video editing
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GarageBand and iMovie come to iPad, iPhone gets iMovie refresh
If you occupy the planet Earth, you're probably aware that last week saw the unveiling of the iPad 2. During said reveal, Steve Jobs made a couple of other, perhaps not as monumental, but no doubt notable announcements: specifically that the new slate will offer iMovie and GarageBand. Well, it looks like they've decided to let the cats, or apps, as it were, out of the bag a day early. That's right, Mac movie makers and rock star hopefuls can download them now for $5 a pop -- and, this just in, it looks like iMovie for iPhone's getting a simultaneous upgrade. If you've already started rockin' or docin', let us know what you think in the comments.
iMovie, GarageBand for iPad announced -- $4.99 on March 11th
In addition to the announcement of the iPad 2, Steve Jobs just unveiled iMovie for iPad, so all your tablet video editing dreams are about to come true. So what does this new version of iMovie have in store for you? A precision editor, multitrack audio recording, some brand new themes, AirPlay to Apple TV, and the ability to share videos in HD. It'll be available on March 11th (the same day as the new iPad) for $4.99. %Gallery-118179% Apple's also just outed GarageBand for iPad. The app will boast several touch instruments, guitar amps and effects, 8-track recording and mixing, over 250 loops, the ability to email your AAC files, and it's compatible with the Mac version. GarageBand for iPad will also run you $4.99 when it's released on March 11th. %Gallery-118190%
'Dramatic and ambitious' new Final Cut Pro to debut this spring
TechCrunch reports that Final Cut Pro, Apple's professional video editing suite, is set for a major update this spring. According to TechCrunch, a small group of prominent video editors were recently invited to Apple's campus to try out the upcoming revamp to Final Cut Pro and give their feedback on it. If their reports are anything to go by, the next Final Cut Pro is nothing short of amazing. One tester said the next version of FCP is "the biggest overhaul to Final Cut Pro since the original version was created over 10 years ago." Another calls the next Final Cut "dramatic and ambitious." Exact details on the changes from the current Final Cut Pro software are sparse, but that could be because, as TechCrunch notes, the next version of FCP encompasses "everything from low level architectural changes to a complete redesign of the user interface." A Final Cut Pro redesign shouldn't come as a total shock. Apple reportedly reorganized the Pro Software team in 2009 and promoted Randy Ubillos, who lead the ground-up redesign of iMovie '08, to its project manager position. Final Cut Pro was last updated in July of 2009, and after its release there were rumors that FCP engineers had left Apple. That caused many to fear that Apple had abandoned future development of the software. One user even emailed Steve Jobs in August 2010 about the future of Final Cut Pro. Jobs took the time to email the user a reply and stated that the "Next release will be awesome." "Awesome," "dramatic" and "ambitious." That's a lot to live up to. The next version of Final Cut Pro is reportedly set to be released this spring -- around the time of the annual National Association of Broadcasters conference, according to TechCrunch.
Google demos Android Movie Studio for Honeycomb
Google won't let anyone take pictures during its MWC 2011 keynote, so you'll just have to trust us when we say Eric Schmidt just demoed a new video editing application called Movie Studio for Honeycomb tablets. The app was built from the ground up for tablet devices, and it features everything you'd expect: a timeline-style editor, picture effects, soundtrack and audio support, and of course, HD support with uploads to YouTube. Unfortunately we don't know much else about it, but we'll be digging for more details, so stay tuned. Update: We snuck a picture! You can see the timeline and the playback controls -- it looks really nice, don't you think?
Splice iPhone video editor does iMovie tricks for free (video)
We've no real qualms with iMovie for iOS -- for a phone-based editor, it's fairly impressive. But of course, it does cost money to own, and for some, that's a major issue. Thankfully for those uninterested in ever spending a dime in the App Store, there's Splice. This one's been around for a few months, but the latest version (2.1.11) just happened to land a few days ago. The folks over at Lifehacker have taken it for a spin on the iPhone 4, and for a completely gratis video editor, it certainly looks like a worthwhile download. There's an ad-free version available for $1.99, and even that's less damaging to your finances than Apple's first-party solution. Hit play below to see what's in store.
VCR head gets Frankenstiened into a beefy momentum scroll wheel
We've seen a fair share of VCR hacking in our day, but this momentum scroll wheel built from an old VCR head by Instructables community member Osgeld sets a new bar for jerry-rigging dead technology. Apparently the project arose from a desire to find a 21st century-approved use for the circular part that was gathering dust after being stripped from a spare Sony VHS player. The result is a bulky, yet useful, scroll wheel that can easily be set into motion and sustained via its own inertia to keep spinning for long periods. That feature could prove useful to anyone saddled with a mountain of video editing work, or even you lazy folk just hoping to flick less while reading the web. Unfortunately, a quick glance at Osgeld's DIY tool and part lists indicate you'll need to do quite a bit more than ransack a tape player to get this job done right. But then, when do the good things in life ever come easy?
New Apple patent features video editing innovation and simplification
Apple is already pretty tight with the film production industry. Final Cut Pro has a big chunk of the high-end editing business, and Apple continues innovating to keep their spot secure. A 2007 survey showed that Final Cut Pro had 49 percent of the professional editing market. A new patent granted to Apple, number 7,827,489, describes a system to make it easier for filmmakers to edit to tape. Most editing today is non-linear, with the video and audio on a hard disk that allows random access. Apple proposes that the media clips get transferred to a sequential medium (tape) for storage. Apple seems to see this as both an easy distribution method and a way to keep a secure permanent record of all the edit clips and have this done within a video editor. The system Apple describes has icons that represent a function to be saved to the storage device. Apple thinks this method is viable now because of the availability of faster processors. Lots of patents never get very far and never appear as products, but it's always interesting to get some insight into what Apple is thinking and what may turn up on either the professional or consumer side. How busy is Apple at applying for and getting patents? On November 2, Apple was granted 14!
Elgato debuts Turbo.264 HD Software Edition, cuts price of hardware edition
Here at Engadget HQ, there's hardly a more overused piece of equipment than Elgato's (Mac only) Turbo.264 HD -- in our experience, it chews through bloated video files at a breakneck pace, leaving us with shrunken versions of CES hands-on and the like without any noticeable degradation in quality. Now, that same functionality is being introduced sans an easy-to-forget USB dongle as the Turbo.264 HD Software Edition. For all intents and purposes, the SE version does the exact same thing as the original, albeit at a presumably slower pace. 'Course, it'll still convert videos for use on portable devices (or just shrink the files sizes for easier archiving) far quicker than whatever method you're using now, and the $49.95 price tag is certainly a bit easier to swallow. Oh, and speaking of MSRPs -- Elgato just hacked $50 from the price of the hardware-accelerated version, leaving it at a delectable $99.95. Mmm, files. Delicious.
iMovie hits iTunes App Store, only for iPhone 4 (update)
You may not have an iPhone 4 yet -- unless you lucked out on delivery, you're probably still waiting in line -- but if you did receive Cupertino's latest opinion polarizing handset, you might have noticed it doesn't come with a tool to edit all the 720p footage of jealous friends that you just shot. Thankfully that can be remedied with a portrait of President Lincoln, as iMovie for iPhone just went live -- head on over to the App Store and drop your $4.99. Update: Oddly enough, we're not actually seeing iMovie in the App Store on our iPhone 4 -- only in the desktop client. [Thanks, Joel]
YouTube Editor enables cloud-based combining of clips, trimming of masterpieces
Too many YouTube clips in your library? Not enough cheddar to get a decent piece of video editing software on your PC? Fret not, as the World's Greatest Time Waster has just rolled out a new web-based Video Editor that enables users to combine clips, trim segments, add audio and then preview the results before finalizing. Hey, Numa Numa kid -- get on those mashups, pronto!
Nokia demonstrates N8 video editing capabilities
Nokia's already taken us on a guided tour through quite a few of the N8's features, but it's now back with another video to highlight a couple of particularly standout ones -- namely, the phone's photo and video capabilities. Of the two, the video editor seems to be the most impressive -- it'll let you add both photos and videos to a storyboard, trim clips, and add and customize titles and transitions, to name a few features, and do so with what seems to be a relatively simple to use interface. You'll also of course be able to take advantage of the N8's support for USB On-The-Go, which will let you pull photos and videos off of any USB drive if you need to edit video in a pinch. Head on past the break for the complete video demonstration. [Thanks, Pipera]
Making vacation videos on your iPad with ReelDirector 3.0
If you're still on vacation and reading this on your iPad, it's time to get moving on editing those trip videos you've been shooting over the last four days. You know, all that video of the kids at the beach that you took with your AVCHD camcorder and iPhone. What? You don't have your Mac with you? No problem -- just install the new Nexvio ReelDirector 3.0 (US$7.99) app on your iPad and get to work. The updated version of ReelDirector is free to owners of previous editions and adds iPad compatibility to the mix. If you already own ReelDirector for iPhone, load it on your iPad as well at no extra cost. Nexvio added a demo project to help newbies get familiar with the app, and there are more powerful goodies. It's possible to pan, zoom, and rotate videos, mix videos of different resolutions and orientations into a single project, and add text overlays to any clip. Want to change the fonts for the title or subtitles? No problem. Nexvio has also removed limitations on the number of photos in a single movie project, so creating a fancy slide show of vacation photos is a piece of cake as well. ReelDirector 3.0 is the missing "iMovie for iPad," so if your summer trip plans include shooting a lot of video, edit your work on the go with ReelDirector on your iPad. A full review of ReelDirector 3.0 is forthcoming.
Final Cut Studio won't be dumbed down
On Tuesday, Appleinsider wrote that Apple's Final Cut team may refocus the application suite's focus from its current professional target to a more "prosumer" type of customer. Since then, many avid Final Cut Studio users have lamented the possibility of an iMovie 8-style "dumbing down" of the video editing suite, fearing that Apple's catering to "prosumer" users would mean excising the "pro" from Final Cut Pro. Apple spokesman Bill Evans told CNET that's not going to happen. He stresses Apple's commitment to its professional video editor customers and says, "The next version of Final Cut is going to be awesome, and our pro customers are going to love it." This echoes remarks from a Steve Jobs e-mail last month, where he assured a concerned Final Cut Pro user that people removed from the Final Cut team "were in support, not engineering." "Next release will be awesome," Jobs said. It may be the case that Apple is focusing on making Final Cut Express more user-friendly for those used to the simpler interface of iMovie, while still maintaining the features professionals have demanded of Final Cut Studio. Hopefully we should know one way or the other soon; Final Cut Studio's last update was July 23 of last year.
ReelDirector can spiff up your holiday iPhone videos
A few years ago getting video on a cellphone would have seemed out of the question. Now you can not only shoot passable videos with your iPhone 3GS, you can even edit them in style. What better way to capture those holiday moments without dragging around a lot of equipment? ReelDirector [iTunes link] has updated the popular iPhone editor to version 2. The U.S. $7.99 app from Nexvio now allows you to do multi-track sound editing and mixing, use stills in addition to video and do a Ken Burns effect. You can also trim and split imported clips. Owners of the older version can update to version 2 for free. Other features include the ability to change the length of opening and closing titles, and automatic flip of clips that came in upside down. I kind of marvel that you can do this all in a phone, but you can and it works pretty well. When you are done you can email your finished video (there are limits to the size of videos you can mail) or just put in in your camera roll and export it later. There are still some weaknesses to the app. The biggest is an inability to use iTunes music for background sound. Apple does not allow this on the iPhone, but they do allow it in iMovie on the Mac. Go figure. You can record sounds live of course, and always hold the iPhone up to a speaker to get some music, but that is a pretty low-tech way to get that done. The Ken Burns effect is limited to one simple zoom-in. You also can't title projects in the middle, only at the beginning and the end. Documentation is pretty slim, and the linked video of instructions is for version 1, not version 2. Having said all that, ReelDirector is a remarkable app. No, it's not Final Cut Pro, but it runs on a dang phone! The developers are very responsive to customer suggestions, and this update added a lot of asked-for features. If you want to get those pictures of Uncle George eating his turkey dinner edited and sent out before dessert is served -- and without leaving the table -- you can do it. What a world.
First Look: video editing on your iPhone with Nexvio ReelDirector
With the introduction of the iPhone 3GS back in June of this year, iPhone lovers finally got what a lot of other smartphones already had -- video recording capabilities. A little over a week later, I wrote a post titled "How to make iPhone videos sparkle with iMovie." At the time I remember thinking, "Wouldn't it be great if I could do editing on the iPhone instead of having to do it on my Mac?" Somebody at Nexvio was obviously thinking the same thing, and the company has introduced ReelDirector [US$7.99, iTunes Link], a video editing app for iPhone. One reviewer noted that "it's not Final Cut Pro," but make no mistake -- ReelDirector is a powerful, easy-to-use, and fun iPhone app for creating videos with titles and effects. It's perfect for putting together on-the-spot vacation videos to send to friends and relatives, making quick video podcasts, and teaching kids (or yourself) the basics of video editing.
For the first time, burn a Blu-ray directly within Final Cut Pro 7
Apple might not be ready to add Blu-ray to its computers yet, but prosumers can finally burn their creations directly to the discs (with a 3rd party drive of course) from Final Cut Pro 7. Otherwise, there's also the alternative of burning that HD footage you couldn't bear to squish onto YouTube to a DVD in the AVCHD format, but Macworld notes that beyond a few templates with FCP itself, DVD Studio Pro doesn't support Blu-ray authoring, encoding or burning at all. Of course, video editors probably have one or two other features to concern themselves with so check out the full review, but we'll be busy divining the exact date that "bag of hurt" shows up packed into the next Macbook.
Is this what's in the next iPhone update?
The iPhone Blog is reporting what's purported to be in the next, and hopefully imminent iPhone update to version 3.1. As we've reported, developers were seeded with the beta Tuesday.Here's the list: Voice Control now works over Bluetooth Updated AT&T profile to 4.2 (MMS is now enabled) Improvements to OpenGL and Quartz. iPhone vibrates when moving icons Non-destructive video editing means trimming a clip no longer saves over the original video but gives you the option to "Save as copy..." APIs to allow third party apps to access videos and edit them. Updated modem firmware to 5.08.01 If true, it will put smiles on a lot of iPhone owners' faces. The omission of Bluetooth voice control seemed downright silly. Losing your original video after an edit seemed pretty counter-intuitive as well. It also appears MMS will appear in the update, but that only matters if AT&T turns it on.No firm dates for the update of course, but if the above is accurate it will be a good one.Thanks Brad for the tip
Ask Engadget HD: Best HDTV & secondary video editing monitor for my Macbook Pro?
This week we'll be appealing to all the prosumers out there, one of your own is looking for some assistance, needing a HDTV not just for play, but also for work. We've schooled on the differences between monitors & HDTVs before, and picked out 40-inch+ models with PC inputs, but see what you can do for John's specific requirements: "My situation is this: I would like to combine my purchase of a new HD television as both an entertainment unit and a secondary monitor for my computer. I am a freelance video editor, shoot in HD (1080), and use a Macbook Pro 15" (2.4 ghz). I see 32" model as the right size/price range, and I will be sitting between 2-3 feet away from the screen when editing. Given all this context, my questions are these: 1. What features should I weigh most? (refresh rate, mhz, brand) 2. Given this screen size/viewing distance, does the 720p/1080p difference matter much? I will begin seriously shopping around later this year, but would like some background knowledge before I start talking with sales reps." Any of you making high definition movies instead of just watching them? Let us, and John, know what you look for in a display in the comments. Got a burning question that you'd love to toss out for Engadget HD (or its readers) to take a look at? Tired of Google's blank stares when you ask for real-world experiences? Hit us up at ask at engadgethd dawt com and keep an eye on this space -- your inquiry could be next.
VPlay brings video mixing to Surface, seriously improves Microsoft's office parties
For most people, there is only one name that matters in the world of Microsoft Surface / "rave" integration. And that name? Al Roker. But that hasn't stopped the company from continuing to develop new and innovative ways to show off its super-sized touchscreen device in the milieu of clubland. VPlay, for instance, is a live video mixing tool that allows one to display video clips and live images, manipulate effects, and concoct some pretty complex signal paths with your bare hands. Interested in giving this one a spin? No word yet on a commercial release, but do make sure you peep the video after the break.
Oh no! Laptop Hunter ads return
Microsoft keeps trying, and trying, and trying. The new Laptop Hunter ad [YouTube link] features Sheila, who wants to do some video editing. She has $2000US to spend. Sounds like a natural for a MacBook Pro, eh? Nope. She settles for an HP HDX 16t. She passes on the Mac because it has only 2 GB of RAM, while the HP has 4 GB of DDR2 (slower) RAM. She gets a screen that maxes out with a video resolution of 1366x768, while the MacBook Pro has 1440x900. Worse yet, she will get Windows Movie Maker instead of iMovie, and she can never run Final Cut Pro or Express, which she may want if she goes professional or semi-professional. Of course, the Microsoft ads are pushing price, not features and quality, and there is some talk that Apple, seeing the recession take hold, is increasingly interested in some lower priced -- but hopefully not lower quality -- products to sell. While there are certainly millions of buyers for whom a Windows PC would be a reasonable choice of computer, it's worth noting the long-standing mild irony that Crispin Porter & Bogusky, the ad agency that created this campaign for Microsoft, is (like the majority of advertising agencies) pretty heavily invested in Macs. Chances are, for this ad, the video editing that Sheila aspires to do was completed on a Mac. If you have an idle moment, check out this profile of the agency on the web and click on the office shots. I especially like the shot of Alex Bogusky's desk with two MacBook Pros sitting there. Different strokes for different folks.
