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Pinnacle reveals ShowCenter 250HD media receiver
As the flood of media receivers continue to pour out, we've noticed a new one from Pinnacle Systems that comes with 802.11b/g WiFi built-in, hearts Macs and PCs alike (according to the PR, at least) and handles HD streaming like it's its job. The ShowCenter 250HD is a self-proclaimed "plug-and-play digital media adapter" that includes an Ethernet jack, UPnP support and the ability to play nice with HD WMV, DivX HD or MPEG2 video formats. Additionally, this unit understands AVI, XviD, MP3, WMA and PCM WAV files (among others), and includes a myriad ports including USB 2.0, composite / S-Video / component video outputs, a pair of stereo audio outs and coaxial / optical digital audio jacks. If you just noticed a hint of drool rolling down the left side of your mouth, casually wipe it up and bust out your credit card, as this one will only run you $199.99 at a number of fine e-tailers.[Via Uber-Review]
Pinnacle unveils USB 2.0 Video Capture for Mac
Those looking for a simplified way to convert home videos and other recorded content to formats palatable to your iPod, iPhone or Apple TV need look no further than Pinnacle Systems' Video Capture for Mac. The USB 2.0-based device features your basic composite, S-Video and stereo inputs, touts hardware video encoding and onboard compression (MPEG-4), and was designed to operate in OS X 10.4 or later. The box should be available in stores next month for a respectable $99.99.[Via Electronista]
Avid2FCP: making the switch to Apple's Final Cut Pro
Avid has been the standard, and long-established, non-linear editing software of choice in the film industry until Apple's Final Cut Pro began to challenge its dominance, and now many Avid editors are making "the switch" to FCP as it has picked up the pace. With that, the "Avid versus Final Cut Pro" debate has always reared its head wherever editors gather, on websites, forums, etc., but now, Avid2FCP, an official resource has launched that hopes to ease the user transition from Avid to Apple's own video editing application.Avid2FCP is run by a group of experienced editors who hope to shared their "Switcher Stories", and other beneficial resources and guides for editors from Avid backgrounds that now work with Final Cut Pro. Despite the name of the site, it is not intended to be a jab at Avid, but instead make easier the shift to FCP, in a friendly and responsible fashion. There is some interesting content up now, and I expect that this site has the potential to grow into a very valuable resource for all video editors.
Macs join the fight in '300'
With a shocking and awesome $70+ million in weekend box office, the film adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel 300 has shot (and hacked, and stabbed) its way to the 3rd best R-rated opening and the all-time best March opening in US film history. Way to go, Spartans.As noted on ballergoods.com and also at IMDB, the Mac played a big role in bringing 300 to the screen, with chunks of editing done in Final Cut and 2D graphics created in Shake. In fact, the IMDB article notes that while much of the production was on Avid systems (platform unspecified) and Linux workstations (presumably for Maya and other tools), "the filmmakers prefer Macintosh." Like we always say, there is no substitute.
Pinnacle rolls out PCTV To Go placeshifting box, bundles WiFi
If you're scouting the perfect placeshifting device to cure those television blues while stuck at your TV-less grandmother's house for Thanksgiving, the Slingbox might not be the obvious choice anymore. Granted, it'll probably be awhile before the current king is dethroned, Pinnacle is giving the shifting game its best shot with the PCTV To Go. Sporting built-in WiFi / Windows MCE support, this content liaison works essentially like any other timeshifting device out there, and channels MPEG4 video to wherever you're logged in (or MPEG2 if connected locally). It also allows full control over your attached DVR, giving you the opportunity to schedule a recording for that oh-so-critical rerun of Nick Arcade, Season One. It reportedly works seamlessly with your home entertainment system, acting as a pass-through device that won't complicate things when wiring it up, but there's no word on whether it supports HD signals. The Pinnacle PCTV To Go should be available just before Turkey Day for a very competitive $249.99.Update: Thanks to an eagle-eyed reader who prefers to remain anonymous (apparently Pinnacle's got some leg breakers on its payroll) we now know that this is little more than a rebranded HAVA box from Snappy -- not that there's anything wrong with that, just sayin'.[Via PVRWire]
Dutch pull 10% of their voting machines, more to come?
While the US struggles to work out the say, kinks with its own flavor of voting machines, the Dutch just decided to partially chuck some of theirs after the Dutch intelligence service (AIVD) discovered just how vulnerable they are. The 1,187 or so machines to be pulled are all manufactured by Sdu and only make up 10% of the machines used across the Netherlands. Just how insecure are they? Well, the Sdu e-voting machines not only leak radiation like a rogue state, but they also transfer cast ballots with the help of a built-in GPRS modem -- all this makes them easily hackable from up to 30-meters away. The 34 affected municipalities, including Amsterdam, can now install themselves some spankin' new chess playin' voting machines from Nedap which the remaining 90% of the Dutch population will already be bellied-up to during the November 22, general election. Thing is, they too, are currently under intense scrutiny due to their own form of "spurious emissions" amongst other security concerns. Uh, paper and pencil anyone?[Via The Register]
DIRECTV installs $1 million Avid MediaStream system
DIRECTV might not have all the HD options that viewers want now, but they are sure looking towards the future by spending some fat cash. One million dollars went to install an Avid MediaStream system that should in the end give viewers more high-def services but is currently being used for SD operations. Said system includes a massive amount of 64 decoder channels and more then 25TB of dedicated storage on a RAID array. Hopefully this is part of a bigger picture that includes at least trying to catch up to Dish Network's high-def offerings.
Video editing: Mac or PC?
Our pals over at DV Guru (a sister blog) have posed one of the endearing questions in the video editing industry to their readers, which I thought might be fitting for TUAW as well: video editing - Mac or PC? For the longest time, video editing on a PC with Avid software has been the reigning king, but Apple's Final Cut Pro seems to be making its own fair share of waves in the industry. I also know there are plenty of other packages out there, as I used to have an editing job in which I sold my soul worked on Sony's Vegas software - not a shining moment in my career, let me tell you.But what do you, TUAW readers, think about the state of video editing? Are you working on premium Avid setups, Final Cut Pro and a G5 or Microsoft's good ol' fashioned Windows Movie Maker? Let's hear it.
Digidesign Releases ProTools HD Update for Tiger
Digidesign has released Pro Tools TDM 6.9.2 update, which brings Tiger support to the Pro Tools 6.9 feature set.
