Adobe rolled out a series of OpenHD certified workstations running its
complete video collection that it has opmtimized with partners HP,
Dell, Microsoft, Intel and others and their off-the-shelf components.
The HDV workstation, for example, is powered by Intel 64-bit Xeon
processors and Dell Precision 670 computer and was expected to ship in
May for under $7,000. Adobe also created shockwaves when it announced
it would acquire Macromedia, a deal that was freshly inked at the start
of NAB.
Apple Final Cut Pro Studio, which began shipping in May for $1,299, is
optimized for Apple’s new "Tiger" OS X (version 10.4) and its screaming
G5s. Inside the box are Final Cut Pro 5 with native HDV, DVCPRO HD and
XDCAM editing and—finally—multicam editing and real-time playback of
uncompressed HD effects. Motion 2, which is now GPU accelerated, has
got a new pattern-based behavior tool called Replicator that lets you
splice up your video graphics and arrange them on standard grids or any
pattern you can come up with. Animations you create in Motion 2 can
also be played like musical instruments, thanks to MIDI support that
you trigger from a keyboard or MIDI controller. Now that’s play-by-play
editing. You can also now launch Motion from within After Effects,
something many users have wished for. To top it off, Apple has thrown
in a new audio editing and sound design hybrid application that’s built
around a visual waveform editor and multitrack mixer. Logic users, get
ready to play with a whole new paradigm.
Avid showed Xpress Pro HD 5.1, an upgrade to the full PC-only 5.0
version the company shipped last year. Editors can still mix SD and HD
on the timeline and work with DV25, DV50, DVCPRO HD, 601 (uncompressed)
and DNxHD. The new version also supports HDV and 24p, and P2 and XDCAM
media, and live capture of normal pulldown over IEEE-1394. Avid Xpress
Pro HD will be available for the Mac OS sometime later this year. The
complete Avid Xpress Studio HD system (above, also including audio
production, 3D animation, compositing and titling and DVD authoring)
lists for $3,495 and the new Avid Xpress Pro HD PowerPack (the software
plus the Avid Studio Toolkit HD) starts at just $2,495.
Due to the SEC filing, the company was unable to talk in detail about its impending acquisition of Pinnacle Systems.
Media 100, which, of late, has put the majority of its R&D effort
into 844/X, is now offering Media 100 HD as a free download, hoping to
win back many of its former users who got their start on earlier SD
versions. Check it out at
support.media100.com.
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