Ross Video adds yet another frame version to its expanding Carbonite switcher lineup. Called Carbonite+, this new 2RU switcher frame includes all of the standard features of Carbonite but adds features developed from customer feedback.
Carbonite+ provides frame synchronization and format conversion on every input, allowing use of up to 24 untimed signals in a production, in addition the number of internal DVE’s have been increased from 4 to 8.
The Carbonite+ is available with 16 or 24 SDI inputs the same as the standard Carbonite platform. It is available with any Carbonite panel including the new C2X and is fully compatible with the new ViewControl and LiveAssist GUI controllers.
Vinten Radamec, part of Vitec Videocom, a Vitec Group company and leader in robotic camera support systems, introduces a revolutionary robotic camera pedestal positioning system, APS (Absolute Positioning System). The APS system seamlessly integrates with Vinten Radamec’s Fusion robotic pedestals, delivering unrivaled positional accuracy and operational flexibility never before possible with free-roaming robotic camera support pedestals.
An APS equipped Fusion pedestal no longer relies on the need to navigate to, and get its initial position from—a floor target or tile. Instead, it detects unobtrusive, passive retro-reflective targets placed in the studio environment using a scanning laser-based measurement system. This allows operators to free up valuable studio floor space where once a floor target was sited, and removes the need to go through time-consuming targeting operation before users start a show or when switching from using the pedestal in full-manual mode.
APS is available as both a factory-fit option on the Fusion FP-188 pedestal, or as an upgrade for existing FP-188 or FP-145 pedestals. Vinten Radamec has developed a novel range of unobtrusive targets that can be customized by the customer to color-match their existing studio environment or particular elements of the set.
Photo caption: Vinten Radamec’s APS robotic pedestals employ rotating lasers that scan a 270 degree arc to a distance of over 60’ for targets to triangulate it’s absolute position in the studio.
Carl Zeiss will present a new cine lens from the Compact Prime CP.2 lens family during the IBC 2012 in Amsterdam, the leading international trade show for film, radio and television, from September 7 to 11, 2012, in hall 11 booth G64. With an even larger aperture, the new Compact Prime CP.2 25/T2.1 lens from Carl Zeiss achieves outstanding images in challenging lighting conditions.
The Compact Prime CP.2 25/T2.1 succeeds the Compact Prime CP.2 25/T2.9, which will continue to be available as long as supplies last.
The lens offers a high-speed CP.2 lens with a maximum aperture of T2.1 for the 25mm focal length range as well. Chromatic aberrations have virtually been eliminated on these lenses through a special design and selection of materials. Zeiss can now offer a constant max T-Stop of 2.1 for all of our CP.2 lenses in the focal length range of 25-135mm. This gives users even more possibilities to compose their images and requires less effort with the lighting. The biggest advantage on set is that the light does not have to be adapted when switching lenses because they all have the same F-Stop. The lens speed is ideal for playing with the depth-of-field.
The Compact Prime CP.2 lens series, extremely popular among ambitious cinematographers thanks to its 14 fixed focal lengths from 15 to 135mm, will again be the center of attention during Carl Zeiss’s presence at the IBC 2012. By using the interchangeable mounts for PL, EF, F, MFT and E, the lenses can be easily adapted to numerous camera systems, ensuring compatibility with future cameras as technology changes. Thanks to the interchangeable mounts and the 36 x 24mm image-circle illumination the Compact Prime CP.2 lens family is versatile to use — on HDSLR and HD video cameras as well as on professional cine cameras. The lenses are characterized by their robustness, a standard focus rotation angle of 300 degrees and uniform measurements. This combination makes the lenses ideally suited for every demand on the film set. All Compact Prime CP.2 lenses have a standard cine-style housing with gearing that allows the attachment of any standard follow-focus system.
All the new features that Carl Zeiss presented at the NAB Show in Las Vegas in April will now enjoy a European debut at the IBC 2012: two Compact Prime CP.2 lenses (CP.2 15/T2.9 and CP.2 135/T2.1), three Compact Prime CP.2 Super Speed lenses as well as the Compact Zoom CZ.2 70-200/T2.9. The new focal lengths 15mm and 135mm expand the offering of the Compact Prime CP.2 family and open up many new creative possibilities, from super wide angle to tele. The three Compact Prime CP.2 Super Speed lenses have an aperture of T1.5 and are available in focal lengths 35mm, 50mm and 85mm. These high- lights as well as other cine and camera lenses can be experienced and tried out on the spot during the IBC.
Alongside the new features, Carl Zeiss will display behind a huge glass case all of its cine and camera lenses that are currently available on the market — lenses that guarantee images of the highest quality, regardless of whether they are used on cameras to shoot Hollywood movies, on HDSLR cameras or HD video cameras. The dis- play will include the well-known Master Prime, Ultra Prime, Compact Prime CP.2 and Compact Zoom CZ.2, DigiPrime, Lightweight Zoom LWZ.2 lenses, as well as SLR camera lenses, which are ideal for getting started in the HD video segment.
In addition, Carl Zeiss and its partner ARRI will present the long-awaited anamorphic lens to public. Visitors to the Carl Zeiss stand will have an opportunity to try out a prototype of the lens that is currently in the final design phase on an ARRI Alexa Studio camera.
Sometimes photoreal is too real. Artists need options, clients want choices, and ideas rarely fit under one umbrella. Freedom can be found in Luxology’s non-photorealistic rendering (NPR) Kit for modo – a non-photorealistic rendering package that allows expressive, hand-drawn looks and animations to be achieved in 3D renderings. With this new all-in-one kit, modo 601 users will now be able to access classic art styles when rendering anything from product visualizations to anime and fine art.
With material options for ‘toon’ shading, stippling, halftones, and edge rendering, the NPR Kit is the quickest path to unique representations of architecture, products and characters in modo. And since the NPR Kit can mimic traditional styles like blueprints, sketches and chalk drawings, it is a valuable resource for technical illustration, where edges and other important features are emphasized at the expense of detailed visual accuracy. Or on cartoon productions, where solid colors and strong lines are used to convey emotion.
The eight shaders included in the NPR Kit offer a high degree of artistic control, as exemplified by the SketchTone shader, which uses hand-sketched hatching examples to map an artist’s personal drawing style to any 3D surface. High priority strokes appear even where there is little shading; while lower priority strokes are filled in later, as the shading grows darker. This technique not only reproduces the hand-drawn quality of the strokes used, but also the artist’s own interpretation of the surface.
The NPR Kit also includes pre-built materials, still and animated backgrounds, sample NPR scenes, Sketchmaps, and tutorials.
Sound Devices, experts in portable audio and video products for field production, announces that its PIX-DOCK is now shipping, in time for the 2012 IBC Show (Stand 8.D74). Having first made its debut at this year’s NAB Show, PIX-DOCK connects drives mounted in a Sound Devices PIX-CADDY 2 to computers equipped with Thunderbolt high-speed I/O over a single Thunderbolt cable.
The PIX-CADDY 2, which is used to connect SSD volumes to all PIX recorders, is an SSD mounting accessory that also operates as a multi-format interface to attach drives to a computer for file transfer and management. With the introduction of the PIX-DOCK, users can now leverage Thunderbolt’s fast transfer speeds between drives and computers. Thunderbolt offers up to 10 Gbps interconnection speeds, making the file copying of large-capacity drives fast and easy. When using fast storage drives, its high throughput allows realtime playback of multiple streams of high-data-rate video.
The PIX-DOCK provides both power and data over a single cable and is compatible with SATA drives. It includes a six-foot Thunderbolt cable that connects to the PIX-CADDY 2 using its eSATAp connection. It also offers a secure, latching connection to PIX-CADDY, and its weighted base prevents sliding on desktop surfaces.
The PIX 220i, PIX 240i and PIX 260 record directly to QuickTime using Apple’s ProRes or Avid’s DNxHD codecs. Since PIX recorders use ProRes and DNxHD, files recorded in the field can be used directly in post production, making the workflow simple and fast. The PIX 240i and PIX 260 add even more flexibility, with their time code, sync-generator, and simultaneous SDI and HDMI outputs. All PIX recorders incorporate the company’s award-winning audio expertise and performance.
GUESTS: Mike Savello, Marc-André Ferguson, David Vassar, Sally Kaplan, Jonathan Handel, and Phil Storey
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New interviews every week! Join Larry Jordan and Michael Horton as they talk with:
Mike Savello, Vice-president of Sales, LiveU
LiveU provides live video streaming over cellular phones. We first saw this at the NAB 2012 Show, but they have since used their technology to broadcast live from the 2012 Olympics in London. Mike Savello is their VP of Sales and joins us this week to explain their technology and how it can be used by filmmakers to create compelling new content – live!
Autodesk is in the process of creating a major new release of Smoke. With the launch of their first public trial release in June, they have since released two updates. Release 3 arrived earlier this week and we talk with Mark-André Ferguson, Smoke Product Evangelist for Autodesk, about the new release and the reaction from the marketplace.
David Vassar and Sally Kaplan, Co-producers, “California Forever”
“California Forever” is a two-part PBS series that premieres in September that tells the story of California’s state parks. Produced by Sally Kaplan, and co-produced, written, and directed by David Vassar, shot on the Red camera, this series was almost four years in the making. What we are interested in learning about, though, was the permitting process that Sally went through to get permission to film in more than 40 state parks. Why were permits necessary, how hard was the process, and what can we learn from her experience?
Jonathan Handel, Entertainment Labor Reporter, Hollywood Reporter
This week, a California judge ruled that the Directors Guild of America is properly complying with a 2008 settlement agreement requiring the DGA to report foreign royalties. The problem, as stated in the lawsuit, was that the DGA reports were virtually incomprehensible. Jonathan Handel, Entertainment Labor Reporter for the Hollywood Reporter joins us this week to explain the situation and what it means to filmmakers selling films overseas who aren’t DGA members.
Phil Storey, Co-founder and CEO, XenData
XenData is a leading provider of digital video archiving products tailored for the media industry. They are announcing some new archiving gear next week at the IBC trade show in Amsterdam. So, we invited Dr. Phil Storey, CEO of XenData, to explain their latest announcements and what they mean to filmmakers.
You can’t find people or interviews like this anywhere else — it’s another fascinating show!
The Buzz is all the information you need now to know what’s coming next!
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Telestream announced availability of two new products and a major Version 4.0 release for its award-winning family of Vantage video transcoding and workflow automation products. The new GPU-accelerated Lightspeed Server enables blazing-fast video processing and H.264 encoding for all Vantage transcode solutions. Transcode Multiscreen accelerates multi-bitrate H.264 transcoding and packaging for multiscreen video delivery, including OTT, tablets, and mobile devices. Vantage now includes market-specific transcoding solutions that can be used standalone or integrated into more extensive Vantage workflow systems to quickly support emerging market needs. In addition, Vantage systems now incorporate loudness control, web captioning, and include integrations with third-party products allowing the creation of tightly integrated, fully automated, intelligent, file-based video workflows.
Transcode Multiscreen and Lightspeed Server work together to provide GPU acceleration of video processing and H.264 encoding and to enable blazing-fast speeds. Support for Apple HLS, Adobe HTTP Dynamic Streaming, Microsoft IIS Smooth Streaming, MPEG-DASH and MP4 formats is included. Transcode Multiscreen automates the entire process of source file decoding, parallelized H.264 encoding, creation of adaptive bit rate packages with encryption, archiving, delivery and notification.
New with Version 4.0, Vantage Transcode products can leverage Lightspeed Server to provide GPU-accelerated transcoding and video processing across hundreds of formats, with pristine 16-bit 4:4:4:4 YUV image quality, support for the x264 codec for high-quality H.264 transcoding, vastly improved up/down/cross conversion and deinterlacing, plus support for new file formats.
Now available, Vantage 4.0 workflow automation features include new audio loudness measurement and correction capabilities, providing compliance with CALM Act, Dolby Digital Intelligence, EBU R 128, and ITU-R BS.1770-2 specifications. Additional integrations with professional video systems allow automation of more complete file-based video workflows, including Avid, Civolution, Grass Valley, Harris, Irdeto, Nielsen, Omneon, Screen and more. A new advanced Avid option enables encoding and delivery to Avid Interplay with metadata. New integration with Civolution embeds digital forensic watermarking into any asset. A new Web-based Workflow Portal enables metadata entry, review and approval from any Mac or PC browser, improved frame accurate proxy editing, plus thumbnail and list views.
Vantage 4.0 is now available from Telestream’s worldwide network of direct sales and distributors.
Visit Telestream at IBC 2012 in Amsterdam in stand 7.D16.
Autodesk, a leader in 3D design, engineering and entertainment software, posted the new pre-release trial 3 of Smoke 2013, video editing software that connects editing and visual effects. Autodesk encourages users to download the latest version of the Smoke 2013 pre-release trial to check out new features and functionality.
A couple of notes before installing the pre-release trial number 3:
Smoke pre-release 2 projects still in process should be converted for use in pre-release 3. See details on the Smoke 2013 AREA forum. It’s also probably a good idea to uninstall Smoke pre-release trial 2 before installing Smoke pre-release trial 3.
Users should also enjoy the Smoke Learning Channel for brand new tutorials on the additions to pre-release 3:
Pre-release 3 also brings enhancements to software stability, the menu bar and drag & drop behaviors in the Media List. For details, check out the full release notes for Smoke 2013 pre-release 3.
