SAN FRANCISCO - At the MacWorld convention, Media 100 (www.media100.com) announced Media 100 HD compatibility with High Definition Video (HDV) via Lumière HD. Through a software codec featuring Lumière HD support, customers will be able to shoot their projects cost effectively in the HDV format and, without additional hardware, bring the footage in for editing with all the 10-bit, Macintosh-based power of Media 100 HD.
"HDV cameras are taking the world by storm. The level of integration demanded by the marketplace is to have all the benefits of HD with the convenience of FireWire," said Steve Bayes, director of product marketing, Media 100 Business Unit. "By interfacing with Lumière HD, we are giving Media 100 HD customers the best of both worlds: a truly unique multi-format HD and SD editing environment together with the flexibility to shoot with an HDV camera and capture and transcode using whatever QuickTime codecs are loaded on their systems."
Producers may encode their HD output into an HDV MPEG-2 transport stream and transfer back to HDV cameras and decks, or produce masters for other formats, such as DVD. For producers not working in an SDI facility, support for HDV via Lumière HD, a stand-alone software, enables Media 100 HD customers to maximize this new shooting medium while saving on the costly equipment and infrastructure typically needed to shoot, convert and deliver in high-quality HD.
"Lumière HD is the missing link to getting HDV material rapidly and easily from an HDV camera to an editing system," said Lumière HD president, Frederic Haubrich. We support the top HDV cameras from JVC and Sony, including the world's first 1080i HDV camera, the Sony HDR-FX1(E). Media 100 HD is a robust system with high-value HD and SD editing capabilities. We are pleased that, via Lumière HD support, the expanding community of savvy content producers and editors will now have the choice to shoot HDV."
Media 100 HD is the first cost-effective SD and HD editing system that deals with the reality that editors will need to work in SD and HD and even mix SD and HD content in the same programs over the next few years. It is the only system in its price class that enables mixing SD and HD content in the same timeline; mixing of 4:3 and 16:9 aspect-ratio content in the same timeline; mixing of uncompressed and compressed media in the same timeline; mixing of M-JPEG, DV, Animation, and other QuickTime codecs in the same timeline in realtime without lengthy importing or rendering; mixing of analog and digital video in the same timeline; and viewing of SD and HD output simultaneously regardless of source material. The system features Media 100 Version 10 software, Media 100's biggest Mac-based release to date.