|
Week
of Oct 5 1998
|
Oct
9
|
  
Sony has released 2.0 of
Community Place Browser. Community
Place v2.0 is a full VRML97 browser
with Java language support that allows you
and others to build and experience
interactive, multi-media 3D worlds
<http://www.community-place.com/vs/email.html>
Live Picture, Inc., has unveiled a
new release of its Live Picture Image
Server. Ver. 3.0 features an enhanced
internal thread management scheme makes
the server software more bandwidth-smart
by enabling it to better adapt to varying
network connection speeds. Image delivery
performance gains of up to 300 percent are
claimed. A trial version of the Live
Picture Image Server Version 3.0 is
available for download.
A
suite of server-side Java viewers enables
anyone with a standard Web browser to view
Flashpix images, zoomable 360-degree
panoramas, and interactive image objects
without plug-ins. They work with standard
Web browsers, Web TV, network appliances,
and Windows CE devices. Ver. 3.0 also
incorporates several new utilities,
including an image batch converter for
Macintosh and Windows that converts JPEG,
TIFF or Photo CD images into
Flashpix.
Shipping
versions of the Live Picture Image Server
Ver. 3.0 will be available this month. The
Standard Edition is priced from $4,999 to
$20,000. Live Picture Image Servers run on
Windows 95®/NT® 4.0 and Sun
Solaris® 2.5.1 and higher.
<www.livepicture.com>
The Digital Video Conference &
Exposition runs Oct. 13-16 in
Pasadena, Calif.
<www.dvexpo.com>
emediaweekly features the second
part of it's review of digital
cameras. This round looks at
mega-pixel cameras under $1,000. Reviewed
are: Nikon Coolpix 900, Olympus D-600L,
Agfa ePhoto 1680, Kodak DC260 Zoom, Ricoh
RDC-4300. The review notes that while some
of the cameras produce "commercial-quality
output" you'll still get better results by
scanning film.
The
Nikon Coolpix 900 came out on top
for its "design, image quality and price"
though the Agfa ePhoto 1680 and Olympus
D-600L images were considered almost as
good.
<www.emediaweekly.com
review "Digital
cameras shoot it out Part 2: Higher-end
megapixel
models">
ELECTRONIC
BOOKS
The National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST) and the Video
Electronics Standards Association (VESA)
are hosting Electronic Book '98 (it
ends today.)
The
goal of this workshop is to illustrate the
current and future capabilities of a hand
held electronic book (E-Book) and to
identify issues relating to standards and
interoperability for this emerging
technology.
<www.nist.gov
web page "Electronic
Book '98">
ELECTRONIC
BOOKS
Microsoft Corp. has announced it is
joining major publishing firms, ands
electronics manufacturers to establish an
open set of technical standards for
electronic books. The firms announced
today that they have agreed to collaborate
on a common set of file specifications
called Open eBook.
Microsoft
announced that the specification for the
eBook file and format structure is based
on the HTML and XML languages. The
specification will be available free of
charge to all interested users and is
designed to allow compatibility between
many different types of eBook devices,
including conventional PCs and laptops, as
well as the specialized reading appliances
that are now beginning to appear.
<www.microsoft.com>
ELECTRONIC
BOOKS
Meanwhile, Overdrive Systems is
promoting BookWorks, a
software-only system for publishing and
reading electronic books on Microsoft
Windows systems. The BookWorks browser,
developed with Microsoft's Internet
Explorer, provides navigation and
searchability of the book or document.
Pricing is unclear; the prices for their
authoring packages aren't listed on their
website it reportedly costs about $1,500,
and they also seem to have a per-package
license fee (i.e. you pay based on the
number of copies distributed.)
<www.overdrive.com>
|
|
Oct
8
|
CycloVision Technologies has
announced it will license and bundle
Live Picture's viewers with
its ParaShot product. CycloVision
also has the rights to bundle trial
versions of Reality Studio and the Live
Picture Image Server with
ParaShot.
ParaShot
is a 360 degree lens system that works
with mega-pixel digital cameras to capture
panoramic photos. The ParaShot
incorporates 360 degree optics with
unwrapping software to capture
high-resolution donut shaped images,
called ParaFrames, which can be unwrapped
using the ParaViewer software.
With
the ParaViewer software, users can
navigate the 360 degree image with pan,
tilt and digital zoom capabilities on the
Web or within new media applications with
the click of a mouse.
<www.cyclovision.com>
Live Picture, Inc., has announced
an agreement with RealNetworks,
Inc. where the two companies intend to
jointly market and sell the Live
Picture Image Server integrated with
RealSystem G2, RealNetworks
streaming media solution. This
combination, enabled by a free RealSystem
G2 server plug-in from Live Picture,
enables the RealSystem G2 server to
request images from the Live Picture Image
Server using the Internet Imaging
Protocol. The Live Picture Image Server
automatically clips images to the
appropriate region, selects the optimal
resolution, and adjusts the image
compression ratio. It then sends the image
to the RealSystem G2 Server for delivery
to the RealPlayer. Individual Web users
and consumers only need to load the
standard RealPlayer G2 to interact with
synchronized Zoom images, text and
audio.
Both
companies have the option to sell and
promote each other's products on their Web
sites, providing links for downloading
trial software and offer online
demonstrations. The new plug-in is
designed for use with the RealSystem G2
server, and will be available free of
charge from Live Picture when RealSystem
G2 ships.
<www.realnetworks.com>
Macromedia has announced a
marketing and distribution agreement with
IBM. In upcoming versions of its
Web publishing tools, Director and
Dreamweaver, Macromedia will
distribute HotMedia, IBM's
Java-based Internet media technology,
through a HotMedia Xtra for Director and a
HotMedia object for
Dreamweaver.
IBM
HotMedia for the Java environment is a set
of lightweight Java applets that
complements other content creation and
layout tools like Macromedia's Director
and Dreamweaver. IBM HotMedia delivers
just-in-time media playback, with
progressive delivery for fast performance
over slow Internet connections. This smart
playback also enables Web consumers to
select the content that's delivered to the
browser.
A
free public beta of the HotMedia toolkit
is now available for free download.
HotMedia will be available with IBM
Net.Commerce in Q498.
<http://www.software.ibm.com/net.media>
emediaweekly has a review of
Effetto Pronto, a hardware and
software compositing environment
combination for the Mac (think of it as
hardware assisted competition for Adobe's
After Effects.) The $4,995 Effetto Pronto
offers a 3D compositing environment with
defineable lights and keyframable
attributes.
The
review describes the product as
"impressively fast for common compositing
functions" though it does not have quite
as many features and isn't as polished at
After Effects.
<www.emediaweekly.com
review "Effetto
Pronto">
<http://www.videonics.com>
I've added a little more information about
LexMark's just announced
Jetprinter 5770 photo printer.
<yesterdays
news
report>
While there's been a lot of mixed press
about the prospects of Digital
Television transmission, there does
seem to be some good news. CNET
reports that 41 stations from a wide range
of U.S. markets are set to begin
broadcasts in November. This is
significantly higher than the 24 stations
that had been expected to begin
broadcasting. The article contains
estimates of HDTV unit sales for this
year.
<www.news.com
article
"DTV
commitment
surprises">
|
|
Oct
7
|
Last week I mentioned an analog to DV
converter that Sony is
releasing in Japan for approx $250 US. No
word on when or how much it will cost
here, but a DV newsgroup posting pointed
out that this box could be useful for more
than just converting between analog and DV
signals.
Because
the box contains Sony's DV codec (to do
the conversion) it could be connected to a
computer and used to view DV on an NTSC
monitor while editing DV. Currently, many
DV based editing systems (such as Radius'
Edit DV) don't include a hardware DV codec
because it's not needed when transferring
the DV data between the computer and the
camera. But if you try to play the DV file
on the computer you must either use a
software codec which means you won't get
full frame rate, or output the DV signal
to a DV camera and then connect the camera
to an NTSC monitor to see the video at
full frame rates.
With
this conversion box, you could save a lot
of wear and tear on your DV camcorder.
<www.sony.com>
ICE, maker of desktop video and
film finishing products (specifically an
effects acceleration board), has acquired
Final Effects Complete (FEC) video
special effects software including all
intellectual property rights from
MetaCreations Corporation for an
undisclosed sum. ICE also has announced
plans to deliver an accelerated or "ICE'd"
FEC product in the fourth quarter of 1998.
FEC
includes over 60 filters or plug-ins for
use with major desktop compositing
applications such as Adobe After
Effects.
<www.iced.com>
MetaCreations Corporation says
Kodak Company has licensed a
special original equipment manufacturers
(OEM) version of Kai's Power GOO
for Kodak Picture CD. Picture CD,
which might be described as a consumer
version of Photo CD, is currently in test
marketing.
<www.metacreations.com>
<www.kodak.com>
INDUSTRY
HotWired has an article that talks
about Macromedia's come back from
financial peril. The article talks
glowingly about Macromedia switch from
CD-ROM to the web (despite Macromedia's
near stumble when the CD-ROM market dried
up.) The article also mentions Apple's
decline, sighting this as the major cause
of Macromedia's problems (But when Apple
started having problems all of
Macromedia's tools where already
cross-platform - Sigh.)
Anyway,
it makes for interesting reading, and it
also points out that though Macromedia is
doing well at the moment, the size of
their market may not continue to grow the
way it has.
<www.wired.com
article "Macromedia's
Comeback">
LexMark's just announced the
Jetprinter 5770 photo printer that
can print photos directly from a digital
camera's SmartMedia and CompactFlash cards
memory card. It will also save the images
to a Zip drive and then print from that
drive. It prints at 1200x1200 at speeds up
to 8ppm. While it can be used as a regular
printer with a PC, it can't be used with a
Mac. The printer will be available in
November for $349.
<www.lexmark.com>
|
|
Oct
6
|
The latest issue of DV (Digital
Video) magazine --November 1998-- just
arrived on my doorstep. There's two very
interesting articles in this issue. The
first is a transcript of a "conversation"
about the state of DV-based video
production with product managers from
a variety of companies including Radius,
Sony, Panasonic, Intel and Media100. It's
kind of long, but worth reading. The key
points (for me) were:
- DV
(and DVCAM and DVCPRO) are selling well
into the corporate video and Electronic
News Gathering (ENG) marketplaces. In a
year or so, it could be the dominant
consumer format as well.
- "The
most compelling reason to shoot Beta SP
is you already own it."
- A
couple of people questioned the wisdom
of users who buy a camera and use that
as an editing deck; (though if you only
do transfers and don't thrash your
camera too much that might not be a
problem.) It seems that heavy-editing
on the same point can result in tape
errors.
- For
the first time (for me) I saw a mention
of SDI (Serial Digital Interconnect)
which is used on high-end digital
systems.
- Interesting
discussions of compression and what
"lossless" means. (If you can't see it,
is it lossy?) Also, you don't want to
do more than one decompression
/recompression pass if you can help
it.
- When
talking about whether FireWire will be
on computer motherboards soon a guy
from Intel said "There are
300-and-some-odd PC vendors competing
for marketshare in the
Intel-platform space." Does
anyone outside Intel use that term to
describe the Windows PC
market?
DV
usually posts much of the content of the
magazine to their web site after a few
weeks.
<www.dv.com>
And DV magazine in their November
'98 issue also has a comparison of the
DV cameras: Sony DSR-130 ($18,900
-They Liked It), Panasonic AJ-D810
($19,950 -Good), Ikegami HL-V77 ($31,000
-Liked it), Panasonic AG-EZ30 ($3,995
-Liked it), Sony DSR-200A ($5,800 -Okay),
and JVC ENG-2910 ($13,132
-Okay)
I
was surprised that the Sony DSR-200A rated
lower than the Panasonic AG-EZ30, but the
author felt that the DSR-200A wasn't worth
the increased cost over the Prosumer Sony
VX1000. I do wish they had included the
Canon XL1 in the comparison.
<japanese
news
release>
Pinnacle Systems has announced
Studio DC10 plus, a new
offering in the company's Studio family of
consumer video editing products. Studio
DC10 plus shares many features with
the Company's recently introduced Studio
400, including its easy-to-use proprietary
Studio video editing application. Studio
DC10 plus is a MJPEG motion-JPEG
PCI card that captures full resolution
(640x480) video at 30 frames/60 fields per
second.
Pinnacle
Systems' Studio video editing software,
included with Studio DC10 plus, is
designed for consumers. You can drag and
drop scenes in any order using the
Storyboard view and the software includes
100 different transitions (including Video
SpiceRack lite transitions from Pixelan
Software.) Studio DC10 plus also
comes with the TitleDeko character
generator from Pinnacle Systems. TitleDeko
features over 300 looks and styles. With
the SmartSound software, also included,
you can create a custom musical soundtrack
for your movie.
Studio
DC10 plus for Windows 95 or Windows
98will be available at the end of October,
1998, with an expected price of $229 ($30
mail-in-rebate brings price to $199).
<www.pinnaclesys.com>
Are they sure someone hasn't already
done this?
Internet
designer, author and editor Levi Asher
says he has produced and released the
first independent film on CD-ROM,
"Notes From Underground." Using common
desktop video technology and a consumer
camcorder, Asher has produced a
contemporary version of Fyodor
Dostoevsky's classic 1864 satirical novel.
Asher adapted, cast, directed and produced
the 64-minute film which is available for
PC and Macintosh.
Asher,
who with Christian Crumlish co-edited the
first anthology of web-based poetry and
fiction for the "Coffeehouse: Writings
From The Web", also manages the Literary
Kicks Internet web site devoted to Beat
literature.
The
"Notes From Underground" CD-ROM movie
sells for $12.00.
<www.litkicks.com>
CNET reports that Intel and
@Home are working together to
create a digital imaging resource site.
The "Making Pictures," site will
serve as a resource for @Home users
interested in digital imaging. The site
will also include links to digital imaging
vendors, digital camera and scanner
manufacturers, and other service
providers.
<www.news.com
news article "@Home,
Intel develop photo
site">
|
|
Oct
5
|
CD-ROM
Adaptec has announced the release
of the Easy CD Creator 3.5a Update
Patch. This patch includes: CD Spin Doctor
now includes Sound Morph special effects.
You can now preview and adjust cleaned up
audio tracks before actually starting the
recording. In addition to the old option
for threshold-based silence detection,
permits specification of the desired
number of tracks.
Fixed
in 3.5a
- Drive
"pinging" during recording
- Bug
inWindows NTusing the Yamaha
4260
- Renaming
or copying a file 33 characters or
longer in Joliet caused
GPF.
- Recording
or extracting audio tracks (on some
systems), some tracks were truncated by
two seconds.
- After
a Recorder System Test, default
recorder speed was always set to
1x.
- Creator's
window behavior was incorrect under
Windows98 / Microsoft Internet
Explorer
- Validate
Layout caused an error message with the
Bootable CD option when the layout
included files from a floppy
disk.
- Sony
CDU948S would not "stick" at 4x
recording speed and always defaulted to
2x.
- Some
CD-ROM drives were erroneously reported
as being Sony drives (Goldstar, Aopen,
and others)
<www.adaptec.com>
Sony in Japan has announced a small
converter (DVMC-DA1) for converting
between analog and DV signals. The
product is slated to ship on November 20th
in Japan and will cost about $245. The
unit is for NTSC video and I/O is Digital,
S-Video and Composit video.Signal
conversion is bi-directional, two audio
channels from DV input can be mixed to the
analog output, and when converting to
digital either12 bit or 16 bit audio can
be output.
<japanese
news
release>
Forbes online dismisses digital
cameras -- or at least questions the
market for them -- in the article linked
below. Some of the points are worth noting
(such as do most people want to spend the
time manipulating their images?)
<www.forbes.com
article "digital
cameras">
In case I'd forgotten, Adobe sent
me junk email reminding me that PageMill
3.0 for Macintosh is available (and
I can get it for the special price of
$99.)
<www.adobe.com>
Panorama Tools is a free program
which allows you to generate, edit and
transform many kinds of panoramic
images. Version 1.2 has just been
released. Its four main functionalities
are:
- Correction
of images.
- Remove
barrel and/or pincussion
distortion
- Correct
light fall-off at edges of wide
angle shots
- Correct
chromatic errors (color
separation)
- Skew/Unskew
images horizontally or
vertically
- Correct/simulate
tilted film planes.
- Perspective
Control
- Simulates
a shift lens in software
- For
normal and fisheye
lenses
- Remap
from any projection to any
projection
- Warp
and unwarp normal, panoramic and
fisheye images
- Convert
equirectangular LivePicture panos to
QTVR-panos and
vice-versa
- Convert
mirror images (BeHere-setup or
similar) to any panorama and
vice-versa
- Convert
fisheye images to any panorama and
vice-versa
- Unwarp
panorama sections (QTVR and
LivePicture) to edit in Photoshop,
then rewarp and seamlessly insert
back.
- Adjust
images into a panoramic view
- Generate
full panoramic view using any
mixture of normal, fisheye and
panoramic images.
- Built-in
optimizer to find optimum pitch,
roll, yaw, scale for a given image
to fit a panorama
- Built-in
optimizer to find optimum correction
settings for a given
image.
Panorama
Tools requires the new version 3.4 of
GraphicConverter to run. The author,
Helmut Dersch notes that he chose to make
this a plug-in for GraphicConverter rather
than Photoshop becasue Photoshop does not
allow changing image size within a filter
plug-in which would have limited image
quality of many transformations.
<www.fh-furtwangen.de/~dersch>
|
|
|
