Zoom In, Zoom Out

Larry Lemm
November 1998

Are you tired of your Windows-based video editing software crashing, or having multiple software packages bog down your computer? Consider an alternative OS (Operating System) for your computer. The BeOS is a newer operating system that can run on both Intel and Macintosh hardware. Known for its "multithreading" capability (the ability to run more than one program simultaneously), Be Inc. designed the BeOS with the digital multimedia artist in mind. The BeOS is in its third major release version, and a fourth version--with improved hardware support--is due out soon. Of particular interest to the video editing crowd are two upcoming nonlinear editing packages for the BeOS that Adamation promises to release soon.
First is PersonalStudio, a storyboard-based nonlinear editing package that Adamation plans to use to target the home videographer. PersonalStudio will be priced at under $100 according to Mark Hall, vice-president of Adamation.
Due out the second quarter of 1999, Hall billed studioA as Adamation's new flagship video editing product. Priced in the $600-$800 range, Hall said studioA will provide Adobe Premiere-level editing power on the multimedia-friendly BeOS. Hall said Adamation would also port these two editing packages to the Windows and the Macintosh operating systems.
For more information on PersonalStudio and studioA, call Adamation at (510) 452-5252, or visit their Web site at www.adamation.com. For more information on the BeOS, call (650) 462-4100, or visit Be Inc.'s Web site at www.be.com.

After a long winter of discontent for Amiga users, the company that won the hearts and minds of a generation of video editors is back. Commodore introduced the Amiga in the 1980s and its powerful video processing capabilities made it an immediate hit. When Commodore went bankrupt, they sold it to ESCOM, a German computer firm. ESCOM kept Amiga dormant, isolated on the other side of the Atlantic, until last year when it sold Amiga to computer mail-order giant Gateway 2000.
Recently, Amiga announced a new operating system, (version 4.0). The new OS is primarily a developer's platform. Amiga announced the developer's platform with the hope it would cultivate a network of software developers to write applications for the fifth version of the OS. Version 5.0 is expected to operate a new generation of Amiga hardware. If the hype is true, expect the new Amiga machines, which are promised in December, 1999, to outperform next year's Wintel and Macintosh models. Knowing Amiga's past popularity with the video editing crowd (especially when combined with the NewTek Toaster/Flyer editing system), it wouldn't be a surprise to see some high-powered editing features included as well.

It won't be available in the states soon, but the Japanese news agency Nikkei reported that Hitachi is developing a DVD-RAM camcorder that will be on the market by the end of 1999. The new camcorders will be able to store up to one hour of moving images onto a DVD-RAM disc. After an hour, you'll need to change discs, or copy the full disc to a computer's hard drive. DVD-RAM is the recordable cousin of DVD-ROM, which is found on many new computers, and DVD-Video, which is slowly becoming the backbone video player of newer home entertainment systems.
The DVD-RAM camcorder could be a boon for home videographers. If the discs were compatible with the DVD drives on home computers, it would eliminate the time-consuming need to "dump" an entire Mini DV tape onto a computer hard drive or use a FireWire port for editing. Another positive feature could be that the DVD-RAM camcorder would maintain the small size of current Mini DV camcorders. The prototype that Hitachi displayed to Nikkei measured 15x10x4cm.