64 GB Panasonic P2 cards coming soon
Panasonic has announced 64 GB P2 cards to begin shipping in Fall 2008 (price unannounced). This doubles the storage space of the current 32 GB offerings. What I love about the HVX200 is that it is the camera that keeps on giving. When it first came out, 8 GB P2 cards would set you back around $1200. Today a 32 GB P2 card with 4 times the capacity will cost you around $1500. Unlike tape-based formats, the P2 format becomes more cost-effective as time goes on, increasing the cost-effectiveness of the HVX200 and P2 workflow.
A 64GB P2 card is capable of storing over four hours of DVCPRO footage (64 GB X 4 minutes per GB), or more than two hour of DVCPRO50, AVC-Intra 50 (64 GB X 2 minutes per GB) or 64 minutes of AVC-Intra 100 or DVCPRO HD. With five 64GB P2 cards installed, an AJ-HPX3000 P2 HD camcorder can record for 320 minutes in AVC-Intra 100 or DVCPRO HD (400 minutes in 1080/24pN) and 640 minutes (800 minutes in 24pN) in AVC-Intra 50 or DVCPRO 50.
As you can see above, the 64 GB card offers just over 1 hour of high-def footage which means that it now has the edge over tape-based formats (at least in terms of storage space) and this lead can only increase with time.
However, remember that you are storing your precious footage on there so even if you CAN store your entire short film on there, I'd advise regular backups to a hard drive in the field.
[via
Studio Daily]
Posted by Jon Chappell on Feb 15 2008 to
CamerasPermalinkThe proper way to install a Mac OS X update
As always, I advise you not to update a working system, especially not in the middle of a project. And I am hoping that those without a working system are at least waiting a few days to see if any major issues crop up.
With that out of the way, here is the proper way to update your Mac OS X system.
1. Clone your system drive using something like
Carbon Copy Cloner. This may take a while but it is worth it.
2. If you have a laptop, make sure it is plugged into the mains. You don't want it switching off mid-update.
3. Make sure you are logged in as an administrator.
4. Don't use Software Update. Always download the Combo Update manually, which is less likely to cause problems because it includes all previous updates.
5. Close all applications, including ones running in the background, minimized in your dock and residing in your menu bar. You don't want anything conflicting with an OS update.
6. Go to Disk Utility and repair permissions on your startup disk.
7. Install the update. Don't fire up any applications after it finishes, just restart immediately.
8. Your computer may reboot more than once; this is perfectly fine.
9. When it loads back up, go to Disk Utility and repair permissions again.
10. Install updates for your third party software to ensure compatibility with the new OS version (if applicable).
11. Repair permissions.
12. Test your applications thoroughly (including capturing, rendering, etc).
13. If it all went wrong, restore from the clone you made in step 1.
Posted by Jon Chappell on Feb 12 2008 to
Apple,
Software,
Video EditingPermalinkMore troubles for HD DVD
AppleInsider
reports that the ailing HD DVD format has suffered two more blows.
Best Buy has stated it will promote Blu-ray over HD DVD in its stores. Blu-ray discs and players will have more prominent placing and staff will be instructed to recommend Blu-ray over HD DVD.
Netflix stated that, to ease consumer confusion, it will not be adding new HD DVD formats to its catalog and will gradually phase out the existing ones.
When you consider how much of a share Netflix has over the home rental market and how much Best Buy has over the retail DVD market, this is a massive blow for HD DVD. It is also a psychological blow because consumers can sense that the ship is sinking and no price cuts from Toshiba will change this. Even if they gave away HD DVD players for free, I don't think they could make a comeback.
Apple, despite being on the Blu-ray board, has remained incredibly quiet over the whole issue. I think the whole issue lies with burning Blu-ray discs. From what I have read, standard DVD and Blu-ray are so different that DVD Studio Pro will require a rewrite in order to support Blu-ray. I am guessing the same applies to iDVD and the Finder's built-in disc burning capabilities.
I would imagine this is the primary reason why Apple does not offer a Blu-ray drive option in their lineup. Maybe they were waiting for a clear winner to emerge before putting resources into updating their software packages. It would be very expensive to write code for a losing format. Price may also be a factor, considering the ~$1000 price tag of Sony's burners and the $10-25 price per disc.
Everyone predicts a Blu-ray burner from Apple every year and it never arrives but this year is different because we now have a clear winner. Everyone is so glad that a winner is emerging that they are putting all of their resources behind it to spur it on, leaving no doubt in my mind that HD DVD will eventually die. When that occurs is up to Toshiba. If I was managing Toshiba, I'd stop production, sell off the remaining inventory and count my losses. Persevering in the face of obvious defeat will only damage them in the long run.
I think we could see Blu-ray drives in Mac Pros by the end of the year (probably as a BTO option).
Posted by Jon Chappell on Feb 12 2008 to
Analysis,
Apple,
DVDPermalinkMac OS X 10.5.2 Leopard patch released
Apple just released the much-anticipated
10.5.2 update to Leopard. You are not advised to upgrade a working system but if you are having serious issues with Leopard that the patch fixes, you have nothing to lose by trying it.
I personally am waiting for 10.5.4 or so to come out before upgrading because it is usually around the .4 mark that new operating systems become stable and serious compatibility and stability issues have been ironed out.
Changelog:Active Directory * Addresses issues which could hinder or prevent binding Mac OS X 10.5.x clients to Active Directory domains.
AirPort * Improves connection reliability and stability
* Includes 802.1X improvements.
* Resolves certain kernel panics.
Back to my Mac * Adds support for more third-party routers.
Dashboard * Improves performance of certain Apple Dashboard widgets (such as Dictionary).
* Addresses an issue in which Dashboard widgets may no longer be accessible after switching to or from an account that has Parental Controls enabled.
Dock * Updates Stacks with a List view option, a Folder view option, and an updated background for Grid view.
Desktop * Addresses legibility issues with the menu bar with an option to turn off transparency in Desktop & Screen Saver preferences.
* Adjusts menus to be slightly-less translucent overall.
iCal * Improves iCal so that it accurately reflects responses to recurring meetings.
* Addresses an issue in which a meeting may remain on the calendar after being cancelled.
* Addresses stability issues related to .Mac syncing of iCal calendars.
* Resolves an intermittent issue in which editing an event with attendees would cause the event to shrink and not register that the event was updated.
iChat * Addresses an issue with simultaneously-logged in accounts in which iChat sounds generated from one account might be heard in another account.
* Fixes an issue in which iChat idle time is affected by Time Machine backups.
* Improves connectivity when running iChat behind a router that doesn't preserve ports.
* Enables logged chats from previous versions of iChat to open faster and more reliably.
* Addresses an issue with text chats in which users may be unable to receive messages from the sender.
* Addresses an issue that may prevent rejoining an AIM chat room without reopening iChat.
* Addresses video chat compatibility issues with AIM 6 and third-party routers.
* Fixes an issue with case-sensitivity of AIM handles.
iSync * Adds support for Samsung D600E and D900i phones.
Finder * Addresses an issue in which Finder could unexpectedly quit when displaying folder contents in Column view.
* Addresses an issue in which Finder could unexpectedly quit when accessing Users and Groups in a Get Info pane.
* Resolves an issue that prevented setting permissions on a folder alias.
* Resolves an issue in which the Eject command could write to a disc in the optical drive.
* Fixes an issue in which the scroll bar might disappear when deleting a file within a folder that includes files that are out of view.
* Fixes an issue in the Sharing & Permissions section of Get Info windows, in which the gear icon appears to be gray/disabled after authentication.
* Addresses an issue in which the Show Icon Preview preference might not be not saved when turning it off.
* Fixes an issue that could occur when trying to print an image from the Finder.
Mail * Addresses an issue with Message menu's Mark > As Read choice.
* Fixes an issue in which duplicate On My Mac folders may appear in the sidebar after upgrading to Leopard.
* Improves the accuracy of the Data Detectors feature.
* Resolves an issue with scrolling through a Note that is displayed using the split view in the message window.
* Fixes an issue with deleting messages located in the Drafts folder.
* Fixes an issue in which dragging the icon in the Safari URL field into a Mail message creates an attachment instead of a link.
* Addresses an issue found when opening a item in the Notes folder that is not a Note.
* Fixes an issue that may prevent RSS feeds from being delivered in Mail.
* Resolves an issue in which a selected message could "flash" from blue to gray when in Organize by Thread mode.
* Fixes an issue with scrolling between multiple To Dos in an email message.
* Fixes an issue in which the body of email messages with certain MIME structures may not be displayed.
* Improves performance with America Online (AOL) account-based messages in Mail.
* Addresses issues with some ISPs during automatic set-up in Mail.
* Addresses an issue in which Mail might not send mail on some networks to some SMTP servers.
* Mail now automatically disables the (unsupported) third-party plugin GrowlMail version 1.1.2 or earlier to avoid issues.
* Adds an option to view large icons in the Mailbox list.
Networking * Addresses a hanging issue that may occur when connecting to an AFP network volume.
Parental Controls * Improves stability when opening the Parental Controls System Preferences pane.
* Fixes an issue that may prevent changes to the email address for permission requests.
* Addresses an issue with printer administration for a guest account enabled with Parental Controls.
* Addresses an issue with setting printer administration privileges from another Mac on the local network.
* Fixes an issue that could prevent certain applications from being allowed.
* Addresses accuracy issues with the web content filter.
Preview * Improves stability when scrolling through a PDF document.
* Fixes an issue that prevents tabbing within a PDF document after clicking on the PDF.
* Improves the Mail Document feature so that email attachments are more reliably created from Print Preview.
Printing * Addresses an issue in which remote printers may be deleted when the computer is put to sleep.
* Improves printing performance when using some Microsoft Office applications.
* Resolves an issue with some printing options, such as landscape orientation, number of copies, two-sided printing, and so forth that may not have functioned with some printers shared by Microsoft Windows.
* Adds support for certain printers connected to the USB port of an AirPort Extreme or AirPort Express base station.
* Resolves a stalling issue that could occur when installing certain Canon printing software from a disc.
RAW Image * Adds RAW image support for several cameras.
Safari * Addresses issues with Safari reliably resolving certain domains.
Login and Setup Assistant * Addresses an issue in which Setup Assistant could unexpectedly appear each time Mac OS X 10.5 starts up.
* Improves stability and performance during log in.
System * Improves the accuracy of the grammar checker.
* The computer will now shut down if an automatic disk repair does not succeed during startup.
Time Machine * Adds a menu bar option for accessing Time Machine features (the menu extra can be enabled in Time Machine preferences).
* Improves backup reliability when computer name contains slash or non-ASCII characters.
* Fixes an issue in which the backup disk displayed in the Finder may be out of sync with the disk chosen for Time Machine.
* Addresses issues in which some external drives are not recognized by Time Machine.
* The status menu now appears by default.
Other *
Improves general stability when running third-party applications. - Interesting...
* Addresses an issue in which the incorrect search results may be displayed for certain Automator Find/Filter actions.
* Addresses an issue with the Latvian and Russian keyboard layouts.
* Addresses an issue in which the backlight could turn off before Energy Saver's backlight setting.
Posted by Jon Chappell on Feb 11 2008 to
Apple,
SoftwarePermalinkMacBook Air: Solid-state vs regular hard disk
AppleInsider
pitted a solid-state MacBook Air against one with a regular hard disk. They found that with large amounts of data, the read speeds of these drives were up to 18 times faster than regular hard disks. Write speeds were lower, at around 70% but when you compare a 30% loss in write speed to an 1800% gain in read speed, I'd gladly take that performance hit.
SSDs have other advantages:
* They are more reliable because they have no moving parts
* They are great for situations where data is littered all over the hard drive because they do not have heads that need to physically move from one area to another
* No noise
* Lower power consumption and less heat generated
Now, can you think of an application where reliability is important, you are transferring a lot of data that may be all over the place, where reading is more common than writing, and where noise and heat is undesirable?
I can't wait to throw out my Xserve RAIDs and replace them with SSD ones. They are noisy, they generate a ton of heat, I constantly worry about them failing on me, and they are really heavy and bulky. I would love to have a 1U SSD Xserve RAID that is lightweight, fast and quiet.
Unfortunately, price is the limiting factor right now. However, the proliferation of the iPhone and iPod Touch, and the increasing demand for SSD storage in compact notebooks will bring the price down with time. We're at a turning point right now because for the first time, SSDs have reached a size and price point that makes them viable for consumer laptops. There is no way they could have offered a 32 GB SSD with the Air. Ok, $999 is a lot for a 64 GB disk but it is within reach. It will probably be half that in 12 months' time anyway.
When the size and price becomes viable though, these will be great for editors.
Posted by Jon Chappell on Feb 11 2008 to
Analysis,
Apple,
HardwarePermalink
KollaborateCloud platform for pro video
Pro Maintenance ToolsMaintain, optimize and troubleshoot your editing system
Pro Media ToolsMedia and workflow management for video pros
CinePlayProfessional video player
Post HasteCreate projects from customizable templates
Preference ManagerTrash, backup, lock and restore preferences for your video apps
FCS RemoverUninstall Final Cut Studio and FCPX
Cut Notes
CinePlay
Aspect Ratio Matte Generator
Video Space Calculator