Reading through the release notes of Soundtrack Pro 2.0.2, this little bugger caught my eye (it was actually listed in the release notes for 2.0.1, but I never saw it before):

iTunes Store Media Files
Soundtrack Pro does not support opening or importing any iTunes Store media files

Ok, that makes sense — if it stopped there. But it doesn’t. It continues…

iTunes Store Media Files
Soundtrack Pro does not support opening or importing any iTunes Store media files, including iTunes Plus files.

Wait. What?

including iTunes Plus files.

including iTunes Plus files.

including iTunes Plus files.

Says here:

“Consumers are going to love listening to higher quality iTunes Plus tracks from their favorite EMI artists with no usage restrictions.”

I think Apple has a few questions to answer…

1. Are iTunes Plus files really “DRM-free”?
2. How can they block Soundtrack Pro from opening iTunes Plus files?

I’m a bit confused right now, and I think with good reason. If anyone can shed light on the subject that would rock. Mmk?

Thanks Editblog for posting the link to the Apple ProRes 422 codec whitepaper.

Overall the paper isn’t too technical, though I’m sure developers will get more information on deeply technical aspects soon. Some of thte highlights of the paper include:

• Degredation in quality over multiple generations. Hint - it’s very low.
• Data rates/storage requirements chart. 1080p at 29.97fps and 220mbps will set you back 1.65GB of storage per minute. At 147mbps, it’s down to 1.10GB per minute.
• The whitepaper mentions RED’s codec and P2 AVC-Intra by name, noting that they aren’t good enough for real-time software decoding. As we’ve seen in Apple’s demo videos, they are targeting broadcast markets with FCServer, and this will no doubt be extended through to ProRes.

The link to the ProRes 422 whitepaper again.

I admit, the title is a bit dramatic. Apple isn’t impacting the world that much. However, they are definitely impacting the film industry, and yesterday’s announcement of Final Cut Studio 2, Final Cut Server, and the addition of Colour to the upgraded Studio suite present a multitude of new options for filmmakers across the spectrum. Indies and professionals alike now have a more powerful system available to them with more capable and more accessible tools.

The announcement that excites me the most (though it is by now means the biggest announcement of yesterday) is Colour, a new Final Cut Studio 2 application based on the work of the folks at Silicon Color and their Final Touch application. Colour grading digitally is a relatively unexplored area (in comparison to the advancements made with non-linear editors). Autodesk’s Lustre, used on Pete Jackson’s Lord of the Rings and King Kong, is a Windows program designed with high-end studio applications in mind. It is incredibly powerful, check out the Appendices of The Fellowship of the Ring for an example of the application in use. Colour grading can subtly change the entire mood of a scene, refocus various elements, and ultimately improve the feel of a scene. The availability of Colour will add another option for filmmakers who are interested in working with this powerful artistic tool.

Final Cut Server is a new application that Apple is apparently targeting at broadcasters. The application is designed to easily move elements of a production easily from one Mac to another, streamlining the workflow and ensuring that everyone involved has the up-to-date version of everything. Whilst targeted toward broadcasters, the application will undoubtedly see use among filmmakers as well. The ability to sync up work in a central workflow is something that many have tried to solve before. Having this successfully accomplished, Apple poses a threat to the existing solutions on the market.

Final Cut Studio 2 is a generally awesome upgrade. The changes include new codecs (support for RED appears to be a top priority for Apple) with focus on real-time. Motion 3 supports three dimensional elements. There are lots of little fixes and added features, the Studio upgrade appears to be a great one. Apple’s continued march toward pushing Avid out of contention is impressive to say the least. Their solutions that target a wide range of filmmakers are catching on quick. It’ll be interesting to see what Apple does with this growing marketshare in the coming months.

Hello everyone. It’s Peter Upfold here, and I’m going to be filling in for Chris for this post. This post is a liveblog post, meaning I’ll be constantly updating it with news as it happens at the NAB event. Keep reloading this page for up-to-the-minute information.

Chris should be back later for a full analysis of what’s happened at NAB and how it will affect the media business. All times below are in PDT (the actual timezone for the event). If you’re viewing in a feed reader, this might not be the latest version of the post, so you may wish to click through if things seem incomplete after the event has finished.

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In a move that sent waves through the tech and music industries, EMI announced today that they will be releasing millions of tracks digitally, without Digital Rights Management. “April 2, 2007: The day DRM died.”

DRM, the stuff that prevents you from copying music you own (strange, huh?) is the scourge of many listeners worldwide. EMI recognized this early - they were one of the few major labels who demoed DRM free tracks. The success, combined with pressure from Apple made this the perfect opportunity to jump the DRM ship.

The DRM free tracks, which will be available in May, will be sold at a higher quality (existing tracks are 128kbps, they will be upgraded to 256kbps) for an additional $0.30 ($1.29). Music retailers will have a choice between WMA, MP3, and AAC. Apple, who played a heavy role in today’s announcement, will be choosing AAC (their proprietary format). DRM-locked tracks will still be available for $0.99, and will be at the current 128kbps quality.

Another issue addressed is The Beatles’ move to digital distribution via iTunes. It appears that this will be happening in the future (in fact, Steve Jobs teased the keynote audience at the announcement of the iPhone, using the famous “Sargent Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” cover in a slide). EMI head Eric Nicoli told reporters that they were still “working on it.”

DRM will still be used for subscription services, sharing services, and time-limited downloads, unsurprisingly. These services rely on DRM for their basic foundation. As much as I hate DRM, with this type of service it is fairly clear with services such as these why DRM is needed (for the most part, I have some arguments, but… let’s not get into that).

Find more information in the press release. Gizbuzz also has more details and a link to the audio from the conference.

Apple’s new wireless video device, aptly named the AppleTV, is now shipping. Already the hackers are having fun with the device, adding XviD support via Perian and upgrading the device’s internal hard drive.

All this excitement over the AppleTV is great for new media videographers, who have yet another platform to distribute on. Just the same though, this blessing is a curse - one more platform means one more render pass. One more platform to optimize your video for.

Fortunately, Zadi Diaz and the fine folks over at the JetSet Show (a Rocketboom enterprise) have already encountered this problem, and have provided their rendering settings for public consumption. I haven’t tested them out (I don’t own an AppleTV) however they seem fairly concrete from a quick inspection. Any AppleTV owning-videographer types want to verify?

On a slightly related note, if you have any render settings, filters, plugins, or anything else that you want shared with the world, feel free to jot off a quick email to YouMakeMedia - our email address is editor (at( youmakemedia )dot) com. You can also direct message me at Twitter for a speedy response.

Via Twitter / Zadi

This year’s MacWorld keynote has brought several interesting product releases, including the long rumoured iPhone and the rebranding of the iTV as the Apple TV. My colleague Peter at GizBuzz has posted a more in depth roundup of Steve Jobs’ speech.

For YouMakeMedia readers, this isn’t terribly relevant news (though it is certainly exciting). DV Guru has promised to post a bit about how this all is relevant and I’m sure we’ll all be nodding in agreement when they do. For now though, I’m taking the opinion that sure, it’s all cool, but the major impact is on the consumer end. It won’t change how we deliver our media - except perhaps to encourage further delivery in HD thanks to the Apple TV. The iPhone has no greatly enhanced media features, in essence we still will treat it like an iPod.

I’m very excited about the new products, but from a media creator aspect, there isn’t a lot of excitement. I’m expecting more toward NAB (Final Cut Pro 6 with Silicon Color’s FinalTouch enhancements!).

I’d argue that the biggest impact is what wasn’t announced. Apple made the change from Apple Computers, inc. to Apple, inc. (they announced that, but really, who called them Apple Computers?) - this implies to me that they certainly aren’t done. The iPhone could have easily been branded as a pocket computer and they would have been able to maintain an Apple Computers name. What other consumer products should we expect? They haven’t crossed into games yet…

They also had a huge stock boost. Stockholders are obviously content with Apple’s decision to expand outside their original area of expertise and are willing to put forth what they can to help the business expand. This will be an interesting year.

VLC is not your average media player.

In addition to supporting every single format known to humans, it has more features than you ever thought you’d need. VLC (which stands for VideoLAN client) just released a new version, 0.8.6.

I’ve always been a loyal user of the application, but in celebration of the release, I decided to learn more about VLC and figure out why it’s unchallenged in its field. Here’s a rundown of three features offered by VLC that bump it up from “average media player” to “uber media player”.

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