Cut Notes 2.1 for iPad is now out, offering new collaboration features and a significant architecture overhaul.

Kollaborate comment streams

Comment streams are a new feature of Kollaborate, allowing you to make comments without needing to upload a file. This allows you to have collaborative note-taking sessions with others where uploading a file might be impractical, such as when viewing a live broadcast.

Banner alerts

If someone else makes a comment on a file or comment stream that you are currently viewing, you will now see a banner alert at the top of the screen.

(Note: alerts are only shown when you are viewing a file and are not shown when Cut Notes is closed.)

This is really useful in conjunction with comment streams because it allows for a scenario we've wanted directly from the start - the ability to sit in a screening room and have a live note-taking session synced to a source such as FCP or Pro Tools with minimal advance preparation. Being able to see the notes of others as they make them is helpful to make sure you don't end up with lots of duplicate notes.

Cloud backups

If you're signed in and are a Kollaborate subscriber or Kollaborate Server user, your local projects will be automatically backed up to Kollaborate on a daily basis. You can restore old backups from the Settings menu within the app.

Architecture overhaul

We've made significant architectural improvements to the app, resulting in significantly improved performance and stability, particularly on older devices.

We have a new project file format and your existing projects will be converted the first time you launch the new app, so if you have a large number of projects it might take several seconds before your projects appear on the first launch.

Cut Notes is an essential tool for taking notes during a screening and collaborating with others. To find out more, visit the features page or watch the overview video.

We've just released a major new 1.0.2 update to Kollaborate and Kollaborate Server. This incorporates some great new features and takes into account many of the requests we've received from users.

Folder Sharing

You can now share an entire folder with people outside of the project instead of needing a link for each individual file. Passwords are no longer needed and you can also choose whether or not to allow comments.

Receipts

Sign up to be alerted when a particular user views a particular file. You'll receive an email and Dashboard alert the first time they view it but not for subsequent views.

Comment Streams

Comment Streams are a powerful new feature that allow you to take notes on a file without needing to upload it. This is useful for situations where you want to have a collaborative note-taking session with other people but it is impractical to upload a file to Kollaborate (e.g. if it's a live broadcast).

This feature is primarily designed for Cut Notes users. Cut Notes 2.1 can create comment streams directly within the app and will show a banner alert when another user creates a note on the same file.

Unviewed files

Kollaborate will now highlight unviewed files with a blue dot next to them, allowing you to easily keep track of files in your project.

The full list of changes is as follows:

• Folder Links - Share an entire folder with multiple people
• Receipts - Be alerted when a particular user views a file
• Comment Streams - Collaborate with others on a note-taking session without needing to upload a file
• Kollaborate now shows a blue dot next to files you haven't viewed
• Link sharing has been moved to the Actions menu on the player page
• Link recipients will no longer be asked for a password
• Admins can now assign passwords for users
• Kollaborate Server updates are shown on the Tools page of the Admin console
• Added a troubleshooter that will highlight configuration issues to the Tools page of the Admin console
• Support for Cut Notes app storage
• Custom Dashboard alerts can now be deleted
• Uploading a file now alerts everyone on the project every time (as opposed to being filtered if too many occur in a certain timeframe)
• Fixed an issue where files could not be batch-deleted in the App Storage section
• Fixed an issue where inter-department file move alerts could be erroneously sent
• Various UI tweaks

Kollaborate is a cloud workflow system for video professionals, allowing you to share files and work with colleagues in-house or in the cloud. To find out more, view the features page or sign up for the free 15-day trial.

Does your editing application crash when you scrub to a particular point in the timeline? Does it crash or fail at the same point each time you export or render? It's likely that you have a corrupt clip or render file in your timeline.

Corrupt render files are easy to resolve. Most NLEs offer a way to clear out render files, so it's best to try this first to see if it fixes the problem.

If that fails, you'll need to figure out the exact clip that is corrupt. The manual method is to divide and conquer - split the timeline in half, then half again, and so on until you narrow down the offending clip. This can be very time consuming so an easier way is to use Corrupt Clip Finder to scan the project and test each file it finds.

It will scan the project files from most NLEs (FCP 7, FCPX, Adobe Premiere and other apps) but you can scan an entire media directory for applications not supported. In fact, for large projects it can be quicker to scan the media directory than the project file.

Not every file it flags up will be corrupt, as it will also flag up files that could potentially cause problems, such as CMYK image files or video larger than 4K in FCP 7. You can see the reason it flagged up a file by hovering over the filename in the list.

Once the files are identified, you can choose to quarantine them by moving them to another folder, delete them or attempt a repair. You can also color code them in Finder, which can be useful for highlighting files that appear to work fine but may potentially cause an issue for future reference.

We've just released Pro Versioner 2.0.11, a minor update to our backup and versioning tool for your project files.

In this version we've made significant architecture changes to the background helper app. We've significantly improved performance, reduced resource usage and fixed several bugs.

The biggest user-facing change is that we now treat Final Cut Pro X projects and events differently to other files. FCPX backups now occur on a timer, the duration of which can be adjusted in preferences. Because FCPX frequently writes to projects other than the one you're currently working on, in addition to storing caches in the same folder as the project file, this helps to prevent over-triggering if you have a significant number of projects on your system. Pro Versioner backs up instantly for all other types of projects, as in previous versions.

You can find a full list of changes here.

Pro Versioner gives you peace of mind with extensive backup management and redundancy. To find out more, visit our overview page, read the user manual or download the free trial.

In conjunction with our earlier Post Haste 2.5 launch, we also released Kollaborate Server 1.0.1. Kollaborate Server is our workflow platform that companies can run in-house, but the same changes have also been made to the cloud version of Kollaborate too.

Post Haste unique project ID support

Kollaborate Server can now maintain a database of project IDs and prevent Post Haste users from creating duplicate projects.

Team privacy

You can now specify privacy options when creating a project that limit what non-admins are able to see. You can choose to show all users in the project on the Team page, just users in the same department or no other people. You can also prevent email addresses and phone numbers from being visible. These features do not affect admins, who can always see everything.

UI Improvements

We've made various UI tweaks and improvements to the site including new icons, overhauled download pages and overhauled notification emails.

Other changes

• Added view and download counts
• Users no longer need to enter a password if link comments are disabled
• My Files link added to user dropdown
• Auto-pause option removed if it's a video or audio file
• Kollaborate Server: Several bug fixes that could cause failed uploads or downloads in certain instances

Kollaborate is a cloud workflow platform for video professionals that tightly integrates and extends Digital Rebellion applications. To find out more, view the features page or sign up for the free trial.

Kollaborate Server is a version of Kollaborate you can run in-house on your own servers and storage. To install the newest update, login and visit the Kollaborate Server page. We've also now got an RSS feed you can subscribe to for notification of future updates.

Earlier today we released Post Haste 2.5 for Mac, a significant update for our free project organization and templating tool.

Cloud projects

We've integrated the app with our Kollaborate cloud workflow platform, allowing you to create cloud projects directly within Post Haste and recreate your project structures in the cloud. This ensures that your Kollaborate projects have a consistent and organized folder structure, which is very useful when collaborating with lots of people on the same project.

Synced templates and settings

Kollaborate integration allows us to offer automatic syncing of templates and manual syncing of settings, making it easy to access your parameters and templates on other computers.

Unique project IDs

Post Haste can now ensure that multiple users don't cause confusion by inadvertently using the same project ID for different projects. This feature requires Kollaborate Server.

We've also added some new project templates that were requested by users, fixed several bugs and added some extra polish here and there. The full list of changes is available here.

As mentioned earlier, version 2.5 is currently Mac-only. Our Windows apps need significant changes in order to be ready for cloud features, so this work is currently underway. We will still be releasing bug fixes for the current Windows version while this work is taking place.

Post Haste is a free and essential templating and project organization tool. To find out more, watch the overview video, read the user manual or download the app free of charge.

We've just released a new beta of Post Haste 2.5, our free Mac project organization tool with Kollaborate cloud workflow support.

In this version we've added support for unique project IDs. This allows multiple people to use Post Haste at the same time without fear of creating duplicate project IDs. This is a feature request we've had from the very beginning so we're glad to be able to offer it.

This feature requires Kollaborate Server. To set it up, go to the Kollaborate pane of preferences, enter the URL to your local Kollaborate installation on the Local Server tab, then login on the Authorize tab. Make sure Ensure project IDs are unique is ticked.

New users won't need to do this but if you've used Post Haste before you'll need to tell the app which parameter is the project ID. To do this, go to the Parameters tab, scroll the list to the right and tick Unique Project ID.

Now if you try to create a project with an ID that's already taken, you'll receive the following message:

Note: this only works for projects created from now on.

We've also released a beta of Kollaborate Server 1.0.1 with support for this feature, which you can download from the Kollaborate Server page. After installing you'll need to visit yoursite/upgrade to upgrade the database. We've also added a Tools page to the admin section that allows you to reset the project ID cache.

When we launched Kollaborate earlier this year we made a point of stressing that it is not just a video review site, it's a platform that we can build upon. Kollaborate allows us to improve our tools in ways that we would not be able to with third-party solutions, and this is just one example of many to come. Additionally, Kollaborate Server allows us to create features that would not be feasible in the cloud, so expect lots of extra functionality soon.

Post Haste 2.5 B3 is available here.

Avid Media Composer and Symphony ship with a wide range of old and modern codecs. They can also be downloaded free of charge for systems without Avid products installed.

SD codecs

Avid DV - SD codec used when exporting DV material
Avid MPEG2 50 - SD codec for MPEG 30, 40 or 50 material
Avid Meridien Compressed - SD codec for compressed material
Avid Meridien Uncompressed - SD codec used for 1:1 OMF outputs

Meridien Compressed has various compression ratios ranging from 2:1 (36 Mbps) to 35:1 (12 Mbps).

SD / HD codecs

Avid 1:1x * - 8-bit lossless 4:2:2 codec that produces very large file sizes
Avid Packed - Essentially the same as 1:1x except it supports 10-bit media
Avid RGBPacked - RGB version of the Packed codec
Avid DV100 - HD codec used for exporting DV100 media

* x normally refers to 10-bit codecs but in the case of Avid 1:1x it was used to designate MXF during the transition away from OMF

DNxHD Codecs

DNxHD is the most likely codec to be used in Media Composer. Each variant is named according to bitrate and bit depth, so for example DNxHD 120 means it's a 120 Mb/s 8-bit codec and DNxHD 185x means it's a 185 Mb/s 10-bit codec (the x indicates 10-bit).

Offline Codecs

DNxHD 36
DNxHD 60
DNxHD 80
DNxHD 90

Medium Quality Codecs

DNxHD 100
DNxHD 115
DNxHD 120

Mastering Codecs

DNxHD 145
DNxHD 175
DNxHD 185
DNxHD 185x
DNxHD 220
DNxHD 220x
DNxHD 440
DNxHD 440x

Similar Bitrate Codecs

Try to choose a codec that matches the bitrate of your acquisition format. All codec bitrates are calculated at 23.98 fps.

DNxHD 36 - DV, IMX40, XDCAM EX, XDCAM HD
DNxHD 60 - DV50, IMX50, Apple Intermediate @ 1080, XDCAM HD422
DNxHD 100 - AVC Intra 100, Cineform 444 @ 720, Digibeta
DNxHD 115 - Cineform 422 @ 1080
DNxHD 120 - DVCPRO HD, Motion JPEG @ 1080
DNxHD 145 - HDCAM
DNxHD 220 - Sony SR Lite
DNxHD 440 - Uncompressed 422 10-bit @ 720, Sony SR SQ, HDCAM SR

Approximate ProRes equivalents

All codec bitrates are calculated at 1080p 23.98 fps.

ProRes Proxy - DNxHD 36
ProRes LT - DNxHD 80
ProRes 422 - DNxHD 115
ProRes HQ - DNxHD 175x
ProRes 4444 - DNxHD 440x (444) (although ProRes 444 is actually closer in bandwidth to DNxHD 220)

Other variants

Avid Media Composer 6 and higher can also wrap ProRes in an MXF wrapper. This is only available on the Mac version of Media Composer.

Calculating storage space

Our online calculator will calculate storage space for some of these but our Mac and iOS calculators have more options and codecs.

We've just released a new beta of Post Haste 2.5 for Mac, alongside a minor update to the stable version that adds Adobe Premiere Pro CC project templates.

Post Haste is a free project management tool that allows you to create new projects from templates. Version 2.5 adds Kollaborate integration, allowing you to create cloud projects and upload folder structures.

Beta 2 has been updated to be compatible with the latest Kollaborate API and now works with Kollaborate Server. All of our Kollaborate apps share the same settings so you don't need to login or configure anything if you're already using Kollaborate Transfer or Preference Manager.

By popular demand, this version also allows you to choose whether to create a project locally, in the cloud or both.

Post Haste 2.5 Beta 2 is a free download available here.

We've just launched Pro Maintenance Tools 2.0.15, a minor update to our suite of tools for maintaining, optimizing and troubleshooting your editing system.

Adobe Creative Cloud compatibility

Pro Maintenance Tools is now fully compatible with Adobe Premiere Pro CC. Plugin Manager will now display Creative Cloud plugins and Project Repair will repair the new Premiere Pro CC project file format.

Preference Manager 4.0

Preference Manager 4 is now included with Pro Maintenance Tools, offering cloud backups via Kollaborate, support for Adobe Creative Cloud, Pro Tools support and many more features.

Crash Analyzer improvements

As well as the usual updated crash definitions and error messages, we've made significant tweaks to the crash log analysis function which has resulted in more detailed analysis of Adobe Premiere Pro crash logs (for both CC and prior versions).

View the entire list of changes in this version here.

Pro Maintenance Tools is an essential toolkit for fixing problems and ensuring you make your deadline. It is used worldwide by studios and freelancers alike. To find out more, view the feature list, watch the overview video, read the user manual or download the free 15-day trial.