PARK RIDGE, N.J., Oct. 30, 2012 – Sony Electronicsis unveiling two new CineAlta™ 4K cameras, complemented by a full line of new accessories. The new cameras – models F55 and F5 – have a modular and compact design for easy configuration, and each features a new type of 4K Super 35mm image sensor with a 4096 x 2160 resolution (11.6M total pixels).

“These two new models join a family of Sony large-sensor cameras that complement each other and deliver powerful new capabilities to professionals working at every level of production,” said Rob Willox, director of marketing for large image sensor cameras at Sony Electronics. “They fill a critical gap in large-sensor acquisition between Sony’s PMW-F3 camcorder and F65 digital motion picture camera, and give content creators new levels of flexibility and creative options for acquisition and production in HD, 2K, 4K and beyond. The total line-up, with our new accessories, further underscores Sony’s commitment to supporting every aspect of the highest-quality professional workflows.”

The new CineAlta 4K cameras deliver unprecedented creative options for HD, 2K QFHD and 4K production. Both offer multi-codec support: Sony’s new XAVC MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 format, the SR codec (MPEG4 SStP), and the well-established XDCAM 50Mbps 4:2:2 codec. In-camera recording is to Sony’s new SxS PRO+ memory card media (for the F55, 4K 60p:422 10-bit XAVC and HD 422 10-bit XAVC High Frame Rate); and for the F5, HD XAVC and HD high frame rate).

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Hi,

I wanted to give everyone an update on where we are with Blackmagic Cinema Camera shipments.

As you know, we have been dealing with a supplier delay which has stalled our ability to build cameras. I thought it might be a good idea to explain in more detail what is going on, and do a technical "brain dump" on the problem so everyone understands the nature of the delay and what we have been doing about it.

Over a month ago now, we completed the testing of the Blackmagic Cinema Camera and started production. Very quickly we started to see cameras failing our production testing as they suffered from blemishes on the sensor. These are high end cameras so need to be built to a very high specification.

We started testing to discover the cause of the problem and discovered that the problems were from our second shipment of sensors. The first shipment of sensors were fine. All the cameras you currently see people using had been built from this first batch of sensors and that is why we did not see any issues until we started to build cameras in volume.

While investigating the problem our engineers found the blemishes were in the glass that covers the sensor, and not the sensor itself. This is good because the glass might just be dirty so we saw this as a quick fix, but wondered how a supplier could deliver us sensors that had blemishes, as they are supposed to pre-test them.

It is worth noting here what this glass does. Each sensor has a glass cover to keep contamination off the surface of the sensor itself, which is essentially a large semiconductor. If the surface ever got dirty, it would be impossible to clean, however the glass is easy to clean. All sensors have this glass cover. It is a high quality glass with optical coatings, similar to lens glass.

Anyway getting back to the issue, when talking with the supplier, it turned out they had a bug in their test software that tested sensors after the glass had been applied. That's why they shipped us bad sensors and did not notice. They fixed that problem and could then see the problems we saw and stopped production as about 95% of sensors were suffering this problem with the glass.

The next step for the supplier was for them to work out the cause of the blemishes on the glass. They developed tests for the glass before being bonded to the sensor, and discovered it contained the blemishes on the glass before being used in the suppliers factory. After more testing over the last few weeks, the supplier has discovered the blemishes are caused by a contamination from the packing materials used by the glass supplier to ship the glass to the sensor supplier.

So that's where we are at now. The supplier is due to get more glass later this week and then hopes to start up production again using new clean glass that will result in good quality sensors that we can use to start building cameras again.

We build our cameras in our own factory on a production line built for the camera so we can start shipping cameras again the day we receive good sensors.

I deeply apologize for the delay in shipping and it has been very frustrating for us as well to be sitting on a completed and tested product for a month that we cannot sell. Especially when people need them urgently.

As you can also see from the breakdown of the problem above, there has been multiple stages of testing to discover the cause of the problem so it has been hard to lock down dates or what was going on until now, so it’s been hard to update everyone on the exact details.

I hope this update helps people understand the delay. We should know more details about shipping times once the new glass arrives at our supplier.

We also have a new software update v1.1 for the camera due in a few days. The original v1 software did not have DNxHD support so that’s now been added, as well as support for lens stabilizers and a bunch of other small features.


Regards,

Grant Petty
Blackmagic Design

We are pleased to announce the release of Wirecast version 4.2 all-in-one live streaming production software for both Mac and Windows. This is a free update for Wirecast and Wirecast Pro models, which includes a number of new features and important enhancements including:

• New! On Windows, virtual camera output allows Wirecast output to be picked up as a camera source in other devices or software including Skype and Google Hangouts (Windows only)
• New! Matrox VS4 multi-channel video capture card support provides four independent HD-SDI inputs, making it ideal for multi-camera live video production and broadcasting (Windows only)
• More! Blackmagic capture support including Blackmagic Intensity Extreme (Thunderbolt) and Blackmagic UltraStudio 3D (Thunderbolt) (Mac OS X)
• New! AJA capture support including AJA IO XT and AJA Kona LHi (Mac OS X)
• New! Custom canvas sizes enables capture of specific screen resolutions. Great for video game streaming.
• New! Support for the AVerMedia Game Broadcaster HD card designed for console and PC games, allows gamers to capture up to 1080p
• New! OS X Mountain Lion support
• Plus Quality and performance improvements with updates to Flash libraries
• ... and more

Fujinon introduces a new 19-90 mm T2.9 lightweight PL-mout zoom lens. It's part of Fujinon's Premier line, and is called Cabrio—as in cabriolet—convertible. This is the longest range (19-90) of any lightweight zoom.
The convertible part is the quickly removable zoom handgrip. Similar to ENG/EFP servo drives, it has built-in lens motors for focus, iris, and zoom. A rocker controls the zoom.

This is daring new territory for PL mount zoom lenses with potential in handheld and documentary style shooting. The Cabrio connects with the electronic "hot shoe" contacts in the lens mounts of newer PL-mount cameras. If you're using the lens with Preston, Arri, Hedén, Servicevision, or cmotion systems, simply back off the 4 screws and detach the handgrip system. When you reattach it, the drive is self-centering. Here’s an entirely new take on lightweight PL zoom lenses and how we handle them.


Fujinon 19-90 mm T2.9 ZK4.7x19 Cabrio Zoom Lens

• 31.5 mm Image Circle coverage
• LDS and /i Technology lens data capable through electric contacts in the mount
• Wireless Control enabled
• Adjustable Back Focus, No Shims
• Macro focus
• 114 mm Threaded Front Diameter
• Auto Align Digital Servo
• 0.8 Cine gearing
• Feet or Meter Barrel Markings
• 9 Blade Iris
• 200 degree Focus Rotation
• 2.7 kg w/Servo
• 2.2 kg w/o Servo
• Luminous Barrel Markings
• 16-bit Encoders for Lens Data Accuracy
• Hot Shoe or external connection to camera for power and Run/Stop.

Atomos creates new portable, rack-mountable Recorder/Player/Monitor.

Atomos, creator of award-winning field recorders Ninja-2 and Samurai, as well as the small, but perfectly formed, Connect converters, announce the Ronin portable Recorder/Player/Monitor at IBC 2012. Ronin is a smart solution for both fixed-facility and on-location production.

“Atomos has a reputation for developing affordable low power, high functionality, portable devices. We are now leveraging our expertise to move into more production environments, including studio, broadcast and professional AV,” said Jeromy Young, CEO and Founder of Atomos. “Our simple to use, touchscreen AtomOS operating system provides the ease of operation that is important to these markets.”

Based on the award-winning Samurai field recorder, the Ronin features touchscreen ease of use, capture to Apple ProRes® and Avid DNXHD, professional monitoring and edit review. Like the Samurai, it can operate on location with battery or DC power, but it can also be used in a fixed facility, rack-mounted environment using AC power.

In addition, the Ronin has balanced XLR inputs and outputs, along with a front panel headphone jack with channel monitoring selection. It also has an internal battery charging system for attached Atomos batteries when connected to AC power.

Ronin Features:

• Full HD-SDI recorder, player and monitor in one
• Rugged, compact design with carry handle, 1/2 rack and rack mount compatibility
• Triple redundancy power options - AC, DC (D-Tap) and continuous battery operation
• Balanced XLR audio I/O
• SDI, timecode, Lanc and Atomos Active Serial record triggering
• Front panel audio controls and 3.5mm headphone jack
• Adjustable front and rear feet for tilt control
• Multiple 1/4 inch mounting options for cameras and accessories

For customers needing HDMI capability, they can simply attach an Atomos Connect H2S and/or S2H converter. The Ronin's compact half-rack size makes it suitable for any video production environment.

Ronin Duo offers two side by side Ronins elegantly mounted in an included custom 19" Rack Adaptor. Combining dual HDD/SSD recording and dual 5" monitoring for recording and playback, the Ronin Duo delivers exactly what professional environments require. Back up recording and multiple monitors give confidence and peace of mind on any production.

KiStor drives use a built-in USB3 connection in place of the previous FireWire connection allowing for faster throughput to the host computer and dramatically reducing transfer times. The new drives will be available in three capacities: 250GB, 500GB and 750GB. The 750GB drive will allow a maximum recording time of nearly 8 hours of 1080p/24 Apple ProRes 422 HQ material with 4 channels of audio or almost 13 hours of Avid DNxHD 145 quality. The 750GB drive is available for $561 USD RRP Inc. Coming soon.

The KiStor Dock is an accessory for KiStor drives, making it simple to mount and transfer files at high speed. The KiStor Dock uses a SATA connection internally for the KiStor drive modules, allowing compatibility with all KiStor Drives and provides both Thunderbolt™ and USB3 connectivity to your computer. $561 USD RRP Inc. Coming soon.

Version 4.1 firmware for Ki Pro Mini and Ki Pro Rack will add time-lapse recordings for interval record, interval frames and interval time, and also new camera data menu parameter additions for ARRI Alexa cameras, Panasonic AG-AF100 series cameras and the Sony PMW-F3 camera enabling start and stop via ancillary SDI data.

We are pleased to advise you about a promotional offer on the NXR-NX70P camcorder…

Each camera will be supplied with an ACC-V1BP Accessory Kit free of charge during Sept – Dec, while stocks last !

The HXR-NX70P is a very well featured model, including key benefits:

• water and dust resistance.
• selectable lens ring for focus/zoom/iris

IBC 2012, Amsterdam, Netherlands - September 7, 2012 - Blackmagic Design today announced a second model of the Blackmagic Cinema Camera that features passive Micro Four Thirds lens (MFT) mount, so customers now have an even greater choice of lens options when shooting. The new Blackmagic Cinema Camera MFT model supports any Micro Four Thirds with manual iris and focus, and is also easily adapted to other lens mounts such as PL via third party adapters. The ability to use third party adapters to allow other types of lens mount is due to the Micro Four Thirds lens mount being much closer to the image sensor and allowing space for adapters to other lens mounts.

Blackmagic Cinema Camera MFT will be demonstrated on the Blackmagic Design IBC 2012 booth in Hall 7, Booth H20.

Blackmagic Cinema Camera MFT is identical to the original Blackmagic Cinema Camera model, however does not include lens communication so manual lenses are used. The current model of Blackmagic Cinema Camera will be renamed Blackmagic Cinema Camera EF to let customers easily differentiate between the models.

About Blackmagic Cinema Camera MFT
Blackmagic Cinema Camera includes a super wide 13 stops of dynamic range, large 2.5K sensor, a built in SSD recorder that has the bandwidth to capture open standard CinemaDNG RAW, Apple ProRes and Avid DNxHD files, a built in capacitive touch screen for direct metadata entry, standard jack audio connections, built in high speed Thunderbolt connection, 3 Gb/s SDI output, a refrigerated sensor for low noise, and is fully compatible with an even wider range of extremely high quality Micro Four Thirds mount lenses, plus other lenses such as PL mount lenses via common third party adapters.

Blackmagic Cinema Camera MFT also includes a full copy of DaVinci Resolve for color correction and Blackmagic UltraScope software for waveform monitoring. This means the user can simply plug into Thunderbolt laptop and run UltraScope to get full waveform monitoring scopes on set!

One of the most important features of the camera is its super wide dynamic range of 13 stops, allowing feature film quality images. Commonly people focus on more pixels, however often this just creates a higher resolution, but “video” looking images that still suffer from highlight and black clipping that limits details. Blackmagic Cinema Camera’s wide dynamic range eliminates this problem and provides film quality with dramatically more detail retained in black and whites in the image. Once the shoot is complete, the included DaVinci Resolve color correction software can be used to adjust images and take advantage of this extra range in the images. The high quality Micro Four Thirds lens compatibility also helps create sharp and cinematic images that look incredible.

To eliminate the damage that low bit depth and high compression video storage creates, Blackmagic Cinema Camera includes a fast SSD recorder. The built in SSD recorder can record the full sensor detail in 12 bit Log RAW files in the open standard CinemaDNG format on fast solid state disks. These files can be read by all high end video software. The full 2.5K sensor data is stored in the files completely uncompressed because the SSD has the speed to store video data at the required rate. This high quality file can then be color corrected on DaVinci Resolve for the same high quality result currently only possible on cameras costing tens of thousands of dollars.

Blackmagic Cinema Camera has been designed as the perfect companion to Apple Final Cut Pro X and Avid Media Composer NLE software. Unlike other cameras, which require the use of custom video file formats that are not compatible with popular NLE software, often making the post production process a nightmare, the Blackmagic Cinema Camera includes absolutely no custom video file formats, and every file type included is open standard. It records into CinemaDNG format for RAW files, Apple ProRes and Avid DNxHD for HD resolution files compatible with Apple Final Cut Pro X and Avid Media Composer.

The built in large LCD display makes focusing easy, and allows playback of captured files. Blackmagic Cinema Camera includes a built in microphone, as well as external jack based mic/line level balanced audio connections. When playing back recorded clips, a speaker is built in, and there is an included headphone socket, as well as embedded audio on the SDI output and Thunderbolt connection. The SDI output includes all camera data such as timecode, transport control, shutter angle, color temperature setting and ASA information overlaid in attractive antialiased fonts.

For easy metadata entry, the built in LCD features fast and responsive capacitive touch screen technology. When the user taps the display with a finger, a data entry window called the "slate" appears. This lets the user enter shot information just like typing on a smart phone. This data is then stored in the files and can be accessed by NLE software when editing content later. Metadata is compatible with popular software such as Apple Final Cut Pro X and DaVinci Resolve. All camera settings can be changed on this touch LCD, such as frame rate, shutter angle, color temperature, dynamic range, focus assist settings and more.

Blackmagic Cinema Camera includes an innovative industrial design built from solid machined aluminum metal which results in an attractive but rugged design. All of the camera, recorder and display have been shrunk down into a lightweight design that is very portable.

“One of the most common customer requests since announcing the original model of the Blackmagic Cinema Camera is other lens mounts,” said Grant Petty, CEO, Blackmagic Design. “We felt that Micro Four Thirds was a fantastic option and so we designed a second model with this mount. Only Micro Four Thirds lets cinematographers use a wide range of creative lenses, but it also easily adapts to other lens mounts such as PL mount, so the range of exciting lens options is virtually unlimited!”

Blackmagic Cinema Camera Key Features
Blackmagic Cinema Camera MFT is identical to the Blackmagic Cinema Camera EF model.
High resolution 2.5K sensor allows improved anti aliasing and reframing shots.
Super wide 13 stops of dynamic range allows capture of increased details for feature film look.
Built in SSD allows high bandwidth recording of RAW video and long duration compressed video.
Open file formats compatible with popular NLE software such as CinemaDNG 12 bit RAW, Apple ProRes and Avid DNxHD. No custom file formats.
Includes no custom connections. Standard jack mic/line audio in, BNC 3 Gb/s SDI out, headphone, high speed Thunderbolt I/O technology, LANC remote control and standard DC 12-30V power connection.
Capacitive touch screen LCD for camera settings and “slate” metadata entry.
Compatible with extremely high quality Micro Four Thirds lenses and other mounts via adapters.
Supports 2.5K and 1080HD resolution capture in 23.98, 24, 25, 29.97 and 30 fps.
Thunderbolt connection allows direct camera capture via included Media Express software and supports live waveform monitoring via the included Blackmagic UltraScope software.
Includes a full copy of DaVinci Resolve 9.0 color grading software.
Availability and Price
Blackmagic Cinema Camera MFT will be available December 2012 for US$2,995 from Blackmagic Design resellers worldwide. The EF compatible lens mount model will be renamed as Blackmagic Cinema Camera EF so customers can differentiate the two models. Price for both models is the same, and customers can order each model depending on the lens mount they prefer.

Press Photography
Product photos of the Blackmagic Cinema Camera, and all other Blackmagic Design products, are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/press/images.

About Blackmagic Design
Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and film restoration software for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability, while the company’s DaVinci Emmy™ award winning color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including stereoscopic 3D and 4K workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore, and Australia. For more information, please check www.blackmagicdesign.com.

IBC 2012, Amsterdam, Netherlands - September 7, 2012 - Blackmagic Design today announced UltraStudio Mini Monitor and UltraStudio Mini Recorder, two new capture and playback solutions featuring 3 Gb/s SDI and HDMI connections plus high speed Thunderbolt technology. UltraStudio Mini Monitor and UltraStudio Mini Recorder are extremely portable, pocket sized products powered by their Thunderbolt connections so they can be operated from a computer’s battery or power source. UltraStudio Mini Monitor and UltraStudio Mini Recorder support all common SD/HD formats for incredible quality video up to 1080p60 and will be available in November for only US$145.

UltraStudio Mini Monitor and UltraStudio Mini Recorder will be shown on the Blackmagic Design IBC 2012 booth in Hall 7, Booth H20.

UltraStudio Mini Monitor and UltraStudio Mini Recorder are two separate products, one for recording SDI and HDMI video, and the other model for playing back SDI or HDMI video.

The UltraStudio Mini Monitor and UltraStudio Mini Recorder are extremely tiny designs that are perfect for portable tasks that don’t require both capture and playback in a single device. Their lower cost means the customer can choose to add recording or playback when needed. A good example is when monitoring using NLE software such as Apple Final Cut Pro X, Adobe® Premiere® Pro CS6 software, or Avid Media Composer when the customer just needs monitoring when editing, the UltraStudio Mini Monitor would be the perfect choice. A customer who only needs simple recording for recording files from professional video sources can choose the UltraStudio Mini Recorder for great quality, at the lowest possible price.

UltraStudio Mini Monitor and UltraStudio Mini Recorder feature advanced high quality video technology allowing customers to go on location for uncompressed and compressed capture and playback tasks at the highest 10 bit SD/HD quality.

With easy plug and play and incredibly fast transfer speeds of Thunderbolt technology, UltraStudio Mini Monitor and UltraStudio Mini Recorder can be moved easily between computers and can capture from decks, cameras and live video sources, and output to monitors, projectors, media servers and more. This is perfect for editing, compositing, graphics production and unlimited broadcast and post production situations where the highest quality video and true versatility are demanded.

UltraStudio Mini Monitor and UltraStudio Mini Recorder are both fully compatible with Final Cut Pro X, Adobe Premiere Pro CS6, Avid Media Composer 6, Adobe® After Effects® CS6, Adobe® Photoshop® CS6 and more. Also included is Blackmagic Design’s Media Express software.

“UltraStudio Mini Monitor and UltraStudio Mini Recorder let you work anywhere because they are extremely compact and are powered from the Thunderbolt connection,” said Grant Petty, CEO, Blackmagic Design. “You can simply plug into any Thunderbolt enabled laptop or a desktop computer and start working. With support for high bandwidth formats up to 1080p60 these are easily the most advanced capture and playback solutions that are small enough to fit in your pocket. There is nothing more portable!”

UltraStudio Mini Monitor and UltraStudio Mini Recorder Key Features
Two models, UltraStudio Mini Monitor for playback and UltraStudio Mini Recorder for capture.
High-speed Thunderbolt™ port for capture and playback on each model.
Built in 3 Gb/s SDI and HDMI connections on each model.
Supports all common SD/HD video formats up to 1080p60.
Uncompressed and compressed 10-bit 4:2:2 YUV quality.
Supports Final Cut Pro X, Adobe® Premiere® Pro CS6, Avid Media Composer 6, Adobe® After Effects® CS6, Adobe® Photoshop® CS6 and more.
Includes Blackmagic Design’s Media Express 3.
Developer SDK available to download free.
Availability and Price
UltraStudio Mini Monitor and UltraStudio Mini Recorder will be available in November for US$145 from Blackmagic Design resellers worldwide.

Press Photography
Product photos of UltraStudio Mini Monitor and UltraStudio Mini Recorder, as well as all other Blackmagic Design products, are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/press/images.

About Blackmagic Design
Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and film restoration software for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability, while the company’s Emmy™ award winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including stereoscopic 3D and 4K workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, United Kingdom, Japan, Singapore, and Australia. For more information, please check www.blackmagicdesign.com.

Thunderbolt and the Thunderbolt logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries.

IBC 2012, Amsterdam, Netherlands - September 7, 2012 - Blackmagic Design today announced Videohub Master Control, a new style of router control panel that allows spin knob scrolling of all router sources and destinations as well as direct button entry of any router crosspoint. The new Videohub Master Control provides a built in LCD with easy to read anti aliased graphic labels for full access to every single cross point on the largest 288 x 288 Videohub routers. Videohub Master Control will retail for $695.

Videohub Master Control will be shown on the Blackmagic Design IBC 2012 booth in Hall 7, Booth H20.

Videohub Master Control allows for very flexible control because it has two main methods for changing cross points on Videohub routers. The simplest way to use Videohub Master Control is for customers to simply select either destination or source and then scroll through all the cross points in the router using the larger knob on the right side of the panel. The built in LCD shows cross points as the user scrolls using large easy to read labels, and scroll order is based on alphabetical order of crosspoint labels so it’s easy to scroll to the crosspoint the customer requires even on a very large router.

Videohub Master Control also includes direct entry of cross point labels via built in buttons. These buttons are a combination of customizable buttons as well as numeric buttons. Customers can easily set the customizable buttons to labels such as “Monitor”, “Deck” or “Edit” etc, and then router cross points can be entered in by simply pressing the custom button followed by the number. For example if a customer wanted to enter in the destination “Monitor 3” then they only need to select the customized Monitor button followed by the 3 button. This means Videohub Master Control gives customers full access to very large routers, but is still very fast to use.

Direct entry buttons also allow limiting the scroll list when using the spin knob. For the above example, if the user presses the Monitor button, then the list available to the spin knob would be limited to any cross point labeled Monitor. The user can then type in 3 to select monitor 3 as in the example above, or just scroll through all the monitor labels and select Monitor 3 via the spin knob.

Videohub Master Control is still low cost enough so every user in a facility can afford to install one, and they can be positioned anywhere needed so everyone has easy access to changing router cross points.

Videohub Master Control also features attractive YRGB illuminated crystal look buttons combined with an attractive color LCD for status and machined aluminum knob for scrolling cross points. This makes Videohub Master Control one of the most attractive router control panels on the market. Blackmagic Design believes that even though routers are generally technical by nature, there is no reason why they have to be ugly to use, and we believe that with the new Videohub Master Control customers will see a dramatic improvement in ease of routing and a more pleasant user experience.

Videohub Master Control has been designed to be easy for customers to self install. Videohub Master Control uses standard ethernet networking and simply plugs into the existing computer network. If used in mission critical environments, Videohub Master Control could be connected to a dedicated switch. Videohub Master Control can be powered via power over ethernet (PoE) without the need for a power supply.

Because Videohub Master Control has been designed to fit into creative post production facilities, it includes attractive crystal look buttons that are designed for high reliability. The front panel can be removed to allow labeling of the customizable buttons. For world’s best illumination quality, all buttons are illuminated by both RGB and white LEDs so that a wider range of rich and clean colors can be displayed. When used in dark rooms, all buttons can be backlit, so button labels can be clearly seen.

“We have been asked for a router control panel for our popular Videohub routers that’s both fast to use as well as allowing access to the whole router, even on our largest 288 x 288 Universal Videohub routers. We think we have a fantastic solution that will make all of our customers extremely happy!” said Grant Petty, CEO, Blackmagic Design. “It looks wonderful and I am so excited by its clean, simple and attractive design, plus the best part is Videohub Master Control is low cost so we can place them everywhere. You have to see this working to really understand how fast that makes router control. It’s incredible and its fun too!”

Videohub Master Control Key Features
Ethernet connection with Power over Ethernet and non powered loop through.
12 volt universal power supply included for use with non powered ethernet.
Full access to every cross point on large routers via direct entry or spin knob scrolling.
Spin knob allows customers to scroll through router labels in alphabetical order.
Direct button entry allows router labels to be typed in, or to limit scrolling list.
Supports optional “take” button set via software configuration.
Includes Mac and Windows software for control panel programming.
Button caps can be removed for easy labeling.
Buttons are illuminated by both RGB and white LEDs for highest illumination quality.
Compact 1 rack unit size, less than an inch thick. Works with all Videohub models.
Availability and Price
Videohub Master Control will be available in September for US$695 from all Blackmagic Design resellers.

Press Photography
Product photos of Videohub Master Control, and all other Blackmagic Design products, are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/press/resources/images.

About Blackmagic Design
Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, routers, waveform monitors and film restoration software for the feature film, post-production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in the television industry, while the company’s DaVinci Emmy™ award winning color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984 and continue ground breaking innovations including stereoscopic 3D and 4K workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore, and Australia. For more information, please check www.blackmagicdesign.com.

IBC 2012, Amsterdam, Netherlands - September 7, 2012 - Blackmagic Design today announced two new models of Mini Converter designed to ease the transition into 4K workflows and to allow lower cost 4K studios to be built. Mini Converter SDI to HDMI 4K is a Quad Link HD-SDI to HDMI 4K converter that also works with new Dual Link 3 Gb/s SDI 4K connections. It allows monitoring using the new HDMI 4K devices starting to be released. The other model, Mini Converter SDI Multiplex, features four SDI inputs and four SDI outputs allowing conversion to and from Quad Link HD-SDI and Dual Link 3 Gb/s SDI 4K signals. This model can also handle 4:4:4 Single Link/Dual Link conversions.

Mini Converter SDI to HDMI 4K and Mini Converter SDI Multiplex will be shown on the Blackmagic Design IBC 2012 booth in Hall 7, Booth H20.

About Mini Converter SDI to HDMI 4K
The new Mini Converter SDI to HDMI 4K features a new HDMI connection that supports four times the resolution of HD video via a single HDMI link. Video projectors and televisions are beginning to be released with this new video standard and it allows full resolution 4K monitoring using a very convenient single HDMI connection, which is simple and easy for customers. However, currently the television industry has been using 4 x HD-SDI connections for connecting 4K signals.

This new converter will allow the four HD-SDI links to be connected to an HDMI 4K device, and will also handle the new Dual Link 3 Gb/s SDI 4K connections built into the new UltraStudio 4K and DeckLink 4K Extreme capture and playback products from Blackmagic Design. Using 3 Gb/s SDI allows the same 4K signal to be connected between devices with only two BNC SDI cables, instead of four. This halves cost and halves the number of router cross points required when routing 4K in a busy facility.

This means Mini Converter SDI to HDMI 4K supports both older Quad Link and new Dual Link 4K SDI connections, so is perfect for all 4K monitoring. It also switches between SD and HD video formats automatically so can be used for any task required, in SD, HD and 4K!

About Mini Converter SDI Multiplex
The new Mini Converter SDI Multiplex is designed for converting between equipment using Quad Link HD-SDI and equipment using Dual Link 3 Gb/s SDI. Newer products are using Dual Link 3 Gb/s SDI while a lot of equipment in the television industry handles 4K by using four HD-SDI connections. Mini Converter SDI Multiplex features four SDI inputs and four SDI outputs, so can convert to and from both of these formats, simply by selecting the desired conversion using mini switches. Mini Converter SDI Multiplex is also perfect for people using 4:4:4 video via Single Link 3 Gb/s and Dual Link HD-SDI as it can also convert to and from these standards.

“We have been asked by DaVinci Resolve customers doing feature films for better solutions for handling 4K in their facilities. We think these Mini Converters are perfect for easing that transition to 4K and allowing amazing feature films to be completed without massive costs!” said Grant Petty, CEO, Blackmagic Design. “They are also the perfect companion to other 4K products from Blackmagic Design, such as the new HyperDeck Studio Pro, UltraStudio 4K and DeckLink 4K Extreme! Now its possible to build a whole 4K post production studio at dramatically low cost!”

Availability and Price
Mini Converter SDI to HDMI 4K and Mini Converter SDI Multiplex will be available for $495 in November from Blackmagic Design resellers worldwide.

Press Photography
Product photos of the heavy duty Mini Converters, and all other Blackmagic Design products, are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/press/images.

About Blackmagic Design
Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and film restoration software for the feature film, post-production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability, while the company’s DaVinci Emmy™ award winning color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including stereoscopic 3D and 4K workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore, and Australia. For more information, please check www.blackmagicdesign.com.

IBC 2012, Amsterdam, Netherlands - September 7, 2012 - Blackmagic Design today announced HyperDeck Software Update 3.5, a new software update for it’s popular HyperDeck Studio that adds support for the industry standard ExFAT file system so Windows formatted ExFAT disks can simply be inserted for recording and playback. ExFAT is also supported on Mac OS X, so this means disks can be natively mounted on both Windows and Mac OS X without any third party software required.

ExFAT is a Windows based operating file system that features state of the art technology, including large sized disk and file support, wide compatibility and high performance. All modern Windows computers include support for ExFAT and can format disks. In addition, Mac OS X also supports ExFAT disks, so ExFAT formatted disks can be plugged into both Windows and Mac OS X machines without any third party software required.

Support for ExFAT on Blackmagic Design’s HyperDeck broadcast recorders is transparent to the user as there is no settings for this feature and the HyperDeck will detect the format of the disk and automatically record and playback from that disk. This means the customer can format disks for ExFAT or HFS+ and mix and match those disks on the same HyperDeck automatically without changing any settings.

This HyperDeck Software Update 3.5 will be available in September 2012 free of charge for all HyperDeck Shuttle, HyperDeck Studio and HyperDeck Studio Pro customers.

HyperDeck Shuttle, HyperDeck Studio and HyperDeck Studio Pro record direct to Solid State Disks, (SSDs) which offer incredibly fast read and write speeds, so they have the high bandwidth required for full SD or HD recording and playback. Unlike tape, or any other broadcast storage device, SSDs are used in regular laptop and desktop computers, so are constantly increasing in size, while purchase prices have been dropping dramatically over the last few years. This means the cost per minute of recording is now much less any other broadcast format, and getting cheaper every day.

HyperDeck Studio is the perfect solution to replace ageing broadcast decks due to it’s higher quality, direct file format compatibility with NLE software, and easy to use deck style design with broadcast desk features. HyperDeck Studio allows recording and playback from SDI and HDMI sources, and includes support for RS-422 deck control. Unlike broadcast decks, HyperDeck Studio can record forever because it includes dual SSD slots. This allows a new blank disk to be inserted while recording, and when the current recording disk is full, HyperDeck Studio will seamlessly continue to record across onto the new blank disk. Disks can be swapped constantly for continuous recording virtually forever!

“This is a very exciting update because it lets our customers use their HyperDeck with Windows computers and there is no need for any third party utility, as ExFAT is native to Windows machines,” said Grant Petty, CEO of Blackmagic Design. “Ever since HyperDeck broadcast recorders were announced we have been asked by customers for better Windows support. We think this new ExFAT support in HyperDeck will be very well received by our broadcast and Hollywood post production customers! And it’s a free update!”

HyperDeck Family Features
Record and playback to standard 10-bit uncompressed QuickTime and compressed media files.
Uses high speed off the shelf Solid State Disks (SSDs) available from computer resellers at low cost.
Supports both HFS+ for Mac OS X, and ExFAT for Windows and Mac OS X file systems.
3 Gb/s SDI and HDMI inputs and outputs.
QuickTime and MXF file formats are compatible with Final Cut Pro, Avid Media Composer and more.
Availability and Price
HyperDeck Software Update 3.5 with ExFAT support will be available in September 2012 free of charge from the Blackmagic Design web site for all HyperDeck users. HyperDeck Studio is available now from Blackmagic Design Resellers Worldwide for only US$995 and HyperDeck Shuttle for only US$345.

Press Photography
Product photos of HyperDeck broadcast recorders are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/press/images.

About Blackmagic Design
Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and film restoration software for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability, while the company’s DaVinci Emmy™ award winning color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including stereoscopic 3D and 4K workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore, and Australia. For more information, please check www.blackmagicdesign.com.

Matrox DS1 Brings Unprecedented Convenience and Connectivity to MacBook Air and MacBook Pro Users

Montreal, Canada — Dec. 18, 2012 — Matrox today announced worldwide availability of the Matrox® DS1™ series of Thunderbolt docking stations that brings all the productivity benefits of a desktop computer to MacBook® Pro and MacBook Air users. From a single Thunderbolt™ connection, users can add multiple peripherals including either a large DVI or an HDMI® display, a full-size keyboard, and a mouse. A gigabit Ethernet port provides connectivity to a wired corporate network, enabling data transfers 18 times faster than Wi-Fi™. One SuperSpeed USB 3.0 port, conveniently located on the front of the unit, plus two USB 2.0 ports, a microphone input, and a speaker/headphone output are also provided. With its solid aluminum construction and space-saving design, Matrox DS1 is ideal for use in student residences, corporate environments, and home offices. Two versions are offered, one for use with DVI monitors and another for use with HDMI displays.

“MacBook Pro and MacBook Air users can now come and go without disconnecting and re-connecting all their peripherals, tame the cables cluttering their desks, and save wear-and-tear on their computers,” said Charles Amyot, product manager at Matrox. “One Thunderbolt connection to Matrox DS1 does it all!”

Price and availability
Call DVT now for details.

About Matrox
Matrox is a world leader in graphics, imaging, and video technology providing an extensive array of real-world relevant OEM and end-user solutions to businesses and individuals across a diverse range of professional markets, including media and entertainment, finance, digital signage, medical imaging, manufacturing, factory automation, security, government, and enterprise computing.
Headquartered in Montreal, Canada, the privately owned company operates on a global scale with representation and offices in the Americas, Europe and Asia. For more information visit www.matrox.com.

Professional Video Editing Just Got Better - Autodesk Smoke 2013 Now Shipping


SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Endorsed by twenty five thousand Facebook fans, six industry awards and thousands of new users through the trial download and active forum communities, Autodesk, Inc., (NADSAQ: ADSK) announced that the new Autodesk Smoke 2013, professional video editing software is now shipping.

“My favorite thing about the new Smoke is the entire package as a whole. I think it's amazing that I can finally afford such an awesome suite of tools.”
“The anticipation for Smoke, since its thrilling announcement at the National Association of Broadcasters convention in Vegas in April, has continued to build throughout the community of creative professionals. As a leader in high-end effects and 3D, Autodesk is committed to making that technology increasingly available to a new generation, and the new Smoke is case in point. The Smoke team has fielded thousands of inquiries and product recommendations in the process of developing Smoke 2013. I’m so excited to announce it’s here,” said Mark Strassman, Autodesk Media & Entertainment vice president strategy and marketing.

Smoke 2013 is designed to meet the needs of professional editors working in video production, corporate video, online video and other competitive creative environments where productions require editing and effects. The new Smoke offers editing and effects within a single, efficient timeline-based workflow, a sleek user interface and runs on a wide variety of Apple MacBook Pro and Apple iMac computers. Extensive customer research and feedback received during the pre-release trial actively helped drive the product development. New features which grew directly out of user recommendations include: ability to drag and drop a clip from the source player into the timeline; ability to expand/collapse the timeline FX pipeline area; and redesign and streamlining of the UI and interface elements to speed up workflows.

Key Features

• New Smoke User Interface (UI) — An intuitive all-in-one creative workflow that combines track-based editorial, industry-standard editing conventions and proven Autodesk creative tools
• ConnectFX — Powerful node-based compositing inside the timeline allows high-end effects and advanced compositing without leaving the editorial environment
• Creative Tools — A robust toolset with proven high-end finishing tools, Action for true 3D compositing, the Colour Warper for professional grading and color matching, the Master Keyer for one-click chroma keying and stereoscopic 3D editing and effects
• Flexible System Requirements — Runs on most Apple iMac and MacBook Pro systems using high-bandwidth Thunderbolt storage and IO bringing true high-end editing and effects to flexible desktop and mobile workflows

Autodesk revamped Smoke to address a growing niche for editors who need to do more than just edit. In a recent survey of over 300 active users of the trial download, over half of which were new to Smoke, many respondents called out the benefits of having an all-in-one package that integrates editing and effects. 51% called out ConnectFX as the top feature and one remarked, “My favorite thing about the new Smoke is the entire package as a whole. I think it's amazing that I can finally afford such an awesome suite of tools.” The Twittersphere has been equally enthusiastic about connecting editing and effects: “Smoke 2013 is a phenomenal game changer. Loving the open sandbox creativity one can explore with. #AutodeskSmoke,” tweeted Deelan Sital of The PPC in the UK.

Join the Smoke Community

For in-depth features, benefits and video tutorials, see the Smoke product center, join the Smoke community, visit the Smoke Learning Channel, join the #AutodeskSmoke conversation on Twitter or friend us on Facebook.

About Autodesk

Autodesk, Inc. is a leader in 3D design, engineering and entertainment software. Customers across the manufacturing, architecture, building, construction, and media and entertainment industries — including the last 17 Academy Award winners for Best Visual Effects — use Autodesk software to design, visualize and simulate their ideas. Since its introduction of AutoCAD software in 1982, Autodesk continues to develop the broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art software for global markets. For additional information about Autodesk, visit www.autodesk.com.

Autodesk, AutoCAD and Smoke are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. Academy Award is a registered trademark of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product and service offerings, and specifications and pricing at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document.

© 2012 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.

Contacts

Autodesk, Inc.
Rama Dunayevich, 415-547-2472
rama.dunayevich@autodesk.com
Karen Raz, 310-450-1482
karen@razpr.com

Autodesk Media & Entertainment is pleased to announce the availability of Service Pack 4 for the following Autodesk products;

• Flame Premium
• Autodesk Flame
• Autodesk Flare
• Autodesk Smoke Advanced
• Autodesk Lustre
• Autodesk Inferno
• Autodesk Flint
• Autodesk Smoke Linux
• Autodesk Backdraft Conform 2013

This service pack is free of charge to all Creative Finishing 2013 customers with a valid subscription.

Not a Flame Premium customer yet?
Take a closer look at the Flame Premium 2013 20th Anniversary Edition and contact DVT today to find out more about the advantages of upgrading to Flame Premium, a single solution for 3D visual effects and look development: http://usa.autodesk.com/flame/upgrade/

Smoke for Mac Subscription Advantage Pack 2, Service Pack 4 for Mac is now available to download.


Smoke 2012 SAP 2 Service Pack 4 Release Notes

Fixed Bugs

• SMOK-10380 - Data Management - User is required to manually rename or delete ifffs_error.log
• SMOK-7001 - Media Import /Export - Job fails with an API request time out when Maya OpenEXR is softimported in WiretapGateway and Store Local Copy.

Known Bugs

• FLPR-8290 - Action - Changing the offset of a surface object affects the texture position when diffuse is set in the projection map.
• SMOK-10224 - Hardware, Configuration And OS - Smoke 2012 overwrites the tablet mapping in dual monitor setup.
• SMOK-8702 - Media Import/Export - RedRocket: Will only Debayer a selected clip in full.

PARK RIDGE, N.J., Oct. 30, 2012 – Sony Electronicsis unveiling two new CineAlta™ 4K cameras, complemented by a full line of new accessories. The new cameras – models F55 and F5 – have a modular and compact design for easy configuration, and each features a new type of 4K Super 35mm image sensor with a 4096 x 2160 resolution (11.6M total pixels).

“These two new models join a family of Sony large-sensor cameras that complement each other and deliver powerful new capabilities to professionals working at every level of production,” said Rob Willox, director of marketing for large image sensor cameras at Sony Electronics. “They fill a critical gap in large-sensor acquisition between Sony’s PMW-F3 camcorder and F65 digital motion picture camera, and give content creators new levels of flexibility and creative options for acquisition and production in HD, 2K, 4K and beyond. The total line-up, with our new accessories, further underscores Sony’s commitment to supporting every aspect of the highest-quality professional workflows.”

The new CineAlta 4K cameras deliver unprecedented creative options for HD, 2K QFHD and 4K production. Both offer multi-codec support: Sony’s new XAVC MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 format, the SR codec (MPEG4 SStP), and the well-established XDCAM 50Mbps 4:2:2 codec. In-camera recording is to Sony’s new SxS PRO+ memory card media (for the F55, 4K 60p:422 10-bit XAVC and HD 422 10-bit XAVC High Frame Rate); and for the F5, HD XAVC and HD high frame rate).

Read More

Fremont, CA - October 29, 2012 –
Blackmagic Design today announced the release of DaVinci Resolve 9.0.3, a new update to the world’s most advanced color correction tool. The update includes a new timecode feature to add timecode to non timecode cameras, improved CinemaDNG control palette, AAF and XML clip management, enhanced stereoscopic 3D grading and support for XML round tripping in the new release of Final Cut Pro X version 10.0.6. Resolve 9.0.3 is available immediately for free for existing DaVinci Resolve and DaVinci Resolve Lite users.

This new DaVinci Resolve software allows, for the first time, cameras that do not support timecode to be used for professional shoots and still offer accurate and synced timecode for editing and conforming. By simply recording timecode from a timecode generator onto one of the cameras audio tracks, combined with the new Resolve Media Pool timecode reader feature, any camera can become integrated into professional workflows. Through the feature, Resolve is able to read the linear timecode from the audio tracks and instantly update the video timecode for those clips.

Read More

Videographers and filmmakers win by telling a good story. Now you can win at the workflow behind that story too. By synchronizing audio and multi-camera video automatically, PluralEyes revolutionizes post-production and speeds your sync in seconds rather than days.

PluralEyes 3 for Mac OS X is now a standalone application with a new timeline, visual feedback, and ‘test & tweak’ features for quality control. PluralEyes 3 is up to 20x faster than PluralEyes 2, and can easily prepare an audio/video sync for any NLE. For a faster, less tedious and more accurate workflow, use PluralEyes 3 to put the focus back onto creative storytelling.

Important Notes: PluralEyes 3 is currently Mac Only. PluralEyes and DualEyes features are now integrated, to create a standalone application and consolidated work environment.

PluralEyes 2 and DualEyes for Windows is included in the installer. PluralEyes 3 for Windows will be available soon.

With the introduction of the new ISIS® 2000 nearline storage system, Avid now offers a lower cost per Terabyte solution that perfectly complements ISIS 7000 online and ISIS 5000 online storage systems.

Nearline storage systems enable rapid access to material that doesn’t need to reside on online storage, but for which the performance and accessibility of tape archival storage is not sufficient. By extending access to larger stores of media, creative businesses can maximize workflow efficiencies, open up new creative possibilities and further monetize existing assets.

Avid Advantaged Workflows

The Avid ISIS 2000 is a workflow-connected nearline storage solution that works with Avid Interplay® to provide enterprise-wide search, browse, access and management of media.

With the addition of an ISIS 2000, a low-resolution clip can be stored in a nearline-based proxy library while the high-resolution version is archived to tape. This enables editors and production assistants to immediately browse and edit proxy footage eliminating the delay associated with retrieving the original media from tape.

The ISIS 2000 also provides an ideal solution for parking of inactive projects. Project parking enables inactive assets to be moved off online storage as well as the pre-staging of materials from tape for upcoming events.

Built for large-scale media creation environments, ISIS 2000 opens up a number of new workflows and makes more assets readily available for creative use and is backed by Avid Advantage support and professional services.

Product Highlights
·         High Density
o    Includes 80 (eighty) 3TB SAS media drives and 2 (two) hot spares
o    Provides 240TB raw (192TB usable) storage per Storage Engine
o    Lower cost per TB than ISIS 5000 or ISIS 7000 online storage system
·         Resiliency & protection
o    RAID 6 dual parity media protection configured as Eight 8+2 RAID 6 sets
o    Drives are SAS dual-connected
o    Dual power supplies, redundant cooling fans
·         Avid workflow integration
o    Interplay Production Asset Management (see Scalability Guidelines doc)
o    AirSpeed ingest and playback servers
o    Up to 100 ISIS browse clients, unlimited NAS clients
·         ISIS File System
o    Unified client for ISIS 2000, ISIS 5000 and ISIS 7000
o    ISIS admin and user tools including dynamic workspaces
o    Open access via CIFS and FTP

All ISIS 2000 systems include Avid Advantage support; either ExpertPlus with Hardware or Elite Support.

IRVINE, Calif. — September, 2012 — Sonnet Technologies today announced the Echo™ Express SE 10 Gigabit Ethernet Thunderbolt™ Adapter and the Echo Express SE eSATA Pro 4-Port Thunderbolt Adapter. These new adapters pair Sonnet's just-released Echo Express SE Thunderbolt Expansion Chassis for PCI Express® (PCIe®) cards with either a Sonnet Pro one-port 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) adapter card or four-port 6Gb eSATA adapter card, respectively, in value-priced bundles that provide high-speed data and storage interfaces to iMac®, Mac® mini, MacBook® Air, and MacBook Pro computers with a Thunderbolt port. The adapters ship with the interface cards preinstalled.

The Echo Express SE 10GbE is a Thunderbolt-to-10GbE adapter that bundles Sonnet's Echo Express SE Thunderbolt Expansion Chassis for PCIe cards and the Presto™ 10GbE PCIe Card with Fibre SFP+, providing a near plug-and-play solution for adding 10GbE connectivity to any computer with a Thunderbolt port. This adapter enables users to connect their computers to high-speed infrastructure and storage without stepping down in speed. Data centers are adopting the 10GbE standard increasingly for wired networking and specialized applications such as HD video editing using high-performance shared storage systems — yet no Mac® computer offers this interface option. Sonnet's solution provides users with a powerfully simple way to add 10GbE connectivity to any computer with a Thunderbolt port.

The Echo Express SE eSATA Pro 4-Port is a Thunderbolt-to-eSATA adapter that bundles Sonnet's Echo Express SE Thunderbolt Expansion Chassis for PCIe cards and the Tempo™ SATA Pro 6Gb 4-Port eSATA host controller, providing a plug-and-play solution for adding four high-performance eSATA ports to any computer with a Thunderbolt port. This adapter enables users to connect single- and multidrive storage systems to any computer with a Thunderbolt port so that they can take advantage of the 6 Gb/s eSATA interface's superior throughput compared to all FireWire® and USB interfaces. The Tempo SATA Pro 6Gb 4-Port card was designed for optimum performance over Thunderbolt, and its ability to support aggregate transfer speeds of up to 760 MB/s reflects its optimized design.

Each Echo Express SE value bundle comes with its adapter card preinstalled, so physical setup is as simple as connecting the external power supply plus necessary interface cables among the Echo Express SE chassis, computer, and data or storage devices. Measuring only 5.7 inches wide by 8.8 inches long by 2.9 inches tall and weighing less than three pounds, each chassis takes up very little space wherever it's used. Dual Thunderbolt ports support daisy-chaining of devices, and an automatic temperature-controlled fan quietly cools the installed card. Each Echo adapter conserves energy by powering on/off when the computer to which it is connected powers on/off or wakes/sleeps.

"Echo Express SE 10GbE and Echo Express SE eSATA Pro 4-Port adapters provide users with a simply fast way to add the latest high-performance ports to their computers," said Robert Farnsworth, CEO of Sonnet Technologies. "On its own, each adapter delivers a significant savings over purchasing the Echo Express SE and adapter card separately, but with the inclusion of a five-year warranty, these Sonnet solutions are just great values."

The Echo Express SE 10GbE (part number ECHO-EXP-SE10G) and the Echo Express SE eSATA Pro 4-Port (part number ECHO-EXP-SE4S) are now available for USD $999 and USD $599, respectively. More information on these products is available at www.sonnettech.com/product/thunderbolt/index.html.
More information on Sonnet and its other products is available at www.sonnettech.com.


About Sonnet Technologies
Sonnet Technologies Inc. is a leader in providing storage systems, media readers, and Thunderbolt™ technology PCIe® expansion products for professional users of Mac®, Windows®, and UNIX® systems in the film, video, and broadcast industries. The company's product line features a range of high-performance, cost-effective, and reliable desktop and rackmount RAID storage solutions ranging from two- and four-drive portable units, to eight- and 16-drive desktop attached storage with advanced RAID controllers, to 16-drive, 16-port, 8Gb Fibre Channel shared storage systems that are expandable to 384TB. Celebrating 26 years in business, Sonnet has pioneered and brought to market numerous innovative solutions that enhance the performance and connectivity of Mac, Windows, and other industry-standard computers. More information is available at www.sonnettech.com.
All trademarks appearing herein are the property of their respective owners.

The new group adds Luxology's innovative 3D modelling and rendering technology and its flagship product, modo, to The Foundry's existing stable of products.

modo is a cutting-edge and artist friendly 3D software package that combines modelling, painting, rendering and animation in a single integrated powerful package. The new generation in 3D software, modo is a true end-to-end solution that offers a fresh, flexible and modular approach.

The collective product range is very exciting, but equally important is the shared ethos of our two companies and the staff within them. Both The Foundry and Luxology have strong reputations for being community driven and good collaborators. We are widely recognised for building tools around customer needs, providing artist-friendly workflows and great support. For this reason we’re very excited about what the future holds and a union that will allow us to push the boundaries for our customers across a wide range of industries.

John Knoll, Visual Effects Supervisor at Industrial Light & Magic comments:
“I am a big fan of both Luxology and The Foundry having been using modo for quite a while and KATANA here at ILM in the last 18 months. Their marriage is really exciting for the VFX community. Their combined technology and similar approach to working with customers is a very interesting development. I’ll definitely be keeping my eyes on them.”

Bill Collis, CEO of The Foundry comments:
“We were impressed by modo's strong roots in a variety of markets - including VFX, design and games - and by Luxology’s focus on creating artist friendly, highly advanced technologies. Both companies are a great match for each other.

The Foundry and Luxology's products are highly complementary, and we both like our products to be open and flexible, letting the customers choose how they want to work. In the short term we will be continuing to develop the interaction between our products, which will be of immediate benefit to all of our customers. We can’t wait to see what our combined experience and knowledge will allow us to build in the long term.”

Brad Peebler, President of Luxology comments:
“The Foundry has an impressive pedigree in the visual effects industry, where its products and attention to customers are second to none. Creative industries are converging in terms of media, quality and deliverables. Joining forces with The Foundry will allow us to accelerate the development of modo, ushering in a new era for our customers. We simply can not wait to leverage our combined strength to change the landscape for content creators everywhere.”

What is HIERO...

What to expect in the beta...

• Windows OS Support
• Broadcast Monitor Out
• Multi-Channel Image Support
• Playback support for ARRIRAW

DOWNLOAD HIERO 1.5v1b6 TODAY.

Avid has announced support of Media Composer and Newscutter on the HP Z820 systems. See the links below to access the Avid documents relating to this.

Qualified PC Systems document
Z820 Configuration Guide

There is a networking problem that Intel can't seem to solve which has helped to delay this announcement, so for certain Avid storage configurations you will need to add an extra network card.  Please make sure you review the Configuration Guide.

Atto Thunderbolt to Fibre Channel and Thunderbolt to 10GbE SFP+ devices (shown below) are now shipping. The remaining Thunderbolt to SAS and Thunderbolt to 10GbE RJ45 models should be here in the next 2 weeks.
ThunderLink FC 1082 $1342 RRP Inc GST (ATT00115)		ThunderLink NS 1101 $1342 RRP Inc GST (ATT00116)
Thunderbolt to 8Gb Fibre Channel § 800MB/s maximum throughput per channel. § Exclusive Advanced Data Streaming (ADS™) Technology. § Driver support for Mac® OS X 10.6.8 or higher operating systems. § Auto Negotiation to 8Gb, 4Gb and 2Gb devices. § Pluggable optical LC SFP+.		Thunderbolt to 10GbE SFP+ § Dual 10Gbps Thunderbolt with Display Port and Device Daisy-Chain Support. § Supports Data Center Bridging and software iSCSI initiators. § Driver support for Mac® OS X 10.6.8 or higher O/S. § Exclusive Advanced Data Streaming (ADS™) Technology. § TCP, UDP and IPv4 checksum offloading, IPsec offloading and TX/TCP segmentation offloading. § Load-balancing on multiple CPUs.

Adobe Video Switcher Promotion is now on and enables you to save upto 30% on switcing to Adove CS6 Production Premium until 30 November. If you have been using Apple Final Cut Pro or Avid Media Composer and thinking about switching to Adobe CS6 Production Premium then now's your chance.

The offer is for Business, Government, and Education customers allowing you to save upto 30% off full Adobe CS6 Production Premium, the complete video toolset that includes Adobe Premiere Pro CS6, After Effects CS6, Photoshop CS6 Extended and more.

Customer Eligibility:

* With existing and/or prior version of Apple Final Cut Pro, Avid Media Composer, Sony Vegas Pro and/or Grass Valley Edius.

* With existing and/or prior versions of the following Creative Suite edition software:
  - Creative Suite 2 Design Premium or Standard
  - Production Studio Premium or Standard; and
  - Adobe Video Bundle (Adobe Production Studio Premium and Macromedia Flash Professional 8)

• Version and archive finished sequences with AS-02
• Create master-quality archives with JPEG 2000
• Export content using AMA
• Set and output AFD sequences
• Relink clips using common metadata
• Open up your workflow with hardware release
• Work faster wtih advanced audio keyframing
• Mix up to 64 audio voices

The new upgrade adds a DVI signal scaler with region of interest (ROI) position parameters which, combined with advanced AJA scaling technology, enables the user to selectively crop from the DVI-D signal source and scale it in real-time via a live signal output on the FS2 to standard broadcast HD via 3G/HD-SDI, Fiber or HDMI. The new version will support non-broadcast digital input formats for use with the FS2's HDMI input allowing single-link DVI-D inputs from computer systems.

Version 2 software will be available as a free download at www.aja.com in October of 2012. FS2 is available from Adimex at $5709 USD RRP Inc. Also available are dual fiber options for $341 USD RRP Inc. and single fiber options for $220 USD RRP Inc, as well as Dolby E decoding for $3421 USD RRP Inc.

The new group adds Luxology's innovative 3D modelling and rendering technology and its flagship product, modo, to The Foundry's existing stable of products.

modo is a cutting-edge and artist friendly 3D software package that combines modelling, painting, rendering and animation in a single integrated powerful package. The new generation in 3D software, modo is a true end-to-end solution that offers a fresh, flexible and modular approach.

The collective product range is very exciting, but equally important is the shared ethos of our two companies and the staff within them. Both The Foundry and Luxology have strong reputations for being community driven and good collaborators. We are widely recognised for building tools around customer needs, providing artist-friendly workflows and great support. For this reason we’re very excited about what the future holds and a union that will allow us to push the boundaries for our customers across a wide range of industries.

John Knoll, Visual Effects Supervisor at Industrial Light & Magic comments:
“I am a big fan of both Luxology and The Foundry having been using modo for quite a while and KATANA here at ILM in the last 18 months. Their marriage is really exciting for the VFX community. Their combined technology and similar approach to working with customers is a very interesting development. I’ll definitely be keeping my eyes on them.”

Bill Collis, CEO of The Foundry comments:
“We were impressed by modo's strong roots in a variety of markets - including VFX, design and games - and by Luxology’s focus on creating artist friendly, highly advanced technologies. Both companies are a great match for each other.

The Foundry and Luxology's products are highly complementary, and we both like our products to be open and flexible, letting the customers choose how they want to work. In the short term we will be continuing to develop the interaction between our products, which will be of immediate benefit to all of our customers. We can’t wait to see what our combined experience and knowledge will allow us to build in the long term.”

Brad Peebler, President of Luxology comments:
“The Foundry has an impressive pedigree in the visual effects industry, where its products and attention to customers are second to none. Creative industries are converging in terms of media, quality and deliverables. Joining forces with The Foundry will allow us to accelerate the development of modo, ushering in a new era for our customers. We simply can not wait to leverage our combined strength to change the landscape for content creators everywhere.”

MAXON has unveiled CINEMA 4D Release 14, (R14) a milestone release of the industry-leading 3D motion graphics, visual effects, painting, and rendering software application. Leveraging more than two decades of 3D graphics programming innovation, R14 delivers breakthrough performance offerings including a new, fully integrated sculpting system, new camera matching functionality, the debut of exchange plugins to two key applications -- The Foundry NUKE and Adobe Photoshop Extended -- and improved integration with Adobe After Effects. Packed with a number of other powerful workflow feature enhancements, creative professionals – motion graphics and visual effects artists, as well as visualization designers – will benefit from features that accelerate productivity to produce spectacular 3D content more fluidly, and the ability to collaborate with increased efficiency.

See CINEMA 4D R14 in Action (New in R14).

“CINEMA 4D R14 is a milestone release that harnesses MAXON’s decades of leadership and programming experience to deliver the absolute best-in-breed 3D technology with the unified workflow capabilities our customers need to realize their creative visions, quickly and efficiently,” says Harald Egel, co-founder and CEO of MAXON Computer. “With improved and added tools such as digital sculpting, camera matching and tighter integration with leading third-party applications, R14 offers the innovation on which individual artists and design teams have come to rely to create compelling 3D content for any medium - from film and broadcast to architectural visualization and mobile games.”

CINEMA 4D Release 14 Highlights:
MAXON offers four versions of CINEMA 4D, each catering to the needs of 3D artists in different industries. Note: The features listed below may not be included in every configuration. See http://www.maxon.net/comparison for further information. Key features and benefits include:

§  Digital Sculpting

Dynamic new sculpting tools give artists complete control to create finely detailed models with tools like Pull, Wax, Smooth, Flatten, Inflate, Knife and Pinch. There are powerful preset options for brushes, stamps, stencils, and attributes for size, pressure, symmetry options and more. A powerful layer system allows for maximum flexibility in the creation process while the Bake option recalculates the millions of sculpted polygons into displacement and normal maps that can be applied to low-poly count base meshes for further use in renderings and animations.


§  Improved Modeling Toolset

New interactive work plane modes, dynamic guides and a completely redesigned snapping system offer a powerful, unified 3D workflow to model dramatically faster and accurately align elements. Controls to interactively position the world grid to move, scale and rotate objects, as well as the ability to intuitively snap objects and components to the grid plane, grid lines or grid points are provided along with other key parameters.


§  Camera Enhancements

The new Camera Calibrator in R14 offers an integrated solution to match a 3D camera image to a 3D environment – a perfect solution for architects and designers to present their creations. Users can integrate 3D objects into the photographed environment for visualizations or use CINEMA 4D’s camera mapping workflow to create digital matte paintings and set extensions.


The new Motion Camera, Morph Camera and Camera Composition Helper tools in R14 help to quickly frame a 3D scene following artistic rules or easily create realistic and dynamic camera animations while the new Camera Focus Picker gives users control to interactively set focus distances.


§  Better and Faster Rendering

Multiple enhancements in R14 bring digital artists a more flexible toolset to achieve greater rendering realism and compositing control that result in outstanding image quality. New and improved shaders and materials are now available for simulating wood grain, weathering effects and normal mapping. Global Illumination has been enhanced with new technologies such as Radiosity Maps and the unified sampler from the Physical Renderer, to let users achieve higher-quality renders in less time and with greater accuracy. New render effects also power up the post-processing workflow. Relight scenes, pull position-based mattes and reconstruct objects with the new Position Pass or perform quick and easy color correction with new interactive grading curves. New algorithms in R14 provide up to twice the speed for caustics, while further enhancements to subsurface scattering render materials such as milk, wax and skin more efficiently.


§  Integration

Brand new to CINEMA 4D, the highly anticipated seamless integration with The Foundry’s award-winning NUKE compositing application allows R14 users to directly export a NUKE project file to reconstruct a multi-pass render and provides full support for OpenEXR and FBX files. The new Photoshop Extended exchange plug-in opens and manipulates CINEMA 4D scenes into a Photoshop 3D layer, offering new opportunities to illustrators, photographers, digital matte painters and motion graphics artists to share CINEMA 4D files with the broader Photoshop design community. Enhanced integration with After Effects brings new levels of performance to directly import and export native CINEMA 4D files.


§  Misc Productivity-Boosting Features

CINEMA 4D is renowned for outstanding ease of use. With numerous enhancements to the R14 interface, artists can perform common tasks faster and more efficiently.


R14 now offers greater levels of realism and control with increased versatility over dynamics with aerodynamic forces, plastic springs and breaking connectors. Users can now create much more believable animations of flying or breaking objects. The improved editor view now displays soft shadows and features new object highlighting options. Individuals and teams can manage tasks using the To Do list and the Commander, a filtered search box that appears directly under the cursor, which gives quick and easy access to all commands and tags. An improved XRef system offers options to offset the animation, scale or pivot of each referenced scene, which is especially useful for team collaboration. Finally, Arabic speakers can now use CINEMA 4D in their native language with new Arabic interface translation and a mirrored layout designed for right-to-left readers. This is just a brief overview of the 200+ improvements CINEMA 4D R14 has to offer.

System Requirements
Minimum system requirements include Windows XP, Vista or 7 running on Intel or AMD CPU with SSE2-Support; Mac OS X 10.6.8 or higher running on an Intel-based Mac and 1024 MB RAM, DVD ROM drive and an OpenGL graphics card. Standard DVD installation can take up to 7 GB of disk space.

Availability and Upgrade Path
CINEMA 4D Release 14 and BodyPaint 3D Release 14 are scheduled to ship in September through MAXON and its authorized dealers. Customers with an active MAXON Service Agreement (MSA) valid through September 2012 will automatically receive the upgrade. Current customers who do not have an active MSA can purchase an MSA before the end of August and be eligible for a free upgrade. New customers who purchase R13 from now until Aug 31, 2012 are being offered a one-year MSA with their purchase at no extra cost incl. an upgrade to R14.

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