NVIDIA working on Mac support for GPGPUs

AppleInsider is reporting that, according to its sources, NVIDIA is working on General Purpose Graphical Processing Unit (GPGPU) support for the Macintosh.

Unlike conventional graphics chips, GPGPUs can perform general purpose processing tasks and are not limited to graphical calculations only. This allows non-graphical software to utilize the GPU for other processing tasks, speeding up calculations. Software like Compressor could use this to speed up rendering, and Motion and Final Cut Pro could re-use the graphics processor as a standard processor when it is not needed for graphics-accelerated rendering. It would also be beneficial to laptop users, as it would provide more power efficiency (performance per watt).

GPGPUs cannot process every task that a CPU could though. They are used to processing several streams of graphical data simultaneously, so they work best with parallel tasks in which several similar tasks are being completed at the same time (e.g. rendering video frames in Compressor).

NVIDIA's chips use a technology called CUDA (Compute Unified Device Architecture) that allows software to communicate with the graphics processor and issue commands to it. ATI has a similar technology called CTM (Close to Metal).

The important factor that people seem to be missing is that GPGPUs are present in Nvidia's GeForce 8800 chips. This is confirmed by this page. This means that the GeForce 8800 GXT for the Mac Pro is already a GPGPU; it is just a case of developing OS X software to utilize it.

NVIDIA has put out a job posting for a full-time OS X CUDA driver developer, so it looks like this process is about to begin. It will probably be a long time before we see GPGPU-enabled applications because Apple will have to release driver and framework support for it before any developers can start work on CUDA applications. It is a very exciting development though.

DiskWarrior 4.1 adds Leopard support

I've mentioned DiskWarrior before. It has been a life-saver to me, and is well worth the asking price of $99.95. It will diagnose and fix hard disk problems that Disk Utility cannot. DiskWarrior is an essential editors' tool in the fight against data loss.

Version 4.1 adds Leopard support and support for Leopard-specific features such as the ability to repair Time Machine volumes.

Note, however, that you cannot repair Leopard volumes from within Tiger, so if you were trying to repair a Time Machine volume it would fail.

Workarounds for the QuickTime 7.4 rendering issues in After Effects

I have heard claims that it is caused by DRM and I have heard claims that it is just a case of adjusting a preference.

The preference in question is the "Show legacy encoders" option. Unfortunately I can't test this out myself as I don't have the CS3 version of AE and I wouldn't really want to install QT 7.4 even if I did. However, people are reporting that adjusting this preference makes no difference. I would imagine that this is correct, as the option simply shows and hides encoders in the QuickTime menus.

This problem only affects sequences longer than 9:59 (I have also heard 9:57 but it doesn't make much difference) in length. If you are exporting sequences shorter than this, you will not be affected.

The bug only affects QuickTime exports. A workaround is to export to an image sequence (I recommend TIFFs). Final Cut Pro doesn't work well with image sequences and it will really slow down your timeline, so I recommend then converting the images to a movie in QuickTime.

To do this, fire up QuickTime and go to File > Open Image Sequence. Choose the first frame of the sequence and click Open. Select your desired frame rate and click Ok.

You now have two options: you can go to File > Save As and save it as a self-contained movie or the second option is to go to File > Export and choose an export format. The former will make no changes to the quality of the images and the second one will recompress it to a given format (such as DV). The latter option is recommended if you are placing it in a Final Cut Pro sequence, as it will not require rendering if you match the sequence settings.

This workaround can be applied to any application that is having difficulties with the latest QuickTime update.

Using QuickTime 7.4 with Final Cut Pro 6

I've seen a lot of questions about this lately. Some people have tried installing QuickTime 7.4 in order to fix problems they were experiencing with Final Cut Studio. There is no need to install QuickTime 7.4 on your Final Cut Pro machine as the 7.4 update does not offer any new features relevant to Final Cut. In fact, it causes a lot of incompatibilities with non-Apple software.

You should only install a QuickTime update when you are updating Final Cut Pro and the FCP update demands a later version of QuickTime. It is best not to do this in the middle of a project, and make sure you have a clone of your current system before you do so.

I understand that some people use their machines for multiple purposes and the temptation to install QuickTime 7.4 in order to get iTunes movie rentals must be great. I would advise people in this situation to at least wait for a 7.4.1 patch before upgrading. The bugs in the current release mean that such a patch is likely. Don't forget to clone your drive before you do it.

And don't install it at all unless you have the very latest version of Final Cut Pro (6.0.2) or it will break your Final Cut Pro installation.

After Effects 8.0.2 released

Adobe has released a new patch for Macintosh After Effects users. This patch allows you to natively import and work with Panasonic P2 data, and adds Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard support.

More details of bug fixes are available here.

This does not, unfortunately, fix the QuickTime 7.4 rendering issues, although Adobe are "working with Apple to resolve the problem".

HD DVD not going down without a fight

HighDefDigest has a series of articles on the ongoing HD-DVD vs Blu-ray saga. I have heard some consumer publications say that HD-DVD is dead and Blu-ray has won the war. This is completely misleading. HD-DVD has taken some heavy blows but it has not died yet. Microsoft has shown in the past that it is prepared to make a loss in order to increase the market share of inferior products.

HD-DVD is definitely not giving up the ghost here. Universal has confirmed that it has no plans to abandon the HD-DVD format, despite the escape clause in its contract.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the fence, Warner revealed that it plans to delay even more of its HD-DVD releases. The delays now encompass its catalog titles in addition to its new ones.

Retailers are supporting Warner's move as well. Retailers are becoming cautious about over-stocking HD-DVD titles and are dedicating more shelf space to Blu-ray discs.

Finally, an online petition has been set up, campaigning against the move to abandon HD-DVD. At the time of writing, it has received over 15,000 signatures. Recently, a counter-petition called "Let HD DVD Die" was set up. At the time of writing, it has over 6,000 signatures (including mine). Because the first petition has had a couple of weeks' head start, it's difficult to tell which one is actually "winning" right now, although it probably won't make much difference.

Oscar 2008 nominations revealed

Best Picture
Atonement
Juno
Michael Clayton
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood

Best Director
Julian Schnabel - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Jason Reitman - Juno
Tony Gilroy - Michael Clayton
Joel and Ethan Coen - No Country for Old Men
Paul Thomas Anderson - There Will Be Blood

Best Actor
George Clooney - Michael Clayton
Daniel Day-Lewis - There Will Be Blood
Johnny Depp - Sweeney Todd
Tommy Lee Jones - In the Valley of Elah
Viggo Mortensen - Eastern Promises

Best Actress
Cate Blanchett - Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Julie Christie - Away from Her
Marion Cotillard - La Vie en Rose
Laura Linney - The Savages
Ellen Page - Juno

Best Supporting Actor
Casey Affleck - The Assassination of Jesse James...
Javier Bardem - No Country for Old Men
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Charlie Wilson's War
Hal Holbrook - Into the Wild
Tom Wilkinson - Michael Clayton

Best Supporting Actress
Cate Blanchett - I'm Not There
Ruby Dee - American Gangster
Saoirse Ronan - Atonement
Amy Ryan - Gone Baby Gone
Tilda Swinton - Michael Clayton

Best Foreign Language Film
Beaufort (Israel)
The Counterfeiters (Austria)
Katyn (Poland)
Mongol (Kazakhstan)
12 (Russia)

Best Animated Feature
Persepolis
Ratatouille
Surf's Up

Best Adapted Screenplay
Atonement
Away from Her
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood

Best Original Screenplay
Juno
Lars and the Real Girl
Michael Clayton
Ratatouille
The Savages

Best Music (Score)
Atonement
The Kite Runner
Michael Clayton
Ratatouille
3:10 to Yuma

Best Music (Song)
Falling Slowly - Once (performed by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova)
Happy Working Song - Enchanted (performed by Amy Adams)
Raise It Up - August Rush (performed by Jamia Simone Nash and Impact Repertory Theatre)
So Close - Enchanted (performed by Jon McLaughlin)
That's How You Know - Enchanted (performed by Amy Adams)

Best Documentary Feature
No End in Sight
Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience
Sicko
Taxi to the Dark Side
War/Dance

Best Documentary Short
Freeheld
La Corona (The Crown)
Salim Baba
Sari's Mother

Best Visual Effects
The Golden Compass
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Transformers

Best Cinematography
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Atonement
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood

Best Art Direction
American Gangster
Atonement
The Golden Compass
Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
There Will Be Blood

Best Animated Short
I Met the Walrus
Madame Tutli-Putli
Meme Les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go to Heaven)
My Love (Moya Lyubov)
Peter & the Wolf

Best Short Film
At Night
Il Supplente
Le Mozart des Pickpockets
Tanghi Argentini
The Tonto Woman

Best Costume Design
Across the Universe
Atonement
Elizabeth: The Golden Age
La Vie en Rose
Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Best Make-Up
La Vie en Rose
Norbit
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

Best Sound Mixing
The Bourne Ultimatum
No Country for Old Men
Ratatouille
3:10 to Yuma
Transformers

Best Sound Editing
The Bourne Ultimatum
No Country for Old Men
Ratatouille
There Will Be Blood
Transformers

Best Film Editing
The Bourne Ultimatum
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Into the Wild
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood

The ceremony takes place on February 24th. The producer has promised that the "show will go on" whether the actors are there or not, unlike the Golden Globes.

FCS Remover - Easily uninstall Final Cut Studio

By popular demand, we've just created a new tool on the site that allows you to uninstall Final Cut Studio. One of the Mac's biggest failings is the lack of software uninstallation options. In order to remove an application, you must delete the program from Applications and then trawl through the Library folders and delete all related files. This is tedious and there is a real risk of accidentally deleting something that shouldn't be deleted.

With Final Cut Studio, the problem is particularly apparent because recently, many users have discovered hardware and software compatibility problems with the latest versions. They wish to downgrade to a previous version but they cannot install a previous version unless the latest version is removed. Simply deleting the Final Cut Pro application in the Applications folder doesn't work.

FCS Remover automates this process, moving Final Cut Studio applications and support files to your Trash without disturbing your documents. It is better than general purpose third-party uninstallers because it is designed specifically for Final Cut Studio and so you can be certain that it is not automatically removing files it should not. For safety, it moves your files to the Trash rather than deleting them outright so you can see exactly what has been moved before you click "Empty".

FCS Remover is a free download for Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger and 10.5 Leopard. We would appreciate your feedback and suggestions.

A little update on Final Cut Pro's gamma quirks

Last week I made a post about Final Cut Pro modifying the gamma of clips, causing some to be too dark and some to be washed out.

The washed out issue was the most serious because it only happened upon exporting the movie, and the image looked perfectly fine in FCP. The darkening issue was less severe because it only affected the user's perception of the image in FCP and if they were not performing color correction in FCP, they would be perfectly fine.

I was just going through User Preferences, trying to help someone who was having difficulty, when I noticed a new option that I had never seen before (I don't adjust user prefs very often). In the Editing tab, there is a section marked "Imported Still / RGB Video Gamma". You can choose from Source, 1.80, 2.20, 2.22 and Custom. My research indicates that this option has been there since 6.0.0 but Apple recently renamed it in 6.0.2 to clarify that it is for RGB footage only.

1.80 refers to the default gamma of RGB footage (eg. still images and special effects codecs such as Animation). This is also the default gamma of your Mac display. 2.20 refers to the default gamma of YUV footage (eg. NTSC, PAL, ProRes, etc). Camera footage falls into this category, as do a lot of the displays on Windows machines. Gamma 2.22 is also used by Windows PCs. I would advise leaving this option on Source, so that no gamma correction will be applied to the clip itself. The only correction that will occur will be when playing back in the FCP Canvas, and not upon exporting the movie.

This setting will fix the RGB gamma issue that caused images to be washed out upon export. This does not change Final Cut Pro's handling of YUV images.

Missing codecs in QuickTime 7.4

[Time code]; has noticed that the new QuickTime 7.4 update offers you significantly fewer export options than its predecessor. At first glance, they appear to have been removed, but rest assured - they are still there and have just been hidden. To show them again, go to QuickTime in System Preferences, click on the Advanced tab and check the box marked "Show legacy encoders".

The reason for hiding them is probably to prevent end-user confusion and promote more modern formats.

Update: Apple now has a support document confirming this.