Untitled Document

DV July 2002• www.dv.com

REVIEWS
smoke HD 5.0
Nonlinear Online Finishing System • Discreet, $225,000 • By Terence Curren

Pros: OMFI import. More edit-friendly interface. Matte keys in the timeline.
Cons: Can't see HD on broadcast monitor. Three-frame delay between computer monitor and broadcast monitor in SD.
Bottom Line: The smoke HD 5.0 update boasts some interesting improvements and appeals to Avid editors, but you can't see HD on a broadcast monitor while you work.

Discreet smoke HD 5.0

In my recent article "Online Finishing Systems" (Mar. '02 DV), I illustrated our search for a nonlinear HD solution. We compared Avid|DS HD 4.0 with Discreet smoke HD 4.0 online finishing systems. Since then, Avid and Discreet have released new 5.0 versions of their systems. This review of smoke HD and the following one cover what's changed since 4.0. Smoke 5.0 boasts some interesting improvements, and one very large downside.

One of the more important new features in smoke HD 5.0 is support for OMFI sequences exported from Avid systems. This feature allows about 60 percent of the information to come across in a show. Unfortunately, 3D effects, titles, third-party AVX plug-ins, and such aren't available through Avid's OMFI export. The good news is that nested clips come across, which is one area where EDLs fall short. In our initial testing, we were able to open a simple half-hour project. When we tried to open a complex hour-long show, it crashed smoke HD 5.0. Discreet claims others use the system on longer shows with no problems, so the crash must have been due to factors other than length.

Discreet has added more editing options that will be familiar to Avid editors. These features include the ability to extend an edit to a mark point or cursor position. The match frame function now automatically loads a clip in a source window. Matchframe edits that tend to break up timelines can now be removed with one command. You are able to select and easily replace multiple shots in the timeline with one shot. Dragging multiple shots from the edit desk to the timeline is also supported in this version. Discreet has finally added a record monitor to the source area to help with matching in- and out-points. On the downside, the windows are small and come across as a weak attempt at duplicating the source-record window layout that most editors are used to.

In the timeline area, several new improvements have helped to ease the workflow. Now you can work with matte effects right in the timeline as "soft effects." These soft effects can also be muted to allow the user to compare shots before and after the effect without actually removing and replacing it. With the improved priority editor, you can easily create and manage effects in a hierarchical mode. This is similar to parenting in Adobe After Effects, but smoke HD's graphical interface makes it a much clearer process. This feature helps you manage the new 100 layers of DVE. Smoke HD 5.0 now sports text on a path with keyframable spline parameters. This improves the application's ability to create animated text elements. The tracker allows a preview of a user-defined amount of frames so you can quickly determine if you have a good tracking point and adjust accordingly. You are able to stop renders in the timeline and pick them up again without losing partially rendered material.

Some long-time problems still exist, such as wipes that don't work properly in the timeline. However, smoke HD 5.0's biggest drawback is that HD video can only be seen in the broadcast monitor while outputting to tape. The only place you can see the video while you work on it is in the computer monitor. This means that you can't get accurate representations of color or motion while you color-correct and build moving effects. Discreet has told us that the card necessary for viewing in the broadcast monitor is being redesigned by SGI. Discreet hopes that the card will be delivered in late June 2002, so this issue should be solved by the time you read this. Until then, smoke HD 5.0 is critically hobbled.

Terence Curren is the principal owner of Alpha Dogs (www.alphadogs.tv), a postproduction and design house in Burbank, CA. He is also an instructor of advanced editing techniques at Pasadena Community College.