Effects
WinLinux Gen-Arts unveiled its Sapphire Plug-ins for burn, a new Linux-based background rendering application from Discreet. Priced at $2000 for a dual-processor workstation, Gen-Arts' Sapphire Plug-ins are available to companies purchasing four or more at the discounted price of $1600 each.
Gen-Arts; web.genarts.com
Wireless
Face2face animation introduced the wireless industry's first animated talking characters for 2.5g and 3g cell phones. The new face2face mobile character player enables the delivery of full-motion, audio-synched character animation to wireless devices. The company plans to offer its latest release as an application that can be licensed by wireless carriers, mobile content aggregators, and similar organizations. To date, the face2face mobile character player runs on Symbian phones, such as the Nokia 3650; yet, face2face anticipates making it available on all major platforms.
Face2face animation; www.f2f-inc.com
Digital video
Mac Arboretum Systems recently upgraded its award-winning video and audio editor, HyperEngine-AV (formerly called Montage), to Version 1.2.1. Built from the ground up for Mac OS X, the editing tool offers Mac users an alternative to Apple iMovie. HyperEngine-AV users are free to manipulate audio, video, stills, and text in an infinitely expandable window within the trackless work space. When users drag and drop video clips onto each other, the software creates instant dissolves. By clicking on the connection graphic, users gain access to various editable compositors, transitions, and wipes. As well as built-in video transitions, Version 1.2.1 offers more than a dozen built-in video effects for customizing video clips. A Hall Re-verb audio processor extends the Hyperprism suite of effects available to users. Regularly priced at $149, HyperEngine-AV is offered at a $79 Fall Promo price until October 31.
Arboretum Systems; www.arboretum.com
HARDWARE
Display
JVC Professional Products amended its product line with the new GD-V501U, a 50-inch plasma display. Offering a 160-degree viewing angle and high-contrast imagery, the GD-V501U is designed for use in multi-screen, business, communications, entertainment, and public display applications. Boasting 1,020,000 pixels (1366x768 resolution) and support for all major HDTV and EDTV standards, the GD-V501U can deliver high-definition (HD) images from HDTV broadcasts and other HD image sources.
JVC; www.jvc.com/pro
Storage
WinMac Linux Verbatim debuted its latest data storage solution, the Store 'n' Go USB Drive. Measuring roughly the size of a single AA battery, the portable drive is a non-volatile flash memory device designed to plug directly into the USB 2.0 or USB 1.1 port of a host desktop or laptop computer. Although compact, Store 'n' Go can provide users up to an impressive 1gb of storage space for data, photo, and audio and video files. Security features such as password protection and public/secure partitioning protect files from unauthorized access. Verbatim's new plug-and-play device is hot-pluggable, enabling users to connect and disconnect the drive without powering down their computer systems. Based on USB 2.0 interface specifications, Verbatim's Store 'n' Go is available now in capacities and prices ranging from 32mb for $29 to 1gb at $349.
Verbatim; www.verbatim.com