SOFTWARE
Compositing
Making Connections
Win Linux Eyeon Software announced Eyeon Connection, a new virtual file system technology that speeds workflow and management by allowing Fusion machines to directly access Autodesk’s Stone file system over a LAN, giving users the ability to interoperate with Inferno, Flame, Flint, Fire, and Smoke systems without having to import, export, or publish media. Eyeon Connection allows for direct reading and writing of file sequences directly to and from the Stone storage array. Eyeon Connection will be available to all existing Fusion 5 customers and is expected to ship in the fourth quarter for $995.
Eyeon Software; www.eyeonline.com
Video Editing
Suite Upgrade
Win - Sony Media Software announced the immediate availability of the Vegas+DVD Production Suite, a significant upgrade to its award-winning professional video, audio, and DVD production software solution. The suite includes Vegas 7 and DVD Architect 4 software, as well as a Dolby Digital AC-3 multi-channel encoder for 5.1 surround output. The all-new Vegas 7 nonlinear editing software combines HDV and XDCAM support with workflow enhancement tools.
It offers full frame-rate playback of native HDV on the Vegas timeline and includes improved memory for handling HDV 1080i long-form projects. It is now available for $699.
Sony Media Software; www.sonymediasoftware.com
Motion Graphics
Colorful Wares
Win | Mac - Boris FX, developer of integrated effects technology for video and film, demonstrated new versions of its Boris Blue, Boris Red, and Boris Continuum Complete. The company added new performance enhancements and features to its Boris Blue real-time 3D motion graphics software for Windows only, including new Image Processors such as Glow and Film effects, as well as Deformer effects that enable users to shatter and explode 3D objects. Blue now supports a wider range of graphics cards and is available for $995.
Meanwhile, Boris Red 4.0, for integrated compositing and effects for the Windows and Mac, sports dozens of new features, including 16-bit color support and a sophisticated new paint engine. The new paint engine is equipped with clone and roller brushes as well as a raster-to-vector converter tool that can automatically convert a bitmap raster file into an animatable extruded vector shape. Other image treatment enhancements include an optical stabilizer feature that uses optical flow technology to automatically remove unwanted motion from an image. Among many of the new filters, Boris Red 4.0 ships with a Motion Path filter that animates objects on a spline path. The product is priced at $1595; upgrade pricing is available.
And Boris Continuum Complete, for native compositing and effects creation, contains the new BCC Motion Key, an image-treatment tool that allows users to remove objects from a scene without having to use complex rotoscoping or masking tools. Other next-generation BCC features include Color Choker for push/pull style color correction, an enhanced Noise Map, and Turbulence for image distortion. Pricing depends on the software system on which it is run.
Boris; www.borisfx.com
Postproduction
A Hot Intro
Win | Mac The Foundry debuted Tinderbox 4, a major new product release for After Effects. Tinderbox 4 is a new collection of 18 visual effects filters featuring new plug-ins such as Colorist, for automatic color correction and balancing; Cartoon, for giving images a hand-drawn cartoon look; and Fire, for generating animated flames and other effects. In addition to the new Tinderbox 4 range, The Foundry’s Tinderbox 1, 2, and 3 have been re-engineered to take advantage of the new features within After Effects 7.0, including automatic synchronization with the After Effects built-in camera and lighting features, support for 32-bit floating-point images, and more.
Now shipping, the new Tinderbox collection is priced at $500 per node-locked license. Existing customers can upgrade for $250 per box.
The Foundry; www.thefoundry.co.uk
HARDWARE
Video Cards
Showing Intensity
Win | Mac Blackmagic Design rolled out Intensity, an ultra-low-cost HDMI capture playback card that allows, for the first time, low-cost consumer cameras with HDMI video connections to move beyond the quality limits of HDV compressed video to uncompressed editing and design. Intensity is a small HDMI capture and playback card that instantly switches between 1080HD, 720HD, NTSC, and PAL video standards.
Once Intensity is plugged into compatible PCI Express Windows or Mac OS X computers, users get the quality of uncompressed video via HDMI from cameras, decks, and set-top boxes, enabling them to play back to any HDMI big-screen television or video projector for video editing, in SD or HD, and with real-time effects. Intensity is fully compatible with Adobe Premiere Pro, Apple Final Cut Pro, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Photoshop, and any DirectShow- or QuickTime-based software application. Intensity, available in mid-October, will be priced at $249.
Blackmagic Design; www.blackmagic-design.com
Card Rollout
Win | Mac | Linux - Bluefish444 announced a new series of multi-channel SD SDI uncompressed video cards supporting Windows XP, Windows 2000 Pro, Linux, and Mac operating systems. In all, five new SD SDI video cards are available: the SD Dual Link Pro, SD Ingest Pro, SD Lite Pro, Iridium AV Pro, and SD Single Link Pro. The new video cards are well suited to applications such as video servers; encoding, decoding, and streaming of MPEG and H.264; live and non-live CG; and more. The cards are available now for $17,995.
Bluefish444; www.bluefish444.com
MOTION CAPTURE
ShapeHand Solution
Measurand, a developer of portable motion-capture systems, has introduced its ShapeHand wireless hand motion-capture solution for animators. Portable and lightweight, ShapeHand features flexible ribbon sensors capable of attaching to virtually any glove and fitting any hand size. The system incorporates the data-capturing system of 40 sensors and disposable, interchangeable gloves. ShapeHand integrates with Vicon, Motion Analysis, Measureand’s ShapeWrap II, and other motion-capture systems to deliver hand, finger, and full-body motion-capture information. Measurand also offers ShapeHand Plus, a system that combines ShapeHand with the company’s Arm Shape Tape arm-tracking utility. Measurand; www.measurand.com
STORAGE
More Memory
Avid has announced the availability of its latest Unity shared-storage solutions, which provide twice the capacity of Avid Unity LAN share and Media Network systems, and three times the storage space of the company’s Unity ISIS. Unity LANshare Version 4.2 employs the LAN server LowProfile (LP) storage and server device with 16 drives in a three-rack unit to offer up to 8TB of storage capacity. Starting at $24,995, Avid Unity LANshare4.2 systems sport Fibre Channel and Ethernet connectivity. Also now in Version 4.2, the Avid Unity Media Network system boasts a three-rack unit MediArray LP with 4Gb Fibre Channel connectivity. Media Network 4.2, priced starting at $57,215, is designed for collaborative environments handling multiple streams of high-resolution projects. With a price tag starting at $106,995, Unity ISIS Version1.1 includes up to 192TB of storage, compatibility with Mac OS X and Windows XP workstations, and support for up to 150 active users. Each of these new Unity systems uses Avid’s new file system for increased performance and 500GB drives to boost overall storage capacity. Avid Technology;
www.avid.com
SOFTWARE
3 D G R A P H I C S
Inivis Introduction
Win • Mac • Linux Inivis, Ltd., celebrating its 10-year anniversary, has unveiled Version6 of its AC3D graphics software. Version 6 is a subdivision-surface modeler with integrated polygon control. Features new to the latest edition are a real-time 3D editing engine, intuitive controls, and tools for speeding the creation and manipulation of 3D shapes. Available now,AC3D 6 is priced at $70.Inivis, Ltd.;
www.ac3d.org
COMPOSITING
Software Suite
Win • Mac Compositing software developer WalkerFX has announced the WalkerFX 2.2 suite of visual effects and motion graphics plug-ins for Adobe After Effects. WalkerFX provides compositing professionals with channel handling, keying and matting, and color-correction tools. The software is targeted at digital content creators in the film, broadcast, video, animation, graphics, design, and visual effects markets. The WalkerFX collection of 18 plug-ins is offered in three versions—Basic, Designer, and Professional—starting at $89. Version 2.2 has been upgraded for increased stability, improved compatibility with After Effects 7.0, and greater productivity. WalkerFX; www.walkerfx.com