Panasonic has now released the AVCCAM Importer software that was announced at NAB 2011. This Final Cut Pro 7 plug-in allows you to edit AVCCAM (Panasonic’s variant of AVCHD) footage directly, without having to run it through Log and Transfer first. Previously, you would have to transcode AVCCAM footage to ProRes before working with it in FCP 7, but now you can work directly off the .mts files from the camera. This software also allows you to use QuickTime to view the AVCCAM footage, so even if you’re using Final Cut Pro X (which has native support for AVCHD), this will add AVCHD playback to QuickTime.

…continue reading Panasonic AVCCAM Importer for FCP 7 Now Available

Apple has just introduced a new version of Final Cut Pro, completely rebuilt from the ground up as a 64-bit platform with full Grand Central Dispatch support to utilize multicore CPUs. In addition to a new user interface, Apple has added support for up to 4K resolutions, background rendering and has eliminated the need to wait for your footage to ingest before editing. You can now edit before your media is fully ingested, and Final Cut Pro X will silently switch to the local footage as it is brought in.

Other highlights include:

• Resolution independent playback system
• Color management via ColorSync
• All editing is natively supported – no transcoding required
• Content analysis – media detection, image stabilization, people detection, shot detection, color balance and audio cleanup as footage is ingested
• Magnetic timeline – audio moves to a new track when inserting new clips to avoid trim collisions

Final Cut Studio X is expected to be available on June 9th for $299 through the Mac App Store.

Other Apple related highlights from NAB this year include new Thunderbolt-based hardware and technologies from AJA, Blackmagic and Matrox. While AJA is using NAB to showcase Thunderbolt technologies for future products, Blackmagic is launching its new UltraStudio 3D, and Matrox is introducing Thunderbolt to the entire MXO2 family of I/O boxes.

The Blackmagic UltraStudio 3D features dual link SDI and HDMI 1.4a inputs and outputs, and supports capture and playback up to 2K (YUV 4:2:2 or RGB 4:4:4). 3D support includes playback and capture of 1080p side-by-side, line-by-line, and top and bottom formats.

Matrox will be shipping Thunderbolt adapters with the MXO2 family of adapters starting in July. Current MXO2 owners can purchase the Thunderbolt adapter separately for $299.

Panasonic made several announcements yesterday, including new hardware, a reduction in P2 card pricing, wireless metadata, and native AVCCAM editing in Final Cut Pro. Read on to learn more.

PCD30 P2 Reader

The first announcement is the PCD30, a three P2 card reader with the speed of USB 3.0. The USB 3.0 interface permits super-fast transfer rates of up to 4.8Gbps. Additionally, the PCD30 can transfer data from all three P2 cards simultaneously, so your P2 content will download in no time. USB 3.0 is not available in many computers yet, but is growing every day. Look for this product in the summer for around $2,255.

…continue reading Pre-NAB News from Panasonic: 3D, P2 and FCP

ARRI’s ALEXA camera offers several recording options, including recording directly to SxS cards in Apple ProRes format. This is called the Shoot to Edit option, and it makes for a very simple workflow. ProRes has proven to be a high quality and robust video format that is widely used in the industry today. The ALEXA has an uncompressed video output, but I believe many productions will choose to record in ProRes directly in the camera. Here is a 3 step guide for how to import ALEXA footage into Final Cut Pro.

…continue reading Simple ALEXA Workflow with Final Cut Pro

Panasonic is now shipping their single card P2 reader, the AJ-PCD2. This is a must have for anyone who is a P2 camera owner. The device itself is small and very light weight. On the front, you’ll find the single card slot, and on the back there are two USB 2.0 ports. Why two? Well, one is for transferring data and the other is for power. The standard USB port has a limited power output, but with two ports there is enough power for the device to work without a battery or power supply. After downloading the drivers from the Panasonic website, I tested the PCD2 on my MacBook Pro. The device works as advertised without any hitches – gone are the days of the buggy Duel Adapter solution. Unfortunately, USB 2.0 is not as speedy as the ExpressCard interface, but I was able to download a full 32 GB card in about 15 minutes. Transfer speeds may vary depending on the drive you are copying to. I was using an external RAID 0 drive connected with FireWire 800. I also tested the PCD2 on a PC laptop running Windows XP, with very similar results and no headaches at all.

Panasonic also released a new AVC-Intra encoder plugin for Apple’s Compressor. This plugin allows Compressor to export video files encoded in the AVC-Intra codec. AVC-Intra is a high quality compression, and with Final Cut Pro 7, it is supported natively. So with this new export option, AVC-Intra can be used as a high quality deliverable at a relatively low data rate. The Compressor utility allows for files to be created in QuickTime format or in original P2 format. In P2 format, the video can be transferred back to a P2 card using a devices like the PCD2, PCD20 or PCD35, and metadata can be entered. While a P2 card is far from a common deliverable, productions and news networks that have adopted P2 will greatly appreciate the new option. Download the new plugin here. Note: Final Cut Studio 3 is required.

A new plugin from Canon is available for Final Cut Pro and is free to download. Final Cut Pro users (versions 6.0.3 – current 7.0) will be able to ingest footage from the 1D Mark IV, 5D Mark II and 7D through “Log and Transfer”. This is a huge step forward for HDSLR shooters, because it greatly improves the workflow in FCP. Here is some basic info on what the plugin allows:

• Clips ingested using “Log & Transfer”
• Archiving
• Timecode Generation
• Auto File Import
• Auto Transcode
• Auto Data Input
• Selectable ProRes formats in FCP7
• Selectable ProRes formats in FCP6

Download the E-1 plugin on Canon’s site here.

AJA has just released firmware version 1.1 for the Ki Pro, and going up .1 turns out to be a major upgrade. Here is a list of the improvements :

- ProRes 422 LT and Proxy recording has been added. These formats are supported in Final Cut Pro 7, and allow for longer recording times at minimal quality loss.

- 720P variable frame rate support has now been added as well. This is great for VariCam users that want 720p24 (23.98), 720p25 and 720p30 (29.97) native recording.

- 1080p support has also been improved by enabling the auto-detection of 1080p 23.98, 1080p 24, 1080p 25 and 1080p 29.97 signals. This, along with PsF playback, gives the Ki Pro more functionality for high end users.

These updates, as well as a couple other new features, make for one big update. See the full release notes here, including a list of updates still planned for the future. Download Ki Pro Firmware 1.1 here.