redcentre @ fxguide.fxguide already has a list of why it is a daily stop for me and alot of others but now you have another reason to click the link above and check out a new podcast series geared toward all things Red . redcentre is lead by Mike Seymour and Jason Wingrove who explore all options for working with Red cameras and all the people, equipment,accessories and workflows involved while working(playing) with Red . One of the recent episodes #4 is very interesting besides the great talking points between Jason and Mike they had on a good friend and uber tech Graeme Nattress mainly known for his great plug-ins for FCP,Motion and Color @Nattress.com.I have a little write up planned for Graeme’s plug-ins coming but more on that later.Here are the show notes for ep#4 EP 4 Show notes This is a must have in your podcast line up if you are at all interested in Red and all its goodies. Check out fxguidetv while you are there another huge resource along with FXPHD  FXPHD.COM. Graeme puts the sometimes very technical aspects of Red ,the imager and how linear and log info are managed.This can put to bed some misinformation that may have been passed by others so i suggest for your homework today download ep4 and subscribe to all fxguide related podcasts.

Even though the record has been set straight so many times on this LAME rumor of Apple selling off the Pro Apps to the likes of Avid,Thomson and Adobe nothing could be further from the truth.Rumors have been flying for so long the story still seems to pop up on message boards,chats and podcasts. So if you missed Richard Townhill at NAB FCP Super meet state it then here is for the final time.

Apple has moved to dismiss rumours that it plans to abandon its video products.

These rumours first emerged when the company confirmed it had no plans to exhibit at NAB. But the rumours are false, said Richard Townhill, Apple’s director of marketing for professional video applications.

“I can categorically state, on the record, that is not the case,” he told TVB Europe, adding that the company recently sold its millionth Final Cut Pro license.

The report continues to explain that Apple took 49 per cent of the US professional editing marketing (Avid took just 22 per cent) last year.

Townhill was speaking to TVB Europe to explain the recently released Final Cut Server. While this product was scheduled to ship last summer, Apple had to delay the release in order to ensure it worked correctly, the report reveals.

“The reason we took the extra time to develop it was because we wanted it to work without an IT department to support it,” Townhill explains. Who knows what or who started it maybe it was that salty old Avid editor who wanted to scare the young FCP scouts around the  campfire.(joke)Now that this is squashed yet again can we get on with that other rumor of the mega pro app code named Phenomenon.(go ahead i will wait while you hold your breath for this one)

Flip4Mac

Episode Pro/Flip4Mac tools have been a go to applications for me since it was acquired with a name change by Telestream (previously Compression Master) . It works fast and seamless with Compressor 3 via the plug-in set when installing Episode Pro.Episdoe Engine on the server side makes batch encoding with watch folders a breeze “Set it and forget it ” moto.It is also great to see ,ProRes,RED,Cineon and DPX support for high end workflow’s.Did I mention this is a FREE update. Way to go Telestream team . 

Episode Series Version 5.0 is our latest update for Episode, Episode Pro, Episode Engine and Episode Engine Pro media encoding software applications. This is a free update which adds new features, formats and enhancements in response to your feedback and evolving market needs.Note: Existing Episode Engine customers must receive a new version 5.0 license before they can upgrade to the new version. Customers can request a version 5.0 license by completing the License Request form.

Episode 5.0 Highlights include:

Episode desktop (Episode & Episode Pro) adds:

Encode to new Flash 8 VP6s, Flash 9 (H.264) and Blu-ray (MPEG-2) formats for content authoring and repurposing

Import and export support for ProRes HQ (with corresponding QT component installed)

Log and capture video from tape or live sources with Telestream’s Pipeline network video capture device (available with Pipeline v1.2 in May)

Support for Flip4Mac MXF plug-ins in Episode and Episode Pro enables browsing and importing of content from Grass Valley K2, Profile and 360 Systems servers, plus Sony XDCAM, Ikegami Editcam and Grass Valley Infinity disk-based cameras

High-quality NTSC/PAL video standards conversion, plus other new video and audio filters 

Episode Engine & Episode Engine Pro - in addition to above, adds:

Input support for RED camera, Cineon and DPX formats - preserving end-to-end 10-bit processing, providing the speed and quality required for digital film/telecine workflows

Integration with Final Cut Server, Apple’s powerful new media asset management software - Episode Engine extends support to virtually any format

Edit or transcode while capturing video with Pipeline - for faster throughput

SDK for managing encodes and easy Episode Engine integration into any workflow

Downloads: For complete details on all features, enhancements, fixes and known issues, be sure to read the 5.0 Release Notes document. View all our Episode product literature and download the software on the following sites: 

Episode desktop: http://www.flip4mac.com/episode.htm

Episode Engine: http://www.telestream.net/products/episode_download.htm

Support: As always, our helpful Support staff will be available to provide you with any assistance that may be required.

Contact Episode desktop support by sending email to: supportf4m@flip4mac.com

Contact Episode Engine support by sending email to: support@telestream.net 

DVXusser.com a  great resource on line now has a new publication coming .

DVXUser is proud to announce intent to publish DVXUser Monthly. A monthly publication in magazine format with a primary focus on promoting DVXUser members and their personal accomplishments, and a secondary focus on providing you with valuable technical information, reviews, product information, etc, etc, etc.

Like everything else on DVXUser, DVXUser Monthly will be entirely free to you. Circulation of the magazine will be monthly.

For more information about DVXUser Monthly, you can view this thread in the DVXUser News section:

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=133135

If you would like to subscribe to receive this magazine, inquire about becoming a contributor of material, or wish to inquire about becoming a sponsor of the magazine, please visit this location:

www.dvxusermonthly.com

Look for the first edition in a month or two, with regular monthly mailings after that.

Thanks for your time. Hope you enjoy it!

My friends at Adobe are doing a nice NYC event with alot of heavy hitters AJA,Matrox,Gridiron,Motu,Panasonic,Black Magic lots of demo’s and prizes . Broken into 2 sessions so they day workers can make the night sessions.See you there.

Adobe Digital Video Tools Showcase

Thursday, May 29, 2008First Session: 11:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.Second Session: 3:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

New Yorker Hotel Crystal Ballroom, 2nd Floor 481 8th Avenue at 34th Street New York, NY 10001

 Make sure to register here. Register Link.

Another NAB has gone and lots of announcements big and small came but nothing from Apple camp about full Blu-ray support.This topic has been buzzing around for a while now and you can see it really being brought up in response to Adobe having the only solid way besides Sonic Solutions for full Blu-ray authoring .Look I am a Mac zealot and part of my workflow on a daily basis includes Adobe apps like Photoshop,After Effects and now Encore. To be fair I did not touch Encore until mid 2007 because  I needed to upgrade all my Adobe apps to Production Premium because I had never really needed to go outside Final Cut Studio for disc based authoring.We know Apple has been on the Blu-ray Board since 2005 ,remeber this Apple Blu-Ray Board Press Release. and we also know backing HD DVD was something they thought was the right option for that time only to see its demise happen.

So where does this whole mess leave us and by us I mean the smaller shops , the freelancers,  and even big studios on the being able to have full support for Blu-ray authoring on the Mac from Mac based applications ? The answer is who knows . Do I think Apple has been working on updates? YES they are .When you ask ?I hope soon because going from one app to another and having to worry about what will work and wont for file support and failed encodes I do not want to deal with.I want a solution that works so I also do not mind waiting a little bit longer and i would also like to not only be able to author my work or clients work on a personal level I would like to have the option to back up a huge chunk of personal and business information to a 50gb disc.With only a few big release’s that usually drop between now and September we have minor machine updates coming and WWDC in June could we see Blu-ray capable Mac’s? Let’s hope so because the Adobe workflow I have going now is pretty solid for authoring Blu-ray and testing on a PS3. Did I mention Dynamic Link and not re-rendering is also nice .

Here is also some helpful workflow between Compressor and Encore from Adobe’s Dave Helmly.

 Compressor & Encore workflow.

Studiodaily has a first look video of Imagineer’s new Mogul Review system by CE Raum product designer for Imagineer Systems.I hope to get some more info on all the new changes coming from Imagineer in a upcoming post. Studiodaily look at Imagineer Mogul Review System.Here is a nice little video from Imagineer’s site as well explaining some more about Mogul. Mogul Video. 

My buddies over at Gridiron and Toolfarm.com have a extended NAB deal for today only on Nucleo Pro 2 so if you even use After Effects for anything you want this . It is AE rendering on steroids .Here is the link  Toolfarm.com Store.

Nucleo Pro 2

Nucleo Pro 2 is the latest version of GridIron’s popular workflow and performance solution for Adobe After Effects. Features include:

• Background Render Queue: Keep working while your projects render in the background.
• 3D Projects: Drag-and-Drop 3D projects from apps including Cinema 4D, 3ds Max, Maya, Lightwave and more to the Background Render Queue.
• Pre-Composition Proxies: Define a proxy for compositions with one-click and Nucleo Pro will keep it up to date.
• Spec Preview: Uses free compute resources to automatically generate previews in the background.
• Spec Render: Build your composition and render it at the same time.
• Commit to Disk: Replace layers with rendered footage to optimize your previews.
• Cache Manager: Clean up spec-preview and spec-render cache files.
• Fast Render and Preview: Uses all available system resources, all CPU’s and Cores, to accelerate rendering and previewing in AE.
• Support for After Effects CS3 & 7 (Looking for AE6.5 support? Get Nucleo Standard for only US$37.50!).

I have been checking out some of the Adobe TV channels and the presentations that i missed while working at the Gridiron booth and man i can’t believe i missed Steve Holmes and Jacob Rosenberg (og Plan B ,H-street skateboard cinematographer).So here are some of the links and vids for you to check out . I did get to catch the technology preview which was awesome to see that Adobe is working on some nice new tools like Cinema DNG (one RAW codec to rule them all) for digital cinema cameras,speech to transcript and what looks like the Thermo beta from TedTalks which is like Flash,Actionscript for non coders to make interactive work. So check out the main link here Adobe Presentations at NAB 2008.