TOP 5: PROS PICK THEIR FAVORITE NAB PRODUCTS
This “Top 5” just scratches the surface, but represents the top products that repeatedly showed up on our undercover pros’ lists. For more NAB news, check out our June “Products” section, as well as our Website.
AJA’s KiPro (www.aja.com) is a portable, tapeless video device that records Apple ProRes 422 files directly from cameras. The unit creates 10-bit ProRes 422 media that is then immediately available to edit within Apple’s Final Cut Studio. The unit can connect any digital camera via SDI or HDMI, or any analog camera with multiple input options. Users can convert in realtime from SD to HD, or 720 to/from 1080, in full 10-bit quality. AJA expects to ship the Ki Pro in June for $3,995.
DVS Clipster 3rd Generation (www.dvs.de) now has increased capabilities for DCI mastering, as well as a new toolset for the creation of Digital Video Packages. Clipster can convert stereoscopic film data to Digital Cinema Packages (DCP) in realtime. All the steps for stereoscopic DCI mastering, including encoding and MXF wrapping, can be easily performed. Clipster also provides fast conforming of 3D material. A user can generate stereoscopic images by dropping the EDL for left and right eye directly into the system’s timeline. Both tracks can be merged together into one stereoscopic video track that can be edited as regular video material. Once the streams are synchronized there is no need to edit left and right eye separately.
The system can also create Digital Video Packages, providing multimedia deliverables for IPTV, DVD, Blu-ray, and mobile phones. The Digital Video Packages created with Clipster function as digital masters for various output formats. Different versions for language and shot substitution can be prepared, managed and mastered.
Autodesk’s Flare 2010 (www.autodesk.com) offers visual effects pros the same feature set as the company’s Flame and Inferno systems, but at just 20 percent the cost. Flare is geared toward post houses that already have the high-end systems in place and want to offer junior talent the opportunity to learn the toolset as well as contribute to larger projects. The software application includes the same Batch tools (action, compositing, tracking, camera extraction) that users have in the system release, but in a software-only version, one that can even run on a laptop. Sstudios need to have Flame or Inferno in order to add the Flare application to their workflow.
Avid Media Access (www.avid.com) is a plug-in environment that’s included with V.3.5 of the Media Composer software, Mojo DX and Nitris DX, as well as V.3.5 of Symphony Nitris DX. It gives users the ability to work with new camera formats without having to wait for support.
AMA provides a native, end-to-end workflow for Sony's XDCAM HD format. Users can directly connect XDCAM HD discs to their NLE and the Avid editing app will open that volume and expose data from clips in the native Media Composer bin. There is no need for rewrapping or transcoding, and all of the metadata is exposed. Media Composer also offers full native support with direct access for XDCAM EX and P2 formats.
Cine-tal Systems’ Cinemage B Series (www.cine-tal.com) of displays are a line-up of 10-bit displays in 42-, 23- and 19-inch configurations. The B Series integrate the company’s CineSpace color management and calibration software, which allows for control of the wide color gamut primaries, creating accurate reference for DCI, HD and SD monitoring. Cinemage uses an optimized combination of 3D LUTs, 1D LUTs and 21-bit color matricies to provide high precision monitor calibration, display system emulation and color previsualization.