Unmatched HD Visual Quality and Editing Performance

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia           

Redefining cross-platform collaborative workflows....

• CineForm QT files are compatible on both Windows and MacOS (just move files back and forth)

• Applications compatibility: Adobe CS3; Apple Final Cut Pro, Motion; Media 100; Pomfort Silverstack (others coming)

• SD → HDV → HD → 2K → 4K

• Chroma: 4:2:2 → 4:4:4 → 4:4:4:4 → CineForm RAW*

• Precision up to 12-bit CineForm 444 (RGB)

• Global active metadata controls (ONM/OFF) for CineForm RAW

• HDLink format conversion utilities - inverse telecine, spatial resampling, deinterlacing, image flip, speed change, etc

• Delivering the industry's best visual fidelity.  Read more....

• Both Windows and MacOS serial numbers with each purchase

• Download free Neo Player for sharing files or projects with others

• What to purchase? Neo HD/2K or Prospect HD/2K

• Special Upgrade pricing for existing customers

* CineForm RAW is not yet in production for MacOS - it will be available in the next few weeks

CineForm Mac Codec Links

          Description
          Specs and System Requirements
          CineForm Product Selector Guide
          Cross Platform (Windows/Mac OS) Notes
          Neo Player for Windows/Mac
          Special Purchase Promotion - 2 serial numbers
          Update / Upgrade Policy
          Mac Codec Update Log (Last update 2/1/08 - v1.40 Build 47)
          Tech Notes for CineForm Mac workflow
 

Other Relevant Links

          Read Mac codec press release
          Read FAQ
          CineForm RAW
          Visual Quality Analyses
          Filmmaker Workflow Tutorial
          Learn more: White papers and industry resources

The CineForm Intermediate codec for MacOS offers users of Intel-based Macintoshes the same unmatched visual fidelity and online compressed Digital Intermediate workflow that has been respected for many years on Windows.  Importantly, when using CineForm's MacOS codec, you can partition your post workflow between Macs and Windows PCs which until now has been essentially unachievable.  Or if you perform post on Macs and want to share files or intermediate project results with somebody on Windows (or vice versa) - no problem - just send the CineForm files. 

If you're unfamiliar with the extraordinary visual quality delivered by the CineForm Intermediate codec and our online workflow, read our Quality Analysis pages - they're pretty enlightening, including the recent comparative results to the respected HDCam SR format.

To purchase the CineForm MacOS codec, purchase either Neo HD/4K or Prospect HD/2K/4K.  Please see the respective  product pages for Neo HD/4K or Prospect HD/2K/4K for product details. Both Neo and Prospect come with our I/O and format conversion utility called HDLink which provides inverse telecine processing, deinterlacing, spatial resampling, and many other features.

A note about Neo HD/2K and Prospect HD/2K: Be aware that Neo HD/2K and Prospect HD/2K run only on Windows, but those products also include a serial number for the CineForm Mac codec.  This means the HDLink conversion utilities described above will need to be installed on Windows using either a separate PC, or if you want to use your Mac hardware use Bootcamp or Parallels for Mac .  Two serial numbers are provided - one for Windows and one for MacOS. 

MacOS applications compatibility: All MacOS applications that support QuickTime codecs should support CineForm Intermediate.  We have successfully tested with:

• Apple: Final Cut Pro, Motion, and QuickTime Pro

• Adobe: CS3 (Premiere Pro and After Effects)

• Media 100

• Pomfort Silverstack.

Free Neo Player: Neo Player is a free download that installs the CineForm QuickTime codec for Mac.  Neo Player includes a non-expiring CineForm Mac decoder and a watermarked Trial of the CineForm encoder. 

A note about Apple Color: Unfortunately Apple Color does NOT support QuickTime codecs (including CineForm) but instead only supports legacy codecs as defined by its architecture from pre-Apple days.  We are in touch with Apple and hope for an update to Color in the future that resolves this.

Click for Trial downloads, free Neo Player, or updates to all CineForm products
 

CineForm Mac Codec Specifications

All CineForm software is tuned for best performance on Intel processors by leveraging Intel's high-performance SSEx (Streaming SIMD Extension) instructions plus threading optimizations for Intel's multi-core architectures.

Intel, the Intel logo, Centrino, Centrino Inside, Intel Core, and Core Inside are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries.

So which CineForm product do you need for your Mac workflow?

• In addition to your Mac workflow, if you intend to use Premiere Pro for editing on Windows then you should select either Prospect HD or Prospect 2K. 

• For all other applications on either Windows or MacOS, including Adobe CS3 on Mac, you want Neo HD or Neo 2K. 

The short story about the differences between the "HD" and "2K" versions of CineForm products:

• "HD" versions have a maximum spatial resolution of 1920x1080 with 4:2:2 chroma and 10-bit precision. 

• "2K" versions support up to 2048x2048 spatial resolution, and offer selectable chroma: YUV (10-bit) or RGB (12-bit CineForm 444)

If you haven't already, check out the visual fidelity comparisons of CineForm compression, including how CineForm 444 stacks up against the respected HDCam SR recording format.

• Prospect or Neo is installed on a Windows PC, or if you want to use your Mac hardware, Prospect and Neo can be installed when using Bootcamp.  Neo is also compatible with Parallels.
• The CineForm Mac codec is only installed on Mac OS X with Intel CPUs.

If you haven't tried Neo HD/2K or Prospect HD/2K, please download and experiment with our fully-functional and non-expiring watermarked Trial version.

Free Neo Player: Neo Player is a free download available for both Windows and Mac that installs a non-expiring version of the CineForm decoder.  If you have created CineForm content on either Mac or Windows and need to share it with somebody else, instruct them to download the CineForm Neo Player from our website.

Additionally, Neo Player (Mac) includes a fully-functional watermarked Trial CineForm encoder compatible with most Mac applications.

A purchase of Neo HD/2K or Prospect HD/2K provides a cross-platform post-production workflow on both Windows and MacOS, with CineForm Neo or Prospect (including HDLink) for Windows, plus the CineForm Mac codec. Prospect is Bootcamp compatible.  Neo is both Bootcamp and Parallels compatible.

This offer for two serial numbers will expire after we finish porting our HDLink conversion utilities to MacOS, after which there will be a separately purchased license for each platform.

For existing CineForm customers who do NOT yet have a license to our Mac QT codec:

• Neo HD/2K or Prospect HD/2K customers can update at no charge to the latest build of your respective Neo or Prospect HD product to get the Mac codec installer. To activate the Mac codec you'll need a Mac serial number which you can request here.
  
• Aspect HD and Neo HDV customers may purchase a new license for Neo HD, which includes the CineForm QT codec, for $299 a 50% discount.  You can keep your existing license with this purchase.  Simply select the appropriate pulldown box on the Neo HD order page from our online store, and remember to provide your serial number in the "Special Instructions" field when placing your order. 

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Feb 1: v1.40 (Build 47)

• Added à CineForm RAW decodes now offer multiple Debayer filter options selected via the SetActiveMetadata utility.
• Fixed à Some 8-bit decodes were displaying the wrong gamma
• Fixed à Mac decoder now support 8 cores

January 9: v1.40 (Build 45)

• Fixed à Occasional crashing problem in Final Cut Pro.

January 3: v1.40 (Build 44a)

• Added: Golbal active metadata controls (ON/OFF) for CineForm RAW files.  See Tech Note for operational description
• Added: Unrestricted encoder resolution. (Previously encoder was restricted to 2K due to Final Cut Pro spatial resolution limitation.)
• Fixed à Quarter res decoding bug for CineForm 444
• Improved à scaling algorithm

November 11: v1.40 (Build 43)

• Added: Codec auto-selects 4:4:4 (versus 4:2:2) for 2K (and above) material if the calling application doesn't offer a chroma selector.  For example, RedCine does not offer a 4:2:2 or 4:4:4 selector during export, so for spatial resolutions of 2K and above the CineForm Mac codec will auto-select 4:4:4.
• Fixed: Minor bug fixes

September 21 (Beta) / October 4 (Full Release): v1.40 (Build 41)

• Fixed: Playback of CineForm RAW files now works properly in QT Player and FCP
• Fixed: Playback of AVI files now works on MacOS.
  
  NOTE: You can update your Mac codec only by downloading and installing the Neo Player Mac codec here.  When installed, it will recognize your previous Mac codec installation.  You do NOT need to download and install the complete Neo or Prospect product if you are just updating the Mac codec.

August 28: v1.40 (Build 39).  First production release - no updates yet!

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