SFTP: An open letter to all software developers with FTP-only support

You know who you are: Adobe, Apple, DVcreators, elGato, Telestream, and others. Even though we would love to have a utopian world —and a utopian Internet—, we are certainly not there yet. There are bad guys out there, and we can’t afford to make it easy for them. That’s why there are secure websites (https) and secure e-mail encryption (SSL). Fortunately, there are many good software programs that already support SFTP, including CoreFTP, Cyberduck, Fetch, Transmit, and Übercaster. And from Apple, even iWeb (starting with the ’09 version) supports SFTP. So why don’t Adobe Media Encoder, Compressor, DVKitchen, Turbo.264HD, and EpisodePro support SFTP too? All of these are professional tools, but for some unknown reason, they alarmingly all lack SFTP support as of the publication date of this article.

After FCP7/FCS3… we still need DVKitchen!

Final Cut Pro 7 fortunately now offers many inboard “sharing” features which were very weak or non-existent before. Now FCP7 allows us to export to multiple formats and destinations in a single job (called “Back-End Batch Capability” in my DVKitchen review of March 2009). FCP7 even allows us to export “in the background”, so we can keep on editing if we’d like. Thanks to FCP7’s improved integration with Apple’s Compressor, some of the encoded formats can be published directly to web destinations, whether they be MobileMe, YouTube, or even your own FTP server (after you’ve previously made a preset destination for it in Compressor). These are all welcome improvements, which are directly accessible from FCP7. However, DVKitchen is still a vital tool (especially if you’re encoding for MobileMe, your own web server… or your client’s web server), because it includes the following unique and must-have features not included in FCP7/FCS3.

Professional Audio Podcasting seminar, April 14th in Miami

Now is your chance to attend a seminar about professional audio podcast production. You will learn the fundamental differences between tradtional radio broadcasts, live Internet radio, and audio podcasts… and the advantages of the latter; how to design your audio podcast format; the standard elements (intros, outros, bumpers, etc.); hardware and software to produce your audio podcast; how to conduct high-quality telephone interviews; audio editing of your podcast; compression versus normalization; how to add chapters and graphics to your enhanced audio podcast; how to upload your podcast; and how to create an RSS feed which is compatible with iTunes and other podcast aggregators.

The date is April 14th, and the place is Miami, Florida. Although there is a charge of US$100 per person, attendees will receive a coupon good for a 40% discount off of the recommended audio podcast production software for Mac. Click here for more information, or to register.

Roxio Streamer: a free video streaming client for iPhone/iPod Touch

Roxio (a division of Sonic Solutions) has launched Roxio Streamer, a free application for the Apple iPhone or iPod Touch which allows you to do true video streaming of video files from your Mac to your iPhone or iPod Touch. It doesn’t matter whether you are in the same home or building, or anywhere else on the planet where you have either WiFi or 3G access (3G, only with the iPhone 3G). Unlike downloading, true streaming will not fill up the iPhone’s (or iPod Touch’s) memory with the entire videos you watch. The videos you stream can be your own, those you have recorded with your TiVo, or with your EyeTV.

DVKitchen has become a must-have video encoding & publishing tool

I first bought DVKitchen before it even carried that name. Back in June 2008, DVKitchen had a different name, but wasn’t quite ready yet for me to write an article about it. Times change… and for DVKitchen, the changes have been extremely positive. Like other encoding tools, DVKitchen from DVcreators can prepare your video for the web and other devices… but DVKitchen is unique in helping you to determine your ideal settings for that task very quickly… and unique in saving steps in the process of actually publishing your video on the web, and even writing HTML code for you to get your video embedded in your customized player on your website, blog, or in forums. Even if for some reason you must use another tool to encode your video, DVKitchen is the fastest way to determine the ideal settings in that other tool. Without a doubt, the latest version of DVKitchen represents a quantum leap for video content publishers, whether they are planning to deliver video for the web, AppleTV, PS3, WDTV, or mobile devices like the iPhone, iPod, G1, or Blackberry.

Toast 10 Titanium Pro package: a great upgrade

With version 10, Roxio (now a division of Sonic Solutions) offers a Pro bundle of Toast, which includes a total of 12 applications, most of which are multilingual. As many veteran Mac users know, the Toast application was born way before MacOS X (10.0). Back then, Toast was necessary to do something as simple as burning a CD, since before 10.0, the MacOS didn’t include onboard CD burning. Although CD and DVD burning capability is now part of the MacOS X (with much less depth than with Toast), the Toast application has grown quite a bit to cover many other tasks. Without even going into the bundled applications yet, you may know that Toast 10 can now burn data CDs, data DVDs, and data Blu-rays, and span data over more than one disk. Toast 10 can also do simple authoring of video DVDs and Blu-rays, as well as create “AVCHD disks”, which is HD material burned on a standard single or dual-layer DVD, and is playable on some Blu-ray players, and on the Sony PS3. But I’m only beginning to describe what the base Toast 10 application can do!

Sony upgrades 3G HDV camcorders to universal, for a small fee

Readers of my recent articles in ProVideo Coalition, past articles in Latin American magazines, and those who have attended my seminars are aware of the many 25p production advantages over “24p” (23.976p) production, especially when the video is shot on HDV and the workflow is to take advantage of HDMI or HD-SDI capture. Up until now, producers in the USA (and other 60Hz American countries) who have chosen progressive Sony HDV cameras and appreciate the advantages of 25p had no choice but to go through “unofficial channels” to purchase the 25p/50Hz version of the camera. The ones I know are all very happy with the choice and with the workflow. However, they aren’t so happy that after spending so much extra for the camera and optional worldwide warranty, they still don’t have the flexibility of the 60Hz (59.94Hz) modes, in order to be able to shoot at “30p” (29.97p) or even “60i” (59.94i) for a slow-motion shot. Although most of them prefer 25p for their own productions, some of them are also often subcontracted to “shoot only” for other producers who aren’t so informed about 25p, and often request video to be shot at “30p” or “60i”. Fortunately, Sony USA has now recognized the need for a universal version of their 3G (3rd-generation) of HDV camcorders, which now encompass the HVR-S270, HVR-Z5 and HVR-Z7. See details about Sony’s upgrade program later in this article.

Liberating segregated HDTV sets

Unfortunately, many of the latest-generation HDTV sets sold in the USA are segregated, meaning that they cruelly block 50Hz signals on their video input. In some cases, they simply show no picture, while in others, they put up an unfriendly message stating: “Unsupported format”. However, as I explained in my recent comparative article on HD players, both AppleTV and WDTV fortunately liberate these segregated HDTV sets so that they can play 50Hz material (25p, 50p, or 50i) with no problem, along with ±60Hz material. My comment here regarding segregated HDTV sets refers to distribution, since for professional production and post-production, I highly recommend the use of professional HD monitors. So far, all of the professional HD monitors I have used personally or have researched are all free of segregation nonsense and play all desired signals.

AppleTV, WDTV, or Blu-ray: Which one is best to distribute your HD project?

Even if your HD project isn’t destined to be broadcast over the air, you’ll still want to have your client be able to play it on an HDTV set, not just on a computer. The good news is that you have several options to make that happen, including Blu-ray, AppleTV, and the brand-new WDTV device from Western Digital. During this transitional period, it is often the producer who influences the client as to which HD player to acquire. Many producers even incorporate the cost of one of these HD players in the project price and then give the device to the client “as a gift” with the first HD project, if the client doesn’t already own any HD player. It’s great to have options, but you must understand them fully (both their strengths and weaknesses) in order to pick one, two of them, or all of them, depending upon the exact format of HD you have produced, the hardware you own (or are willing to buy), the type of client, and the type of delivery. This article will help you learn the details that will help you make the appropriate decision.

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