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MillimeterNAB 2006
Mar 5, 2006 12:30 PM, By S. D. Katz, D. W. Leitner, and Dan Ochiva
More for Your Digital Dollar
Grass Valley Kayak HD switcher
Telecines & Scanners
Film-to-data continues to evolve, if ever so incrementally. Cintel will bring a working 35mm version of its economical 2K/4K scanner called diTTo — three-color RGB light source, solid-state sensor, inexpensive PC control interface — which it launched at IBC in September. Arri will showcase a speed upgrade for Arriscan, which now can achieve 3fps for 3K scans (for oversampling of 2K work).
— D.W.L.
Kodak Display Manager
Color Correction & Color Management
For DI color correction, Da Vinci will be at NAB 2006 with the latest tweaks to 2K Plus, Quantel with Pablo, Pandora with PiXi, and Thomson Grass Valley with its six-vector color correction for Spirit 4K. But the PC-based kids are growing up too: Autodesk Discreet Lustre, Iridas Speedgrade, Assimilate Scratch, Nucoda, Silicon Color Final Touch, and Synthetic Aperture Color Finesse. Often as not, they're no longer one-trick ponies, bringing powerful edit, effects, and conform capabilities to the mix. (Autodesk will introduce Incinerator 1.0, a network-based acceleration system for Lustre.)
Scanner manufacturers have joined the color management drumbeat, providing LUT (look-up table) management for scanners and preview LUTs for color correction systems. Arri will introduce its Arri Color Management System for Arriscan, for example. On the display end, Kodak will introduce version 4.0 of its Display Manager System for accurate matching of display color and luminance to film recorder output and projected film prints.
As we stand at the brink of an unprecedented mix of display technologies with assorted contrast capabilities, colorimetries (dyed RGB filters, dichroics, and CRT and SED phosphors), illuminations (tungsten, fluorescent, LED, and xenon), and dimensions (how to ensure reasonable color on an iPod), color management emerges a critical artistic issue. Come to the show floor of NAB 2006 and see what I'm talking about.
— D.W.L.
What: Arriscan speed upgrade
Why: Launched at 2004's show, the Arriscan gets its first speed boost to 3fps for native 3K scanning. Why 3K? By over-sampling, the increasingly cool 2K format gains a subtle but noticeable higher-res look. All current Arriscan systems accept the speed upgrade.
What: Arri Color Management System
Why: A software option for the Arrilaser film printer, CMS adjusts the image data while recording. Used along with a 3D LUT, users can preview final looks via digital grading gear from partners Autodesk, Assimilate, Barco, Chrome, DaVinci, Iridas, Nucoda, and Quantel.
