NAB: Apple has introduced Final Cut Server, a powerful new server application that works seamlessly with Final Cut Studio 2 to provide media asset management and workflow automation for post production and broadcast professionals.

A scaleable server application that supports workgroups of any size, Final Cut Server includes a cross-platform client that enables content browsing, review and approval from within a studio or over the Internet. Final Cut Server automatically catalogs large collections of assets and enables searching across multiple volumes via an intuitive user interface. Final Cut Server is designed to manage the flow of work, as assets and projects move from producer to editor to artist through the entire production process.

“Final Cut Server’s powerful media asset management capabilities simplify managing the thousands of assets that make up a typical edit,” said Rob Schoeben, Apple’s vice president of Applications Product Marketing. “And Final Cut Server’s sophisticated workflow automation tools ensure projects flow smoothly through an organization, enabling everyone to be more productive.” (more…)

Apple today unveiled Final Cut Studio 2, a video editing suite which features:

• Final Cut Pro 6, which introduces Apple’s ProRes 422 format for uncompressed HD quality at SD file sizes and support for mixed video formats and frame rates in a single Timeline;
• Motion 3 featuring an intuitive 3D environment, paint and new behaviors;
• Soundtrack Pro 2 with dozens of innovative tools for multitrack editing, surround mixing and conforming sound to picture;
• Compressor 3 delivering powerful batch encoding for multiple formats with a single click; and
• DVD Studio Pro 4.2 for SD and HD DVD authoring.
• Final Cut Studio 2 also introduces “Color,” a professional color grading and finishing application for ensuring consistent color and creating signature looks.

“Final Cut Studio 2 was specifically designed to enable the rapidly growing community of over 800,000 Final Cut editors worldwide to animate, mix, grade and deliver their work as a natural extension of the editorial process,” said Rob Schoeben, Apple’s vice president of Applications Product Marketing. “Final Cut Studio 2 is the most powerful production suite on the planet.” (more…)

NAB: Adobe has announced Adobe Media Player, a desktop application that delivers more engaging video experiences to viewers while offering content publishers new abilities to distribute, track and build businesses around their media assets.

Delivered as a lightweight download, Adobe Media Player delivers innovation for both viewers and content owners. For viewers, Adobe Media Player enables higher quality Flash format playback, the ability to download and view videos offline, ways to discover interesting new shows, full screen playback, one-click viewer ratings, and a powerful Favorites feature that automatically downloads new episodes of favorite TV shows or video podcasts. The player is cross-platform, based on open standards – including RSS and SMIL – and brings viewers the highly desired ability to play the Web’s most popular video format outside of their browser.

For content publishers, Adobe Media Player enables better ways to deliver, monetize, brand, track and protect video content. It provides an array of video delivery options for high-quality online and offline playback, including on-demand streaming, live streaming, progressive download, and protected download-and-play. The Adobe Media Player enables a wider selection of monetization and branding options including viewer-centric dynamic advertising and the ability to customize the look and feel of the player on the fly to match the brand or theme of the currently playing content. (more…)

Apple has updated its podcasting specs and is sending out emails to video podcasters with tips on how to make them look great on Apple TV.The tips include:

• Encode at 640×480 or 640×360. This will look much better than 320×240 on HDTV, and will still port to the iPod. While 720p looks great, they say, it won’t work on an iPod.
• Don’t make two formats for different resolutions - it dilutes the popularity of the podcast and reduces exposure in charts.
• Don’t add letterboxing to make videos to a 4:3 aspect ratio. Leave them at 16:9.

If you’re creating video podcasts, recognize that Apple’s recommendations are a compromise that sacrifice Apple TV quality for compatibility with video iPods. While they recommend using just one format to get the highest ranking within iTunes, there may be enough interest in HDTV that there could be benefits to moving to 720p widescreen and treating lower resolutions as legacy formats.

via Podcasting News

YuMe Networks, an advertising network created and optimized for broadband video, has officially launched its online service, offering advertisers the ability to target messaging to online video content just as they do today with keyword placements.

YuMe also introduces new technology to ensure content is brand safe and ad-ready, attaching advertising to contextually relevant content that can then be delivered to any device — from PC to portable.

“Our network is going to bring real order to the current state of chaos in online video advertising,” said Jayant Kadambi, co-founder and CEO of YuMe Networks. “Advertisers can see exactly when and where their ads appear, get real time measurement of their audience and change creative to drive greater effectiveness in online video campaigns. Buying video advertising on the YuMe network offers advertisers an experience similar to that of buying television, where they can choose the content and resulting demographic for their ads.” (more…)