Media 100, is showcasing its newest dual stream systems for content design, Media 100i Version 8 (V8) for Mac OS X, at this week’s National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) conference and exhibition in Las Vegas.
Media 100i is a combination of hardware and software that turns a Power Mac G4 into a streaming media production system. Available in a variety of configurations, the Media 100i system is offered specifically to provide interactive streaming content for Web site production.
Announced in January at Macworld San Francisco, Media 100i V8 is Mac OS X-native dual stream content design system for professional content creators, broadcast designers and digital media artists. Additionally, with V8, Media 100 has introduced a fresh new user interface, based on Apple’s new Aqua interface, and has significantly strengthened its offerings for the Mac OS X platform with new effects creation and sound design capabilities, according to John Molinari, president and CEO of Media 100.
Media 100i has been tested “extensively” on the dual 1-GHz as well as the 933MHz Power Mac G4 systems with “notable performance increases,” Mike Savello, vice president of Dual Stream Systems for Media 100 said. Media 100i Version 8 running on the new dual 1-GHz Power Mac G4 “will deliver even more creative power to users that have embraced Apple’s OS X with its multi-threaded workflow,” he added.
Media 100i version 8 boasts effects design enhancements. You can draft composites directly in the timeline, using the newly expanded number of graphics layers within Media 100 i Version 8. You can export composites to Adobe After Effects or other graphics/effects applications for further finishing and then bring them back directly into the V8 timeline using InstantMedia technology.
You can access audio tracks and user marks from within Boris FX or Boris RED; this allows synchronization of visual effects design to program timeline elements.
V8 also has sound design enhancements, Savello said. Audio track mixing and processing has been expanded to support 24 real-time tracks simultaneously. And a new master audio track and support for audio reverb and dynamics processing effects have also been added. Real-time audio track mixing and processing have been expanded from eight to 24 tracks simultaneously.
V8 also improves AppleScript support; it now has an AppleScript recorder for creating custom scripts.
Media 100i Version 8 also includes the “highest quality” analog video and DV capture, standard in all models, Savello said. The system’s available Serial Digital Interface (SDI) can capture data as mathematically lossless streams, maximizing image quality and preserving disk space, he said.
Though it’s being demoed this week, it’s not available yet. Media 100i Version 8 is due in early summer. Those who purchased new Media 100i systems on or after Jan. 8 will receive V8 for free. Otherwise, pricing varies depending upon system configuration: Media 100i/xr, US$14,995; Media 100i/xs, $9,995; Media 100i/lx, $4,995; and Media 100i/le, $2,995.