Multimedia
Newsletters
Blogs
Whitepapers
Events
DCP Directory
Mill Directory
Edit Calendar
Advertisers
DCP BlogrollNAB 2008 Update
Apr 14, 2008 12:00 PM, By Jan Ozer
Desktop post at the show.
At the 2008 NAB Show, Microboards Technology will debut the Blu-safe, a small Blu-ray Disc jukebox for online and offline archiving.
Welcome to the pre-NAB roundup, where I'll relay what I know about the products that video-editing and related companies will demonstrate at the 2008 NAB Show. I'll present the companies in politically correct alphabetical order with booth numbers to aid the NAB power walkers among you.
You probably know that Adobe (SL3220) incorporated P2 MXF import/export support into Premiere Pro in late 2007, along with MXF editing in After Effects. If not, read all about it. At the show, Adobe will debut what Sony HD producers have been yearning for: similar support for XDCAM EX and XDCAM HD. Both updates will be available for free to CS3 owners on the first day of the show. Given the hardware requirements, Adobe can't promise it will demonstrate these functions at its booth, but the company mentioned that Sony and Panasonic should have the software up and running in their respective booths.
Adobe will also announce an initiative called “CinemaDNG” for a new, open file format for digital cinema video data, which is based upon Adobe's open file format for RAW still images. The new file format targets the problems created by multiple camera vendors shipping their own proprietary RAW formats, which include downstream incompatibilities during production and archiving. Adobe will announce several founding partners at the show, and the company says it hopes to pull together a working group to help formulate the standard.
AJA Video Systems (SL1413) will show its Io HD, Kona, Xena, and converter product lines, including the recently released Io HD video ingest-and-output device that enables 10-bit hardware-based Apple ProRes 422 realtime upconversion, crossconversion, and downconversion. (See a review of the AJA Io HD.)
Just for the sake of completeness — as you've probably already heard — neither Apple nor Avid will have a booth at the show. Representatives should be there, so you can contact either company to set up appointments.
Autodesk (SL1420) will demonstrate the latest features of its advanced solutions products — including Lustre, Smoke, Flame, Inferno, and Flint — and software products Toxik, 3ds Max, Maya, MotionBuilder, and Mudbox.
Digieffects (SL02128D) will demonstrate its recently released plug-in suite Damage, which simulates a wide variety of digital and analog defects in your video projects. These include Blockade, which makes your clips look highly compressed; Artifact, which simulates lost DCT blocks and frame dropping; Interference, which creates the look of interlaced video fields with noise, colorization, and offset; and Skew, which adds analog/broadcast problems such as noise, image shearing, and ghosts.
EditShare (SL9820) will unveil the Complete Collaboration product line, which includes enhancements to the ingest and server functions and a new backup system called “EditShare Ark.” Upgrades to Flow Ingest include the ability to simultaneously capture Apple ProRes 422 and MXF formats, as well as a low-res proxy format. No transcoding is required; files are immediately available right after capture. EditShare Ark provides integrated solutions for backups, mirroring, and archiving.
Matrox (SL320) will show the PCIe version of Axio LE — a realtime editing platform for Adobe CS3 Production Premium. The product includes multilayer realtime editing of both HD and SD video, graphics, and effects; native MXF file support for Panasonic P2, Sony XDCAM, and Sony XDCAM HD; 24fps editing in HD and SD with pulldown, reverse pulldown, and Panasonic Varicam support; realtime downscaling from HD to SD; and accelerated export to DVD, Flash Video, and Adobe Clip Notes.
