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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

Adobe upgrade policy to expire with the release of CS6

0	Posted by Marc Leitner December 13, 2011

Whether you’re a video editor, designer, or any other form of creative professional/hobbyist, it’s probably safe to assume that you’re using at least ONE piece of Adobe software in your workflow. With what many refer to as "industry standard" applications, Adobe has always made staying up to date with their software a fairly liberal process. If you had CS3 and the new features in CS4 didn’t particularly appeal to your needs, it is entirely possible that you waited to upgrade until the release of CS5. Or, perhaps upgrading one program sets off a chain reaction causing multiple upgrades, requiring attention to budgets, planning and headaches. Whatever the case may be, if this has been your philosophy regarding Adobe upgrades, it’s time for a fresh start.

Enter CS6, the highly-anticipated upcoming release of Adobe Creative Suite. While it’s rumored to be their biggest and most monumental update yet, the release comes with an entirely new upgrade policy…

"In order to qualify for upgrade pricing when CS6 releases, customers will need to be on the latest version of our software (either CS5 or CS5.5 editions)." – David Wadhwani, Adobe Senior Vice President and General Manager, Digital Media Business Unit

According to Adobe, when the release of CS6 is made available, anyone using pre-CS5 software will be required to pay full price, should they choose to upgrade to the latest edition. While there is no clear answer as to when this may be, it’s also no secret that Adobe has historically planned major announcements around large industry events such as NAB. Rumored for an April 2012 release, CS6 will likely be no exception. On June 21, CEO Shantanu Narayen said during an Adobe conference call that the CS5.5 launch in April, 2011 was "the first release in our transition to an annual release cycle," adding, "We intend to ship the next milestone release of Creative Suite in 2012, and it will include an updated version of Photoshop."

If you're looking to stay up to date with the latest tools from Adobe and save money in the long run, now is absolutely the time to get up and running with CS5.5. Through 3/15/12, Adobe is offering 20% off all upgrades from CS4 and earlier, with additional savings and bundles exclusively from Safe Harbor. You can see all of our Adobe sales here, or feel free to give us a call at (800) 544-6599.

How do you feel about the new upgrade policy? Let us know in the comments section, or connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, or Google+.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals at Safe Harbor Computers

0	Posted by Marc Leitner November 23, 2011

It's that time of year again! The time when we offer our biggest sales ever... The time when you save hundreds of dollars on the software and gear you need... and more importantly, the time when we get to extend our thanks to you, our loyal customers.

For one week only, we're offering HUGE savings on our workstations, as well as a number of popular hardware and software solutions. These specials, bundles and freebies are WHILE SUPPLIES LAST and won't last long.

In addition to these special markdowns, order by 11/29 and get a FREE USB flexible keyboard! Just shoot us a quick note on Facebook, Twitter or Google+ requesting one! These virtually indestructable water/dust-proof silicone keyboards are a portable and convenient solution for when you're out in the field or limited only to your smartphone.

Check out all of our Black Friday and Cyber Monday specials or feel free to give us a call at (800) 544-6599.

Safe Harbor Computers to Exhibit at 2011 IVA Filmmakers Expo

0	Posted by Marc Leitner June 7, 2011

Waukesha, WI – June 7, 2011 – Safe Harbor Computers, a leading supplier to video and 3D animation professionals, today announced that they will be exhibiting at the 5th annual Illinois Videographers Association Midwest Expo, June 28, 2011. Demonstrating unique features of the Atomos Ninja, alongside the power of Safe Harbor’s custom-built Tsunami and Mac Pro workstations, attendees will experience hands-on benefits of the latest hardware and software.

The Atomos Ninja, a rugged and portable 10-bit field recorder for video cameras and DSLRs with HDMI, will be mounted to a Sony video camera for demonstration purposes. The battery-powered unit takes the live uncompressed HDMI feed from a camcorder and saves it to a 2.5" hard drive in the 10-bit ProRes format with 4:2:2 quality, bypassing the compression cameras use when saving HD video to tape or memory card. The captured ProRes files can then be immediately edited in Final Cut Pro without Log and Transfer or any type of transcoding needed. The ProRes clips will also play in Premiere Pro CS5.5 for PC users. Functionality will be demonstrated on both platforms.

Also featured will be Safe Harbor’s custom built Tsunami workstations powered by Adobe Production Premium CS5.5 and NVIDIA Quadro by PNY. The Mercury Playback Engine at the heart of Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.5 is NVIDIA GPU-accelerated, 64-bit native, architected for the future—enabling users to work more fluidly on projects in SD, HD, 2K, 4K, and beyond. Safe Harbor staff and experienced video editor Jeff Pulera will be available for questions as he demonstrates this powerful setup with the Atomos Ninja. An Apple Mac Pro workstation will also be on display with unique configurations tailored to specific editing needs.

Literature, raffle prizes, exclusive show specials and coupons will be available to all attendees at the Safe Harbor booth. Jeff will also be discussing the various performance levels of Tsunami and how Safe Harbor can work with customers to meet specific needs and budgets. Show attendees will be able to visit the booth, talk with video professionals, and learn how the Atomos Ninja, with an optimized workstation from Safe Harbor, helps to maximize production workflows.

This year's IVA Expo features:

• World-class filmmakers
• 6 incredible presentations
• Hands-on trade show
• Live camera/production workshop featuring a live mock wedding
• Safe Harbor demonstrations
• Exclusive show specials
• Much, much more!

More information and registration is available at http://www.ivaexpo.com/.
For an in-depth review of the Atomos Ninja, please visit http://www.sharbor.com/products-xtra/2054.html.
For more information about custom Tsunami and Mac Pro workstations, please visit http://www.sharbor.com/build-yours/.

About Safe Harbor

Celebrating 24 years of business, Safe Harbor has become one of the most trusted resellers in the multimedia industry, 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.

Safe Harbor's Ready-To-Edit Tsunami Workstations are extremely high-quality, highly reliable systems backed by renowned customer service. All components are brand-name, non-OEM products and carry full manufacturer warranties - proprietary drivers or technology are never used. System boards are certified compatible by capture card manufacturers. Each system must pass rigorous testing procedures and a full burn-in period before it is shipped.

For more information, visit:

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

About Illinois Videographers Association

Established in 1996, the Illinois Videographers Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to the continuing education of all videographers from professional to amateur. Monthly meetings on various videography topics and trends are held at The Double-Tree Suites in Wood Dale, IL.

Adobe Illustrator CS5 HTML5 Pack

0	Posted by Marc Leitner September 13, 2010

Adobe has announced the availability of the Adobe® Illustrator® CS5 HTML5 Pack. This add-on for Illustrator CS5 15.0.1 provides initial support for HTML5 and CSS3, extends SVG capability in Illustrator CS5, and helps you easily design web and device content. In combination with the HTML5 features available in the Adobe Dreamweaver CS5 11.0.3 updater, these new tools allow web designers to take advantage of the latest advancements in HTML5.

While HTML5 and CSS3 will not be finalized for some time, and SVG support in browsers will continue to evolve, the extension provides support for a set of currently implemented features.

Benefits of the Illustrator CS5 HTML5 Pack extension

• Efficiently design for web and devices by exporting Illustrator Artboards for unique screen sizes using SVG and CSS3 media queries.
• Create web widgets with Illustrator by generating dynamic vector art for data driven web work-flows.
• Take advantage of the latest enhancements to SVG and Canvas to generate interactive web content.
• Map artwork appearance attributes from designer to developer tools—export from the Illustrator Appearance Panel to CSS3 for streamlined styling of web pages.

Sorenson Media Announces Support and Video Optimization for Apple’s iPad

0	Posted by Marc Leitner April 8, 2010

(San Diego, California—April 7, 2010) Sorenson Media today announced that all of the company’s Internet video solutions have already been optimized for the Apple iPad—including the Sorenson 360 online video platform, the award-winning Sorenson Squeeze client-side encoding solution and the Sorenson Squish browser-based encoding solution. This optimization is available immediately and at no additional charge.

"We have optimized our total video solutions for the iPad and the iPhone, making it easier than ever for anyone to access or publish the highest quality video content over the Internet," said Peter Csathy, president and CEO of Sorenson Media. "While a lot of providers talk about how they will support video on the iPad sometime in the future, Sorenson Media has actually already done it and – this is a critical distinction – optimized it. We are aware of no one else who can say that."

Since June 2009, every Sorenson Media solution has also been fully compatible with the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch—in contrast to many other providers who either charge extra fees for compatibility with Apple devices or make customers develop their own Apple interoperability. Sorenson Media was the first to optimize for the iPhone 3G S immediately after its launch.

Sorenson Media’s ongoing commitment to empower its customers with the most intuitive, flexible and interoperable solutions in the marketplace has also recently been noted by Apple. Soon after its Q4 2009 release, Sorenson Squeeze 6 was named an official Apple Staff Pick, and is currently featured in the Apple Downloads section: http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/video/.

To view screenshots of Sorenson Media’s solutions in action on the iPad, visit: http://blog.sorensonmedia.com.

Using optimized presets, the Sorenson 360 online video platform enables users to easily encode video content in the iPad-compatible MPEG-4 format and deliver that content using Apple’s native video player. Intelligent embed codes then immediately call up the correct player for playback on the iPad and other Apple devices. The company’s optimization for the iPad also includes presets in Sorenson Squeeze and Sorenson Squish that enable seamless playback in the formats used by Apple, including precise video and audio specifications that maximize the quality of the video played on these devices. Downloadable presets are available for free to every Sorenson Squeeze 6 user at the company’s online Preset Exchange at http://presets.sorensonmedia.com.

Sorenson Media’s total video solutions enable users to encode and upload video content to the Sorenson 360 online video platform directly through the industry-leading Sorenson Squeeze software, or via their browsers using Sorenson Squish. Both processes significantly reduce upload time and provide automatic access to the iPad presets. With the user-friendly Sorenson Squish browser-based encoding tool, users simply drag and drop their video files from their hard drive or record new videos via their webcams and, in a single step, publish and make them playable directly on any Apple device.

About Sorenson Media

Sorenson Media ( http://www.sorensonmedia.com ) offers comprehensive, award-winning solutions that empower businesses and video professionals to easily and affordably publish the highest-quality video to the Internet and other media. Included among its products and services are the Sorenson 360 Video Delivery Network (VDN), Sorenson Media’s re-imagined video publishing platform; Sorenson Squeeze, the gold-standard for video encoding applications; Sorenson Squish and SquishNet, which together create an easy-to-use browser-based video publishing platform for user-generated content; and Sorenson Spark, the industry’s most widely used video codec, which enables mobile devices and other consumer products to playback the largest selection of video on the Internet today. Since its inception in 1995, Sorenson Media has been instrumental in bringing Internet video to mainstream applications and is committed to dramatically improving the online video experience for both content creators and consumers.

Adobe Introduces Creative Suite 4 Product Family

0	Posted by Safe Harbor Staff September 23, 2008

Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced the Adobe® Creative Suite® 4 product family, a milestone release of the industry-leading design and development software for virtually every creative workflow. Delivering radical workflow breakthroughs that bring down the walls between designers and developers — and packed with hundreds of feature innovations—the new Creative Suite 4 product line advances the creative process across print, Web, mobile, interactive, film and video production. With new levels of integration and expressiveness for Flash technology across the entire product line, Adobe’s biggest software release to date includes Adobe Creative Suite 4 Design editions, Creative Suite 4 Web editions, Creative Suite 4 Production Premium, Creative Suite 4 Master Collection, as well as 13 point products, 14 integrated technologies and seven services.

Adobe Creative Suite Master Collection CS4 combines virtually all of Adobe's new design and development applications, technologies and services in a single box — the most comprehensive creative environment ever delivered.

"Designers and developers are shaping the way that people consume information, share ideas, sell products, tell stories and create memorable experiences — in print, online and via mobile handsets," said Shantanu Narayen, president and chief executive officer at Adobe. "Whether you’re creating a rich Internet application, a video or a best-selling magazine, Adobe Creative Suite 4 delivers powerful cross-media technologies that have the ability to elevate products, brands and ideas above the clutter."

Adobe Creative Suite 4 offers unprecedented choice among editions and stand-alone products, with comprehensive support for the most cutting-edge workflows for virtually any design discipline. Customers can choose from six suites or full version upgrades of 13 stand-alone applications, including Photoshop® CS4, Photoshop CS4 Extended, InDesign® CS4 (see separate releases), Illustrator® CS4, Flash® CS4 Professional, Dreamweaver® CS4, After Effects® CS4, and Adobe Premiere® Pro CS4.

A simplified workflow in Adobe Creative Suite 4 enables users to design across media more efficiently by making it easier to complete common tasks and switch between mediums without leaving a project. InDesign CS4 includes a new Live Preflight tool that allows designers to catch production errors and a newly customizable Links panel to place files more efficiently. The revolutionary new Content-Aware Scaling tool in Photoshop CS4 and Photoshop CS4 Extended automatically recomposes an image as it is resized, preserving vital areas as it adapts to new dimensions. An expanded version of Dynamic Link in CS4 Production Premium enables users to move content between After Effects CS4, Adobe Premiere Pro CS4, Soundbooth® CS4, and Encore® CS4, so updates can be seen instantly without rendering.

Designers using the Adobe Creative Suite 4 product family will be able to gain unprecedented creative control using the new expressive features and visual performance improvements in Adobe Flash Player 10 to deliver breakthrough Web experiences across multiple browsers and operating systems.

Adobe Creative Suite 4 brings 3D center-stage providing the ability to paint, composite, and animate 3D models using familiar tools. Flash CS4 Professional now offers the ability to apply tweens to objects instead of keyframes, providing greater control over animation attributes. Also in Flash, the new Bones tool helps create more realistic animations between linked objects. With a searchable library of more than 450 dynamically updated device profiles from leading manufacturers, Adobe Device Central CS4 (see separate release) enables users to easily test mobile content designed using many of the Creative Suite 4 products.

Adobe Creative Suite 4 significantly expands access to services* available to creative professionals and developers who want to collaborate online. Adobe ConnectNow, a service of Acrobat.com, can be accessed from InDesign CS4, Illustrator CS4, Photoshop CS4 and Photoshop Extended CS4, Flash CS4 Professional, Dreamweaver CS4, Fireworks® CS4, and Acrobat® 9 Pro, allowing real-time collaboration with two colleagues or clients. Designers can also share color harmonies with Adobe Kuler™, which is now accessible from within InDesign CS4, Illustrator CS4, Photoshop CS4 and Photoshop Extended CS4, Flash CS4 and Fireworks CS4. Other online resources include: Adobe Community Help for technical questions; Resource Central for accessing video and audio product-related news and tutorials, as well as Soundbooth scores, sound effects, and other stock media; and Adobe Bridge Home, a customizable resource for tips, tutorials, news and inspirational content.

Adobe Creative Suite 4 and its associated point products are scheduled to ship in October 2008 with availability through Adobe Authorized Resellers and the Adobe Store at www.adobe.com/go/gn_store . Estimated street price for the Adobe Creative Suite 4 Design Premium will be US$1799, US$1699 for Adobe Creative Suite 4 Web Premium, US$1699 for Adobe Creative Suite 4 Production Premium, and US$2499 for Adobe Creative Suite 4 Master Collection. Adobe plans to offer tiered upgrade pricing from previous versions. For a limited time, validly licensed customers of eligible versions of Adobe Creative Suite, Adobe Production Studio and Macromedia Studio will be able to upgrade to Creative Suite 4 for the CS3 upgrade price. For more detailed information about features, upgrade policies, pricing, and international versions please visit: www.adobe.com/creativesuite.

Adobe Flash Player 10 is currently available in beta as a free download from Adobe Labs at www.adobe.com/go/astro with general availability expected by the end of the year. Adoption of the previous update to Adobe Flash Player 9 set all-time records by achieving over 80 percent reach on Internet enabled desktops in less than six months and Flash Player 10 is expected to achieve a similar adoption rate.

Adobe revolutionizes how the world engages with ideas and information - anytime, anywhere and through any medium. For more information, visit www.adobe.com.

Telestream Introduces Support for Final Cut Server and ProRes

0	Posted by Safe Harbor Staff April 14, 2008

Telestream has announced major additions to its Apple workflow solutions. With Pipeline, Telestream’s award-winning network video capture family, it is now possible to ingest media from tape or live sources directly into Final Cut Server, Apple’s powerful new media asset management and workflow automation software. Pipeline now also supports ProRes 422, Apple’s innovative post-production format that offers pristine quality at small file sizes. This includes the ability to edit while ingesting for Final Cut Pro workflows. Telestream announced support for Pro Res 422 standard definition workflows today and high definition workflows later this year. In addition, Telestream’s Episode encoding software expands format support beyond QuickTime to virtually any file format for Final Cut Server.

"Telestream substantiates its commitment to the Apple community with further development of its Episode and Pipeline product families. This commitment continues with integration into Final Cut Server workflows and the adoption of this important industry format," said Dan Castles, CEO at Telestream. "Support for ProRes 422 means that Final Cut Studio users gain immediate access to this high-quality format for editing."

Pipeline is an industry-first network-based video capture device that provides freedom from the format and access limitations of traditional capture card solutions. Pipeline was designed with flexibility in mind, to easily add major new formats into users’ workflows. Real-time encoding to a choice of formats – DV25, IMX, MPEG-2 I frame, and now ProRes 422 SD (SQ) as a free software upgrade – provides flexibility for users’ changing format needs.

Users can log and capture video from tape or schedule recording of live feeds. Pipeline provides fast baseband media ingest into a variety of editing, transcoding and digital asset management workflows, including Final Cut Studio and Final Cut Server. In editing environments, Pipeline offers significant time savings, as both ProRes or other QuickTime movie files are available immediately, allowing incoming media files to be edited while they are being captured.

While Pipeline is a great choice for baseband media ingest into Final Cut Studio and Final Cut Server workflows, Telestream’s Episode encoding software is a great choice for expanding format support beyond QuickTime to virtually any format in Final Cut Server workflows. Episode desktop software expands encoding format choices through its integration with Apple’s Compressor. Episode Engine server software integrates with Final Cut Server to automate full format encoding and decoding. Scalable from a single server to enterprise-level encoding clusters, Episode Engine provides ultimate encoding speeds for increasing high-volume needs.

The Pipeline product family which includes standard definition, single-channel and four-channel models is available now with prices starting at $1,950. The free Pipeline upgrade to include Pro Res 422 SD support will be available shortly after NAB. Pipeline high definition models, with support for ProRes 422 HD, will be available later this year. Episode desktop pricing starts at $395. Episode Engine server software is available in two models with prices starting at $3,450; integration with Final Cut Server is available immediately.

NewTek TriCaster STUDIO is Chosen for ESPNRadio.com SuperWeek Webcast

0	Posted by Safe Harbor Staff January 31, 2008

NewTek, Inc., manufacturer of industry-leading video and 3D animation products, announces that the TriCaster STUDIO, its portable production and virtual set system, has been selected again by Knockout Digital Video to produce and stream ESPN Radio’s pre-Super Bowl coverage live from Phoenix, Scottsdale and Glendale, Arizona, between January 28th and February 1st. Programs that are being streamed include the broadcaster’s popular Mike and Mike in the Morning, The Herd with Colin Cowherd, The Mike Tirico Show, The Huddle and Super Bowl Countdown. A full schedule of ESPN Radio’s "SuperWeek" Web casts on ESPNRadio.com is attached below.

For the second consecutive year, Knockout Digital Media is directing, producing and live streaming the Web casts of ESPNRadio.com’s Live SuperWeek coverage. This is the second year the company made NewTek’s TriCaster the technology of choice for the project."NewTek’s TriCaster offers us a turn-key, reliable and affordable system to provide ESPN Radio’s fans with more access to one of the most watched sporting events in the country, while providing its sponsors the benefit of extended exposure for their brands," said Gil Chavez, President, Knockout Digital Media.

"TriCaster transforms traditional broadcasting as we know it, demonstrating here its impressive ability to deliver an unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at the Super Bowl to football fans worldwide," said Philip Nelson , NewTek’s Sr. Vice President, Strategic Development. "With TriCaster, all this additional content and excitement can be experienced by millions of people no matter where they are — at home, in the office, or even on their cell phones – via the Internet."

TriCaster enables sports organizations, corporate communications departments, broadcasters, schools and others to provide a whole new level of extended programming and content to their fans, partners and other audiences. Now, a single operator can produce a live show switching between as many as six cameras with two VCR’s, multi-channel effects, and NewTek’s proprietary virtual sets and keying technology using TriCaster.

NewTek TriCaster STUDIO to Deliver VH1 Pepsi Smash Super Bowl Bash

0	Posted by Safe Harbor Staff January 31, 2008

NewTek, Inc., manufacturer of industry-leading video and 3D animation products, today announced that VH1.com will use TriCaster STUDIO, its portable production and virtual set system, to Web cast its VH1 Pepsi Smash Super Bowl Bash on January 31st at 7:30pm EST on VH1.com. The event, to be presented live from the Jobing.com Arena in Glendale , Arizona , will feature musical performances by Mary J. Blige and Maroon 5, as well as interviews and features with celebrities of stage, screen and sports. The program will also air Saturday, February 2nd on VH1.

"TriCaster has been a proven winner in the Web casting of the hottest live events, allowing anyone with an Internet connection to get beyond the velvet rope to experience all the excitement and thrills. This is particularly true for sports contests and music performances," said Philip Nelson, NewTek’s Sr. Vice President, Strategic Development. "At the same time, it provides unprecedented promotional opportunities and revenue streams for the organizations that have chosen it as the means to reach wide audiences via the Internet."

TriCaster enables sports organizations, corporate communications departments, broadcasters, schools and others to provide a whole new level of extended programming and content to their fans, partners and other audiences. Now, a single operator can produce a live show switching between as many as six cameras with two VCR’s, multi-channel effects, and NewTek’s proprietary virtual sets and keying technology using TriCaster.