broadcasters/studios/post production facilities in need of such a solution. At the AAF press conference, the association announced the publication of the AAF Edit Protocol, release of the AAF Reference Implementation, and support for the AAF Edit Protocol in the AAF Developers Toolkit. This was one of the best press conferences I attended at this NAB. After opening remarks and a quick PowerPoint, Adobe's Dave Trescot, senior director, Adobe Digital Video Group started the AAF Edit Protocol demonstration by building a Premiere Pro timeline of several layers with transitions on the video track and saving it as an AAF File. The application was shut down and then he opened an After Effects application. From within that application Trescott opened the Premiere Pro AAF file and the transition tracks became separate tracks in a After Effects composite. Changes are made and the composite is saved to an AAF file. Different manufactures brought up their computers/applications one at a time. Each accessed the AAF file (media and metadata), made changes and saved the file. Digidesign accessed and modified the audio portions of the timeline. SADiE, not an AAF member until six months prior, explained how they were able to add AAF support in their DAW - because of the AAF Edit Protocol. Then they plugged in their computer, modified the AAF file and saved the AAF folder. Lastly, there was a BBC Technology demonstration of the new Colledia AAF Plug-in for Windows Media 9, developed in cooperation with Microsoft. The Colledia AAF Plug-in enabled the same complex AAF file to be opened up in Microsoft's Windows Media 9 Player; the plug-in is able to flatten and play the AAF file leveraging WM9 and will work with any WM9S application including Web pages (think client approval). AMAZING! The truth is, in spite of wanting this kind of functionality, I never expected these capabilities this soon. The following companies demonstrating support for AAF Edit Protocol at the show include: Adobe Systems (After Effects and Premiere Pro), Apple Computer (Final Cut Pro), Avid Technology (All NLEs present as well as Softimage XSI), BBC R&D; (demonstrating AAF with a Linux Open Source editing tool), BBC Technology (Colledia and a new Plug-in for Windows Media 9 Series), Blue Order (media asset Management products), Cinegy (Cinegy Production Framework), Digidesign (Pro Tools), da Vinci (their new digital intermediate solution), Leitch (Velocity HD and Velocity Q), Metaglue (Diffuser and AAFixer), nucoda (Film Master and Data Conform), Pansonic (Vericam into Quantel iQ), Pandora International (Pogle Evolution), Quantel (all products), SADiE (DAW version 5.3), Snell and Wilcox (Comet and Metashare), and Thomson GVG (NewsEdit) At NAB the largest crowds were between two booths at the bottom of the front stairway in the South Hall. This is where the Apple and Avid booths were located. Therefore let the awards begin. Back to top Source Window The Making THE CUT Awards Each year, I also recognize the best and most exciting postproduction products seen at the convention. In the next issue of THE CUT I will discuss all the other exciting products at NAB (and there were many!). These products -- generally appearing for the first time at NAB -- stood out as those that could take postproduction to the next level. The following are this year's winners of the Making THE CUT Awards: Back to top It is my opinion that Apple's Motion, a new video/graphics effects compositing application, may be the best new product introduction announced at NAB this year. At a price of $299, I expect a vast majority of editors that work on a Mac platform will have this application on their system by next NAB. This application's pen & tablet-based "gestural interface" is one of the most intuitive interfaces I have seen, and appears to have the look and feel of a Discreet flame, although it is a very different application. Real-time previews eliminate creative distractions. The application has palettes of pre-designed but infinitely variable filters and particle effects with parameter sliders as well as a collection of templates to give new users a head start. This QuickTime application integrates very well with Apple's other video applications. Behaviors (the heart of Motion) can be applied quickly with a drag and drop operation. Although key-framing is available, Behaviors animate an object by automatically generating a range of values for that object's parameters. This is quite sophisticated yet simple to do. Behaviors include Basic (fades, position, opacity, etc.) Simulation Behaviors (Gravity/Bounce, Atract/Repel, etc.) Parameter Behaviors (flashing, oscillations, rotations, orbits, etc.), vector-based Text Animation Behaviors (rolls crawls, reveals character-by-character animations, etc. - supports Apple LiveFonts for unique font animations) and Custom Behaviors (created by editors/designers and stored in the Library of Behaviors). The dynamic sprite-based particle engine may be the most impressive component of this application. You can select either a: point, line, circle, geometry, or image emitting parameter. You can also control birth rate, life, speed, angle, spin, scale, and gradient colors for particle cells; and you can scale particles over their life or add behaviors like orbit and vortex. Whether this feature is used for creating dynamic backgrounds, fire/smoke, water motions, bubbles or sparkle effects, this is an incredibly creative yet easy-to-use toolset -- especially considering the overall price. (The overall price is less than the price of popular particle effects plug-ins!) The Motion Library contains a suite of more than 90 accelerated filters, many of which will play in real-time on a video clip. They are dragged & dropped on the selected object just like the Behaviors. The filters are divided into 12 subcategories:
Back to top I think the announcement with the most potential impact -- especially from a long-term perspective -- may be Avid's introduction of a free Open-Standard compressed HD codec, DNxHD. Actually, DNxHD consists of three codecs: 220 megabits per second (Mbps) for both 10-bit and 8-bit video, and an 8-bit 145 Mbps codec -- each contained within an MXF wrapper. These DNxHD codecs support 720p 60fps and 1080p/i HD (30, 25, and 24fps). By comparison, uncompressed 10-bit SD media requires approximately 200 Mbps and uncompressed HD media can require up to 1.2 gigabits Gbps. This codec set will be available across the entire line of Avid editing products with the "dot release" expected early in the fourth quarter. I should point out that Avid will also offer additional HD format support, including optional uncompressed HD capabilities for Media Composer Adrenaline and NewsCutter Adrenaline FX systems, and native HDV and native Panasonic DVCPRO HD for Avid Xpress Pro, NewsCutter XP, Media Composer Adrenaline, and NewsCutter Adrenaline FX systems. The Avid DS Nitris system will also handle higher-resolution digital cinema formats -- such as 2K and 4K RGB (scanned DPX/Cineon files) -- in their native color space with real-time HD proxy working resolutions and time-code tracking. Avid is also developing a dual-link HD-SDI upgrade option for the Avid DS Nitris system that will enable it to support uncompressed 4:4:4 capture from compliant dual-link devices such as Sony HDCAM SR VTRs. There is a major debate going on in our industry with regard to compressed vs. uncompressed high definition media. The proponents of compression say that if viewers cannot see any loss with a compressed signal, compression offers the following advantages:
The other argument is that uncompressed HD image quality will always be better than compressed HD image quality. Avid will point out the following in response:
There is one additional important point. Avid wants to emphasize that this compression codec offers a "full-raster" solution, as opposed to other HD compression solutions that scale. One of the jokes at NAB was that David Krall is becoming a "Rasterfarian". Back to top Although The Adobe Video Collection was introduced in August of 2003, this was the official NAB debut, and to make a real impact, it included significant, albeit dot release upgrades, to most of the bundled applications. I go into detail about the new features in the May issue of Video Systems. This collection ($1,499 MSRP) includes Adobe Premiere Pro 1.5, Adobe After Effects 6.5 Professional Edition, Adobe Audition 1.5, Adobe Encore DVD 1.5, and Adobe Photoshop CS. With regard to the upgrade from the initial collection introduction, the Press Release explains, "With outstanding cross-product integration and performance enhancements that take advantage of the latest advances in hardware, Adobe's new video line-up also introduces more than 200 innovative new features, including advanced support for high definition (HD) video in Premiere Pro 1.5." Support for HD was apparent all over the show floor. This was the year that Adobe's editing application became as accepted into the professional domain as After Effects was in previous years. Part of this acceptance is the result of the 3rd party "partners" demonstrating that this all-new-from-the-ground-up Premiere Pro application belongs in the professional arena with Final Cut Pro, Avid Xpress Studio, and Pinnacle Systems Liquid. Those partners include Blackmagic Design, BOXX Technologies, CineForm, 1 Beyond, Matrox, Canopus, and many others -- especially with the plethora of outstanding plug-ins. Nevertheless, I name this collection a Making THE CUT winner not because of its new-found success in the professional marketplace but because of the integration of the applications and the extensive toolset for editing which the suite offers. This is a powerful, professional postproduction solution. Back to top For 9 years, I have been requesting Avid provide "online" audio capabilities to their online video capabilities. I started asking for this when Avid announced the AVR 26 "online" codec. Seven or eight years ago, a control surface for timelines plus mixer for ingest was demonstrated and I began asking when that would be available. About 3 years ago at an NAB press conference, my request became so well known that it became laughable. David Krall ended the conference by saying (paraphrased), "It is now time to take questions from the press. We seem to have a tradition going, so Bob: ask your question." I speak into the microphone asking, "Will I see it at the show tomorrow?" and Krall replied, "No", followed by tremendous laughter and applause from the press. This year, what I envisioned was elegantly offered as part of Xpress Studio. The Digidesign 002 mixer/control surface is all that I had hoped for, and at this year's NAB press event, another Video Systems journalist jokingly began to it as the "Turner Box". Back to top The 002 can be used as a mixer for ingest (no separate mixer required) and as a versatile control surface for controlling the Avid Pro Tools LE digital audio workstation bundled in this suite of applications. Far more importantly from my personal view, it also fully integrates with the Xpress Pro application and controls the audio tracks in the timeline. The product connects to the platform via FireWire. Ports include: 8 analog inputs, 8 analog outputs, 4 mike pre-amps with individual gain and high-pass filter plus 48V phantom power enabled on channel pairs, 8 channels of ADAT optical I/O, 2 channels of S/PDIF I/O, 1 MIDI in and 2 MIDI out. High-quality 24-bit/96 kHz A/D and D/A converters are featured. The controller features 8 touch-sensitive, "flying faders" with EQ, dynamics, delay, and reverb with snapshots. I find that the flying faders can frequently assist me in spotting problems heard in the mix. "Touch-sensitive" means that when the set-up allows it, touching a fader will immediately trigger recording any adjustments. There are timeline transport controls, as well as 8 motion-sensitive rotary encoders used for pan/send/meter/plug-in control and monitor out and headphone controls. Sold separately, the unit has an MSRP of $2,500.00. This really is the most efficient way for controlling audio levels on a timeline. The Avid Xpress Studio Complete also features a Mojo DNA (sold separately at $1,695 MSRP) and a suite of five applications: Avid Xpress Pro, Avid Pro Tools LE, Avid 3D, Avid FX, and Avid DVD by Sonic. Adding up the prices of the hardware and software applications, if purchased individually, they would be almost twice the package price of $6,995 MSRP. There is also an Avid Xpress Studio Essentials ($3,995 MSRP) that does not come with the Avid Mojo or the Digi 002, but does come with a 2-channel, portable USB audio peripheral, Digidesign Mbox. Because two of the applications are Windows-only, both versions of Studio are Windows-only for now. There is no Mac-equivalent presently offered although you can purchase Xpress Pro, Avid Pro Tools LE and Avid FX for the Mac as well as Avid Mojo, Digidesign Mbox and the Digi 002. Although the applications do not integrate as well as Adobe's Video Collection, they do have a unified look and feel and better integration than previously. The product is expected to deliver in June. Let's look at each. Avid Xpress Pro 4.5 Avid Xpress Pro version 4.5 is a significant upgrade. New Features include FluidMotion, support for DVCPRO-50, SonicFire Pro custom music creation tools, new and powerful audio editing tools, Software Experts, and the ability to export native Windows Media 9 HD (PC only), MPEG 2, MPEG 4 and Macromedia Flash files. Xpress Pro now supports MXF and AAF and comes with 2 MetaSync tracks. Lastly, Xpress Pro can be part of a workgroup workflow when connected to Avid LANshare EX or Avid Unity Network. If sold separately, it has a MSRP of $1,695. At NAB, a future version of Xpress Pro was also discussed. Essentially, this release will add support for native HDV, native Panasonic DVCPRO HD, and support for Avid's DNxHD (see above). This release is expected in Q4, with an announced upgrade price of $49 for Avid Xpress Pro 4.5 customers. Avid Pro Tools LE Avid Pro Tools LE is based upon the Oscar-winning digital audio workstation application and allows you to do "mix-to-pix" audio editing and sweetening. The product features excellent integration with the Digidesign 002 product. Avid Pro Tools LE supports up to 32 tracks of 24-bit/96-kHz audio and up to 256 MIDI tracks. It also includes the Digidesign DV Toolkit software package and a wide range of audio plug-ins that enables users to shift pitch, clean up background noise, replace dialogue, and instantly change the tempo of audio files. Avid 3D Avid 3D is a 3D animation specifically designed for video editors by Softimage ($1,495 MSRP when purchased separately). It is easy to apply 3d FX, warp, deform or otherwise customize and composite text or a 3D object from the library of 3D models, scenes, texture maps and shapes. The product features a particle effects generator and lighting effects generator and you can perfect motion via 3D camera views displayed to client monitor in real-time via Avid Mojo. Whether you are creating visually stimulating lower thirds, buttons for a DVD, backgrounds, or complex 3D animation composites, this is a valuable toolset for the Xpress Studio editor. Avid FX Avid FX offers a complex AVX plug-in suite of 3D titling, effects and compositing tools ($1,595 MSRP when purchased separately). Based on the Boris Red product, but modified for better integration, Avid FX comes with vector paint, rotoscoping and 2D animation, an Open-GL 3D DVE, motion tracking with corner pinning, a powerful text generation/animation toolset, and keying/compositing tools. It also comes with 110 powerful filters including Wire Removal, Light Zoom, Light Wrap, Z Blur, Grain Match, Motion Blur, powerful keying and matte filters, and a wide range of time effects. For ease-of-use, there are over 1500 customizable templates available. Avid DVD by Sonic Last but not least is wwAvid DVD by Sonic, developed by Sonic Solutions for Avid ($1,995 MSRP when purchased separately). This interactive DVD authoring application offers a toolset similar to Sonic Producer. It offers a seamless workflow with the other suite applications -- especially integrating metadata from Xpress Pro's MetaSync track, and features 60,000 graphic elements, full support for 24p and mixed 16:9/4:3 projects and has already announced support for encoding to Windows Media 9 HD DVD in an upcoming release. Additionally, it offers Sound Surround and foreign language subtitle and audio tracks, supports Sonic's OpenDVD and JumpAnywhere technologies, and features WriteDirect, Avid's time-saving single-step formatting technology. A Tremendous Value Obviously, I believe the Digidesign 002 is the most exciting part of this bundled suite of applications and hardware. But I also believe this to be deserving of a Making THE CUT Award because of the legendary Avid workflow and sophisticated video and audio editing/compositing/3D FX toolset, supplemented by the powerful 3D animation and interactive DVD authoring tools. The suite is not as integrated as the Adobe Video Collection and it may lack some of the "sexiness" of Apple's suite of video applications, but Avid offers tremendous value and an extensive set of excellent post production tools. More detail on this suite of applications can be found in my column in the May issue of Video Systems magazine. Back to top Last Year Serious Magic offered one of the hottest new products at NAB, Ultra. Ultra is an extremely high-quality virtual set system for the lower-end DV professional. This year, they announced the offering of a second Library of 12 Master Sets for that product ($495) to compliment the first set. This year they receive another Making THE CUT Award for a hot new product, DV Rack. This product was designed for either laptop or desktop use and will ship this summer for an anticipated MSRP of $495. It is a Windows-based test monitoring and DV recording application. The announcement of this product and the amazing demonstrations on the floor are bordering on unbelievable. I participate in NAB wrap-ups for various SMPTE chapters and I find VPs of broadcasting raving about this product. They cannot believe how "real" the looks and operations of this rack full of equipment actually is. Mark Randall, President of Serious Magic explained that this is a "low-end production truck" for the extremely small or one-man production teams. The concept is that this product will give a person the tools to light properly, set-up mikes and cameras properly, and know if there are problems with what he has recorded. Too many coming to DV format production do not even understand how to use Waveform Monitors, Vectorscopes or how to set-up a test monitor. Therefore this product will come with an extensive tutorial, which indirectly will make this a valuable product for High Schools, Colleges, and various training programs. Serious Magic will even offer extremely attractive deals to such educational institutions. Back to top Back to top Back to top Back to top Back to top Next you have a Frame Grabber. Frames can be saved in standard JPG, BMP or PNG format or to the Windows clipboard. Back to top Back to top There is a DV-QM Automated real-time quality monitoring of video and audio with alerts for signals hitting user-defined limits with markers indicating possible problems. The audio monitoring can alert you to problems with audio clipping, pops and clicks, hum and buzz, and overall voice level quality. Back to top Lastly, there is a ShotClock timer/clock module featuring a stopwatch/event timer that counts in video frames (drop frame or non-drop frame) or displays a time-of-day production clock which can be automatically calibrated to the atomic clock at the U.S. Naval Observatory when connected to the Internet. All of these modules can be stacked in any way the user prefers. This is clearly one of the most exciting and unique new software applications introduced at NAB. Back to top It is impossible to choose between two of the new products, DeckLink HD Pro and the HDLink, for a Making THE CUT Award, so I am going to give each an award. DeckLink HD Pro is the first 12-bit HDTV SDI Dual Link 4:4:4 and NTSC/PAL capture and playback card with analog video monitoring ($2495 MSRP -- available in May). The press release explains, "Monitoring is built in, and uses the most incredible quality true 14-bit digital analog conversion in RGB or YUV. Unlike other solutions, analog monitoring instantly switches between HDTV and standard definition modes.Also included is SPDIF/unbalanced AES audio input, and SPDIF/unbalanced AES audio out, audio word clock out, and TriSync or Genlock input. DeckLink HD Pro also includes Sony's compatible RS-422 serial control port!" Back to top For test monitor accuracy and the ability to playback every pixel of the SDI video standard on a 1920X1200 LCD screen, the new HDLink unit ($1,295 MSRP) is a full HDTV resolution 4:4:4 video board with built-in audio that offers a less expensive alternative to the high-end test monitors available today. The board offers color precision support of 4:2:2 10-bit, 4:4:4 10-bit, and 4:4:4 12-bit vide with color space support for 4:2:2 YUV, 4:4:4 YUV, and 4:4:4 RGB. The press release says, "For matching LCD display colorimetry, independent 10 bit RGB gamma tables are fully adjustable via a high speed USB 2.0 host computer connection. Customizable gamma tables also allow film industry log video to be converted to linear for monitoring when used for feature film work. Control software is available for both Mac OS X(tm) and Windows XP(tm), with USB 2.0 connectivity allowing firmware upgrades via internet downloadable updates. HDLink supports all DVI-D based digital computer displays. For 1080 and 720 HDTV formats a 1920 x 1200 (16:10) resolution display is recommended. However, if working in 720 HDTV formats only, then a lower cost 1280 x 800 resolution display is recommended. When working in NTSC or PAL, HDLink can 2x oversize the displayed image making viewing easier." Each of these products (like the other Blackmagic Design products) offers incredible price/performance values. The company continues to strive to bring high-end production to the majority of film/video professionals. Back to top Linux-based Cinelerra software from Heroine Virtual Ltd. may have been the best deal at NAB yet few people saw it. MXF-wrapped media, true 24P editing (as well as all other ATSC formats), six-channel HDTV audio, unlimited audio and video tracks, extensive real-time audio and video effects and transitions, real-time titling, built-in test monitoring, background render with an associated HD Render farm available, etc. all are included in this product. I have been writing about the development of this software for several years, but never realized that it was available as a free download. The capabilities of this HDTV and Digital Cinema NLE application are startlingly good, so a free download never occurred to me. This Making THE CUT Award-winning software is also available in a professional version Cinelerra from Linux Media Arts that is identical software but comes with your choice of kits and with professional support and integration services. The software is developed for the 64-bit AMD Opteron platform. Now Premiere IBM Business Partner, Key Information Systems may soon be offering a turnkey solution of Cinelerra on a ENSANTRA HD Media Network, a fully-integrated bundled system solution developed by Key Information Systems, Linux Media Arts, IBM, AMD, ADOBE, NVIDIA, and NOVELL to create a cost-effective true High Definition cross-platform network production and management system that integrates both Linux and Windows workstations on a real-time Linux render farm. This will be a total solution form managing real-time HD video editing, compositing and media asset management. This turnkey solution will be based upon Linux Media Arts Media-based version of SUSE 64-bit Linux 2.6, AMD Opteron 64-bit processor design on an IBM APRO and IBM E-325 Server Technology. This product will feature LMA's CINELERRA Open Source Editing and Render Farm Software, LMA's L-SERVER Capture Playback Software, LMA's Bluff Titler 3D Titling System, LMA's MXF File Management System, Adobe After Effects Software, Adobe Premiere Pro Software, Alias Wavefront's MAYA, VM Ware, NVIDIA HD Display Support, and the SAMBA Networking application. This system will support networking between Linux, Apple, and Microsoft systems and will support all major HD protocols including 1080p, 1080I, and 720p. The system will provide 1080p, 1080I, and 720p editing, special effects, & transitions in real-time. Back to top DVS is pushing the real-time HD NLE, CLIPSTER, toward becoming a Digital Intermediate finishing system. At NAB they were introducing real-time primary color correction for moving images files up to 2K. For more complex color grading, DVS is partnering with Pandora and da Vinci (2K and 2K Plus). The system also supports 3rd party applications such as Adobe After Effects, discreet combustion and eyeon Digital Fusion and it supports high-speed LAN connectivity. When attached to a SAN, Clipster provides real-time single and dual link HD-SDI and HSDL I/Os to the SAN. Turnkey systems including storage begin at under $100,000 MSRP. With the real-time color correction solutions together with the capturing, real-time dual-stream editing (of 2K 24P 4:4:4 10-bit files), real-time zooming/panning, and a full kit of finishing tools, CLIPSTER becomes a full-service Digital Intermediate solution and a Making THE CUT winner. By the way, DVS was also demonstrating the DVS CineControl with its "on the set" capture and edit capabilities. Back to top Leitch introduced their VelocityHD system at NAB. The Leitch VelocityHD is available as a turnkey product or as a software/boardset/manuals & cable kit (MSRP for the kit starts at under $10,000 without options). The operations methodology and graphic user interface are based upon the Velocity/VelocityQ software application. Though this non-"industry standard" interface is a major concern for those who do not want another application to learn, it is an powerful and professional operational workflow nevertheless. Highlights of this product include:
The press release explains that the heart of VelocityHD is the new Altitude hardware board, "featuring full-quality, online playback of two HD video streams, two dynamic HD graphics streams, and true dual-stream, real-time HD transitions and effects. VelocityHD's real-time power also enables interactive full-quality feedback on the HD monitor while keyframing transitions and effects. Altitude supports 1080i, 1080PsF and 720p frame formats at all common frame rates, with compressed and uncompressed (8-bit and 10-bit) recording and playback, and the flexibility to mix compressed and uncompressed footage within a project. In addition to SMPTE-292 HD-SDI I/O, Altitude also features VGA HD output, enabling HD playback to be viewed on VGA monitors and reducing the need for expensive high-definition displays. HD output is also simultaneously down-converted for monitoring on standard-definition displays. Audio is supported through embedded SDI and discrete AES/EBU I/O, plus unbalanced analog monitoring." This new low-cost HD product, with its unique freatures, amazing performance and impecable image-quality clearly deserves a Making THE CUT Award. More information about Velocity HD is available in my April column in Video Systems magazine. Back to top I also want to recognize this hot new Digital Fusion SRHD3.0 workstation created for editing, finishing and compositing. It consists of Digital Fusion and Speed Razor HD3.0 on an uncompressed HD high-powered workstation with an AJA Thor HD-SDI uncompressed 10 bit I/O and 1.2 Terabytes Media Storage ($18,999 MSRP). The screamer platform features a Dual Xeon 64-Bit motherboard with two Intel 2.8 Xeon Processors (or higher), 1 GB of RAM, and a Matrox Parhelia 128 MB Triple Head VGA Card. It also includes a DVD-R/+R/-RW/+RW Burner. This is the flagship of a 4-platform family with prices starting at $10,999 MSRP for an uncompressed SD workstation with LOKI SD uncompressed 10 bit I/O and 1.2 Terabytes Media Storage (for those who already own a Digital Fusion license), and there is an upgrade path all the way up to the Making THE CUT Award-winning system. This family of products were introduced in in-sync's Hospitality suite in the Hilton. Back to top Logging software for a PDA device has been around for a couple of years, but most have "died on the vine" for a variety of reasons. Horita is well know for its timecode products. It is an easy step from those to timecode logging and Production Assistant duties. The Pocket PA ($389 MSRP) is a combination hardware software solution for a Windows CE pocket PC (not included). The product consists of a PDA-LOG logging program, and a Horita LTC-BLUETOOTH wireless transmitter that can transmit timecode from a camcorder to the Pocket PC. The software allows you to capture a timecode reference with a single tap of the screen, log via the PDA's optical character recognition or select from a previously defined library of notations (e.g. In, Out, Good, etc.). I should point out that this Making THE CUT Award winner is just one of several such logging solutions. The Horita Script Kit Logging Clipboard ($489 MSRP) is another popular solution. Back to top PowerBlox ($199 MSRP) is a royalty free graphics/FX toolkit for editors. It includes hundreds of motion graphics elements as well as animations with corner-pinning tools to insert video, DVD templates including buttons, animated boarders and backgrounds, etc. The product will be offered in Units just as the ProductionBlox have been marketed. PowerBlox provides for the new After Effects V. 6.5 Essence macros. This makes PowerBlox stand out among the several excellent stock graphics and stock video offerings at this year's show and therefore a Making THE CUT award winner. Back to top HDV was definitely a major theme of the JVC booth. There was a major portion of the booth allotted to 3rd party partners to display HDV solutions. Included in this area was:
Many of the editing system manufacturers were quite grateful for the CU-VH1 HDV VCR, because with the scarcity of expected acquisition and playback devices, this product saved the day. Also causing an "HD buzz" was the announcement of a planned new HD/SD VCR with a built-in high definition MPEG2 encoder, and featuring HD recording times up to 276 minutes on a DV cassette -- available in 2005 (pricing TBA). JVC also revealed a prototype of a three-chip, high-definition/standard-definition (HD/SD) switchable electronic newsgathering/electronic filed production (ENG/EFP) style camcorder, but is revolved around a pedestal on the stage. It was a non-working model. The BC-D2300 High Definition Upcoverter ($19,950 MSRP), and the DM-JV600U HD MPEG-2 Encoder ($29,995 MSRP) round out the offerings. Back to top The next Making THE CUT Award goes to the CineForm Prospect HD for Adobe Premiere Pro 1.5, a 10-bit real-time online multi-stream workflow with resolutions of up to 1920 X 1080i/p. The product offers this online workflow with no intermediate proxy files, and features HD-SDI Input and Output (including timeline monitoring). At the moment, the product is only available with BOXX Technologies hot new HD [pro] RT dual-Opteron Windows XP-based turnkey system. With this platform, you can process up to three 1080p30 streams simultaneously in real time, including color correction, effects processing, transitions, titles and graphic overlays with motion. Back to top The Snell and Wilcox Comet was a major highlight of the show for me! Why? Because it offered an "open standards" approach to one of the critical aspects of our industry today, the ability to ingest, manage, and archive media in a way that makes it easy to find and access needed media and is future-proof. The press release explains, "Comet takes advantage of the recent standardization of the MXF (Material eXchange Format) and SMPTE RP-210 metadata dictionary as well as the latest AAF Edit Protocol to empower broadcasters to create multi-vendor systems with complete interoperability, and to begin a move away from costly proprietary storage and asset management systems." This platform incorporates several Snell & Wilcox IT technologies, including the MetaShare collaborative metadata server, MXF Express engine, Mosalina Quality Control software and MediaX High Bandwidth PCI Multi-Codec. Combined, this product offers recent advances in file and metadata standards, advanced video compression and metadata annotation tools for what Snell and Wilcox call "the advanced workflow". Comet's collaborative capabilities permit multiple users to perform their tasks in parallel as part of an integrated workgroup. I asked Product Manager Stephane Blondin about this collaborative workflow and he answered. "Yeah that workflow word again. I think that the huge advantage of Comet is that it is based on collaborative technology allowing users to fully customize their workflow. What I mean by that is that unlike file-based interoperability that only allows for sequential tasks, collaborative technologies permit any parallel workflows. Here are more details on the different approaches:
The metadata cataloging process is performed with an intuitive interface and with template-based annotation windows. The Mosalina Quality Control software offers automated quality control with easy-to-understand alarms and reports. Sources can be ingested via SDI using built-in high-quality MPEG-2 compressor or via pre-compressed SDTI streams from D-10 compatible VCRs or ASI/DVB streams. Proprietary systems for ingesting, managing and storing/archiving media assets have been around for a few years now but interoperable solutions are rapidly becoming critical as total digital networked infrastructures are massively deployed in broadcast centers, studios and networks, and post production facilities. This Making THE CUT winner solves the need with an open interchange standards (AAF and MXF) approach which eliminates the need to go with expensive single-vendor solutions. At last, thanks to these newly standardized metadata technologies, facility managers can now build a-la-carte infrastructures in a cost-effective way without compromising integration. Turnkey Comet systems (without storage) retail for $24,850. Back to top Metaglue's web site proclaims, "Metaglue delivers full-service solutions from concept through completion for all your individual and enterprise metadata management needs." Metaglue also deserves a Making THE CUT award for an open standards-based media asset management solution using MXF/AAF (both binary and XML versions) metadata. Oliver Morgan explained, "Everyone uses metadata, often without knowing it. Metadata is what you use to 'know what you know' - for example, 'what format was that tape?' or 'what client did I do that piece about ballet for?'. Up until now, if you ever needed to exchange metadata with a client or a colleague, your choice has been either to learn about standard metadata (such as SMPTE), and trust that you are using it properly, or to make up your own vocabulary and hope that others will understand you." "The Metaglue Diffuser resolves the problem because it makes it much easier to learn about standard metadata, and to create your own metadata vocabularies, and to use both kinds together at the same time. With the AAFixer you can share your personal metadata with others, in the same files as the media and the EDLs; or if you prefer, share it across your whole facility with the Diffuser Enterprise edition." With your metadata on a Metaglue server, you can browse for or query files using a networked browser, or easily add to the metadata with easy-to-use graphics-based interface. The Diffuser is a reference and management tool for metadata dictionaries and offers metadata dictionary definitions that explain each type of metadata. AAFixer plugs in to the Diffuser system for integration of both standard and private metadata. While pricing for this product begins at $10,000 for the *enterprise* version (the personal version is $2000), one of the best parts of this solution is that it is so easily customized. Metaglue also offers design and consultation services and this engine they designed makes it easy to customize and program a system with both open and proprietary metadata that meets a company's specific needs. To sum up what Metaglue does, I will again quote from the web site: "Metaglue Corporation was founded to provide software, support and services to media companies who are taking advantage of the new file transfer and metadata standards, and need to build interoperable systems using best-of-breed products of their choice. If file transfer difficulties, dynamic metadata constraints and interoperability obstacles are standing in the way of effective metadata management, you need the Metaglue solution. Whether you need an individual desktop solution or a web based enterprise solution, Metaglue has developed the tools to give you full flexibility from your hardware choice through software customization." Back to top It was dificult deciding between awarding a Making THE CUT Award to the AJ-HD1200A DVCPRO HD VCR or the AJ-SPD850 DVCPRO P2 Deck . I liked the later with the optional built-in DVD-RAM/R for archiving, because it shows the focus that Panasonic has put into workflow since last year's P2 announcements, and because of the extensive professional features (VTR-like operation including Jog & Shuttle, Voice Memo playback, color LCD monitor, 4 audio channels of both AES/EBU and analog audio [plus L/R monitor out and timecode], switchable record/playback of DVCPRO/DV data [16 minutes per P2 card] or DVCPRO50 data [8 minutes per P2 card), and SD memory card slot plus IEEE 1394, USB 2.0, RS-232/RS-422, optional SDI interfaces) included with the product. I decided to go with the AJ-HD1200A DVCPRO HD/50/25, DVCAM and DV deck with optional DVCPRO HD Recording and optional IEEE 1394 Interface. (I emphasized the word "optional" because there appears to be some confusion among those who attended the show -- not because there is something bad about the fact that these capabilities are optional.) It is important to note that there is a built-in down converter within this deck that converts the output to NTSC composite (no options needed), so you can feed down-converted DVCPRO HD sources to an offline NLE without any options. The base unit is a player-only. The AJ-HD1200A is one of those new products that opens up the HD world to a new category of user, with a far less expensive workflow than existed prior to NAB. Panasonic declares this product to be the world's first and only production-quality high-definition VCR with an IEEE 1394 FireWire interface, and is the result of the previously announced partnership with Apple Computer. Apple states that this new VCR is ideal for use with their new Final Cut Pro HD editing system. It will soon work with Avid NLEs with the software update expected in Q4. Other systems have announced and are preparing to offer DVCPRO HD editing as well. While the IEEE 1394 interface is important, the biggest benefit that brings a new category of user to HD is price. The product has an MSRP of $21,000. For HD recording and playback you will need the AJ-YA120AG HD-SDI Input/Output and SD-SDI Output Board ($6,000 MSRP), and to access the IEEE 1394 interface, you need the optional AJ-YAD120AG IEEE 1394 Interface Board ($4,000 MSRP). Therefore to get the VCR that offers the DVCPRO HD capabilities and interfaces via FireWire, the MSRP for the VCR is $31,000. Panasonic also offers the AJ-A95 RS-422A Remote Controller ($1,035 MSRP). The AJ-YA120AG HD-SDI Input/Output and SD-SDI Output Board allows for HD input recording via HD-SDI. Jeff Merritt, Panasonic's Product Line Business Manager for HD Products explained, "This card is also a format converter (both up, down, and across) which means that it is possible to playback any DV tape and up convert it to either 720p or 1080i HD. The reverse is also true in that an HD tape can be down converted to SD-SDI which is convenient for offline editing. The HD-SDI card will cross convert 720p to 1080i and visa versa. An additional advantage is the ability to playback VariCam tapes shot at 720p/24/60 and convert them 1080/24p in real time including time code conversion. Additionally, when VariCam footage is acquired at 720p/25/60, those tapes may be played back and have an automatic 625 PAL conversion in real time with time code." "The unique aspect of the AJ-YAD120A, IEEE 1394 Option I/O board is its ability to transfer un-compressed DVCPRO HD across a FireWire connection to an NLE with the DVCPRO HD codec installed. The reverse is also true that after editing in un-compressed format in FCP-HD, the information is transferred back the AJ-HD1200A via un-compressed data. (You do not need the AJ-YA120AG option to record to the deck via FireWire, but you do need that option for all transcoding/format conversions.) Since the compression of DVCPRO HD is 100 Mega Bits on tape. So there is no additional compression that takes place in this scenario. Also using this card, SD output is also available for off-line editing or distribution copies." I should also point out that it is light-weight and its D.C.-powered operation permits in-field HD editing and viewing. With all these benefits, I believe this product offers exceptional value. Back to top Eastman Kodak showcased several products at this year's NAB including an unusual high-resolution 3D autostereoscopic display system requiring no glasses and displaying a wide field of view. But I am giving a Making THE CUT Award to the Kodak Display Manager System (demonstrated with the Lustre presentation in the Discreet booth as well as in the Kodak booth) and it will soon be available with the Quantel iQ product. It consists of a calibration tool and proprietary software that automatically adjusts and maintains images displayed on a computer monitor to simulate the film look. The related Kodak Look Manager System provides the ability to determine the best method in creating "desired looks" for film-originated projects. The look designed for any scene can be locked into an exportable metadata file, which can be easily shared with other systems and content creators in a collaborative environment. Embedded media such as film frames can be used as a visual reference. Once a "look" has been decided, the system will deliver uniform results on many display devices, including computer monitors, standard and high-definition video, and film and digital projectors. Back to top 1 Beyond had one of its HD Pro workstations in the Adobe booth. What is remarkable about that is not that it was editing uncompressed 10-bit HD video and audio, but that it was doing so by accessing and controlling media on the 1 Beyond Harmony SAN at the opposite corner of the lower South exhibition hall. By following the long orange fiberoptic cable, I found their booth (as did many others -- neat marketing concept) and marveled at the Harmony - my next Making THE CUT Award selection. The 1 Beyond Harmony Storage Area Network (SAN) supports from 2 to 32 editing. compositing and on-air systems accessing 10-bit uncompressed HD video with system prices starting at $35,000. Editing and compositing applications are from Adobe Systems applications-only, but you can also access other graphics and animation applications. With its simultaneous read and write capability, editors can begin editing as the images are still being ingested. These systems are already being used by major networks and large-scale users. The product is scaleable for many types of users and can be used with standard definition and DV-based media as well as HD. The system can store hundreds of hours of uncompressed HD material and offer up to 13.5 GB/sec of aggregate throughput with FC connections at 2Gb/sec. The Harmony SAN can be tied into the 1 Beyond Redline Render Farm shared processing engines. Back to top Huge System had a great NAB with its new Huge MediaVault U320-R Max Disk Array that featured a G5 "look" and with compatibility certifications from Pinnacle Systems (CinéWave 4.5), Letich (VelocityQ), and Blackmagic Design (Decklink HD). But the infamous engineer, Bob Zelin, introduced me to a product that excited us both. I was excited enough to decide then and there that it would receive a Making THE CUT Award. I am referring to the Huge Systems SANStream over GB Ethernet featuring RAID-protected storage. Although designed as a DV format SAN solution, at NAB this product was said to offer multiple streams of 1:1 uncompressed video over Ethernet -- something competitors said was impossible (also see EditShare below). Furthermore, Huge explained that HD will be available shortly with a new 10Gig Ethernet solution. Back to top EditShare introduced an affordable workgroup GB Ethernet NAS designed for the DV crowd. The cost/effectiveness of this product makes it another Making THE CUT Award-winner! The system is currently optimized and shipping for Avid XpressDV/Xpress Pro -- with versions for Apple Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere Pro, and other NLEs coming soon. EditShare is both the company and product name. Their turnkey system (Linux-based 3.06 Ghz Xeon Server with 1 GB RAM, network switch software, cables, and UPS) can seat up to 8 clients ($10,000 MSRP with 1 TB of storage -750 GB available when preconfigured for RAID 5). This compares quite favorably to competitors such as Rorke Data ImageSan ($26,600 MSRP) or Avid LanShare ($45,000). While the performance is excellent with 8 DV clients, it is not limited to 25Mb video. For example, a system can have one uncompressed SD single stream edit happening on one workstation while two other workstations are editing DV projects. (They are presently testing dual stream uncompressed 8-bit SD editing.) Back to top ProMax was offering a choice of SATA RAID storage arrays. One of the most cost-effective storage solutions ($1495 MSRRP) is the SATA MAXi internal SATA RAID for the PowerMac G5 platform, another Making THE CUT winner. It is designed and proven to keep the added disk drives within temperature specifications. Note: This requires the 2nd built-in bay to be empty to install the 4th drive in. The SATAMAXe for the PowerMac G5 was the ProMax External SATA Array specifically designed for Apple G5 platforms. The SATAMAXe for the PC contains four 250GB SATA hard drives. Both RAID arrays feature removable disk drive modules and both have an MSRP of $1,795. ProMax also offered ProMax DirectDrive IEEE 1394 Disk based recorders, hot-swappable FireWire Hard Drives for FireWire 400 and FireWire 800 conntections, and the ProMax ProMedia Converter standalone media converter ($2,295.00 MSRP)-- the later drawing large crowds of potential customers. Back to top At NAB but off the show floor, Facilis Technology was demonstrating its new TERRABLOCK, with 6TB of hot-swappable SATA-based storage designed for small shared workgroups in post production, graphics, animation and audio. A system with 2 clients has an MSRP of $25,000 with June 1st expected deliveries. The SATA drives provide the tremendous cost/savings. Furthermore, additional seats are simply the cost of the FC connection -- there are no addition client license fees. The system can support up to six clients at 2-stream uncompressed 601 video, or 12 clients at up to 2:1 or DV25. The system can also support 64-track HD Pro Tools Clients or Three Quad Stream Uncompressed 601 Clients or 24p and 30i 1080 Uncompressed HD. The product has no client software to install on any attached system. This means it is simple to configure and connect a client and there are no client conflicts or version complexities. Since the company is dominated by former Avid employees, the system is qualified for and development focused on all Avid NLEs. Nevertheless, this product also supports Final Cut Pro, Adobe graphics and effects products The system features read-only volumes for media sharing, with a single writer allowed access to the volume at a given time. A client management tool based on user login allows volume access to follow a user from room to room, or different users to login on the same system. This is an excellent solution for several postproduction workgroup situations and therefore, I give it my Making THE CUT Award. Back to top Medéa introduced the G-RAID to NAB conventioneers. Medéa claims that the G-Raid is "the industry's first storage system to support multi-stream, uncompressed SD, HDV and DV non-linear video editing via a simple FireWire 800 interface." It is a 2-drive desktop storage solution equipped with two FireWire 800 ports and one FireWire 400 port. G-RAID is available in capacities of 160, 320, 500 and 800 GB with prices starting at $299 MSRP. Although its G5-like appearance makes it a good fit for the Mac, it is also Windows compatible. While the Making THE CUT Award goes to the G-RAID, the new Fail-safe SAN-ready 2Gb Fiber Channel RAID array (no link available on the web site) with a built-in 4-port Fiber Channel hub and scaleable to 300 TB looked pretty intriguing. The product features redundant power supplies, hot-swappable component LUN striping and Medéa's proprietary Multi-Stream Technology. Back to top The Tektronix WFMNLE is a software waveform monitor plug-in for both Mac- and Windows-based Avid NLEs ($1,250 MSRP). The WFMNLE plug-in monitors content in the RECORD window of the NLE with displays that include waveform, parade (YCbCr and RGB), field, Y-only, vector, and the ability for the user to select 1-line, all-lines, or variable number of lines (consecutive) for the waveform, vector, gamut and picture displays. The product features not only a Waveform Monitor and Vector display, but also includes a Diamond Display, an Arrowhead display, and Error Bright-ups display and an Alarm VU with error log. A FREE 60 day demonstration copy is available for download and the web site offers a tutorial of the product so you can understand it better. While I believe an external monitor that can test more than the timeline is an essential part of the edit suite, the fact is that for a variety of reasons (cost, space, fan noise, or difficulty of use) external WFM/VS devices are seen less and less often. This product is easy-to-use, less expensive and requires no additional space. Especially considering that there are a smaller number of low-cost external scopes at this NAB than last, I believe the product warrants a Making THE CUT Award. Back to top Special Recognition for Streaming Media Products I would like to end this year's Making THE CUT awards by recognizing some of the most impressive Streaming Video offerings at NAB -- each of which deserves an award: Microsoft Windows Media 9 HD, Snell and Wilcox MXF Media Player and the BBC Colledia AAF Plug-in for Windows Media 9 Microsoft's Presentation Theater demonstrated WM9 HD, featuring some very impressive HD capabilities in the home and for professional uses. Windows Media High-Definition Video (wwwWMV HD) is now available on DVD and short movies are being streamed by Atom Films. For the Professional WMV HD is being used for Digital Dailies and client approvals. The Snell and Wilcox "free for download", MXF Desktop, a software-based MXF file player should also be commended. The MXF Desktop receives a Making THE CUT Award because it:
Broadcast Pix Studio Although primarily a production rather than post-production tool, the product will stream edited segments with a playout module. Broadcast Pix Studio ($20,900 MSRP for turnkey system) was developed by people from Avid, ECHOlab and Media 100 who have teamed up to provide an advanced production studio featuring: a digital production switcher, Inscriber CG, DDR, 3 Pinnacle DVEs, digital still stores, logo generator, and Broadcast Pix software with break-out boxl, workstation and router or frame. Anycast Station The Sony Anycast Station is an all-in-one "remote studio in a case" for video production. It is about the size of a large briefcase, weighs 15 lbs, and has an estimated starting MSRP of $20,000 with shipments expected by the end of August. The product combines a six-input video switcher, a six-channel audio mixer, a special effects generator, a preview and program video monitor, a Pan/Tilt/Zoom remote control for Sony VISCA-interface robotic cameras, an RGB output for displaying content from a PC or projector and an encoder and server to handle webcasting and streaming. It also features a built-in multi-camera HDD recorder which allows users to record and store all feeds as an AVI stream, which can easily be read by most non-linear editing systems. Telestream MAPone Telestream is a highly regarded streaming video company. Its FlipFactory and ClipMail lines are well established as product leaders in our industry. The new MAPone is a personal newsgathering application that enables journalists to transmit news stories directly from NLE laptops in the field over any IP network. This an important new addition to their Media Access Platform (MAP) line. Digidesign Digidelivery Digidesign's new Digidelivery product offers a new collaborative workflow/client approval system over cable modem, DSL modem or T1 lines. It is secure and easy-to-use with a simple drag-and-drop methodology. The MSRP ranges from $2,995 to $9,995. Anystream Agility Anystream is considered by many to be the Cadillac of encoding software. The reason this upgraded product is receiving a Making THE CUT Award is because of the integration with Avid's Transfer Manager and Media Browse. In this environment, Agility software acts like a network printer for encoding -- freeing the NLE for creative work. Also, the software encodes to all your review client's preferred media formats and compressions. DMOD WorkSpace Version 3.2 for Mac OS X DMOD offers secure distribution and commerce solutions for digital assets, featuring "end-to-end" design, real-time encryption technology for all digital content formats, and an excellent user interface. The press release explains that the DMOD Workspace Version 3.2 features: "Web-based browser support including Safari, Email notification, group support, optimized encryption algorithms for improved performance, folder upload and download via drag and drop, progress indicators, and streamlined address book support." Take the FLASH tour for a greater understanding of this product and its capabilities. SmartVideo SmartVideo Technologies showcased its high quality streaming video to narrowband Internet and cell phone subscribers, providing a unique outlet for owners and distributors of video content to make their content available to any audience, anytime, anywhere. The company demonstrated high-quality video delivered to cellular phones at 15+ frames per second, IPTV delivered at less than 750 Kbps, high-quality video delivered to PCs and PDAs at dial-up speeds of 23 Kbps and Entertainment content delivered at less than 100 Kbps on mobile satellite entertainment systems. Amazing stuff that is definitely worthy of a Making THE CUT Award They also announced that it has been accepted into Microsoft Corp.'s Windows Media 9 Series Certified Hosting Provider Program. Back to top NOTE: More to Come! I apologize that this issue came late to your mailbox. The delay could not be helped. I just wanted you to know that there were many more editing and post production related announcements (e.g. Apple Final Cut Pro HD, Discreet smoke on Linux, Pinnacle Liquid HD, Quantel QEdit, and more) that will have to wait for the next issue. Stay tuned. Back to top |
|
About this Newsletter You are subscribed to this newsletter as <*email*> To unsubscribe click here: Unsubscribe To subscribe to this newsletter, click here: Subscribe For information on advertising in this newsletter, please contact: Jeff Victor at jvictor@primediabusiness.com. To subscribe to Video Systems magazine, or to renew your subscription or change your mailing address, click here. |
|
|
|
To get this newsletter in a different format (Text, AOL or HTML),
or to change your e-mail address, please go to your profile page here: http://www.mailcubed.com/news/primedia/email.asp?t=pref
For questions concerning delivery of this newsletter, please contact our Customer Service Department at:
Primedia Business Magazines & Media Copyright 2004, PRIMEDIA. All rights reserved. This article is protected by United States copyright and other intellectual property laws and may not be reproduced, rewritten, distributed, re-disseminated, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast, directly or indirectly, in any medium without the prior written permission of Primedia Business Magazines & Media Inc. |