LAS VEGAS - Marlboro, MA's Media 100 (www.media100.com), a unit of Optibase Ltd., has introduced Media 100 sw, a software-only version of the company's Media 100 HD editing system. The product is being rolled out as public beta software on CD-ROM at NAB and promises to bring the ease of use of editing in the Media 100 interface to an expanded range of markets, including producer/editors, home enthusiasts and students. Media 100 sw also provides a cost-effective companion to customers and facilities using existing Media 100i and Media 100 HD systems. The Media 100i/Media 100 HD interface is known for its straightforward layout and ease of use. Media 100 sw will allow content creators to ramp up on the popular software quickly and complete projects from their desktop or laptop computers using an efficient set of tools.
"The lower cost of the Media 100 sw and the future development to handle HDV and DV through Firewire will open new customer markets, and give a growing number of people - from enthusiasts who want to just start editing right away to producers who sit down occasionally to put together their own projects - editing tools that can be quickly adopted and used," says Steve Bayes, director of product marketing for Media 100/Optibase. "The software will also benefit existing Media 100 customers who want to inexpensively add an editing or review-and-approval bay to their setup by using Media 100 sw on a laptop or a basic G5."
Media 100 sw is comprised of a full-functioning editing application with support for all Media 100 codecs, realtime effects (depending on processor and drive speeds), full media and graphics import and export capabilities, a trial version of Boris Graffiti, and the ability to move programs backward and forward to Media 100 HD.
The public beta version will be able to play and render all codecs and media formats currently supported with Media 100 HD. The public beta software does not include capture or output capabilities, but users will be able to access media captured using Media 100i or Media 100 HD products and use it for editing and export. Users will also be able to open programs created by the Media 100 sw version on Media 100 HD systems and, when the corresponding media is attached, output to tape with complete accuracy.
Media 100 sw will also be able to open any program created on Media 100i, export material as a QuickTime movie and output via a Media 100i system to tape. All existing import and export workflows, including sending to third-party compressors for MPEG-2 for DVD or MPEG-4 for Web, will continue to work as they do with the current shipping Media 100 products.
Free public beta Media 100 sw software is being distributed at the Optibase booth during NAB. The CD contains an interactive demo of Media 100 HD and an installer for the public beta of Media 100 sw. The public beta will time out after 90 days, but new versions are expected to be available during development. A productized version of Media 100 sw, with FireWire deck control and I/O, is expected to be announced later in 2005.
In related news, Media 100 has announced support for Mac OS X version 10.4 Tiger. Both Media 100 HD, a high-definition and standard-definition nonlinear editing solution, and Media 100 sw will run the new Apple operating system, providing core performance benefits to customers.