News

September 13, 2013

Blackmagic Design announced Desktop Video 10, a major new software update for its UltraStudio 4K and DeckLink 4K Extreme capture and playback products that replaces all processing with a wholly new design. This new software update allows for innovative features such as simultaneous capture and playback and will be available in October free of charge.

UltraStudio 4K running simultaneous capture and playback will be demonstrated with DaVinci Resolve 10 on the Blackmagic Design IBC 2013 booth in Hall 7, Stand H20. This demonstration will show live capture, color grading and then output live on the single UltraStudio 4K.

After 11 years of shipping thousands of capture and playback products for Mac, Windows and Linux, it was time to redesign the firmware and drivers to allow a new generation of features and performance. This new architecture has been designed from the ground up to be optimized for high speed Thunderbolt and PCIe computers and the new emerging Ultra HD television formats that require massive data speeds to support. This new design has also been driven by the needs of high end DaVinci Resolve customers who are working on high end feature films.

The new design replaces the entire driver set and internal processing in the UltraStudio 4K and DeckLink 4K Extreme models. This change is a purely modern design that allows exciting features such as capture and playback at the same time and in different video formats. The new design features almost zero latency, depending on the host computer for the highest performance Direct GPU support.

DaVinci Resolve 10 customers will benefit from the capture and playback support as this lets them capture direct from cameras on set, then grade the live video with multiple nodes of correction and then to output to an on set monitor all live. This makes lighting a film set easy and allows DOP’s, directors and colorists to work together to optimize the film’s look on set. Other features included in Desktop Video 10 for DaVinci Resolve include new frame buffers supporting R10K RGB, 12 bit support, higher frame rates and much more.

OEM developers will also like multiple new features to help support custom system development. These new features include full frame genlock timing, closed caption in all bit rates, automatic input detection support, better CRC input checking, extremely low latency and Direct GPU support, plus the ability to write pixels direct into frame buffers and the ability to write their own custom drivers.

About UltraStudio 4K

UltraStudio 4K, an attractively designed rack mount capture and playback device based on Thunderbolt™ technology developed by Intel® with collaboration from Apple®. UltraStudio 4K instantly switches between all SD, HD and Ultra HD video formats, supports dual stream 3D capture/playback, and includes a modern 12 bit hardware architecture, Dual Link 6G-SDI, HDMI 4K, support for up to 1080p60 and a wide range of SDI, HDMI and analog video and audio connections all for only US$995. UltraStudio 4K is the ideal solution for all post production and broadcast users when working on design, editing, paint, color correction and effects tasks.

About DeckLink 4K Extreme

DeckLink 4K Extreme is a high performance PCIe based capture and playback card that instantly switches between all SD, HD and Ultra HD video formats, supports dual stream 3D capture/playback, and includes a modern 12 bit hardware architecture.

DeckLink 4K Extreme features powerful features such as Dual Link 6G-SDI, HDMI 4K, support for up to 1080p60 and a wide range of SDI, HDMI and analog video and audio connections all for only US$995. DeckLink 4K Extreme is the perfect solution that can be installed inside high performance workstations for broadcast design, editing, paint, color correction, visual effects and more.

“We have been working on this new design for a long long time and its exciting to show it at IBC working with DaVinci Resolve 10” said Grant Petty, CEO, Blackmagic Design. “The previous driver and firmware design for our capture and playback products had served us well over the last 11 years, however it’s now time to start again by throwing away the old code and engineer a totally new design that includes all our exciting ideas into this new design. This new design is a complete reinvention of the desktop video products and is what UltraStudio 4K and DeckLink 4K Extreme were designed for. We have already seeded this update to developers and they are very excited by this update and we think customers will also love it too!”

Availability and Price

Desktop Video 10 for UltraStudio 4K and DeckLink 4K Extreme will be available in October free of charge.

Press Photography

Product photos of the UltraStudio 4K and DeckLink 4K Extreme, as well as all other Blackmagic Design products are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/press/resources/images.

About Blackmagic Design

Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, waveform monitors and film restoration software for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability, while the company’s DaVinci Emmy™ award winning color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including stereoscopic 3D and 4K workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore, and Australia. For more information, please check www.blackmagicdesign.com.

September 13, 2013

Blackmagic Design today announced that DaVinci Resolve 10 public beta is available for customers to download now. DaVinci Resolve 10 is a major upgrade that includes new features for integrating the workflows of multiple different software products used in the film and television industry. DaVinci Resolve 10 has upgraded on set tools, upgraded editing features, support for OpenFX plug ins as well as new tools for delivering final project masters to cinemas. Other changes include the addition of Ultra HD resolutions and additional GPU support on the free of charge DaVinci Resolve Lite edition.

DaVinci Resolve 10 is being demonstrated on the Blackmagic Design IBC 2013 booth in Hall 7, Stand H20.

DaVinci Resolve 10 has been developed to simplify the integration of different software tools used in the film and television industry, allowing timelines to be moved into and out of DaVinci Resolve and other edit software such as Final Cut Pro, Avid and Premiere Pro.

As workflows have changed, more post production is now started on set during the shoot. Lighting and other aspects of the shoot are also often verified based on color correction checks and DaVinci Resolve 10 has new powerful tools to manage this process. The new Resolve Live feature allows color grading direct from the video input live with full creative power such as primaries, secondaries, power windows, custom curves and more. Grades can be stored and then relinked when the camera files are loaded.

DaVinci Resolve 10 includes enhanced editing features and allows online finishing of edits performed in other popular editing software. This means multiple users can submit scenes in large complex jobs from the applications they prefer to use, and DaVinci Resolve 10 can finish online from the original camera RAW files for dramatically better quality than would be available when finishing in a standard NLE software package. If any scene needs additional editing, it can be moved back to the NLE software letting editors use the tools they love.

New editing features include full multi track editing with 16 channels of audio per clip and unlimited video and audio tracks in the timeline. Audio can be synced or trimmed and dragged independently to the timeline. Other new editing features include extensive ripple, roll, slide and slip clip trimming support which display dynamically on the timeline and viewer. The viewer also allows split screen display to show in and out points of adjacent clips.

A good example of the online editing process is when an edit has been completed in Final Cut Pro X that includes mixed frame rates, mixed media types, multiple audio tracks and even color corrections. DaVinci Resolve 10 will support import of that project via XML and will online it including full translation of all these elements while rendering the master from the original RAW camera files. This means that Final Cut Pro X editors can use DaVinci Resolve 10 as the tool to online their work for cinema release and generate the Digital Cinema Package file directly from the camera RAW files.

Editing in DaVinci Resolve 10 also includes a powerful title tool with static, lower third, scroll and crawl titles with multiple fonts, size, drop shadow and XY positioning. Timelines in DaVinci Resolve 10 also include the support of compound clips with multiple elements including multiple video and audio tracks. Also, DaVinci Resolve 10 can be used for stereoscopic 3D projects with full support for left and right eye clips in the media pool and the edit timeline. Using timecode and reel name, DaVinci Resolve 10 will automatically associate the left and right eye of the stereoscopic clips.

Color correction features have been upgraded in DaVinci Resolve 10, including support for industry standard OpenFX plug ins with an unlimited number of plug ins per clip. There are now unlimited power windows per corrector node and the new Gradient PowerWindow™ lets colorists quickly add a gradient across the image. Other new color correction features include copy and paste of tracking data, motion effects including spatial and temporal noise reduction and motion blur effects.

For project delivery, DaVinci Resolve 10 includes full audio track visibility in the deliver window timeline as well as EasyDCP integration so users can render directly from their project timeline into a Digital Cinema Package for release to theaters. Because DaVinci Resolve 10 allows rendering from the camera RAW file directly to the Digital Cinema Package files in the highest quality 32 bit float, there is simply no better quality possible for a cinema release master. Customers simply need to purchase a license from EasyDCP to enable this feature.

DaVinci Resolve 10 also supports additional media types and continues to be the industry leader in file based workflows because it operates with virtually all video file types available. New formats include JPEG 2000 decoding and encoding, AVI clip decoding, playback and more.

“We are extremely excited to have this public beta of DaVinci Resolve 10 ready for download from the Blackmagic Design web site,” said Grant Petty, CEO, Blackmagic Design. “This is an important update for all DaVinci Resolve customers and dramatically boosts the ease of workflow in the television industry. This new public beta is available for high end DaVinci Resolve systems as well as the exciting free of charge DaVinci Resolve Lite edition which now includes support for UHD timelines and rendering. This is an exciting moment for DaVinci Resolve because its the biggest update to a DaVinci product line in 30 years!”

About DaVinci Resolve

Blackmagic Design’s DaVinci Resolve is the world’s highest performance on set, editing and color correction solution for Mac OS X, Windows and Linux computers. DaVinci Resolve supports more real time color correction than any other system because it’s not limited by the performance of the computer it’s running on. DaVinci Resolve eliminates this performance barrier because it’s based on a cluster of high performance GPU cards, so all processing is always real time. DaVinci Resolve has the power of a true real time performance solution so handles complex color grades even when using dozens of primaries, secondaries, Power Windows™, multi point tracking, blurs, and more. DaVinci Resolve provides incredible performance in a low cost solution which can be easily upgraded by adding extra GPUs for supercomputer power to handle 4K resolutions, stereoscopic 3D and real time grading direct from raw camera files such as ARRI RAW, RED RAW and Sony RAW files which can be handled with ease.

Availability and Price

DaVinci Resolve 10 public beta is available now for download from the Blackmagic Design web site free of charge for all DaVinci Resolve customers.

Press Photography

Product photos of the DaVinci Resolve 10, and all other Blackmagic Design products, are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/press/images.

About Blackmagic Design

Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and film restoration software for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability, while the company’s Emmy™ award winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including stereoscopic 3D and 4K workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, United Kingdom, Japan, Singapore, and Australia. For more information, please check www.blackmagicdesign.com.

September 11, 2013

Alternative rock band Placebo has recorded a live studio set of its new album on the Blackmagic Cinema Camera. The hour long session was filmed at the famous Rak Studios in London and will be featured as bonus material on the band’s soon to be released seventh album, titled “Loud Like Love.”

Directed by Charlie Targett-Adams and produced by James Tonkin of Hangman Studios, the multi camera project incorporated eight fixed camera positions, five of which were Blackmagic Cinema Cameras. “It’s wide dynamic range, it’s size, the ability to record straight to ProRes and that beautiful log flat look that you get from the camera make it an ideal choice for live shoots like the one with Placebo,” reveals Tonkin.

“When Charlie and I went through tests from previous shoots he really saw the strength in going down this route. Although he is a young director, Charlie very much prefers the look of film in the same way that I do.”

“Knowing that we could shoot and create a look inside the camera meant the Blackmagic camera was the ideal choice. We had to film the whole session uninterrupted and that meant planning as much as we could in advance and then simply going with it on the day.”

With Placebo’s management wanting this to be an honest representation of how the band would play behind closed doors, the aim was to give the whole thing a stripped back look that felt natural on camera. That meant allowing the band to play with as few distractions as was possible.

Tonkin continued: “Although we used a number of sliders and tracks, our camera operators were for all intents and purposes in fixed positions for the whole shoot. And working in a confined space like Rak Studios required careful planning. I had to make certain that we had enough camera angles so that the whole thing would feel coherent, well covered and dynamic. That to some extent dictated my lens selection because as beautiful as primes are, you can’t be stuck on one shot. It just doesn’t give you enough latitude to get what you need when working from fixed position.”

Treating this as a live shoot was perhaps the most challenging aspect of the project for Tonkin.

“You didn’t necessarily know what you’d got until it was all shot,” says Tonkin. “However the simplicity of the settings and menu structure in the Blackmagic camera really worked to our advantage. It allowed me to quickly set up the cameras and ensured everything we shot looked the same. The Blackmagic Cinema Camera for that reason became so much easier to deal with in the grade because you had a neutral starting point on all of the footage.”

Post production involved an edit in Final Cut and then the material was graded on Blackmagic Design’ DaVinci Resolve. “Being involved in both the filming and grading of the content has a definite advantage,” said Tonkin. “You have a better understanding of what you can correct in post, or how best to shoot some things and what lighting ratios will allow you to push and pull things in the grade.”

Press Photography

Product photos of Blackmagic Cinema Camera are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/press/images.

About Blackmagic Design

Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and film restoration software for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability, while the company’s Emmy™ award winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including stereoscopic 3D and 4K workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, United Kingdom, Japan, Singapore, and Australia. For more information, please check www.blackmagicdesign.com.

Adobe announced updates for video tools in Adobe Creative Cloud, and Adobe Generator, technology that fundamentally changes the way people work with Photoshop for web and screen design. Generator is a platform that brings Photoshop to the heart of the design process, enabling greater interoperability between Adobe Photoshop CC, Adobe Creative Cloud and third party applications.



With over 150 new features, the upcoming video tools update in Adobe Creative Cloud, is packed with new capabilities in Adobe Premiere Pro CC, Adobe After Effects CC, Adobe SpeedGrade CC, Adobe Prelude CC, Adobe Media Encoder CC and Adobe Story CC Plus redefining how video professionals create, collaborate and deliver high quality productions across multiple screens. The announcement signifies Adobe’s commitment to providing continuous innovation for Creative Cloud members and builds upon the huge customer momentum Adobe video is experiencing across the broadcast and post-production industries. These major updates, expected in October, allow broadcast and media professionals to extend their creative toolset and streamline their editing environments.

New Tools and Workflows:

• A new Direct Link Color Pipeline between Adobe Premiere Pro CC and SpeedGrade CC provides an integrated workflow that allows users to move multi-track timelines seamlessly back and forth; open Adobe Premiere Pro CC sequences in SpeedGrade quickly; and see the results as effects in Adobe Premiere Pro CC that are managed by the Lumetri Deep Color Engine.

• Expanded native support for UltraHD, 4K and higher resolutions, high frame rates and RAW formats, enables editors to work with footage from the hottest new high-res cameras natively – without having to wait to transcode and re-wrap files.

• The Mask Tracker in After Effects enables video professionals to create masks and apply effects that track automatically frame-by-frame throughout a composition to save countless hours of tedious work.

• Editing is streamlined in Premiere Pro CC, with improved multicam, enhanced closed captioning capabilities, new monitor overlays and audio monitoring features, enabling editors to work faster.

• Performance enhancements punctuate this release with support in Premiere Pro CC for OpenCL, providing editors with the speed and power they need for the most demanding projects; and new GPU debayering of the Cinema DNG file format for real time playback.

• New Sync Settings in Adobe Media Encoder CC let users now sync application preferences between multiple computers via Creative Cloud.

And more! The Adobe Generator technology for Photoshop CC is available now, Premiere CC and After Effects CC updates are expected in October.

NewTek unveiled the next generation of its industry-standard, professional TriCaster multi-camera production systems, introducing three new models - TriCaster 860, TriCaster 460, and TriCaster 410 - and major enhancements to the company’s flagship system, TriCaster 8000. The entire professional TriCaster product line incorporates across-the-board breakthroughs in integrated multi-camera live production. All systems now offer 4 or 8 full mix/effects (M/E) channels, greatly expanding the system's switching performance. Producers can use these M/Es to generate layered and composited real-time video, produce sub-mixes in the main video program, and output content as a secondary program - all with complete switcher behaviors, transitions, overlays, multi-source layering and virtual sets.



The new family of professional TriCaster systems includes four models, each designed to address a wide range of multi-camera video production needs:

TriCaster 410. A streamlined, compact system with a full 4 M/E production switcher, HD-SDI connectivity, and tools for live-only delivery, ideal for anyone producing small to medium-sized live shows or webcasts with powerful media sharing and disk recording capabilities.

TriCaster 460. A compact system with a full 4 M/E production switcher with greater connectivity and broader creative flexibility for any small or medium-sized production, particularly where live video content is touched up, re-packaged or repurposed for postproduction or supplemental programming.

TriCaster 860. A system designed for full-sized live action with an abundance of angles, visuals, coverage and postproduction tools, offering a full 8 M/E production switcher, plus more channels, sources, I/O, graphics and effects, and greater capacity for media storage.

TriCaster 8000. The flagship content publishing hub for all the media in a live program, with a premium 8 M/E production switcher, built-in failsafe and redundancy capabilities, and extensive router support for enhanced broadcast integration, massive multi-camera coverage, and mission critical high-end productions of any size.

All TriCaster models include comprehensive feature enhancements that enable producers to create bigger and better shows, and reach larger audiences with network TV-style video content—while also significantly lowering production costs. With any TriCaster system, users can reduce the many racks of equipment and crew often required to produce a multi-camera show.