More exhibitors & products & links
Now under Thomson's wing, Canopus - whose EDIUS NX hardware/software bundle remains (at a price) far and away the most convincing and powerful of all HDV-editing solutions - is likely to be one of the most prominent names at VideoForum, though not because of the size of its stand or the banner on it.
The company is going to have plasma screens scattered around the place displaying the TV channel that it's running from the show floor. CanopusTV - what else would you call it? - will feature interviews with leading industry players (and possibly one current industry nobody - guess who), along with feedback from show visitors.
Summarising what it's up to, the company modestly describes CanopusTV as a "practical demonstration of Canopus' renowned video technology through acquisition, editing and distribution".
Footage will be shot on Panasonic's P2 solid-state camcorders (probably not AG-HVX200s) and edited on EDIUS HD. After using ProCoder to transcode to MPEG-2, video streams will be distributed to the plasma screens using Canopus's Media Edge video-over-IP solution. Canopus also says it will be showing, for the first time outside of Japan, a forthcoming Media Edge development - giving a demo of high-definition video over IP. But whether this will also be seen on the big screens isn't clear yet.
Canon's showing, we guess, will give pride of place to its XL H1 but be emphasising not the camcorder's HDV capabilities but, instead, its built-in HD-SDI functionality. This is, after all, the camcorder that the company says offers "TV studios, production companies, low-budget moviemakers and other videographers a cost-effective way to make the switch to High Definition production".
Last year, Matrox was in transition, having just had the right removed from it to bundle its X-series editing hardware with cheaply acquired OEM versions of Adobe's video suites. As a consequence, the centrepiece of the company's stand was the upmarket Axio HD/HDV hardware, the launch of which remained many months distant.
This time round, though, Axio will, we think, be a more valid showing since it is now available for sale. But, at around 12 grand (inc VAT) for a complete system (the only way it's sold), it's not everybody's cup of tea, even though it does offer some desirable features. These include native editing of HDV and DVCPRO HD; editing of compressed HD (offline and online finishing-quality MPEG-2 I-frame); and a wide range of standard-def editing options - DV, DVCPRO, DV50 and MPEG-2 I-frame.
However, we suspect that Axio's thunder may end up being stolen by the forthcoming updated version of the RT.X100 Xtreme Pro SD-only solution. This will bundle the standard version of Adobe's new Production Studio suite with an RT.X100 card (remember Part One of our preview of the Premium suite). It's not clear right now how much this package will cost or how different, if at all, the hardware is from that included in previous RT.X100 iterations. Nor do we know whether a Premium-suite version will be offered, too - though we suspect not.
What is certain, though, is that - with or without any version of Production Studio - RT.X100 Xtreme Pro will be available for self-installation, not just ready-built into a system. That keeps the overall price down for those willing and - importantly - able to build their own editing systems, even though it has to be remembered that the bundle won't be as cheap as Matrox equivalents from 18 months ago. In addition, the Matrox hardware does nothing to enhance Premiere Pro 2.0's HDV capabilities - in contrast with the hand-in-glove working of Canopus's EDIUS software and EDIUS NX hardware.
In truth, though, the product on Matrox's stand we're most keen to get a closer look at is the DualHead2Go. This is a gadget that allows a laptop to run two external monitors (plus the laptop's own screen), to make life easier when running a typical multi-window video-editing or stills-editing app.
So, that's some of the goodies you can expect at the show. If you've any major interest in video editing - SD or HDV or HD - or DVD authoring, you owe it to yourself to get along, if it's possible, for at least one day and to plan things so you can get to some of the seminars that tickle your fancy. Oh, and save a bit of time at the door by registering in advance - though if you've not done so already, you'll almost certainly have to pick up your badge at the door.
HEXUS.links
Adobe Production Studio - Part One of our Premium-bundle preview
Canon - XL H1
Matrox - DualHead2Go
VideoForum - Exhibitors' list
VideoForum - Free seminar list
VideoForum - Home page
VideoForum - Registration (free)
