Today Adobe launched Adobe Creative Cloud, with many new features for Premiere Pro and other apps in the suite. We've been playing about with it for a while and our apps are largely compatible (also due to our recent policy of trying to make our tools as app-agnostic as possible).

Here is a list of useful information you need to know when using our products with the new version.

Cut Notes

Cut Notes works a lot better with Premiere Pro CC and it is our preferred version of Premiere to use with the app. It does not require a plugin and you also gain remote playback capabilities from the iPad.

You can read a guide to setting it up here.

Preference Manager

Preference Manager is not compatible with the Creative Cloud apps but we have an update in the works that will support them along with some new features too. This is being targeted for release within the next few weeks.

Plugin Manager

Plugin Manager does not display plugins for Adobe CC apps. This will be addressed in the next update.

Post Haste

Post Haste does not have blank Premiere Pro CC project file templates but is otherwise compatible.

Any app we haven't listed works the same with the new version as it did before.

Adobe Premiere Pro CC now supports control surfaces, allowing us to significantly improve integration with Cut Notes. Plugins are no longer needed (although we will keep the plugin on our site for CS 6 users) and you can now control playback directly from the iPad.

Here's how to set it up:

1. Launch Audio MIDI Setup (in /Applications/Utilities) and double-click Network to open the MIDI Network Setup window (you may need to go to Window > Show MIDI Window first to see this).

2. Under My Sessions, click the + button and name your new session Cut Notes.

3. In Cut Notes, setup your project and then tap the cut to go to the note-taking view. Tap the sync button next to the timecode and choose MIDI.

4. The iPad will now appear in the Directory section of the MIDI Network Setup window. Select it and click Connect. (Make sure the rest of the options look like the screenshot too.)

5. In Premiere CC, go to Premiere Pro > Preferences > Control Surfaces. Click Add, then select Mackie.

6. Click Settings, select Mackie Control and click Edit (or Add if the window is empty). Then set Device Type to Mackie Control and the MIDI input and output devices to Network Cut Notes.

7. Close preferences and scrub or play your timeline. The timecode should appear in the Cut Notes window and you should be able to control playback with the buttons on the device.

Apple just gave us a sneak peek at the new redesigned Mac Pro.

Pros
* It's not dead!
* It finally has Thunderbolt and a significant spec bump
* Dual GPUs
* The Thunderbolt ports are not all running on the same bus
* It's significantly smaller and lighter

Cons
* No space for internal PCI cards - all expansion is through Thunderbolt
* The hard drive is not user-replaceable
* It will definitely not fit in a rack
* AMD cards will not run CUDA-optimized apps like Resolve well

Unknowns
* Price
* Is the RAM replaceable or soldered to the motherboard?

The cons are not cons for everyone and it seemed like my Twitter feed was split down the middle. It looks like Apple has focused on FCPX as the target application but not really paid much heed to other pro apps people might want to use. I think this is a sign that people at the very high end of the industry may want to look elsewhere for their pro computers, whether that is a Hackintosh or a Windows box.

A big problem with lack of internal upgradeability is downtime. If the hard drive dies in a regular Mac Pro, it is not difficult to replace it, and you can be up and running again in minutes if you were smart enough to clone the drive beforehand. The problem with the new Mac Pro is that every issue is potentially a visit to the Apple Store, which could take a day or more for them to fix (not to mention the added cost if you're out of warranty). So it is probably best for facilities to have multiple spare Mac Pros that they can swap out easily.

Which brings me onto my next point - how much is it? Apple didn't say. But assuming everything is soldered to the motherboard and the case can't be opened, the Mac Pro will essentially be a disposable computer that you should not expect to last for as long as your current Mac Pro. A disposable computer should be sold for a disposable price, so I expect the success of the new Mac Pro to entirely hinge on the pricing, especially as comparably-specced Windows computers can be purchased for less.

What that means is that right now we don't really know if the new Mac Pro is worthwhile until we get more details, but it's clear that Apple has put its cards on the table and very much hedged against making a computer that will meet everyone's needs in our diverse industry.

Update: Apple has posted more details on their site and it looks like both hard drive and memory are upgradeable. This is great and makes me feel much better about the machine but I still think it will depend on pricing.

Update 2: Blackmagic says work is underway to support the Mac Pro in Resolve and Adobe says the upcoming Premiere Pro CC should support it out of the box.

OS X is a mature operating system so it's probably largely meeting most people's needs already, however here's a list of five things we'd like to see in OS X 10.9.

1. AV Foundation improvements

The QuickTime API is horrible and I'd love to ditch it completely, but AV Foundation has some catching up to do before that can happen.

It needs support for third-party codecs like DNxHD, support for reference movies and the ability to update a file in-place (like QT Edit does) without having to re-encode the entire movie just to make a small modification.

2. Native support for containers other than QuickTime

It'd be great if OS X could natively deal with MXFs, AVIs, MKVs, etc as if they were QuickTime movies.

3. Encrypted folders

Ability to encrypt and password protect a single folder on your hard disk, instead of the entire drive or the entire home folder.

4. Finder improvements

It looks like Apple may already be bringing tabs to Finder (great) but we'd also like to see an editable location bar like Windows has, bring back Cmd-clicking on the title bar to open another folder in a new window, and a solution to the scroll bar temporarily obscuring the last item in a list.

5. Second screen support

An API for low-latency visual output to an iOS device would be great for status windows, scopes, etc.

Things Apple definitely shouldn't change:

1. Don't kill QuickTime yet.

2. Don't make it so we can't run 32-bit apps anymore.

3. Don't force all apps to be sandboxed.

4. Allow untrusted apps to run if the user desires.

We've just released Pro Versioner 2.0.9, a minor update to our project backup tool.

Drive-relative watch folders

You can now look for specific folders whenever a drive is inserted and automatically import matching project files into Pro Versioner.

Import Folder dialog

When dragging a folder into the Projects pane, Pro Versioner will now ask you if you want to import every file in the folder or just a subset of file types. Pro Versioner is app-agnostic so you can add any type of project file to the list.

Improved compatibility with Event Manager X

We had several users contact us with reports of duplicate projects in Pro Versioner when using Event Manager X to move projects and events around. This problem occurs when watch folders are poorly configured. We have added the Event Manager folders to a blacklist so it now won't back them up, but we would encourage users with this issue to reconfigure their watch folder settings.

For best results, watch folders should be set to the latest possible parent in the chain, and it is more efficient to create multiple watch folders than try to encompass everything in a single entry. For example, the optimal configuration for FCPX is two entries:

1. ~/Movies/Final Cut Events, watching .fcpevent files
2. ~/Movies/Final Cut Projects, watching .fcpproject files

This is more efficient than watching the Movies directory for both types of files or, worse, watching the entire drive. These watch folders are automatically set when using the FCPX presets.

You may also wish to setup the same two watch folders in the lower view for automatically importing from inserted drives too, which you can easily do with the presets.

Other changes

• Improved support for storing backups on a SAN
• You can now search by file extension in the Project pane

The full changelog is here.

Pro Versioner is a comprehensive backup tool for your project files, featuring screenshots, annotations and cloud redundancy. To find out more, view the feature list, read the user manual, watch the overview video or download the free 15-day trial.

We've just released a major update to our Kollaborate cloud workflow platform.

Relationships

The Relationship Editor allows you to specify the relationship between two files. For example, you might upload a playable H.264 copy of a movie but also include a high-resolution ProRes version of the same clip for the recipient to work on. To help the other person find the file and know that it is a higher resolution copy of the same movie, you could enter the Relationship Editor for the H.264 file, browse for the ProRes copy and set the relationship as "Higher quality version". (All relationships are two-way so you can do it the opposite way around too.)

There are a wide range of relationship statuses including "Alternate version", "Foreign language version", "With text" / "Without text", "Temp audio" / "Final audio", etc. This is a very powerful feature that allows users to assign context to their files and also will allow Kollaborate in future to automatically deliver the most appropriate file to the user depending on the situation.

Comment replies

You can now reply to a comment. This was a much-requested feature we're glad to deliver.

Task indicators

Tasks are now color-coded depending on their status. Pending tasks appear red, in-progress tasks appear orange and completed tasks appear green.

Task indicators now appear in the comments view to allow you to see the tasks connected to a comment. The indicators are color-coded, allowing you to easily see which notes still need to be addressed. Note: existing tasks will not show up in the list; this only applies to tasks created from now on.

Cut Notes sync overhaul

We've overhauled Cut Notes sync and provided live comment support. Read more about that here.

Kollaborate Transfer

There's a new update to Kollaborate Transfer too. This allows you to automatically email links to a list of users upon successful upload and also now optimizes images for compatibility with the site. Other changes include more descriptive error messages and the ability to double-click a completed file to launch it in your web browser.

Other changes

Other small changes include:

• Users will receive a notification when someone moves a file they previously couldn't access into their department
• Users can be imported from existing projects when creating a new one
• Comments can be disabled when sending out links
• Project owners can now receive alerts without needing to be part of the team

Kollaborate is an advanced cloud workflow tool that integrates well with existing Digital Rebellion products. To find out more, try the free 15-day trial.

We've just released Cut Notes 2.0.3, a minor update to our iPad note-taking app.

We've overhauled timecode and playback sync with Kollaborate and you will need to use this version to sync with the site from now on.

This is more of an under-the-hood change so there aren't many user-facing differences, however you now need to press sync in the browser first and then sync in Cut Notes. Another advantage is that you no longer need to be on the same network and it should be better at negotiating firewalls. It also paves the way for some great features in future.

We've also implemented Kollaborate live comments, which means that comments other users make in their web browsers, CinePlay or other copies of Cut Notes will appear instantly in the Notes view of your device.

Cut Notes now has the option to auto-pause playback when you type, allowing you to focus on what you're typing and not lose your place in the cut. This is supported in manual sync mode (no sync source) and any sync source that can control playback - Kollaborate, Final Cut Pro 7, Adobe Premiere CC and Adobe Audition. This setting is off by default and can be switched on under the Cut Notes section of the iOS Settings app.

These are the major features; you can read the full changelog here.

Cut Notes is an invaluable time-saving post production tool. To find out more, view the feature list, read the user manual or watch the overview video.

Adobe Premiere Pro has a little-known Console window that provides access to hidden functions. To access it, press Cmd+F12 on the Mac or Ctrl+F12 on the PC. You may have to also hold down Fn on a laptop.

A blank window will appear. Click the dropdown button in the top right and select Debug Database View.

A list of various hidden options will appear. Here are five useful things you can do with it.

Enable the Time Warp filter

Adobe disabled the Time Warp filter in CS5 and subsequent versions. If you still want to use it, change TimeWarpFilterEnabled to true then relaunch Premiere.

Suppress peak file generation

Peak files allow Premiere to cache waveform information so that it doesn't need to be regenerated every time the project opens. However, these files take up space on disk and the peak file generation process can take time for certain formats. If you'd like to disable peak file generation, change SuppressPeakFileGeneration to true.

Display out of sync indicators

When you unlink video and audio and then adjust it, Premiere does not show that the clips are out of sync. You can enable that by setting TL.SupportsUnlikedSyncIndicators to true.

Note: this only appears to work on video clips that were imported with audio attached, rather than clips where the audio was manually linked.

Apply QuickTime gamma level

This respects the gamma level of the QuickTime movie as specified in its gama atom (you can add this in QT Edit). To switch it on, set QTUseSourceGammaLevel to true.

Hide Adobe Media Encoder presets

You can hide the list of AME presets that appear in the Export dialog by setting AME.EnablePresetDB to true (yes, this is counter-intuitive).

We've just released CinePlay 1.1.2, a minor update for our professional iOS video player.

The iPad version of CinePlay now supports live comments in Kollaborate, meaning that comments on the same video from other people instantly show up as markers on your timeline, and any markers you create in CinePlay will appear instantly for other people using CinePlay or viewing the video in their web browser.

This feature had already been rolled out for users of the web version of the site and will be coming to Cut Notes users in the next update.

We've also made several other changes to the app which will result in improved performance on slower devices and fixed a couple of UI glitches on the iPhone. The full changelog is here.

CinePlay is an essential tool for dailies review and client feedback, especially when coupled with our Kollaborate cloud workflow solution. To find out more, view the feature list, read the user manual or watch the overview video.

One thing we heard loud and clear at NAB this year was the desire for a local version of Kollaborate that companies could run on their in-house servers and storage, so immediately after the show we bumped Kollaborate Server up the priority list. The software is now nearing completion and we are looking for companies to help test it.

Kollaborate is our cloud workflow platform that allows you to share files, gather feedback and manage your team in the cloud. It also integrates tightly with Digital Rebellion apps like Cut Notes, CinePlay and Post Haste, with the eventual plan being to tie it in with every app we make. You can find out more about the feature set at www.kollaborate.tv.

Kollaborate Server is aimed at businesses so we're looking for companies willing to test the software locally within their facility. You will need a dedicated computer running Apache, MySQL and PHP on OS X or Linux. Setup should not be difficult for anyone familiar with setting up a webserver and detailed instructions will be provided.

If you're interested in taking part, please contact us with a little bit of information about your company including which operating system you'll be running it on and approximately how many users will be connecting to it.