divergent media, inc.

Interframe Compression

2012-01-20T00:00:00-08:00

In our last post, we covered intraframe compression - easy to edit, high quality, and inexpensive to implement. It sounded dreamy. But there are some issues.

Let's say you want to implement a tape-based HD acquisition format. The world already knows and loves cheap and cheerful miniDV tapes. Why not just put HD on those? Well, HD is more than four times the number of pixels, so we need to run the tape four times faster. Suddenly your 60 minute tape is only good for about 12 minutes. Even worse, you need to engineer motors, write heads, and lots of other bits that work reliably at four times the speed. And you need to hope that those miniDV tapes won't spontaneously combust. Clearly, this will not do.

Intraframe Compression

2012-01-03T00:00:00-08:00

Serious video compression is a mix of math, science, and black arts. Discussion of the many esoteric features of modern compression technology is well beyond the scope of this blog, and is better dealt with by folks like Jason Garrett-Glaser. However, there are a couple bits of terminology we want to review so that we can better discuss workflow and post production technologies. In this post, we're going to discuss intraframe compression. In the next post, we'll cover its controversial brother, interframe compression.

ClipWrap 2.4.7

2011-12-13T00:00:00-08:00

We've released ClipWrap 2.4.7 today.

The primary enhancement in this release is support for the 25p and 30p modes in the Panasonic DMC-GH2 with the version 1.1 firmware.

With this update, users of the GH2 will be able to generate native progressive files from the "psf" stream recorded by the camera.

Additionally, this release resolves an issue with very short file names (1-2 characters), and improves support for AVCHD files which don't begin with an I-frame.

ClipWrap 2.4.7 is available for download now from the trial page.

Testing ClipWrap

2011-12-09T00:00:00-08:00

Testing an application like ClipWrap can be complicated. There are thousands of combinations of cameras, computers and editing applications that need to be taken into account. It's a complicated process, and we're looking for your help to make it even better.

Announcing ClipWrap 2.4.6

2011-11-22T00:00:00-08:00

We released ClipWrap 2.4.6 today.

Improvements include:

Fixes issue which affected file creation/modification times
Increases reliability of transcodes on machines with Perian codecs installed
Enhances support for DNxHD 24p transcodes
Increases stability in large conversion batches (100+ files)
Fixes issue with PowerPC audio conversion

Optimizing your Avid workflow with ClipWrap

2011-11-17T00:00:00-08:00

As many long-time Final Cut Pro users give Avid Media Composer a new look, we've gotten numerous inquiries about the best workflow for going from HDV or AVCHD to Avid. Because it's a common question, we thought a blog post might help clear things up.

ClipWrap 2.4.4 update

2011-11-08T00:00:00-08:00

We've released ClipWrap 2.4.4 today with a number of improvements:

Metadata parsing
Automatic detection of Canon pF25 and pF30 formats
Better support for DNxHD transcodes
Improved support for PAL DV and DV-Anamorphic transcoding
Better support for FCPX audio codecs

And much more...

Using HDV with Final Cut Pro X

2011-11-01T00:00:00-07:00

Final Cut Pro X has been making huge waves in the Mac non-linear editing space for the last six months - some positive, some negative. As with any massive, ground up rethink of an application, there are bound to be issues. Luckily, we've got solutions!

Update, 1/31/2012: With the release of Final Cut Pro X 10.0.3, it appears this issue has been resolved, and these utilities are no longer necessary. If you're still having trouble, please let us know.

ClipWrap 2.4.3 update

2011-09-02T00:00:00-07:00

Fresh out of the oven, we've posted an update to ClipWrap allowing users more control over the resulting files. You'll notice a new preferences window with options to:

Preserve you original file's creation date in the new movie
Control audio mixdown of 5.1 surround
Automatically open resulting files in another application

Free via in app autoupdate or from our ClipWrap trial page.

ScopeBox 3 features announced -- $99.99 price

2011-04-04T00:00:00-07:00

We just sent out a press release describing next week's preview of ScopeBox 3.0. I wanted to repost the new features here on our blog. If you're attending NAB, please stop by our booth SL-10811 to check it out in person. If not you can follow along on our ScopeBox 3 preview page as we add more info this week about whats to come.

NAB 2011 - ScopeBox 3 preview, free expo passes

2011-03-21T00:00:00-07:00

We'll be showing a sneak preview of the brand new version 3.0 of ScopeBox at NAB in Las Vegas April 11th - 14th. Stop by our booth SL10811 in south lower hall to meet the team, see what's new, and register for great deals. Don't have an expo pass yet? Free VIP expo passes.

ClipWrap 2.3 update

2011-02-28T00:00:00-08:00

We just shipped an update to ClipWrap. Version 2.3 has a bunch of improvements for timecode, transcode options, improved stability, AF100 support, and a brand new manual. Best of all it's free!

Available immediately on our trial page or as an automatic update in your current copy of ClipWrap.

InDepth: Choosing a Post Production Codec

2011-01-27T00:00:00-08:00

One of the most common questions we receive from ClipWrap users is “Which format should I use?" ClipWrap provides users a variety of choices beyond rewrapping. You can choose Apple Intermediate, DV, DVCProHD, HDV, along with a pile of variations on ProRes and Avid DNxHD. So which one is right? Well, that all depends.

SFCutters FCPUG - 1/28/2011 - San Francisco

2011-01-24T00:00:00-08:00

This friday we'll be manning a booth at the SFCutters MacWorld FCPUG meeting in San Francisco. Stop by to say hi, get a hands on demo of the newest versions of ClipWrap and ScopeBox. We've thrown a copy of both apps into the Raffle at the end of the night, so you might just walk away with a free copy!

In Depth: H.264 Decoding on the Mac

2011-01-17T00:00:00-08:00

"It works for me." These are the words that strike fear into the hearts of developers and users alike. Months of testing and still a file that opens or plays fine on one computer gives a frustrating error on another. More often than not, in the world of ClipWrap, these issues come down to H.264, the video codec behind AVCHD. In this post, we're going to look at the current state of H.264 decoding on the Mac.