Codex develops workflow for Phantom Flex4K camera
LONDON–Codex is working with Vision Research to provide a workflow for the Phantom Flex4K camera. Already widely used around the world with many different cameras, Codex Vault is a mobile workflow device that supports the rapid transfer of the digital camera originals from the Phantom for review, postproduction and archiving.
Vault is a modular system that enables the playback of 4K material to a 4K monitor for review, QC and basic colour grading, as well as providing fast, reliable transfers to internal storage, metadata management and archiving to LTO tape. Powerful GPU-based processing facilitates fast but extremely high quality transcoding to h.264, Apple ProRes 4444, Avid DNxHD 444 and uncompressed RGB formats.
“We are excited to offer a workflow solution for the Phantom Flex4K camera. It continues the vision that we have for Vault–supporting the multitude of different cameras that are available today with the reliable, streamlined workflows that our customers have come to rely on from Codex,” said Marc Dando, managing director of Codex, “Our industry needs secure, robust workflows that are common across camera formats and this is another step in that direction.”
“The incorporation of Phantom CINE files into the Codex media management environment will make the Flex4K camera more accessible,” noted Moe Shore of AbelCine, the exclusive reseller of Phantom in North America, and a reseller for Codex.
Codex Vault has been used on many projects around the world including Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Fast and Furious 7, Hunger Games: Mockingjay Parts 1 and 2, X-Men: Days of Future Past and The Fault in Our Stars.
Canon USA opens Midwest center
MELVILLE, N.Y.–Canon U.S.A., Inc. has opened a service and support center in Itasca, Ill. This facility, located just outside of Chicago, will provide comprehensive product repair and maintenance of Canon’s professional products to Cinema, Platinum, and Gold level members of Canon’s Professional Services (CPS) program, and owners of Canon professional broadcast lenses.
The Itasca facility features repair and maintenance operations for Canon’s extensive lineup of professional cameras, including Cinema EOS and EOS Digital SLR cameras, high-definition camcorders, and all of Canon’s lenses, including EF series photography lenses, Cinema lenses and broadcast lenses. Repair operations at the facility include four state-of-the-art camera body and lens adjustment rooms, Canon’s most advanced adjustment and calibration equipment, spare parts inventory, and experienced repair staff.
“The new Itasca Professional Service and Support Center is a testament to the growth and demand of Canon’s professional imaging products and the local support needed for imaging professionals working in or around Chicago,” said Yuichi Ishizuka, president and COO, Canon U.S.A. “We believe in providing industry-leading support where our professional photography, cinema, broadcast and television production customers work so that we can return their products to the original factory condition and operation as quickly as possible.”
The Itasca facility is Canon’s third service center exclusively available to professional clients, joining the Canon Hollywood Professional Technology & Support Center, located in Hollywood, Calif., and the New York/New Jersey service and support center, located in Ridgefield Park, N.J. These facilities provide local support to key markets and deliver an average in-house repair process time of less than three days.
Additional camera and lens service facilities for both professional and consumer clients are located in Jamesburg, N.J., Irvine, Calif., and Newport News, Va.
ZEISS, ARRI lensing at NAB
MUNICH–ARRI and ZEISS will be presenting the ARRI/ZEISS Master Anamorphic MA135/T1.9 at their booths at this year’s NAB Show in Las Vegas. This lens completes the Master Anamorphic family, bringing it to a total of seven focal lengths.
The Master Anamorphic family was launched in September 2012 with the unveiling of the MA 50/T1.9 at the IBC Show. This was followed by the launch of the MA 35/T1.9, MA 75/T1.9 and MA 100/T1.9 lenses at NAB and IBC in 2013, and that of the MA 40/T1.9 and MA 60/T1.9 at the ZEISS Cine Lens Day last November. Now, the MA135/T1.9 rounds off this portfolio of high-quality anamorphic cine lenses jointly developed by ARRI and ZEISS.
These high-performance lenses enable demanding movie-makers to achieve creative, unique image compositions across a variety of production types – from feature films and Hollywood blockbusters to commercials. The three-lens sets (35, 50 and 75 mm) available since September 2013 are already in use on a wide range of projects. The sets have received excellent feedback, with special emphasis being given to the remarkable look of the lenses at maximum aperture. The six-lens sets now available (comprising 35, 40, 50, 60, 75 and 100 mm) enable practically all perspectives to be achieved. Delivery of the MA 135/T1.9 begins in July 2014.
The ARRI/ZEISS Master Anamorphic lenses offer unique optical characteristics. Drawing on many years of expertise in the development and manufacture of professional cine lenses and cameras, ARRI and ZEISS have succeeded in developing an innovative optical design for the ARRI/ZEISS Master Anamorphic lenses, negating many of the problems commonly associated with anamorphic optics. The lenses show hardly any image breathing and exceptionally low distortion. The issue of anamorphic mumps – when faces shot at close range appear wider – is balanced out automatically. This is achieved by positioning the cylindrical lens elements at strategically important points in the lens. The almost telecentric optical design reduces color errors (chromatic aberrations) and shading in the corners of the image.
The lenses produce a unique anamorphic bokeh that is free from artifacts. A newly developed iris diaphragm with 15 aperture blades has been integrated into the ARRI/ZEISS Master Anamorphic lenses to create a bokeh that is perfectly oval and evenly illuminated. Annoying reflections that can show up in critical lighting situations are largely avoided. The Master Anamorphic family offers the perfect combination of a number of key characteristics: convenient size, low weight, excellent optical quality and high sensitivity to light. Through the shallow depth of field, the speed of T1.9 enables details to be set apart from the background – at all focal lengths. These features are the ideal prerequisites for ensuring that the lenses can be used quickly and flexibly in various types of shooting
situation. The lenses also boast highly reliable mechanics, which are founded on the trusted ARRI/ZEISS Master Prime and ARRI/ZEISS Ultra Prime lenses. Improved protection against dust and water splashes reduces servicing downtimes.
The ARRI/ZEISS Master Anamorphic lenses are manufactured in Germany by ZEISS, exclusively for ARRI. They are only available through ARRI sales channels.
SGO unveils Mistika color grading with Precision
LAS VEGAS–SGO reveals that its world-leading Mistika postproduction system will support the stylish Precision Grading Panel made by Digital Vision.
This cross-vendor agreement means that colourists and postproduction artists will have an additional option when it comes to choosing the “human interface” to drive Mistika’s powerful color grading feature-set. Mistika continues to support the Tangent Element panels and now for those who prefer the elegant efficiency, comfort and stature of a larger and prestigious integrated control surface, the Precision panel is the perfect option.
Director of global sales and operations Geoff Mills explained why SGO chose to support the Precision Panel, “We have often been asked for a larger control surface and even looked into designing our own panel, but doing this would simply drive-up costs and take focus away from software development. In all our research, it is the Precision panel that colorists routinely mark as being the very best grading surface out there. So it was an obvious decision to approach Digital Vision about entering into an OEM agreement, and to their credit, they immediately recognized the mutual benefits of working together.”
Peter Charles, director of OEM Sales at Digital Vision says, “The Precision panel is the result of many years of research and feedback from some of the world’s top colorists. We are very pleased that SGO appreciate the ergonomic design and high quality of the panels and that it will be an appealing option for their customers too.”
The Precision Panel combined with Mistika integration will be available to order by existing and new customers in Q3 of 2014.
Another Apple-Samsung skirmish heads to court
By Martha Mendoza, National Writer
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — The fiercest rivalry in the world of smartphones is heading back to court this week in the heart of the Silicon Valley, with Apple and Samsung accusing each other, once again, of ripping off designs and features.
The trial will mark the latest round in a long-running series of lawsuits between the two tech giants that underscore a much larger concern about what is allowed to be patented.
“There’s a widespread suspicion that lots of the kinds of software patents at issue are written in ways that cover more ground than what Apple or any other tech firm actually invented,” Notre Dame law professor Mark McKenna said. “Overly broad patents allow companies to block competition.”
The latest Apple-Samsung case will be tried less than two years after a federal jury found Samsung was infringing on Apple patents. Samsung was ordered to pay about $900 million but is appealing and has been allowed to continue selling products using the technology.
Now, jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday in another round of litigation, with Apple Inc. accusing Samsung of infringing on five patents on newer devices, including Galaxy smartphones and tablets. In a counterclaim, Samsung says Apple stole two of its ideas to use on iPhones and iPads.
“Apple revolutionized the market in personal computing devices,” Apple attorneys wrote in court filings. “Samsung, in contrast, has systematically copied Apple’s innovative technology and products, features and designs, and has deluged markets with infringing devices.”
Samsung countered that it has broken technological barriers with its own ultra-slim, lightweight phones.
“Samsung has been a pioneer in the mobile device business sector since the inception of the mobile device industry,” Samsung attorneys wrote. “Apple has copied many of Samsung’s innovations in its Apple iPhone, iPod, and iPad products.”
In the upcoming case, Apple claims Samsung stole a tap-from-search technology that allows someone searching for a telephone number or address on the web to tap on the results to call the number or put the address into a map. In addition, Apple says Samsung copied “Slide to Unlock,” which allows users to swipe the face of their smartphone to use it.
Samsung countered that Apple is stealing a wireless technology system that speeds up sending and receiving data.
The most attention grabbing claim in the case is Apple’s demand that Samsung pay a $40 royalty for each Samsung device running software allegedly conceived by Apple, more than five times more than the amount sought in the previous trial and well above other precedents between smartphone companies. If Apple prevails, the costs to Samsung could reach $2 billion. Apple’s costs, if it lost, are expected to be about $6 million.
“You rarely get from the jury what you ask for, so companies aim high,” said German patent analyst Florian Mueller. “But in my opinion this is so far above a reasonable level the judge should not have allowed it.”
The problem, he said, is that each smartphone has thousands of patented ideas in it; Apple is challenging just five.
Throughout the three years of litigation, Samsung’s market share has grown. One of every three smartphones sold last year was a Samsung, now the market leader. Apple, with a typically higher price, was second, with about 15 percent of the global market.
Apple claims the following Samsung products now infringe on Apple patents: Admire, Galaxy Nexus, Galaxy Note, Galaxy Note II, Galaxy SII, Galaxy SII Epic 4G Touch, Galaxy SII Skyrocket, Galaxy SIII, Galaxy Tab II 10.1, and Stratosphere.
Samsung claims the following Apple products infringe on Samsung patents: iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPad 2, iPad 3, iPad 4, iPad mini, iPod touch (5th generation), iPod touch (4th generation), and MacBook Pro.
With the San Jose federal courtroom just a 15-minute drive from Apple’s Cupertino headquarters, even jury selection can be difficult. In the previous case, several prospective jurors were dismissed because of their ties to the company.
SMPTE extends access to Society Resources with launch of mobile app
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.–The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) has released its new mobile application for use with iOS, Android, and Web-based operating systems.
“We created the SMPTE mobile app as a way to provide useful information and updates that members will find valuable,” said Aimรฉe Ricca, marketing and communication at SMPTE. “Because it’s not limited to SMPTE members, this mobile app also serves as a convenient quick-reference guide for anyone looking to learn more about the Society.”
The free app provides users with access to breaking news, updates on upcoming educational events, local Section information, the SMPTE Digital Library, test materials, details about membership benefits, social media, and multimedia in one easy-to-use package. In addition to placing photos, videos, social media posts, and links to journal articles at users’ fingertips, the SMPTE mobile app also gives users the opportunity to post their own photos to the LiveAlbum.
The SMPTE mobile app is now available for download on iTunes and Google Play. A Web-based (http://smpte.mobapp.at) version is available for other operating systems.
