Friday, July 11, 2003
NewTek releases third free texture collection
NewTek announced the release of the third edition of
NewTek's Texture Collection. As with the earlier editions, this new
set includes fifty high-resolution textures available for free download at
NewTek.com. Subjects covered in the third set of textures
include Wood, Metal, Sky, Nature, and Stone. All textures are unretouched
photographic images at 1600 pixels x 1200 pixels resolution. These
are provided in JPEG format, for efficient download from the NewTek
web site .
Monday, June 30, 2003
IgniterX 6.0.3 driver for OS X now available
Aurora Video Systems has released a new driver for
their IgniterX cards running OS X. Among other things the driver has
full support for Final Cut Pro 4 (including RT Extreme), improved
compatibility with Final Cut Pro 3 and updated Aurora codec for YUV 4:4:4
floating point render in FCP 4 using HDR Image processing. The
driver can be downloaded for free from the Aurora
Video Systems web site.
Thursday, June 26, 2003
Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 released by
Microsoft
Microsoft has released Service Pack 4 (SP4) for Windows
2000 as a free download or it can be ordered on CD. It has a
collection of fixes that address areas such as security, application
compatibility, operating system reliability, etc. It includes all of
the updates that were included in previous Windows 2000 service
packs. You can get SP4 by going to the Microsoft
web site.
Monday, June 23, 2003
Service Pack 1 for Edition 5 has been
released
Pinnacle Systems has released an update to all versions
of Edition 5 that is available as a free download from the Pinnacle
Systems web site.
This update has several new features including adding soft-border to 2D/3D
FX, adding new CROP FX, optimization of the DVD burning engine, faster
start of the Edition application and more. There are documented
almost twenty fixes to problems including pink frames in rendered files
when using the GeForce Ti 4200 graphics card, exporting to DVD and then
using other Edition functions locking up the application, RTFX transition
displayed reversed when used over a clip that uses a luma key and more.
Sunday, June 22, 2003
Apple updates Final Cut Pro compatibility
information
Apple Computer has updated their list of compatible
configurations for Final Cut Pro to include information on version 4 of
the software. Final Cut Pro 4 will work with all models of PowerBook
G4, eMac, Power Mac G4 and Xserve as well as the flat panel and later
models of the iMac. It also requires that you have Mac OS X 10.2.5
and QuickTime 6.1 or later. The complete document can be viewed on
the Apple
web site.
Friday, June 6, 2003
Rhinoceros 3.0 Service Release 2 adds Shade
command and VRML import
Rhino 3.0 Service Release 2 (SR2) patch is
available for download from the Robert
McNeel & Associates web site.
It provides hundreds of bug fixes and many enhancements. New
features include the Shade command, the ability to import VRML files and
Camera Animation tools. Rhino 3.0 automatically notifies you when a
service release patch is available for download unless your firewall
software blocks the notification system. The new free Rhino Bonus tools
are also available for download from their web
site.
Wednesday, June 4, 2003
Matrox X.tools software gives Xtreme
performance for RT.X100 and Xtra for RT.X10
Matrox has released updated software for their RT.X100
and RT.X10 that is available as a free download for registered
users. X.tools build 4263 upgrades existing RT.X100 and RT.X10
boards to the RT.X100 Xtreme and RT.X10 Xtra, respectively. RT.X100
users will now be able to preview many layers of video and effects without
rendering. Other new features include professional waveform and
vectorscope monitors, real-time field-blended fast and slow motion and
more. RT.X10 users will get four new classes of real-time effects,
real-time field-blended fast and slow motion and more. The software
is available from the Matrox web site here
for RT.X100 users
and here
for RT.X10 users.
Tuesday, June 3, 2003
Apple releases QuickTime 6.3 with 3GPP
support
QuickTime 6.3, along with an additional component that
enables support for 3GPP streaming wireless files, has been released by
Apple. Now there is full support for high-speed wireless networking
of video, audio and text. The MPEG-4 and H.263 video codecs have
been enhanced and so has the AAC audio codec. Other new features are
playback of .amr and .sdv files, automatic detection of streaming
transport, better DV audio and video synchronization and more.
QuickTime 6.3 and the 3GPP component can be found on the Apple
web site.
Friday, May 23, 2003
DVStorm2 Premiere plug-in updated to fix an
error when using the Trim function
Canopus has released a version 1.00a update to the
Premiere plug-in for the DVStorm2. The update fixes an error that
occurs when using the Trim function in Premiere. The patch can be
downloaded for free from the Canopus
web site.
Wednesday, May 21, 2003
MediaStudio Pro updated to version 7.01
Ulead Systems has released a patch for MediaStudio Pro
7.0 that adds support for the DVStorm 2 hardware encoder, DVCam decks,
NVIDIA dual head graphics cards and the Sony DHR-1000 as well as enhancing
support for dual-CPU systems. The 7.01 patch also has a number of
bug fixes. Owners of MediaStudio Pro 7.0 can download the patch for
free from the Ulead
Systems web site.
Monday, May 19, 2003
DVStorm2 software updated to resolve errors
in audio playback
Canopus has released a version 2.01 patch to their
DVStorm2 software that resolves an audio playback error in StormAudio and
a separate issue in StormEdit. The patch can be downloaded for free
from the Canopus
web site.
Thursday, May 15, 2003
LightWave 3D [7.5c] update released for
Windows and Mac
This update is a maintenance release that doesn't add
any new features beyond what is found in LightWave 3D [7.5b]. It
does add three plug-ins for Mac OS X users that were already present for
Windows and Mac OS 9 users. Also available is an online help system
for LightWave that consists of HTML files. Both the 7.5c update and
the help system are available as free downloads from the NewTek
web site.
Tuesday, May 13, 2003
Sorenson Squeeze for Windows updated to
support MPEG-1 and MPEG-2
Sorenson has released an update to their Sorenson
Squeeze program that allows it to now create VCD-compliant MPEG-1 files
and DVD-compliant MPEG-2 files. The version 3.5 patch adds the
MainConcept MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 codecs as well as support for Windows Media
9 and MPG/MPA/MPV file formats. The patch is available as a free
download from the Sorenson
web site.
Monday, May 12, 2003
Vegas and DVD Architect updates released
Sonic Foundry has updated Vegas to version 4.0c and DVD
Architect to version 1.0c. The Vegas patch fixes several bugs
including RGB values when rendering MPEG files, saving markers to a media
file in the Trimmer window, rendering QuickTime files using fractional
frame rates, offset CD tracks when burning multiple copies of a disc and
choosing custom frame rates when rendering non-DV AVI files. The DVD
patch fixes some problems in playback speed on some DVD players and also
resolves issues with MPEG-2 levels. Both updates can be downloaded
for free from the Sonic
Foundry web site.
Tuesday, May 6, 2003
Apple releases 10.2.6 update to Mac OS X
Apple Computer has released an update to Mac OS X that
brings it up to version 10.2.6. This update addresses several issues
including problems with some USB hubs, printing of PostScript OpenType
fonts, improved compatibility with Maya Auto Paint and Paint Effects and
more. Current users of 10.2.5 can download the update from the Apple
web site.
Users of earlier versions of 10.2 can download the update from a different
location on the Apple
web site.
Wednesday, April 23, 2003
Easy CD Creator 5 updated to version 5.3.5
Roxio has once again updated their workhorse CD/DVD
recording software Easy CD Creator. The patch to version 5.3.5 adds
support for several new DVD-R/RW and DVD+R/RW drives and has several bug
fixes as well. Registered users of Easy CD Creator 5 can download
the free update from the Roxio
web site.
|
Glossary: Common
Industry Terms
Chart:
Glidecam Stabilization Products
FAQ: Understanding Graphics
Accelerators