Reprinted from a Canopus press release:
Canopus Corporation, a recognized leader in realtime video editing technology, today announced EDIUS NX for HDV. EDIUS NX for HDV redefines video production capability and affordability with a groundbreaking, tightly integrated software and hardware solution for realtime HD and SD editing, effects and compositing. With its seamless realtime workflow, EDIUS NX for HDV lets videographers mix HD and SD video footage in realtime and work with unlimited video, audio and effects layers, while providing realtime high-quality, full-resolution HD video output to an HD monitor for preview.
“Just as we set the standard for realtime output in the early days of the DV editing revolution, we’re at it again in the HD world with our HD codec technologies,” said Hiro Yamada, founder and chairman of the board of Canopus. “With our tightly integrated software and hardware solutions for HDV, we can provide the realtime editing and output functionality that is sorely lacking in software-only solutions.”
Powered by EDIUS Pro 3 nonlinear editing software, EDIUS NX for HDV provides native editing and realtime processing of HDV, DV, uncompressed SD, MPEG-2, MPEG-1 formats. EDIUS Pro 3 is designed for maximum performance with realtime, multi-track, mixed format HD/SD editing, compositing, chroma keying, titling and timeline output capabilities, and supports realtime output of multiple video tracks, effects, and graphics and title layers. EDIUS Pro 3 also supports direct-to-DVD timeline export.
In addition to support for native editing of HDV clips in their original MPEG-2 format, EDIUS NX for HDV lets users edit by way of Canopus’s acclaimed variable-bitrate HQ codec for increased quality and realtime performance. EDIUS NX for HDV can also capture SD analog footage to uncompressed, lossless and DV formats.
EDIUS NX for HDV hardware boasts advanced editing acceleration features as well as high-quality video circuitry for connectivity to consumer and professional video equipment, including HDV camcorders and decks from Sony and JVC. EDIUS NX for HDV also delivers sophisticated hardware line-scaling to expand the edited HDV 1440 samples per line to 1080i’s 1920 resolution for output By having the EDIUS NX for HDV hardware accelerator handle this processor-intensive task instead of the PC’s CPU, editors gain improved realtime performance and output quality.
To help editors with the transition from SD to HD, EDIUS NX for HDV edits SD content, such as DV, in HD resolution while providing realtime output to HD monitors using the onboard HD component output. EDIUS NX for HDV provides high quality, realtime up-conversion from SD to HD video with all project titles, graphics and effects performed in HD resolution. Conversions between NTSC and PAL formats, 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios, as well as up-conversion and down-conversion between SD and HD, are processed in realtime, further streamlining the production workflow. EDIUS NX for HDV also features the much-admired Canopus ADVC functionality to provide realtime bidirectional analog/DV conversion and capture.
While other video editing systems are restricted to a fixed number of simultaneous video and graphics tracks for realtime output, EDIUS NX for HDV is designed with Canopus’s Scalable Technology architecture to take full advantage of the system’s CPU power, giving users more realtime performance. Scalable Technology ensures that EDIUS NX for HDV’s realtime editing capabilities expand as CPU power increases, which extends the life of the product and provides a higher return on investment.
EDIUS NX for HDV includes a sleek 5.25-inch breakout bay that provides front-mounted connectors for 4-pin FireWire, S-Video, composite video and unbalanced stereo RCA audio. EDIUS NX for HDV includes Inscriber TitleMotion HD for Canopus, which provides editors with tools to create high-quality titles and features realtime preview of all titles during composition. Featuring keyframable animation capabilities within both 2D and 3D spaces, TitleMotion HD can produce polished broadcast titles within minutes. Also included is Ulead DVD Workshop Express, a powerful and intuitive authoring software package used to create dynamic DVDs with two subtitle and audio tracks, with maximum efficiency and creativity, and Sony Screenblast ACID 4.0, an award-winning loop-based music creation program that that lets editors create songs instantly from pre-recorded loops, create their own music or remixes and add soundtracks to videos.
EDIUS NX For HDV Options
Canopus is offering EDIUS NX for HDV customers the Canopus Codec Option Pack, which includes the DVCPRO 50 and DVCPRO HD software codecs. Developed in collaboration with Panasonic, the Canopus DVCPRO HD codec provides EDIUS NX for HDV with high-quality HD video and unrivaled realtime HD nonlinear editing performance with full native DVCPRO HD (SMPTE 370M) compliance. The Canopus Codec Option Pack will also allow for the direct import of DVCPRO HD QuickTime .MOV files into EDIUS Pro. Providing direct lossless HD capture and print-to-tape functions using the Panasonic AJ-HD1200A VTR in native 1080i via EDIUS NX for HDV’s FireWire connector, EDIUS NX for HDV with the Canopus Codec Option Pack is a cost-effective editing solution for DVCPRO HD on Windows-based systems.
Another convenient option for EDIUS NX for HDV customers is the Canopus Video-out Plug-in Option that allows SD/HD analog component output for Alias Maya 6, Bauhaus Mirage 1.2, Discreet 3D Studio Max 7 and Combustion, and NewTek’s LightWave 3D 8.
Product Availability and Pricing
EDIUS NX for HDV will be available December 10, 2004 from Canopus and its authorized resellers and system integrators for a suggested retail price of $2098. For videographers who do not yet need HDV compatibility, an HDV-ready version of EDIUS NX is available for $1299 and can be upgraded to include full HDV capabilities for $799. The Canopus Codec Option Pack and Canopus Video-out Plug-in Option will be available for $999 and $499 respectively. For more information, visit the company’s Web site at www.canopus.com.
