Marc Policani's Digital Media Blog: Media Encoding (Applications / Codecs)

AudioGrail 6.0.13.72 RC 2

Thu, 28 Jul 2005 15:38:23 GMT

K-MP3 is the swiss army knife for everthing that is related to audio files (MP3, MPC, OGG...). It can very easily rename and tag (tag: info such as artist name, album, track title) your files automatically. It can also analyse quality, organize files on your system, create a "magic folder" for easier audio collection browsing, ... | Source: KC Softwares

Disposable Camcorder

Wed, 08 Jun 2005 01:39:58 GMT

shamowfski writes "CVS Corp on Monday began selling a disposable digital camcorder. The $29.99 pocket-sized camcorder was developed by Pure Digital Technologies Inc., a San Francisco-based start-up company. The camcorder weighs under 5 ounces and holds 20 minutes of digital video and sound. It features a 1.4 inch color playback screen and an ability to delete video, and it saves video on a memory chip instead of tapes. Can't wait till they hack this one."

ARCHOS Introduces the AV 700 Mobile Digital Video Recorder, Featuring 100 Gigabytes Under a 7-Inch Screen

Mon, 23 May 2005 16:40:06 GMT

"ARCHOS, Inc., a global consumer electronics manufacturer and leader in portable digital entertainment solutions, introduced today the new AV 700 Mobile Digital Video Recorder , which combines the mobility and wide screen of a portable DVD player, with the video recording and scheduling features of a digital video recorder." [ more... ]

How to Shoot

Fri, 13 May 2005 02:51:51 GMT

Digital Video Editing has posted a decent article on how to use a camcorder, "What do you need to know to effectively communicate your ideas to your audience? If you're just starting out, there will be lots of tips in this article that will help you avoid the distractions that can ruin even a well-thought-out video presentation. If you're a seasoned veteran, read along anyway, while smugly assuring yourself that you're doing everything exactly right. Whatever your level of experience, I'm here to help." [ more... ]

Final Cut Pro 5 – First Impressions

Wed, 27 Apr 2005 16:02:35 GMT

Stephen Schleicher writes, "If you missed out on Apple’s NAB unveiling of Final Cut Pro 5, you didn’t get to behold the new wonders of this great editing application. What you didn’t see in the event was one of the more requested features of Final Cut Pro .

The wonders of multicam editing are now easily within your reach with Final Cut Pro 5. For several years now, I and thousands of other Final Cut Pro users have been begging for multicam editing in the application. Personally, I usually end up editing four or five multicam programs every three months. These range from sports shows, to on location events, to the rare multimedia event. Previously, I would have to sync all these cameras up in the Timeline (see Final Cut Pro Quick Tip #28 to read how I do it), and then spend time with the Blade Tool slicing out the parts of each track I didn’t want. Tedious certainly; a pain for a client to sit through to be sure." [ more... ]

PROHD FROM JVC

Tue, 26 Apr 2005 23:59:42 GMT

Press Release: "JVC's newest ProHD models demonstrated at NAB 2005 and delivered soon after include the truly original GY-HD100U 3-CCD HD Camera Recorder and the BR-HD50UHD Video Cassette Recorder. These ProHD models offer:

HD recordings in the HDV™ format
Compatibility with numerous supporting NLE systems
Full resolution High Definition Progressive recording
24 frame true Progressive (same as film) recording with smooth motion performance previously available only in more costly products.
Optional Dual Media recording, enabling simultaneous recording, instant backup and Direct To Edit™ in the native formats of popular non-linear editing systems. DTE™ eliminates the file transfer process and allows editing instantaneously—never before possible with any HD system, at any price.

ProHD is a dynamic concept that adapts to changing needs and technologies of the future. The ProHD concept currently includes tape, hard drive and solid state media and in future products, ProHD will have the capability of 1080 recording in non-tape media. The current ProHD concept does not enable 1080 recording on tape." [ more... ]

Inlet Teams with THX to Define Standards for VC-1 Format

Tue, 26 Apr 2005 16:56:46 GMT

Inlet Technologies, a provider of professional encoding solutions for next-generation content distribution and THX Ltd., the leading provider of technologies, certification programs and quality assurance standards for the entertainment industry announced today that they will work together to define quality assurance standards for VC-1 post-production.

VC-1, the proposed SMPTE standard based on Windows Media 9, is quickly gaining momentum as a leading codec for post-production. VC-1 offers a 2x quality improvement over the existing MPEG -2 standard with significantly reduced file size, making the format suitable for many next-generation content distribution methods including Blu-Ray, HD- DVD , video-on-demand and digital dailies.

"We believe encoding is a critical step in preserving the quality gained by using an advanced compression format, such as VC-1," said Joseph Lias, president of THX, Ltd. "By collaborating with Inlet, the leader in advanced encoding for post-production, THX is achieving its mission of maintaining the integrity of content throughout the post-production process." [ more... ]

Sony Qualia 002: HDV Digital Video Camera

Sat, 23 Apr 2005 13:54:53 GMT

Sony introduces another high-end gadget in its Qualia line. The Qualia 002 is a digital HD video camera dubbed Q002-HDR1.

The Qualia 002 looks similar and is also based on the the Sony HDR-FX1 HDV video camera, that they announced a year ago. The Q002-HDR1 of course looks a bit more shiny and is more pricey. The price for the new Qualia is 570,000 yen, which is about $5,325. The Qualia 002 ships today.

This 3CCD video camera records HDV with 1080i resolution. It has a 3.5 inch LCD screen. The microphone features a special noise reduction design.
More details in Sony press-release (Japanese). First seen on AkihabaraNews. [ more... ]

OpenHD Compliant Solutions at NAB

Fri, 22 Apr 2005 14:55:40 GMT

"At NAB 2005, Adobe Systems, along with Dell, HP, Intel, Microsoft, and Sony were touting OpenHD as a solution that will help potential buyer's of HDV and HD editing system to wade through all the confusion and potential incompatibility issues that the formats possess. Unlike DV which is a mature format for editing, HD and HDV solutions are relatively new, and these companies hope that users will gravitate toward a standard (at least by the participating companies), that will ease the buying process for those who will add HDV and HD format workflow solutions to their growing editing toolsets" [ more... ]

New HD Panasonic AG-HVX200 Camcorder

Wed, 20 Apr 2005 15:50:23 GMT

At a press conference at the National Association of Broadcasters annual convention in Las Vegas today, Panasonic announced the AG-HVX2000 High Definition camcorder for $5,995. The new camcorder records DVCPRO50, DVCPROHD and DV video to solid state P2 flash media cards at a 16:9 aspect ratio. The camcorder can also record a standard DV signal to MiniDV tapes. The AG-HVX200 features three 1/3 in. CCDs and can record 1080 lines of resolution high definition video at 60 frames per second interlaced, 30 frames per second progressive as well as 24 frames progressive video. The camcorder can also shoot 720 lines of resolution high definition video as well as standard definition video.

"Offering flexibility and versatility never before available to video professionals, the AG-HVX200 DVCPRO HD P2 hand-held camcorder provides 1080i and 720p recording with the production-proven image quality of 100 Mbps DVCPRO HD. The AG-HVX200 shoots on a P2 card in 1080/60i, 30p and 24p; in 720/60p, 30p and 24p; and in DVCPRO50, DVCPRO or DV," stated Panasonic's press release. [ more... ]

Tarai Cites OEM Customers For Media Encoder

Tue, 19 Apr 2005 14:55:07 GMT

San Diego-based Tarari said yesterday at NAB that a total of five OEMs are now shipping its Windows Media accelerator. The company said that 1 Beyond, Boxx Technologies, Digital Rapids, Root 6 and Zetools have all signed up to include the Tarari Encoder Accelerator for Windows Media in solutions for movie studios, post production houses, and the IPTV industry. The company had earlier announced relationships with all of these compoanies. The PCI-bus based accelerator card works on Microsoft Windows Media 9 Video and accelerates encoding of the video content. Tarari is a developer of hardware acceleration devices for media and XML processing. | Source: socaltech.com

Sony Launches New Version of Vegas+DVD Production Suite

Tue, 19 Apr 2005 14:39:53 GMT

Digital Video Editing reports that, "Sony Media Software [has] announced upgrades to its award-winning Vegas(R) nonlinear video and audio editing system and DVD Architect(TM) authoring program. These two applications form the core of the new Vegas+ DVD (TM) Production Suite, specifically upgraded for HDV , which also includes a Dolby Digital(R) AC-3 multi-channel encoder for 5.1 surround output. Both products retain the same progressive editing interfaces as their predecessors, but offer many technological advances that cater to production professionals involved with independent films, documentaries, corporate and professional event videography, as well as feature and broadcast productions." [ more... ]

Inlet Technologies Demonstrate VC-1 Encoding with Sonic HD Authoring Solutions

Tue, 19 Apr 2005 14:38:22 GMT

Press Release: "Inlet Technologies demonstrated at NAB today its Fathom 2.0, real-time VC-1 high-definition video encoding system, in combination with Sonic's new authoring solutions for HD-based disc formats. Fathom 2.0 is a comprehensive solution that combines a hardware-based encoding engine with workflow and analysis software to make asset creation for next-generation distribution methods such as WMV HD DVD-ROM, Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD accessible, efficient and affordable.

"VC-1 is an important codec in the high-definition format authoring process, offering superb image quality and price performance to professional content creation facilities," said Rolf Hartley, senior vice president and general manager of Sonic's Professional Products Group. "We are delighted to be working with Inlet Technologies to offer their real-time Fathom 2.0 in combination with our HD-based title development systems."

A Microsoft Windows Media technology, VC-1 is one of the selected codecs supported in the upcoming HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc formats, as well as a key component of Microsoft's WVM HD DVD-ROM format. Inlet's Fathom 2.0 adds important performance and quality enhancements including support for main and advanced profile encoding modes within a dedicated hardware platform designed to maximize efficiency during the encoding process. The combination of Fathom and Sonic's authoring systems such as DVD Producer HD provides professional content creators and high-end title creation facilities a complete workstation environment to deliver their HD content to consumers and high-definition video enthusiasts." [ more... ]

Avid Xpress Product Family Embraces HD

Tue, 19 Apr 2005 14:35:51 GMT

Press Release: "Avid Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVID - News) today unveiled the newest offerings in its Avid Xpress® family of content creation tools - the Avid Xpress Studio HD all-in-one production suite, and the Avid Xpress Pro HD PowerPack. The Avid Xpress Studio HD system, which now starts at just $3,495 USMSRP, is the industry's first HD content creation suite to include highly integrated HD video editing, audio production, 3D animation, compositing and titling, and DVD authoring software applications combined with professional video and audio production hardware. The new Avid Xpress Pro HD PowerPack brings together two offerings - the Avid Xpress Pro HD software and the Avid® Studio Toolkit HD - in a powerful software bundle at the breakthrough price of $2,495 USMSRP.

"When we introduced Avid Xpress Studio last year, we did what others in our industry couldn't - we delivered seamless interoperability between an unprecedented group of content creation applications and hardware, all within a single, affordable package. With Avid Xpress Studio HD, we're raising the bar again," said Tim Wilson, senior product marketing manager for Avid. "We've packed this new version with tons of functionality, including native DVCPRO HD and Avid DNxHD(TM) support, groundbreaking 24p editing capabilities, and tighter integration between the software apps - all at an even more affordable price. Plus, with the new PowerPack option, we're giving Avid Xpress Pro HD customers a wider range of choices so they can select the toolset that's best suited for their needs - and will give them the biggest bang for the buck."" [ more... ]

Tom's Hardware CPU Benchmarks

Fri, 15 Apr 2005 16:00:41 GMT

Tom's Hardware Guide has posted a VERY helpful CPU Performance guide for those of you trying to figure out which platform works best on a given game or encode job.

Note: benchmarks do not take Windows XP 64bit benchmark speeds into account.

Telestream Revolutionizes WMF Experience for Mac Users

Fri, 15 Apr 2005 15:07:14 GMT

"Telestream, the leading provider of multiformat media encoding solutions, today announced exciting new Flip4Mac digital media tools for the Mac. For the first time, the new Flip4Mac components enable Macintosh OS X users to make, edit, and play Windows Media from within QuickTime-based media applications. Telestream's Flip4Mac products bridge gaps between Microsoft Windows Media format and the Apple Macintosh platform.

Until now, viewing Windows Media files on a Mac required downloading a separate player, importing Windows Media for editing was not possible, and until the recent introduction of the Flip4Mac WMV Export Component, making Windows Media 9 files was challenging.

"Telestream is in the business of removing roadblocks from digital media workflows. We've done that in other markets, and now we're bringing our solutions to Macintosh content creators and to the media viewing consumer," said Dan Castles, president and CEO of Telestream. "With our Flip4Mac products we recognize the unique strengths of two industry leaders. Apple maintains a strong-hold in video editing , while Microsoft Windows Media has become a popular distribution and Web video format. Our new Flip4Mac components now enable Mac users to play and import Windows Media in a Mac-friendly way."" | Source: Digital Video Editing

Panasonic To Offer FOCUS Enhancements' FireStore DV File Converter Pro With Its DVCPRO P2 Broadcast Products

Fri, 15 Apr 2005 15:01:03 GMT

Focus Enhancements Inc. has announced that, "Panasonic will offer an enhanced version of FOCUS' industry-leading file conversion software, FireStore DV File Converter Pro, which adds MXF P2 support for Panasonic's broadcast DVCPRO P2 products. The FireStore DV File Converter Pro offers increased support to the Panasonic P2 Partner Program, which includes other leading hardware and software companies such as Apple, Avid, Pinnacle, Thomson/Grass Valley and Quantel, by allowing users to bridge P2 with DV-based solutions.

The P2 Series of equipment is based on Panasonic's new PCMCIA-sized solid-state memory card, offering cost-effective media-less operation. The P2 Partner Program was created to provide broadcast video professionals with seamless P2 compatible video and technology solutions from a variety of suppliers.

"P2 is the integration of the very best in AV and IT worlds, transforming news and production workflows and introducing a new era in non-linear acquisition," said John Baisley, President of Panasonic Broadcast. "FOCUS is a recognized leader in the professional DV hardware and software markets, and its FireStore DV File Converter Pro provides a critical software bridge that allows our users to edit and distribute their footage in all of the most popular formats using solutions they already have in place."

"Panasonic's P2 solutions offer enhanced, in-the-field capabilities which, in conjunction with the P2 partnerships, greatly reduce production time -- ultimately helping crews and shooters excel," said Brett Moyer, President and CEO of FOCUS Enhancements. "The FireStore DV File Converter Pro enables video professionals to quickly and easily convert the Panasonic MXF video for editing and broadcast, bringing unprecedented mobility, performance and convenience to news gathering and production."" [ more... ]

More MCE TV Tuner Comparisons

Wed, 13 Apr 2005 21:38:52 GMT

Thomas Hawk writes, "Hardware MPEG2 TV tuner comparision - The Tech Report - Page 1 Today certanily seems to be the day for TV tuner coverage. First the story from AnandTech and now the Tech Report has a review out as well. The tech report reviews the ATI TV Wonder Elite, the eVGA NVTV and the Hauppauge PVR-150MCE l.p. all running on MCE. The Tech Report review gets a good Slashdotting here".

BOXX Technologies, Tarari Partner to Deliver Accelerated Digital Media Workstations

Tue, 12 Apr 2005 23:59:12 GMT

REDNOVA reports that BOXX Technologies and Tarari(R) Inc., have announced that, "BOXX will offer the Tarari(R) Encoder Accelerator for Windows Media(R). The Tarari Encoder Accelerator for Windows Media, a PCI-bus card that installs in any Microsoft Windows XP based workstation, offloads and accelerates the most processor-intensive algorithms in the Windows Media encoding application.

BOXX will demonstrate its workstations on multiple booths: the Adobe booth (#SL313), the AMD booth (#SL2543), the Avid booth (#SL600), and the Microsoft booth (#SL332) at the National Association of Broadcasters Show (NAB2005) in Las Vegas, April 18-21, 2005." [ more... ]

Envivio Becomes First Company to Power MPEG-4 Broadcast Video Services From Mobile to HD

Tue, 12 Apr 2005 23:55:05 GMT

"With the introduction of its newest encoders, the 4Caster(TM) Mobile and the 4Coder(TM) HD system families, Envivio Inc. becomes the first and only company powering MPEG-4 broadcast video services from mobile to HD. New systems will debut at NAB2005 in the Envivio® booth #SL 3310 and are available today. Today enterprises, telcos and broadcasters use Envivio systems for video applications such as elearning, IPTV, multimedia broadcasting, and the broadcast of SD and HD television. The newest encoders, like all Envivio systems, offer the most advanced implementation of the MPEG-4 (including AVC / H.264) specification to provide the best video quality at the lowest possible bit rate.

"As service providers expand their offerings, maximizing bandwidth usage is critical to their success. Broadcasters and enterprises can use Envivio systems to efficiently deliver video services over their existing networks," said Julien Signes, President and CTO of Envivio Inc. "Whether a provider is delivering broadcast video to a mobile device, educational or business content to a desktop or an HD television stream to a subscriber's home, the Envivio MPEG-4 systems will allow them to increase service offerings and quality over time."

The 4Caster Mobile encoder series serving broadcast mobile (DVB-H, DMB) and 3GPP applications are optimized to deliver live feeds to hand held receivers such as cell phones. 4Caster systems were selected for the world's first satellite digital multimedia broadcasting service for mobile devices by the Mobile Broadcasting Corporation (mbco) for its MobaHO!(TM) service in Japan." [ more... ]

ROOT6 to Show ContentAgent-XR 2K WM9 HD Transcoding

Tue, 12 Apr 2005 17:23:24 GMT

Glad to hear that someone it putting out a multi-machine distributed WMV HD encoding solution.

"Launched on the Microsoft booth at NAB, ContentAgent-XR is the latest in the popular line of encoding products from London, UK, based ROOT6 Technology. New high-performance hardware and a third-generation GPU-accelerated capture, playback and transcode engine, SQL database and DRM client/ server implementation, combine to create a ground-breaking solution for providing secured deliverables in an SD, HD or DI pipeline.

Building on the success of its original SD version, ContentAgent-XR facilitates the automated capture, playback, encoding, and global delivery of multi-format, multi-resolution digital media. Material may be imported from any source and transcoded to any format, including AVC, MXF, DNxHD and VC-1. Encoded media can be accessed through the built-in web server or delivered by email, ftp, standard MPEG -2 and WMV HD DVD or output to SD and HD video.

XR’s powerful SQL database engine enables flexible user, media, and template management in addition to multi-machine distributed encoding. Additional new features include single-click web-based asset sharing, the incorporation of a logo burn-in facility on any encoded or transcoded stream, and high quality PAL/NTSC standards conversion. Security is assured by the addition of an 'out-of-the-box' fully configured client/ server implementation of Windows Media DRM encryption, including user authentication." [ more... ]

1 Beyond, Tarari Partner to Deliver Accelerated Digital Media Workstations and Servers

Tue, 12 Apr 2005 16:37:26 GMT

1 Beyond, Inc., a leading provider of digital video editing and compositing systems, and Tarari® Inc., the award-winning acceleration company, today announced that 1 Beyond will incorporate the Tarari® Encoder Accelerator for Windows Media® in its high-end digital media workstations and servers. The Tarari Encoder Accelerator for Windows Media, a PCI-bus card that installs in any Windows XP or Windows Server 2003-based server, offloads and accelerates the most processor-intensive algorithms in the Windows Media encoding application.

"The industry is just beginning to realize the impact of compression on the HD workflow. We are pleased to offer Tarari's acceleration technology enabling far more speed and efficiency greatly complementing our end to end HD solutions," said Terry Cullen, founder and CEO of 1 Beyond. "This is a critical factor in the distribution end of the digital media process, especially with HD projects."

"Our partnership with 1 Beyond brings together best-of-breed products to deliver new solutions that dramatically reduce both processing time and TCO," said Randy Smerik, CEO of Tarari, Inc. "That's a powerful combination for a burgeoning - and compute-intensive - industry." | Full Press Release

NVIDIA Exhibits a Full Range of Professional HD Solutions at NAB2005

Tue, 12 Apr 2005 14:47:06 GMT

"NVIDIA Corporation (Nasdaq: NVDA - News), today announced that a group of its partners and customers have adopted the NVIDIA Quadro FX 4000 SDI with PureVideo technology and will be demonstrating these solutions at NAB2005. This professional solution is designed to support a range of applications, from virtual-sets, to news, sports, and weather broadcast systems, that combine live video footage with animated graphics and text. Film and video production professionals can also leverage this high-definition (HD) serial digital interface (SDI) solution on HD broadcast monitors to see real time previews of 3D compositing, editing, and color grading.

PureVideo technology offers exceptional video quality in solutions that span from the NVIDIA Quadro FX 540 to the just announced SDI solution. The NVIDIA Quadro FX 4000 SDI for PCI Express is a fully integrated graphics-to-video solution that delivers uncompressed 10-bit SDI from programmable graphics, enabling a direct connection to broadcast monitors, switchers, tape decks, or SDI projectors. The real-time rendering, high-precision video color conversion, and gamma correction capabilities of the NVIDIA Quadro FX 4000 SDI eliminate bandwidth bottlenecks and deliver unprecedented quality with HD or SD video output.

"Our Discreet® Lustre® digital color grading system is used by film studios and post-production facilities for everything from video through to 4K film projects," said Bill Roberts, director of product management at Autodesk®'s Media and Entertainment Division. "The NVIDIA Quadro FX 4000 SDI speeds up the film and video mastering process by allowing us to provide a calibrated, high-quality interactive viewing environment, ultimately empowering colorists to create and collaborate directly with cinematographers and other creative visionaries."" [ more... ]

New AllOY System Saves Time, Cuts Costs, and Delivers a New Generation of Digital Media Products to Market Faster

Tue, 12 Apr 2005 14:28:05 GMT

This press release "looks" cool but they dont seem to give us any data on how well the product does with real time encodes. Is anyone going to NAB this year? :)

"etools(TM), Inc., Tarari® Inc., and Digital Rapids(TM) today announced the immediate availability of Alloy(TM), the first end-to-end solution to enable producers and distributors of digital media to accelerate and streamline the creation and distribution of content for any Internet-enabled (IP) platform. AllOY combines content capture, accelerated encoding, automated authoring and publishing, and secure UDP distribution into a single package. With AllOY, production processes that used to take an experienced technical team days to accomplish can now be done by a single production intern in minutes. AllOY will be shown for the first time in the Digital Rapids booth (#SL5331) and the Microsoft booth (#SL332) at the National Association of Broadcasters Show (NAB2005) in Las Vegas, April 18-21, 2005.

AllOY combines Digital Rapids solutions for content ingestion, encoding, and delivery; the Tarari® Encoding Accelerator for Windows Media®, which turbo charges the encoding of standard and high-definition WM9 formats; and Emmy Award-winning Zetools' MediaModeler(TM), browser-based authoring/publishing software that finishes the encoded video with associated metadata for delivery to any on-demand platform. Together, the technologies create a complete solution that saves time, cuts costs, and delivers a new generation of digital media products to market faster.

"Digital video is now targeted at more than 500 consumer devices, and the number of platforms, formats, and configurations is proliferating at a rapid rate," said Brick Eksten, President of Digital Rapids. "AllOY allows you to ingest and transcode to a variety of formats and to quickly adopt new formats as they become available."

IP-delivered digital media has created an unwieldy set of time- and labor-intensive requirements for producers. Multiple IP platforms, such as broadband PC, IPTV, IPVOD, Media Center, and wireless, have their unique needs. Multiple formats within each platform - for example HD and SD, Windows®, Real®, QuickTime®, MPEG, and DivX(TM) - increase that complexity. And traditional front end and back end requirements need to be adapted and supplemented for each platform: playlists, scheduling, metrics, syndication, ad avails, and more. AllOY manages all this complexity, transforms raw video and associated metadata into interactive digital media, and delivers that content to all required IP screens as fast as possible." [ more... ]

Roxio Easy Media Creator 7.5 Wins PC Magazine Editors' Choice Award

Mon, 11 Apr 2005 14:07:08 GMT

"A few months back, the ambitious Nero Ultra Edition 6.6 suite snatched the Editors' Choice crown from Roxio Easy Media Creator 7. Roxio (now a division of Sonic Solutions) has struck back with Roxio Easy Media Creator 7.5. The majority of the suite's components remain virtually unchanged in this latest release, and most of the new modules have either been borrowed from Sonic's MyDVD line or are based on wizards that extract new functionality from existing Roxio applications. Regardless of their origins, the new modules are some of the most successful components in the suite and help EMC 7.5 regain the throne."

Read the Roxio Easy Media Creator 7.5 full review here.

ObjectVideo and Texas Instruments Technology Empowers Customers to Implement the Latest in Intelligent Video Surveillance

Mon, 11 Apr 2005 14:04:26 GMT

ObjectVideo®, Inc. and Texas Instruments Incorporated (NYSE: TXN - News; TI) today announced "the implementation of ObjectVideo OnBoard(TM), a product line that includes ObjectVideo's leading intelligent video application software optimized for operation with TI's DSP- based digital media processors.

ObjectVideo OnBoard is designed to help original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) build intelligent capability directly into their products, allowing them to further differentiate their products, accelerate time to market, and more easily offer customer-specific solutions.

"As a leader in providing actionable intelligence solutions for networked video security and business intelligence, Verint is leveraging TI's TMS320DM64x(TM) generation of DSP-based digital media processor and ObjectVideo OnBoard to expand our suite of advanced analytics edge devices to the security market," said Jean-Paul Saindon, senior vice president, Video Product Development, Verint. "With the addition of ObjectVideo OnBoard, we are enhancing our own DSP-based analytics capabilities and continuing to offer our customers advanced technologies to address their diverse security requirements.""

Canopus Debuts ProCoder Station Render Farm

Mon, 11 Apr 2005 13:56:41 GMT

Canopus Corporation has announed that they will unveil ProCoder Station Render Farm next week at NAB 2005 in Las Vegas (booth SL325). ProCoder Station Render Farm is a network-based encoding solution that combines speed and flexibility into a powerful, streamlined encoding solution for production and broadcast facilities that have a high volume of transcoding jobs that need to be performed quickly. Using the company's powerful ProCoder video encoding software, the ProCoder Station Render Farm provides an efficient solution for the distribution of multiple transcoding jobs to multiple ProCoder Station Render Farm machines through a single unified management interface.

Video Editing for Novice & Hobbyists with Ulead VideoStudio 9

Mon, 11 Apr 2005 13:52:07 GMT

Ulead Systems, Inc just recently announced the availability of VideoStudio 9. VideoStudio 9 offers three different video editing modes, scaling to meet the skill level and various project demands of both novices and hobbyists

The things that really stick out in VideoStudio 9 are the new DV-to-DVD Wizard which, in two steps takes video off a DV camcorder and converts it into a DVD. Customers can also use the enhanced Movie Wizard which lets users choose a movie template such as "Sports", "Holiday", "Vacation", or "Drive-in", and then edits the video with optional text, music, transitions and a DVD menu. For users that need a little more control, the full Video Editor provides a set of video editing tools including Chroma Keying, Video Masking, Video Distort, Flash Animation overlays, Pan & Zoom on video and supposedly a thousand special effects.

Quick & Easy Windows Media Conversions on a Mac

Fri, 08 Apr 2005 22:52:57 GMT

Quick & Easy Windows Media Conversions on a MacMike Washlesky has a nice article up on the Mac Observer on a new WMV-9 encoding tool for the Mac platform, in it he writes, "

WMV-9 Export Component turned out to be a great little application for quickly encode WMV files directly from within Final Cut Pro HD (currently, only the HD version of Final Cut Pro is supported). I ran two tests to see how the results came out using a 1 GHz iBook G4 to mimic field conditions for remote compressing and uploading. The project was a trailer that fellow filmmaker Craig Knapp had just cut in full HD resolution using DVCPRO HD media.

The interface is simple and intuitive and can be opened in Final Cut when the Export tab is selected. Using QuickTime Conversion, select the media format you will convert the sequence into from the list, which includes WMV-9.

After selecting the WMV-9 format, you are given several options as to what the ultimate parameters of the compressed video will be, including the frame size, bit rate, and audio rate. There are numerous presets you can use for simplicity, or you can customize the file and compression rates with a variety of variables.

For the first compression test, we chose the "Widescreen Medium" preset, as the original source material was in 16x9. The picture quality of this preset was 80%, and the length of the trailer to be compressed was 2 minutes and 14 seconds of uncompressed HD media. Another option available before the encoding process is started is the ability to embed title description and other information within the video file. That includes information such as author, rating, and copyright material.

The encoding time took around ten minutes on the iBook to process the video file from the HD media into the Windows Media 9 format. The final file size of the video was 2.6 M. That was all it took to convert and compress the trailer in its entirety.

The second test we ran used the same original trailer, but we upped the ante a bit. Choosing the custom option for the encoding, we boosted the image size from 320x180 to the larger 640x360. We also adjusted the image quality from 80% to the full 100% to see how it affected the encoding process. [ more... ]

Nero Integrates Dolby Digital 5.1 Sound into NeroVision Express 3

Thu, 07 Apr 2005 14:16:48 GMT

Nero, leaders in digital media technology, announced today that Dolby® Digital 5.1 sound creation has been integrated into NeroVision Express 3, an application of the award-winning Nero 6 software.

Dolby Digital 5.1 Creator is a sophisticated audio coding technology that formats audio content into a multichannel Dolby Digital bitstream, enabling consumers to create home movies with rich, full, surround sound. As a result of its coding efficiencies, 5.1-channel Dolby Digital requires less data than stereo PCM, resulting in savings in disc space and allowing consumers to make longer recordings or store higher-quality video content by assigning higher data rate to video. For mastering 5.1-channel DVD-Video content, NeroVision Express will upmix the audio input material to Dolby Digital 5.1 sound, using the advanced technology of Nero UpMix.

"With Nero, users are completely in control of every aspect of the audio and video creation process," said Greg Rodehau, Director, PC Technology Marketing, Dolby Laboratories. "Adding Dolby Digital 5.1 Creator enables users to create videos that offer a more immersing and realistic experience to viewers."

NeroVision Express 3 is a user-friendly video editing and authoring tool. It can edit and author video from virtually any input source and record video files to DVD-Video, Video CD (VCD), Super Video CD (SVCD), miniDVD, and now Nero Digital(TM). Chapters can be created using automatic scene detection, videos can be trimmed in a fast and flexible way, and customized menus can be created using pre-defined layout templates and button frames. Extensive editing is available for more advanced users, while fast and friendly wizards for the keen enthusiast at any skill level are always in control. In addition, when creating a DVD-Video project, the user will now have the option of selecting Dolby Digital 5.1 as the target audio stream. [ more... ]

Turtle Beach Video Advantage USB reviewed

Wed, 30 Mar 2005 16:07:22 GMT

"External video-capture units for PCs are becoming pretty common, and one of the latest to hit the shelves is the Turtle Beach Video Advantage USB. PC Magazine took a look at the diminutive $130 box and found it reliably captured video and audio from external sources, without any frame-dropping or out-of-sync audio. Their one caveat was that the box requires a fairly high-powered PC (they tested it on a 3.6 GHz Xeon), but that’s to be expected for video. Our gripe: the bundled software only supports DV and MPEG-2 formats, so if you want to rip to DivX or any other format, you’ll need to convert your video after you’ve captured it. (We’d also like to see a dual-interface — USB 2.0 plus FireWire — but that’s our Mac side talking.)" | Source Engadget: Media PCs

Digital Media Converter

Sat, 12 Mar 2005 03:29:20 GMT

This looked somewhat promising, "Digital Media Converter enables you to easily convert your video and audio files from one format to another. You can convert single files or batch convert a list of files. The program supports conversions between VCD, DVD, AVI (DivX, MS MPEG4, uncompressed, etc), MPEG-1, MPEG-2 (PAL, NTSC), MP3, MOV, WMA, WMV, and WAV formats. In addition, you can also extract audio tracks from video and change video specific settings (frame size, PAL/NTSC etc.)."

Old Film to DVD Transfers Examined

Fri, 04 Mar 2005 20:22:39 GMT

Richard W.M. Jones writes "Slate is running an interesting article on the process involved in Warner Brothers remastering films, the quality of the films being compared to the Criterion Collection discs. Going back to the original technicolor negatives, preserved in temperature-controlled rooms, the transfer begins with a 4,000 line scan, followed by digital alignment of each color." From the article: "In some ways, these DVDs have finer color and detail than even the original film prints. In the old days, it was difficult to align those three strips perfectly. The task became still harder years later, when the films were reissued, because the negatives had stretched or shrunk over time. If you need all three strips to get the right color, and you can't line the strips up precisely, then the colors and the sharpness are going to be a bit off."