This free update is now available in the Mac App Store with support for the new version 1.2 XML (see my review of Final Cut Pro 10.0.6 for the full details). Which means that this versions requires 10.0.6 and won’t work with earlier versions of Final Cut Pro. Here’s the list of bug fixes:
• Bug fix for error reporting in PSD and nested sequences
• Bug fix for detecting empty logging fields
• Bug fix for missing or offline media
Final Cut Pro X 10.0.6 is probably the most feature-rich release since the original one. As well as the features Apple discussed at NAB Â 2011:
there’s more. Much more. Including a feature I wish they hadn’t put in and one I’m extremely pleased they did. I’m ecstatic that selective pasting of attributes is now an Final Cut Pro X feature, but I’m really annoyed that persistent In/Out points made it to this release. More on these later.
The article at Techdirt is titled Hollywood Accounting: How A $19 Million Movie Makes $150 Million… And Still Isn’t Profitable but the discussion ranges beyond that.
At StreamingMedia.com  Eric Schumacher-Rasmussen wrote:
It came as no surprise to anyone working in our industry that MPEG DASH and HEVC were the talk of this year’s IBC in Amsterdam — at least in the Connected World area of the show in Hall 14, in which IBC cordons off those of us whose interest in the synergy between broadcast and online comes firmly from the online angle.
What was a bit surprising, however, was the degree to which both the DASH delivery scheme and the HEVC codec (also known as H.265) were discussed as faits accomplis and debated as either “it’s about time” standards or a combined one-two punch that would be the death knell of innovation in the online video technology space.
I’ve discussed HEVC (High Efficiency Video codec) a.k.a H.265 before. MPEG-DASH is a new streaming media format. Given that a large percentage of delivery has moved to a real-time delivery over HTTP then a consistent real time delivery format is desirable as a standard. MPEG continues to refer to the standards body – the Motion Picture Expert Group – while DASH referrs to Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP. This is very similar to what Apple and others are using now for HLS (HTTP LIve Streaming, which is also adaptive).
So we’re looking at an evolution into the next generation of MPEG codec with a newly standardized real time delivery format. I like standards, particularly when there aren’t too many! This one feels very real:
But the combination of MPEG DASH and HEVC created a perfect storm in which it was quite clear that for every vendor in our space who feels that any sort of standard is anathema to the advance of both technological invention and capitalist progress, there are just as many who feel like agreeing upon a standard delivery system and corresponding codec will actually enable greater innovation to occur on different fronts. The fact that word came out just prior to IBC that the French government had “mandated” the use of MPEG DASH in all connected televisions gave ammunition to the anti-standards contingent — which, of course, includes a subset that also happens to be anti-European, or at least Francophobic. (As Siglin also reported, the reality is quite a bit more nuanced — the requirement applies only to France’s TNT 2.0 HbbTV connected TV scheme.)
Streaming Media are putting on a special MPEG-DASH mixer at the Streaming Media West Show in two weeks.
Broadcasting & Cable (among others) are reporting a Neilsen report that:
New Nielsen data shows that more than three-quarters of all U.S. homes have HD TVs, up 14% from last year, and that nearly 40% of homes have multiple HD sets. Yet the same data shows that most viewing is still taking place in standard definition.
As I’m sure you’re all aware, my special interest is in the Pre-post production area, specifically how we can automate out the boring work and optimize workflow for editors to do their thing in turning the raw material into a polished gem.
Of course, metadata is going to play a big part in doing this. In fact, story building algorithms are relatively easy – as we demonstrate with First Cuts Studio. What is hard is to derive the necessary metadata without taking the time for a human to enter it.
If we ever want to be able to judge performance or recognize emotion in a face in a shot, we need a computer to recognize emotion. And they are. In the New York Times from October 15th comes But How Do You Really Feel? Someday the Computer May Know:
While some in the legacy industries try and argue that “file sharers” are just thieves who do not want to pay for anything, facts (as in peer reviewed studies) stand in their way because study after study has show that File sharers correlate to the biggest buyers!Â
http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/10/using_analytics_to_predict_hollywood_blockbusters.html
Traditionally movies got greenlit on the “gut feeling” of some executive. After failures like John Carter from Mars perhaps it’s time to consider some modern, data-intensive methods instead. (I love big data and what it can tell us.)
Monetizing BitTorrent helps Australian newspaper keep down video costs
“Sydney Morning Herald publisher Fairfax was spooked by the escalating cost of licensing video for its new TV site. So now it’s adding cheaper content by legalising BitTorrent videos on producers’ behalf.”