Below is full copy extract from my blog I had a chance to test drive Sony's Catalyst Browse and Catalyst Prepare this month. Catalyst Browse was released by Sony on September 30th, 2014 and is completely FREE to use and download. Catalyst Prepare was released about a month later and costs $199 USD. The versions I tested were Catalyst Browse 1.0.3 build 338 for PC and Catalyst Prepare 1.0.2 build 207 also for PC. PLEASE NOTE; V1.1 were released after I completed my review so some new additional features have been included and some of my findings with respect to “issues” may no longer be valid.
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I’ve since included an addendum at the end of my post. Anyone familiar with digital 'developing' software such as Adobe Lightroom (for RAW stills), REDCineX (for video footage shot on RED), as many other software packages which perform similar functions, will quickly appreciate you'll be able to do with your footage shot on the Sony CineAlta line of cameras. Both versions of Catalyst can be extremely useful to preview your dailies and further 'de-log' your footage shot in S-Log by either converting to a traditional Sony gamma; 709(800), HG8009G33, HG8009G40, or by applying one of four default Sony Look Profiles (Sony's 4 published LUTs: LC-709, LC-709A, Slog2-709, Cine+709). This really gives freedom to more shooters who might have otherwise been afraid of recording in native S-Log, or were baking in Looks or Gammas to avoid dealing with S-Log afterwards. One really great advantage of using the Catalyst series of software is if Exposure Indexes were used during shooting.
The software will preserve that information so later whoever is looking at the footage will know it was over or underexposed intentionally. At present data Davinci Resolve does not do this but in future updates or versions I suspect Black Magic Design will adapt to make use of the metadata much like they have done with RED R3D files. Using a combination of sliders and wheels both versions allow you to perform some basic color adjustments currently limited to: saturation, exposure, color temperature, tint, curves, lift, gain and gamma. Both versions will also allow you to transcode your clips with or without the color adjustments into many popular video codec formats including AVC/ACC MP4, DPX, OpenEXR, and XAVC. ProRes as an option on MAC.
Exporting with the DNxHD codec is only capable in Catalyst Prepare and only Catalyst Prepare allows you to transcode into a variety of resolutions ranging from Internet 360p to 4K 4160 x 2048 60p. Other differences between Browse and Prepare: 'Catalyst Browse' as clearly stated in the name, is quite specifically meant more for 'Browsing' footage and this FREE version is limited in functionality such as the ability to batch export or apply different color adjustments to different clips.
'Catalyst Prepare' offers exporting to various resolutions, batch exporting capability, and you can apply separate color adjustments to individual clips if desired. This is great incase you know there are some clips where you need to make specific adjustments separate from the reset of the clips - for example you rated the camera ISO higher or lower for the purpose of over or underexposing, or maybe it was just an accident.:) One catch with Catalyst Prepare is by default it may prompt you to import and copy all of the clips to your hard drive which you may already have on your hard drive. I talked with Sony about this and they have instructed that if the files are already copied or otherwise present on the system, go to Organize and select Folder-Add Existing. That folder will be added as a Source and you can transcode or copy from there withoput having to do an Import. More features: I should mention the metadata window which contains everything you would expect; frame rate, gamma, ISO camera setting and Exposure Index, ND filter setting, shutter angle, shutter speed, color temperature, db gain, camera master black level, time/date, and more!
Other features I found while testing the software were customizable video scopes (waveform, RGB parade, histogram), anamorphic support (x1.3, x2), zoom, x or y flip, the ability to import/export color adjustments into ASC-CDL or 3D LUT. Missing: I've put together a short list for Sony on their forums (of what I recommend be implemented in future updates to make this software even more powerful. Mainly; highlights recovery slider, multi-undo/redo, more granular levels of adjustments to color control and the ability to type values in manually if desired, 'resets' for all the separate color adjustments (currently global), method to delete nodes created via tone curves interface. Addendum: Catalyst Browse Browse 1.10: Added a Vectorscope tool to the Adjust Color workspace. Added support for multifile transcoding when all source files use the same source settings.
Added support for reading DNxHD clips. Added support to combine to one file when copying a spanned AVCHD clip. Added support for reading SD MPEG-2 clips. Added support for writing XDCAM EX clips to SxS memory cards. Added support for transcoding to interlaced XAVC formats. Added the Transcode button to the Adjust Color workspace.
Added Brightness and Contrast sliders to the Adjust Color workspace. Added support for reading Apple ProRes 422 files (Mac only). Added support for showing source clips from the Media Browser. Select a file, click the File button at the bottom of the Media Browser, and choose Show in Finder (Mac)/Show in Explorer (Windows). Added support for showing additional metadata values in the Media Browser. Fixed a bug that could prevent color correction settings from being applied to all clips in a clip list. Browse 1.1.1 Added Japanese and Simplified Chinese language support.
Fixed a bug that prevented some unsupported files from displaying their unsupported status correctly in the Video Preview (Mac only). Improved image quality for files transcoded to XAVC format. Browse 1.2 Added support for transcoding to XDCAM HD and HD422 formats. Added support for transcoding to long-GOP MPEG-2 formats. Added support for transcoding to SStP format.
Added support for transcoding to XAVC Intra formats using the Sony XAVC encoder. Presets are now labeled to indicate whether they use the Sony or MainConcept encoder.
Added 720p and 1080i presets for transcoding to XAVC format. Added 720p and 1080i presets for transcoding to Apple ProRes format (Mac only). Added support for transcoding clips between the mark in/out points of the source clip. Added support for copying a snapshot of the current frame to the clipboard.
Added support for adding, deleting, and editing essence marks. Added support for sequentially previewing multiple selected clips. Added support for scaling the video preview in the Adjust Color workspace. Added support for HiDPI displays when running under Windows. When adding clips to a clip list, subclips now inherit title and description metadata from the source clip. Browse 1.2.1 Updated Japanese and Simplified Chinese language support. Fixed a bug that could cause 4K clips shot on the Sony F5 camera to incorrectly display an error icon in Catalyst Browse.
Fixed a bug that could cause the application to incorrectly state that installation was successful when attempting to install to a disk with insufficient space. Catalyst Prepare 2.0 What's New Notable fixes/changes in version 2.0 Added presets for exporting Apple ProRes clips (OS X only). Added support for XDCAM PD proxy files when browsing PDW-700, PDW-800, and PDW-850 flash memory. Added support for copying a snapshot of the current frame to the clipboard. Added support for adding, deleting, and editing essence marks. Added support for sequentially previewing multiple selected clips. Added support for scaling the video preview in the Adjust Color workspace.
Added support for HiDPI displays when running under Windows. Added audio channel configuration controls to the Summary tab in the Inspector. Added audio channel tools to the Summary tab in the Inspector to allow you to load and save channel-configuration presets or copy channel assignments and paste them to multiple selected files. Thumbnail images now reflect color correction settings. Fixed a bug that could cause the application to crash when canceling an import operation. Fixed a bug that could cause the application to freeze when exporting a storyboard to Adobe Premiere on a computer with a French or German operating system. Fixed a bug that could cause transcoding to fail when the source media resolution did not match the target resolution.
Fixed a bug that could cause incorrect timecode values when transcoding an SD clip to an HD format. Fixed a bug that prevented some unsupported files from displaying their unsupported status correctly in the Video Preview (OS X only). Fixed a bug that could cause the Grade in drop-down list in the Options menu to be empty when you first start the application. Improved image quality for files transcoded to XAVC format. Catalyst Prepare 2.0 is a free upgrade to owners of Catalyst Prepare. If you purchased and registered any previous version of Catalyst Prepare, a new Catalyst Prepare 2.0 serial number will be created in your My Account profile on sonycreativesoftware.com.
For online registration, just log in on the registration web page after starting Catalyst Prepare 2.0, and the serial number will be preselected for you. For offline registration, log in to the web site from another device and find your serial number (Version 2.0 serial numbers will also be provided to registered owners via e-mail. Features in version 1.0 Catalyst Prepare is the fast, simple, reliable path from camera to post. In Import mode, you can browse your computer for media files that you want to import to your media libraries. In Organize mode, you can browse and organize the clips in your media libraries.
In Edit mode, you can preview media, mark in and out points, and apply color correction. In Export mode, you can export clips to additional volumes or devices and transcode files. Notable fixes/changes in version 1.2 Added support for rendering to XDCAM HD and HD422 formats. Improved performance for previewing RAW video. Notable fixes/changes in version 1.1 Added a Vectorscope tool to the Adjust Color workspace. Added Brightness and Contrast sliders to the Adjust Color workspace. Added support for reading Apple ProRes 422 files (OS X only).
Added support for exporting DNxHD clips. Added support to combine to one file when copying a spanned AVCHD clip. Added support for reading SD MPEG-2 clips. Added support for writing XDCAM EX clips to SxS memory cards. Added support for transcoding to interlaced XAVC formats. Added support for showing additional metadata values in the Media Browser. Fixed a bug that prevented the application from reading some files recorded by the PXW-FS7 camera.
Fixed a bug that could prevent color correction settings from being applied to all clips in a clip list. Www.sonycreativesoftware.com/catalystbrowse www.sonycreativesoftware.com/catalystprepare.
I think your (of course sensible and desirable) wants are noise for now. Simply we need to be able to dump with a client and have them Delog,Sustain EI and transcode to their resolution/codec for free. For deeper stuff I think Resolve will win. Even RCx is basically useless, well was last time I checked, because it does not allow tracked dodging and burning which is really what opens the power of a fat codec.
BTW you can reset stuff non globally the icon under the curves, for example will just reset the curves? One thing - audio - ive configured Resolve to transcode without the 6 empty audio tracks and unlinking the first two from stereo pair to dual mono - to creat real edit ready stuff - If sony actually care they should look at that. To me a clear agenda. CatBrowse - free does sony cameras - for clients CatPrepre - costs - does all/most cameras - for professional DITs S. Should it be free but not work well?
While the free/not-free debacle gets sorted out, me personally I'd rather worry about the tools set actually being useful, professional and comparable to what people are already familiar with. Yes 'Tone Curve' can be reset independently but no other controls. Also if you add a node it can not be removed. Sliders and wheels are not granular enough thus with certain grades you can not precisely place your pedestal, mid tones or highlights. It's bad and borderline useless. Sony needs useable software before worrying it is free. Should it be free but not work well.
The free client one does not need to be deep - just a simple route from LogEi to PunchyLutted ProRes (etc) The paid one needs to be vey deep to beat resolve! My vision.
Client 'can you shoot baked' Me; 'really trust me - If I shoot LogEI you can get a look in a completely automated manner - the same as you will see on your onset monitor- just open the software and transcode - no button pressing or grading for you' Me; 'the thing about doing it like that is if we need or want to we can revisit the footage later and colour it if you have a budget or need to use the footage in a more colour critical project, by baking we are throwing away our options for the future' The job Shoot Dump to client HD Client opens the software, appleA transcode all, has some tea. Client now has edit ready footage, and likely a 4k log master for the future Now the client may also have a little fiddle and start to think 'hey this is cool' I love the Temp Tint and Exposure sliders just like I play with my pictures at home in Lightroom' Future, client hires Mr C300 'where are my sliders' C300 owner - 'sorry not possible' Next job client phones Sony owner:) To me the critical USP is that CB gives the client a direct and simple route from onset monitor to prores in their NLE that match. Id take basic but functional and free as the top priority. What I want most out of this software is to batch export into dnx or prores and delog or create lut settings to hand over to post. I find it hard to pay $199 for that and my wants lie between the browse & prepare features. I'd pay a small fee to unlock batch processing and all resolutions in browse or i'd pay the full $199 for a more comprehensive colour suite features.
Right now the products land just outside of my desires. According to Sony, the beta version of Catalyst Browse did have batch export while the new release of Catalyst Browse did not so it's very likely we will see batch export come back on a subsequent release. I think this software is great otherwise and on the right track but its not ready for prime-time. We all have different priorities but I dont think it will ever be ready for 'primetime' vs Resolve with secondaries, tracking, basically everything. Id just like to see it work. If you are planning to shoot SlogEI there is currently NO way to pass your meta data/intent to the client apart from CB and CP (I have contacted resolve about EI support) and with clients not knowing your intent. Well the situation is very open for placing eggs on faces (and keeping the C300 king of the hill) Imagine if Red stuck all footage as 800/3200 or whatever - basically the camera would have been a fail, but RCx carries the operator intent (ISO,Cbalance) in to post.
Im serious about the work Sony need to do to make their cameras client friendly - it is really really important for them and more important us - there is a reason the C300 is so big and it is not the image! Sam - you will get what you want with Catalyst Browse, Sony is going to address batch export so you will have your quick and free speedy add a Look Profile and immediately export solution.
But go adjust the gain and gamma upwards then try the 'lift' control to reduced shadows - suddenly the adjustments become to coarse and you can not get precise with it. It's a bug and if i'm going to pay $199 for Prepare which is faster than Resolve and gives me more access to Sony meta-data plus ease of adding Look Profiles - I want it to work. Absolutely for Prepare to be worth anything it must work to the highest demands of pros - but I still think that they will never catch resolve. I note your comment on speed too.
I hope you are right about Browse. Your requests are not dumb - Im just super panicking about the fact that Browse really needs to work before I do my first job next year. I see the camera as kind of incomplete without CB working. Just like our new 7d2 was 'unusable' for (stills) work until Canon released the patch for Lightroom. Seriously we had a brand new camera sitting on the desk that we would not use because it did not fit our workflow. FRESH OFF THE PRESS 15 minutes ago, V1.1 released and announced. Details are: We just posted some new updates to Browse and Prepare.
Batch Transcoding has been restored in Browse (provided source clips are in the same format). Thanks to all who helped me lobby to get this restored asap. It was always part of the feature set but was temporarily removed for development reasons (admittedly at the worst possible time.) There is a lot more in the works so stay tuned.
Browse 1.10: Added a Vectorscope tool to the Adjust Color workspace. Added support for multifile transcoding when all source files use the same source settings.
Added support for reading DNxHD clips. Added support to combine to one file when copying a spanned AVCHD clip. Added support for reading SD MPEG-2 clips. Added support for writing XDCAM EX clips to SxS memory cards. Added support for transcoding to interlaced XAVC formats. Added the Transcode button to the Adjust Color workspace.
Added Brightness and Contrast sliders to the Adjust Color workspace. Added support for reading Apple ProRes 422 files (Mac only). Added support for showing source clips from the Media Browser. Select a file, click the File button at the bottom of the Media Browser, and choose Show in Finder (Mac)/Show in Explorer (Windows).
Added support for showing additional metadata values in the Media Browser. Fixed a bug that could prevent color correction settings from being applied to all clips in a clip list. Prepare 1.10: Added a Vectorscope tool to the Adjust Color workspace. Added Brightness and Contrast sliders to the Adjust Color workspace. Added support for reading Apple ProRes 422 files (Mac only).
Added support for exporting DNxHD clips. Added support to combine to one file when copying a spanned AVCHD clip. Added support for reading SD MPEG-2 clips. Added support for writing XDCAM EX clips to SxS memory cards. Added support for transcoding to interlaced XAVC formats. Added support for showing additional metadata values in the Media Browser.
Fixed a bug that prevented the application from reading some files recorded by the PXW-FS7 camera. Fixed a bug that could prevent color correction settings from being applied to all clips in a clip list. The apps should prompt for an update but if they do not you can update from Options-About-Check For Updates or by downloading from the below links and installing manually.
Www.sonycreativesoftware.com/catalystbrowse www.sonycreativesoftware.com/catalystprepare. Even RCx is basically useless, well was last time I checked, because it does not allow tracked dodging and burning which is really what opens the power of a fat codec. That is never what Redcine-X was intended for and to completely dismiss such an incredible piece of free software because it doesn't have a tool usually found in finishing software is a touch disingenuous.
Extensive 'onelight' grade potential, great tool for prepping material, proxies, syncing to broadcast audio metadata editing etc. Sony/Catalyst could learn a lot from what Redcine gets right to be honest.
I dont know if there is a way of grouping them. Simply in stills I have a very nailed workflow for 'smash it out' jobs - which is nearly everything-apart from HDR special jobs. Consider my 'day at a school' I open Capture one and usually correct image 0001 which might be of the woodwork room, I then copy that correction, I then paste that correction on to all the woodwork room shots, now I might go back to a couple of woodwork shots and make a further adjustment if my exposure was wonko. I then paste that correction to the first 'kitchen' shot - if it does not work (and in our situation we would hope it would becuause we are trying to shoot it for a single pass grade) I would then tinker this, kitchen frame, once that is right I move on to the Gym taking the last kitchen shot as a start point. I then export all. Repeat and rinse, three days a week for a decade and you get fast at that. Same in Resolve where the = and - keys rock.
But that is a very good way of getting out of the hole. Taking the stills workflow parallel I only shoot stills on 3200 or 6000 which is why I am used to makeing a correction on every 'set' (woodwork room, kitchen being a 'set') because it is unlikely that the CTemp was actually 3200 or 6000, usually I click grey balance on something and slide a couple of hundred k warm of 'correct'. I hope to shoot my 'sets' with a consistent enough exposure so that one correction can be applied to the whole set without further correction.
Back to SlogEI and we will be in the same boat because we only have 3200, 4500, and 5500k so if our scene/set is not exactly one of those temperatures we need a global correction for that set. So in EI I would suggest that while not critical the subdivision of colour correction would be a huge upgrade. Shooing in non Custom Slog we can actually get the right Colour temp, but if we ETTR (a bit) for a clean file we are going to have to make a -ve gain adjustment in post as the Custom mode does not sustain EI. On that basis once again we are probably going to have corrections, roughly divdieded in to 'sets/scenes' and again subdivision of colour correction would be of benefit.
I've been using Catalyst Browse for 6 weeks or so. I as a version 1 piece of software it has some amazing features and looks quite promising. The ability to export cube LUTs is amazing, the scopes that are there are super responsive, it JUST recognizes CUDA based GPUs even if they are not in the primary spot and automatically picks the best one for rendering. The wheels are amazing for version 1 software, the plethora of metadata is great and it is fairly well organized for the user, exporting ASC-CDLs is useful and and there is a preset LUT for (drumroll) Slog 1.
People who are using PCs have the added benefit of being able to transcode material, more so in Catalyst Prepare, so you can get your material converted for use in Resolve. As PC users are painfully aware, the transcode options are very limited so these apps together remove a lot of grief particularly for those with XDCAM-EX or XDCAM-HD material. I am sure that I will be missing things, as I am not in front of my workstation but off the top of my head those are the things I am jazzed about with CB and CP. Looking forward to upgrading to version 1.1. I was wondering if anyone else was using this software yet as things have been pretty quiet about it till this thread. Thanks Dennis for your write up and Sam I feel your angst about this as well. Sony should have come out with this solution a long time ago but at least now they have and their efforts show that they mean business.
Let's hope the momentum is sustained in developing these software tools. While I have touched on the topic of PC user grief in transcoding material, anyone that uses Adobe Premiere / Adobe Media Encoder on Windows MUST get a copy of Miraizon's DNxHD Prores Encoder software. They just upgraded it so it uses all the cores on your machine, so it works about 2.5 times faster than the previous version in encoding to Prores. The files are recognized by Resolve, so you have a way to creating ersatz Prores files (including 4K) on a PC with relative ease and the cost is around 60 USD if don't have the prior version. There are other solutions out there but they are silly expensive and are stand alone products and don't integrate into Adobe Media Encoder. This is a no brainer purchase for PC users. I've been using Catalyst Browse for 6 weeks or so.
I as a version 1 piece of software it has some amazing features and looks quite promising. The ability to export cube LUTs is amazing, the scopes that are there are super responsive, it JUST recognizes CUDA based GPUs even if they are not in the primary spot and automatically picks the best one for rendering.
The wheels are amazing for version 1 software, the plethora of metadata is great and it is fairly well organized for the user, exporting ASC-CDLs is useful and and there is a preset LUT for (drumroll) Slog 1. People who are using PCs have the added benefit of being able to transcode material, more so in Catalyst Prepare, so you can get your material converted for use in Resolve. As PC users are painfully aware, the transcode options are very limited so these apps together remove a lot of grief particularly for those with XDCAM-EX or XDCAM-HD material. I am sure that I will be missing things, as I am not in front of my workstation but off the top of my head those are the things I am jazzed about with CB and CP. Looking forward to upgrading to version 1.1. I was wondering if anyone else was using this software yet as things have been pretty quiet about it till this thread.
Thanks Dennis for your write up and Sam I feel your angst about this as well. Sony should have come out with this solution a long time ago but at least now they have and their efforts show that they mean business. Let's hope the momentum is sustained in developing these software tools. I never would have even tried Catalyst if it weren't for private conversations with Sam when I was complaining about the lack of visibility of exposure indexes burnt into file metadata and he suggested Catalyst. So thanks to all of us for sharing, discussing, and to all a good night.;). Sony should turn Catalyst Browse into a plug-in like Film Convert or Colorista. The colour science and tools are great but stand-alone programs like this are an irrelevant step in most modern post production pipelines.
I don't think it's really intended as part of a high-end post pipeline. I think Catalyst Browse is intended to fill a hole for producers to review footage. As a standalone tool that lets producers log footage and export individual clips, it works.
It even lets them apply LUTs so they're not reviewing with the log curve. For simple post workflows it's a way to do simple copies and batch transcodes. I think for these features it will be servicable. Sony annoyed people when they made Content Browser require a paid license - this remedies that for basic functionality, and leaves complicated functionality on a paid license. That's fair I think.
I don't think it's really intended as part of a high-end post pipeline. I think Catalyst Browse is intended to fill a hole for producers to review footage. As a standalone tool that lets producers log footage and export individual clips, it works. It even lets them apply LUTs so they're not reviewing with the log curve. For simple post workflows it's a way to do simple copies and batch transcodes.
I think for these features it will be servicable. Sony annoyed people when they made Content Browser require a paid license - this remedies that for basic functionality, and leaves complicated functionality on a paid license. That's fair I think. Maybe Sony are missing a trick here. I have no issue paying for software and would be happy to pay to get it integrated into my NLE.
Both Film Convert and Colorista work as a stand alone programs and as a plug-ins, but I doubt many people use either outside of their NLE or graphics program. So far after my testing, even on an older machine Catalyst is fast and responsive. Two things to consider about your new machine; stick with NVIDIA graphics cards not ATI. If you ever want to use Davinci Resolve it works better with Nvidia although in the past year BMD made Resolve work with ATI cards through OpenCL but its sluggish in my tests.
I also think Premiere uses CUDA so again, Nvidia, Nvidia, Nvidia. Second thing is using an SSD hard drive as your primary drive if possible. Your computer will fly like it's on steroids, I did this on one of my PC's and it's almost like working from memory at memory speeds since SSD is not mechanical (which I'm sure you already know). You can get a 240GB or 512GB SSD drive for under a couple hundred dollars if you look around. They seriously fly.
My Windows machine boots up in 8 seconds. I am sorry to break in with a 'newby' question. I need to upgrade my older PC to something that can handle these new applications well. Thinking a Macbook pro would be a good portable solution.
My question: There are a lot of choices around graphics cards or integrated graphics, and such. What should I be looking for in that department. Thanks so much for any light you all can shed on this quagmire. You want the highest end Nvidia chip/most video RAM that is available in the MacBook Pro you are considering. So the reality is, buy all the options. My late 2013 has all the RAM, etc and the 1TB PCIe SSD.
This machine may be the best piece of hardware I have ever owned. And I have owned a lot. And don't upgrade the OS yet. Vendors are still working to approve the latest versions of Yosemite. There are major performance issues with Avid. I am on Mavericks but the new machines will have some version of Yosemite. Hope your purchase goes well, Robert.
WOW - playing around some more today, this time installed Prepare on my macbook pro and ingesting Sony F3 footage - ISO preserved and very fun applying Sony Look Profiles to some old F3 footage Note: in order to get the LOOK menu to appear in Catalyst with Sony F3 (or Slog1) footage you must select 'S-GAMUT/S-LOG2' as your source and then adjust your exposure index accordingly. Slog1 and Slog2 are the same curve, except slog1 has higher grey value mapped. Old Sony F3 footage in Catalyst Prepare v1.1!!! Exactly How will an SSD help me with video editing and color work. I'm on the last pre Retina Macbook Pro 15' with an Nvidia GT650M card & 1 G Vram.
Is there any trick to getting this software to run on Windows 7 64-bit? I've tried it on two PCs so far with unacceptable and worse results. Only my general office PC, it works, sort of. That is, I get the screens I see in the reviews, and I can play footage from my FS7.
But when I try to transcode footage to another format, it goes nice and fast until it reaches 5% and then it just does nothing after that. CPU use drops to 0% and I end up with a 0-bytes file. I tried installing Catalyst Browse on my more powerful editing PC, but it won't do ANYTHING at all on that PC. The window appears, but it won't load or display video, just an arrow chasing its tail. It's like 3/4 of the program code didn't install. Besides having more resources, the NLE is not connected to a network or internet.
Maybe it's cloud based and most of the software runs off an internet connection? But no errors about needed to connect to the internet. Just no worky.
In short, I can't transcode my footage, so I can't do anything with the footage I shoot with the FS7.:(. Is there any trick to getting this software to run on Windows 7 64-bit? I've tried it on two PCs so far with unacceptable and worse results. Only my general office PC, it works, sort of. That is, I get the screens I see in the reviews, and I can play footage from my FS7.
But when I try to transcode footage to another format, it goes nice and fast until it reaches 5% and then it just does nothing after that. CPU use drops to 0% and I end up with a 0-bytes file. I tried installing Catalyst Browse on my more powerful editing PC, but it won't do ANYTHING at all on that PC.
The window appears, but it won't load or display video, just an arrow chasing its tail. It's like 3/4 of the program code didn't install. Besides having more resources, the NLE is not connected to a network or internet. Maybe it's cloud based and most of the software runs off an internet connection? But no errors about needed to connect to the internet. Just no worky.
In short, I can't transcode my footage, so I can't do anything with the footage I shoot with the FS7.:( I'm running it on Windows 7 x64 SP1 no issues. You might have to allow it through firewall, etc. Also update your video card, and Direct X for a few ideas. I'm running NVidia, and if you are running ATI then 'maybe' that's related, again hard to say. Here is the older v1.1 Browse if you want to try it instead of the newest one from Sony: www.starcentral.ca/forums/CatalystBrowse1.1.zip.
Download Resolve for free and transcode, delete the unused sound tracks, and add a lut if you want, even edit! S I tried Resolve Lite, but apparently it needs an internet connection to install and activate the license. So I decided to try it on my backup pc, which i use for online. The installation activation went well, but upon launch it generates a crash report.
Running nVidia GTX680 4GB card on the NLE and same but 2GB on the ackup machine. Drivers updated in the past 2 weeks. I'm baffled by it.
Adobe apps run beautifully on both machines, as does Maya 2015. I got the 11.3.1 version of Resolve Lite to install on the main NLE. I ignored the create account thing and just choose Admin and set up my project. I played with it for almost an hour, and the program crashed 30+ times at various stages. I found I could get further if I changed from thumbnail view to detail view for the media, because when thumbnails start to display, Resolve crashes. After the 30th try, I got as far as creating a timeline, but the program crashes with my DCI 4K footage from the FS7. I tried some QFHD footage (also XAVC) and managed to create a timeline, but as soon as I played the timeline, Resolve crashes.
No GPU warning. It's showing that it detects a nVidia GTX 680 (4GB version) and the system RAM meets the minimum requirements. I got the 11.3.1 version of Resolve Lite to install on the main NLE. I ignored the create account thing and just choose Admin and set up my project.
I played with it for almost an hour, and the program crashed 30+ times at various stages. I found I could get further if I changed from thumbnail view to detail view for the media, because when thumbnails start to display, Resolve crashes. After the 30th try, I got as far as creating a timeline, but the program crashes with my DCI 4K footage from the FS7.
I tried some QFHD footage (also XAVC) and managed to create a timeline, but as soon as I played the timeline, Resolve crashes. No GPU warning. It's showing that it detects a nVidia GTX 680 (4GB version) and the system RAM meets the minimum requirements. Resolve is picky about driver and Cuda versions. You may want to make sure you have a recent GTX driver from Nvidea not the MS one.
Also try the latest Cuda driver. And yes, folks on the forum on the BMD website can help solve this.:-). I've installed the May 2015 nVidia drivers (for other reasons), and I have the GTX680 with 4GB VRAM. Oddly, when I was clicking on some of the clips in the libary, I got a 'your GPU memory is full' which is strange, because I have the GPU with twice the amount of memory of the standard version, which is 2GB. I have questions in the moderation queue at BMD's forum, still waiting.
Apparently the CC forums are ablaze with crash reports for Resolve. Both Mac and PC are crashing when media is touched. It's a common problem. Updated first post with up to date release notes. Just incase you bought 'Prepare' and have a serial number for it, you will need a new serial number for version 2.
You can get the new serial number by logging into your account with Sony online and it should appear in your list of products. I'm still advocating the free 'Browse' for clients who want my MXF files and wish to transcode themselves with a basic look. One minute is enough to show them what they need to know and go over any 'gotchas' whereas trying to teach someone Davinci Resolve is far too complex and not very user friendly. Also a lot can be screwed up with clip, project, and delivery settings. Updated first post with up to date release notes. Just incase you bought 'Prepare' and have a serial number for it, you will need a new serial number for version 2 which is FREE but you have to get from logging into your account with Sony online and it should appear in your list of products. I'm still advocating the free 'Prepare' for clients who want my MXF files and wish the transcode themselves with a basic look.
One minute is enough to show them what they need to know and go over any 'gotchas' whereas trying to teach someone Davinci Resolve is far too complex and not very user friendly. Also a lot can be screwed up with clip, project, and delivery settings. You mean Catalyst Browse? Because Prepare is paid and it's $199 (unless I am missing a free version of this).
This movie is becoming as controversial as the book. Since the day it was announced that it's gonna be made, there were protests against it being done, and it has escalated to calls for boycotting, or banning the movie altogether.
I'll not waste time and go into its controversies, nor discuss what's real and what's not. Neither will I explain in detail the plot, as I believe most of you readers would already have some vague idea of what it's about, or have read the book, since it's on the bestsellers list for months. Rather, I'll evaluate the movie as it is, on how well it entertains. Those who wish to preach in my comment box, prepare to have those comments deleted, at my discretion. This is the stand I shall take, that this movie is entirely fictional, based on events which are used loosely, for the sole purpose of weaving a storyline that tries to be believable. I think some have already mentioned it's too successful in doing that, and may mislead people into thinking its theories presented, are real.
However, don't take it too seriously, and if you wish to, use another proper platform to debunk the myths, not my movie review blog. The structure of the movie, is exactly the same as the book. There is no change to the ending, despite some rumours that it will be different. Naturally, some of the detailed explanation that's given in the book, especially many three-way dialogue between Sophie- Robert-Leigh, have to be summarized in order to pace this movie into 2 1/2 hours. Herein lies the challenges. For those who've read the book, the movie offers nothing new, other than the gratification of watching events and characters play out on the big screen. For those who haven't read the book, the movie version should be decent enough to make you want to pick up the novel and read more into the controversial theories explained.
However, having being familiar with the plot and how the story unfolds, red herrings, character motivations, twists and all, it may leave those who've read the novel, a page-turner in every sense of the word, a bit wanting, that the pace could've been improved. Undoubtedly the pacing sags when it's time for some dialogue heavy moments, but I suppose that is unavoidable when you're revisiting material.
However, its presentation of these controversial dialogue moments coupled with special effects, that will make you go wow. Truly, the technique is nothing original, and some of the visuals used looked like Return of the King and Kingdom of Heaven rejects, but as a whole, combined with the narrative, it helps to present the controversies in a more palatable manner.
Casting, I felt, was spot on. Tom Hanks makes Robert Langdon pretty accessible, given Hanks' everyman demeanor, and Audrey Tautou makes a believable Sophie Neveu. Ian McKellen, probably THE actor with 2 summer blockbusters back to back (the other being X- Men 3), is convincing as the rich grail hunter Sir Leigh Teabing. Paul Bettany is chilling as the albino killer Silas, and Jean Reno and Alfred Molina round up the star studded cast as the detective Captain Fache and Bishop Aringarosa. Much is said about the haunting soundtrack, but as far as I'm aware, there's nothing scary about it. Silas, in his scene of self-cleansing, is horrid enough though, as are some scenes of unexpected on screen violence that hit like a sack of potatoes falling from the sky. In the end, in spite of all the controversies, perhaps Robert Langdon's line is poignant - if given a chance, would you rather destroy faith, or renew it?
The book and the movie have provided an opportunity for the faith to renew itself, to debunk the myths and theories (which were developed loosely to make the story flow of course), and to generally point the curious to the direction and light the faith wants to show. Otherwise, this Ron Howard movie makes a good summer popcorn flick, with the usual thrills and spills you'd come to expect with its superb production values. I can't say I was blown away by The Da Vinci Code - as is often the case, the book was far superior. I generally like Tom Hanks in almost all his roles, however I found that I had such a pre-conception of what Robert Langdon should be, that it took me about half an hour to get used to Hanks occupying this character. Once I settled into it though - it was a thoroughly enjoyable, occasionally slow moving thriller. Having read the book, I did have a knowledge of the various groups and factions involved - I'm not sure how someone who hasn't read the book will fair though.
The casting of the movie is surely one of it's stronger points - Paul Bettany is almost unrecognisable and plays the menacing single minded Silas to utter perfection. Sir Ian McKellan too, it totally fantastic, and really steals most scene's he appears in. He delivers some great one liners too - a real character actor playing a real character. Audrey Tautou is as we have come to expect, just lovely, and who else could have played Bezu Fache - Jean Reno was made for the role. As you'd expect from a Ron Howard Production, there is a good amount of cheese, especially towards the end. Langdon's 'Godspeed' caused me to awake in the night sweating!
I am a fairly harsh marker on the IMDb, so don't be put off by a 6 out of 10 - I did enjoy the movie, but my anticipation was so great with this film, that it could never live up to my expectation. First off, I'd just like to say that this movie is based on a fictional story. Why people need to express hatred over this because of their religious beliefs is so mind-boggling. No one is saying that Christianity is wrong, and that this story is right.
The book is classified as FICTION, not THEOLOGY! I should also note that my extremely religious Christian friends don't find this movie at all 'disturbing' or 'wrong'. The fact is that if you believe in something, nothing - including a movie, or story - should be able to deter you from that belief. If you feel threatened by this movie or any other story like this, you have serious problems regarding the foundations in which you believe. Now, to the review. I'm not here to give you any spoilers or story info, since that's all been done in the other reviews.
I have never read the book. I went to see the movie with my boyfriend, who read the book recently, and some friends (one of whom has read the book at least twice, and is so into the story that he has researched the symbols and meanings thoroughly and participates in Da Vinci Code games, forums, etc). So we actually had at least 3 differing perspectives here. I really loved the film. Having no story to compare it to, I didn't feel like I had to have read the book to understand the story. Nothing felt missing or incomplete.
I came out of the theater ready to add this list to my favorites, and wanting to read the book to compare it to the movie. My boyfriend also thought the film was great.
He said they did a great job adapting the book to film, and although not everything was there, they did the best that they could with the time they had, and he was impressed. My friend was so excited throughout the movie, he kept wanting to talk to us about it. He pointed out some things from the book that weren't there as well, but he understood it couldn't all be there. He also said that watching the film put a new perspective for him on the movie, since he imagined things looking and feeling different in his head. Seeing the movie allowed him to look at it differently, which made it exciting all over again. So, in summary, this seems to be a great movie no matter how deep you are into the Da Vinci Code. I normally wait for movies to go on DVD to rent, but this is one that I'd recommend you see in the theater.
The atmosphere makes it more fun and also you can talk about this with others after seeing it, instead of catching up to everyone later and possibly getting spoilers before you watch. Again, I highly recommend this movie! While he may not be the world's greatest writer, Dan Brown is an excellent storyteller, as judged by the millions of people who have read and enjoyed 'The Da Vinci Code' - me included. So I was keenly anticipating the release of this movie, partly because I enjoyed the book and also because a number of scenes were shot in Lincoln Cathedral, which is my birthplace. First the good points. Ron Howard has chosen some great locations, and produced a sumptuously photographed film, with a thought-provoking, well-paced storyline which sticks pretty faithfully to the book.
For me, Silas (Paul Bettany) is the strongest character in the film, graphically portrayed as a faithful servant of Opus Dei. His role is certainly one heck of a contrast with his recent leading role in Wimbledon! Unfortunately, for me those good points are outweighed by a wooden dialogue which poor old Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou have virtually no hope of making anything meaningful from. There is simply no chemistry between the 2 leading characters and some of their lines made me cringe because they were so embarrassingly weak. At no point did I feel involved in what should be a powerful and emotional story; it simply failed to engross me in any way. Bored is a strong word, but I was verging on it by the end.
In summary, disappointing. Okay, let me start off by saying that I absolutely loved the book - it had me hooked more than Harry Potter - and that's saying something (and no I'm not a 10 year old child)! After hearing about the critics' mainly negative views of the film, I approached it without high expectations, and for that, I was rewarded. What I got was an action-packed film that didn't let up until the dying minutes. This film is incredibly faithful to the book (I'm looking at you, Girl With a Pearl Earring!!) to the point where hardly anything is left out, and only minor things have been changed.
The visuals are stunning, the acting of Hanks and Tautou is great - and contrary to certain critics opinions - I felt the emotional connection between them. As always, McKlellan is fun to watch, effortlessly bringing Teabing to life, and Reno suffices as Fache. Bettany is fantastic as Silas. The musical score was as good as the visual look of the film - it paired perfectly with the storytelling. Overall, I left the cinema feeling satisfied, because a great book had been turned into a really good film. Approach this film with little expectation, and you will enjoy the ride.
Bravo Ron Howard, for doing such a good job.
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