Drastic Announces Support for Bright Systems New BrightClip Intelligent Data Recording Technology

Toronto, April 2008

Drastic DDR Customers To Benefit Through Elimination of Time-Consuming Disk Optimization Tasks

Las Vegas, NV, USA, April 14, 2008, www.4bright.com: Bright Systems, Inc., developer of disk recording and data infrastructure technology, has announced that Drastic Technologies^®, a leading developer of capture and delivery products for digital media, has joined the growing list of software developers that are supporting Bright's new BrightClip intelligent data recording technology. BrightClip is being shown for the first time at NAB 2008 (Bright booth #SL14405). Other companies supporting BrightClip include da Vinci Systems, ARRI Film & TV and Thomson Grass Valley.

BrightClip represents a major new technology that will bring cost savings to digital postproduction workflows by providing superior disk recording and playback of media within the digital postproduction environment by overcoming the need for disk optimization. Drastic Technologies^®, based in Toronto, Canada, will integrate BrightClip with its upcoming Version 4 software, initially with its Drastic Titan and VVW Series™ digital disk recorders. All Drastic products will ship with BrightClip from summer 2008.

"We see BrightClip as the first sensible solution to the problem of media becoming randomized as it is moved between applications in a typical multi-project, multi-artist post facility," said James Brooks, development manager, Drastic Technologies^®. "No other system guarantees that file sequences and media streams are laid down in the most optimal pattern, or that multiple writers will not cause data to become interleaved, causing systems to slow down and stop working efficiently."

He continued: "We need recorded media to be instantly accessible to other clients. There is no time for copying media from local storage to shared storage, and we need multiple writers to be able to write at the same time. Before BrightClip, systems had to be 'kludged' together with multiple storage pools and paper access systems“ and a lot of waiting. With BrightClip, everything can run into the system as fast as the operators can ingest it."

Disk optimization is a time-consuming task that arises from the process of moving media from one postproduction or DI system to another. As it is received, it is laid out randomly and therefore illogically on the new host application's disks. Due to this random use of disk space, disk optimization must take place to avoid errors in processing, and ultimately, a complete systems failure. By integrating BrightClip technology into digital postproduction and DI systems, manufacturers know that when their equipment receives media, it will always be laid out intelligently, thus avoiding the need for users to perform disk optimization.

"We are delighted that Drastic is adopting the BrightClip technology", said Antony Harris, CEO, Bright Systems. "Our BrightDrive media recording system and Drastic's DDRs already provide some of the world's leading DI and digital post facilities with tightly integrated and powerful workflows. By adopting BrightClip, system manufacturers can be confident that customers will benefit from advanced, intelligent data recording technology that will significantly contribute to minimizing project turn-around times and maximizing workflow efficiencies."

BrightClip is configurable either directly through API, or indirectly through an administrative interface. With the API, an application developer has full access to all recording functionality within their application. Alternatively, if an application is not BrightClip-enabled, an administrator can set up or script tasks to create a BrightClip. BrightClip files appear as normal alongside regular project and other files, making their use entirely transparent.

Drastic Technologies^® Releases MediaNXS™ Complete Digital I/O Solution

Toronto, April 4, 2008

Today Drastic Technologies^®, www.drastictech.com, developer of digital disk recorders and related software, announced the release of MediaNXS™ software for digital capture, control, playback, monitoring, file conversion and output on AJA and Bluefish video boards.

MediaNXS™ includes full control over external VTRs for multi-reel batch pull-ins and EDL/time line based laybacks. For media already digitized, file transcoding, import and export allows for compatibility with industry standard file types and applications. Secondary record modes including frame capture, trigger and time-of-day capture round out its digital inputs. An editable time line/EDL provides maximum flexibility in cutting together multiple files to VTR or media file deliverables. An integrated signal test and measurement tool makes sure all media, both in and out of the software, is always exactly as expected. For review, MediaNXS™ software may also be run without a dedicated video card, by using the VGA display.

"With MediaNXS™ we can now provide a simple, yet powerful solution for media creation and delivery," says James Brooks, Manager, DDR Systems. "It has all of the most important features for media capture and import, display, sequencing and output. MediaNXS™ delivers the right tools at an extremely attractive price point."

Support for MXF, MOV, AVI, WMV, TIFF, TGA, YUV, CIN, DPX includes direct capture and playback, transcoding on import and single/batch transcoding on export. MediaNXS™ will create files compatible with all major editing and effects software packages. Uncompressed and compressed SD, HD and 2K formats are all included in the same version with no upgrade or licensing required provided the system hardware is capable.
MediaNXS controls external VTRs for pull-ins directly from the VTR to the file type required. Also, media may be laid back to the VTR from the time line. Project files maintain custom media lists, file type and quality settings which can be saved and loaded as needed.

MediaNXS™ does not support operation under control, as Drastic's DDRs do. However, multiple MediaNXS™ systems may be run under optional SyncControl™, which provides frame accurate synchronized on set capture.

There is a demo download for MediaNXS™ available on the Drastic website, limited only by a watermark, to allow customers to try-before-they-buy.

Drastic Releases New DDR Series – Dragon, Griffin and Typhon

Toronto, April 2007 Drastic Technologies^® Releases the “New Titans” Series DDRs – the Dragon, Griffin and Typhon. These powerful yet sophisticated images from ages past inform Drastic’s latest creations. Representing strength, tradition, vision and wisdom, Drastic is proud to offer three targeted configurations each having superior and wide-ranging powers for their class. These new systems address the growing need for a greater range of proven digital media solutions possessing superior niche capabilities.

A New Age of Heroes - Drastic’s stable of solutions for digital media capture, control, conversion and output have been increased by the addition of the “New Titans” Series DDRs. This new series consists of the following: the Dragon, a single channel internal storage compressed DDR, the Griffin, a more powerful internal/external storage model with greater media flexibility, and the Typhon, a dual channel Dual Link SD/HD/2K model with the greatest range of format support and capabilities. Each system is designed to be “heroic” in its class, providing exactly the toolset needed while encompassing a satisfying range of applications within that class.

The Dragon The Dragon is the low cost workhorse of the Drastic line. Dragon provides high end DDR features on compressed, or 8 bit uncompressed, file formats. Perfect for editing, ingest and output as well as compressed interface to encoding equipment from Sony, Sonic, Toshiba or Thomson. Network, HTTP, 422 serial, Odetics and VDCP control make this the most flexible server in its class.

The Griffin The Griffin is a cost effective HD and SD digital intermediate I/O ready to connect your SAN to your traditional post hardware. Full RS-422 VTR emulation for editors and colorists, and full VTR control for batch tape transfers. A wide range of direct formats provide conversion support for the digital work flow on the SAN or network. Multi level network remote control lets your whole facility access the Griffin from their workstation, maximizing the work load for each server.

The Typhon With two completely independent dual link channels in just a 3 Rack Unit, the Typhon is the most powerful DDR available on the market. Each channel is fully capable of replacing a SR level VTR, digital disk recorder or broadcast server, while sharing media without the cost of SAN software and hardware. Material recorded on one channel is available on the other seconds after it is recorded, with 16 channels of audio, all its VITC, LTC, Key code, Ink code and over 100 other metadata elements. The Typhon is the ultimate DDR for bread and butter post processes from 2K telecine and audio sync to both ends of the digital intermediate work flow.

James Brooks, Development Manager DDR Technologies, remarks: “Our flexibility is the key to our continued success in the production/ post-production and asset management marketplace. The modular nature of our software allows us to take real-world feedback from our valued clients and implement solutions that exactly meet their needs."

”Drastic Technologies Ltd, founded in 1991, is a major industry provider of products for digital media capture, control, conversion and delivery. These products are sold as software only applications or as part of a complete DDR solution built and certified by Drastic. Drastic’s head office is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Drastic Technologies Ltd has resellers and distributors operating in the USA, Canada, Europe, Australia, and Asia.

Drastic Technologies^® and DVC at HFF Potsdam – A Success Story

Potsdam-Babelsberg March 2007 DVC, Drastic Technologies^®’ Master Distributor in Europe, in conjunction with HFF Potsdam and Drastic Technologies^® oversaw installation of major digital dailies systems at HFF Potsdam. This included the addition of three new ClipRecorder Xtreme DVI systems from DVC with specially modified versions of QuickClipXO from Drastic Technologies^® to allow direct viewing of high resolution content without conversion or bandwidth delays. In conjunction with HFF, Drastic Technologies^® applied their development expertise to integrate existing web controller components into an appealing GUI which provides enhanced control and flexibility for an intuitive user experience.

Full Resolution Dailies Viewing DVC’s ClipRecorder featuring Drastic Technologies^®’ QuickClip Server™ software, plays full resolution DPX, TIFF, QuickTime, WMV-HD, SGI, BMP, Cineon log and MPEG-TS formats at Film, D-Cinema and HDTV formats, at full frame rate and with up to 6 channels of audio. This allows operators to view high end formats without the limitations of proxy encoding, low resolution lack of visual information or compression artifacts.

Web-based Clip Loading and Administration Drastic specially developed a new web GUI to allow user to remotely select clips from their project folders, and load them into the systems for playback.

Document Posted on Website To announce this achievement, HFF has released the document “Digital Daily Systems at HFF Potsdam” touting the success of the new workflow and the efficient new solution for a growing industry need. To see the English text of this PDF, please use the following link: HFF-Potsdam DVC Digital Dailies.pdf

James Brooks, Development Manager DDR Technologies, remarks: “Our flexibility is the key to our continued success in the production/ post-production and asset management marketplace. The modular nature of our software allows us to take real-world feedback from our valued clients and implement solutions that exactly meet their needs.

”Drastic Technologies^® Ltd, founded in 1991, is a major industry provider of products for digital media capture, control, conversion and delivery. These products are sold as software only applications or as part of a complete DDR solution built and certified by Drastic. Drastic’s head office is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Drastic Technologies Ltd has resellers and distributors operating in the USA, Canada, Europe, Australia, and Asia.

Drastic Technologies^® at IBC: Up- and Down-conversion, New format support, QuickClip GUI Update
IBC September 2006 Amsterdam

DVC, Drastic Technologies^®’ Master Distributor in Europe, will be using their new ClipRecorderXTrem 2k in its booth (#6.104) in order to demonstrate the impressive array of improvements to Drastic’s suite of DDR technology and media conversion solutions. These include the addition of new format support and an update of the QuickClip™ GUI which encompasses new features and streamlines several tasks. SD<->HD up- and down-conversion capabilities have been implemented, support for several compressed formats has been added to the mostly uncompressed product line, and 2K playback support has been increased.

Up- and Down-conversions

QuickClip™ now allows the user to set image output to automatically up- or down-convert (where needed) to SD, HD or a combination thereof, to maintain optimum output for their monitoring or display environment. Material originated in SD or HD may be played, with settings to either maintain original resolution, or downconvert everything to SD (NTSC or PAL based on frame rate), or maintain an HD signal throughput, favoring either 720 or 1080 for any SD upconversions. Upconversions are displayed in Anamorphic, Pillarbox 4x3, Zoom 14x9, Zoom Letterbox or Zoom Wide formats. Downconversions are displayed in Letterbox, Crop or Anamorphic formats.

New Formats

2k @ 24/25 Center Cut DPX files in the rasters 2048x1556 /1536 @ 25/ 24/ 23.98/ 25psf/ 24psf/ 23.98psf are displayed in realtime via VGA/DVI output and also played as a center cut 1920x1080 at same frame rate to the HD-SDI output (where present) in single or dual link mode. The user may then view these high resolution files either on a QuickClip system with no video hardware (via VGA/ DVI), or via HD-SDI.

Real time D-10 IMX playback D-10 IMX playback is now supported for SD (PAL/NTSC) from FinalCut Pro MOV, Sony XDCAM MXF and Avid MXF. This provides a bridge to XDCAM, where the user may fully exploit the media asset-related benefits of metadata and essence in workflow.

Compressed Formats Support Playback of the following compressed formats is now supported: WMV HD, MXF XDCAM HD, MOV HDV, MPEG-2.

GUI Update

QuickClipXO Now added are settings for the analog connectivity on specific DDR products. HD Analog Output type may be set to Component SMPTE Y R-Y B-Y, RGB or XVid RGB for HD on VGA displays. The SD Analog Output type may be set to Composite, Component SMPTE Y R-Y B-Y or RGB. The new GUI has added the up/down converter setup for HD/SD-SDI & analog inputs and outputs, where applicable to hardware configuration.

QuickClip™ Web Controller - the new QuickClip™ web controller GUI has been streamlined to make capture and playback operations more intuitive and to provide pertinent real time data crucial to system operation.

James Brooks, Development Manager DDR Technologies, remarks: “Our flexibility is the key to our continued success in the production/ post-production and asset management marketplace. The modular nature of our software allows us to take real-world feedback from our valued clients and implement solutions that exactly meet their needs.”

Drastic Technologies^® Ltd, founded in 1991, is a major industry provider of products for digital media capture, control, conversion and delivery. These products are sold as software only applications or as part of a complete DDR solution built and certified by Drastic. Drastic’s head office is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Drastic Technologies Ltd has resellers and distributors operating in the USA, Canada, Europe, Australia, and Asia.

For more information visit www.drastictech.com.

Drastic Adds Sony XDCAM Support to MediaReactor Software

Toronto, ON. Sept 2, 2005 - Drastic Technologies^® today announced the addition of an important new format for its MediaReactor™ family of transcoding solutions. MediaReactor™ now offers read/write support for the Sony XDCAM’s MXF file format.

“Facilities with equipment not compatible with Sony XDCAM can use this new capability in MediaReactor™ software to fully integrate Sony XDCAM support in a very cost effective manner,” says David Millar, Development Manager MediaReactor™.

Sony’s XDCAM family includes a range of cameras and decks which incorporate the latest in optical disk recording technology. A key feature of the XDCAM systems is their interoperability with IT equipment and now with MediaReactor™ you can use this connection to transform your XDCAM media into a wide range of A/V formats. Using MediaReactor’s ability to encode XDCAM file format you can now move your media on to Sony optical disk equipment as well as other manufacturer’s systems which support the XDCAM format.

MediaReactor™ is a conversion utility for digital media files. Some of the formats it supports include Avid’s OMF, Cineon/DPX, MPEG, DV, QuickTime, AVI, Windows Media, RealVideo and now Sony XDCAM.

Drastic Technologies^® a leading edge developer of digital video solutions. Drastic products include standalone software, SDKs, and digital disk recorders for clip control, VTR emulation, external device control, digital media playback and file conversion.

For more information visit www.drastictech.com

Drastic Announces Support for Bright Systems New BrightClip Intelligent Data Recording Technology (NAB 2008)

Drastic Technologies^® Releases MediaNXS Complete Digital I/O Solution (April 2008)

Drastic Releases New DDR Series Dragon, Griffin and Typhon (April, 2007)

Drastic Technologies^® and DVC at HFF Potsdam A Success Story (March, 2007)

Drastic Technologies^® at IBC: Up and Down Conversion, New format support (Sept 2, 2006)

Drastic Technologies^® Adds Sony XDCAM Support to MediaReactor (Sept 2, 2005)

Drastic Technologies^® certifies Ciprico storage for Drastic's DDRs (April 13, 2005)