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Week
of Feb 22
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Feb
26
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MetaCreations has released
Headline Studio, a tool for
creating animated Web advertising banners.
Available for both Windows and Macintosh
it is currently only available for sale
online. Headline Studio provides the
following features:
- video
effects such as walk-ins, dissolves and
fades to images and text
- instant
animation previews, GIF file size and
bandwidth previews, customizable
Web-safe color palettes and unlimited
undo
- adjustable
frame rate at any time in the creation
process
Headline
Studio is available for US$169 (not
including manual and CD-ROM.) A packaged
version of MetaCreations Headline Studio
for retail distribution will be available
in approximately two weeks for an expected
average selling price of US$199.
<www.metacreations.com/products/hls>
Artel Software, makers of Boris
FX and Boris AE, is offering two free
After Effects plug-ins: Boris
Z-Order and Boris Rhythm. Boris
Z-Order prioritizes up to 12 layers and
animates their relative distances.
Boris
Rhythm animates geometrics with two
different oscillators using a choice of
waveforms. You can download the free
filters from their website (you must
provide your name and address.
<www.borisfx.com>
Spruce Technologies has announced
DVDMaestro, Version 1.3. The new
version of Spruce's DVD authoring software
adds segment-based re-encoding, audio sync
for concatenated files and support for the
Joliet specification.
The
Segment-Based Re-Encoding feature allows a
user to re-encode completed segments of a
title at any point during the authoring
process without having to re-encode the
entire title.
DVDMaestro
Version 1.3 provides complete support for
the Joliet extension to the ISO-9660 file
system. Joliet allows for long file name
support in Windows 95 and Windows NT. This
is important for versions of Windows that
don't read the UDF file system and ensures
that DVD-ROM content will function
properly on a wide range of Windows-based
PCs.
<www.spruce-tech.com>
Sonic Solutions says that its new
audio workstation, SonicStudio HD,
will include a 48-bit high-resolution data
path that will enable audio mastering
engineers to work with a true -144dB
distortion-free digital audio noise floor,
achieving unparalleled fidelity and sound
quality essential for their work with
High-Density DVD-Audio.
Common
24-bit and 32-bit floating point
processors require that digital audio
signals be truncated to 24 bits following
all DSP operations, adding distortion to
the signal, 48-bit processing removes this
limitation. Designed specifically to
master audio for the new DVD-Audio and
Super Audio CD (SACD) formats, the HDSP
maintains 48-bit data processing in all of
its supported bit depths and sample
frequencies, including multi-channel
192kHz High-Density Audio. No release date
has been given.
<http://www.sonic.com>
The Video University provides an
interesting collection of articles and
technical documents useful for those
interested in video production.
<www.videouniversity.com>
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Feb
25
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The Web3D Consortium has signed a
letter of intent with PLATINUM
technology to execute a program to
place the source of several VRML
97-based browsers and tools into the
public domain, including Cosmo
Player, Cosmo Worlds, Worldview and
Worldview for
Developers,
Under
the agreement between the Web3D Consortium
and PLATINUM, the Consortium will control
the distribution and maintenance of the
source in order to further the existing
VRML 97 standard and to expedite the
development of the next-generation
standard recently announced by the
Consortium: X3D. The Web3D Consortium and
PLATINUM expect to announce additional
licensing details within the next 90
days.
The
PLATINUM products whose source is to be
placed in the public domain includes:
- Cosmo
Player and WorldView: VRML 97 plug-ins
for 3D Web browsing
- Cosmo
Worlds: a VRML 97 authoring
environment
- Cosmo
PageFX -- a tool for designing depth,
motion, and interactivity in Web
graphics
- WorldView
for Developers -- an ActiveX component
that brings the power of the WorldView
platform to Windows application
developers.
<www.web3d.org>
Virtue, a developer of 3D graphics
optimization technologies has announced
that OZ.COM has licensed Virtue's
VCompress technology. OZ.COM has
incorporated the VCompress geometric
compression technology in Fluid3D,
the company's new streaming 3D animation
solution for RealSystem G2.
Fluid3D
utilizes Virtue's VCompress binary format
to transmit the geometric components
needed to render 3D objects on a PC. This
compressed format minimizes transmission
time by allowing a typical Fluid3D file to
be 50-75% smaller than is possible with
other 3D file formats.
<www.virtue3d.com>
<www.oz.com>
Media 100 Inc has started shipping
Finish, the Company's new product
line of high-performance video content
creation systems for Windows NT. Finish
products are designed for post-production,
broadcast, and corporate video producers
and comprises four models, Finish V20,
Finish V40, Finish V60, and Finish V80,
which are priced at $4995, $9995, $14,995,
and $19,995 respectively.
<www.media100.com>
Pinnacle Systems has reengineered
its Deko Family of character
generators to include a new hardware
platform, which provides scalability, and
an upgrade path. Depending on the
configuration, users can now upgrade all
the way to Pinnacle's FXDeko, with its 3D
effects, and high definition formats.
Advanced features such as a Down Stream
Keyer, dissolves, unlimited layers,
database support, and electronic touch-up
paint are now standard. The Windows
NT-based Deko family of character
generators and titling systems offer
resolution independence, 0.29 nanosecond
effective character resolution for
standard definition television, much
higher for HD, and a suite of real-time
effects including: dissolves, wipes and
pushes, rolls and crawls with a built-in
keyer for easy facility integration. Deko
supports any TrueType font. The new Deko's
also include font manipulation tools such
as instantaneous rendering, sizing, and
effects.
The
family includes FXDeko and FXDeko HD
&endash; for 3D effects and transitions,
the Deko2000 for high-end broadcast CG
with 2D motion effects and the Deko100 a
boardset and software CGwhich is
Pinnacle's lowest priced hardware CG
solution.
Pinnacle
has also announced FXDeko HD.
FXDeko HD adds HD 1080I and 720P
interfaces for 3D effects at standard
digital through HD resolutions. As FXDeko
HD is based on the FXDeko platform, it is
available immediately. Any FXDeko can be
upgraded to FXDeko HD.
<www.pinnaclesys.com>
Pat Leong has compiled a list of
aftermarket 1394 Cards and put them
in a matrix. You'll also find a short
writeup of his experiences setting up a DV
system at his website.
<www.geocities.com/Heartland/Plains/3944/dtv/>
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Feb
24
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Adobe has posted a web page that
attempts to clarify why Adobe Acrobat
4.0 is different for the
Macintosh and Windows.
The
primary differences between the
Macintosh and Windows versions of Adobe
Acrobat 4.0 are based on the timing and
availability of features. The core
Acrobat product and the Acrobat Reader
continue to be fully cross-platform.
Additionally, Adobe Portable Document
Format (PDF) files created with Acrobat
4.0 on Macintosh or Windows can be
viewed and printed on 13 platforms and
in 12 languages.
A
few features in Acrobat 4.0, including
Web capture and digital signatures,
were developed first for Windows. We
are currently porting these to the
Macintosh.
If
you would like to be notified when the
Macintosh plug-ins are available you can
register at the web page:
<www.adobe.com
web page "Acrobat
4
Differences">
I received some clarification of how the
SmoothMove Spherical Photo Solution
works. According to Kaidan (makes
of the tripod head) and
SmoothMove:
The
system can work with any camera and/or
rectilinear lens. The ideal choice is a
14mm (e.g. Sigma) lens on a 35mm
camera, as that will provide full
spherical coverage. In this case, you
take two rows of five images. With a 21
mm lens, you would need to take a few
more in each row.
If
you use a narrower lens the number of
shots would correspondingly increase.
We should have more extensive listings
that show camera/lens/shot requirements
in the next few weeks as we approach
1st customer shipment.
Check
out SmoothMove's website for a data sheet
which shows an example of a panorama
captured using the system (see the page
below.) SmoothMove sent me a copy of the
original JPEG file and it looks really
nice. More information will be available
when the system is available in May.
<www.smoothmove.com
web page "Photo
Solution">
iQfx by QSound Labs is a
plug-in for RealPlayer. iQfx is a
new audio enhancer that transforms
RealAudio into 3D RealAudio. iQfx also
turns mono into stereo, features bass
boost, and plugs directly into RealPlayer
G2.
A
before and after demo is available, you
can or download now for $11.95.
<www.realstore.com/specials/rollsound.html>
FAST Multimedia has announced AV
Master 2000. The product features an
all new software bundle and new drivers
(version 2.5) performing on Windows 98 and
Windows NT systems. AV Master 2000 (AVM
2000) allows video files of any length
your hard drive can hold. Among the
highlights of the new bundle is Ulead's
Media Studio Pro 5.2 an all-in-one editing
software package. Cool 3D from Ulead for
animated 3D titles is also included as is
the FAST PowerPlay utility offering
realtime timeline preview playback. The
package remains priced at $799 (MSRP) and
will be available from authorized FAST
resellers in the USA during March.
Registered users can upgrade to the new
AVM 2.5 divers free-of-charge via the FAST
web site.
<www.fastmultimedia.com>
Signafy Inc., has announced the
release of OwnerMark 1.2 digital
watermark software that protects
copyrights of still images such as photos
and illustrations by embedding digital
watermarks into the images. A 30-day free
trial of OwnerMark1.2 is also
available.
OwnerMark1.2
standard version, priced at $99, provides
the owner of a digital image proof of
ownership and supports widely used
graphics file formats
The
OwnerMark Professional Edition, priced for
$499, offers enhanced features including
more file formats, batch watermarking and
manual image registration.
OwnerMark
uses spread spectrum image processing
techniques, to apply a digital watermark
to an image's perceptually most
significant areas by analyzing frequency
levels or details of the image. Signafy's
method makes the watermark in the image
invisible to the human eye yet virtually
impossible to remove.
<http://www.Signafy.com>
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Feb
23
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RealNetworks has released the final
versions of RealProducer Pro G2, a
content creation tool for producing
streaming media presentations, and
RealProducer Plus G2 for Compaq Tru64
UNIX operating system, enabling anyone
to create and publish RealAudio and
RealVide. Also available is the beta
release of RealProducer Plus G2 for the
Linux platform.
RealProducer
Pro G2 lets content creators synchronize
multimedia events: URL flips, RealText
captions, and image links to audio or
video files. Production features include
graphical support for batch processing,
timeline editing, integrated Synchronized
Multimedia Integration Language (SMIL)
templates, and advanced HTML templates
.
RealProducer
Plus G2 is designed for users who need to
create and deploy streaming media Web
pages. The UNIX versions announced today
are optimized for live audio and video
encoding.
Also
announced today, Digital
Renaissance has released T.A.G.
Composer for RealSystem G2, a
graphical tool for designing the timeline
and layout environments of SMIL based
presentations.
RealProducer
Pro G2 isavailable for $499. RealProducer
Plus G2 for Compaq Tru64 UNIX operating
system is immediately available as is the
beta release of RealProducer G2 for the
Linux platform. Both products costs
$149.95.
<www.real.com>
Sometimes I just miss things. While I saw
that Newer Technology had announced
a USB video capture box (uTV)
<Newer
Technology announces uTV USB video capture
peripheral>
I missed the Firewire products
FireStorm AV and FireStorm
DV.
FireStorm
AV allows a composite or S-video source to
be connected to a FireWire-equipped
computer through the FireWire port.
FireStorm AV displays video at up to 640 x
480 resolution and at 30 frames per
second. FireStorm AV uses an external
video breakout patchbay to hook up audio
and video cables.
FireStorm
DV functions under the same principles as
FireStorm AV, however, it serves as a tool
for converting analog video into digital
video and sending it to a
FireWire-equipped computer.
[So
I'm guessing but that probably means that
they're essentially the same but the
FireStorm DV has a DV compression chip in
it. This might make a cheaper alternative
to Sony's
DVMC-DA1-Ed]
FireStorm
AV and FireStorm DV are expected to ship
in early Q2. Estimated street price for
FireStorm AV is $179 and $199 for
FireStorm DV.
<www.newertech.com>
Adobe has announced Version 4.0 of
Adobe GoLive, the first
cross-platform version of this visual Web
design and publishing tool. Adobe acquired
GoLive Systems Inc.'s Web publishing
technologies last month. GoLive 4.0 for
Macintosh is scheduled to ship in March,
followed by Version 4.0 for Windows in
second quarter of 1999.
GoLive
4.0 adds cross-platform support;
redesigned Movie Editor for QuickTime 3.0;
improved support for emerging Web
technologies like the Extensible Markup
Language (XML) and Microsoft's Active
Server Pages (ASP); Adobe PDF integration;
new Site Management capabilities;
CyberObjects enhancements and new
JavaScript actions; user interface
improvements; and new table-editing
capabilities.
GoLive
4.0 is expected to sell at an estimated
street price of $299 (U.S.) Registered
users of CyberStudio Professional 3.x and
below can upgrade for $99 (U.S.) For a
limited time, registered users of Adobe
PageMill and CyberStudio Personal Edition
can also upgrade to Version 4.0 for a
promotional price of $99 (U.S.)
<www.adobe.com>
Spritz Public Beta 5 is available.
Spritz is a freeware tool that creates
QuickTime Movies with Interactive content.
Spritz Beta 5 adds: Drag and Drop support,
Double clickable list views and Outputing
of sprite names to movie info.
<home.earthlink.net/~dmcgavran/spritz/>
Inklination has released
Inklination FineArt 3D, a new
plug-in renderer for QuickDraw 3D that
renders 3D scenes that resemble hand-drawn
pen-and-ink illustrations. It sports nine
built-in rendering styles, plus numerous
variations on each of these styles. The
plug-in works with 3D programs that
support QuickDraw 3D icnluding Microspot
3D World, Diehl Graphsoft Minicad 7 and
Autodessys Form-Z
A
free tryout version is available, and can
be downloaded from Inklination's Web site.
Registration keys, sold exclusively
through Inklination's on-line store, are
used to convert the tryout version into
the full product. For a limited time, a
single-user license costs only
US$39.95.
<www.inklination.com>
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Feb
22
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VR Toolbox will begin shipping
Windows versions of VR ObjectWorx,
VR PanoWorx and VR
SceneWorx, the second week of March
1999. This spring, the company will offer
its yet-to-be-released suite of tools, The
VR Worx, for both Macintosh and
Windows platforms.
The
tools create files that are
interchangeable between platforms. A user
can begin a panoramic project with VR
PanoWorx for Macintosh and finish the same
project by opening the file in VR PanoWorx
for Windows, and vice versa. The Windows
versions encompass all but a few features
of their Macintosh siblings. The built-in
Image Editor is not yet available for
Windows, and VR
ObjectWorx
does not support sound or blue-screening
as its Macintosh counterpart does. VR
Toolbox promises to include these along
with features new to both platform
versions, in future upgrades.
Both
platforms have the same retail pricing
structure: VR PanoWorx and VR ObjectWorx
sell for $149.99 and VR SceneWorx sells
for $89.99.
<www.vrtoolbox.com>
Kaidan has announced a new
camera specific bracket for the
Nikon Coolpix 900/900s, the KiWi
900 (KW-900.) No pricing yet on their
website, but the DC260 KW-260-2, includes
a Kaidan custom tripod head for the Kodak
DC260 camera and special edition of Photo
Vista software is available at a special
price of $495.95 (list price $525)
<www.kaidan.com>
Infinite Pictures and Kaidan
have announced the SmoothMove Spherical
Photo Solution, a product that allows
users to photograph a scene in as few as
ten photos and seam them together into a
full spherical high-resolution panorama.
The SmoothMove Spherical Photo Solution
includes the Kaidan QuickPan Spherical
Tripod Head and the Infinite Pictures
SmoothMove Photo Suite.
Panoramas
from the SmoothMove Spherical Photo
Solution product come from two or more
rows of photos, one of the upper
hemisphere and one of the lower hemisphere
at a minimum (depending on the lens used).
The multiple rows of overlapping photos
cover the entire scene and allow full
vertical views of the scene. A spherical
panorama is then automatically seamed from
ten photos using a standard 35mm camera
and 14mm lens.
["Normally",
when creating VR panoramas you use would a
14mm lens aligned vertically and take
twelve images to create a spherical scene
which doesn't cover the very top and
bottom of the scene. Clearly this
mechanism doesn't work that way, but
there's no description of how it does
work.-Ed]
The
QuickPan Spherical Tripod Head uses a
motion-damped mechanism that rotates the
camera while keeping the center of the
lens fixed around both axes of rotation, a
requirement for seamless spherical
photographic panoramas.
Panoramas
can be printed or output either as
SmoothMove panoramas or as very-wide field
of view Apple QuickTime VR 2.0 panoramas.
Free PC and Mac viewers and Web browser
plug-ins from Infinite Pictures enable
navigation of these panoramas, including
360° panning, 360° tilting,
zooming, and rotation.
The
SmoothMove Spherical Photo Solution
creation software currently runs on
Windows 95/98/NT and is in development for
the Mac. Free PC and Mac viewers and Web
browser plug-ins will be available from
Infinite Pictures‚ Web site when the
SmoothMove Spherical Photo Solution
ships.
The
SmoothMove Spherical Photo Solution will
list for US$1499, and will be available
this April from Kaidan
resellers.
[Note
that Infinite Pictures was originally
using 180 degree fisheye lenses to produce
spherical panoramas. However IPIX has a
patent on that idea, so this solution
seems to get around that problem. Also,
IPIX charges per node, whereas this system
does not.-Ed]
<www.kaidan.com>
<www.smoothmove.com>
DirectXtras has released
DirectFTP Xtra, a Scripting Xtra
for Macromedia Director and Authorware
which provides implementation of the FTP
protocol. Using DirectFTP Xtra, a Director
program can log into an FTP server, get
directory listings and files information,
retrieve files, upload files and perform
other file and directory operations, such
as create, move, rename, append and delete
file or directory.
DirectFTP
Xtra is available for Windows 9X and NT. A
fully functional trial version of
DirectFTP Xtra can be downloaded from
their Web site.
DirectXtras
has also released a Shockwave 7 safe
version of DirectControl Xtra,
so that a program can now use joysticks in
Shockwave applications. The new safe
version is available to all DirectControl
Xtra registered users, free of charge.
<www.directxtras.com>
With CompactFlash,
SmartMedia and Clik! drives,
you'd think we wouldn't need another
choice for digital imaging storage, but
Sony obviously doesn't think so.
They are pushing Memory Stick IC
(integrated circuit) a small integrated
circuit digital storage media. They have
announced several new products which make
use of this technology:
- Cyber-shot
(DSC-F55) digital camera
Weighing just 10 ounces with
battery, this 2.1 million mega-pixel
digital camera features a new hybrid
LCD that absorbs light to generate a
bright LCD screen, Carl Zeiss lens
optics, MPEG Movie Mode for recording
full motion video and audio, a "crop
and save" feature, and a 180
degree-rotational lens. The Cyber-shot
DSC-F55 digital camera will be
available in May for the manufacturer's
suggested retail price (MSRP) of
$999.
- Digital
Photo Frame
A 5 1/2 -inch digital display with a
decorative frame that can showcase MPEG
Movie Mode full motion video or digital
still images stored on Memory Stick
media. Consumers can turn vacation
photos into a "cyber vacation" desktop
slide show, or be reminded of happy
moments with their family with an MPEG
movie of their children. A wave of
one's hand turns on the Digital Photo
Frame with its touchless sensor, and a
sleep timer turns it off automatically.
The Digital Photo Frame will be
available in May for $999 (MSRP)
[This
thing I've just got to
see!-Ed]
- Digital
photo printer (DPP-MS300)
Prints images in JPEG from a Memory
Stick media card, as well as PC cards,
Smart Media and CompactFlash media with
a PC card adapter &emdash; without
connecting a digital camera to their
PCs. The DPP-MS300 prints directly from
digital media, or from VCRs, camcorders
or other video sources through a
standard NTSC video, S-Video or
composite video inputs. The printer is
also equipped with video-out for
playback of images on a TV or video
monitor. A parallel port for Windows
systems allows users direct printing
from their PCs.
Sony's DPP-MS300 Memory Stick printer
will be available in May for $699
(MSRP).
Sony
has also announced higher capacity 32MB
and 16MB Memory Stick . Memory Stick is
currently available in 8MB and 4MB storage
sizes.
<www.sony.com>
Sony has also announced the
DCR-TRV10 mini DV format camcorder,
which includes a 1/4" 680K CCD imager, up
to 500 lines of horizontal resolution
(using video inputs), an i.LINK DV
interface (IEEE 1394) &emdash; plus a
supplied 4MB Memory Stick storage card and
slot. With Memory Mode, photo enthusiasts
can capture up to 100 JPEG images in VGA
on the supplied 4MB Memory
Stick.
The
DCR-TRV10 includes Index Titling which
allows titles to be added or changed after
video has been shot, NightShot 0 Lux
Infrared system for recording in total
darkness, Super Steady Shot picture
stabilization, Stamina battery life, and
more. The DCR-TRV10 will be available in
May 1999 for $1,799 (MSRP).
<www.sony.com>
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