News

Panasonic has announced a free firmware upgrade for its popular AJ-PX270 P2 HD handheld that incorporates a new codec (AVC-Intra Class200), full HD streaming and automatic contents transfer, and new recording formats, all enhancing production and remote newsgathering. The addition of the high-quality AVC-Intra Class200 codec (10-bit, 4:2:2, bitrate approx 200Mbps) enables visually lossless recording at twice the bit rate of AVC-Intra Class100, delivering studio master quality for recording network-level programming and archiving. AVC-Intra Class200 is ideal for field capture of content for film-outs; the higher recording quality greatly enhances color correction processes, as well as green screen and compositing applications. With the additional AVC-Intra Class200 recording, the PX270 delivers the highest quality recording available in a handheld professional camcorder. Network functionality is also bolstered with newly-added streaming facilitating full HD output (wired, optional wireless, and optional 4G/LTE network) during recording. The implication for news gathering is that a breaking news event can be streamed to a broadcast station while acquisition is in progress in the field. In addition, Panasonic has added the "Rec during Uploading" function to the PX270 to allow automatic transfer of recorded contents to an FTP server, which means that recording is possible even while video content are being uploaded. The firmware also supports a new iPad-based P2 Remote Operation Panel application, which enables wireless control of the PX270 camera settings (picture quality, zoom, focus and rec/stop operation, for example) using an iPad. The App will be available free of charge at the Apple App Store. The firmware upgrade supplements the PX270's already extensive recording formats with the addition of 1080/30p, 25p, 24p and native 1080 24PsF HD-SDI output, expanding production uses such as external recording and monitoring, as well as 720/30p, 25p, 24p, improving web production efficiencies. The upgrade also activates proxy editing on a web browser.

Panasonic released a new firmware update for the LUMIX G Interchangable Lens Camera, DMC-GH4. The firmware Ver.2.1 enhances the performance and controllability with upgraded functions of HDMI output, which will be highly valued in professional video production. With this firmware, time code and recording control signal can be embedded to the HDMI output signal, when connected with the products of ATOMOS Global Pty. Ltd. or the products complying with the extended specifications of ATOMOS. Now both FHD at 30p/25p native or at 60p/50p is selectable to output via HDMI while recording video in FHD at 30p/25p. The Interface Unit DMW-YAGH has also been updated with the new firmware 1.1 to support these functional upgrades of GH4. Plus, 60i/50i (30PsF/25PsF) or 60p/50p is selectable for the output via SDI.

Blackmagic Design has just released Blackmagic Camera Utility 2.0, available for download from their support page (for Mac OS X and Windows). Blackmagic Camera Utility 2.0 provides the following updates:

Blackmagic URSA

- Adds support for Apple ProRes 444 recording in 4K and HD.

Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K

- Performance improvements for optical fiber output.

Blackmagic Studio Camera

- Improves options for overlays settings.

Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera

- Improves recording in ProRes LT and Proxy.

Blackmagic Cinema Camera

- Performance enhancements and improvements.

LightWave 3D Group, a division of NewTek Inc., updated its flagship 3D modeling , animation, and rendering software LightWave 2015. Version 2015.1 is a free update and includes many fixes to VPR, FiberFX, Surface Editor and other aspects of the program. 2015.1 will install into its own directory, and uses the same license as the 2015; drag-and-drop the license into the interface of 2015.1 when first launching 2015.1.

LightWave 2015.1 Fixes:

Layout:

- Layout crashes loading a 'cyHair' format wig

- FBX importing "Target Cameras" have incorrect rotation values.

Hub

- Hub crash if custom background GUI image used.

Modeler

- Cut Tool crash in Modeler using Edges.

FiberFX

- FiberFX no longer works with bullet guides.

- FiberFX Strand Tool workflow issue making "Fixed Tips" during styling.

- FiberFX crashing when using Bullet.

- FiberFX related crash when clearing an object with FiberFX applied, and then creating a new object.

- FiberFX crash due to mixed meshes.

- FiberFX motion vector data is broken.

- Clicking "Edit" in FiberFX crashes - MAC ONLY.

- Changing FiberFX shadow-type while VPR on crashes.

- "Polygonize Mixed" command in FiberFX doesn't work.

Renderer / VPR

- Option of 'Render Outside Camera' not working for VPR.

- VPR not showing proper shadow density when using transparency.

- VPR does not update in real-time when changing basic color attributes.

- VPR crash when 'Shift-clicking' to get surface with 2 point polygons.

- Fixed a bug in morph surfaces in VPR that could cause a crash due to uninitialized pointers.

- crash if executing shader Lscript UI while VPR evaluates same shader.

- Unseen by Camera items render when PRMBlur is on.

- Motion Blur rendering hidden objects.

- Motion vectors not working for MDD's.

- 2015 does not save proper motion vector data to EXR file format.

- Edge Thickness changes when Stereo is on.

- LW2015 GI render crash with 2 or more bounces.

Buller

- Crash when trying to make fractured geometry a "Parts Body" in Bullet.

Surface Editor

- Node Editor Node thumbnails and Image node thumbnail broken

- Nodal export/import dialogs have a localized file type field

SDK / Scripting

- Bilinear re-sample buffer size issue in SDK.

- ClipMap surface not accessible with Lscript

- "GlobalStore" function is broken on Mac OS systems (Layout)

Miscellaneous

- Save Dialog does not set mesh flags to 'Saved'

- Restore build number to the 2015 About box

- Docs don't launch with F1

- Crash using the nVidia "3D Pro Plug-in"

Avid's ISIS 5500 collaborative storage system for post-production and broadcast workflows is now qualified for live production with TriCaster routers and 3Play 4800 sports production replay solution. Using ISIS 5500 as the recording drive for live sessions enables media to be immediately available to a variety of devices simultaneously including editors, transcoders and playout. The ISIS 5500 was tested with single and mirrored TriCaster 8000s. The mirrored configuration opens up a number of new workflows providing higher scale and redundancy for multi-screen productions. ISIS enables the mirrored TriCasters to playback the same streams simultaneously. Simply install the ISIS client on NewTek TriCaster or 3Play and configure it to login and mount the required ISIS workspaces. The combination of ISIS 5500 and the NewTek portfolio allows up to 8 streams to be recorded and simultaneously play 2 streams and received 2 channels of graphics simultaneously, with the added benefit of being able to instantaneously share and monetize content. Gigabit Ethernet provides high speed, reliable connectivity between NewTek and ISIS.