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Eric Schumacher Rasmussen is associate editor of EMedia.
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Articles By Eric Schumacher-Rasmussen
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In a recent interview with EMedialive, Joe Rice, senior technical director at MX Entertainment, describes how one high-end post house worked closely with Sonic Solutions and the High-Definition Authoring Alliance (HDAA) to become a fully functional BD and HD DVD authoring facility.
Eric Schumacher-Rasmussen | Though Roxio's Easy Media Creator might be the overall best in show when it comes to letting novices create impressive video and slideshow DVDs, MovieFactory comes $50 cheaper at $49.99, and scores high for its Multitrim editing, a redesigned GUI featuring an uncluttered new launcher, and an ingenious new Smart Scene Menu.
DVD has become the delivery method of choice for most videographers, and more and more are authoring their own discs. Which authoring tools serve videographers best, and how does DVD affect the post-production process?
Eric Schumacher-Rasmussen | Flash Professional 8 offers higher video quality, more encoding options
If you’re not ready to take the leap to Final Cut Pro 5 or the Final Cut Studio suite (both of which should be available by the time you read this), Final Cut Express HD ($299/$99 upgrade from Final Cut Express 2) is more than just a stopover on the way to bigger and better things. It’s an unqualified success on its own terms. Bundled with Soundtrack and LiveType, FCE HD is a significantly better value now than its predecessors, and not just for the HD capability. But if it’s HD you want, at an attractive price point, you won’t be disappointed.
Eric Schumacher-Rasmussen | Bundled with Soundtrack and LiveType, Final Cut Express HD ($299) is a significantly better value now than its predecessors, and not just for the HD capability. But if it’s HD you want, at an attractive price point, you won’t be disappointed.
Apple’s flagship should appeal to videographers more than ever
...But 99 and a Half Won’t Do
Eric Schumacher-Rasmussen | Same-day edit productions make for unexpected treats at wedding receptions and can add to your bottom line. Here, three SDE pioneers talk about how it’s done.
Using laptop-sized recordable drives, ILY's SlimDVDup ($699) sets a new standard for DVD duplication portability. It's not the fastest 1:1 duplicator out there, but it's the one to have along if you need to dupe discs on the road.
Eric Schumacher-Rasmussen|If you’re doing your own DVD authoring and duplication, as most videographers are, you thankfully don’t have to worry much about whether your discs will play on your client’s (or their family members’) players. If you’re delivering video from your Web site, however, it’s a different story.
Eric Schumacher-Rasmussen|The Apple CEO announces new HD-compatible versions of Final Cut Express and iMovie at a Macworld that is otherwise light on video-related product announcements.
DV Expo West 2004, held in Los Angeles December 8-10, had its share of new product announcements, though it wasn’t quite the bounty we’ve seen in years past.
True streaming is the real-time delivery of audio and video over the Internet, while progressive-download technology buffers some of the content to the recipient’s computer memory before the media starts playing. As playback begins, the download continues in the background.
Motion is a remarkably powerful, intuitive, and easy-to-use tool for creating titles, animation, and effects.
At this year’s NAB, there was a lot of talk about HDV, but not much action. But with plenty of new editing options and a 3-CCD camera from Sony,
now’s the time to give HDV a serious look.
The U.S. Copyright Office has proposed an alternative to the much-criticized “Induce Act.” But critics say it does little to change the fact that the bill would essentially undercut the landmark 1984 Betamax decision.
Acacia Research doesn't create technology; it purchases the rights to patents that are the result from other people's work, then proceeds to collect licenses from anyone who's using the technology.
Company hopes that an international push, as well as continued synergy with consumer electronics manufacturers, will keep format on the rise.
The ReflexPro7 is a sturdy, seven-drive duplication workhorse loaded with Plextor drives and an 80GB HDD. Fast and reliable, it's also more than competitively priced, especially when you figure in that sizeable, effectively partitioned hard drive.
When three-fifths of Guns N’ Roses re-grouped this year as Velvet Revolver, they not only had a new name and a new singer, but a new twist on keeping their music out of pirates’ hands.
With easy access to encoders and players, you'd be hard-pressed to find a digital studio pro or videographer who isn't at least thinking about how to harness the tremendous power of straight-to-desktop video. So we bring you this, the first installment of a new column.
With a few tweaks on the shoot and in the edit bay, plus a basic knowledge of streaming codecs, video pros can take the next logical step in reaching new clients—getting their work on the Web.
With a brand-new interface, batch processing, output to all major formats, and both high-definition and H.264 capability, the new Squeeze 4 Compression Suite marks Sorenson’s latest attempt to go after users who want a compression tool that doesn’t bind them to a single codec.
When Roxio introduced Toast 6 Titanium in late 2003, it represented a major upgrade over Toast 5: a brand new interface, encryption, and video/photo disc capability via the bundled Motion Picture software [see review, November 2003, pp. 40-43].
GarageBand is probably the most compelling new feature in iLife '04, a full-fledged music-creation package
With a brand-new interface, batch processing, output to major formats, and both high-definition and H.264 capability, the new Squeeze 4 Compression Suite marks Sorenson’s latest attempt to go after users who want a compression tool that doesn’t bind them to a single codec.
Eric Schumacher-Rasmussen | Apple's iLife '04 boasts enough power and features that more and more post-production and videography professionals are using it in their studios. What does this consumer app have going for it that makes it a hit with the pros?
It’s hard to beat Sonicfire Pro for all-around soundtrack creation flexibility and functionality. The interface is clean and intuitive, and it’s flat-out a breeze to learn. If you’re only going to buy one soundtrack creation tool, and you’re not a composer yourself, Sonicfire Pro’s the way to go.
By aggressively working its way into the set-top DVD market—the first DivX-compatible players in the U.S. appeared earlier this year—DivX has made itself a codec to be reckoned with, and in the process forced Microsoft and RealNetworks to step up their game in the PC-CE convergence arena.
Noise reduction and surround sound pioneer has announced Dolby Digital 5.1 Creator, which is designed to let software developers integrate 5.1 surround capability into consumer-level authoring tools.
Apple didn't waste any time at NAB, dropping five major announcements the day before the show even began, including updates to Final Cut Pro, DVD Studio Pro, and Shake.
Embattled software firm 321 Studios got slammed from both coasts in late February, with U.S. district court judges in California and New York ruling that the St. Louis company had to stop producing and marketing its DVD X Copy software. Next stop: the same court that shut down Napster.
Visual Communicator Pro brings broadcast-quality effects and compositing to the masses. With real-time video effects and transitions, attractive templates and graphics, music loops from SmartSound, and a version of Sonic’s MyDVD, Visual Communicator Pro delivers both a video studio and a post-production facility in a single box.
From its ease of use to the sheer volume of clips and effects, Soundtrack is yet another example of the philosophy that’s made Apple so successful on the content creation scene. Cuts, in and out points, and crossfades work the same way in audio as they do in video, and Soundtrack’s very NLE-like GUI will make video pros feel right at home.
Will integrate Web-enabled capability with CinePlayer, DVD Producer, and Scenarist
New suite features friendlier design, plus full versions of VideoWave and PhotoSuite
Final Cut Express 2, new Xserve G5 highlight announcements at show's 20th anniversary
Macromedia looks for deeper penetration in the DVD authoring market with the new product, which hits the shelves in February.
Eric Schumacher-Rasmussen | With all of Apple's 2003 offerings, digital video pros had the chance to rebuild their studios from the ground up or pick and choose from new versions of old standbys.
Ulead, Canopus stand out in a show short on new product introductions.
The tool is as robust and feature-rich as ever, and with a membership to Sony's Screenblast Web site, it's also more in tune than ever with the needs of digital video pros.
You couldn't help but wonder if this ETW represented the brave new world of trade shows, where bigger isn't always better, and you've got to go to the people rather than expecting them to come to you.
Roxio re-launches Napster as an iTunes-like online store, with PC desktop deals bringing the music to the people.
With its beginner’s software toolkit and its "what format war?" multi-media approach, Sony is clearly aiming this drive at the consumer market. And at $309.99 for the external we tested, $229 for the internal version, it delivers just about anything anyone in that market could ask for. Even Mac users.
In a world of do-it-yourselfers, DVD's top studios boast the skills and the tools to get the job done right. But--skills aside--what kind of gear separates the pros from the pretenders?
Synopsis: Sonicfire Pro makes it simple for both novices and pros to put together top-notch soundtracks, with its ingenious mix-and-match blocking feature. It's not likely to appeal to the casual consumer user (Sonic Desktop offers the $50 Movie Maestro for them), but for the prosumer or small studio, it offers a competitively priced way to give professional-quality video projects equally professional-sounding sonic accompaniment.
EDITOR'S CHOICE
The QPS Que! Fire 40X/12X/48X CD-RW drive is a sturdy, solid plug-n-play unit that's tailor-made for Macintosh users. It's a mystery, then, why it comes bundled with Charismac's notoriously temperamental Discribe software. With the right mastering package–in this case, Roxio's Toast Titanium 5.0–the drive performs wonderfully, churning out disc after disc without fail.
CyClone CDRevo $209
TEAC 40X12X48X CD-W540E $179.99
BenQ 24X32X32X MiniRW $185
San Francisco show demonstrates Apple's nuts-and-bolts side
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