Blog Archives

Protect yourself and your project. Know the rules and keep yourself safe. There’s more to flying a drone than buying one. This article will open your eyes.

Reflections on ad blocking software, great content, and figuring out how to finance a news-based, web business.

The things we purchased used to last forever. Today, they don’t. In bygone years, we could judge for ourselves whether something was good quality by looking at it, touching it and watching it work. Today, we can’t. Products are too complex, change too quickly, disappear. An essay on the impermanence in our life.

Posted on by Larry

We publish 3-4 hours of live video every week, sliced and diced for our website, YouTube, FaceBook and video streaming. Sometimes we use Apple Compressor other times we use Adobe Media Encoder. This commentary explains which and why.

Posted on by Larry

A commentary that students today don’t read, therefore they need training in the tools of visual communication to keep up and get ahead in the media-rich world of tomorrow.

Posted on by Larry

This guest blog, by Clayton Moore, formerly of Apple, looks at the declining interest in media technology, and speculates on what this means for the future.

Posted on by Larry

A blog on the expectations disconnect between buyers waiting for new products at lower prices and sellers needing revenue today to fund the development of tomorrow.

Posted on by Larry

A summary of currently thinking on how and why to edit 4K (high-resolution) video, along with HDR (High Dynamic Range) and Wide Color Gamut video. Interviews with Michael Cioni, Michael Whipple and Bryan McMahan.

Posted on by Larry

Story-telling is an art, but it is an art infused, driven and controlled by technology. Creatively understanding technology is essential in today’s visual world.

Posted on by Larry

Thoughts on whether it makes sense to upgrade older GPU technology in iMacs or MacBook Pros.

Posted on by Larry

A discussion on how change is disrupting the media industry and what we can do to survive it.

Posted on by Larry

A commentary on why Apple is alienating musicians by demanding they not be paid during the launch of Apple Music. [Updated with late-breaking news that Apple changed its policy and will now pay royalties.]

Posted on by Larry

An essay on ways to set client expectations, and budgets, for creative projects.

Posted on by Larry

A commentary on the recent 2015 NAB Show.

Posted on by Sudd

I’m in London this week attending BVE 2015 – an industry trade show that draws about 15,000 attendees looking to get their hands on the latest technology. There are about 270 exhibitors here with a good amount of traffic at …

Posted on by Sudd

CES 2015 officially opens tomorrow. Today, however, was filled with press conferences and new product introductions. I spent today attending press conferences and wandering thru the South and Central Halls as exhibitors scrambled to get everything ready for tomorrow’s opening …

Posted on by Sudd

For the last several months, I’ve been contributing a monthly article to TV Bay Magazine in the UK. I enjoy these opportunities to write more generally about technology. This week, I’ve expanded upon an article that I sent them for …

Adobe released updates today for its pro video applications including Adobe Premiere Pro CC, Adobe After Effects CC, Adobe Media Encoder CC, Adobe SpeedGrade CC, Adobe Audition CC,Adobe Prelude CC, and Adobe Story CC Plus. The 2014.2 release offers feature …

Posted on by Larry

Yesterday, Apple updated Final Cut Pro X to version 10.1.4. Here is a summary of what’s new in version 10.1.4: Native MXF import, edit, and export with Pro Video Formats 2.0 software update Option to export AVC-Intra MXF files Support …

Posted on by Larry

  Today, Apple released an update to Final Cut Pro X to version 10.1.4, which includes some key stability improvements. Apple also released the Pro Video Formats 2.0 software update, which provides native support for importing, editing, and exporting MXF …

Posted on by Larry

Though masquerading as a humble 27-inch iMac, Apple unleashed a monster this week: a new 5K iMac. Named the “iMac with Retina 5K Display,” it delivers 67% more pixels than a 4K display: 5,120 pixels across and 2,880 pixels high; …

Posted on by Larry

“Creativity Matters.” This was the central theme at today’s Adobe Max 2014 keynote; and creativity requires collaboration. As Shantanu Narayen, President and CEO of Adobe Systems said: “In our world, design is becoming more important, not less. We need to …

A detailed explanation of how to configure your Mac or Windows system for audio or video editing.

A detailed look at Adobe’s new updates announced at IBC 2014, PLUS an extended interview with Bill Roberts, senior director product management at Adobe, about the new software.

Posted on by Larry

… and Motion and Compressor Apple today updated all three of their professional video applications: Final Cut Pro Motion Compressor These updates fix significant bugs, but did not add any new features. FINAL CUT PRO X (v.10.1.3) Here’s what’s new: …

Posted on by Larry

There’s been a lot of debate since Adobe switched from a sales to subscription business model for their software. Reactions, as you can expect, were mixed, with the loudest voices coming from those who were opposed to the switch. Since …

Posted on by Larry

An in-depth analysis comparing Final Cut Pro 7 with Final Cut Pro X.

Posted on by Larry

One of the most popular questions I get asked is: “I’m using Final Cut Pro 7. Should I buy Adobe Premiere Pro or Apple Final Cut Pro X?” Let me start by saying both applications are used by professionals around …

Posted on by Larry

[ Updated July 29, 2014, to reflect additional comments from Promise Technology. ] A RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) collects a group of hard disks into a single enclosure to provide great speed, storage capacity, and/or security than is …

Posted on by Larry

[ This commentary was first posted in my weekly newsletter on July 7, 2014. It drew such a response that I am reposting it here to allow more comments. ] I was planning to write an article on Adobe Media …

Posted on by Larry

An explanation of Apple’s new ProRes 4444 XQ codec, which also includes an explanation of Rec. 2020 and how 4444 XQ is better for color and effects works.

Posted on by Larry

This morning, Apple updated Final Cut Pro X, Motion 5, and Compressor 4. According to Apple’s website, here are the changes. Final Cut Pro X — What’s New in Version 10.1.2 Optimized, proxy, and rendered media can be stored at …

Posted on by Larry

Adobe today updated all their Creative Cloud applications. This article details what’s changed in their audio and video applications.

Posted on by Larry

This morning, Adobe announced the release of new versions of all their Creative Cloud applications. Significant improvements have been made to Premiere, After Effects and Audition, as well as all their other apps. I’ll have a fuller report on the …

Posted on by Larry

News update on Adobe canceling volume sales of CS6 versions of their software.

Posted on by Larry

A series of highlights on what’s happening in the media industry two days before the start of the 2014 NAB Show.

Posted on by Larry

Highlights of Adobe’s “product reveal” showcasing new features in Adobe’s audio and video applications.

Posted on by Larry

A report on Dolby Vision – Dolby’s new enhanced dynamic range video format.

An in-depth look at configuration, setup and use of the new Mac Pro for video editing.

Today, Apple updated Final Cut Pro X to version 10.1 — probably the most significant update since Final Cut’s initial release. (In case you are wondering, my vote for second most significant update is version 10.0.3.) This new version sports …

A detailed description of media management in the new Final Cut Pro X 10.1.

Apple today announced that, starting tomorrow (12/19/13), the new MacPro will be available for order; though they did not announce more specific pricing, configurations, or a ship date. Their press release states: CUPERTINO, California―December 18, 2013―Apple® today announced the all-new …

Compressing video using WebM takes forever! Here is more information about why and some custom settings you can use to speed things up.

Posted on by Larry

An overview of the recent 7.1 update of Adobe’s Creative Cloud video applications.

Posted on by Larry

First, let’s be clear: The new MacPro is not yet shipping. So, like a group of blind folks describing an elephant, we are getting a lot of different opinions on what this new animal is. Second, the instant Apple revealed …

Posted on by Larry

I got an email from Tiziano this morning with an increasingly common question: I’m looking forward [to] buying the new Mac Pro later this year! My question is about the external disk to use for editing all formats from DV …

[ Please read this for my disclosure statement on product reviews. ] In today’s world, the speed and capacity of our storage is far more important to the performance of our editing system than the speed of our computer. Virtually …

[ Please read this for my disclosure statement on product reviews.] It’s been a while since I wrote about the Shuttle Pro from Contour Design – www.contourdesign.com. So, when Matt Ouellette, Account Manager for the Shuttle, asked if I wanted …

Recently, at the Supermeet at IBC in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, I was asked by the show organizers to discuss: “Is Final Cut Pro X Ready For Professional Use?” In thinking about this topic, I realized that this answer is more …

Products break. I accept that. However, reputable companies make it easy to figure out what the problems are and get them fixed. They also honor warranties. This does not seem to be true with the folks at iLok. And because …

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