News a Safe Harbor blog

Sonnet Products at the 2012 NAB Show

0	Posted by Marc Leitner February 10, 2012

(Las Vegas NAB Show 2012, NV—February 10, 2012)

Xmac™ mini Server 1U Rackmount PCIe 2.0 Expansion System With Thunderbolt™ Ports

Sonnet's Xmac™ mini Server (previously known as RackMac mini Xserver) 1U rackmount PCIe 2.0 expansion system with two Thunderbolt™ Ports mounts a Mac® mini inside a specially designed enclosure that also contains two x16 (x4 mode) PCIe 2.0 slots, a 150W power supply, and an installed Gigabit Ethernet card. This system enables users to plug in two PCIe 2.0 adapter cards (one half-length and one full-length) to slots connected to the Mac mini via locking Thunderbolt cables while allowing the connection of additional Thunderbolt peripherals to the daisy-chain Thunderbolt port.

Echo™ Express PCIe 2.0 Thunderbolt Expansion Chassis

The Echo™ Express PCIe 2.0 Expansion Chassis with Thunderbolt™ Ports enables users to plug in high-performance PCI Express® 2.0 adapter cards to any computer with a Thunderbolt port. Professional video capture, digital audio, 8Gb Fibre Channel, 10Gb Ethernet, and RAID controller cards are examples of the PCIe adapters that may be used. Available in two sizes, the standard Echo Express PCIe 2.0 Expansion Chassis supports one half-length, single- or double-width, x16 (x4 mode) PCIe 2.0 card while the XL model supports two single-width, full-length cards, or one double-width, full-length card. Both have integrated universal power supplies, fans to cool the cards, and two Thunderbolt ports to support daisy-chaining up to six devices to the host computer.

Echo™ ExpressCard®/34 Thunderbolt™ Adapter

The Sonnet Echo™ ExpressCard®/34 Thunderbolt™ Adapter adds an ExpressCard/34 slot to any computer to which it's connected, extending Thunderbolt technology-equipped Macs' capabilities like never before. The adapter enables users of the latest iMac®, Mac® mini, MacBook Air®, and MacBook® Pro models with Thunderbolt ports to seamlessly connect compatible ExpressCard/34 cards from Sonnet and other manufacturers. ExpressCard/34 adapters offer users additional connectivity and functionality beyond what is available through their computers' stock configuration.

Qio™ CF4 Professional CompactFlash® Media Reader

Sonnet's Qio™ CF4 continues the Qio family tradition of offering a cost-effective, high-speed alternative to ordinary card readers for videographers and studios alike. The CF4 is the first four-slot CompactFlash® (CF) memory card reader available, and it includes an integrated two-port 6 Gb/s eSATA interface for connecting external storage systems. The Qio CF4 dramatically increases users' efficiency, providing the ability to transfer data concurrently from four CF cards (used with professional HD camcorders from RED® and Canon®, and DSLR cameras from Canon and Nikon®) with an aggregate ingest speed up to 400 MB/sec. (desktops, 200 MB/sec. with notebook computers). Mac OS® X- and Windows®-compatible, the Qio CF4 connects to a computer through an included ExpressCard/34 or PCIe 2.0 interface adapter card.

Qio™ E3 professional SxS™ Media Reader

Sonnet's Qio™ E3 is a cost-effective, high-speed alternative to ordinary card readers for videographers and studios alike that rely upon SxS media workflows. The E3 is the first three-slot SxS™ memory card reader available. It includes an integrated two-port 6 Gb/s eSATA interface for connecting external storage systems and doubles as a bus expansion system for ExpressCard®/34 adapter cards. The Qio E3 provides the ability to transfer data concurrently from three SxS cards for Sony® XDCAM™ EX professional HD camcorders with an aggregate ingest speed up to 400 MB/sec. (desktops, 200 MB/sec. with notebook computers), dramatically increasing users' efficiency. Mac OS® X- and Windows®-compatible, the Qio E3 connects to a computer through an included ExpressCard/34 or PCIe 2.0 interface adapter card.

Qio™ MR – PC-Compatible

Sonnet's Qio™ MR is the industry's first compact mobile, rack-mounted device to support all major HD video memory card formats, providing a convenient high-speed alternative to stand-alone card readers for videographers and studios alike. Like the original Qio, which is now PC-compatible, the MR supports SxS™, CompactFlash®, P2, and SDXC™ (with included SDXC adapter) media, with two slots for each (SDXC shared with SxS) and the ability to transfer data from all cards concurrently. Qio MR delivers the original Qio's capabilities and advantages that Mac® users have come to appreciate in an easy-to-install Windows®-compatible package, as well as the ability to reads files from any combination of cards with aggregate bandwidth up to 200 MB/sec. The Qio MR connects through an included internal PCIe interface adapter card.

Fusion™ RX1600 Vfibre™ Video Editing SAN Server

Available in 16TB, 32TB, or 48TB configurations to start, the Fusion™ RX1600 Vfibre™ delivers amazing data throughput for video editing workgroups. Capable of supporting 4K workflows, this system delivers more streams to more users with up to 16 ports for 8Gb Fibre Channel client connections, plus a 10Gb Ethernet interface. The Fusion RX1600 Vfibre includes a metadata controller, Tiger Technologies' metaSAN server software, redundant and hot-swappable storage, power supplies, fans, and server control drives out of the box. This video editing SAN server offers heterogeneous operating system support for Mac OS® X, Windows®, and Linux® users and easy expandability to up to 384TB of storage — all backed by Sonnet's five-year pro storage warranty.

Company Overview:

Sonnet Technologies Inc. is a leader in providing storage systems and media readers for professional users of Macintosh®, Windows®, and UNIX® systems in the film, video, and broadcast industries. The company's product line features a range of high-performance, cost-effective, and reliable desktop and rackmount RAID storage solutions ranging from two- and four-drive portable units, to eight- and 16-drive desktop attached storage with advanced RAID controllers, to 16-drive, 16-port, 8Gb Fibre Channel shared storage systems that are expandable to 384TB. Celebrating 25 years in business, Sonnet has pioneered and brought to market numerous innovative solutions that enhance the performance and connectivity of Macintosh, Windows, and other industry-standard computers. More information is available at http://www.sonnettech.com.

Matrox Announces Upcoming Public Beta Release for Apple Final Cut Pro X

0	Posted by Marc Leitner February 6, 2012

Matrox will provide an open public beta for Apple Final Cut Pro X v10.0.3. One of the many new and exciting features of Final Cut Pro X update is the ability to use professional monitors.

This release will allow Matrox I/O products; PCIe cards, ExpressCard/34 or Thunderbolt I/O devices broadcast quality output to a variety of monitors; SDI, Analog Component or HDMI monitors while editing with Apple Final Cut Pro X. The unique Matrox HDMI calibration utility ensures the display of colors for projects with the highest fidelity possible on an HDMI monitor.

Matrox beta release 3.0.1 supports Apple Final Cut Pro X for Matrox MXO2 Family and Matrox Mojito MAX.

Drivers will be available on the Matrox user forum the week of February 13.

Learn more about Matrox video hardware here.

Livestream Integrates with NewTek TriCaster

0	Posted by Marc Leitner January 31, 2012

(New York—January 31, 2012) Livestream today announced a new plugin for NewTek TriCaster™ that provides a streamlined workflow for live content producers.

The plugin was developed using the NewTek TriCaster SDK, and provides H.264/AAC encoding, one click HD 720p multibitrate encoding, along with playback compatibility for iPhone® and iPad® – all without the need for an external encoder. The Livestream plugin is pre-installed when the TriCaster is upgraded to rev.4. Registered TriCaster owners may upgrade by visiting register.newtek.com. To learn more about the plugin or watch a demo video of how it works, visit: Livestream.com/tricasterplugin.

"We’re excited that Livestream is the first to embrace the TriCaster SDK," said Andrew Cross, NewTek CTO. "Our goal was to open TriCaster to developers who will make it even easier for live content creators to produce and deliver dynamic programming across all platforms. This development on the part of Livestream shows their commitment to leadership in this industry."

NewTek TriCaster and Livestream have been used to deliver an extraordinary range of high profile live programming, from the ESPN X Games, to the Facebook Town Hall meeting with President Obama.

Event organizers, content owners, celebrities, and artists around the world use Livestream's social broadcasting tools to engage and grow their audiences on the Web, mobile devices, and connected TVs. The result has been more than one billion video minutes streamed each month to the growing community of 20 million monthly viewers.

With TriCaster, anyone can simultaneously produce, live stream, broadcast, project and record HD and SD network-style productions. A single operator or small team can switch between multiple cameras, virtual inputs and live virtual sets, while inserting clips, titles and motion graphics with multi-channel effects. TriCaster is used by sports organizations, schools, broadcasters, houses of worship, webcasters, government agencies, and others to provide a new level of extended programming and content to their audiences.

TriCaster users can begin using this plugin with their Livestream Premium account.For those not already using Livestream, visit http://www.livestream.com/gopremium to sign up and join the top event producers on Livestream’s award-winning platform. Livestream Premium offers recording in the cloud, global delivery, privacy, an ad-free viewing experience, and full white label players.

About Livestream

Livestream is the leading provider for live event coverage. Our tools make it simple for anyone to broadcast live to the Web, and Livestream.com is the destination for the top live content from around the world.

Livestream operates with over 120 full-time staff members in 3 three offices - in New York, Los Angeles and Bangalore (in addition to a globally-available production team). The service is available for free (advertising-supported) or as a feature-rich, monetizable, premium subscription for business.

Nikon D4's Clean Output Makes Atomos Ninja The Perfect Partner

0	Posted by Marc Leitner January 31, 2012

(Melbourne, Australia—January 31, 2012) Atomos, the creator of the award-winning field recorders Ninja and Samurai, announced initial testing of the Ninja with the new Nikon D4 DSLR camera proves the combo is a real game-changer. The Nikon D4 is the first FX-format DSLR to output an uncompressed, clean HD signal over HDMI.

"Thanks to Nikon, the Atomos Ninja is the killer product we designed it to be. We take our hats off to the D4 for its ability to deliver perfect sensor images over HDMI. Our goal of creating smarter production tools for creatives is becoming a reality.

"Ninja and Nikon D4 are the ultimate bang-for -buck combination for recording high quality images, in 4:2:2 Apple ProRes, directly to HDD, or to SSD if you prefer. We even include a monitor and extra audio inputs so you can play back your recorded footage instantaneously for review." said Jeromy Young, CEO and Co-Founder of Atomos.

The Atomos Ninja is an attractive field recorder designed in collaboration with Apple which allows recording of pristine, uncompressed images straight from the HDMI connector of your DSLR or camcorder directly to Apple ProRes. All while you're recording. The Ninja implements Apple ProRes in hardware to give you real-time, 10-bit recording anytime, anywhere. It takes advantage of low-cost, modern technology by utilizing HDMI-capable pro-video and consumer camcorders as well as DSLRs. Many features from Atomos are designed with real productions and real situations in mind, to create smarter workflows, keeping the highest quality but also keeping running costs low. The Ninja was designed with a long battery life and Atomos' unique continuous power technology (patent pending) means that you never have to interrupt a Ninja recording to swap power cells.

Julian Hollingshead, NPS Business Support Executive at Nikon UK says: "The Nikon D4 camera is the ultimate tool for professional photographers thanks to its high ISO capabilities, incredible speed and responsiveness and advanced video capabilities that give both photographers and videographers the multimedia output options they require.

He adds: "We've responded to the changing needs of our customers by incorporating new features such as an audio monitoring socket, on-camera audio level monitoring and a clean uncompressed HDMI which can be maximised using the Ninja field recorder."

The Nikon D4 is Nikon's flagship Digital SLR that has been designed for photographers looking for the ultimate digital SLR camera. Equipped with a 16.2-megapixel FX-format sensor, phenomenally high ISO and Nikon's powerful EXPEED3 image processing engine, the new model offers uncompromised performance and unrivalled versatility in extreme lighting and environmental conditions. Every aspect of the new Nikon D4 DSLR has been designed to emphasize rapid response and seamless operation to help professional photographers consistently capture incredible content.

Pricing and Availability

Ninja is currently available for $995 USD. See http://www.sharbor.com/vendors/MOS.html for details.

The Nikon D4 will be available in late February 2012 for the suggested retail price of $5999.95 / £4799.99. See http://www.nikon.co.uk for details.

About Atomos

Atomos strive to improve the working lives of videomakers by designing cutting-edge, affordable tools that make the best possible use of recent advances in hardware and software. The Company is focused on streamlining workflows and solving real world problems such as long battery life with continuous power technology and affordable digital recording to HDDs or SSDs. Based in Australia, Hong Kong, and UK, and with a worldwide distribution network, Atomos has a range of ground breaking products lined up for release over the coming months and years.

VoluMedic OG Offering Reduced Pricing of Volume Rendering Plug-In for LightWave

0	Posted by Marc Leitner January 31, 2012

VoluMedic OG, a leading developer of custom LightWave plugins and 3D graphics software, recently announced VoluMedic 3.0, the next generation of the award winning software for the editing, viewing, rendering and analysis of volume data. With this new version comes an entirely new pricing structure:

• VoluMedic 3.0 - Plugin (Academic) - $999.00
• VoluMedic 3.0 - Plugin - $1599.00
• VoluMedic 3.0 Upgrade - Plugin (Academic) - $299.00
• VoluMedic 3.0 Upgrade - Plugin - $499.00

New Features in VoluMedic 3.0 Include:

• GPU accelerated raycasting in LightWave's Viewports.
• New, streamlined user interface.
• Slice views are now available inside LightWave's viewports, replacing the Slice Editor panel (which is still available). The volume data is displayed and resliced according to three relative coordinate systems (dataset, object and world).
• Painting, measurement and segmentation of volume data can now be done directly in the LightWave viewports (3D and 2D views).
• Tools for automatic, semi- automatic and manual pre- orientation of volume data. This is particularly important if data always has to be aligned the same way for reliable measurement and analysis. Reoriented data is correctly resliced and displayed in realtime in the 2D and 3D Views.
• Eight new Shading Quality modes for the software renderer that do not only look better, but also render much faster than those available in version 2.0. The same Shading Quality levels also affect the new GPU- Raycaster, making a manual selection of shaders unnecessary.
• New requesters for the reduction of dataset and OpenGL texture sizes make very large datasets viewable even on systems with otherwise insufficient memory (at a slightly reduced quality).
• Improved support for the interactive ViewPort Renderer (VPR) in LightWave 10 and later. Switch between GPU and CPU rendering at any time! Use whatever fits your workflow and your hardware!
• Faster, multithreaded filters and importers.
• New compressed VoluMedic format for more efficient storage, as well as faster loading and saving.
• Improved Analyze and DICOM- Importers.

About VoluMedic

VoluMedic is a suite of tools for LightWave3D®, the award winning 3D animation software by NewTek Inc. VoluMedic and LightWave3D together form a software package capable of loading, manipulating, measuring and rendering volumetric data from sources such as computed tomography, magnetic resonance tomography, 3D ultrasound, PET, SPECT, digital microscopy and more. The vast tool set provided by VoluMedic and LightWave3D is unsurpassed by competing volume visualization software. VoluMedic is flexible enough to be used not only for medical visualization, but also for material science, non destructive testing, forensic animation, biology, geology and even astronomy. The combination of VoluMedic's excellent software volume renderer and LightWave's industry standard animation tools, allow VoluMedic to act as a leading tool in award winning TV and film productions, such as the Emmy award winning documentary "Inside the Living Body" (2008 Emmy for best visual effects in a documentary) by National Geographic Channel and "CSI:Crime Scene Investigation".

Major New NVIDIA CUDA Release Helps Accelerate Scientific Research With GPUs

0	Posted by Marc Leitner January 27, 2012

NVIDIA today released a new version of its CUDA parallel computing platform, which will make it easier for computational biologists, chemists, physicists, geophysicists, other researchers, and engineers to advance their simulations and computational work by using GPUs.

The new NVIDIA® CUDA® parallel computing platform features three key enhancements that make parallel programing with GPUs easier, more accessible and faster. These include:

• Re-designed Visual Profiler with automated performance analysis, providing aneasier path to application acceleration
• New compiler, based on the widely-used LLVM open-source compiler infrastructure, delivering up to 10 percent speed up in application performance
• Hundreds of new imaging and signal processing functions, doubling the size of the NVIDIA Performance Primitives (NPP) library

"The new visual profiler is amazing," said Joshua Anderson, lead developer of the HOOMD-blue open source molecular dynamics project. "With just a few clicks, it performs an automated performance analysis of your application, highlights likely problem areas, and then provides links to best-practice suggestions on improving them. It makes it quick and easy for virtually all developers to accelerate a broad range of applications."

"The LLVM complier gave me an almost immediate 10 percent performance speed up, just by recompiling my existing real-time financial risk analysis code," said Gilles Civario, senior software architect at the Irish Centre for High-End Computing. "I can only imagine the additional performance gains I can achieve with additional tuning using the new CUDA release."

Among the new features of the latest CUDA parallel computing platform release — available free of charge on the NVIDIA developer web site at http://developer.nvidia.com/getcuda — are:

New Visual Profiler - Easiest path to performance optimization

The new Visual Profiler makes it easy for developers at all experience levels to optimize their code for maximum performance. Featuring automated performance analysis and an expert guidance system that delivers step-by-step optimization suggestions, the Visual Profiler identifies application performance bottlenecks and recommends actions, with links to the optimization guides. Using the new Visual Profiler, performance bottlenecks are easily identified and actionable.

LLVM Compiler - Instant 10 percent increase in application performance

LLVM is a widely-used open-source compiler infrastructure featuring a modular design that makes it easy to add support for new programming languages and processor architectures. Using the new LLVM-based CUDA compiler, developers can achieve up to 10 percent additional performance gains on existing GPU-accelerated applications with a simple recompile. In addition, LLVM's modular design allows third-party software tool developers to provide a custom LLVM solution for non-NVIDIA processor architectures, enabling CUDA applications to run across NVIDIA GPUs, as well as those from other vendors.

New Image, Signal Processing Library Functions - "Drop-in" Acceleration with NPP Library

NVIDIA has doubled the size of its NPP library, with the addition of hundreds of new image and signal processing functions. This enables virtually any developer using image or signal processing algorithms to easily gain the benefit of GPU acceleration, with the simple addition of library calls into their application. The updated NPP library can be used for a wide variety of image and signal processing algorithms, ranging from basic filtering to advanced workflows.

About CUDA

CUDA is NVIDIA's parallel computing platform and programming model, which enables dramatic increases in computing performance by harnessing the power of GPUs. NVIDIA CUDA GPUs support all GPU computing programming models, APIs, and languages, including CUDA C/C++/Fortran, OpenCL, and DirectCompute. More than 500 universities and institutions worldwide teach the CUDA programming model within their curriculum. In addition, the CUDA parallel programming platform has been downloaded more than 1.2 million times to date.

PluralEyes for FCP X Now Available

0	Posted by Marc Leitner January 26, 2012

(Vancouver British Columbia, Canada) Singular Software™, a developer of workflow automation applications for video production, is pleased to announce the availability of PluralEyes® for Apple® Final Cut Pro® X (FCP X). The multi-award winning PluralEyes technology works alongside FCP X to quickly and accurately sync video and audio clips for dual-system audio and multi-camera productions, saving hours of tedious manual syncing during post-production.

"The auto sync function that is built into Final Cut Pro X is a start, but most professional editors will want more. They want to be able to sync many clips at once, see the results right away, and be confident that the sync will work across a broad range of real-world video projects," says Bruce Sharpe, CEO, Singular Software. "PluralEyes for FCP X is built on the same technology that is used countless times every day to sync weddings, corporate videos, documentaries and a host of other video production types. With a time-tested, proven technology powering the automation, FCP X editors can confidently offload their entire sync task to PluralEyes and be hands off until the sync is complete, regardless of the type of project they are working on."

PluralEyes for FCP X went through an extensive public beta before its release with thousands of editors putting the software through its paces. Photography Bay reviewed the PluralEyes for FCP X beta release, commenting on its ability to better handle real-world sync projects, "…syncing multiple takes to a single audio clip is a challenge in FCP X, but is something that the new PluralEyes beta shreds through easily." The full Photography Bay review can be viewed at http://www.photographybay.com/2011/12/15/plural-eyes-now-available-for-fcp-x/

PluralEyes for FCP X Pricing and Upgrades

PluralEyes for FCP X is available today from Safe Harbor Computers. Existing PluralEyes for FCP customers can upgrade to PluralEyes for FCP X free of charge at http://www.singularsoftware.com/downloads.html#fcp.

Blackmagic Design Releases HyperDeck Shuttle 2 - Avid DNxHD Recording & Playback

0	Posted by Marc Leitner January 19, 2012

HyperDeck Shuttle 2 is shipping now and available from Safe Harbor Computers. HyperDeck 2.0 software public beta is available to download now from the Blackmagic Design web site. Any customer who has HyperDeck Shuttle 2 can download this software update to add DNxHD compressed recording.

HyperDeck Shuttle now records the highest quality uncompressed or compressed video formats onto common low cost SSDs in the smallest possible size! HyperDeck Shuttle is small, affordable and battery powered so it’s perfect as a field recorder. For direct camera mounting, HyperDeck Shuttle Mount Plate can be added to provide multiple pre drilled 1/4" and 3/8" mounting holes.

HyperDeck Shuttle turns low cost cameras into high end broadcast cameras because it allows video file recording to bypass the camera's compression by recording from SDI and HDMI directly to 10-bit uncompressed QuickTime or Avid DNxHD MXF formats. SSDs are cheap and fast, and can be plugged into an eSATA dock for instant access to the media files, so are the most flexible recording medium available.

DNxHD is a broadcast industry standard for media files and adding native support for this compressed video format into HyperDeck Shuttle will allow dramatically longer recording times, lower media storage costs, and provide full file format compatibility with Avid Media Composer systems. All media is recorded in MXF format that’s immediately available for all Avid Media Composer systems and leading video applications including Blackmagic Design’s DaVinci Resolve.

SSDs are the latest computer disk technology that features flash storage in a low cost and small 2.5" size. Using SSDs with HyperDeck Shuttle provides video recording with blazing fast speed, low power consumption and totally silent operation. This is a perfect replacement for mechanical tape based acquisition and also eliminates complicated and expensive disk arrays. With no moving parts, SSDs are unbelievably robust and can handle shocks and vibrations that would destroy conventional hard drives or videotapes.

With SDI and HDMI inputs and outputs, HyperDeck Shuttle works with virtually every camera, deck or monitor and effortlessly plugs into monitors or televisions for instant on set preview. HyperDeck Shuttle can also be used as a video playback source for digital signage systems or connected to a live production switcher for recording events and then used for live playback!

"Recording DNxHD files straight to disk now costs less per minute than recording to professional tape plus it’s the most efficient workflow possible," said Grant Petty, CEO, Blackmagic Design. "A 64Gb SSD is less than $100 and will record 50 minutes of the highest quality DNxHD video! This update means that both HyperDeck Studio and HyperDeck Shuttle customers can record broadcast quality DNxHD files for less than $2 a minute!"

HyperDeck Shuttle Key Features

• Capture and playback with Solid State Disks in uncompressed and compressed 10-bit quality.
• 10-bit capture and playback of uncompressed QuickTime and compressed Avid DNxHD MXF files.
• SSD is removable for editing, and changing to blank disks.
• 3 Gb/s SDI input using mini coax SDI connector and HDMI input. Auto selects.
• 3 Gb/s SDI output using mini coax SDI connector and HDMI output.
• Power supply connection also recharges battery.
• USB connection for software updates and settings.
• Machined out of solid block of aluminum for maximum strength and attractive design.
• File compatibility with Media Composer, Final Cut Pro, Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve and more.

Availability and Price

HyperDeck Shuttle 2 is shipping now and available from Safe Harbor Computers. HyperDeck 2.0 software public beta is available to download now from the Blackmagic Design web site. Any customer who has HyperDeck Shuttle 2 can download this software update to add DNxHD compressed recording.

ViewCast Announces New Niagara 9100 Streaming Video Encoder Series

0	Posted by Marc Leitner January 18, 2012

PLANO, Texas, Jan. 18, 2012—In direct response to the market's demand for increased digital media performance in less space, ViewCast Corporation (OTCBB: VCST) today announced the availability of its new Niagara® 9100 series – a sleek, 1RU, ultra high-density/high-performing video encoder platform. This new video encoder series streams SD and HD video and enables service providers, broadcasters and enterprises to power digital content for existing and new audiences in the mobile, web and IPTV environments.

"An ideal solution for content delivery networks and network service providers seeking to monetize digital media, the Niagara 9100 delivers multiple, simultaneous streams in a variety of formats," said John Hammock, President and CEO of ViewCast, a developer of industry-leading solutions that help companies deliver video to broadband and mobile networks. "Our stated strategy is to find and fill the needs of new larger market segments and the 1RU platform on the 9100 provides these customers with savings on space and power consumption while paying a lower price per channel with up to eight independent channels in this single device."

Optimized for digital media applications including live streaming/simulcasting, webcasting, mobile TV, archiving/video on demand and IPTV, the Niagara 9100 uses the latest multi-core CPU technology. It can be configured for a variety of video and audio inputs, including HD-SDI, component Y/C, and composite video with balanced, unbalanced, embedded and AES/EBU audio, providing exceptional performance.

"We've designed the Niagara 9100 series product line with a common software architecture incorporating high-density boards that are capable of delivering high video encoding capabilities. This approach provides a small footprint and allows for rapid time to market at an excellent performance/price ratio," said Adrian Guihat, Senior Vice President of Product Development and CTO of ViewCast.

A flexible web interface provides remote setup, control and monitoring as well as access to all of the popular industry streaming formats. Workflow can also be optimized via the development of customized solutions with ViewCast's powerful and accessible Niagara SCX® Software Development Kit (SDK).

For technical specifications and details regarding the Niagara 9100, please visit: http://www.sharbor.com/vendors/CST.html

About ViewCast

ViewCast develops industry-leading hardware and software for the transformation, management and delivery of professional quality video over broadband, enterprise and mobile networks. ViewCast's award-winning solutions simplify the complex workflows required for the Web-based streaming of news, sports, music, and other video content to computers and mobile devices, empowering broadcasters, businesses, and governments to easily and effectively reach and expand their audiences. With more than 400,000 video capture cards deployed globally, ViewCast sets the standard in the streaming media industry. ViewCast Niagara® streaming systems, Osprey® video capture cards and VMp™ video management systems provide the highly reliable technology required to deliver the multi-platform experiences driving today's digital media market.

Safe Harbor Computers Now Providing Customers with Live Chat Shopping Experience

0	Posted by Marc Leitner January 12, 2012

Milwaukee, WI – January 12, 2012 – Safe Harbor Computers, a leading supplier to video editors, 3D animators and post production professionals, has announced that they are now providing live chat support to customers around the world. Building on the highly-rated customer service that they’re known for, the new live chat feature is another simple and user-friendly option now available to customers throughout their shopping experience.

The new feature integrated into Safe Harbor’s website allows post production professionals to connect one-on-one with experienced staff, both pre- and post-sale, during standard business hours. "In addition to email, phone and various social networking sites, the live chat feature is just one more way that customers can connect with us and discover the best solution for their needs," says Jeff Pulera, NLE specialist at Safe Harbor.

The live chat addition is the first in a series of updates to Safe Harbor’s online experience. "With a number of updates planned throughout the year, we will soon be able to provide our customers with a completely seamless shopping experience, from general research on gear and software, to pre-sales questions, purchasing and post-sales support, all entirely possible without ever leaving our site," states Marc Leitner, Marketing Coordinator.

Safe Harbor’s live chat is currently online at www.sharbor.com and is accessible via the "Chat online" icon in the upper right-hand corner of any page.

About Safe Harbor Computers

Celebrating 25 years of business, Safe Harbor has become one of the most trusted resellers in the multimedia industry. Founded in 1987 as a Commodore Amiga reseller, Safe Harbor helped to advance the video production industry by providing quality products and outstanding customer service to a wide range of creative artists. With a clean, intuitive, and easy to navigate website, Safe Harbor has built a reliable reputation as an industry leader. Look to Safe Harbor for quality editing and animation software and hardware, as well as for a professional and personable experience.

For more information, please visit:

www.sharbor.com
www.twitter.com/SafeHarborComp
www.facebook.com/SafeHarborComputers
www.youtube.com/SafeHarborComputers