Deck 3.5 coming to Mac OS X

Berkley Integrated Audio Software (BIAS) is previewing Deck 3.5, a brand-new version of their multi-track digital audio workstation software for the Mac, at this week’s National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) trade show in Las Vegas.

The new version, which costs US$399, boasts native Mac OS X compatibility with CoreAudio and CoreMIDI support, OMF import and real-time Surround Mixing capabilities. The addition of OMF import and real-time surround mixing capabilities makes Deck “a powerhouse for the digital video professional and enthusiast,” according to Jason Davies, vice president of worldwide sales for BIAS.

“With the use of applications such as Apple’s Final Cut Pro and DVD Studio Pro, Deck 3.5 is poised to become the pro audio solution of choice in the Mac professional video producer’s toolbox,” he added.

As a native Mac OS X application, Deck 3.5 takes full advantage of the operating system’s Unix-based operating system by supporting CoreAudio and CoreMIDI (for remote fader/transport control, MIDI file playback, and Timecode with CoreMIDI-compatible SMPTE LTC to MTC converters), he added. In addition, Deck 3.5 is multi-processor aware and optimized for the PowerPC G4 with Velocity Engine. And, of course, Deck 3.5, which runs on both Mac OS X and Mac OS 9.x, includes the complete feature set of the preceding version.

Deck 3.5 will be available in the second quarter of the year. As a special limited-time offer for Final Cut Pro 2 and 3 customers who already own BIAS Peak DV (which is bundled with FCP 2 and 3), BIAS is offering free upgrades to Deck 3.5 for users who purchase Deck 3.0 now for US$199, or the Deck 3.0/Peak 3.0 bundle now for $399. Peak DV will also be bundled with Apple’s DVD Studio Pro 1.5.

Version 3.5 is a free upgrade for customers who purchased the full version of the currently shipping Deck 3.0 after Oct. 1, 2001. Regular upgrade pricing will be announced when Deck 3.5 is released.