June 2006 Archives
GeniusDV is featured in the Flip4Mac customer showcase along with many other companies, organizations and individuals that use Flip4Mac products. The write-up in the showcase highlights how GeniusDV takes advantage of the capabilities to encode Windows Media content on the Mac using Flip4Mac WMV Studio Pro HD.
Find out when the next Video Streaming and Compression class is at GeniusDV
Now IBC has its own podcast!
Folks that a looking forward to the the upcoming IBC2006 conference can get the latest on what's happening at the upcoming event in Amsterdam this September. That's the topic of the first Podcast.
The second edition includes an interview with Mike Short, producer of IBC's Media on the move theme day, on what visitors can expect from the conference and from the expanded Mobile Zone.
Other podcasts in the series will include interviews with the Conference Theme Day producers, as well as all the other hot topics in the run up to the show.
The podcasts are available as an mp3 download or if you are an iTunes user you can subscribe to the podcast channel 'IBC2006 podcast' and automatically receive future podcasts in the run up to the show.
Great news for Avid Xpress Pro users, 5.5 is now shipping providing HD capabilities for both PC and MAC platforms. Avid Xpress Pro 5.5 supports native HDV and DVCPro HD. You'll be able to mix HDV, DVCPRO HD and Avid DNxHD formats with SD and DV in the same sequence. This version also ships with custom music creation software.
Just a side note, If you are new to video editing and are in the market for a editing machine, but don't know if you want to go Avid Xpress Pro or Final Cut Pro, why not do both? We are constantly inquired by producers who are just beginning their careers and can't make up their minds. What I usually tell them is that a Mac will give you the option of using both great programs, unless for some reason you detest Macs. When Apple fixes the bugs with the new Mactel's ability to run Xpress Pro on Windows, then it's an even easier decision. Give me a Mac or a PC and a good script and I'm happy!
For all of you Final cut Pro users out there, Furnace is a collection of 30 new image processing plug-ins for Apple Shake. In this package you'll find grain removers, a multi-point tracker. Take a look at what you can expect from Furnace:
WireRemoval, RigRemoval, Kronos, Steadiness, DeFlicker, DeGrain, ReGrain, Tile, PixelTexture, BlockTexture, ChannelRepair, ColourMatte, DirtRemoval, EdgeMatte, MotionRepair, ScratchRepair, SmartFill, SmartPlate, SmartZoom, ColourAlign, DeBlur, DeNoise, Depth, MatchGrade, MatteToRoto, MotionBlur, MotionMatte, PlanarPatcher, Splicer, Tracker
Just in case you have'nt heard, Shake has a new price check out this article about this huge drop in price!
For many the task of compressing video and audio can be difficult and confusing but Rhozet's Carbon Coder makes video and audio compression easy.
Carbon Coder is an high quality compression tool that allows for advanced user editing and also has a Wizard that acts as a stand alone application geared to make encoding simple and hassle free. The Wizard interface in Carbon Coder is just COOL! I had so much fun using the Wizard. The Wizard asks the user questions as he or she clicks through the dialog windows. Carbon Coder uses pre-built high quality presets for encoding based on user responses to questions. When you come to the window that asks you what kind of video you would like to create you get the following options:
Web Video
CD-ROM Video
VideoCD
SuperVideoCD
DVD
HD(High Definition)
E-mail Attachment
Video Editing
Nero StartSmart
With the Nero 7 Ultra Edition suite there is a need to be able to navigate around the various applications to perform needed tasks. This is done with Nero's StartSmart. Tasks are broken up into different modules so as each module is selected in StartSmart users can see the available tasks. The sections that are available in Nero StartSmart are Audio, Photo and Video, Data, Favorites, Backup and Extras. The interface has a pull-down menu that allows you to select the optical media you are working with. The options are CD, DVD or CD/DVD. Various options are made available as the optical media selection is made.
Having the Nero StartSmart really helps navigation because there is a wide range of tasks that the Nero 7 Ultra Edition suite can perform. As I covered in part 1 of this series, Nero 7 Ultra Edition is a suite that has a numerous amount of applications that come with it. Nero StartSmart provides the necessary assistance in getting to those applications. This way users will not have to open each application manually.
Other related articles:
Nero 7 Ultra Edition: Multimedia Super Tool - Part 1
Nero 7 Ultra Edition: Multimedia Super Tool - Part 2
Nero 7 Ultra Edition: Multimedia Super Tool - Part 4
Other Links:
Purchase Streaming & Compression Tools from GeniusDV E-store
Adobe has really made great effort to listen to the end user when they upgraded to After Effects 7.0. One of the best new features is being able to make any window go into full screen mode. I know this sound like now big deal but if you have used After Effects very much you realize that this is a huge advantage. Taking your timeline to full screen when you are in the graph editor is a must. You can now do this in 7.0 by simply pushing the tilde key. It is the key that is directly above the tab key and looks like this ~ . Any window that is highlighted will go full screen when you press the tilde key. So, if you want to learn great tips like this one make sure you sign up for one of our up-and-coming After Effects classes, you will be glad you did!
The new transfer software by Sony is for OS X version 10.4 Tiger and will allow for native interoperability between the XDCAM HD Disc system and Final Cut Pro. The software is free and you can get it here: www.sony.com/xdcamhd.
Both Sony and Apple kick off a 12 city demonstration tour that begins today in Dallas and Miami. Here are some of the cities you can plan to attend the Apple sponsored event:
Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C. area; New York; Atlanta; Chicago; Detroit; San Diego; and Minnetonka, Minnesota.
Stay on the cutting edge of the webcasting industry by joining the International Webcasting Association. The organization has a wide range of memberships and has some excellent benefits. The International Webcasting Association is the largest worldwide non-profit trade organization dedicated to the growth and development of webcasting and streaming media over the internet and other networks. The IWA includes some of the top companies in the streaming media space. Apple, Limelight, TVWorldwide.com, thePlatform, and Intervox Communications are all members of IWA.
Currently the International Webcasting Association is supporting efforts to ensure Net Neutrality to protect an open Internet for companies to innovate and compete in a fair environment.
Learn more about International Webcasting Association and Member Benefits
Nero Express
Nero Express is another application found within the Nero 7 Ultra Edition suite. You can use the tool to create data CDs and DVDs, copy ing CDs or DVDs, and creating video CDs. Express allows you to make WMA CDs, MP3 CDs, Audio CDs and Nero Digital CDs. Nero Express also supports VCD/SVCD menu creation and has supports DVD-R/-RW/+R/+RW.
Other related articles:
Nero 7 Ultra Edition: Multimedia Super Tool - Part 1
CHV Electronics is offering their entire bundle of FCP and Express plugins as one collection. That is 118 plug-ins for Final Cut Pro and 136 for Final Cut Express. This entire bundle is Universal so need to worry if you're using a PowerMac or a Mactel computer. To sweeten the deal, the repair line of plug-ins have been thrown in for free. Take a look at what you get:
The Repair-collection
The Morph-collection
The Text-collection V4.1
The Time-collection V4.1
The Film-Filter
The AlphaWipe-collection
The Clone and Paint-collection
The Keyframe-collection
The MotionTracker-collection
The Bezier Garbage Matte Pro
The 3D-collection
The Distortion-collection
The Color-collection
The Starters-collection
Silk and Fog
iSilhouette
If you want a detailed list of every plug-in that comes in the bundle, take a look here at the CHV Electronics webpage.
In today’s world of broadcast you need to be thinking ahead of the curve. The main issues today is most stations that want HD also want the SD down convert or you may want to shoot in HD for archive purposes without and HD output. If you are stepping up to HDV and you want the advantages of shooting progressive HD footage then you have a few extra steps you need to take when editing in Avid if your output is standard definition. I now shoot with the new JVC HD-GY100U. This phenomenal camera takes high quality 720P pictures with vibrant color and clarity. You have the option of shooting is HD or DV but I have opted to shoot in 720 30P. This makes for the highest quality image and allows me to archive all of my footage in HDV. The main problem I run into is that my final output needs to be SD. There are many ways around this issue but I have discovered the best on that works for me. If you edit in the 720P mode in Avid you cannot output to 30i, this is a huge issue once you are done editing your program. The GY100U has a built in down convert to SD but it stretches the image. So I uses that cameras SD down convert and make a copy of my raw footage into my Sony DSR-11. I then bring that footage into the Avid and use the reformat effect to return to the 16x9 format. Making this conversion has it’s own set of problems (no DV scene extraction, ect.) This takes one extra step but I still have my original footage in HD format for future use.
Nero 7 Ultra Edition
I had a chance to go through the Nero 7 Ultra Edition suite and I now see why the product won a 2006 World Class Award from PC World. The tool is amazing and I believe it's a multimedia super tool for the PC for copying CDs and DVDs, encoding audio, making movies, creating slideshows, viewing DVD Videos and a host of other multimedia creation tasks.
The Nero 7 Ultra Edition suite includes a host of applicatons which are too many to talk about in one write-up. Therefore I'll be providing a multi-part article that will give readers a good overview of some of the features of Nero.
In this Part 1 I provide an overview of Nero ShowTime.
Windows Media Player 10 allows users to easily rip audio files from an Audio CD. Many individuals are probably already using this feature but if you're not you should consider it. You can rip the audio off the CD into .WMA and .MP3 formats. For Windows Media audio the media player has the option to output into Windows Media Audio, Windows Media Audio (Variable Bit Rate), and Windows Media Audio Lossless. Users can even adjust the audio quality for their desired output format.
If you like Windows Media 10 you will really like Windows Media 11. The Media is available in beta test form Microsoft.com
Visit the download Page for Windows Media Player 10
Related article:
TV Worldwide provides a numerous amount of on-line streaming channels. The website hosts links to Live and On-demand streaming content on a wide variety of topics such as pitching, law, golf, homeland defense and many other topics. What's nice about TVWorldwide.com is that you can get a great amount of streaming media on interesting subjects in one central on-line location.
Here are some other channels available at TVWorldwide:
GolfWebcast.tv
FedEdTV.com
MaritimeTV.com
StressFreeTV
LacrosseChannelTV
TVMainStream.com
On2 Technologies, Inc. announced that it has been granted a patent for advances first implemented in its TrueMotion VP6 and VP7 video compression technology. The patent was issued for an improved video compression system employing video decoding strategies that improved performance in constrained environments such as live video applications or in environments where CPU processing power is constrained.
The patent covers two separate decoding techniques. Both techniques are applicable to a variety of video codecs, including On2's VPx series.
A new version of the Democracy Media Player version 0.8.4 is available. The media player provides an enhanced way to view desktop and web videos on your computer. You can download and watch all the best internet TV shows and videos in one powerful application. New channels arrive daily in the built-in Channel Guide.
Democracy Player makes video on the internet way less frustrating and way more enjoyable. You can subscribe to channels of internet video, download videos, and watch them fullscreen, one after the other, all in one application. Internet video becomes internet TV. It's free and open for everyone to watch and to broadcast.
The new version of the Democracy Player version 0.8.4 comes with a host of new features and is available for the following platforms:
Windows - Requires: Windows XP or 2000, 128MB RAM
Mac - Requires: OS X 10.3+ and QuickTime 7,
Linux - Requires: Fedora, Ubuntu or Debian
Download the new Democracy Media Player version 0.8.4 for Windows, Linux or Mac
There is a lot of confusion circulating around the discussion forums on the topic of finding an efficient way to extract material from a DVD to import into Final Cut Pro for re-editing. After doing some research, I found such a ware that will allow you to read the dvd > set in and out points for the scenes that you want > and extract that video in a format that can be taken into Final Cut Pro and Avid. If you already have pre-existing VOB files, you can read them through DVDXDV and extract from them as well. Keep in mind that this ware is for Macs only.
DVDXDV Pro will allow you to extract high quality audio and video from a DVD to be used in Final Cut Pro and Avid. Their are two versions of this software, DVDXDVPro ($80), which is the more robust version of the program that will allow the reversal of the original interlaced field ordering of a DVD, widescreen resizing, 3:2 pulldown removal, and multi-channel audio export.
DVDXDV ($25) is being marketed more to the home video crowd and not the video professional. It will allow you to kick out a quicktime file with all audio in this version being exported as a stereo mix, it also allows for video cropping and resizing and field order reversing. There is also an "Expert Settings" option in the Export dialog that will allow you to manipulate compression settings.
After downloading the trial version of DVDXDV Pro, I was very impressed with the ease of use of this program. After purchasing the software, you are given a download link and a key and I imported some extremely high quality audio and Video into Final Cut Pro and Avid from this ware!
If you find yourself needing to use material from premade non-encrypted dvds, you should really give DVDXDV Pro and DVDXDV serious consideration. If you have Quicktime 6 or later,click here to see a video sample of the process of how you get DVD material into Final Cut Pro. Download the free trial version and see if its right for you!
*It should also be noted that there is an incredible product called streamclip. It is one of the few free programs that is available for both PC and MAC that will convert an mpg2 file or DVD into a single quicktime movie with the audio intact.
Tools for Creating Podcasts
I hope you have enjoyed our series on Podcasting. Now it's time to discuss the tools that will help you with creating your Podcast. Some items are free but others have a cost associated with them.
This tool is available for free on the Windows and Mac platforms and allows you to capture audio with a USB microphone and then edit the recorded audio tracks. You can edit your captured audio into desired audio segments similar to the way you work in a non-linear editor. Once your audio is edited you can export it as an MP3 file to upload to your website. Visit http://audacity.sourceforge.net to download Audacity.
Use Squeeze to take audio from an audio or video file for compression to an MPEG-4 or MP3 audio file for you Podcast listeners.
The Squeeze compression defaults for MP3 encoding are sufficient for creating high quality audio for your Podcast. Files can be uploaded to your Web Server after compression. Visit www.SorensonMedia.com to purchase Sorenson Squeeze.
Using Gcast you can actually call a guest to interview them for a Podcast and record your conversation with them. The service will capture an audio file of your discussion an upload it to the Gcast Web Servers. You can even record yourself on the go with Gcast. When you set up an account on their website, you can call into to a Toll-free number to create a Podcast post. The service is available for FREE at www.Gcast.com
Preparing a Blog for iTunes
Smartcast is one of the cool features of FeedBurner if you are trying to make you Podcast available to thousands. Smartcast allows you to add information about your webcast as though you were submitting it to the Apple iTunes Podcast Directory. If you are wanting to submit a Podcast to iTunes think about the following:
Podcast name
Graphic image to be seen in Podcast Directory
Podcast description
Podcast Search Keywords
Podcast Author
You can add all of the above elements in FeedBurner. Thinking ahead about this features will allow others the ability to easily find your Podcast and make it appear the way you desire to see it in the Apple iTunes Podcast Directory.
Other related articles:
An Overview of Podcasting - Part 1
An Overview of Podcasting - Part 2
Related links:
If you have added text, anything in your video that has straight lines or fast motion video you have probably noticed it looks as if the lines are dancing. Adobe After Effects 7.0 as added a great new effect to reduce and in most cases completely get rid of interlace flicker. The Reduce Interlace Flicker effect reduces high vertical frequencies to make images more suitable for use in an interlaced medium (such as NTSC video). For example, images with very thin horizontal lines can flicker when broadcast. Reduce Interlace Flicker softens horizontal edges to reduce the flickering. This effect works with 8-bpc color. Try this affect on all of your interlaced footage that is going out to NTSC and you will be glad you did!
Making Your Blog Podcast Friendly
After making a Blog, if you want to do Podcasting you must make your Blog Podcast friendly. You can do this with another great FREE service called FeedBurner. Just create an account at www.FeedBurner.com and provide the name of the feed to your Blog. FeedBurner walks you through all the details of burning your Blog. Burning your Blog essentially means to give your Blog life and allow it to get the attention of many. The burning process also allows it to appear as a Podcast. The FeedBurner service gets your Podcast ready for the masses and allows you to customize many features of your delivery. One of the benefits of a service like FeedBurner is that it helps provide the necessary enclosures for video and audio files if you are doing Podcasting. The service also helps you to track subscribers and viewing statistics for your Podcast.
Other related articles:
For those that did not get a chance to attend the InfoComm 2006 conference in Orlando, Florida they can watch the InfoComm 2006 TV News Webcasts and Podcasts on-line. The Webcasts are available in Windows Media and Real Media format. The Podcasts are available to those that have a Video iPod or would like to watch view via iTunes. The Webcasts and Podcasts provide a great overview of Conference news and announcements.
With the emergence of iPods and iTunes, Podcasting has has taken off big time. It's hard for many to grasp the technology and understand how to get started creating their own podcast so I have provided this overview. In this article I will highlight some tools and websites that will get you started with created you own Podcast. This write-up won't be a comprehensive tutorial but will be geared towards getting you looking in the right direction. This article will be divided into four sections: Creating a Blog, Making Your Blog Podcast Friendly, Preparing a Blog for iTunes, and Tools for Creating Podcasts.
Creating a Blog
As you look into Podcasting whether you choose to do a Video Podcast or an Audio Podcast you will need to first create a Blog. A Podcast is really a feature of a Blog where you have a URL link to a downloadable audio or video file. This is why Video Podcasting is often referred to as Video Blogging. The audio or video file, which is downloadable is uploaded to your Web Server where you normally place your web pages. Here's an example of what your URL link might look like when you add it to your Blog.
Sample URL
http://MyWebServer/audio/MyAudioFile.mp3
Once you upload your video or audio file to your Web Server you should determine what the path to your video is similar to the above example.
Many Blog services and tools surrounding Podcasting are available for free. In fact, creating a Blog and hosting your video and audio can be free as well. Tools that you can use for capturing audio into your workstation are also available for free. You'll just have to take time to learn how to use a lot of the technology. Many of these tools will be listed in part 4 of this article.
A nice service for creating a Blog is called Blogger located at www.Blogger.com. You can use this service to set up your Blog or multiple Blogs after creating an account. When you are setting up a Blog you will able to create the look for your Blog as well as provide additional features to your Blog. Blogger is definitely a cool service.
Featured Podcast:
The DV Show
Other related articles:
An Overview of Podcasting - Part 2
Akamai Technologies, Inc, announced its position as a strong leader in rich media content delivery as evaluated by Forrester Research. Akamai was among six companies that Forrester invited to participate in its June 9th Forrester WaveTM analysis entitled Rich Media Content Delivery, Q2 2006, by Brian Haven (available for Forrester subscribers at www.forrester.com). Akamai leads in Forrester's services evaluation, and is the only reviewed company listed as a leader*.
Forrester's analysis states, "Akamai leads with experience" referring to the Company's "impressive client base in terms of size and stature."
"Its unmatched global network, media and entertainment expertise and financial resources make it the clear Leader in rich media delivery," continues the report.
Forrester's evaluation criteria included measuring each company participating in the analysis based on 70 individual metrics within three high-level categories: current offerings, strategy and market presence. Akamai led in all three high-level categories.
In addition, the Forrester Wave analysis also recognized Akamai with top marks (5.0 out of 5.0) in the following sub-categories: network presence and service (related to current offering), and revenue, services, and employees (related to market presence).
"The continued adoption of broadband and the increased consumer demand for rich online content is helping to fuel Akamai's success," said Robert Hughes, executive vice president, Global Sales, Services and Marketing, Akamai. "We're very pleased to be recognized by Forrester as a leader in this booming market. Akamai is enabling many of the largest online companies to monetize, deliver, control and analyze their media assets, while providing a dramatically better digital media experience for their audiences anywhere in the world."
Great news for all of you Final Cut Studio users. Today, Apple has announced that its unified 2D and 3D compositor, Shake 4.1 Universal, will now be priced at 499 dollars as opposed to 2,999. Shake Universal 4.1 will run on Both Power PC and Intel Platforms and offers 32 bit float Keylight and Primatte Keyers to Open GL accelerated 3D multiplane compositing.
Here are some of the key features of Shake 4.1:
Unified 2D and 3D compositing: Multi-plane compositing is integrated directly into the node view so you can jump from 2D paint, rotoscoping and image processing into a 3D layered composite.
Advanced Image Processing: Includes shape-base morphing and warping, optical flow-based retiming, auto-align, and smoothcam and tracking
Open Customizable Architecture: Internal C-like scripting language and macros.
Shake 4.1 is now shipping.
Focus Enhancements has announced that they have been working closely with Canon to develop the FireStore FS-C HD60 and FS-C HD100 DTE devices for tapeless acquisition with the Canon XLH1 HD cam. Just as the names suggest, the 60 will provide 60 gigs of recording time and the 100, you guessed it, 100 gigs of capacity. This series recorders will allow videographers to record HD footage in .m2t files and in DV mode, file support for Avid OMF, Quicktime, Canopus AVI, Matrox AVI and more.
Expect 4 1/2 hours of HD 1080i or DV25 recording time form the FS-C HD60 and 7 1/2 from the FS-C HD100.
On account of their being very little information floating around out there about these new devices, I was unable to find any pictures of the units. The FS-C series is expected to hit shelves this July.
Yet another tapeless option for the hardworking Avid Xpress Pro and Final Cut Pro Producer.
The Windows Media Player 11 Beta is now available for those interesting in a better rich media experience using Windows Media Player. The much anticipated media player features the following:
- Streamlined Shortcuts
- Fast access to settings
- Universal back and forward buttons
- Revamped playback controls
- Easy access to music stores
- Great options for ripping CDs
- New sync features for portable devices
Windows Media Player 11 is designed to work with all versions of Windows XP Service Pack 2 including Windows XP Home Edition N and Windows XP Professional N.
The Louisiana Department of Economic Development has featured Network Foundation Technologies (NFT) as part of their ad series to promote the opportunities and incentives businesses have in the state of Louisiana.
Their on-line feature includes an article and streaming video interviews with Founder & Chief Scientist for Network Foundation Tecnologies (NFT), Mike O'Neal and President & Co-Founder Marcus Morton. NFT is a Louisiana based high tech company revolutionizing on-line broadcasting.
Morton envisions a not-too-distant future when the Internet is the sole method for delivery of all audio and video. He says software developed by NFT will drastically reduce bandwidth cost, which is the primary hurdle keeping broadcasters from streaming live 24 hours a day.
NFT currently has one U.S. patent issued and five patents pending, and expects to grow from 11 to 40 employees and reach annual sales of $100 million over the next two years. This is thanks in part to the business climate in Louisiana, as well as the most aggressive business incentive package in the nation's history.
Learn more about how Network Foundation Technologies is doing business in Louisiana.
Avid has a great way to save the day if you either mess up your project, if something becomes corruptor if you just need to go back to an older version of a sequence. This great tool is called the Avid attic. The attic provides you with a history of versions of your bins. If you manually save or auto save your bins are backed up in the attic. The biggest misconception of the attic is that is will bring back deleted media. The attic does not make copies of your media; it just saves versions of you sequences and clips information. If you delete the raw media you cannot retrieve it in the attic. The other thing you need to be aware of is the attic saves a default of 30 files; this is fine if your frequency of saves is 60 minutes or more but I like to save at least every 20 minutes so I like to bump my number to around 100. This allows me to go deep if I need to retrieve from a very old version. Just remember the attic is a great place to retrieve your lost clips and sequences but it will not bring back deleted media.
Whether you are a loyal Panasonic HVX200 fan or just curious as to which HD cam to spring for, Panasonic has a great new microsite at panasonic.com that is all things HVX. This is a great opportunity for all of you Final Cut Pro and Avid Xpress Pro users to see what other people are doing with the HVX and to witness how it is being applied in the real world. If you're into pro videography, news gathering, independent filmmaking, HD production, or education, this site gives great information on the practicality of the HVX in each discipline. There are also in-depth reviews of the operability of the HVX from working producers who are using the camera in the field on a daily basis. This site is a treasure trove of HVX information.
If you are a fan of the Panasonic line of cameras or just an independent filmmaker in general, you also need to check out DVXUser.com. This site has to be one of the most comprehensive and active places on the internet for the independent filmmaking community. Whether you are loyal to Cannon, JVC, Sony, this online community is talking about it. The examples of other peoples projects is reason enough to check out dvxuser.com.
Nero, leaders in digital media technology, announced that its Nero 7 Ultra Edition software suite has been honored by PC World with a 2006 World Class Award - one of the 100 Best Products of the Year. Winners were announced in the July 2006 issue of PC World (online now and on newsstands June 13).
An all-in-one solution for the management of data, audio, video, photo and TV content, Nero 7 is a comprehensive tool for today's digital home. Updated in April, Nero 7 now enables Blu-ray data recording and has many new and updated applications, including Nero Home that enables users to easily manage their PC-based digital files from the comfort of their living rooms, and Nero Search, which allows users to quickly find content located anywhere on a computer or the Internet. Current Nero 7 customers can update the software free of charge online at www.nero.com.
PacketVideo announced its collaboration with NTT DoCoMo to enable advanced mobile music services for the Japanese market using Microsoft Windows Media technology. The collaboration has resulted in the first-ever support of Windows Media Audio protected by DRM in NTT DoCoMo's 3G FOMA handsets, powered by PacketVideo's Universal pvPlayer media player. PacketVideo has long supported Windows Media in US mobile service launches and has provided i-motion player capabilities for more than 20 of NTT DoCoMo's FOMA handsets.
"PacketVideo is very pleased to introduce Windows Media into NTT DoCoMo's FOMA handsets through our innovative Universal pvPlayer media technology," said Dr. James Brailean, PacketVideo CEO. "We are honored to help these two leading companies bring state of the art mobile music services to millions of people."
For all of you Avid Xpress Pro and Final Cut pro editors out there who also dabble in 3D animation, Thinking Particles 2.0 is an Autodesk Certified Animation Plug-in that works quite differently than most of its competition. 2.0 is a rule based particle emitter, as opposed to an event-based particle emitter, for Autodesk's 3D Studio Max. Event based particle emitters work just as the name suggests, they rely on triggers and time based events to determine particle behavior. Plane and simple, Thinking Particles 2.0 is free of constraints and lets you create the rules that govern all aspects of a particles life.
Thinking Particles 2.0 ships with 90 minutes of training videos created that were created by industry professionals, an in-depth set of tutorials and a comprehensive online reference guide. There is also a great web forum called ThinkingParticles2World for anyone who wants to converse directly with the professionals who helped test and shape this powerful visual effects tool.
Thinking Particles is run on the PC format and is shipping for around 1,295 dollars.
Telestream's GraphicFactory wins an NAB 2006 Top Innovation Award. GraphicsFactory was first showcased at the 2006 NAB Show and is a powerful new software solution that automates graphics assembly in file-based workflows. The software provides a build once, apply to many model and offers a faster, more efficient means to personalize media, add promos, brand, and localize media for a variety of high-volume distribution requirements.
Products or technologies that receive the Television Broadcast Top Innovation Award are nominated by industry professionals and selected unanimously by the editorial team of Television Broadcast magazine. These awards are presented in recognition of Technology Insight for the Bottom Line, having combined innovative technical achievement with workflow and cost efficiencies.
Download a brochure for GraphicsFactory and learn more about other Telestream's workflow products
Telestream, a leading provider of multi-format workflow automation solutions, today announced a major Version 5.0 software release for its flagship FlipFactory product line. FlipFactory automatically converts and transfers digital media files between professional formats and systems in today's IT-centric video environments. Two new products, FlipFactory Mobile and FactoryArray, and key new product features address the needs of a rapidly changing and dynamic digital media marketplace.
FlipFactory Mobile automates high-volume media encoding for evolving mobile distribution outlets. Support for commonly-used mobile and web video and audio formats includes H.264, iPod, QuickTime 7, Windows Media VC-1, 3GPP, Real, MPEG-4, MP3, AAC and more. With the availability of FlipFactory Mobile, Telestream continues to provide the industrys broadest and deepest file format support for multi-platform media distribution, from HD to mobile and everything in between.
As file-based workflows become more demanding, large-scale content providers and companies cannot afford interruptions in their critical workflow automation environments. Telestream's new FactoryArray ensures continuous, 24/7 job processing in these critical environments. FactoryArray extends the power of any FlipFactory product from a single server to an array of servers working together to process jobs in the most efficient and secure manner possible. Key components include intelligent load-balancing and job distribution, failover protection, database mirroring and automatic recovery mechanisms for all workflows. Distributed control ensures there is no single point of failure in FactoryArray that will ever bring a system down.
Knowing the keyboard shortcuts for any given program will greatly increase your workflow speed. Over the next week I want to give you the most shortcuts that you will need to know for your Avid NLE to become a fast an efficient editor. The audio shortcuts are some of the most underused shortcuts but very useful. This shortcuts are not only shortcuts but also very necessary for performing the task at hand.
1.Alt + click Pan slider Snaps to Mid in Audio Mixer tool
2.Alt + click Volume slider Snaps to 0 dB in Audio EQ and Audio tool
3.Alt + click Audio Track Monitor button Selects track for audio scrub monitoring
4.Ctrl + click Audio Track Monitor button Solos the audio track
5.Alt + click Track Solo button (Automation Gain tool) or Alt + numbers 1 through 8 at top of keyboard Mutes the selected track
6.Alt + drag keyframe Moves selected audio keyframe horizontally in Timeline
7.Alt + click digital scrub parameters Opens Audio Settings dialog box
The official dates for the 16th annual WEVA Expo 2006 is August 21rst through the 24th with the doors opening at 5:30 pm on Monday at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Here is some of what you will find at this year's event: over 70 seminars on wedding and event video, camera clinics, workshops, system training, live demonstrations of new technology, workflow management, power marketing, portable video concepts, best internet strategies, opportunities to network and off course a great trade Show.
If your dream is to turn your investment in Avid Xpress Pro, Final Cut Pro and personal training into a profit, you should really give WEVA a close look.
For all of you visual effects junkies who may be using After Effects or Motion, the 8th annual Festival of Visual Effects is just around the corner. If you are going to be in the Hollywood area around the dates of July sixth through the eighth, this is a great opportunity to see how the big boys and girls do visual effects. This is a three day event for the visual effects community that will feature Academy Award winning speakers, workshops, and panel discussions covering some of the industries hottest new technology. The latest visual effects intensive films such as Superman Returns, Cars, and Xmen: The Last Stand will be the topics of discussion as well as the historical achievements of visual effects and what to look for in the future of film and television in the realm of VFX.
Some new additions to this years Festival are: VFX entertainment vendors, experimental films as well as international and student produced films.
If you're crazy about visual effects, it sounds like early July is a good time to be taking a vacation!
The creators of some of the Best Adobe After Effects plug-ins have updated their powerful 3D particle system known to the motion graphics world as Particular. New features to the plug-in are Depth of Field, Motion Path, and Particle Count.
Check out what this means for you:
Depth of Field: is useful to generally increase realism or to match footage shot with a real camera where Depth of Field is apparent.
Motion Path: is useful when precise control of the particle path is needed.
Particle count: is useful when trying to optimize a render, always try to keep both numbers as low a possible.
For More Info Visit Trapcode's Official Website
Also check out the animation Douglas Martin did for the Discovery Channel for a great example of Particular in action:
Having the ability to record directly to the Avid OMF format is a huge timesaving advantage. Focus Enhancements produces camera mounted hard drives for direct editing. Not only to you get direct to edit but also you get the security of recording to tape and hard drive simultaneously. Weighing about one pound and only 1.5 inches thick, the FireStore Portable DTE Recorder brings Direct To Edit Technology to your DV or HDV handheld camcorder featuring an IEEE 1394 interface. Whether mounted directly to your camcorder or clipped to your belt, the DTE is designed to excel in the field and back in the editing suite. Focus produces various versions of the FS-4. The models include the DR-HD100 made specifically for the JVC GY-HD100. When in DV mode, files are recorded to disk as RawDV, AVI Type 1, AVI Type 2, AVI Type 2 24p, Matrox AVI, Canopus AVI, QuickTime, QuickTime 24p, Avid OMF, or Pinnacle AVI, or to 720p MPEG-2 transport streams (.m2t) when in HD mode. I own this unit and it is by far the best investment you can make. Focus just now released the FS-100 to mate with the Panasonic AG-HVX200 P2. This unit also includes DVCPRO. Make your next purchase a DTE from Focus Enhancements and save yourself time and money.
If you were thinking about purchasing one of the shiny new MacBooks to run Final Cut Studio on you may be in for quite a surprise. According to Apple, due to the integrated graphics processor in the MacBook, the Final Cut Pro Universal Crossgrade is not supported. This also goes for Motion and other Final Cut Studio Apps. Apple says that although the Universal Crossgrade installer allows for the installation to take place, the MacBook's integrated graphics processor does not allow for float processing and therefore Final Cut Pro along with other Final Cut Studio applications will suffer significant degradation in performance and other issues.
If you are not familiar with the new Apple laptops, keep in mind that this is the MacBook we are talking about, NOT the MacBook Pro. Hopefully, the Next generation of MacBooks will have these issues worked out.
Envivio Inc. recently showcased its Quad Play ready IP video systems at GLOBALCOMM2006 . Its MPEG-4 IP video systems work on a Sigma Designs based H.264 consumer set-top boxes. The Envivio systems enable service providers to deliver quarter common intermediate format (QCIF), common intermediate format (CIF), standard definition (SD) and high definition (HD) IP video and video on demand (VOD) to all devices - from a mobile video phone, to a PC, and to SD and HD television sets - within a complete MPEG-4 environment and at the lowest bandwidth available on the market today. The demonstrated Video over IP systems can interface with any OSS billing and open standards-based VoIP systems, making them an ideal solution for offering Quad Play where bandwidth is limited and operators wish to provide the latest in competitive services to their subscribers.
The demonstrated solution highlighted QCIF, CIF, SD, and HD IP video encoded by the Envivio 4Caster M2, B3 and HD3 systems for outstanding video quality at the lowest possible bit rates. The solution demonstrated includes a consumer MPEG-4 set-top box with an EPG driven by the Envivio MPEG-4 Part 11 based technology as well as VOD and other innovative features such as VOIP integration.
Since the Envivio systems are based on open standards, service providers can select from the complete line of Envivio systems or mix and match systems from other open standards-based vendors as they enhance their networks to offer IP video services. From the IP video headend to the set-top box, the Quad Play ready IP video systems from Envivio enable service providers to offer enhanced television services and to increase their average revenue per user (ARPU).
Get additional details on Envivio solutions for MPEG-4 encoding
It's Jerry Time is a humorous animated blog of a 46 year old man from Buffalo, New York simply known as Jerry. What is oh so special about this particular blog is that each episode is totally done Adobe After Fx! When I first caught wind of the site I thought to myself this is odd but I found it to be quite entertaining. The show was even nominated in the first annual iPod Emmy Awards.
Each episode is created in a about 2-3 weeks using nothing more than digital photos, clip art, and good 'ole After Effects. If you want to see a great examples of the Parenting techniques in Adobe AE check out a few episodes and make one of your own! Happy Animating!
Check Out: It Jerry Time!
The Big Mini DV Film Festival is a two day event celebrating the talents of animators, documentary filmmakers, independent visual artists, and narratives works made in the mini-dv and HD-DV format. The event is hosted by the Media Arts Department of Long Isaland University-Brooklyn Campus and the dates for this year's festival is November 10 & 11th. The submission deadline is September first so get to work Avid Xpress Pro and Final Cut Pro Artists!
Get your entry form here.
Location: Long Island University-Brooklyn Campus. The exact time and location have yet to be set.
RED 3GL by Boris FX, a leading developer of integrated graphics and effects technology, is designed specifically for editors and provides sophisticated 2d and 3D compositing, advanced titling, paint, and rotoscoping ability to over twenty NLEs. If you are a Final Cut Pro or Avid Xpress user make sure that the version you are running is compatible with RED GL with the Boris Compatibility Matrix.
Here are some of the key features as listed by Boris FX:
Open GL accelerated effects creation and playback
Advanced 2D and 3D compositing with unlimited layers
high quality keying, masking, mattes and Apply Modes
Motion tracking, corner pinning and image stabilization
Intersect any 3D shape including planes, spheres or extruded text
Vector paint and rotoscoping with precise controls
Over 110 filters including Wire Remover, Film Grain and Match
Superior 2D and 3D titling
Vector text for razor-sharp display at any scale
Dowload the full 14 day trial version here.
Check out what RED 3GL can do!
Get a head start on the latest Media Composer features.
Join host Tim Wilson, Avid Senior Product Marketing Manager, for a guided tour of the latest Media Composer family, featuring SteadyGlide Motion Tracking, Full-Screen Play over DVI, and a starting price of only $4,995USD. Using both Mac OS X (Tiger) and Windows XP systems, Tim will show you how to:
* Combine multiple formats in real time in the Avid Open Timeline
* Edit video and audio faster with multi-track trim tools
* Use the Media Composer system's superior color correction tools
* Create motion effects with Avid FluidMotion and FluidFilm
* Work with HD and multi-camera material
* PLUS: Get a preview of Avid ScriptSync script-based editing technology
Live Q&A: After the demonstration, Tim will answer your
questions in an interactive session with live product demos.
Register for the June 21st Live Webcast on Avid Media Composer
Knowing the keyboard shortcuts for any given program will greatly increase your workflow speed. Over the next week I want to give you the most shortcuts that you will need to know for your Avid NLE to become a fast an efficient editor. The bin shortcuts are very important shortcuts to know and utilize. Here is the list of general bin shortcuts:
Ctrl + N Creates new bin
Ctrl + A Selects all items in a bin or project
Ctrl + W Closes the open window or dialog box
Ctrl + P Prints active bin
Ctrl + D Duplicates selected clip, sequence, or title
Ctrl + I Opens Console window
Shift + Ctrl + click Bin Menu Alternates Relink and Unlink commands in the Bin menu
Alt + drag clips between bins Copies clips instead of moving them
Stay tuned for more great shortcuts and do not forget to sign up for one of our up and coming Avid classes!
If you are in the need to compress VOB files to formats such DV/DV50, AVI, QuickTime, or MPEG-4 then MPEG Streamclip is just the tool to do it. The tool is extremely easy to use and comes in Windows and Mac flavors. While MPEG Streamclip sports a numerous amount of pre-processing features such as: cropping, deinterlacing, along with quality, contrast, brightness, and volume adjustments. As a f