News Stories

Atom Rig is a Sleek 3D Option for the RED Epic

1.13.2011

Throwing catnip to RED users — and aspiring RED users — Element Technica (ET) has announced the Atom, a new compact 3D beamsplitter rig built specifically around the spanking new RED Epic camera. It accommodates two Epics fronted with full-size PL and PV prime lenses or even smaller zooms, like the Angenieux Optimo 30-80mm, the company says.

By building the rig specifically for the Epic, ET was able to keep the design streamlined and lightweight. How light? The aluminum Atom weighs in at just 18 pounds in a handheld version, or 23 pounds in a studio configuration. Depending on how much gear you attach, the system weighs as little as 40 pounds loaded up with two Epics. The Atom sells for $64,000.

How low can you go? Got an extra $20,000? The $84,000 Atom Magnesium, or Atom Mag for short, loses five pounds, and your ready-to-shoot system weight drops to a theoretical 36 pounds.

If you’re looking to go extra-trim, another $20,000 will get you the magnesium Pro Kit, which eliminates three external components by integrating muxing, sync, and power-conditioning electronics. It also routes signals to a single connector, reducing the amount of cabling required out of each camera and out of the rig as a whole.

The price tag may seem pretty high to users who gravitate to RED’s cameras purely on a bang-for-your-buck basis, but if the Atom doesn’t find its way into most users’ collections of RED paraphernalia, it should be a popular rental option for 3D stereo projects with a budget to justify the sleekest gear available. Everything you need to know is spelled out, along with many more pictures, at the Atom page at Element Technica’s website.

Original story here: http://www.studiodaily.com/main/news/headlines/Atom-Rig-is-a-Sleek-3D-Option-for-the-RED-Epic_12857.html

Sigma Designs unveils studio-grade, set-top SoC for 3-D

1.13.2011

Sigma Designs, a provider of System-on-Chip (SoC) solutions for delivering and displaying entertainment and control throughout the home, has introduced its SMP8910 media processor, what it calls one of the first chips to integrate VXP studio-quality video processing and 3-D video processing into a high-performance media processor.

The new processor chip will enhance the viewing experience and performance for connected media players, Blu-ray players and IPTV set-top boxes. SMP8910 samples will be available to customers in the first half of 2011.

The SMP8910 provides more than 6000DMIPS via a dual-core, 1004K MIPS CPU. The chip’s distributed-processing architecture features task-optimized CPU that manage key processes, including HD multiformat video decoding, 3-D graphics rendering, content protection and security management, and multiformat audio encoding and decoding. This architecture leaves more than 3000DMIPS of available processing to smoothly run middleware, set-top box applications and the latest over-the-top applications.

Included VXP technology creates a rich, studio-grade viewing experience and is proven in demanding applications such as digital cinema projectors, prosumer A/V receivers and processors, broadcast monitors and premium-quality Blu-ray players. VXP excels at upscaling images, eliminating noise and video compression artifacts, and performing numerous image enhancements, such as adaptive contrast and detail enhancement.

The SMP8910 also includes two new VXP features: de-ghosting and adaptive debanding. De-ghosting reduces ghosting artifacts present on most current 3-D TVs by preprocessing the 3-D video before driving the 3-D TV, resulting in a more pleasing and less fatiguing viewing experience. Adaptive debanding reduces color contouring, commonly seen as bands of color instead of continuously smooth shading, resulting in a more pleasing image without loss of detail, especially on large displays.

Original post here: http://broadcastengineering.com/products/sigma-designs-unveils-studio-grade-set-top-soc-3-d-20110111/index.html

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Specification for Naming VFX Image Sequences Released

ETC’s VFX Working Group has published a specification for best practices naming image sequences such as plates and comps. File naming is an essential tool for organizing the multitude of frames that are inputs and outputs from the VFX process. Prior to the publication of this specification, each organization had its own naming scheme, requiring custom processes for each partner, which often resulted in confusion and miscommunication.

The new ETC@USC specification focuses primarily on sequences of individual images. The initial use case was VFX plates, typically delivered as OpenEXR or DPX files. However, the team soon realized that the same naming conventions can apply to virtually any image sequence. Consequently, the specification was written to handle a wide array of assets and use cases.

To ensure all requirements are represented, the working group included over 2 dozen participants representing studios, VFX houses, tool creators, creatives and others.  The ETC@USC also worked closely with MovieLabs to ensure that the specification could be integrated as part of their 2030 Vision.

A key design criteria for this specification is compatibility with existing practices.  Chair of the VFX working group, Horst Sarubin of Universal Pictures, said: “Our studio is committed to being at the forefront of designing best industry practices to modernize and simplify workflows, and we believe this white paper succeeded in building a new foundation for tools to transfer files in the most efficient manner.”

This specification is compatible with other initiatives such as the Visual Effects Society (VES) Transfer Specifications. “We wanted to make it as seamless as possible for everyone to adopt this specification,” said working group co-chair and ETC@USC’s Erik Weaver. “To ensure all perspectives were represented we created a team of industry experts familiar with the handling of these materials and collaborated with a number of industry groups.”

“Collaboration between MovieLabs and important industry groups like the ETC is critical to implementing the 2030 Vision,” said Craig Seidel, SVP of MovieLabs. “This specification is a key step in defining the foundations for better software-defined workflows. We look forward to continued partnership with the ETC on implementing other critical elements of the 2030 Vision.”

The specification is available online for anyone to use.

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