• Blogs
• Forums
• Tradeshows
• Partners
• White Papers
• Events

HD Focus

Nov 29, 2004 10:49 AM

Final Cut Pro HD
By S.D. Katz
Final Cut Pro HD is really Final Cut Pro version 4.5 with the ability to natively edit compressed HD and to download the same source footage over FireWire using standard drives. Apple’s release of Final Cut Pro HD was one of several similar NLE announcements at NAB. Just about everyone was touting an HD solution. Apple, however, has the edge with price and performance and the well-deserved momentum behind this hugely popular editing solution.

To make HD as easy to use as DV, Apple chose to partner with Panasonic. The HD aspect is based on DVCPRO HD 100 providing native support via the Varicam codec. The basic specification for Panasonic’s HD is 100Mbps with 4:2:2 sampling. The codec permits both 720p and 1080i to be sent over standard FireWire. Final Cut Pro HD automatically extracts 3:2 pulldown from 720p, 24fps Varicam video. According to Panasonic, DVCPRO data rates vary between 5.4Mbps and 14Mbps, well below the sustained transfer rates of inexpensive FireWire drives. FireWire 400 delivers approximately 30-plus Mbps sustained transfer, and the newer FireWire 800 delivers approximately 40-plus Mbps sustained transfer.

If you happen to like the Panasonic line of HD cameras, for example, the AJ-HDC27F, you’ll think Apple has done a great job of taming HD postproduction. A 120G FireWire drive can hold two hours of 60fps, 1080i video and close to five hours of 24fps, 720p video in the Varicam format. Editing is accomplished natively, so there is no generational loss unless filters are added. In this case, only the filtered areas of the video are recompressed. In most cases, the effect itself masks the appearance of any artifacts.

In tandem with the NAB launch of Final Cut Pro HD, Panasonic debuted the AJ-HD 1200A deck that can transfer 720p and 1080i material into Final Cut Pro HD over FireWire. The deck is priced around $21,000, making the total system price of a G5 (with Final Cut Pro HD and monitor) less than $30,000. But you can certainly get by with renting a deck or using a camera as a VTR to save yourself $21,000.

Apple continues to push the envelope for desktop performance. Many of the gains in Final Cut Pro have been built around Apple hardware and OS X. Final Cut Pro HD works on a dual 1GHz G4, but for HD a G5 is preferable, including a dual processor with at least 1G of RAM. Considering the affordability of G5 systems, this is reasonable. You’ll also want to have a 1920x1200 Cinema Display as a playback monitor. You can use Final Cut Pro’s digital cinema desktop feature to playback full-resolution HD in realtime as you edit. In that case, your main monitor could be the new 30in. Apple monitor. The Nvidia card in the new G5s supports dual 30in. monitors or a 30in. and 23in. combo. From a display and interface standpoint, that arrangement makes for a great working environment. The 23in. Cinema Display is not suitable for evaluating color for broadcast, but it works fine for judging image quality, artifacts, detail, and general aesthetics.

When Apple added HD support, it was necessary that it be comparable to the DV experience to which Final Cut Pro users are accustomed. This translates to seamless playback and lots of realtime effects. I spent a few days working with the HD footage in both 1920i and 720p formats on a G5—dual 1.25GHz G5 with 4GB of RAM— with video stored on a standard 120GB FireWire drive. As promised, basic HD editing performance was indistinguishable from editing in DV. The system was stable, and I experienced no dropped frames or performance interruption.

Final Cut Pro HD has approximately 200 effects and transitions, most of which perform in realtime for preview in 1080i or 720p formats. “Preview” is the active word here. RT Extreme offers a variety of playback options. These options include guaranteed, safe, or unlimited modes. You also have an option of using low-, medium-, and high-quality playback. Since you can apply multiple effects to a single shot, the realtime playback claim cannot cover every situation.

For instance, using the basic color correction tool in realtime is stunning. However, the more advanced secondary color correction tool does not update as you move the correction sliders. The correction takes place when you stop moving the slider. Not bad, but not interactive. It’s possible to do relatively significant color correction in realtime, but there are limitations for any complex work.

Regarding the 200 other filters, I was able to pile on an effect per clip, including blurs, color correction, mirror, and rotate while cross dissolving between clips, all of which played back in realtime at the highest setting. I then applied a color correction and Gaussian blur at 50 percent to two adjacent clips and cross dissolved between them. I was able to play this back at full resolution and high quality without a hitch. However, when adding a third effect to each of the two clips, I experienced dropped frames and received a warning message. By turning the quality setting down to medium, I was back to smooth performance with little or no change in the image’s appearance. I was playing the DVCPRO footage back from an older FireWire 400 external drive. Apple recommends using the fastest drive possible for HD. However, if your editing requirements are not effects-heavy, HD performance from a basic FireWire drive could be all you need.

Apple claims that dual-processor G4s will give some degree of realtime playback at the lowest settings, but anyone seriously expecting to shoot and edit with HD would be foolish to edit a paying project on anything but the very competitively priced G5s.

One last note about performance: The internal processing of critical effects—color correction, cross dissolves, blurs —is calculated at 4:4:4:4 high-precision YUV (32-bit floating point). It’s also important to keep in mind that Final Cut Pro HD can edit uncompressed HD in most formats and frame rates. You just won’t have realtime performance for effects processing or be able to play back sequences without a disk array.

Not everyone who edits HD in Final Cut Pro HD will want to shoot on DVCPRO HD, but may still want realtime editing performance. Aja Video Systems’ Kona 2 SD, HD, and dual-link HD capture card can transcode D5, HDCAM, and HDCAM SR to Panasonic’s DVCPRO HD codec, although this means conforming a project when editing is finished. This option allows editors to make decisions while looking at full-resolution HD. Another option for downconverting uncompressed HD to DVCPRO for use in Final Cut Pro HD comes from Blackmagic Design. They recently added support for DVCPRO to its DeckLink HD cards as a free driver upgrade.

At IBC, Apple announced support for IMX and HDV. The latter was particularly significant in light of the recent debut of Sony’s impressive new HDX-FX1 Handycam 1080i HDV camcorder. Although there is no timetable for actual support in Final Cut Pro, the HDX camera from the consumer division and the highly anticipated low-cost HDV camera from the professional division are aimed squarely at Final Cut Pro’s audience.

Final Cut Pro HD adds a few other new features, including direct support for LiveType so that projects can be imported directly without rendering. Changes made to a project in LiveType automatically update in Final Cut Pro. Similarly, files from Motion, the new Apple motion graphics application, drop right into the Final Cut Pro timeline (for my review of Motion, visit www.millimeter.com).

XML interchange format is now supported for sharing project, bin, sequence, and media data with other NLE software. This is a super EDL that preserves all aspects of a project, including edits, transitions, and effects. It even keeps your color correction settings and keyframe data, as well as OS X audio units for audio filters. Of course, the same effects and transitions have to be available in the target system receiving the data. This is a big step forward in standardization and portability.

Final Cut Pro HD was released to keep up with a single industry revolution, but any new version of software raises users’ hopes that their feature requests will be answered. Here are a few of my requests for the next version of Final Cut Pro: background and distributed rendering. Even while extolling the performance of Final Cut Pro HD, there are effects that have to be rendered, particularly if third-party filters are used. This should happen in the background. Distributed rendering is necessary for effects-heavy projects.

In addition, curve controls in the color corrector would be great. While this is not important for my own work, I sympathize with friends who would like to see realtime mixed formats in the timeline.

Media management is not up to the standards of the rest of the program. This is one of the last areas of superiority that Avid can claim. Adobe has been looking at the few areas that Apple needs to work on, which is why Premiere Pro’s sequence archiving has capabilities that Final Cut Pro lacks. For example, the ability to select handles for shots used in an edited sequence when backing up to tape. Final Cut Pro HD would be a small release apart from HD support, but Apple wisely made this a free download for users of Final Cut Pro 4. Upgrades from older versions are $399. This makes it a big win in an increasingly competitive market.

Apple surprised everyone five years ago when it took aim at the supposedly entrenched NLE players. Now it has to keep Final Cut Pro on its toes to stay ahead. Final Cut Pro HD is solid proof that Apple intends to hold on to its mindshare and loyal users with well-designed products and excellent value. This is good news for editors and filmmakers alike. Final Cut Pro and Apple hardware remain the best overall buy in the NLE market for indie filmmakers and, increasingly, for professional editors.

Prime-Time HD Finishing Accelerates with Avid DS Nitris
Avid announced that 28 television shows for the 2004-2005 season are being finished in high definition with Avid DS Nitris systems. This represents a nearly 40 percent increase over the number of programs created with the Avid DS family in the previous season, and underscores the rapid and widespread acceptance of the Avid DS Nitris system.

Top Los Angeles-based postproduction facilities Technicolor Creative Services, Modern VideoFilm, Matchframe Video, and two Ascent Media companies, Encore and Level 3, are using multiple Avid DS Nitris systems to finish the following shows in HD: Without a Trace, 24, Dr. Vegas, Jonny Zero, Las Vegas, The Office, Third Watch, The Benefactor, North Shore, Malcolm in the Middle, What I Like About You, Smallville, The OC, Desperate Housewives, Joey, LAX, as well as episodes of Joan of Arcadia, Battlestar Galactica, Drawn Together, American Dreams, Eight Simple Rules, Still Standing, Crossing Jordan, Drake and Josh, Lost, Two and a Half Men, Zoey 101, and the upcoming mini-series Empire.

Marco Bario, Technicolor Creative Services vice president, stated, “As one of the first companies to use the Avid DS family of systems for long-form broadcast projects, we found that the online process integrated seamlessly into our editorial pipeline. The greatest advantage for our customers is that the DS Nitris protocol allows them [and our editors] to take full advantage of the metadata as part of the Avid offline capabilities, such as repos, speed changes, titles, and DVE moves. Finishing shows is now much easier with all guess work eliminated.”

Moshe Barkat, president of Modern VideoFilm in Los Angeles, said, “Last season, we finished only a third of our prime-time shows in HD. Now, we’re up to near 95 percent. There’s no question that HD has arrived in full force. For this type of work, Avid DS Nitris is an extremely important factor in the various solutions for HD editing.”

Ascent Media companies Encore and Level 3 use the Avid DS Nitris system for compositing, color correction, editing, and multi-format mastering. Bill Romeo, senior vice president, sales and marketing, Ascent Media Creative Services, said, “We’ve seen significant growth in the demand for HD services over the last three years. Today, over 70 percent of the projects in our facilities involve HD at some stage of the postproduction process.”

The 2004-2005 season also marks the arrival of new HD trends that are helping to drive the increased adoption of the Avid DS Nitris system. Both Casino and The Benefactor are the first two reality shows created with end-to-end HD workflows from capture to air. A number of veteran shows--24, Third Watch, Joan of Arcadia, and What I Like About You--have transitioned the capture and finishing process from SD to HD. Other shows that continue to be acquired on film, such as the long-running Malcolm in the Middle and Smallville, and the new shows Joey and North Shore, have moved from SD to HD finishing with the Avid DS Nitris system.

“Facilities need it all--fast conform, deep toolsets, and realtime performance,” said Barry Nulman, Avid’s director of entertainment market development and western operations. “Avid DS Nitris delivers all those capabilities, and it supports all the popular HD formats and resolutions out there. And now with Avid DNxHD, the system offers realtime, 10-bit HD collaboration over a shared-storage network and with broadcast-quality resolution, even over multiple generations.”

About Avid Technology, Inc.
Avid Technology, Inc. is the world leader in digital nonlinear media creation, management, and distribution solutions, enabling film, video, audio, animation, games, and broadcast professionals to work more efficiently, productively, and creatively. For more information about the company’s Oscar, Grammy, and Emmy award-winning products and services, please visit: www.avid.com.

HDLink v1.5 from Blackmagic Design
Blackmagic Design announced the immediate availability of HDLink Utility v1.5, which provides new features for its popular HDLink DVI monitoring converter.

HDLink Utility automatically uploads new firmware to USB connected HDLink devices and adds new features for color settings, as well as adding a new standard definition anamorphic mode for 16:9 display.

HDLink Utility v1.5 also adds the ability to save settings and lookup tables to the host computer for sharing with other HDLink DVI converter units, which is great when setting up multi-display installations where color accuracy across many displays is critical.

New Features
Anamorphic 16:9: Anamorphic 16:9 stretching of standard definition video is available and enabled through a new setting in the HDLink Utility. This feature can also be used in conjunction with double size display if the user's LCD display is high resolution.

New Color Control: Lift, Gain and Gamma controls have been improved and now allow for numerical entry, as well as increment and decrement buttons for fine adjustment.

Saving of Gamma Tables and Color Settings: 10-bit Gamma tables can now be saved to a file so they can be loaded into other HDLink devices, and this allows for uniform color settings for various types of connected DVI displays. Color settings can also be loaded from a USB-connected HDLink and then modified or saved back into the HDLink or to the host computer hard disk.

HDLink v4.7 includes all new features and is available now to all registered users from the Blackmagic Design website at no charge. Check www.blackmagic-design.com for download.

HDLink is available now from authorized Blackmagic Design resellers worldwide starting from a low US$695. Please check www.blackmagic-design.com for more product details and reseller locations.

About HDLink
HDLink connects postproduction quality SDI video directly to any supported DVI-D based LCD computer monitor for true HDTV resolution video monitoring. HDLink's compact design combined with full-resolution HD make it the perfect choice for postproduction studios, edit suites, telecine, or even location video shoots.

Because every single pixel in the SDI video standard is mapped digitally onto the pixels of a 1920x1200 resolution LCD display, a perfect digital pixel for pixel HDTV image quality is obtained. HDLink is perfect when working in HDTV, where even large 23in. CRT based monitors can't display the full resolution of the HDTV signal. HDLink lets users see everything in a HDTV image, so you know exactly what your images look like.

HDLink is the world's first full HDTV resolution 4:4:4 monitoring solution, and supports both standard definition SDI and HD-SDI based inputs, as well as Dual Link HD-SDI 4:4:4 input for full resolution color monitoring. HDLink also includes high quality analog audio outputs for a complete video and audio monitoring solution.

Dual Link HD-SDI 4:4:4 is the newest television standard using two HD-SDI video cables for twice the color resolution. Conventional SD and HD video is 4:2:2 based, which limits color detail to half the original image resolution. Dual Link 4:4:4 HD video preserves the full HD color resolution all the way through the production chain from film to broadcast.

HDLink supports all SDI-based formats from standard definition, HD-SDI, and Dual Link HD-SDI for the best image quality and format flexibility. HDLink's SDI video inputs automatically switch between SD, HD-SDI, and Dual Link HD-SDI video formats. Unlike CRT-based monitors, HDLink supports all HDTV frames rates and formats. Standard definition NTSC and PAL video formats are also supported.

Video payload identification ancillary data, as per SMPTE 352M, is also used for automatic input format recognition and RGB/YUV color-space detection.

Color precision is the highest 10 bit in SD and HD formats, and up to 12 bit RGB or YUV in Dual Link HD 4:4:4 modes. Video data is automatically rounded down to the bit depth of the connected LCD display for superior quality.

For matching LCD display colorimetry, independent 10 bit RGB gamma tables are fully adjustable via a high speed USB 2.0 host computer connection. Customizable gamma tables also allow film industry log video to be converted to linear for monitoring when used for feature film work.

Control software is available for both Mac OS X and Windows XP, with USB 2.0 connectivity allowing firmware upgrades via internet downloadable updates.

HDLink supports all DVI-D based digital computer displays. For 1080 and 720 HDTV formats a 1920x1200 (16:10) resolution display is recommended. However, if working in 720 HDTV formats only, then a lower cost 1280x800 resolution display is recommended. When working in NTSC or PAL, HDLink can 2x oversize the displayed image, making viewing easier.

Adaptive pulldown processing based on a built-in PowerPC microprocessor allows support for a minimum display frame rate of 60Hz, as used on the Apple HD Cinema Display. However, any frame rate from 48Hz to 72Hz is recommended for LCD compatibility. HDLink will automatically adjust native display resolution using VESA E-EDID1.3 eliminating switch settings.

Audio outputs on HDLink are de-embedded from the SDI input and then converted to analog at an incredible 24 bit. Audio is output through consumer-compatible analog outputs on RCA connectors, letting you connect to standard HiFi systems.

HDLink Features Summary:
* SDI 4:2:2 and 4:4:4 support.
* HDTV format support at 1080 lines at 24P, 25P, 30P, 48I, 50I, 60I,
* HDTV format support at 720 lines at in 30P, 50P, 60P.
* Standard definition format support: NTSC, PAL.
* Pixel-for-pixel support on LCD displays.
* Color precision support: 4:2:2 10 bit, 4:4:4 10 bit, 4:4:4 12bit.
* Color space support: 4:2:2 YUV, 4:4:4 YUV, 4:4:4 RGB.
* Gamma correction via independently adjustable 10 bit lookup tables.
* Support for video payload identification ancillary data as per SMPTE 352M.
* Supports DVI-Digital compatible displays.
* Automatic adjustment to native display resolution using VESA E-EDID1.3.
* Adaptive pulldown processor guarantees smooth motion display.
* 2x resize of NTSC and PAL on 1920x1200 pixel displays selectable.
* Analog 24 bit audio output using RCA connectors.
* Audio output employs soft-mute technology to eliminate audible glitches when input video modes change.
* Functions as a standalone audio decoder if no display attached.
* USB 2.0 High Speed (480Mb/s) interface.
* Firmware upgrade via USB on Mac OS X and Windows XP.
* Interactive gamma table manipulation via USB.

About Blackmagic Design
Blackmagic Design manufactures the world's highest quality video cards for the postproduction and television broadcast industries, and its founders have been developing SDI video cards since 1994. The latest DeckLink family of leading quality video cards has changed the industry and made uncompressed video and HDTV production tools more affordable for everyone.

Blackmagic Design is the industry leader with an impressive list of firsts. These include the first uncompressed 10 bit QuickTime video card for Mac OS X, the first uncompressed realtime effects on Mac OS X, the first 10 bit uncompressed video card to also offer compressed video modes, such as DV, and DVCPRO HD, the first Cinema Tools compatible film editing solution, the first HD realtime effects, and the first film quality uncompressed 10 bit HDTV QuickTime card.

Blackmagic Design is the only company founded by leading editors and engineering people from the postproduction industry, and is the only video product manufacturer to have real world video production as a core part of its business. This industry knowledge and experience from our Singapore postproduction operations is constantly fed back into our products.

Blackmagic Design has sales offices in Las Vegas, Amsterdam, Tokyo and Singapore. Blackmagic Design's headquarters, manufacturing, and development facility is located in the post production district of South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow added to HDFEST New York Film Festival Line-up
HDFEST announced that a special screening of Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow will be presented at the HDFEST New York Event. The screening will take place on Sunday, Dec. 5 at The Tribeca Grand Screening Room, 2 Avenue of the Americas at 7:30pm.

HDFEST is pleased to present this breakthrough film, which is one of the world's first major motion pictures created using high-definition technology. Paramount Pictures' Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, written and directed by Kerry Conrad, features special effects never seen before in cinema. In addition to Sky Captain, HDFEST film festival events include screenings of new films created using high-definition technology, as well as panels and seminars focused on HD.

A unique synthesis of high-definition technology and bluescreen, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, marked a historic moment in motion picture history when it was theatrically released this past September. It was created entirely against bluescreen, and after initial filming was completed, each frame was filled in digitally. The movie follows famous scientists around the world who have mysteriously disappeared and reporter Polly Perkins (Gwyneth Paltrow) and ace aviator Sky Captain (Jude Law) are on the investigation.

On Sunday, Dec. 5, HDFEST will also present a special screening of another science-fiction film created with high-definition technology: Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation. Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation was directed by legendary Visual Effects Supervisor and Producer Phil Tippett. This presentation will take place at the Tribeca Grand Screen. The HDFEST New York event also includes a variety of screenings of independent high-definition films on Saturday, Dec. 4 at the Goldcrest Screening Room from 6:30pm-11:30pm. All the films being screened at HDFEST showcase a wide range of techniques using digital technology and originate on a variety of high-definition cameras. The panel discussion entitled "How the Independent Filmmaker can Benefit from HD Technology" will also take place Saturday, Dec. 4, and will include HD directors and industry experts speaking about their experiences with the technology and offering advice to new HD filmmakers.

The HDFEST 2004 World Tour began this past May in Sydney, Australia. Additional 2004 HDFEST events were held in London, Finland, South Florida, and Los Angeles. During this year's HDFEST 2004 World Tour, more than 40 different high-definition films have been screened. In addition, 15 unique HD panel discussions have been held, focusing on a variety of topics surrounding digital cinema, HD filmmaking, editing, and the future impact of HD digital technology. HDFEST's 2004 World Tour is presented by Discreet; additional sponsors include Filmmaker Magazine, On Sight, Goldcrest Post Production, Gecko, Midtown Video, Digital Pictures, The Los Angeles Film School, Forman HiDefinition Screening Room, The Hollywood Reporter, Film Threat, Production Update, Production Hub, Widescreen Review, Tape Online, and Film and Video Magazine.

HDFEST events Saturday, Dec. 4 will be held at the Goldcrest Screening Room, 799 West Washington Street. On Sunday, Dec. 5, events will be held at The Tribeca Grand Screen, 2 Avenue of the Americas. Tickets for the New York HDFEST events can be purchased through HDFEST's website www.hdfest.com/tickets.htm. Tickets to all New York screenings are $8, admission to the award ceremony and party are free of charge with advance reservation. For information about HDFEST New York, sponsorship of 2005 events, or additional festival information, please visit www.hdfest.com or call 321-206-5343.

About HDFEST
Since 2000, HDFEST, "the world's only high-definition film festival," has been screening some of the world's finest High-Definition projects exclusively in HD format. HDFEST events also include panels and seminars on HD technology and digital cinema. www.hdfest.com

About Discreet D
Discreet offers "industry-leading solutions designed for digital media creation, management and delivery across all disciplines from visual effects, editing/finishing and color grading to animation, game development, web/interactive, and design visualization." www.discreet.com

© 2008 Penton Media, Inc.