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Articles By Jeff Sauer
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Jeff Sauer | There’s a lot to like about the new Vegas+DVD Production Suite, particularly if you happen to shoot with XDCAM. Vegas 7’s improved HDV support will appeal to a much broader audience, as will the faster audio processing, and the new DVD Architect features advanced scripting and some nifty DVD timeline enhancements for motion menu designers. Vegas remains quirky in places, but it’s a deep editor with a lot of features, and most of those features are right at your fingertips in the main interface.
Jeff Sauer | EDIUS does a very good job handling multiple formats, and that may attract some interest from videographers who regularly work with different types of source footage. It also includes several fine new features, including an effective trim tool and a time-saving multi-camera interface. But overall, as a standalone product, EDIUS Pro 4 is unlikely to overtake a market that’s already crowded at the top. That may change as Grass Valley puts more of its own mark on the interface, but it will only happen over time.
Jeff Sauer | CES 2006 offered another glimpse at the future of optical media, this time the high definition-capable replacement for DVD. But that future doesn't look very bright at all.
For those who bet that Apple would soon lead the way in integrated multi-application postproduction suites, Final Cut Studio pays off handsomely. There are some nice feature additions found in the individual application upgrades—for example, Final Cut Pro’s new multicam editing feature—but the four-tool Studio suite is much more than the sum of its parts.
Jeff Sauer | Though the risk vs. reward ratio can be rather high for an event shoot, live switching can be both exhilarating and a highly efficient use of time.
Avid Xpress Studio HD is far more expensive than the competition. That will and should dissuade some potential users, as will the somewhat steeper learning curve for most of the tools compared to Apple, Adobe, or Ulead. But consider what you’re getting: three industry-standard, time-proven editing interfaces in Xpress Pro, Pro Tools LE, and Avid 3D, and solid DVD authoring technology from Sonic in Avid DVD, that are continuing to evolve and grab features from their high-end siblings.
Posted 08 Aug 2005
/ Chrystal Corporate Profile [January 1999] Issue
By
Jeff Sauer
Jeff Sauer | To avoid the return of open-system horror stories, several open-system partners led by Adobe have introduced OpenHD Certification, a joint effort to offer pre-tested configurations of HD-capable editing workstations.
Jeff Sauer | The two new bundles from Avid and Apple are non-linear editing collections that include an NLE interface (Avid Xpress Pro and Final Cut Pro), as well as audio editing software, DVD authoring software, and other creation tools--Avid FX and Avid 3D in Avid Xpress Studio and Apple's Motion 2 motion graphics application in Final Cut Studio.
Jeff Sauer | What does Avid's recent acquisition of Pinnacle mean to videographers, and users of Pinnacle Studio and Liquid Edtion in particular?
Jeff Sauer|When the digital video industry was born roughly a decade and a half ago, it was really more like the birth of twins--fraternal twins, to be sure.
Posted 17 Jan 2005
/ July 1999 [Volume 8, Issue 7] Issue
By
Jeff Sauer
Judging for the DVD Awards looked at not just the movie, but also how it's augmented by the options and features afforded by the DVD format.
Posted 27 Oct 2004
/ April 1998 [Volume 7,Iissue 5] Issue
By
Jeff Sauer
Posted 08 Sep 2004
/ March 1998 [Volume 7, Issue 3] Issue
By
Jeff Sauer
Jeff Sauer| In the most basic way, Apple's "without any special hardware" claim regarding the G5 and HD is still rather misleading. For some 97% of the computer-using population, gaining access to any of Apple's increasingly impressive set of tools does require a significant piece of special hardware: the computer itself.
by Jeff Sauer
Jeff Sauer | Is the current trend of integrating video editing and DVD authoring the wave of the future or a passing ripple? Is treating DVD authoring as anything other than than a serious, self-contained discipline something that professional users should take seriously? And among current options, what works, what doesn’t, and in what situations?
Posted 30 Dec 2003
/ September 2005 Issue
By
Jeff Sauer
Posted 01 Nov 2003
/ June 2005 Issue
By
Jeff Sauer
Synopsis: In Final Cut Pro 4, Apple has addressed obvious weaknesses of earlier versions, bolstered workflow, and added features that make it a killer editing application virtually regardless of price.
Posted 01 Jul 2003
/ January/February 2005 Issue
By
Jeff Sauer
Posted 01 May 2003
/ November 2004 Issue
By
Jeff Sauer
Posted 01 Apr 2003
/ October 2004 Issue
By
Jeff Sauer
Posted 01 Mar 2003
/ September 2004 Issue
By
Jeff Sauer
Posted 01 Jan 2003
/ June 2004 Issue
By
Jeff Sauer
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