This doesn't say DVx, but it has to be. Fast Multimedia's "blue".......................................
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Also in development is a software developers kit (SDK), and a fully automated version of VIDEO Clips. Called the MPEG-2 Editing Engine, the automated version of VIDEO Clips will allow video editors to mark desired "in" and "out" points for the editing sequence. The software will then send that EDL (edit decision list) to the video server, and prepare the project for the user. Zajde added, "The growth potential for nonlinear, frame-accurate, native MPEG-2 editing is very high."
VITEC Multimedia is not the only company rushing to market with a nonlinear, frame-accurate MPEG-2 editing solution. Fast Multimedia, of Woodenville, Wash., is offering "blue." which it calls the "world's first Native Digital Editor. "blue.," which edits in both MPEG-2 and DV native video, uses dual realtime MPEG-2 and DV codecs, and performs realtime mixing of four video layers and (an optional) 3-D digital video effects. It accepts and outputs any video formats, including DV transferred via a 1394-enabled bus. Unlike the software-based VIDEO Clips, blue. uses software as well as hardware boards and outputs picture quality comparable to 10-bit uncompressed video. Because of the dual-stream MPEG-2 codec, a lower third super or score could be keyed on top of a second stream of video without any generational loss.
With prices starting at $30,000, blue. targets the broadcast television and high-end post production market. "blue. gives you the opportunity to work in either uncompressed video or MPEG-2 of variable bit rates. A 50 Mbit/sec MPEG-2 bit stream is robust enough to survive editing, effects manipulation, and some layering without much concatenation, or artifacting" says James Fetterolf, product manager for Fast Multimedia ( fastmultimedia.com, "You always want to edit in the best possible quality."
Although Video Clips and blue. are pursuing the same market, they actually seem to be complementary products. An MPEG-2 video file created on blue. could be edited by VIDEO Clips software, prior to distribution, by flagging and editing the I-frames in the bitstream.
"The I-frames act as a roadmap, containing all the information contained in a single keyframe, whereas the B (bi-directional) and P (predictor) frames between the I-frames are merely sign posts pointing out the way," explained Fetterolf, adding that, "Five years from now, we'll be wondering, 'What was Motion-JPEG'? because all video editing will be done in the MPEG-2 native format." (VITEC, 408/752-8483; Fast Multimedia, 650/295-3521) |
