HD For Indies

Rules for Contest - DVXuser.com -- The online community for filmmaking

Jarred Land emailed me to say he's having a Red Contest - not to give away a camera (them's cheap, but not THAT cheap!), but he is giving away Red reservation #97 - you get the titanium R and $1000 off the camera and the 97th one off the line.

To win, enter your idea for a Red product on the appropriate forum page.

Good luck, and good ideas!

-mike

Hey all -

So there's a bunch of different machines out there, and folks want to know what does and doesn't work, and I can't STAND some of the test results I'm seeing out there (example links withheld to protect the guilty - but Wind Filter, I know where you hide!).

What I think REALLY matters to editors doing long form is this:

1.) Realtime playback at high quality - if it won't play, never mind.
2.) Realtime cross dissolves. After that, all other transitions are pretty much gravy. How often do you use anything but a cut or cross dissolve in long form? I mean, REALLY?
3.) Real Time Color Corrrection - the 3-way color corrector is the standard, and working some sliders rather than others can decide whether the results are realtime or not
4.) Titling - again, in real time
5.) Letterboxing - realtime

In the indie productions that I've worked on, not having these things realtime (even if for rough use, like color correction if you're going to do better later) is a huge time killer, so I consider this The List. I consider that items 1-3 are the Must Haves, and ALL AT THE SAME TIME. Items 4 and 5 in conjunction with the others is damned useful, but not quite as essential in my opinion, in my experience. But if you can't take two color corrected clips and get a realtime cross dissolve, you're in trouble as far as time efficiency goes.

So I want to know exactly which formats, with what combination of 1-5, will or won't play realtime full quality, or realtime with Dynamic RT, etc. So how to find this out?

What I'd like to do is:

1.) Get together any gear that I don't have, or can't have plugged in simultaneously
2.) Put together a test regime that is more realistic for editing than what I see out there (anyone who proposes Lens Flare or Wind Filter testing will be summarily shot)
3.) Standardize the machines on OS, QT, FCP, AJA/BMD driver versions
4.) Set up a Master File, ready to roll for testing
5.) Copy that to all the Macs in question
6.) Do relevant testing on the gear and get some solid benchmarks, do pass/fail testing and stopwatch testing
7.) Document and post all that stuff

Formats I want to test
-DV (NTSC & 24p)
-HDV (720p30 and 1080i)
-DVCPRO HD (720p24, 720p60, 1080p24 (you can hack it, more on this later), 1080i60)
-uncompressed 720p24 8 bit 4;2:2
-uncompressed 720p60 8 bit 4;2:2
-uncompressed 1080p24 8 bit 4;2:2
-uncompressed 1080i60 8 bit 4;2:2
-uncompressed 1080p24 10 bit 4:2:2 (already know no RT)
-uncompressed 1080p24 10 bit 4:4:4 (already know no RT)

...and as long as I'm testing stuff, I want to know about:

-uncompressed 2Kx1080 10 bit RGB 4:4:4 (on Kona3 and MultiBridge Extreme)
-uncompressed 2Kx1556 10 bit RGB 4:4:4 (on Kona3 and MultiBridge Extreme)
-compresssed 2Kx1080 and 2Kx1556 (on Kona3 and MultiBridge Extreme)

....and see how they work. But that's probably another day.

What I've already got

so I now have inhouse

-a dual 2.0 GHz PCI-X (early model) G5 with a ??? graphics card
-a dual 2.5 GHz PCI-X G5 with aATI X800 XT card in it
-a quad 2.5 GHz PCIe G5 with an nVidia GeForce 7800GT card in it
-a 1.25GHz G4 12" PowerBook
-a 2.0 GHz MacBook

They all have uncompressed HD capable RAIDs attached

They all have FCP 5.0.4 (soon to be 5.1) installed

Then I have the following HD capture cards:

-one Kona2 card with K-Box (PCI-X)
-one Kona3 card with K3-Box (PCIe)
-two BlackMagic DeckLink HD Pro cards (PCI-X)
-one BlackMagic DeckLink HD Pro cards (PCIe)
-one BlackMagic Multibridge Extreme box (PCIe)

Then I have a JVC 19" broadcast CRT

Then I have an AJA HDP (and the DVI output from my Multibridge Extreme) for HD-SDI to DVI conversion for display

Then I have four HD capable RAIDs

Then I have the following SATA cards:
-two Highpoint RocketRAID 1820A cards (PCI-X)
-two Sonnet eSATA Tempo X PCIe cards (4 external port multiplying eSATA ports)
-two Sonnet Tempo X 4+4 PCI-X cards
-one Sonnet Tempo X 8 port eSATA card

...and a bunch of LCD and CRT monitors.


What I'm missing and would like to find locally:

-another PCIe Mac that isn't a Quad G5
-an Intel based iMac
-an Intel based Mini
-MacBook Pros of any size

What I'm NOT interested in doing:

-testing on old gear - if FCP 4 or 5 can be made to run on a G3, I don't care - it isn't fast enough to do any of the work that I care about

WHEN

I dunno, maybe in a couple of weekends? On a Saturday, and make it be a beer-n-pizza kind of a gig? Open to suggestions, nothing locked down at this point.

WHO

this is a call out to all my local regulars (Craig, Zane, Luis, etc.), but open to any readers who'd be down with this idea.

WHERE

I'm thinking of just doing it at my house (that's in Austin, TX, for those who don't know), I have LOTS of monitors, power cords, and table surfaces. While files could certainly be distributed around (and I'm thinking about that possibility), it'd be more efficient to do it here in a more controlled circumstance, plus beer and pizza and hang out factor.

If you're local and/or have gear to contribute from the list and want to be involved, contact me - email me - mike at hdforindies dot com.

Think Secret - Briefly: Intel-based Xserve due this summer: "

Apple's Xserve may find Intel processors inside of it ahead of any Power Mac upgrade, sources report. Intel is currently on track to deliver Woodcrest, the code-named successor to its Xeon processor targeted at servers, in June, and sources say Apple is eying the release of the first Intel-based Xserve around July.

....and based on Intel's known release date of Core 2 Duos (Conroe), chips due July, they speculate we'll see desktop G5 replacements at WWDC in August.

My thoughts? Maybe....but that's much faster than I'd guess. These guys guess madly and are usually wrong. They keep saying "It's about to happen!" and eventually they're right...like a clock, twice a day...

-mike

Apple Tech Note:

Final Cut Pro: Read Prefetch settings for Xserve RAID


If you are using an Apple Xserve RAID for video in high data rate formats (such as Uncompressed SD formats or HDTV formats), a Read Prefetch setting of 128 stripes (8 MB) is recommended. When using a Read Prefetch setting of 128 stripes, you may be able to further increase the Xserve RAID's performance by storing audio-only files on a separate drive system (such as a second internal ATA or SATA drive or second Xserve RAID).

Apple Tech Note:

Final Cut Pro: Apply the Broadcast Safe filter last

Using the Broadcast Safe filter is a good way to ensure that the levels in your project will conform to the specifications required for television. In order for the Broadcast Safe filter to be effective and accurate when used, it should be the last filter applied to a clip or nested sequence.

Apple - Support - Downloads - QuickTime 7.1.1

QuickTime 7.1 apparently had some issues, so QT 7.1.1 is out. Recommended for all users. I happened to ask Jon Thorn, Mac video product manager at AJA, if there were any known issues with OS X 10.4.6 and QuickTime 7.1.1, he said none that he was aware of, but now there is 7.1.1. As always, don't update mission critical production machines until you've heard somebody else with your EXACT same setup has done so and done the things you do and it's all worked out well for them.

-mike

celluloid eyes: an open letter to indy/low-budget filmmakers

A nice open letter to the indie community on how to promote your indie film, but more specifically (and importantly), how to help the press to promote your film.

How are you going to get any buzz if there is no website, no online trailer, no nice stills that easy to find? No plot summaries, no bios about the director/writer/actors/DP/whoever is important to promoting your film.

She singles out the site for Jumping Off Bridges as a good example of how to do it right -

It's easy to navigate, and all the information a potential viewer or film critic might want is easy to find. The site includes a press kit PDF, a list of credits, a summary of the story ... even iTunes links to music from the movie.


They got it mostly right (probably due to Stacy I'll bet!), with a few quibbles - high res stills were embedded in the PDF, not freestanding downloadables, but other than that they give press folks, who are always rushed, underpaid and on deadline, good info fast and well organized, and the press will love you for that. Jumping Off Bridges isn't exactly a grab-you-by-the-throat film - it's about a family dealing with the suicide of the mom after a child dies years before. Yuck - heavy stuff, not something folks are necessarily going to volunteer to go see. So all the more reason that they needed, and have, a good website to give reasons why you'd want to know about the film, and info about the film, etc.

I find I am MUCH more likely to go see a film if I have a personal connection or info of any sort about it - if I meet someone involved at a film festival, I'll go see their film. If I've seen the trailer, I'm at least five times more likely to go see it. Etc.

Anyway, read it/learn it/love it/live it.

-mike

(and thanks to Melissa for pointing this out to me! : ) )

MacBook 13" versus other Macs -- iMovie and iDVD

and

MacBook 13" versus MacBook Pro 15/17

are two pages with performance comparisons between a 2.0 GHz MacBook, MacBook Pros in the 15 and 17" size (2.0 & 2.16 GHz), iMovie, iDVD, and some games (but not Final Cut Pro tests on these pages).

The MacBooks and MacBook Pros are beaten by the G5, but the MacBook is mostly the equal of the MacBook Pros in THESE tests.

-mike

Apple - QuickTime - HD Gallery is a gallery with a bunch of HD footage. Please be careful to note that which was shot on HD in the first place vs. that which was originated on FILM in the first place, and then TRANSFERRED to HD. The results are NOT the same. Not all of the footage is identified as to how it was originated (film vs video).

A good guide, however, is context - if it is from a major motion picture, it's almost certainly film. If it is live concert footage, almost certainly HD video. If it is a music video, could be either, and same for the documentary stuff unless it says otherwise.

-mike

So I FINALLY got around to borrowing the Panasonic AJ-HD1200A deck (the DVCPRO HD format for Varicam) to capture the Varicam tape based footage from the Texas HD Shootout (haven't heard of it? Read here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.)

Summary:

-Omega has been a huge help as a vendor
-captured the same clips on FireWire, AJA Kona2, and BlackMagic Multibridge Extreme over HD-SDI just to see if there's a difference
-and especially, Time of Day timecode is a bad, Bad, BAD idea for most projects when it comes time for post!

Notes on Varicam recapture:

-so got the deck from Omega Broadcast Group. Who are they? They are the guys that provided the facility, a bunch of cameras (including the Varicam), G5s, a RAID, monitors, expertise, etc. They are great - they do Mac sales and rentals, shooting gear and rentals, editing, DVD replication, pretty much whatever you need to make a video based product they can help you with. Talk to Allan Barnwell about sales, or Jordan Hristov about rentals. Contact page here. In any case, they've been great to me, and if you could use a vendor in central Texas, they're a good one. Ok, onward...

-plugged in power, plugged in FireWire, and for kicks plugged in analog component outputs to my HD monitor (this isn't required, but helpful, and hey, why not see what the footage looks like?)

-then I popped in the Varicam tape, this one the 24p tape (we also shot 60p, but it is BAD JUJU to record mixed frame rates on the same tape!!!!)

-...and then I discovered that timecode was all over the place. Let me use the technical term to describe this situation in post: FUCK.

-OK, let me use a slightly more technical term - I think the camera had been left in Time Of Day timecode, so that the timecode for each take was separated by however many minutes it had been since the last take.

-this creates a HUGE ENORMOUS PAIN IN THE ASS for the editor, and makes capturing footage take MANY times longer than it should.

-my bad for letting this happen, but this a great example of Things Not To Do.

-the only time I'd recommend shooting Time Of Day is when shooting a multi-camera shoot where things need to be tightly synchronized, and even then you are DAMN sure that all your camera's clocks are EXACTLY in sync, and on top of that, I'd be doing when you're doing long takes, like at a concert or something and Camera 1 is Stage Left and just rolls the whole time.

-by introducing time code breaks, it means you not only have to log accurately, but then you have to know how much pre- and post-roll the deck needs to capture, otherwise FCP will barf.

-God Damn It this makes me frustrated.

-then I got in a hurry and did something stupid - used Markers In and Out not the true in and out, and this created weirdness when capturing - be sure to use the In and Out stuff at the BOTTOM of the screen, not the right middle toggle down for Markers. Duh. In a hurry, hadn't captured footage in a while, just did somethign dumb. Durrrrrrrrrrrrrr. I R Spay-Shull.

-how did I discover this problem? Because I logged a half a dozen shots then went back to batch capture to Make Sure Everything Was Working Right. (Coulda done it after 2 or 3, but I waited a bit long). MUCH better to discover this early rather than log 50 shots and then figure it out.

-so I'm back to capturing clips one at a time. GROAN.

-to make matters even more annoying, the timecode starts around 22 hours, then wraps around to start at zero, so there deck & FCP have no idea where to start capturing...so I've gotta capture one clip at a time....

-....and because of these large timecode breaks, there's no way to be sure you've got all the source material, unless you match back to the shot list...

-so eventually I got it all captured.

Somebody told me, quietly, that at one point in time that on BlackMagic gear, the DVCPRO based codecs (DVCRPO/50/HD) didn't match when captured over HD-SDI vs FireWire. So to check that, I captured the same clips - Multiburst chart, Chroma DuMode chart, and a high dynamic range scene over FireWire, over HD-SDI on BlackMagic Multibridge Extreme, and over AJA Kona2. I'll compare/contrast in the not too distant future.

In the meantime, I'm just organizing shots today. It's pouring down rain, and I've had some Not Fun stuff going on in my personal life, so a good day to just crank in and work.

Or maybe blow it off to go see a movie in a few hours.

Bleh.

-mike

MacNN | CatDV 5.0 released for Intel Macs

Doing a big doc? Something like this might be helpful to keep organized.

From the MacNN article:

CatDV 5.0 imports and catalogs most types of media files, and is designed to greatly enhance the productivity of anyone using an editing application such as Final Cut Pro or Avid Xpress DV. The software features advanced logging tools, including automatic scene detection and the Verbatim Logger, and allows users to create a network searchable repository of clips for sharing between editors and producers.

-mike

DSC "TechTips" is a page with a bunch of tech tips from theDSC Labs web page.

Includes some good shooter stuff, and I, as a non-shooter, learned a bit from here.

-mike

Adding RAM to a 13-Inch MacBook

Step by step of the incredibly simple RAM upgrade process on the new MacBooks.

-mike

NAB 2006-Other Schtuff
==================

Hey all - so at long last, here's my NAB 2006 Other Stuff Wrap Up notes. This is the last of my bulk notes from NAB 2006 (a month later, yeah I know, sorry, but ya gits whatcha pay for!)

So what is "Other Stuff?" Stuff that wasn't immediately identifiable as shooting gear, storage, editing hardware or software, and that just didn't have a clear other place to go.

It took me so long to get all this transcribed from audio, emailed press releases sifted, brochures sponged for actual facts instead of "marketing copy', that I don't have the time/energy/inclination to go through another pass and format all this. So here it all is, a big gob of data, not in any particular order of preference.

Here's a catch-all for "other stuff" I saw at NAB:
===================================================

Summary of the better stuff:

-Intel's expected Mac tower chips out sooner than expected
-Bella's Catapult will let you record DV and HDV to an iPod (!!!)
-Creative Cow now has a print magazine
-QuVis and Christie have new D-Cinema products
-there's other interesting tidbits
-and links to all the photos and videos I took during NAB

================

On departing Vegas, after a week there, as I wait for my flight which was delayed until about midnight:

"Las Vegas is built on the broken promises of the money you will not win and the sex you will not have."

-mc

======================================================

INTEL (FROM MacOSXRumors.com)

During its financial results conference, for the second time this year, the company has announced it will be shipping its next-generation processors earlier than scheduled.

The Conroe, Merom and Woodcrest were first scheduled to be released in late 2006. Some weeks ago, the company announced it would be shipping them a bit earlier in Q3 and now they’re planned to be shipping by June according to the company’s CEO Paul Otellini.

Intel has also announced it would startlarge restructuring efforts so as to get some market share back from its main competitor AMD. The company also announced it is already working on the two next generations of processors, with plans to change generation every two years.


Mike's Comments: Oh, well THAT'S good news! Perhaps we'll be seeing macintel towers at WWDC? Shipping in the fall?

===================================

The Bella Catapult is a new gadget that lets you record DV or HDV directly onto an iPod via USB 2.0 connector. It'll do time lapse, remote trigger, pre and post recording, record over 3 hours with the batteries, comes with Windows or Mac presets, ships second half of this year, about $300 or less. Sounds good!

===================================

Cobalt Digital has SD/HD analog component to SDI/HD-SDI converter box, model # 8090, 12 bit A/D converter, does 720p, 1080p, 1080i, all the usual framerates, one box for all markets (no PAL vs NTSC models), is $1195

See this page for related photos

==================


Creative Cow
See related pics somewhere on this page

...now has a print edition magazine covering Mac creative industry applications - so print as well as video as well as 3D etc. I'd imagine. Update - I flipped through and read several articles - this is good stuff, I'd recommend picking up a copy and see how much is applicable to what you do. A lot of it was applicable for me.

=====================


HDRVFX.com - downloadable high dynamic range spherical HDRs, panoramas, etc., at NAB had 60 or 70 pieces up, instead of selling by the DVDs, can by the single image a la carte and download it, the do custom work as well, all HDRs are realworld, NOT rendered out of 3D packages, have pre-lit scenes for Carerra, going to add the other 3D packages like Maya, Lightwave, Cinema4D, maybe a Boris product, etc., are based in SF and NYC, can get reflection maps for $4, 360 degree spherical HDR for $12, and the pre-setup scenes are $15,
-sizes - 3.5K, 1K, 512, have stair stepped pricing (higher res more expensive)
-at NAB had about 70 pieces at various resolutions online
-shooting'em on D70s with the 10.5 Nikon spherical, 5700 with a fisheye
-shooting a variety of shots at different angles, stitch one and it can be batched (she shoots 6 around, 5 in each position, 5 panoramas 2 stops apart each)
-they take the panoramas and collapse'em down with CS2 or other apps (CS2 is kinda wonky)
-it is a .hdr file (radians file) - RGB-e file (the e is exposure)
-ILM uses a $50K camera for their inhouse work, they feel they can do good bang for the buck with their tools

=======================

CANON XL H1: compared w/D-20, HVX200, Silicon Imaging, Phantom HD, the Viper was the sharpest, cleanest camera in the bunch, the XL H1 was second in the group

Mini35 adaptor for XL H1 - they got it working

========================

RED COUNT - pushing towards 250 by the end of the week of reserved units for the Red One

========================

QuVis showed their 4K DCI compliant JPEG2000 based theatrical stuff:

The QuVIS Digital Cinema System™ delivers unsurpassed image quality to the silver screen using DCI JPEG2000, or its own patented wavelet compression technology, Quality Priority Encoding (QPE™). The system architecture supports resolutions through 4K and provides transparent real-time playback of a 2K image from a 4K master and optional 3D. In addition to film-resolution playback, the QuVIS Digital Cinema System™ supports current video broadcast standards including High Definition and Standard Definition at guaranteed quality levels. The systems approach includes integrated support for automation control and audio, as well as optional show and theatre management system components.


============================


Christie was showing 12K and 20K lumen projectors - Christie introduces the latest generation of the most powerful and brightest digital projectors in their classes, the Christie Roadster S+ 20K, the Christie LX120, and the Christie DS+26 SXGA+.


Introducing….
 
THE NEW CHRISTIE ROADSTER S+20K PROJECTOR
 
The Christie Roadster S+ 20K DLP projector is the latest generation of its popular Roadster Series of compact, purpose-built projectors for the rental/staging, live entertainment, trade show and exhibition markets.  Driven by a powerful 3-chip DLP SXGA+ engine and delivering 20,000 ANSI lumens, the projector offers superior image quality and increased brightness levels with greater power, performance and lower cost-of-ownership to meet the challenges of the most demanding environments. 
SEE COMPLETE PRESS RELEASE BELOW.
 
 
THE NEW CHRISTIE LX120 LCD PROJECTOR
 
Setting the industry-leading standard for brightness with 12,000 Lumens of power, the Christie LX120 LCD projector is the latest in Christie’s popular RoadRunner series.  Featuring a superior 1300:1 contrast ratio, the Christie LX120 offers the ultimate in reliability, dependability and flexibility.  With configurable illumination to operate either in quad or dual lamp mode, it is equally at home in large auditoriums and churches, as well as executive briefing rooms and conference centers.   
SEE COMPLETE PRESS RELEASE BELOW.
 
 
THE NEW CHRISTIE DS+26 SXGA+ PROJECTOR – SMALLEST AND LIGHTEST IN ITS CLASS
 
Offering power, performance and portability in a compact design, the new Christie DS+26 digital projector is the smallest, high resolution, single-chip DLP projector available on the market today.  It features true SXGA+ 1400x1050 resolution, a powerful 2500 ANSI lumens and a 2500:1 full field contrast ratio to deliver images of exceptional brightness, sharpness and clarity. The Christie DS+26 is the only compact DLP projector on the market with 100% vertical lens shift for distortion-free imaging. Ideal for unobtrusive installations, the DS+26 compact size and quiet operation is ideal for smaller conference rooms, boardrooms and training rooms.


=============================

Full pics from NAB 2006:
Red Booth Day Zero & One - this is setting up in the Red Booth and the first day of my working with those guys:

Here’s some pictures from Sunday and Monday as we set up the booth and hit the first day of the show. The players include - Ted Schilowitz, Graeme Nattress, Chris Petrillo, Hugo from Oakley, Jarred Land, Stuart English, Mark Pederson, and of course, Jim Jannard.

NAB 2006 Crowd Day One - this is really just to show how quickly the crowd grew on Day One of NAB 2006. Not gear exciting...

NAB 2006 Day Two - this was Day Two, this was me working the Red Booth mostly.

Day Three Part 1 (there is no Part 2-I swear! Not holding out...) - pics wandering the show floor, including pics of:

Pictures from Day Three of NAB 2006 - Ted Schilowitz, Red One Digital Cinema Camera, AIM Award, Silicon Imaging SI-1920HDVR, Autodesk, XDCAM HD import, Sony booth, Grass Valley Infinity, Thomson Viper Venom Flashpak, Varizoom, La Cie, Elvis, FCP User Group

NAB 2006 Day Four Part 1 of 3 - wandering the floor, checking out the following:

Silicon Color Final Touch HD & Final Render, Tangent, ADTX, S.two Take2, EditShare, Panasonic Plasma 103 inch HDTV, FireStor DTE FS-100, AJ-HDX900 specs, Mini35, Editcam HD, HJVC GY-HD200 & GY-HD250, 16mm lens adaptor, redrock micro 35mm adaptor, JVC 1920x1080 LCD, 9” HD CRT


NAB 2006 Day Four Part 2 of 3 - this is more wandering the floor, checking out:

NAB 2006 Day 4 pt2 of 3 pictures - Doremi booth, ARRI D-20 with modded Quantel eq rackmount field case for RAW ingent/edit/playback/color grading, FlashPak RAM for D-20, ReflecMedia for keying, and the Phantom lineup of cameras


NAB 2006 Day Four Part 3 of 3 - this is more wandering the floor, checking out:

NAB 2006 Day 4 Part 3 of 3 pictures. Automatic Revolution, Miranda DVI Ramp2, JL Cooper MCS3800 Final Cut control surface, Cobalt Digital converters, Teranex media processors, Quantum SDLT-600A data tape backup w/FTP MXF footage retrieval on GigE, Huge/Ciprico RAIDs, Flip4Mac new products, Matrox MXO specs, Mini35 adaptors, Red Schtuff


Also, I've posted some short video clips on another page titled NAB 2006 videos that I took with the video mode of my little Canon S450 and used QuickTime Player to Export To iPod Movie (320x240). Quick and easy. Footage includes the announcement and crowd reactions from the first Red NAB preso at 9:30am Monday, a nice long chunk of video of Ari explaining the Silicon Imaging SI-1920HDVR camera to me, some footage demonstrating how the Automatic Revolution works, a quick sample of how the Varizoom works, and Ted Red getting ready to raffle off the Red "r" #200 (the winner gets a place in line on a Red One camera and $1000 off list price).

==================

Whew! That's it for NAB 2006 notes!

I'll do a "Best of NAB 2006" thing sometime in the next few days.

-mike

UPDATE SUNDAY: the guy who originally wrote about this has posted a comment with his exact workflow to better document the process of what does and doesn't work. Click on the Comments link below this article to read it (then scroll down).

FCP and FCE Projects Interchangable ...

Well, I wouldn't have guessed this, but it makes a bit of sense, considering they are built from the same code base, but Apple hasn't said peep about it.

In this guy's testing, so far you can open Final Cut Pro 5.x files in Final Cut Express 3.5. I'd be curious to see what happens when you use fancier features that might not be supported in FCE, like plugins that don't exist in FCE, etc.

But the ability to open FCE projects in FCP is great - since then you might be able to migrate iMovie HD to FCE to FCP.

But again, I haven't tried it nor seen it done.

Anybody have all three and can test? Would love to find out.

-mike

NAB 2006 "Other" Software Wrap Up
=================================


Hey all - so at long last, here's my NAB 2006 Other Software wrap up notes.

So just what is "Other Software?" - anything that isn't an NLE for the most part - logging software, plugins, standalone one trick pony apps.

It took me so long to get all this transcribed from audio, emailed press releases sifted, brochures sponged for actual facts instead of "marketing copy', that I don't have the time/energy/inclination to go through another pass and format all this. So here it all is, a big gob of data, not in any particular order of preference:

=====================================

Algolith - makers of a range of products from consumer hardware to content producer plugins. Their core competency (as I see it) is in the areas of noise reduction and signal cleanup. They also have some nice scaling technology.

-MTNR (Multiple Type Noise Reduction) - reduce the additive and multiplicative noise, speckle and film grain.

-Noise reduction can be used in pre-processing. When removing noise it is hard not to remove details.

-they showed some realtime analog hardware for use in production
-they showed some post processing for mosquito noise reduction, see some during i-frames (pops at the i-frames)
-hardware that goes in AFTER the hardware box, before the receiver or set, is $995 for SD/HD, is intended for living room usage (not production, unless you get crap footage in to start with), that unit is for analog
-for HDMI based, is $3K, has 2 HDMI in, 1 out, 2 component analog in, one out, and is shipping
-didn't get the update I was after in terms of their plugin stuff, had to scoot - the page with the plugin info (and they have some NICE STUFF) is here.

===========================

BORIS BLUE

Boris Blue is a standalone, Windows only app 3D motion graphics thing that does particles, new at the show
-all kinds of cool realtime particle stuff using OpenGL card
from their press release:

- Adjust parameters with interactive real-time playback, including streaming video and audio.
- Direct streaming of video and audio from a hard drive.
- Powerful 3D Particles use any shape as a particle while emitters can include multiple particle types. Multiple attractors and repellers provide dynamic particle interaction.
- Extrude text, custom splines or imported EPS files with custom bevels and surfaces.
- 3D Model Import preserves individual geometry groups, texture maps, and bump maps.
- Sophisticated Materials include Texture Maps, Bump Maps, and dynamic Reflection Maps with per pixel lighting controls.
- Vertex Deformers provide true 3D warping of 3D objects.
- Image Processors and Generators include keying, tinting and toning, distortions, and transitions.
- Masking, compositing, and color effects provide precise control and RT performance.
- OpenGL hardware-accelerated rendering lets you export High Quality movies at or near real-time speed.


$1000

Boris Continuum Complete also now runs on Intel based Macs, as does Boris Calligraphy, Boris Red 4.0 will be next to support Intel based Macs

-also have new training DVDs
-Boris Red 4.0 new features from the press release:

Significant new features in version 4.0 include:
- 16-bit per color channel image processing
- New procedural paint brushes create ribbon and roller brush paint effects
- New raster paint engine with sophisticated clone paint brushes
- Convert bitmap files to vectors that can be extruded and animated
- Support for Wacom tablet with multiple paint input channels
- More than 40 new filters include a new Motion Key filter that removes moving foreground objects from a clip and a new Motion Path filter animates objects on a spline path
- Import EBU subtitle files to generate standard subtitles for multiple languages and DVDs
- Improved integration with Avid NLEs, including support for the AVX 2.0 architecture
- Support for PPC and Intel processors on Macintosh systems
- A new Type On Container automatically creates type on title effects

-they also released a Media 100 roadmap, which I won't describe, because it is my personal opinion that product is going nowhere and is totally doomed and I wouldn't recommend it to my readership

============================


Synthetic Aperture's Color Finesse 2.1

I finally got a quickie demo of Color Finesse 2.1, but unfortunately Bob Courier was away from the booth when I came by. But here's what I got from the brief demo I received:

-can use XML to get project from FCP into this standalone app
-SD is pretty much realtime, HD is not
-GPU help? Unknown
-can scrub through individual clips
-can jump shot to shot to shot
-can gang up clips so that any adjustments made to that group will apply to all, and then tweak those individual shots from there
-Is there a master shot that's like a style sheet?
-you click on multiple shots to highlight them all, changes made to one affect the others, Command-G groups shots, gives a green underscore under each shot in the group....red line above indicates selections...
-full workflow: FCP export XML, go to standalone CF 2.1 app, import XML, do all your grades, then render the timeline, which will only render those shots changed, then export a new XML from CF v2.1; import that XML into FCP that will make a new FCP project and link to the old/new footage as needed. (this is pretty much identical type workflow to Final Touch HD)
-overall, I think they've done a nice piece of work - the color correction tools, and the quality of the output, are outstanding. However, I think the market has passed them by for high end users - Final Touch HD offers realtime (or very near realtime) performance in SD & HD with the grades applied, in addition to supporting vignettes and power windows. For the desktop based crowd, they'll be impressed with Color Finesse's capabilities - at $575 for the plug-in based version that works with FCP, AE, and Premiere Pro, it's potent. The SD version of the standalone app, which offers more features (not sure which ones, need to clarify), it's $995....which is the same price as Final Touch SD. Jumping up to HD resolutions, Color Finesse is $1995, whereas Final Touch HD is $4995. Now, I have an experiential bias with Final Touch HD - I used it daily for about six months, and watched it grow from an about 50% there product to a 90%+ there product in terms of fulfilling production needs in a realtime color correction suite with a 20 year veteran da Vinci operator.

I need to spend more time with Color Finesse to be fully fair, but my gut says that the budget starved, time rich folks will be able to get good results with Color Finesse, but won't have access to a toolset as rich as Final Touch's. (then again, Final Touch has STEEP hardware requirements.) Those needing something closer to a daVinci on the desktop, with similar expectations about closer to realtime performance, will quickly look to Final Touch's product line.

Thinking more about it a week later, it is not such a cut and dried comparison - FTHD is really designed for facilities and dedicated colorists, not as an add-on to the typical editor. The hardware requirements are STEEP and rigidly fixed, whereas those for CF are more flexible. CF starts at a lower price point as well, which many indies may find to be the Mission Critical Feature.

========================

Silicon Color's Final Touch SD/HD/2K

See related photos on this page

-stopped by the Apple booth and saw FTHD (Final Touch HD) being demo'd on a Kona3 board, and even there it wasn't quiiiiiiiiiite realtime yet for HD - 1080p footage was playing out through the Kona3 was about 23fps at best. Last I heard, and I haven't tested myself, was that Kona3 was getting better frame rates than BlackMagic products.
-but you SHOULD be able to get 720p24 in realtime then, since it is a much lower bandwidth
-Final Touch 2.5.4 is latest version
-so no new version at the show
-Render node - there's a Final Server, it asks as a traffic cop, and doesn't actually deal with the content, the server runs across Ethernet as a metadata server - it is just pushing commands around (XML based) and sending those instructions (the color grade info, for instance) to turn the image into what they want it to be -the Final Server needs this grade on X file which is on Y drive. In essence, the Final Server issues job tickets. Nodes pick up job tickets, go to the SAN and pick up jobs and frames (can run over GigE if you want but a lot slower), pull the file and blasts the file into frames (SD, HD, 2K), everything done at a frame level.
-the frames go to all the nodes, get processed, rendered out, and sent back and processed back into a QuickTime file (I asked repeatedly if you'd need 2x the file size for an x sized shot to render, and was told NO not necessary the way it is done with wrappers)
-then I got switched over to Olivier, who wrote it, and he confirmed that if you needed a 100 MB shot to get rendered, you would NOT need 200 MB of free space for the frames and the QT file. They put the frames directly INTO a QT file as they go is what it sounded like Olivier was saying. QT file is built on the fly as you go, "don't need any extra" he said.
-if you had a 1GB storage device and a 1GB shot to convert, you'd NOT need 2GB, just 1GB of storage
-price point for render farm for HD - $2000 for 5 seats, for 2K is $10,000
-price points not changed - $1000 HD, $5000 HD, $25K 2K version
-working on porting to Universal Binary, for Final Render is ALREADY on Universal Binary - since Final Render is GPU based, hardware requirements for render nodes - can you do stack of minis? Since GPU based, still requires G5s since they code for the GPU used in G5s. No mini render farms yet, MAYBE someday if they changed their code base. Any Linux or lower cost box? Since no QuickTime on any Linux flavor, end of argument there.

Mike's Comments: I still think Final Touch HD is the premiere color grading environment on the Mac -the combination of serious software tools, realtime playback (OK, pretty darned close - realtime playback, just maybe not full frame RATE in realtime), integrated serious control surfaces, powerful secondary color correction as well as multiple vignettes and multiple grades, Final Cut Pro integration, etc. makes this the one to beat. YES it is pricey and has steep hardware requirements, but it is powerful and fast. I was just starting to mess around with version 2.5 when I stepped away from the business that was using it, but at that time, some of the last of my concerns about XML integration with FCP were being addressed. Last September when I started working with it, every single client built job was a nightmare of hand holding, modifying client FCP files, and long QA and QC sessions after bringing the color corrected footage back into FCP to make sure everything worked right and the edit maintained integrity. But by January, 95% of that was working right. And with version 5.1, hopefully as Apple fixed some Media Manager issues and XML issues, perhaps some of the last major wrinkles were being addressed concerning XML workflow. The last things that I KNEW of that caused me vexation were no preview in FTHD of footage that was time remapped via the Motion tab in FCP, and stills, titles, and graphics used in FCP didn't show up in FTHD. These were usually survivable, however, and the huge benefit of NOT WAITING TO RENDER to see it play back, even if at something over half the frame rate, made it well worth doing.

The other options - Final Cut's built in color correction tools, Magic Bullet, Color Finesse, etc. - can't match up to the speed and power of Final Touch.

=======================


MICROSOFT WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER 11

-Windows Media Player 11 ships in about a month (so around now as I write this, May 16th)
-same codes, same DRM, same as version 10

============================

TeleStream Flip4Mac

See this page for related photos


-Flip4Mac for import into Final Cut Pro/Studio, Editcam import next month, XDCAM is available now, XDCAM HD available next month (they are separate modules), modules are all $500 apiece (and YES, XDCAM is a different module than XDCAM HD, but will XDCAM HD module ALSO do XDCAM?)
-also modules for Grass Valley Profile/K2, Grass Valley Infinity as well!

ALSO Graphics Factory - a whole pipeline for folks that need to batch process video to a bunch of different formats. Sounds like something to compete with the likes of Cleaner, Compressor, Compression Master, etc., but with lots of features for putting logo bugs, animations, watermarks, etc. onto the video and output to a wide array of formats. Build a template once, use it over and over in a batch type workflow from what it sounds like.

-they have Windows Media (free even!) available for Macs, but they do NOT as yet have a MacIntel solution - so there's a gotcha on the

========================


Stopped by THE FOUNDRY, makers of cool plugins for various apps -
-Tinderbox - no new plugs at show for Mac, and not GPU accelerated at this time

========================

Apple's Shake 4.1 is to support Intel based Macs. Since Shake is such a high end and expensive application, the only users that I think this will be relevant for will be MacBook Pro users at this time, since the high end Intel based workstations haven't shipped yet.

========================

Nattress Plugins released new plugins for the Final Touch line of products:

Nattress releases “Advanced Plugins for FinalTouch V1.5”, a suite of plugins that enhance the capabilities of Silicon Color’s FinalTouch SD, Finaltouch HD and FinalTouch 2k.
New in V1.5 is G Smart Denoise, a powerful noise reduction tool using an adaptive edge dependent averaging function so that the noise or grain gets removed without blurring edges. By adjusting the settings, G Smart Denoise can also function as a sharpening tool that only enhances edges, not noise.


===========================

Noise Factory's FxFactory for Final Cut Pro


FxFactory is the first tool that will let Final Cut Pro and Motion users create, apply and share effects based on Apple's FxPlug plug-in architecture.

FxFactory will ship with a comprehensive collection of real-time plug-ins designed for quality and performance, taking advantage of modern GPU-based acceleration and graphics technologies only available on Mac OS X. The 100+ effects included are dynamically expandable.

FxFactory Expandability
FxFactory includes revolutionary effect management and authoring capabilities. Competitive offerings in the integrated effects industry limit users to a fixed set of plug-ins. FxFactory sets a new standard by letting end users create brand new effects in minutes, requiring no programming experience or coding.

Effect Market
More plug-ins will also be available at the Noise Industries Effect Market, an online marketplace where visual effect artists can share and distribute plug-ins created with FxFactory.

Noise Industries announced FxFactory Features
- Tight integration with Mac OS X graphics technologies such as Core Image, and Quartz Composer.
- Modern rendering engine based on OpenGL.
- Create new effects based on Quartz Compositions.
- Infinitely expandable architecture allows user to share, download and buy new visual effect plug-ins at the Effect Market.

FxFactory will be available by Summer 2006. Pricing TBA.


Red Giant showed off latest stuff - Instant HD for uprezzing footage in FCP, a new version of Magic Bullet, and After Effects 7.0 compatibility.

The Pixel Farm came out with some new toys - PF Clean for DI and film restoration, it does dust busting and rig/wire removal. Works on any res footage. PFTrack v3.5 is for camera move resolving/tracking, and is $5000, wasn't shipping at NAB though.

===============================

Automatic Duck was showing some of their latest wares as well. They make good stuff for moving projects around between software products - Avid, FCP, After Effects, Pro Tools, etc.

=============================

SyncVue got hyped by some people and websites I know, it is a tool for reviewing footage with multiple people in multiple locations. It relies of files copied to local desktops, so it doesn't have to do live streaming. It can sync everyone's playback so everyone is seeing the same thing at the same time. It runs over Skype, the popular VOIP service (Voice Over Internet Protocol). XML interchange with Final Cut and more. See the features page, or watch the Flash based demo. So if you need to watch stuff at the same time as your clients, this is a good option to consider.

============================

Similarly, CineSync is another remote viewing and annotation tool. You can all watch and know you're seeing the same thing at the same time, and draw on the screen for annotations as needed..

I don't know how the last 2 compare.

===============================

HD Log is a Mac OS X logging application for Mac OS X that can hand off XML to Final Cut Pro.

================================

That's it for today. Tune in tomorrow for "Other Stuff" from NAB that wasn't so easily categorizable.

-mike

HD4NDs Research: Update on uncompressed 35mm telecine project (10 bit RGB 4:4:4 log)

Hey all -

here's an update on what's been up with that 35mm to uncompressed 10 bit RGB 4:4:4 log project I've been working on:

Monday:

Got together with Sam (director) and David (editor) to talk workflow.

I'd done some similar testing, but it was nice to do some testing with actual footage.

What we had was the 10 bit RGB 4:4:4 log footage, captured in the BlackMagic 10 bit RGB codec. Hooray team. Problem was, this is 190 MB/sec footage at 23.98, and is too awkward to edit with - plus it is about 1.7TB of data total.

For offline editing, this is unwieldy to say the least.

So I set up a batch operation to create offline footage - that worked. He wanted 23.98 DV anamorphic, and after some minor bulk tweaking on the footage's settings in FCP, it worked fine and was ready for editing.

Then I created a bunch of subclips from that DV offline footage, then dropped those onto a timeline and set random in and out points. Then I set up some cross dissolves and cuts, etc., to simulate an actual edit.

Then I rendered out a reference QuickTime to have a freestanding copy of the edit.

Then I went through my matchback process to make sure I could convert that DV offline edit back into an uncompressed HD edit with all edits, dissolves, trims, etc. intact - and it worked as planned, like a charm. Better yet, it took about one minute to do.

Since I'd also created a set of DVCPRO HD offline files, that means whenever he wants to see his edit in HD, he can conform to DVCPRO HD in about a minute and play it back to see it (he could edit in DVCPRO HD, but he feels more comfortable with DV, as it is a better fit for the hardware he has).

So that was Monday, and Monday was good. Sam and David left, confident that they'd be able to match back to their HD content, even if their HD original content got destroyed and had to be re-telecined (that was a longer conversation, but I talked with them about how we could precisely recreate the HD footage if needed, using the hole punch as reference).

Thursday/Friday:

Sam called me to tell me he'd successfully backed up his uncompressed data to a third location (there's my set we captured onto my RAID, his second set that we copied off onto FireWire 400 drives, and that took a LOOOOOOOOOONG time, and the third set to another set of drives). So I was now clear to delete my set if I wanted to in order to free up space on my systems. I had dumped a backup of an important data set (all the footage of the capture from the Texas HD Shootout last month)

But....I didn't want to just flush that data set, I still wanted to mess around with it some for workflow R&D. I didn't want to just dump it, but I sure didn't want it to be taking up space a backup of the Texas HD Shootout footage could be. So I decided to cook off a full raster backup to some other format.

I originally set up my Dual 2.0 GHz G5 to cook a set of JPEG2000 codec'd QuickTimes. Doing some quick testing, it was interesting to realize that JPEG2000 is a.) slooooooow to compress, and b.) doesn't save all that much file space at higher quality settings. In fact, in the 90%+ range, the files were only about 1/3 the size of the originals. Hmm. An improvement, but not as much as I was looking for. I did several tests with a short segment (15 frames or so), and decided on 25% quality for the offline I wanted (it would be good enough for my testing needs). I started it around 11pm Thursday night on the Dual 2.0 GHz G5 (PCI-X), and it estimated 18 or 19 hours to go.But as of 1pm today, it estimated 22 MORE hours to go.

So, getting bored, I copied off one reel (12 min 9 secs) to the Quad G5 and started doodling with using plain PhotoJPEG. While JPEG2000 is a more efficient codec and creates fewer artifacts, it is sloooooooow to compress (as I was seeing) and it does NOT play back in real time, not by a long shot.

But PhotoJPEG plays back in real time, and compresses MUCH faster.

First test was to the PhotoJPEG setting, it was 25%, and looks like crappy offline - full raster, but LOTS of compression artifacts. Icky. You could cut with it, but you can do better. It converted my 136.2 GB source file down to 1.6GB - a huge file size savings, but waaaaay too much compression going on. It was a little slower than 2:1 to convert - about 27 minutes for the slightly over 12 min source.

I then changed the setting to 75% Quality, and it took a little longer - about 33 minutes to compress, and made a 7.7GB file.

A quick note on how to tell how quickly your footage is converting: assuming your drive system is faster than the stated read numbers (looking at Disk Activity in Activity Monitor), the higher the read, the faster it must be converting - otherwise why would it be needing to read in so much data so fast? For instance, converting to JPEG2000, the read speed is about 8 MB/sec - because it takes so long to compress each frame, it doesn't have to read in the next frame very often. Just knowing that the data rate is 190 MB/sec, dividing 190/8=23.75, so it's taking about 24:1 to convert to JPEG2000 at 25% quality setting. With 2 1/2 hours of footage, that implies it'll take about 2 1/2 DAYS (24 hours per one day) to convert. Yuck. High quality but time consuming.

PhotoJPEG, on the other hand, is tons faster - the read speed was about 95 MB/sec for 25%, and about 70 MB/sec for 75%. That's about 2:1 for 25%, and 2.7:1 for 75%. This tells us that higher quality settings take longer.

So, breaking it down:

Source File:
Read speed: realtime playback data rate is 190 MB/sec
File Size: 136.22 GB
Bit Depth: 10 bit RGB 4:4:4

JPEG2000 @ 25% quality: 8 bit, assumably 4:4:4?
Read speed during conversion: about 8 MB/sec
File Size after conversion: 17.71 GB
Compression ratio (file size): 7.7:1
Compression ratio (time to compress): approx 24:1

PhotoJPEG @ 25%: 8 bit 4:2:2
Read speed during conversion: about 95 MB/sec
File Size after conversion: 1.6 GB
Compression ratio (file size): 85:1
Compression ratio (time to compress): approx 2:1

PhotoJPEG @ 75%: 8 bit 4:2:2
Read speed during conversion: about 70 MB/sec
File Size after conversion: 7.67 GB
Compression ratio (file size): 17.7:1
Compression ratio (time to compress): approx 2.7:1

Also, in terms of compressing efficiency on the CPU:

-JPEG2000 - appears to be single processor threaded, running 97-99% of one CPU utilization on the Dual 2.0 GHz G5 looking at Activity Monitor.

-PhotoJPEG 75% running on Quad G5 - appears to be running 45-50% of one CPU, so appears to be single processor threaded as well and either isn't very efficient or something is slow in the pipeline - can't be the drive system, it can do far higher data rates than this is using.

So unless/until Apple redoes their codecs (perhaps for the Intel Macs, and I STILL don't have my v5.1 for my MacBook yet), it would NOT do you any good to throw a big multiprocessor machine at this task for these codecs at this time.

It's also interesting to note that except for a couple of mathematically lossless codecs that only compress 30-50%, there are no 10 bit codecs to save file space - Cineform for Mac, where are you?

(Update 5:30pm Friday- now the dual 2.0 GHz G5 working on JPEG2000 conversions estimates 25 hours to go...Update Saturday 9:30am - now it estimates 36 hours to go....JP2K to slow for archiving! About a day to compress an hour....harrumph!)

-mike

Hey all -

was emailing Jarred Land from DVX User and we were discussing why was it that Final Cut Studio wasn't officially supported on MacBooks (nor Minis as well), since they seem to be doing quite well in testing (see test results from other day comparing to MacBook Pro and Dual 2.0 GHz G5). Out of that email exchange, I've come up with 4 explanations/theories of my own as to why no support on MacBooks, even though they run better on many things than a Dual G5. With the exception of #1, I have no proof, it's all conjecture:

Explanation 1: "It don't work."

The obvious and stated reason is stated on this Apple tech support page:

Final Cut Studio is not supported on MacBook
From that page:

If you have a MacBook, the Final Cut Studio (Universal) crossgrade Installer does not prohibit you from installing the pro applications, but this configuration does not meet the minimum system requirements for Final Cut Studio.
See the Final Cut Studio system requirements for complete requirements. (Mikenote: the salient detail is AGP graphics card from the specs)

Note: The integrated graphics processor in the MacBook does not permit float processing in Motion and will result in degraded performance and other issues in Motion and other Final Cut Studio applications.

OK, that's pretty clear. BUT...based on the test results referenced above, that doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense - even Motion ran, and seemed to run quite well compared to a G5, even for projects with video clips placed in them.

This theory is also supported by the poor game performance, as BareFeats.com documents here - games rely heavily on OpenGL performance, and in some (but not all) circumstances, the MacBook "ain't got it."

Explanation 2: "Not all features will work"

So maybe it's because, even though this preliminary tests show it working fine, further tests will show it flat out doesn't work, or some features don't work? The stated problem from Apple seems to be that it won't support float processing....OK, fine, just use the other modes, which video folks would 98% of the time anyway.

So why not say FCS is supported, but some functionality is limited? It would appear that since the GPU doesn't support floating point math that Float mode won't work. I was about to say Motion is the only app that uses that heavily, but then it suddenly dawned on me that the stated way many plugins work in FCP is to do the math in floating point space then send the results back to 8 or 10 bit (depending on your timeline). But wait, that's the GPU that lacks floating point math, not the CPU. Uh oh, that might be a real problem, since GPU is what is used for RT performance...so the only way to test is to set up identical projects on MacBook and G5 and test for RT performance, but also render out results, time how long it takes, and then compare the results to make sure they match exactly (difference filter in After Effects, for instance).

Explanation 3: "Future Proofing"

This is a benign reason for Apple to fudge a little bit on support - let's say Apple already knows that Final Cut Studio 6 is in the pipeline, and as rumor has long had it, it will take BIG TIME advantage of Core Video to accelerate all kinds of things in FCS to dramatically increase the realtime performance. It would be POSSIBLE (NOT saying it will) to do things like mix codecs on the same timeline, mix frame SIZES on the same timeline, do real time deinterlacing, all kinds of exciting stuff*. Whatever the feature set might be, it would rely heavily on GPU for realtime performance. It would be awkward, and cause all kinds of grief, if MacBooks were introduced and supported in one version, and then X months later were NOT supported with the next version. If YOU were product manager for FCS, wouldn't YOU suggest, if there were any if's or fudges about a non-Pro system's performance on v5.x, and you KNEW that v6 wouldn't run worth a flip or even launch on that hardware, to just mark it as "Don't Go There" for the X months between releases? Keeps life simpler - if you rule it out from the get-go, you won't have users complaining about "abandoning" them later.

Honestly, of all the things discussed so far, this makes the most sense to me if there is any fudging going on.

*....which would require a MAJOR rewrite of the core code - the way I understand it/have been told, the current code locks you into a codec, frame size, and frame rate on a given timeline, and to alter from that would be a "rebuild the building's foundations" kind of a change

Explanation 4: "Market Segmentation" (aka "Sell More High Margin Stuff)

OK, and here's where the conspiracy theorists can put on their shiny aluminum foil hats (helps WiFi reception, right?). IF, and I say IF, MacBooks turned out to run FCS fine (or fine with some limitations, like no float mode in Motion), then why the big stance on Don't Use It? Perhaps Apple is trying to protect the sales of their higher end machines? Since a MacBook (so far, based on preliminary testing) is running about as well as Dual 2.0 GHz G5, and costs about $700 less**, and even worse for Apple, about practically the same as the $1500 more expensive 17" MacBook Pro, and Apple makes considerably higher margins on the G5s and MacBook Pros, and wants their pro users to be running on the "pro" boxes, and the Intel towers are still months away, what to do? I could see someone in Apple saying in a meeting: "We want to sell more G5s, but if these cheapie MacBooks are as fast, how can we discourage them from buying them? Wait - you say you can't run Motion in Float Mode? There you go - it's not compatible with the full feature set, therefore it isn't officially supported - you can't get tech support on a MacBook for Final Cut Studio. The little guys might wing it, but our pro and corporate user base won't go with an unsupported product." I'm not saying that DID happen at Apple, I'm not saying that's the only reason to not support MacBooks on FCS, I'm just saying that is a POSSIBLE explanation.

**(and yes, huge feature and spec differences, but this is roughly speaking)

So that's the evolution of my thinking. I'm not saying it IS any of these, these are just the options that I see out there.

What do you folks think? Post away with the comments link below.

(and to cover his behind, all theories are mine not Jarred's in case anybody gets mad)

-mike

NAB 2006 Storage:
============

Hey all - so at long last, here's my NAB 2006 Storage wrap up notes. It took me so long to get all this transcribed from audio, emailed press releases sifted, brochures sponged for actual facts instead of "marketing copy', that I don't have the time/energy/inclination to go through another pass and format all this. So here it all is, a big gob of data, not in any particular order of preference.

Brief summary:
-ADTX is a manufacturer I'd never heard of, they were showing 4 gigabit fibre channel RAIDs running around 600 MB/sec from a single unit.
-Ciprico (which bought Huge) had some VERY impressive 4 gigabit fibre channel RAID demos - getting 1300+ MB/sec from either 3 large or even one small RAID chassis.
-4 gigabit was the theme of the show - G-Tech is getting into the game with their own smaller fibre channel RAIDs, as well as SATA and FW800 products. They make good looking stuff.
-inPhase was talking about shipping a holographic based recoring device -300GB/disc, 20 MB/sec writes
-LaCie has several clever new FireWire products
-Quantum was showing SDLT-600A data tape drives - essentially a GigE FTP server for timecode accurate video retrieval from data tape - a VERY interesting concept
-Aberdeen makes RAIDs and one user was raving on about their price and service

Read on below for more details....

====================


ADTX, makers of RAIDs, talking about Array MassStor LP

See related photos on this page

-3U tall
-fibre channel to host, 4Gbit
-15 SATA2 or SAS drives
-up to 500 GB drives
-750 GB soon, (just started shipping, not tested yet)
-dual redundant controllers with failover capability
-full speed through each controller
-created two 7 drive LUNs with a global hot spare (available to either one), each through their own controller, striped together at host on G5 and gets about 718 MB/sec transfer rate under under dual 4Gbit fibre, working with the ATTO 4Gbit fibre channel card
-off one SAS port, can get 585 MB/sec going into an Intel server with LSI pre-release SAS card
-700 MB/sec on Mac w/ATTO 4GBit fibre channel reads, writes are 623 MB/sec sequential, 7.5 TB raw capacity less parity and hotswap spares, RAID 6 in the config demoing that speed using SATA2s
-RAID 6 is like RAID 5 with one more drive for parity - can lose 2 not just one drive
-can add 7 JOBs to it, 120 drives, 60TB storage
-price point - about $20K for the fibre version, about $18K for SAS version with the 500 GB drives, 7.5 TB raw storage, turnkey ready to go except for cables
-control GUI through Ethernet port, Windows or Mac based admin utilities (Linux too)

-compatible with Xsan - they are showing it running it Xsan with two servers and a workstation running through a QLogic switch

============================


CIPRICO/HUGE

See this page for related photos

-RAID 0/3 in the first product I saw. During rebuild, speed is maintained, because rebuild is in background. Capacity and price point?
-2.5, 4, or 5 TB is the raw capacity, less for parity in RAID 3 mode
-these 3 are striped together running on an HP 9300 workstation doing 2K or 4K resolution, pushing 3 striped together about 1.3 or 1.4 GB/sec (gigaBYTES/sec)
-price points - 4GB fibre, dual link, with 2.5TB is $9K list, with 5TB is $15K, theirs is one of the few 4gbit fibre channel RAIDs that you can daisy chain'em together. With the RAID controller, took the standard one and put hub chips on it, daisy chain it like you would SCSI. Can begin with one, so you're getting 250-300 MB/sec per CHANNEL, as RAID 0, RAID 3 would cost you maybe 20% off of that for RAID 3. And then RAID 6 version, (like RAID 5 with another disk's worth of parity). The other one does 5 drives per channel, this one 10 drives on one controller, second one is a redundant failover controller.
This other product, 10 drives in a 1U chassis, but drives aren't user servicable readily since they are harder to get to (to put more on a rack)
-other product - 40 2.5" drives, 4 cannisters, each cannister has 10 drives, performance in that box is somewhere around 1.4 GB/sec from the ONE BOX by itself, since can stripe the four channels together. Each one has it's own 4GB fiber channel controller in a RAID 0 or RAID 6. RAID 6 will cost you 8 drives, so 3.2 TB of usable data in RAID 6, costs "a lot more than those", this is brand new, no finalized pricing, but hopefully guessing high as around $35K because the drives are more - one 2.5" 100 GB drive is same price (7200 rpm Hitachis) is about the same price as the 500 GB 3.5" drives. The biggest interest is for sneakernetting around a facility for those cannisters - 1TB per cannnister (800GB per pod/thingy with a handle).
-Running 4K Dalsa Origin footage. Worked quite a bit with Dalsa, and they've approved this situation which is Infiniband bridged, 20GBit per second per channel.
-4 of those 1U RAIDs, they have a 4 port HBA in the back of it, bridging 4GB fibre channel to 20Gbit Infiniband over fibre optic


=========================


G-TECH

-G-Speed is a 6 drive 4 gigabit fibre channel RAID - the 3TB version is 6x500GB drives is just under $6K, smaller model is 1.5TB and is just under $4K. Ship date is June 1st, and behind the front panel you'll have hot swap modules. Sell trays individually? Undecided, but I encouraged them to do so for project swapouts and archive.

From the press release:

Compact desktop tower with stunning industrial design
- Storage capacities up to 3TB using SATA II drives
- 4GBit Fibre Channel interface - SFP to LC optical
- Sustained data rates up to 250 MB/second
- Supports RAID Levels 0, 1, 3, 5 & 6
- Designed for content creation applications
- SAN-Ready – easily configurable in shared environments
- Browser-based RAID configuration and management tools via built-in
Ethernet port
- Hot-swappable disk drive modules and fans, redundant power supply option
- Mac OS X & Windows XP compatible
- 3-year warranty


Available June.

They mostly make FireWire stuff, but are venturing into eSATA and fibre channel (as evidenced above).

G-Tech also makes, and drum roll please....REALLY..NICE...SOLID...RELIABLE drives. The number cause of drive death is heat in my experience for internal drives, and with external drives you get additional issues of power bricks/power supplies, bridge boards, cheap cables, etc. I've been hearing more and more complaints from editors about Other Popular Manufacturers' drives failing deep into a production, and no one has complained to me of a failed G-Tech drive. Part of that is attributable to the number of drives in the field - more Fords than Ferraris are going to break down. But the more I talk to Roger and his guys, and the more I work with editors (esp. those who can't afford a full backup set of data), the more I realize drive reliability is a Must Have. And so far, these guys seem to have it.

=================================

FYI, I never did do the big in-depth coverage I meant to after MWSF in January for Kano, which had a lot of very interesting and impressive SATA storage stuff. They are worth looking into for uncompressed HD array needs.

================================

INPHASE TECHNOLOGIES

Showed (but I didn't see) InPhase Tapestry, their holographic recording product. Holds 300GB, writes at 20 MB/sec (yes, megaBYTES), and takes about 4 1/2 hours (250 min) to write a full disc. They also announced a 3TB autoloader, with capacity up to 6TB, and a hologrpahic video recorder. I have no idea what the price point is expected to be, they claim they'll start shipping to OEMs at the end of 2006. This sounds very promising as to how professionals will be able to back up their IT based video files from P2 and the like.

Got an email from their PR guy, answering some questions I'd sent:


Q: when shipping?
A: Initial units will ship Q4 06; volume shipments in 07
 
Q:what price point?
A: Initial HDS-300R Tapestry drives will sell for $15,000; media will sell for $125 for a 300 GB WORM disc
 
Q: Macintosh support?
A: We will have Macintosh connectivity but the roll-out will depend on the integration and test schedule of our software partner. 
 
Q: What interface (FireWire, USB 2.0, SCSI, what?)
A: The drive has been architected to support all the interfaces mentioned. We are debugging the SCSI command set now.
 
Q: Software to use on Mac?
A: We are working with SGL, QStar and several others who have video archive software.
 
Q: I saw the Quantum DLT-600A stuff and thought the MXF access was very interesting. Any plans to do something like that?
A: Yes, there will be a version of the drive that supports  MXF. 
 

Mike's Comments: Hmm. Well, first gen tech is alwas pricey and doesn't at first make good economic sense, and isn't an obvious home run. The good thing is the fact that it is a DISC - so random access, TONS faster (many orders of magnitude) faster seeks than tape. BUT....GB for GB, tape is holding it's own. Tape cost/GB is lower (for LTO-3, for instance), and drive cost is lower as well (LTO-3 again). LTO-3 is faster as well (by more than 50% if I recall correctly). So this is an intersting technology to watch, but the first gen won't necessarily make good economic sense for everyone.

=================================

LACIE

See related pics somewhere on this page

The 2 big from LaCie - is RAID 0/1/JBOD, $970 for 1TB, $469 for the 500GB
-Biggest S2S - talking about getting RAID 5 in about 6 months
-85 MB/sec, good for multiple streams of , called Little Big Disk, is 2x160GB drives, is $400 for 160GB, 320GB is $799, 200GB is $649. Is bus powered so can run off a laptop. NICE PRODUCT!
-orange framed rugged drive, USB 2.0, FireWire 400, FireWire 800 80/100/120GB, 80 is $200, 120 is $349, 100GB is $399 is because is 7200rpm
-LaCie makes and sells tons of drives, I have 2 of the 1TB drives (the older 4 drive units) and 2 of the 250GB drives floating around the house. Use'em, love'em. I mostly use them for long term archive, not day to day stuff, though.
-but they have tons of other products for FireWire and SATA

=================================


QUANTUM SDLT-600A

See this page for related photos

SDLT-600A

-is essentially a tape drive with an FTP server with GigE
-like a slow seeking offline
-36 MB/sec transfer rate
-300 GB cartridge
-standard SDLT (NOT LTO3), up to a month ago was the flagship product,
-last month another product that is 800 GB per cart
-early next year will add the FTP functionality
-GigE interface, can launch a web browser right from the drive
-using Internet Explorer, can see the contents of the tape
-wanted to see FCP, so walked around to that station...
-can access and retrieve via timecode from the data tape
-can do partial excerpts using TeleStream Flip4Mac using MXF
-list price is tabletop unit is $7500
-media cost is about $100/tape for 300GB
-only one root access - so only one user at a time
-access times can be long, about 80 (or did he say 180?) secs average seek time
-worst case 6 minutes to find something off tape (he said yes to that statement)
-Final Cut, showing Quantum SDLT-600A, GigE, one user at a time, can access, using Telestream's Flip4Mac MXF product, to get to individual frames on the tape.
-then the questions are these - can FCP archive or just retrieve? What codecs can be archived losslessly (or natively, rather)? What frame rates, frame sizes supported?
-more questions to be answered, but sounds very interesting, I LIKE the approach and product concept. For P2, Silicon Imaging, Red, and other cameras existing or future that are IT based and it isn't practical to shelve the original acquisition media, this is a promising idea.

=================================

ABERDEEN RAIDs: high speed 4Gbit fibre channel RAIDs, 5TB RAIDs for $8K (that's a show special) - the guy who told me about them went on and on about great service, great price, great company (he was a paying customer, not a rep). Anybody from Aberdeen reading this? Contact me about a review unit!

===============================

That's it for today as far as NAB 2006 coverage goes. Over the weekend (or Monday, haven't decided) I'll be posting about some Other Stuff, both software (plugins etc.) and, well, "other stuff" that I saw at the show that didn't fit easily into categories.

-mike

MacNN | RE:Vision updates plugins for FCP 5.1

RE:Vision Effects announced today major updates for Mac versions of its plugins, including Universal Binary support and performance improvements for After Effects 7.0.


They make some good stuff that has been slow (HEAVY math involved) in the past, faster is mo bettah.

Twixtor is their retiming plugin, FieldsKit does smart deinterlacing, and others are potentially useful for indie filmmakers.

-mike

Nike and Apple luvs me - they are making running and iPod stuff to work together, to track your run, play songs and give you audio feedback, all kinds of cool stuff. Watch the video on the Nike link above to get an idea of how it all works.

Gonna git me one, soon! This definitely resolves the whole "Should I replace my busted Shuffle with another Shuffle or a Nano?" argument in zero flat.

-mike

Final Cut Pro HD: Keyframes are not pasted when you choose Paste Attributes:

When you paste the attributes of one clip onto another, keyframes are not pasted, even though you selected the checkbox for Filters.
Normally, the Paste Attributes command is valuable for selectively copying attributes from one clip to another without having to open clips in the Viewer, eliminating the need to repeat steps when applying identical effects to multiple clips.

If you select the Filters checkbox, the filters for the copied clip are pasted as specified, but any keyframes added to the clip are not pasted.

One workaround is to drag the filter from a clip in the Effects tab of the Viewer onto the clip where you want the keyframes, as pictured...

Sonnet Technology PCI Express host adapter for Dual-Core Power Mac

Forgot to get this one - barefeats review of the Sonnet | Tempo SATA E4P - Serial ATA Host Adapter for PCI Express card and Sonnet | Fusion 500P - 5-Bay Serial ATA Drive Enclosure with Port Multiplier enclosure.

I heartily recommend that card having used it extensively myself, and while I haven't received a review unit of the Fusion 500 (ahem! Anyone over there reading this? : ) ), it looks like a good product.

They have stats on 4, 8, and 12 drive RAID setups (650+MB/sec!)

NAB 2006 Editing Software Wrap Up:
=======================


Hey all - so at long last, here's my NAB 2006 Editing Software wrap up notes. It took me so long to get all this transcribed from audio, emailed press releases sifted, brochures sponged for actual facts instead of "marketing copy', that I don't have the time/energy/inclination to go through another pass and format all this. So here it all is, a big gob of data, not in any particular order of preference:

=====================

Update: OK, I'll summarize a bit for you:

Adobe: no new editing software
Apple: new 17" MacBook Pro, but no new Final Cut, just tech previews of XDCAM HD, Canon 24F HDV, and JVC 24p HDV capture, but other interesting things in the booth
Avid: XPress Pro, Mojo SDI, and InterPlay, as well as $5K software only Media Composer

I previously covered some notes on Sony's XPRI & Vegas (8 bit only pipeline for Vegas) in my Sony Booth visit section of the Cameras & Shooting Gear post from two days ago.

======================

Adobe

-my time was VERY limited in the Adobe booth (had a scheduled interview shortly thereafter) so I might have missed thigns of note. If I did, please let me know/send me a link and I'll update this

-no new versions of After Effects or Premiere Pro or Creative Suite - so that was pretty much it in terms of video manipulation stuff that I cared about in the Adobe booth

Adobe Reader has Clipnotes with video - worthy of further exploration as a groupware/workflow addition for commenting on projects amongst a technically savvy group (NOT the typical client)

Gridiron was showing improved performance with GridIron Nucleo for After Effects rendering. $150/rendering seat. X-Factor is priced at $495 for a Plus 6-Pack license. Mac OS X (PPC) and Windows XP. No MacIntel support, since no MacIntel After Effects until next year at the earliest.

Maxon was also showing a cool tool for integration between Cinema4D and After Effects.

Adobe - Premiere Pro 2 - anything new? Not that I can tell as compared to the shipping version...new Xena cards from AJA are great, but no new software from Adobe that I can telll...

CS2, AE7, PPro2...doesn't look like anything new from what we already had

========================================
APPLE BOOTH - FCP RELATED:

Apple didn't have a new version of FCP to show. Big bummer, but as I predicted. BUT...they were showing "technology previews" of stuff - XDCAM HD import (plugin from Sony), Canon XL H1 capture in 24F HDV mode, and JVC HDV 24p capture. All could be edited on the timeline in FCP as well with RT effects. (But for the XDCAM HD, the 25mbit CBR setting was recommended for RT FX, the 18 and 35mbit VBRs seemed like they would NOT have RT FX). Apple usually doesn't do tech previews until stuff is pretty close, so "not too long to wait" from what I overheard. Based on other things I heard around NAB, I'm guessing some minor version bump in the June/July timeframe. Maybe. (Or maybe at WWDC with Intel based towers in August?).

Apple released new 17" MacBook Pros at NAB - same as the 15's except for bigger screens (1680x1050), a FireWire 800 port (big deal!), and an extra (3 not 2) USB 2.0 port. Oh! And a dual layer 8x DVD burner - better than the 15" model's.

The rest of the Final Cut Studio applications were shown as had shipped a few weeks before with version 5.1.

Here's my earlier post on the Apple booth at NAB.

Other stuff in the booth.

-Digital Heaven's AutoMotion in the Apple booth - cool animated script based thing to do cool stuff in Motion. From their website - AutoMotion is a groundbreaking new application which automates the production and management of multiple graphics in conjunction with Apple’s Motion. So it's a standalone adjunct is the way they make it sound. I saw a very brief demo of it, looked cool. So if you need to crank out a bunch of title graphics all formatted the same way, here's your ticket is what they're trying to pitch this as.

-DVD Studio Pro - showing version 4.1 in the booth - same version we already had as of a few weeks ago. Key benefits - now includes HD DVD v1.0 (final) specifications, so discs authored w/v4.0.3 or 4.1 should play back correctly on the shipping HD DVD players. Oh, and since is a Universal binary, runs on Intel and G4/G5 based Macs. (PDF with v4.1 release notes is here
======================
Live editing during ingest with PictureReady was shown on the show floor - enables real time replay and editing of footage as it is recorded. Good for live event/news production. Here's a link to an Apple page discussing its use during Tour de France.
========================
Video Asset Management with Proximity Artbox - Proximity Artbox is a video asset manager:
-$20K setup
-for big shops
-client/server setup
-does low res proxies for your shots and clips
-what indies might this be viable for? Big production, well funded docs might want to use this to go through all of their shots in a hurry, but for most indies this is overkill

==========================================

Sony XDCAM HD import (& export?) into FCP
-Sony XDCAM HD import - go to a File Import==> XDCAMHD, it launches Sony XDCAM Transfer, a little standalone application (SEE & LINK PICS)
-you get little preview clips of the shots
-you can play back these low res proxies
-can preview and set ins and outs and acquire just the parts you want
-you can set MULTIPLE ins and outs and grab just the chunks you want - you have a little queue you can build up from
-one implementation annoyance - while CAN import in background, the window leaps to front every time it finishes a clip (or perhaps subclip as well)
-you connect to the camera via FireWire
-proxies come in as low res proxies at about 40x realtime
-while it is pulling in other proxies, you can already be editing other stuff that's already in
-it is a Sony product, not shipping yet, will by from Sony it would appear
-CAN do 35mbit on the timeline - will require a newer version of FCP. The version of FCP that will support this isn't shipping yet (DEFINITELY need a new version for 24p support), and the Sony XDCAM Transfer app isn't shipping yet either. A month-ish was the demo guy's guesstimate I think (that's from top of head not notes, so could be wildly off base there)
-Sony XDCAM HD stuff, may or may not need a new version of FCP for XDCAM HD stuff, and it won't be too long of a wait somebody somewhere said. No idea how official or informed that statement was.
-timecode on the XDCAM HD stuff does build as you go, and the transfer app works with SD & HD footage, 18, 25, and 35 mbit
-it'll require v5.1 FCP with some new codec update that's coming in a few weeks or whatever, the Sony Transfer app is in beta and is expected to ship in a few weeks (or whatever). No solid dates there, just general guidelines
-25mbit is Apple's recommended, with 18 & 35mbit won't get RT effects at present, perhaps some future version will give RT support. But for now, if concerned about RT FX w/FCP, 25 megabit CBR on XDCAM HD is the recommended way to go for FCP.

======================================
AVID

Xpress Pro - the Avid editor for indies is how he described it
-the show news - full Avid editing toolset on the G5 - they brought HD, HDV, DVCPRO HD, DNxHD, (sounds like a DNxHD QT codec now? YES), can do After Effects and write to DNxHD now, XDCAM HD support as well, FireWire ingest for all those.
-since FireWire ingest for all these, can now do full screen output for previews
-for portable editing, since can FireWire ingest, a
-can use screen for monitoring video
-Xpress Pro 5.5
-telecine metadata integrated directly for keycode etc., all that works in Xpress Pro
-the little things - normal and advanced pulldown, 23.976 to 24.0 conversion,
-autosync for dual system sound to marry up 2-pops to slates to sync it directly
-HDV - there is a single Mac/PC release, any release has one license that'll run on both, has a hardware key (dongle) to limit to one running seat at a time
-Media management can let you use a FireWire drive for whole production for Mac & PC
-projects can move back and forth Mac/PC
-24p & 24F support for HDV? NOT yet, just NTSC and PAL frame rates, but do have 24p for DVCPRO HD, and for DVCPRO range for Varicam, 1200A deck, FireWire ingest, it'll pull out the flags for 720p24 as well as over/undercrank
-HDV - no 24p yet
-P2 support for HVX? YES
-support for the new JVCs? NO SUPPORT YET
-Canon - no 24F support yet either, just 50i and 60i
-what's above Xpress Pro?
-software only version of Media Composer
-Avid Interplay is a big new thing - "a whole collaborative production environment" - for workgroup stuff
-Interplay is about helping people collaborate, it is a common asset manager sitting on Avid Unity for example. Is a database and more, allows handoff and assigning sub parts to others, signing assets in and out - like Content Management Systems for video, this'll be great for large workgroups and facilities. Like CMS, version control, version history, check in and check out. Hangs onto previous versions so you have version control. Multi-resolution too. Integrated tool can see from Media Composer, tools for producers and assist stations, MPEG-4 for logging etc. For people like doc makers, can have a simple logging app for low bandwidth proxies for logging info.
-that leads into Media Composer in terms of workflow - when creating a collaborative environment, need it to be accessible. Media Composer as a software client, connects that broad base production environment. For those that are familiar with Media Composer, can run it Mac or PC and is handy for them
-Media Composer vs. XPress Pro, is a price point issue - more tools, resolutions, format support in Media Composer software only. Xpress Pro takes you 90% of the way
-XPress Pro is $1695, $4995 for the software only Media Com