CineForm's Prospect 4K and Neo 4K are now shipping. Both products quadruple the image resolution supported by the online compressed digital intermediate (DI) workflow pioneered by CineForm up to 4K (4096x4096) pixels. Neo 4K is compatible with virtually all Windows AVI or QuickTime applications that support image resolutions up to 4K. Prospect 4K includes CineForm’s real-time video processing engine optimized for Adobe Premiere Pro on Windows, which enables "the industry’s first real-time multi-stream 4K editing workflow," according to CineForm. Both products include a license to CineForm’s Mac codec for cross-platform HD/2K/4K compatibility.

Further, CineForm has made a beta release available on its Web site of its format converters that are compatible with 4K digital raw footage shot by the Dalsa Origin and Vision Research Phantom 65 cameras. Users can choose to convert uncompressed digital raw footage into 12-bit CineForm RAW or CineForm 444 files (AVI or MOV), which then enables the 4K online editing workflow within Adobe Creative Suite 3 Production Premium.

New high-resolution digital cinema cameras and digital film scanners produce images up to 4096 horizontal pixels. Using traditional techniques, an uncompressed 4K file at 24 frames per second requires a sustained bandwidth of about 1GB/s, or nearly 4TB of storage per hour. Few filmmakers or postproduction facilities can manage such massive data requirements and the associated storage costs. These problems are addressed by CineForm’s new product offerings.

CineForm’s CineForm Intermediate Wavelet compression technology reduces file sizes in the range of 5x-10x with no perceivable visual degradation, even through a multi-generation postproduction environment. With substantially reduced bandwidth requirements, storage costs also decline, adding up to significant workflow cost reductions. Professionals needing to manipulate large motion images benefit from both a simplified and cost-efficient workflow.

“The market for 4K postproduction is beginning to emerge,” says Simon Hayhurst, director of product management for Dynamic Media at Adobe. “CineForm’s Prospect 4K and Neo 4K take a step [toward] solving the challenges associated with managing massive image sizes, and [the software's] tight integration with Adobe Premiere Pro and Adobe After Effects enables our customers to benefit from an integrated workflow for 4K postproduction.”

“The Adobe Creative Suite 3 Production Premium suite of products provides an impressive infrastructure for us to leverage as we design our high-resolution workflows,” says CineForm CEO David Taylor. “In particular, Premiere Pro is the only mainstream desktop NLE that supports 4K images, and with its tight integration with After Effects, we can enable a comprehensive online 4K editing, compositing and effects solution otherwise unavailable in the market.”

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