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Adobe Unveils Plans for Two Editions of Photoshop CS3

0	Posted by Safe Harbor Staff March 12, 2007

Adobe Systems Incorporated announced at the Photo Marketing Association (PMA) show that it will expand its digital imaging product line, offering two editions of Adobe Photoshop CS3. In addition to the highly anticipated Photoshop CS3 software for designers and professional photographers, Adobe will also deliver Photoshop CS3 Extended, a completely new edition of Photoshop which allows cross-media creative professionals to stretch the limits of digital imaging.

Photoshop CS3 Extended includes everything in Photoshop CS3 plus a new set of capabilities for integration of 3-D and motion graphics, image measurement and analysis. Photoshop CS3 Extended also simplifies the workflow for professionals in architecture, engineering, medical and science. Both Photoshop CS3 and Photoshop CS3 Extended software will be formally introduced on March 27, 2007—as part of the company's launch of Creative Suite 3, where further details will be disclosed. The software is expected to ship in Spring 2007.

"We never imagined that Photoshop would someday help make major motion pictures, let alone save lives," said John Loiacono, senior vice president of the Creative Solutions Business Unit at Adobe. "Whether it's a video producer texture editing the backdrop of a movie or a researcher counting hundreds of cancer cells, diverse industries are already relying on the professional standard in digital imaging."

Extended, film, video and multimedia professionals, and graphic and web designers can leverage the power of the Photoshop image-editing toolset and paint engine when editing 3D and motion-based content. Film and video specialists can perform 3-D model visualization and texture editing, paint and clone over multiple video frames. Animators can now render and incorporate rich 3-D content into their 2-D compositions. Graphic and web designers can create an animation from a series of images - such as time series data - and export it to a wide variety of formats, including QuickTime, MPEG-4 and Adobe Flash® Video.

"The National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP) is over 60,000 members strong and as it continues to grow, so do the variety of uses for Photoshop," said Scott Kelby, president of NAPP. "Photoshop CS3 Extended will further redefine who the ‘creative professional' is, allowing cross-media professionals to really push the limits of their craft, while also inviting engineers, scientists and architects to add the power of Photoshop to their arsenal."

Photoshop CS3 Extended also enables users to extract valuable quantitative and qualitative data from images. In addition to measurement and analysis tools, architects, medical professionals and scientists will enjoy increased support for specialized image formats so they can easily view, annotate, and edit images in their native format. Radiologists can closely monitor a patient's progress over time, scientific researchers can create animations from medical images for presentation purposes, and architects can make accurate measurements of objects in their 3-D images.

"With the release of two new editions of Photoshop, Adobe continues to push the boundaries with innovative tools that empower people to communicate visually in powerful new ways," said Alexis Gerard, author of "Going Visual" and president of Future Image Inc., hosts of the 6Sight® Future of Imaging conference. "While Photoshop CS3 will remain the digital imaging standard for photographers, Photoshop CS3 Extended is bringing to new audiences the proven benefit of Photoshop, and also exploring feature sets that eventually may benefit a broader market."

New Tutorial for Matrox RT.X2 Users

0	Posted by Safe Harbor Staff February 21, 2007

Safe Harbor Computers, a leading supplier to professional videographers, today announced the release of Matrox RT.X2 Revealed, hosted by Jeff Pulera of Digital Vision Productions.

This DVD, aimed at all levels of RT.X2 users, provides over three hours of unique instruction on the features of this popular hardware solution for Adobe Premiere Pro.

Highlights include:

• Proper installation and setup of hardware/software
• Overview of supported formats, inputs, outputs and capabilities of RT.X2
• How to choose project settings and capture video with RT.X2
• How to use all of the Matrox effects, with walk-throughs of settings and examples of using each
• Tips and tricks such as creating your own mask images, alpha channel AVI overlays, combining effects and more
• The best way to export your final project to DVD and tape as well as the various internet formats
• Workflow options for SD and HDV projects

About the Instructor
Jeff Pulera is a professional videographer with 15 years experience. He also works part-time for Safe Harbor Computers, sharing his knowledge and real-life editing experiences with their customers. His company, Digital Vision Productions, specializes in corporate, event and wedding videography. The author of many tech reviews and articles, Jeff is widely known throughout the industry as the "Matrox guru."

Pricing and Availability
Matrox RT.X2 Revealed is available exclusively from Safe Harbor Computers. Suggested retail is $99.99, with an introductory selling price of just $69.99. For more information or to order, please visit www.sharbor.com.

Adobe Debuts Photoshop Lightroom 1.0

0	Posted by Safe Harbor Staff February 5, 2007

Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) has announced that Adobe Photoshop® Lightroom™ 1.0 software is now available for pre-order and is expected to ship in mid-February 2007. Photoshop Lightroom enables professional photographers to import, manage and present large volumes of digital photographs, helping photographers spend more time behind the lens and less time at the computer. With more than 500,000 photographers participating in the public beta program over the last 12 months, Photoshop Lightroom now includes a wealth of innovative features that streamline digital photography workflows. Recognizing the photography community for their efforts, Adobe is offering Photoshop Lightroom at a special introductory price of US $199 through April 30, 2007 at the Adobe Store. Photoshop Lightroom will later sell for an estimated street price of US $299.

"It’s an unlikely scenario that professional photographers would moonlight as software developers," said John Loiacono, senior vice president, Creative Solutions Business Unit at Adobe. "Fortunately for us, they were willing to give it a shot. Everything, from image viewing and evaluation tools to timesaving editing features, was developed with the help of photographers. This was truly a collaborative effort and we extend our thanks to everyone who provided invaluable feedback to help us deliver a powerhouse professional photography tool."

Lightroom Feature Advancements
Photoshop Lightroom includes new functionality added since beta 4.1, with significant changes to the Library and Develop modules complementing improvements to the Slideshow, Print and Web components. While in the Library module, new advanced keywording tools help photographers filter through large collections, and an improved import dialogue with more flexible file handling allows more choice when determining file location. The new Key Metadata Browser provides quick access to key information tags with an improved ranking and rating system that now incorporates color labels and a pick/reject system that sorts and locates photographs faster than ever. New to the Develop module, Virtual Copies and Snapshot tools help present multiple versions of the same image, providing the most choice to clients without the confusion of saving separate physical versions.

Additional tools added include a Hue, Saturation and Luminance targeted adjustment tool for precise and intuitive image edits. Clone and Healing features provide non-destructive edits to eliminate sensor dust across one or many images.

High-Quality Raw Processing
Photoshop Lightroom leverages Adobe Camera Raw technology and supports over 150 native raw file formats, in addition to JPEG and TIFF, bringing raw conversion into a single workflow experience. The latest camera models supported include the Nikon D40 and D80 and the Pentax K10D. This support means that photographers can use Lightroom with even the newest cameras on the market, knowing that the image files will be recognized today and in the future. Upon import, files can be converted to the Digital Negative specification (DNG) or renamed and segmented by folder or date. DNG is an industry-wide initiative to create a universal file format for solving workflow and archiving issues. It aims to eliminate barriers to new camera adoption while giving professional photographers the confidence that their digital body of work is securely archived and will remain accessible as digital imaging technology evolves.

"Photoshop Lightroom gives me the capabilities to get everything out of a raw file. Now I can easily duplicate enhancements and apply them across a range of similar images almost instantly," said Denis Reggie, a nationally renowned celebrity and society wedding photographer. "Lightroom is brilliantly conceived and masterfully executed. I can see my digital workflow moving fully to Lightroom now that it is final."

Pricing and Availability
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom will ship in mid-February 2007 and is available for pre-order in the United States and Canada through the Adobe Store at www.adobe.com/store for a special introductory price of US $199. The $100 discount is offered to all customers through April 30, 2007 in appreciation of loyal Photoshop users, early supporters of Photoshop Lightroom and beta participants who devoted time, energy and feedback throughout the process. Photoshop Lightroom will later sell for an estimated street price of US $299. Recommended system requirements are Macintosh OSX 10.4.3, 1 GHz PowerPC G4 processor or Microsoft® Windows® XP SP2, Intel® Pentium 4® Processor, and 768 MB RAM and a 1024x768 resolution screen. Adobe Photoshop Lightroom is a Universal Binary application that will run natively on PowerPC and new Intel-based Macintosh systems.

The announcement of Photoshop Lightroom 1.0 signifies the official conclusion of the groundbreaking Lightroom beta program. Users of Lightroom beta will have access to the program until its expiration on February 28, 2007.

Adobe Releases Beta Version of Photoshop CS3

0	Posted by Safe Harbor Staff December 18, 2006

The beta is available as a Universal Binary for the Macintosh platform, as well as for Microsoft® Windows® XP and Windows Vista computers. The final shipping release of Adobe Photoshop CS3 is planned for Spring 2007. The software can be downloaded at:http://labs.adobe.com, in the early hours Pacific Standard Time on December 15.

Packed with new features, Photoshop CS3 beta also includes a pre-release version of a major upgrade to Adobe Bridge, as well as a preview release of the all-new Adobe Device Central. Photoshop customers can use Adobe Device Central to design, preview, and test compelling mobile content, created specifically for smaller screens. This new tool, integrated in the Photoshop CS3 beta, simplifies and accelerates the creation of mobile content through a preview environment and built-in device profiles.

"This is an exciting time for the Mac, and Adobe wanted to ease the move to new Intel-based systems with a preview release of Photoshop CS3," said John Loiacono, senior vice president of Creative Solutions Business Unit at Adobe. "We didn’t want to leave Windows customers out of the party, so the beta is available to everyone in the creative industry's most passionate user community — no matter what their platform choice. We still have some surprises in store, but this beta gives customers an early chance to see the power of another great Photoshop release, optimized and tuned to run natively on the latest hardware and operating systems."

To utilize Adobe Photoshop CS3 beta, customers require a serial number from either Adobe Photoshop CS2, Adobe Creative Suite® 2, Adobe Creative Suite Production Studio, Adobe Design Bundle, Adobe Web Bundle or Adobe Video Bundle. Adobe Photoshop CS3 beta is available in English only. Customers who have a valid serial number for all other language versions of qualifying Adobe products can download the software. Without a serial number, users can still download Adobe Photoshop CS3 beta, with the product expiring after two days. Customers must register online with Adobe or have an existing Adobe.com membership account to access the software.

In related previews of future technologies, Adobe has also released two new web tools as beta releases. Adobe CSS Advisor is a new web-based community site to easily identify and resolve browser compatibility issues. Web designers and developers can contribute their own issues, comment on existing issues, or become an editor to participate in driving the site's future. The site is accessible at: www.adobe.com/go/cssadvisor. Also introduced is a beta release of Adobe Spry framework for Ajax, a designer-focused solution for adding the interactive power of Ajax when developing rich, dynamic web-sites. Adobe Spry framework for Ajax is available at: http://www.adobe.com/go/spry

System Requirements
For Adobe Photoshop CS3 beta, recommended system requirements are as follows. For Macintosh: Mac OSX 10.4.8 or 10.5, 1 GHz PowerPC® G4 or G5 processor, Intel based Macintosh. For Windows: Intel® Xeon® , Xeon Dual, Centrino® or Pentium® 4 processor, Microsoft Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or higher, Microsoft Windows Vista. Both platforms require 512 MB RAM and a 1024x769 resolution screen. Photoshop CS3 beta will expire soon after the launch of Photoshop CS3 in Spring 2007. Details on final pricing, system requirements and availability have yet to be determined.

4EVER Group Opens Registration for Video 07

0	Posted by Safe Harbor Staff October 23, 2006

The 4EVER Group has opened registration for Video 07, the second annual Videographers Conference and Trade Show. Being held from January 8-11, 2007, with a special workshop on January 7, Video 07 continues The 4EVER Group tradition of outstanding and innovative programming.

Early registration is available from only $249.00 for Affiliates (members) of The 4EVER Group Videographers Network. Non-affiliates can register for as little as $398.00, and that will include a one-year membership.

Regular programming will begin at 10AM on Monday, January 8. An extensive collection of workshops-at NO additional fee-will be running throughout the day on Monday. The incredible roster of presenters includes (alphabetically): Robert Allen; Darrell Aubert: Walter Chileha; Ron Dawson; Glen Elliott; John Goolsby; Jodi Harris; Julie Hill; Shawn Lam; Steve & Laura Moses; Jan Ozer; Julian St. Pierre; and Luisa Winters. With the right mix of experienced and new presenters, Video 07 will be THE event of the year!

There will be plenty of social and networking time included in Video 07. There will be an open Welcome Reception on Monday afternoon. Monday night will feature the Artistic Achievement Awards banquet (additional ticket purchase required) and dance party, and Wednesday night will feature The 4EVER Group’s signature Special Event. The Video Lounge will be available for attendee viewing as well.

Video 07 will be headquartered at the newly-renovated Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront. Located in downtown Jacksonville, steps from the St. John's River, the Hyatt features special room rates of only $129.00 (plus taxes). Attendees are urged to make their hotel reservations early. Additionally, many airlines are offering sale fares for that post-holiday travel period.

Full details about Video 07, including the schedule, roster of presenters, and pricing information, can be found at www.4EVERGroup.org. Questions can be directed to info@4EVERGroup.org

Apple Releases Aperture 1.5

0	Posted by Safe Harbor Staff October 2, 2006

Apple® has released Aperture™ 1.5, a major update to the all-in-one post production tool for photographers that delivers enhancements across each phase of the entire workflow. Aperture 1.5 delivers a powerful new open library, seamless iLife® ‘06 and iWork™ ‘06 integration, XMP metadata support, powerful new adjustment tools and an export API that makes it easy to extend the Aperture workflow to third party applications and services.

"Aperture has given photographers around the globe the confidence to work in exciting new ways," said Rob Schoeben, Apple’s vice president of Applications Product Marketing. "Now with Aperture 1.5, we’ve opened the library and extended the workflow to provide a solution that is as flexible as it is powerful."

Managing RAW, JPEG and TIFF images in Aperture 1.5 is incredibly flexible, with a new open library system that allows photographers to store image files wherever they want—either within the Aperture library itself, or in other disk locations, including external hard drives, CDs or DVDs. Aperture can now generate high-resolution previews of each image so that users can review, rate and organize images as well as perform slideshows—even when the master images are offline. The previews, which can be generated at a range of size and quality levels, make it possible for photographers to keep their original images safely stored on a desktop system at home or in the studio, while still being able to take a compact version of their entire photographic library on the road using a MacBook™ or MacBook Pro.

"In less than a year, Aperture has become as essential to me as my camera, lens and tripod," said Steve Winter, contributing photographer for National Geographic. "At the end of a day’s shoot, it’s so easy to find photos in my Aperture library and use these amazing tools like the Light Table to quickly piece something together and figure out what I need to make the story complete."

"Aperture has been a rock for me, and I'm now using it to build an archive of all my professional work—25 years’ worth," said Bill Frakes, staff photographer for Sports Illustrated. "With everything tagged and organized, including my current projects, I can retrieve any photo I want in a matter of seconds."

Aperture 1.5 is now supported across Apple’s full line of Macintosh® computers, from Mac® mini to Mac Pro, and offers powerful new integration with the iLife ’06 suite of digital lifestyle applications and iWork ’06 productivity software. The tight integration means that photographers can build complete websites with iWeb™, create self-contained slide presentations with Keynote™, or produce stunning DVD slideshows with iDVD®, all using JPEG versions of photos directly from their Aperture library, which is never more than a click away. Integration also includes syncing to iPod® using iTunes® 7 and the ability to access and copy Aperture photos from within iPhoto®.

Aperture 1.5 dramatically streamlines the process of adding metadata to photo shoots with new pre-filled IPTC Metadata Presets. Captions, credits and other critical metadata that photographers rely on can be added on import automatically or via a batch process at any point in the workflow. Another major enhancement to metadata support within Aperture is the ability to export RAW images with IPTC data stored in XMP sidecar files for easy use with other applications like Adobe Photoshop and even the ability to generate XMP files automatically through AppleScript®.

Powerful new adjustment options in Aperture 1.5 include a sophisticated luminance-based Edge Sharpen filter for extremely high-quality sharpening results and a new Color tool that lets photographers tune the hue, saturation and luminance of specific color ranges within each image. Aperture’s popular Loupe magnifier has been dramatically enhanced with a set of onscreen controls, smooth zooming with up to 1600 percent magnification and a new option that enables it to be detached from the cursor while making adjustments. Individual image adjustment settings can now be saved as presets that can be automatically applied through a menu command, so that photographers can quickly and easily make standard adjustments.

An innovative new export API plug-in architecture in Aperture 1.5 allows third party developers to tap into the expanding Aperture user community with plug-ins that seamlessly connect Aperture’s workflow to complementary applications and services. Plug-ins from industry leading companies, including Getty Images, iStockphoto, Pictage, Flickr, PhotoShelter, DigitalFusion, Soundslides and Connected Flow, will be demonstrated at photokina 2006. These plug-ins will demonstrate a range of printing, publishing and storage workflows that take advantage of this new architecture.

Pricing & Availability
Aperture 1.5 is available this now in English, French, German and Japanese as a free Software Update to current Aperture 1.0 customers.

Luxology Releases imageSynth

0	Posted by Safe Harbor Staff September 13, 2006

Luxology® LLC, an independent technology company developing next-generation 3D content creation software, has announced it is now offering its unique imageSynth plug-in for Adobe® Photoshop® CS and CS2 software. imageSynth is advanced technology that allows Adobe Photoshop users to quickly and easily create seamless textures, synthetic images, backgrounds, and generate high-resolution images from low-resolution sources. Previously available exclusively to modo users, the imageSynth plug-in is now available to the entire Photoshop community and can be purchased directly from the Luxology website at modo3d.com.

"imageSynth is very beneficial for accomplishing a myriad of tasks that go beyond traditional 3D applications," said Brad Peebler, president and co-founder of Luxology. "Our modo user community has raved about imageSynth for months and we decided it was time to make this unique tool available to all Photoshop users who need a fast and simple solution for creating synthetic images."

"The imageSynth plug-in provides a quick and robust way to generate useful textures. This appeals to a wide variety of Photoshop users from game developers to architects and graphic designers who will use imageSynth as a part of their own unique workflows," said Kevin Connor, senior director of product management for Digital Imaging at Adobe. "With innovative companies like Luxology continuing to find new ways to extend the capabilities of Photoshop, the ecosystem of solutions for our customers keeps getting better."

The imageSynth plug-in is a powerful ally to Adobe Photoshop software and is based upon proprietary technology licensed from Allegorithmic SAS. The plug-in is simple to use and lets designers create high-quality, tiling images based on simple seed images that are fed to the plug-in inside of Adobe Photoshop. imageSynth quickly processes the images and generates new images that are unique and will tile together seamlessly, making them ideal for use as backgrounds, brushes or texture maps. Users can manually control how the resulting image is built up spatially or use automatic options to generate the final, tiling image. imageSynth also allows users to produce a new single image that originally came from separate image sources.

"I'm often called upon to make large tiling images and imageSynth is my secret weapon for simplifying this time consuming task," said James Darknell, art director at Mutant Pixel Digital Design Labs. "It is innovative and artist-empowering tools like modo and imageSynth that put Luxology so far ahead of the competition in my book."

"imageSynth is at the top of my list when it comes to 'must-have' plug-ins for Photoshop," said Dan Ablan, president of AGA Digital Studios Inc., and founder of 3D Garage.com. "It is without a doubt the fastest and easiest way to create seamless textures for my 3D work."

Pricing and Availability
The imageSynth plug-in is available for USD $99 and can be purchased from Safe Harbor Computers. imageSynth works with both the Windows and Macintosh versions of Adobe Photoshop CS1 or higher. The product comes with documentation and video tutorials that explain how to use the plug-in to create new and unique images. Purchasers of imageSynth are welcome to use the plug-in on both the PC and the Mac as needed.

Luxology Releases modo 202

0	Posted by Safe Harbor Staff August 7, 2006

Luxology®, LLC has announced the immediate availability of modo™ 202, a robust update to its innovative 3D modeling, painting and rendering software. Boasting a peak rendering speed that is over 40 percent faster than modo 201, modo 202 features performance gains, tool improvements and innovative extensions to its overall toolset to create an enhanced workflow for artists working in game development, film visual effects, video production, graphic arts and design visualization. Registered modo 201 customers can upgrade to modo 202 free of charge, and a free 30-day full-featured evaluation version is now available for immediate download from www.modo3d.com.

At SIGGRAPH 2006 in Boston, modo 202 will be demonstrated at the ATI booth (#1513); available for artists in the Guerilla Studio (room #52); and featured in a series of video presentations that can be downloaded from the Luxology website on each day of the exhibition. For more information on Luxology and modo 202 at SIGGRAPH, please visit modo3d.com.

"modo 201 is fast, but modo 202 is blazing fast," explains Brad Peebler, president and co-founder of Luxology. "modo 202 is a significant advancement towards our grand vision for modo. We built modo from the ground up to integrate modeling, painting and rendering in a way that dramatically improves workflow for 3D designers in all disciplines. modo 202 refines this development one step further, allowing artists to focus even more on creating and less on process and repetitive steps."

Beta Testers Applaud Speed and Performance
"modo 202 is a great improvement over an already impressive first release of modo 201," said Philip Lawson, multimedia and design student. "Luxology has packed many updates, fixes and new features - all of which make modo even more enjoyable to use. Faster render speeds are very welcome and the new UV tools, such as overlap highlight and pinning are extremely handy. With this update, Luxology proves once again that they listen to user requests."

"Before getting modo 202 I used Deep Paint to paint my models in a real-time environment," said Dan Silverman, freelance 3D artist. "Now I use modo exclusively. It allows me to model, UV map and paint in the same application and get the job done easier and faster. The improvement in render times from modo 201 to modo 202 is breathtaking, with renders completing up to three times faster."

"modo 202 makes it possible for me to work with huge CAD and scientific models, handling thousands and even millions of polygons in real time without any problems," said Juan Jose Gonzalez Diaz, freelance artist.

"I've seen renders completed up to three times faster with modo 202," said Dr. Neil Hayes, BS.c. arch|visuals, Brighton, UK. "The improvement in render speed from 201 to 202 is breathtaking. modo 202’s thicken tool is one of those features you never knew you needed - it’s a real time saver. modo 202's new render region option is also a great example of Luxology's commitment to improving workflow."

modo 202’s New and Improved Features
Rendering – Performance is now optimized to achieve a peak rendering speed that is 42 percent faster than modo 201. Rendering workflow is streamlined by improvements to the render window, including a convenient way to interactively adjust gamma display and a handy way to flip between 10 images for render review. The render window now provides an editable Limited Region control for quickly rendering a specific portion of the image. Soft shadows can now be generated from point and spot lights. Faster, more accurate image map re-sampling improves final image generation, and irradiance caching improvements substantially elevate global illumination quality and performance.

Modeling – Enhancements include a new create SubDiv option for the popular Pen tool, and a thicken tool for adding inner or outer thickness to geometry. A totally new object-to-object baking capability captures the surface detail of a complex object and automatically applies it to a simpler object for real-time applications. New ‘game’ and ‘unitless’ grids further increase modo’s suitability for modeling game assets. A new bounding box display option for geometry facilitates the manipulation of large datasets. UV editing operations are expedited in modo 202 with a new filled UV display mode that highlights unwanted overlaps in the UV editor. A new interactive UV relax with a pinning feature greatly simplifies the process of untangling overlapping UVs.

Painting – 3D painting behavior is improved when working on challenging areas such as folded UVs and along UV borders. 3D painting workflow is also bolstered with a new visible image ink display mode which lets artists place an image over a model and brush the image onto an underlying model. A new image ink stamp mode speeds the interactive rapid placement of logos, dirtmaps, scars or other images on the surface of models.

Improved workflow – Enhancements include the ability to see scene lights in Advanced OpenGL, and to interactively adjust the F-Stop, focal length and focal distance of cameras. Support for Autodesk FBX and X3D formats are extended for expanded interoperability with other 3D applications.

About modo
Engineered to smoothly integrate into existing tool pipelines and work together with other leading 2D and 3D software applications, modo 202 accelerates the creation of world-class models, associated color and normal maps, and ultra high-quality renderings, all while providing a comfortable and intuitive working environment. Used in feature films such as "Manchurian Candidate," "Da Vinci Code," "Meet the Robinsons," "The Ant Bully," and "Codehunters," modo is known for being a unique and powerful artist-friendly tool that combines modeling, painting and rendering in a fused workflow for artists in a variety of markets.

Pricing and Availability
modo 202 is available now for the price of USD $895. Current modo 201 users can upgrade to modo 202 free of charge and users with earlier versions of modo (modo 10x) can upgrade directly to modo 202 for USD $395. modo 202 is available through Safe Harbor on both the Windows and Mac OSX platforms.

A free 30-day full-function evaluation version of modo 202 is also available for immediate download from modo3d.com. Streamlined in size for more rapid download, the modo 202 evaluation version includes a starter pack of sample files and an interactive exploration guide that provides an artful introduction to modo’s most popular tools.

AIMs Honor Technical Pioneers

0	Posted by Safe Harbor Staff April 27, 2006

When it comes to cutting-edge technological innovations, attendees at NAB2006 know a good thing when they see it.

After exploring the reaches of the show floor, NAB attendees cast their ballots and made their voices known about which products at NAB2006 deserve to be honored with the annual NAB Awards for Innovation in Media (AIM), the only official NAB awards solely decided by NAB attendees.

The fourth-annual AIM Awards are being awarded to new, innovative equipment and pioneering, ground-breaking technologies.

Attendees voted by visiting MyNAB kiosks across the show floor on Monday and Tuesday, and were automatically entered into a drawing to win a free iPod.

The 2006 AIM winners were honored this afternoon at the NAB Technology Luncheon, where the 17 awards were granted in three categories: Content Creation, Content Delivery and Content Management.

Without further ado, the year's 2006 AIM Award winners are...

Content Creation: Adobe Production Studio, Apple Final Cut Studio, Autodesk Maya, Canon XLH1 HD camcorder, Panasonic AG-HVX200 camcorder, Red Digital Cinema 4K cinema camera and Sony HDCAM HD.

Content Delivery: Amino Communications AmiNET124, Global Microwave Systems Configurable Messenger Transmitter, Volicon Observer 4CH multichannel broadcast monitor and Vyvx inV.

Content Management: Grass Valley REV PRO, LaCie Little Big Disk 320GB, NewTek TriCaster PRO, Omneon Video Networks MediaGrid Active Storage System, Ross Video openGear and SmartSound Software Sonicfire Pro 4.

Boris FX Unveils Red Version 4.0

0	Posted by Safe Harbor Staff April 25, 2006

Boris FX, the leading developer of integrated effects technology for video and film production, unveiled the next generation of its award-wining Boris Red at NAB 2006. Boris Red is an integrated 3D compositing, titling, and effects solution that provides integrated broadcast-quality features directly inside nonlinear editing systems. Version 4.0 introduces hundreds of new features, including more than 40 new filters, 16-bit color support, and a sophisticated new paint engine.

Designed specifically for editors, Red integrates with more than 20 NLEs, including Apple Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere Pro, and Avid systems. In addition to an unprecedented range of integrated features, the Red Engine provides standalone rendering. Red is a powerful and versatile application that integrates advanced 2D and 3D compositing, industry-leading software DVE technology, robust 3D modeling and animation, native vector titling, motion tracking, vector paint, rotoscoping, Adobe Illustrator file animation and extrusion and more, all in a single plug-in.

"I have been using Boris Red and its predecessors for many years now, and I wouldn't be without it. Red is an integral part of my workflow, both inside Final Cut Pro and as a standalone application," comments Alison Stevenson, editor and partner, Stable Recordings. "The new buttons in Red 4.0’s composite window are really going to speed things up for me, and I'm looking forward to using the new brush tools. If I can imagine something I can usually build it in Red. I'm excited to find out what Boris's wizards will come up with next."

"Maintaining its tight integration with all industry standard NLEs, Boris Red 4.0 will move the Red product further in the direction of 2D and 3D software based compositing and effects creation by offering support for 16-bit color and a new procedural paint engine. While our newly released Boris Blue solution will address the demand for 3D graphics and real-time hardware rendering in video postproduction," said Boris FX founder and president, Boris Yamnitsky.

Significant new features in version 4.0 include:

• 16-bit per color channel image processing
• New procedural paint brushes create ribbon and roller brush paint effects
• New raster paint engine with sophisticated clone paint brushes
• Convert bitmap files to vectors that can be extruded and animated
• Support for Wacom tablet with multiple paint input channels
• More than 40 new filters include a new Motion Key filter that removes moving foreground objects from a clip and a new Motion Path filter animates objects on a spline path
• Import EBU subtitle files to generate standard subtitles for multiple languages and DVDs
• Improved integration with Avid NLEs, including support for the AVX 2.0 architecture
• Support for PPC and Intel processors on Macintosh systems
• A new Type On Container automatically creates type on title effects

Boris Red version 4.0 will be shown at NAB 2006 at the Las Vegas Convention Center from April 24-27 in booth SL2596. Boris FX will also showcase other solutions including Boris Blue and Boris Continuum Complete (BCC) at NAB 2006. A new BCC training DVD will also debut. This DVD helps both novice and experienced editors to integrate BCC into the Adobe environment. The DVD is hosted by James Rankin, author of "Adobe After Effects 6.5 Magic." Boris Red version 4.0 is expected to ship in Q3 2006.