CUPERTINO, Calif., July 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Apple® today announced a significant update to Final Cut Studio® with more than 100 new features and new versions of Final Cut Pro®, Motion, Soundtrack® Pro, Color and Compressor. Final Cut Studio features Final Cut Pro 7 which expands Apple’s ProRes codec family to support virtually any workflow and includes Easy Export for one step output to a variety of formats and iChat® Theater support for real-time collaboration. Motion 4 includes enhanced tools such as 3D shadows, reflections and depth of field for stunning motion graphics and visual effects, and Soundtrack Pro 3 features new multitrack audio tools to streamline audio post production. Color 1.5 includes better Final Cut Pro integration and support for full color resolution, and Compressor 3.5 adds new features that make it easy to set up and customize your export options. At $999, the new Final Cut Studio is $300 less than the previous release and is also available as an upgrade for just $299.

“With 1.4 million users and 50 percent of the market,* Final Cut Pro is the number one professional video editing application,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “The new Final Cut Studio includes more than 100 new features and dramatically expands Apple’s ProRes family of codecs so editors can work in the studio with the highest quality video or on location at low bandwidths.”

Final Cut Pro 7, the latest version of Apple’s Emmy Award-winning editing software, includes new versions of Apple’s ProRes codecs to support virtually any workflow with the addition of ProRes Proxy, for offline and mobile editing at low bandwidth; ProRes LT, for general purpose editing; and ProRes 4444 for editing and visual effects at the highest quality possible. Easy Export allows users to continue working on projects while encoding is done in the background and the sequence is exported to YouTube, MobileMe(TM), iPhone(TM), iPod®, Apple TV®, DVD or Blu-ray. iChat Theater support allows real time collaboration by sharing Final Cut® timelines or individual source clips with iChat users anywhere in the world, even if they don’t have a copy of Final Cut Pro. Other new features include new speed tools to change clip speed with ease, alpha transitions to create dramatic effects using moving mattes, and native AVC-Intra support for the latest high quality Panasonic cameras.

Motion 4 extends award-winning, easy to use animation tools so video editors can quickly create everything from basic titles to animated credit rolls to stunning motion graphics. Enhancing 3D compositions is faster than ever with new customizable features that add point and spot lights to cast realistic shadows or turn any shape, video plane or paint stroke into a reflective surface. Motion 4 gives editors the flexibility to adjust the depth of field within a 3D canvas by selectively highlighting a single object or using multiple objects to create a racking focus effect.

Soundtrack Pro 3 adds powerful new audio editing tools including Voice Level Match which extracts volume information from the vocal content of one clip and applies it to another without altering any other audio content so editors can easily correct mismatched voice levels. An enhanced File Editor includes new tools to make sophisticated edits and fine tune volume adjustments by targeting specific frequencies such as the rustle of a paper or the bump of a desk without affecting dialogue. The new Advanced Time Stretch feature stretches and compresses audio with incredible precision using three Apple-designed algorithms or other algorithms available as third party plug-ins.

Color 1.5, Apple’s easy to use professional grading application, now works with a greater range of sequences and effects from Final Cut Pro and an integrated workflow allows editors to complete projects entirely within Final Cut Studio. New 4K support works natively with files from cameras such as the RED ONE and outputs directly to ProRes for HD or DPX for film. Expanded support for new high quality formats includes AVC-Intra, XDCAM 422 and ProRes 4444, for grading with the maximum amount of color information.

Compressor 3.5 makes encoding and delivering in multiple formats easier than ever with the ability to automatically detect QuickTime® settings and create an Easy Export template or a mini “droplet” on the desktop that automates specific Compressor actions. New, customizable sharing options make it easy to publish to YouTube and MobileMe, or export for iPhone, iPod, Apple TV and mobile phones. For the highest quality HD material, menu templates and encoding presets make it fast and easy to create Blu-ray discs. Final Cut Studio also includes DVD Studio Pro®, a powerful DVD authoring environment with drag and drop tools, on screen editing and real time previews.

Soundtrack Pro and Compressor are also available as part of the new Logic Studio®, allowing Final Cut and Logic® users to collaborate and share files.

Apple today also introduced Final Cut Server 1.5, the asset management and automation tool for Final Cut Studio. Final Cut Server 1.5 includes powerful new features like lightweight, offline editing with ProRes Proxy, production hierarchies to organize media, and support for still sequences to easily view and manage image sequences for graphics and effects workflows. Final Cut Server now includes unlimited client licenses and is available for $999 or as a $299 upgrade for existing users.

Pricing & Availability

Final Cut Studio is now available through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers for a suggested retail price of $999 (US) and existing Final Cut Studio and Final Cut Pro users can upgrade for a suggested retail price of $299 (US). Full system requirements and more information on Final Cut Studio can be found at www.apple.com/finalcutstudio. Final Cut Server 1.5 is now available through the Apple Store (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers and includes unlimited client licenses for a suggested retail price of $999 (US) and existing Final Cut Server users can upgrade for suggested retail price of $299 (US). Full system requirements and more information on Final Cut Server can be found at www.apple.com/finalcutserver.

*Based on data from broadcast and professional video market research firm SCRI International, Inc. showing Apple is the market leader for post-production with 50 percent of broadcast and post non-linear editor purchases in 2008.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.

© 2009 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, Mac OS, Macintosh, Final Cut Studio, Final Cut Pro, Soundtrack, iChat, MobileMe, iPhone, iPod, Apple TV, Final Cut, QuickTime, DVD Studio Pro, Logic Studio, Logic and Apple Store are trademarks of Apple. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

“The new Logic Studio is ideal for professional musicians, live performers and GarageBand enthusiasts who want to take their music to the next level,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “Guitar players are going to love Amp Designer and Pedalboard and the new Flex Time tools allow you to quickly improve your recordings and create tighter performances.”

The new Amp Designer and Pedalboard plug-ins give guitar players incredible new recording and sound design capabilities. Amp Designer recreates 25 legendary vintage and modern amp heads in beautiful detail with matching controls and 25 paired speaker cabinets that emulate the sound and feel of a guitar running through a real tube amplifier. Guitar players can create their own custom rig by mixing and matching amps, cabinets, reverbs and EQs, and can choose from three different microphone types that can be positioned in 3D space to capture the ideal guitar tone. Pedalboard adds an assortment of 30 guitar stompbox pedals that can be arranged in any order to produce a wide variety of lush, creative effects including overdrive, distortion, fuzz, delay, chorus, flange, phaser, tremolo, treble boost, wah and more.

Flex Time is a new collection of tools that allow musicians to quickly manipulate the timing and tempo of recorded audio, including vocals and instruments, to create tighter performances. Using the Flex Tool, individual beats in a waveform can be moved effortlessly with a mouse click, without the need for tedious slicing and editing. Audio Quantize can instantly fix or adjust the timing of an entire performance by aligning notes and beats to a musical grid with a single menu selection. Varispeed provides the ability to slow down and then speed up an entire multi-track production to help record challenging parts. Flex Time also enables recorded tracks to be moved between different Logic projects and matched together, even if they were performed at different tempos. All Flex Time edits are performed non destructively and in real time, even when using the highest quality settings.

MainStage 2 lets musicians use all the instruments and effects from Logic Studio to turn their Mac® into the ultimate live performance rig. The new Playback plug-in provides musicians with a backing band, allowing them to perform with pre-recorded audio, like drums, sound effects and other accompaniments that can be triggered to play while they are performing live. The new Loopback plug-in allows musicians to record, layer and jam along with their own performance so a single musician can lay down a rhythm and then play a lead over it.

Soundtrack Pro 3 adds powerful new audio editing tools including Voice Level Match which extracts volume information from the vocal content of one clip and applies it to another without altering any other audio content, so editors can easily correct mismatched voice levels. An enhanced File Editor includes new tools to make sophisticated edits and fine tune volume adjustments by targeting specific frequencies such as the rustle of a paper or the bump of a desk without affecting dialogue. The new Advanced Time Stretch feature stretches and compresses audio with incredible precision using three Apple-designed algorithms or other algorithms available as third party plug-ins. Soundtrack Pro and Compressor are also available as part of the new Final Cut Studio®, allowing Final Cut® and Logic users to collaborate and share files.

Pricing & Availability

Logic Studio is now available through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers for a suggested retail price of $499 (US) and existing users of Logic Studio and Logic Pro can upgrade for a suggested retail price of $199 (US). Full system requirements and more information on Logic Studio can be found at www.apple.com/logicstudio. Logic Express, a streamlined and even more affordable version of Logic for GarageBand® users who want more power and control, will ship in August for a suggested retail price of $199 (US) and will be available through the Apple Store (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.

NewTek has released the 64-bit version of their premier 3D modelling rendering software. Emmy Award winning VFX artist Jose Perez and I put this package through it’s paces and the results are pretty astounding.  {mosimage}

Introduction
Not too long ago, modelling realistic 3D imagery took a rather esoteric mix of math skills, really expensive software and a room full of Crays. These days, 3D modelling and rendering is used in practically every film Hollywood produces and has allowed filmmakers to achieve a level of realism that was unthinkable 10 years ago. Impossible camera angles, ultrarealistic creatures and effects, and superhuman stunt work are all de rigeur for the 3D VFX artist.

NewTek started out on the Amiga platform with their Video Toaster software. They later branched out into 3D with LightWave. When WIndows NT was released, LightWave was ported to that platform (and others) and then things really began to take off.

We had the opportunity to take LightWave 3D 8.5 x64 out for a spin and put it through its paces. To assist me in this little romp, I contacted an old friend (and Emmy Award winning VFX artist), Jose Perez, to really test it thoroughly. In fact, the 3D models used in recent episodes of Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, and Battlestar Galactica  were all textured and test rendered (approval shots) in LightWave3D 8.5 x64 on a 64-bit box provided to Jose by PlanetX64.

{mospagebreak title=Description and Benefits}
Description
The latest version of LightWave (8.5) is a free ugrade to registered users. However, this release is not short of new features and enhancements to existing workflow. To see a list of these, you should visit NewTek’s website . For this review, we focused heavily on the 64 bit aspects and speed improvements.

Benefits of 64-bit vs. 32-bit
Jose: As an Artist, I have no real desire to delve into the technical aspects of how things work in the background of a 3D application. In this case however, what goes on in the background in 64-bit vs 32-bit is astounding for people in the Visual FX industry. Among the most notable workflow improvements is the rendering (mathematical computations of lightrays bouncing off of 3D geometry to make up a CG image). Speed is improved dramatically. Each scene is different, but I have seen improvements of 2x, 3x,4x, and even higher in some cases. Needless to say, if a frame under 32-bit takes you 1 hour to render, and in a 64-bit environment the same frame renders in 15 minutes, the results speak for themselves. Time, after all, is money.

A silent, more notable advent in this arena, is the ability to address memory of 4 Gigs and upward. To the average home user this might not seem like something drastic. But if your system can adress 16 gigs or 32 gigs of ram, or higher, not only can more complex scenes be loaded into memory, But the response of the workstation seems more realtime as well. Hence more power to the average pixel pusher.

Carlos: As a Gearfreak, I respect NewTek’s decison to bring LightWave out as a fully 64-bit application. The enlarged memory address space and larger registers allow for the complex mathematics of raytracing to be carried out at speeds unheard of as little as a year ago. Renderfarms (large groups of computers used to crank out 3D animations) composed of 64-bit machines will provide higher quality images in a fraction of the time and cost. This is truly desktop supercomputing.
{mospagebreak title=Tests}
Tests
To test this new technology, I decided to throw the most complex CG elements I was working on at the time, which happened to be complex spaceships and entirely CG constructed cities, from shows like Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis and Battlestar Galactica. For an added comparison, I loaded up my Mini Cooper Robot from the the viral Ad Mini Cooper/BMW had me build for Zoic Studios.

Aside from the robot, which was completely modelled and textured in an earlier version of LightWave, the rest of the elements were all textured, lit, and rendered in LightWave 8.5 64 bit (beta at the time).

Test Rig Specs
Jose’s Rig:
Dual Opteron 850′s
OCZ 4GB DDR400 ECC Reg SDRAM
Tyan Tiger K8W Motherboard
Custom CM Wavemater case from Performance-PCs.com
LSI MegaRAID 150 SATA controller
3x 250GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 SATA HD’s
3DLabs Wildcat Realizm 200 video card
Windows XP Professional x64

Carlos’ Rig:
Dual Opteron 875′s
OCZ 8GB DDR400 ECC Reg SDRAM
Tyan Thunder K8WE
Custom CM Stacker
Seagate Barracuda  7200.8 400GB
Dual eVGA 6800 Ultra Video cards in SLI
Windows XP Professional x64

Carlos’ rig was used for renderfarm style tests while Jose’s was used for modelling, design and test renders.
{mospagebreak title=Analysis}
Analysis

Jose: Lets begin with the Battlestar Pegasus from the second season of Battlestar Galactica.  After I completed the model in its full, high resolution assembly, the polygon count was at around 3.1 million. Of course this was including fully detailed guns and other details to handle closups.  Normally we don’t load the full model up for shots, only the neccessary pieces. That being said, she is bigger than the Galactica in physical size, but not in polygons. Galactica herself has more detail.  However 3.1 million poly’s in 32-bit Lightwave is nothing to sneeze at either.

I textured the Pegasus and ran test renders in the 64-bit version of LightWave, for approval of the look and feel of the ship.  My first impression was "This workstation handles the geometry in OpenGL much faster than in 32-bit". So this was a pleasant surprise, as I found myself spinning the ship and and checking textures at almost realtime, compared to a choppy slow movement in the 32-bit version. Hence I was more productive and found myself getting things done faster on a ship of this magnitude.

The ringer was when I started to run test renders with the ship.  In 32-bit LightWave, a full frame shot was rendering in about 30 minutes, with a full light kit in there. In 64-bit however,  the same identical frame flew by at around 7 minutes, give or take a few seconds – this was jaw dropping. For a single Freelance artist like myself, to wait around 30 minutes for a test render twiddling thumbs, as opposed to 7 minutes, just enough time to go get a cup of coffee and move on.

Now I’m no math genius, nor would I pretend to know what fraction of time that shaved off.  But from 30 minutes to 7 minutes for the same exact High definition frame with a decent amount of antialiasing, I would say that’s a vast improvement.  Granted, NewTek has also sped up LightWave’s rendering technology. This 64-bit workflow just lends itself to so many more possibilities from an artist standpoint, not to mention a studio’s deadlines on high profile projects. One machine is impressive, a farm of 250 or more 64-bit nodes is just incredible.

Carlos: Fortunately for Jose, my kung fu (in mathematics) is much stronger than his. His test renders with the Battlestar Pegasus were clocking in at just over 300% performance increase (328.6% to be exact). The 64-bit platform’s ability to manipulate very large numbers and access to far larger amounts of storage vs. 32-bit are what gives it the edge.
{mospagebreak title=Analysis continued}
For my next tests, I loaded up a few models I had just modelled for Stargate SG1 & Atlantis.  They included the new Daedalus battlecruiser , new F302 fighters, and a new version of the City of Atlantis which I modelled for Season 2.  Again Texturing them in 64-bit Open GL was a joy, nothing held me back.  Just some stats here to give you an idea of how these models fared. The Hero version of the Daedalus weighed in at around 1.3 million Polygons without the full rez guns in there. Guns added another 300-400k polygons. Once done texturing, the test renders began for approvals from the studio.  On my 32-bit workstation, the Daedalus was running 14-15 minutes for a full frame, high definition shot.  When the same frame was tested on the 64-bit box, it came in at around 4-5 minutes. These tests can vary a little since different models use different amounts and sizes of  texture maps, but over all, I’m seeing a boost in all rendering, making the performance alone worth upgrading for. Again, time is money.  

 Carlos: That’s 200 – 250% speed increase for those of you keeping score.

A much smaller model, the F302 fighters that are housed inside the Daedalus, weighed in at around 200-300k polygons. Not a big deal in 32-bit Open GL. But once the rendering begins, it is apparent once more that the new render speeds alone blow the 32-bit box out of the water.  The 32-bit box rendered fighters at 1.5-2 minutes depending on the angle and lighting. Whereas the same frames on the 64-bit box rendered at 15-20 seconds.

Carlos: That’s a 500% speed increase, ladies and gents!

I followed up with my last model on Atlantis. This was a HUGE one – well it sure felt huge to me, in scale at least .  A new highly detalied version of the city of Atlantis for season 2 on the Sci-fi Channel. Total count with all medium rez buildings and piers loaded in was 2 million Polygons.  Textured it in 64-bit Layout, and threw a test light rig in there for some nice test renders.  On the 32-bit machine, the city rendered in about 20-25 minutes with fog, and BG radiosity in there, also medium antialising.  On the 64-bit box, the same High Definition frame came in at a whopping 7 minutes.  That sealed the deal for me. 64-bit LightWave is the way to go if you can afford the hardware upgrade, and the memory bump up.  Fortunately, Planet X64 took care of that for me.

Carlos: I’d like to thank Tyan, AMD, 3DLabs (Creative Labs) & eVGA for their participation here as well. Oh, and by the way, 257% speed increase.

Before I packed it up and said I’m done testing, I figured I’d load up an oldie of mine. My Mini Cooper from the viral ad campaign BMW ran a few years ago.  I remember specifically having a difficult time spinning the model in OpenGL, and handling the full model in Modeller. Why?  Well, 2 years ago 1.2 million polygons was a bit high for 3D apps to handle, and with less memory in your system – well you can imagine the rest.  Especially running LightWave 7 or 7.5.  The model was chock full of details, down to the engine parts, and a full dash under the chest, which was covered by the famous Mini Cooper hood.  It had to hold up in all sorts of mediums from magazine ads, to web content, to full animated video, and even a 37 foot tall billboard in Times Square, New York.

I can’t say I was surprised anymore, given the results I had just experienced with the other, bigger models, but a pleasant smile came over me when I loaded the Mini up in 64-bit, and just handled it, smoothly and easily. Finally the big test. I remember rendering all sorts of huge odd sizes and render formats for printable versions of this guy. So much so, that renders at one point were taking around 12 hours with full area lighting, assisted radiosity, all the bells and whistles. So I cranked up one of the big 1.2 million polygon scenes, set with all the good lighting, and full details, at around 6k rez. I had marked this at around 12.5 hours on my old box.  The new 32-bit box did it at 7 hours. On the 64-bit box, the same huge frame rendered in 55 minutes, just a little under 1 hour.

Carlos: I loaded up the same scene on my quad core Opteron system to simulate renderfarm performance. LightWave 3D x64 is multithreaded from the ground up and does take advantage of multiple CPU’s with only a couple of setting changes in the scene file. The quad core system shaved the render down to 32 minutes, 16 seconds. Here’s a table of the speed increases:

1) The original 32-bit machine used for the Mini Cooper Robot had the following specs (as best as Jose can remember):

• Dual Athlon MP 2000+
• 4GB RAM
• GeForce4 Video
• 500GB HD
  

2) Jose’s current 32-bit workstation:

• P4 3.02 Ghz (single CPU)
• Intel 875p Chipset from MSI motherboard
• 2 GB Ram
• 500Gb HD Sata drives
• Nvidia Geforce Ultra 6800

{mospagebreak title=Conclusion}
Conclusion
Jose: Performance, productivity, & workflow. Those are the keys to doing good work, on time and on budget. Sure there are many new features in NewTek’s latest version of Lightwave, and I urge you to check out their site (www.newtek.com ), but to me as an artist, the workflow and performance boost is what this is all about.  And Newtek delivers as always in a field constantly driven to do much more, and look better, in a shorter time frame. I definitely recommend the upgrade.

Carlos: NewTek has done an amazing job in porting LightWave3D to 64-bit. The application truly shines and is a showcase for the benefits of the platform. LightWave3D x64 + multicore workstations are the way to go if you want to make 3D graphics happen.

Gallery is located here .

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