HD Gear

by Charles Fulton
Special Issue 2006

With Andrew Burke

Sony
Sony Vegas 7 + DVD Production Suite finally makes its debut with added support for HDV and XDCAM, a user customizable interface, multithreaded audio engine and a Dolby Digital AC-3 multi-channel (5.1 surround output) encoder to name a few enhancements. Check out our review in the next issue for more information.
www.sonymediasoftware.com
Suggested Retail Price:
$699

Matrox
Matrox launched two new breakout boxes ("BOBs"). Its Axio-based RT.X2 allows realtime PC editing of native HDV and DV. It includes Matrox's MPEG-2 4:2:2 codec and Adobe Premiere Pro. Capture HDV 1080i, DV, DVCAM, and DVCPRO, plus SD and HD MPEG-2. The portable MXO allows realtime playback without interlace artifacts for Macs.
www.matrox.com
Suggested Retail Price:
$1,995

MacroSystem
MacroSystem's HDV Recorder can capture up to 23 hours of HDV footage on the included removable 250GB hard drive, and is compatible with both 720p and 1080i versions of HDV, as well as NTSC and PAL DV. The device can play back HD footage in real time at full-resolution for archiving, duplication and viewing.
(877) 554-2846
www.macrosystem.us
Suggested Retail Price:
$1,999

Red Giant Software
Red Giant Software's plug-in adds pixels to progressive video streams. Using the Instant HD software with Adobe's Premiere Pro, After Effects, or Apple's Final Cut Pro, you can up-convert video to HD standards. The plugins have already been used in the course in the production of several released feature films.
www.redgiantsoftware.com
Suggested Retail Price:
$99

Sony
Sony's first-of-breed AVCHD camcorder records HD video onto a 30GB hard drive. Add true 5.1 Dolby Digital audio to the 1080 lines of HD resolution, and you've got a lot of data to wrangle. On the highest quality setting, it stores four hours of video. Burn your footage to a DVD and play instantly in Sony's Playstation 3.
www.dvdafteredit.com
Suggested Retail Price:
$1,500

nNovia
nNovia's QuickCapture A2D direct-to-edit video capture device now supports HDV capture at 720p and 1080i. It retains the ability to capture from analog devices as well as play footage directly to television monitors.
(408) 436-1486
www.nnovia.com
Suggested Retail Price:
$1,399 (40GB); $1,599 (60GB); $1,799 (80GB)

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