The new AJA Wirecast Plug-in is included in the v12.1 Software for KONA and Io available as a free download here: https://www.aja.com/en/support

“The latest AJA v12.1 software for KONA and Io products adds a new Wirecast plug-in that complements the newest features in the latest Wirecast release,” said Nick Rashby, president, AJA Video Systems. “The new plug-in includes a new AJA Multi Input Config Panel allowing Wirecast users to easily set up their AJA input devices on either the Mac or Windows platform.”

“We’re excited that AJA has extended support for Wirecast to nearly all of the products in their KONA and Io lines, offering a broad range of flexible hardware options to our customers,” said Tom Prehn, Wirecast product manager, Telestream. “AJA’s longstanding reputation for reliability and performance makes their products ideal workflow companions for Wirecast live video streaming productions.”

For more information about AJA’s KONA and Io families of products please visit Safe Harbor.

For more information about Telestream Wirecast please visit Safe Harbor.

The AJA v12.1 driver is compatible with Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 (64-bit) and Mac OS X 10.10 (Yosemite) and OS X 10.9.5 (Mavericks). Aside from being a unified all-in-one device driver across multiple AJA products, new features add support for 4K and UltraHD resolution capture with the Open I/O Plug-in for Avid Media Composer 8.3, along with a new Wirecast capture Plug-in for support for Telestream Wirecast version 5.x and 6.x. The unified installer includes all of the following:

• Device drivers for all currently shipping AJA hardware including KONA 4, KONA 3G, KONA LHi, KONA LHe Plus, Io 4K, Io XT, Io Express and T-TAP
• AJA Control Room capture/playback software
• AJA Control Panel configuration software
• Adobe Creative Cloud Plug-ins
• Avid Open I/O Plug-in
• Telestream Wirecast Plug-in

The new software also includes a host of performance improvements, and is available today as a free download to existing AJA customers here: https://www.aja.com/en/support

To purchase AJA products, please visit Safe Harbor.

“Pro Tools is the audio workstation that redefined the music and post-production industries, providing everything needed to create high-caliber audio mixes,” said Chris Gahagan, senior vice president of Products and Technology at Avid. “With Pro Tools | First, we’ve taken the most powerful, proven, and trusted DAW and streamlined it into a version that’s available to everyone for free, whether they dream of a career in music and are just starting out, or are more experienced and want to give Pro Tools a try. Now users of all levels can start off their musical journey on the right path.”

With Pro Tools | First, artists can quickly turn ideas into professional-sounding songs by recording, using software instruments, and applying audio effects. To expand their creative toolset further, the integrated Avid App Store provides a world of affordable AAX plug-ins and “First” bundles on the Avid Marketplace that make creating, shaping, and enhancing sounds quick and easy.

To accommodate the mobile lifestyle of artists and aspiring pros, Pro Tools | First saves and manages sessions securely in the cloud, enabled by the Avid MediaCentral Platform. This allows users to log into an Avid account and access and work on music from any Mac or PC with Pro Tools | First installed. Anytime changes are made, the project syncs with the cloud as soon as it’s saved. As a special introductory offer, artists can work on and store up to three Pro Tools | First projects in the cloud for free.

In addition, Pro Tools | First will be compatible with Avid Cloud Collaboration when it becomes available, helping artists collaborate together from wherever they are in the world.

Availability

Avid Pro Tools | First will be available in Q1 2015 as a free download through Avid.com. For more information, please visit avid.com/protoolsfirst.

To purchase the full version of Pro Tools, please visit Safe Harbor.

However, times have changed – and so should your import methods. Modern camcorders and DSLRs are now recording video files to memory cards rather than tape. With the new workflow, there is no “capturing” of video footage – video clips just get copied from the camera media, such as SD cards, over to the computer hard drive for editing. Simple, right? Not quite.

Many Premiere Pro users are experiencing various issues with new media types like AVCHD, and many of those issues are often resolved by changing the import method. Problems can include missing audio, glitches in spanned clips, and clips that just won’t play or preview smoothly. First, the user must get the video files from the memory card onto their computer hard drive. Preferably, the video drive will be a fast, dedicated hard drive or RAID array, and not the system drive.

Some camera manufacturers provide software utilities for the transfer and/or conversion of video clips, and those are usually not needed or recommended for Premiere Pro users, as Adobe has engineered Premiere Pro to work with most native formats as recorded by the camera. We recommend a direct copy of the entire contents of the media card, without any conversion or tampering, to a new folder on your video hard drive prior to import into Premiere Pro. Create a unique folder for the contents of each SD card that you copy to your drive, such as “Card 1”, “Card 2”, or whatever suits your style of organization.

Many users will try to dig down through the AVCHD folder structure layers to find the actual video files, and then copy only those files. They might even choose to rename those files, but those actions can lead to various issues. It’s important that the original folder structure and filenames be left completely intact for best results. There can be critical information called metadata included in the folder structure, which Premiere Pro needs to correctly interpret and handle the footage for playback and editing.

SD cards are typically formatted in-camera using the FAT 32 file system, which limits file size. For longer recordings, such as wedding ceremonies and stage events that may run 1-2 hours or more, the video clips get recorded as multiple small files, known as spanned clips. For example, a Sony AX-2000 camera recording AVCHD video creates multiple files of 2GB each for uninterrupted recording of long programs.

The original clips look like this on the SD card, representing only two separate recordings made with the camcorder, the first being a few seconds, the second being over two hours worth of spanned 2GB clips –

If the .mts files alone are copied to the hard drive without the supporting AVCHD files and folders from the SD card, when those .mts files alone are imported into Premiere Pro, it can create issues. When the individual spanned .mts clips are placed on the timeline, there is a half-second of audio missing from the end of each clip, creating audio gaps between spanned clip segments as seen in the waveform below.

For best results, import media from your drive using the Media Browser in Premiere Pro, usually found tabbed at the lower left of the Premiere Pro interface, next to the Effects tab. Open it up and browse to the folder where you’ve saved the copied media. There is usually no need to dig down to the video clips themselves – Media Browser will intelligently recognize the folder structures for formats such as AVCHD and will present the available clips to you, with spanned clips showing up as one single, long clip. Once you see your clips listed, simply select the ones you want to work with and drag them to the timeline sequence or the Project Bin, your choice.

By copying the entire SD card contents to the hard drive, maintaining the AVCHD file structure, and using Media Browser for import, many potential issues can be avoided. Proper clip start and end points are also represented in the Project Bin with this workflow.

Besides the elegant handling of spanned clips, Media Browser can also help provide smooth playback of clips that might otherwise be problematic if imported “the old way”. Some clips may be missing their sound when Media Browser is not used. As you can see, there are many good reasons to maintain the file structure of your media and to import using Media Browser for the best experience in Premiere Pro.

When doing a standard file copy from the memory card to the hard drive, there is the rare chance that errors could occur, possibly making a video clip unreadable. Obviously, this would be a big problem with one-of-a-kind footage. Many producers like to use a third-party file copy utility that provides error-checking, verifying that all copied data files are 100% identical to the originals.

Red Giant Software offers Bulletproof, while Sony Creative Software offers Catalyst Prepare, both of which offer video file management and verified file copying for PC and Mac users. Red Giant also offers Offload, which provides basic verified copying of video files to multiple drives on a budget.

Whether you rely on standard file copy methods or use specialty software for that purpose, it’s always a good idea to copy your precious video data to two or more separate hard drives before ever deleting or reformatting the media card. I’ve worked with many users online who’ve copied only the video clips to the hard drive before erasing the card. Without the AVCHD file folder structure, they’ve lost the ability to get the benefits of using Media Browser for import and are stuck with whatever issues they have, such as missing audio or glitchy spanned clips – forever!

Proper file management and workflows with today’s cameras will save you a lot of grief down the road and can provide a more productive and enjoyable editing experience overall.

Bluefish444’s new installer package, 5.13.0, for Windows operating systems adds support for the Epoch Neutron range of SDI and HDMI video cards for use with Adobe CC applications supporting the Adobe Mercury Transmit engine.

Neutron Key Features:

Epoch Neutron cards are fitted with 3x industry standard BNC connectors enabling two simultaneous streams of 2K/HD/SD including video fill+key operations. Each SDI BNC connector is programmable as input or output.

Epoch | Neutron supports 1.5G SDI I/O workflows and the Epoch | 4K Neutron extends this support to 3G SDI I/O configurations allowing 4K 60fps workflows. An HDMI mini connector provides a lower cost 4K/2K/HD/SD HDMI monitoring preview, and allows for colour critical monitoring on consumer HDMI displays supporting Deep Colour.

Adobe Supported Applications:

* Adobe Premiere Pro CC

* Adobe After Effects CC

* Adobe Speed Grade CC

* Adobe Audition CC

* Adobe Prelude CC

Adobe Supported features:

* 8-bit / 10-bit /12-bit SDI I/O

* YUV & RGB colour space I/O

* SD / HD / 2K / 4K Mastering and Monitoring

* SD / HD / 2K / 4K Live Capture

* RS422 Machine Control

* 8 channel AES Digital Audio I/O

* Stereo Analogue Audio Monitoring

Fluid ingeSTore

Bluefish444 adds efficiencies to any Adobe system by providing complementary multi-channel capture software which can be used while simultaneously editing and outputting from Adobe software. A maximum of four SDI signals can be captured in real time to uncompressed file formats using Fluid ingeSTore, or to DNxHD CODEC when using Fluid DNxHD ingeSTore.

The 5.13.0 update adds Epoch Neutron and Epoch 4K Neutron compatibility to the complimentary Fluid application ingeSTore, and DNxHD ingeSTore, available to download from www.bluefish444.com “Bluefish444 has long been a supporter of the Adobe suite of video applications and we are extremely proud to bring Epoch 4K Neutron support with the latest installer release,” comments Tom Lithgow Product Specialist Bluefish444. “Thanks to an all new Low Profile form factor the Epoch 4K Neutron can be installed in any Server, Workstation, or Thunderbolt enclosure available bringing unrivaled quality, flexibility, and portability.” Windows Installer 5.13.0 is available for free from the Bluefish444 home page www.bluefish444.com and brings a complete SDI IO solution to Adobe CC software and the Bluefish444 complimentary Fluid ingeSTore applications.

For Bluefish444 pricing and more information, please visit Safe Harbor.

Bluefish444’s new installer package, 5.13.0, for Windows operating systems adds support for the Epoch Neutron range of SDI and HDMI video cards for use with ASSIMILATE SCRATCH systems.

Neutron Key Features:

Epoch Neutron cards are fitted with 3x industry standard BNC connectors enabling two simultaneous streams of 2K/HD/SD including Dual Link video and fill+key operations. Each SDI BNC connector is programmable as input or output.

Epoch | Neutron supports 1.5G SDI I/O workflows and the Epoch | 4K Neutron extends this support to 3G SDI I/O configurations allowing 4K 60fps workflows. An HDMI mini connector provides a lower cost 4K/2K/HD/SD HDMI monitoring preview, and allows for color critical monitoring on consumer HDMI displays supporting Deep Color.

SCRATCH Supported features:

* 8-bit / 10-bit /12-bit SDI output

* SD / HD / 2K / 4K Mastering and Monitoring

* Stereoscopic SDI output

* 12-bit precision colour space conversions

* 8 channel AES Digital Audio I/O

* Stereo Analogue Audio Monitoring

“ASSIMILATE SCRATCH is a fantastic all around tool for finishing and dailies workflows and a perfect match with Bluefish444 SDI solutions” comments Tom Lithgow Product Specialist Bluefish444. “The all new Low Profile form factor of Epoch | 4K Neutron brings a high quality SDI and HDMI output for use either in the studio or when out on the road in a portable solution.” Windows Installer 5.13.0 is available for free from the Bluefish444 home page www.bluefish444.com and brings a complete SDI and HDMI solution to ASSIMILATE SCRATCH software.

For Bluefish444 pricing and more information, please visit Safe Harbor.

Epoch 4K | Neutron

Bluefish444’s new installer package, 5.13.0, for Windows operating systems adds support for the Epoch Neutron range of SDI and HDMI video cards for use with AVID Media Composer systems. Epoch Neutron cards are fitted with 3x industry standard BNC connectors enabling two simultaneous streams of 2K/HD/SD including video fill+key operations. Each SDI connector is programmable as input or output.

Epoch | Neutron supports 1.5G SDI I/O workflows and the Epoch | 4K Neutron extends this support to 3G SDI I/O configurations. An HDMI mini connector provides a lower cost 4K/2K/HD/SD HDMI monitoring preview, and allows for color critical monitoring on consumer HDMI displays supporting Deep Color.

AVID Media Composer 8 Supported features:

* RGB & YUV Sequences

* Draft Quality / 8-bit / 10-bit Sequences

* SDI / HDMI preview

* RGB & YUV colour space

* SD / HD Digital Cut

* RGB & YUV colour space

* SD / HD Capture

* RGB & YUV colour space

* RS422 Machine Control

* Audio Punch In

Fluid DNxHD ingeSTore

Bluefish444 adds efficiencies to any AVID system by providing complementary multi-channel capture software which can be used while simultaneously editing and outputting from Avid Media Composer software. A maximum of four SDI signals can be captured in real time to uncompressed file formats using Fluid ingeSTore, or to Avid DNxHD CODEC when using Fluid DNxHD ingeSTore.

The 5.13.0 update adds Epoch Neutron and Epoch 4K Neutron compatibility to the complimentary Fluid application ingeSTore, and DNxHD ingeSTore, available to download from www.bluefish444.com

“Bluefish444 is excited to bring the extremely powerful, cost effective Epoch | 4K Neutron cards to the supported list for our AVID customers,” comments Tom Lithgow Product Specialist Bluefish444. “Epoch | 4K Neutron is the most versatile card we have released to date able to be installed into any PCIe capable chassis thanks to its Low Profile, Half Length form factor. Bluefish444 is committed to providing the latest Avid Open IO functionality to ensure our customers are never missing features.”

Windows Installer 5.13.0 is available for free from the Bluefish444 home page www.bluefish444.com and brings a complete SDI IO solution to Avid Media Composer and adds Bluefish444’s complimentary Fluid ingeSTore application support.

For Bluefish444 pricing and more information, please visit Safe Harbor.

Teranex 3.1 update is available for download free of charge from the Blackmagic Design website.

Teranex 3.1 update includes a new centralized control software application called Teranex Setup. Available for both Mac OS X and Windows computers, Teranex Setup lets customers remotely setup and control their Teranex 2D, 3D and Express converters. The software will automatically find Teranex converters on the network and and then take control of all features in the device. Teranex Setup features an intuitive and elegantly designed user interface that makes it easy for customers to access all of the most popular features like source and output selection, proc amp, color correction, aspect ratio, audio mapping and more. Settings made on the computer are changed instantly on Teranex, giving customers the ability to make on the fly adjustments to their live video feeds.

Teranex Setup is ideal for both small post houses and large broadcast customers. Smaller facilities can use it to share a converter with multiple users, while bigger customers can use it to manage and centralize the control of multiple converters on a large network. The new Teranex Setup software is easy to use and supports the latest technologies such as high resolution “Retina” displays found on today’s computers.

Teranex 3.1 update also gives Teranex Express customers an amazing new conversion features for managing high frame rate 12G-SDI connections as now Teranex Express can convert a 12G-SDI Ultra HD video feed into Quad Link 3G-SDI video. This Quad Link 3G-SDI is used on any Ultra HD monitor where the Ultra HD image is made of 4 x 1080HD SDI resolution video “tiles” that are recombined in the monitor as an Ultra HD image. Each of the Quad Link 3G-SDI feeds could also be sent to an independent monitor when creating video wall Ultra HD displays from four 1080HD resolution monitors.

The update supports Ultra HD frame rates ranging from 23.98fps to 60fps. That means Teranex Express can now be used for outputting Ultra HD to a wider range of display devices, including video walls, large LED screens and older 3G-SDI equipment. Because this update adds 30 and 60fps Ultra HD support to Teranex Express, customers now have a choice of up to 227 different types of conversions.

“Broadcasters ask for Teranex quality by name because they know it’s the best way to convert between different video formats and standards,” said Grant Petty, CEO, Blackmagic Design. “The new Teranex Setup software makes it easy to control Teranex converters from anywhere in a facility or studio, and the new Teranex Express quad mode will help customers integrate the latest 12G-SDI Ultra HD 2160p60 video devices into existing HD broadcast equipment!”

Availability and Price
Teranex 3.1 update is available now for download from the Blackmagic Design web site free of charge for all Teranex 2D, 3D and Teranex Express customers.

To purchase Teranex, or for more information, please visit Safe Harbor.

The latest version of the high-end VFX plugin suite has been updated with effects and features that are essential to producing modern, creative looks. This includes the biggest addition to Sapphire in its history: a new feature called “Builder” that lets users create their own effects and transitions.

New and Updated Effects

Sapphire 8 includes these new and updated effects, available on all host applications:

• Grunge: Add a variety of natural-looking elements to dirty up a shot, add sophisticated vignettes, or create complex textures. Choose from a variety of categories: cracks, stains, frost, and more, which can be combined and animated.
• LightLeak: Simulate light leaking into the frame for an organic lighting effect more subtle than a lens flare. Control the color and movement of the lights to add nostalgic warmth and energy to your work.
• DigitalDamage: The modern equivalent of FilmDamage, DigitalDamage simulates digital playback errors and noise, compression errors, and glitches, with seven different damage types that can be combined for additional customization.
• Shake: Updated with two additional modes that result in twitchy and jumpy motion, and new channel parameters allowing for color channel separation as the shaking occurs.
• Crosshatch: Apply a pattern of crossing lines in pencil or chalk to give footage a sketched look. Crosshatch compliments Sapphire’s other artistic effects, such as AutoPaint, Sketch, and Cartoon.

New Features: Builder with Enhanced Preset Browser
Builder gives users the ability to create their own effects and transitions in a node-based workspace for unprecedented creativity and efficiency, thus unleashing the full power of Sapphire.

Notable motion graphics designer John Dickinson says Builder liberates motion graphics artists working in Adobe® After Effects®: “Sapphire Builder really lends itself to creativity and experimentation. It’s like a kitchen or workshop for effects where you don’t need to touch a line of code. After Effects artists will get addicted once they start using it!”

In Builder, users have the flexibility to stack and connect Sapphire effects in ways that were not previously possible in Adobe and Avid® hosts. All new effects and transitions developed in the workspace are saved as cross-host presets, and are loaded as a single plugin onto a timeline.

This flexibility can be especially helpful for editors.

Al Mooney, Senior Product Manager for Adobe Premiere Pro commented, “Adobe Premiere Pro CC users are always pushing the envelope with new transitions and more complex productions. Sapphire 8’s Builder offers users powerful creative freedom to create their own unique transitions with a sleek, easy to use interface.”

Since Builder allows effects to be combined, results that would have taken multiple steps can now be achieved with a single effect.

Media Composer Product Manager Kate Ketcham adds, “We know that many of our customers on Media Composer have relied on the Sapphire plugins for years. With version 8’s “Builder” feature, editors will be able to work with multiple effects much more efficiently, make custom effects to streamline workflows, and create custom transitions for almost endless creative options.”

Builder also contains an enhanced preset browser, which allows access to every Sapphire preset at once. The new browser is based on a “looks first” workflow that promotes browsing presets by theme. This lets users find a look without having to know a specific Sapphire plugin name first, and helps them become familiar with previously unexplored Sapphire effects.

Builder is available on Adobe After Effects and Adobe Premiere Pro CC, and Avid Media Composer®.

Availability and Price

Sapphire 8 is launching with new pricing and purchase options, including the Upgrade and Support Plan and Subscription. More information is available at Safe Harbor.

Fusion R400 RAID USB 3.0

“Our new Fusion R400 RAID USB 3.0 should be on the short list for anyone looking for an affordable, multidrive 1U rackmount storage system,” said Robert Farnsworth, CEO of Sonnet Technologies. “This flexible four-drive RAID 5 SATA storage system is easy to configure and simple to deploy in a server rack and delivers good, reliable operation in a convenient, budget-friendly package. The Fusion R400 RAID USB 3.0 is the perfect complement to our RackMac mini, a 1U rackmount enclosure for Mac mini, to support our small- to medium-sized business and education customers.”

The Fusion R400 RAID USB 3.0 features a high-performance internal storage controller that offers five drive configuration options without requiring additional hardware, software, or a specialized RAID controller card. Drive operation and health status indications are available at a glance with multicolor LEDs.

Drive configuration is as easy as flipping a mode selector switch, with configuration options that include maximum capacity (RAID 0), data protection with optimum performance (RAID 5), most concurrent audio file editing (JBOD), or combining all four drives’ capacity into a single large volume (Span). The 5.0Gbps SuperSpeed USB 3.0 interface delivers optimal performance to any USB 3.0-equipped computer, and can be connected to virtually any computer with earlier-generation USB ports.

The Fusion system provides ideal low cost storage expansion for a Mac® mini (running OS X® Server) housed in either the Sonnet RackMac mini enclosure or xMac mini Server PCIe 2.0 expansion system. A second Fusion system can be connected to a computer for added data security and high availability. The user is then able to configure the computer with popular backup and archiving software to automatically mirror the primary storage system to the second one.

The Fusion R400 RAID USB 3.0 includes a quiet, temperature-controlled fan that operates at a slow speed in most situations but speeds up with more extended or intense disk activity. The unit is compatible with Sonnet’s line of PCIe® andExpressCard/34 USB 3.0 host controllers, and supports Mac, Windows®, and Linux® computers. To allow users the widest-possible choice of high-capacity drives that meet their particular capacity and performance needs, the Fusion R400 RAID USB 3.0 is sold without hard drives.

The Fusion R400 RAID USB 3.0 (part number FUS-R4BR5-0TB) is available now at an MSRP of $349. More information on the product is available at www.sonnettech.com/product/fusionr400raidusb3.html.

More information other Sonnet Technologies products is available at Safe Harbor.