BenQ has chosen to throw its support behind Blu-ray disks, at least for the near future. BenQ has announced that it will release Blu-ray based DVD drives some time in the first or second quarter of 2006. Blu-ray has really begun to see a surge in support over the last few months and is poised to take the title of next generation DVD format if things continue to fall in Blu-rays favor.BenQ to Offer Blu Ray Drives in 2006
BenQ has chosen to throw its support behind Blu-ray disks, at least for the near future. BenQ has announced that it will release Blu-ray based DVD drives some time in the first or second quarter of 2006. Blu-ray has really begun to see a surge in support over the last few months and is poised to take the title of next generation DVD format if things continue to fall in Blu-rays favor.Roger Ebert Comments on Digital Cinema Standard
Roger Ebert recently commented in his "Movie Answer Man" column about the future of the digital cinema standard which has been gaining support from many of Hollywood's large studios. When asked about how he thought the new format would affect the future of the cinema, he stated that he had a few reservations.Still uncertain is: (1) Who will pay for the still-expensive projectors? (2) Will widespread digital distribution be an invitation to piracy? (3) How will the public react to buying tickets to moves they can essentially see at home at about the same projection quality?
He goes on to talk about an alternative to digital projection called Maxivision which projects the movie at 48 frames per second and has superior quality compared to standard projection. The Q and A column on the site is a good read and gives an insight into some of Ebert's views, look for the specific question on digital projection second to the bottom.
Avid Completes Acquisition of Pinnacle Systems
Avid Technology Inc. recently completed their acquisition of Pinnacle Systems. As part of the deal Avid will issue 6.2 million shares of stock and pay about 71.3 million dollars to Pinnacle's shareholders. The integration of Pinnacle's assets to Avid will allow them to integrate both the Deko on-air graphics system and the MediaStream playout server into Avids line-up of software. Look for consumer products such as Pinnacle Studio and other TV viewing products to continue to be sold though Pinnacle's consumer division which will retain its name after the acquisition.George Lucas on the Future of the Cinema
TechOn has a new interview with director and all around digital video expert George Lucas. Lucas talks about the transition from shooting film to digital video and all the tech that made it happen. Also as one of the leading proponents of digital projection Lucas speaks about the future of the cinema of how he thinks movies will be distributed in the future. He also has some choice words about the future of DVD'sIf you buy it, you're going to download it into a server that you have at your house and it will just stay there. So you will have a server full of movies and music and all this kind of stuff. There won't be disks, those are going to disappear …pretty quickly actually.
He wraps up the interview by talking about the problem of piracy and how it is affecting the movie industry and making it much more difficult for big movies to make a substantial profit.
Creative Cow Reviews HandsOnHDV
CreativeCow.net has a review of the new HDV instructional DVD, HandsOnHDV. The DVD is packed with about 90 minutes of informative tutorials and tips on how to get the most out of your new Sony HDV camcorder. The DVD is specifically targeted at users of the Sony HVR-Z1U and HDR-FX1. The DVD gets a perfect score from the reviewer and he finished the review by saying.It’s a real treat to be able to tell readers about a product that delivers more than you bargained for. The HandsOnHDV training DVD is one of those products. This is a MUST HAVE on anyone’s list who is remotely interested in HDV as a coming force in the industry.
The DVD sounds like a good buy for anyone who is trying to master their new HDV camera and is available now for just under $85.
Panasonic AJ-PCS060 P2 Store Drive Now Available
Panasonic Broadcast today announced the availability of its new P2 store drive. The AJ-PCS060 is packed with a 2.5" 60GB hard drive, capable of holding the contents of up to 15 4GB P2 cards. The drive is designed for the quick transfer of data both in the field and the studio. The contents of an entire 4GB P2 card can be transferred to the unit's hard drive in about 4 minutes. The unit can be powered by a battery for field work or by a power adapter in the studio. The AJ-PCS060 will run you about $1,800 and is available now.
Ridley Scott on the Future of Film
HollywoodIndustry.com has an interview with Ridley Scott director of such hit films as Blade Runner and Gladiator. In the interview Scott discusses his style of filming as well as how he approaches filming scenes filled with visual effects. As in many interviews these days that deal with the film industry the question of whether film is dead is asked and Ridley Scott certainly does not hold back saying."Yes. The fact we’re still trying to capture an image with a piece of celluloid that can break and get dust damage and so on is nonsense."
Well there you have it digital is the future of film but you probably could have already guessed that.
SIGGRAPH 2005 Coverage Over at Flash Insider
We gave a brief run down of the big announcements that were made at SIGGRAPH a couple of days ago. But Dave over at Flash Insider had been covering the event live over the last few days and has all the inside information and juicy details over on the site.
Samsung Updates Miniket Camcorder
Samsung has updated its Miniket camcorder and Engadget has all the details. The new version of the camera receives a number of upgrades including a new 4 megapixel 3CCD sensor which is an improvement over the original's 1.3 megapixel CCD's. The camera also receives an upgrade to a 10x optical zoom as well as support for the SD format. The camera also retains its ability to double as a MP3 player but with all the new features expect a price increase over the previous version when the camera is released.
Jay Ankeney on HDV Editing
Jay Ankeney a freelance editor and post-production consultant from Los Angeles has written a short article on HDV and its impact on the post production process. The article briefly discusses the history of the HDV codec and also talks about the difference between the 720p and 1080i HDV formats. The article goes on to discuss how the major editing applications have chosen to support HDV and how 3rd party software can be used for capturing uncompressed HDV. Anyone who has been eyeing one of the new Sony or JVC HDV camcorders should definitely give the article a look.SIGGRAPH 2005 Update
With SIGGRAPH 2005 in full swing at the L.A. Convention Center, now would be a good time to get an update on the major announcements that have been made so far. For those of you not in the know SIGGRAPH is the annual conference for the computer graphics industry. Since many of the DV users out there will be using some of these applications for their next project I figured a rundown of the major announcements would be helpful.Autodesk makers of 3ds Max have announced 3ds Max8 the latest update to their popular 3d modeling and animation software. Expect some nice new features to be included when the software is released in the fall.
Avid Technology has also updated its flagship 3d modeling and animation software SOFTIMAGE|XSI to version 5.0. Improvements include the ability for 64-bit processing and the software should hit store shelves in September.
Finally Alias has updated its popular Maya software to version 7, but you can read all about that a couple of posts down. SIGGRAPH 2005 runs until the 4th, so if you are in the L.A. area and you want to check out all the new software in person get yourself to the Convention Center.
Alias Anounceses Maya 7 and MotionBuilder 7
Alias has announced updates for its popular 3D modeling and animation software. Both the Maya and MotionBuilder software will receive and upgrade to version 7. Maya 7 adds a new shading feature as well as improved rendering functions. Along with these updates MotionBuilder’s “IK Solver” is will now be directly integrated into Maya. Both pieces of software are expected to ship this month and will run on you Mac, PC and Linux box. The new software ranges in price and with the cheapest option running nearly $2,000 this is definitely a piece of software aimed at the professional market.The 2005 MovieEditor Conference This Week in LA
MovieEditor Magazine is putting on The 2005 MovieEditor Conference this Wednesday, August 3rd in downtown LA. The conference is an all day event and will include a number of discussions as well as speakers from Disney, DreamWorks, Pixar, and the South Park TV show. There is a $59 fee for the conference but this includes two meals and all the different events throughout the day, which can be found on the website. If you are going to be in the LA area this week and are interested in computer based editing, this looks like a good event to attend.Sony Shows Off 4k Digital Projector
Sony has been showing off its new 4k digital projector the SXR-R110, which is the first commercially available projector capable of displaying 4k content. With the recent agreement on the new digital cinema specs by the large Hollywood studios, digital projectors look to be the future of the cinema. Sony's new projector is capable of displaying resolutions up to 4096 x 2160, but it can also display high definition footage as well as the current 2k digital projection standard. The switch to digital projectors promises to eliminate the imperfections which can be marked on film prints each time they are shown, and will allow each showing of the film to remain identical. Look for the new projectors to be arriving in your local multiplex's over the next few years.Digital Watermarking coming to a theater near you
Designtechnica has an interesting bit about digital watermarking being used by Hollywood to help fight piracy. Apparently the watermark can be applied to both the audio and video streams and can tell Hollywood sleuths which location, theater and even date and time a film was illegally duped. Digimarc Corp developed this watermarking tech for Hollywood's shiny new Digital Cinema System Specification.
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