Sunday, June 01, 2008

Richard Harrington | 06/01- 04:20 AM

I know a lot of folks who are hesitant to upgrade....  I admit, I’ve been burned by installing updates as soon as they come out… but hey, that’s why I’m an early adopter.  The latest Mac update looks to include several important bug fixes and enhancements.  Here’s a few that tip the scale in favor of installing.

• Addresses an issue with stuttering video and audio playback in certain USB devices.
• Fixes an issue in which certain attached hard drives may not show up in the Finder.
• Includes additional RAW image support for several cameras.
• Improves 802.1X behavior and reliability.
• Improves reliability when using Time Capsule.
• Fixes reliability issues with authenticated RSS feeds.
• Addresses compatibility issues with Aperture 2.
• Addresses reliability issues when performing a full restore from a Time Machine backup.

You can access the update through your Apple Menu....  I’ve been running it for several days and all seems happy.  Additionally, several new pro digital cameras were added for Raw support.

Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Adam Wilt | 05/07- 06:27 PM

I obtained a new, 4K resolution test chart at NAB, and aimed RED ONEs running build 15 version 2.2.5 at it using four different lenses: a 50mm Super Speed, a 50mm Ultra Prime, a 18-50mm RED zoom, and a 24-290mm Optimo. Cutting to the chase: I’m pleased to report that I see detail extinction at about 3.2K, confirming the numbers RED and others have claimed.

Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Scott Gentry | 05/06- 07:25 AM

BOXX Technologies Inc., an innovator in high-performance computing systems for visual effects (VFX) and design professionals, today released a Special Edition 3DBOXX workstation that delivers unmatched dual- processor workstation performance by maximizing the power of two Intel Core 2 Extreme processors. Benchmarks computed by BOXX Labs indicate 23.2 percent more performance on Cinebench 10 for the Special Edition compared to the world-record setting 3DBOXX 8400SE.*

The Special Edition 3DBOXX is designed specifically for digital artists who push the limits of dual-processor architectures because of the frequency at which they perform compute-intensive tasks. 

“Once again, BOXX Labs has demonstrated its ability to deliver jaw-dropping performance in a dual-processor workstation, this time by seizing a unique opportunity to optimize the processing power of two Intel Core 2 Extreme processors. The latest Special Edition 3DBOXX remains cool and quiet thanks to a unique, high efficiency liquid cooling solution,” said Francois Wolf, director of marketing at BOXX Technologies. 

Digital artists who are frequently called upon to create complex effects such as simulated water, rain, or fog will find this new Special Edition perfect for frequent rendering. Other effects such as the simulation of hair or fur, or muscle and skin behavior, also require the highest performance in order to maintain a fluid level of interactivity between the artist or designer and the software. The new Special Edition 3DBOXX provides the best possible performance level within the 3DBOXX enclosure. 

"The performance and energy efficiency of Intel’s Core 2 Extreme processor has provided BOXX the ideal computing platform for its Special Edition 3DBOXX workstation with the power for special applications used in animation, visual special effects and design,” said Boyd Davis, general manager of Intel’s Server Products Group Marketing. 

Pricing and Availability
Base configurations for the Special Edition start at $7,722 or a low monthly lease of $256.37

Monday, April 28, 2008

Adam Wilt | 04/28- 12:14 PM

I spent NAB 2008 walking around, looking for gear for our production company and getting a feel for where things are headed in general. I took away several strong impressions about where the industry is going—as well as a couple of interesting toys.

Monday, April 21, 2008

Terence Curren | 04/21- 09:57 PM

With Avid and Apple missing from the convention floor, I was hoping this would be a good year to hunt through the little booths and find something new. While I did stumble upon several cool new products, one impressed me more than anything else on the floor. This was a new monitor from a company I had never heard of.

If you have been following the “Death of the CRT” and “What are going to replace it with” threads over the last few years, you are aware of the problem we face. If not, here is a quick summary. LCDs suck for critical monitoring of video! Plasmas are a close call but don’t come in any size smaller than about 40”. So that leaves us with a poor substitute. One company, eCinema has created a monitor that actually solves the lack of blacks in an LCD. But it costs a LOT!

So imagine my surprise when I walked into a little draped off room and spotted three nice looking monitors in a row. The catch was, only the one in the center was a CRT. The other two were examples of a coming technology called Field Emission Technology, or FED for short. This is a variation of the SED technology that we have been waiting for since at least 2004.

The blacks were so black that I couldn’t discern where the letterboxing ended and the black frame began. Looking off-axis, the picture held up all the way to the edge of the screen. That’s 90 degrees off axis! The depth of the monitor was a little more than a standard LCD. And it wasn’t generating any significant heat. Wow!!

Of course trying to get pricing and release date information from the poor guy who seemed to know 25 words of English was an exercise in futility. But I was able to learn from later research that this company is a spin off from Sony who started the work with this technology. I don’t know if this is Sony’s way of trying to avoid getting caught up in the huge lawsuit surrounding the SED technology. And I don’t care. What’s important is that I’ve seen the technology in action and it works!

You can check out the sparse website at Fe-tech-co.

I’ve seen the future, and I finally have hope for monitoring in my world.

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Adam Wilt | 04/19- 07:51 PM

Softron’s OnTheAir Video: playlist automation for OS X

Softron Media Systems demoed their suite of fully Mac-native broadcast automation apps, with OS X compliant user interfaces. Their capture and playout apps use AJA or BlackMagic cards, standard codecs, and are AppleScriptable. Never heard of Softron? They’ve been in TV Stations in Europe and Asia for several years; in Russia this past year; they’re just now coming into North America. If you’re interested in Mac-flavored broadcasting, dowload demo software or the user manuals and see for yourself.

Of course, there are other Macintosh broadcast apps—BUG.tv is also Mac-centric, and Building4Media‘s front ends are cross-platform—but I thought Softron deserved a look since they’re new to our market.

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