SANTA CLARA, CA — Assimilate (www.assimilateinc.com) has introduced Version 8 of its Scratch dailies system, which offers tools for versioning, coloring, conforming and finishing. The new Scratch 8 is one of the first software-only solutions capable of encoding ProRes files on a Windows-based system. This development means there is now full parity between Mac- and Windows-based Scratch systems.
Version 8 also includes support for GPU-only debayering of Red files. Users can now play back Red files (Red One, MX and Epic) at full resolution, in realtime, without the need for a Red Rocket card. In addition, support for Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink 4K Extreme and UltraStudio 4K for Thunderbolt solutions allow users to incorporate 4K monitoring into their workflow, as well as run Scratch and Da Vinci Resolve on the same system.
Assimilate has also introduced “MyAssimilate,” a new product that’s available to Scratch 8 and Scratch Lab 8 users at no additional cost. MyAssimilate is a suite of cloud-based workflow tools, though the company is approaching the cloud workflow a little differently than other manufacturers. Rather than storing a project’s media in the cloud, Assimilate’s tools use the cloud to break down barriers faced by pros working in remote locations, or by freelancers who move from studio to studio.
MyAssimilate consists of four key tools. The Project Repository enables collaboration in an asynchronous fashion, where all users have their own local media, but data is exchanged via the clund to update respective projects as they are updated. Scratch Remote is designed for simultaneous remote collaboration. Rather than exchange large media files, users collaborate through the exchange of JPEG2000 files, with one person moderating the session. When the session ends, media disappears from the remote participants’ machines.
Scratch Web is designed for remote review sessions, where artists can publish a Scratch session to a Web browser for easy review in Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome or Safari. And the Galleries tool is designed for a freelancer who is going to work on a system at a client’s location. Using the cloud, they can open up a Scratch system — including hot keys, settings, looks, and shots — and work as if they are on their own system.
The new Version 8 release is available for free to all Scratch 7 users currently on Assimilate’s maintenance program. Assimilate offers a number of flexible subscription plans too, and all the features of Version 8, as well as MyAssimilate, are available to those who rent a system for as little as a single day.