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  1. News
  2. News

News

macOS 10.15 Catalina Compatibility
08 Oct 2019
Filed in:
Apple, Release Notes

Most of our applications should work fine with macOS 10.15 Catalina. Indeed we started a long time ago to move all our code to 64bit, and we continuously make sure that our code is kept up to date. Currently only MovieRecorder and M|Replay have to be updated to be fully compatible with macOS Catalina.

We are working on MovieRecorder 4.3 and M|Replay 2.1 and release versions should be available soon. If you are interested to test a beta version, let us know, but in the meantime, if you are using MovieRecorder or M|Replay, you should not update to Catalina. 

Also, for users of our M|Family, you will have to update your drivers to the latest version (6.13). Previous versions of the drivers are not compatible with macOS Catalina.

In the past few months, we ran a lot of tests on Catalina. But if you encounter any issue after updating to Catalina, please let us know.

And as usual, for production computers, remember the good old "When it works, don't fix it", and if you need to upgrade, make sure to do a backup of your system before so you can maybe revert back if need be. Ideally run tests on another computer using our free demo versions, that's one of the reason why we provide them.

FCPWORKS SPECIAL EVENT
14 Jan 2014
Filed in:
News, Apple
FCPWORKS will hold a special FCP X event in Los Angeles, on January 25th, 2014.

FCPWORKS aims to be the leading provider of professional video solutions built around Final Cut Pro X. This event in Los Angeles will be the first of its kind. The new version of Final Cut Pro X and the new Mac Pro will be demonstrated in a variety of real-life, pro-video workflows.

The presentations will be given in 3 identical sessions:
MORNING - 11:00 AM TO 2:00 PM.
AFTERNOON - 3:00 PM TO 6:00 PM.
EVENING - 7:00 PM TO 10:00 PM.

Register on www.fcpworks.com/special_event/
Which 2013 Mac Pro do you need ?
06 Jan 2014
Filed in:
Apple, Hardware - Third Party, News, MovieRecorder, OnTheAir Video, OnTheAir Video Express, OnTheAir Node
After having spent a few days with a new Mac Pro (base configuration with 4-core, Dual D300, 12GB RAM), we can say that it really is a Mac made for Softron! We also had the chance to test a higher end configuration (8-core, Dual D700, 64GB RAM), to see what you could achieve with each configurations and Softron’s playout and ingest software.


INGEST with MovieRecorder 2
When talking about MovieRecorder, which still uses the QuickTime APIs, the most important factor here is the CPU. The GPU is not used a lot and the basic configuration (Dual D300) will be just fine. The better the CPU, the more channels you’ll be able to do.
Generally speaking, we can say that we were able to achieve one HD 1080i Apple ProRes (LT) ingest per core.
  • 4 channels on the 4 core
  • 8 channels on the 8 core

Note that we were then using a little bit more then 70% CPU then, and the computer is then at its limit. For safer operations, you may want to use for example a 6 core for 4 channels and a 12 core for 8 channels.

Also, these numbers will be different with other frame size and fps, as well as with different codecs.


PLAYBACK with OnTheAir Video 3
In OnTheAir Video 3, both the CPU and GPU are important, specially when using the SMART resize and graphics.

Basically, the CPU will be used mainly for the decompression of the files. So if you want to decode 4K video clips encoded in H264, you should consider using a higher end CPU such as the 6 or 8 core.

The GPU will then be used for resizing the file to the desired resolution (if needed) and overlay graphics, so the requirements of the graphics card will be bigger:
  • the more you use videos of different resolutions that require a resize to fit in the output
  • the bigger the « target » resolution = the resolution of your output. (NTSC = easy, 4K = a lot to of dots to calculate!)
  • the nature of graphics that you want to overlay and the number of layers (Text and still images = easy, animation = hard)

In our tests, using the Dual D300 configuration, we were able to read files in ProRes LT, resize and overlay a ticker, a still image, a clock, and a rotating logo (source = movie ProRes 4444 file), all that on a 4K output.

Using the D700 configuration, and more importantly the 8-core (for decompression) we were able to add 3 more HD outputs on top of that 4K output, which is pretty amazing.


Conclusion
The new Mac Pro is really the most powerful Mac that we have seen so far. On such a small form factor, it is pretty impressive to be able to do all that, and the more so, silently. Now we’ll have to invest in our converters, hard drives and other peripherals so they are silent too. Maybe the next big hit in the industry is already not 4K anymore, but... silence Winking)

Our tests are not finished yet, and we will come back with more feedback, and long term tests with more video outputs.

As usual, we give these results for information only, it is not contractual as it can vary following your specific configuration, and we always recommend that you run tests with the demo versions available on our website.


Edit-While-Ingest with Final Cut Pro X - Now possible only with MovieRecorder !
04 Nov 2011
Filed in:
Apple, MovieRecorder
Since the release of Final Cut Pro X, MovieRecorder 2.0 was able to do edit-while-ingest with reference movies. Now, with the release of MovieRecorder version 2.3, it is also possible to do edit-while-ingest on self-contained movies!. So - edit-while-ingest, either way you want it, with reference movies or self contained movies, only available from Softron! Read more here...
Compatibility with Mac OS X Lion
21 Jul 2011
Filed in:
Apple
Apple has now officially launched Mac OS X Lion which brings a lot of new features. Most Softron Media Services applications are already compatible with Mac OS X Lion.
Final Cut Pro X, Mac OS Lion (10.7) and Softron products
21 Jun 2011
Filed in:
Apple
Apple has released Final Cut Pro X, not as an upgrade from Final Cut Pro 7, but as a completely new application that Apple claims will change the world of editing. Next month, Apple will also release a major operating system upgrade with Mac OS X Lion (10.7). This article will explain what the implications are for users of Softron Broadcast products.

 HEADQUARTERS
Softron Media Services, a division of
Softron Microcomputing S.A./N.V.
Avenue Molière, 470
1050 Brussels
Belgium

IBS (US Subsidiary)
2151 Village Walk Drive #4304
NV 89012
USA

  At GMT-8
USA - Nevada

Sales and Pre-Sales:
Phone: +1 (702) 330-3023

Technical Support:
Phone: +1 (702) 330-3232
 

 

  At GMT+1
Europe - Belgium

Phone: +32 2 588 1394

 

 

Softron has team members in all time zones of the world. They can answer your questions in English, French, Spanish and Dutch.

Most questions however are answered already in our knowledge base. Don't forget to consult it first. It might be a huge time saver.