CineForm Discontinuing Aspect HD after 5 years.... at DVinfo.net

David Taylor · December 12th, 2008, 02:24 PM

It's a somewhat nostalgic moment for CineForm as we announce we are discontinuing Aspect HD on December 19 after 5 years of production. Aspect HD was the industry's first HDV editing product, and the *only* HDV editing product for quite some time.

Why are we making the change? Well, the landscape is changing. Aspect HD supports 1440x1080 spatial resolution, and AVCHD cameras, which outsell HDV cameras now by a wide margin are 1920x1080. Unsaid (for now) is that in the next week or so we'll be announcing another product with the feature set and price point targeted at the rapidly-emerging AVCHD market with camera prices <$1000.

So what about our existing Aspect HD customers? Well, coincident with the Aspect HD announcement we are also announcing that the new price for Prospect HD is $749, and $1499 for Prospect 4K. We are offering Aspect HD customers the ability to upgrade to Prospect HD for $199, effective immediately.

IF Aspect HD were to support CS4 there would be an upgrade charge, so the timing on this announcement is intended to minimize the impact. All upgrades from Aspect HD to Prospect HD v3 will come with a free upgrade to Prospect HD v4 (for CS4) when that upgrade is available in January. So for those Aspect HD customers considering an upgrade to Prospect HD anyway, now is an excellent time!

For those who were considering a purchase of Prospect HD, you can actually get Prospect HD for $698 through December 19 by purchasing Aspect HD ($499) in the next week and immediately purchasing the upgrade for $199.

More information is on our website here: NewPricing

Paul Mailath · December 12th, 2008, 04:18 PM

Thank you David, I got a fright there but as usual you're looking after the customer - I'll jump at that upgrade and get ready for CS4

David Taylor · December 12th, 2008, 04:56 PM

Yes, I guess the headline can cause some initial fright....

Actually we have a many customers who started with Aspect HD a number of versions ago and never actually purchased an inter-product (Aspect HD) upgrade. Instead they upgraded from Aspect HD to Prospect HD at one upgrade cycle, then from Prospect HD to Prospect 4K at another cycle.

Hopefully this is a reasonably affordable way for everybody to move from Aspect HD to Prospect HD....

Paul Cascio · December 12th, 2008, 05:25 PM

David, could you briefly explain Prospect HD and how it differs from Aspect HD?

David Taylor · December 12th, 2008, 05:46 PM

More details on the website, but following are a few items that Prospect HD offers:

- 10-bit (versus 8 bit) I/O for improved fidelity through post
- 32-bit FP modes for rendering (more fidelity for extreme post manipulations)
- Full-raster 1920x1080 (versus 1440 for AHD)
- HD-SDI I/O including batch capture. Plus Blackmagic Intensity support coming 1Q09
- HD-SDI monitoring from PPro timeline
- HD-SDI monitoring in AE
- Active Metadata architecture for renderless color workflows. (Previously Prospect 4K only but is being added to PHD for v4). For some that may not have followed this, AM is a new concept. But think of AM as similar to using an Adjustment Layer in Photoshop. In a similar way to an Adjustment Layer, we can attach WB, saturation, gain/offset/gamma plus 64x64x64 3D LUTs to a file in a reversible (non-destructive) manner. You can also generate 3D LUTs from within PPro and export them for later use. You can apply these color "looks" across clips or projects, always without rendering, and move them to different machines - even cross-platform to Mac. This is all managed *outside* the PPro project, meaning that if you double-click on a file with a 3D LUT attached, it'll play in WMP too.

I didn't intend this as a tutorial on Active Metadata, but it is a very powerful concept, and we have lots of plans for future workflow enhancement using AM.

David Samiran · December 12th, 2008, 10:32 PM

I don't think I'am going to be upgrading to CS4 anytime soon. I just don't have the need to upgrade, CS3 is fine. If a customer is going to be staying with Aspect HD for a while will there still be support for licensing, like deactivation, reinstalls. I know there won't be any more upgrades (bug fixes) for it. But will it be still supported? I just want to make sure.
thanks

David Newman · December 12th, 2008, 10:59 PM

There will still be support for Aspect HD, you can move your licenses and all that. Of course support is often the place to get bug fixes and request new features for cameras and formats, and that will get tricker without new updates. The deal on upgrade Aspect HD to Prospect HD is not only about CS4, that is just a bonus, it mainly about getting our into our Premium product line at a discount. That said the last release of Aspect HD is our most solid to date, I sure it will continue to work well. You should only upgrade if you like the features of Prospect, or you want to more to CS4, or both.

Roger Averdahl · December 13th, 2008, 04:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David Taylor

Plus Blackmagic Intensity support coming 1Q09

Off Topic:
David, does this mean that we can use the Intensity card for previewing the Timeline to an external monitor?

If yes, i am very happy! :)

Alex Raskin · December 13th, 2008, 08:22 AM

I also do not use CS, but I've upgraded from Aspect to prospect HD some time ago, and could not be happier.

Better image quality due to full-raster HD and 10-bit processing.

Square pixels. That alone is a lifesaver :)

Marty Baggen · December 13th, 2008, 10:05 AM

Will Aspect HD based projects created with CS2, have any issues with Prospect/CS3 or CS4?

Roger Wilson · December 13th, 2008, 10:18 AM

David, this is great news! I'm really looking forward to getting some value out of the CS4 I bought a couple of months ago. Are you looking for some beta-testers, I'd be glad to help out!

Roger

David Newman · December 13th, 2008, 10:33 AM

Aspect HD projects are completely compatible with Prospect HD.

David Taylor · December 13th, 2008, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roger Averdahl

Off Topic:
David, does this mean that we can use the Intensity card for previewing the Timeline to an external monitor?

If yes, i am very happy! :)

Yes! When we complete support.

Marty Baggen · December 13th, 2008, 12:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David Newman

Aspect HD projects are completely compatible with Prospect HD.

Thanks David... I thought as much. This is a great opportunity for me to get up to date on things.

Noa Put · December 14th, 2008, 07:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David Newman

Aspect HD projects are completely compatible with Prospect HD.

I have premiere cs3 on win xp pro and a canon xh-a1, so prospect also supports 1440x1080?

Another thing, what limitations does the trial of aspect hd have (beside the 15 day trial period?) I have been doing some testing in Premiere pro cs3 and everything works really well, only when I export to cineform avi and import it into encore, encore renders the file but just before its completely rendered it crashes each time. Eventually I had to deinstall the aspect hd again because encore also crashed on other projects were no cineform files were used.
It was a pitty because I was very curious about the quality when burned on a regular dvd.

December 12th, 2008, 02:24 PM	#1
David Taylor Major Player Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Solana Beach, CA Posts: 853	CineForm Discontinuing Aspect HD after 5 years.... It's a somewhat nostalgic moment for CineForm as we announce we are discontinuing Aspect HD on December 19 after 5 years of production. Aspect HD was the industry's first HDV editing product, and the only HDV editing product for quite some time. Why are we making the change? Well, the landscape is changing. Aspect HD supports 1440x1080 spatial resolution, and AVCHD cameras, which outsell HDV cameras now by a wide margin are 1920x1080. Unsaid (for now) is that in the next week or so we'll be announcing another product with the feature set and price point targeted at the rapidly-emerging AVCHD market with camera prices <$1000. So what about our existing Aspect HD customers? Well, coincident with the Aspect HD announcement we are also announcing that the new price for Prospect HD is $749, and $1499 for Prospect 4K. We are offering Aspect HD customers the ability to upgrade to Prospect HD for $199, effective immediately. IF Aspect HD were to support CS4 there would be an upgrade charge, so the timing on this announcement is intended to minimize the impact. All upgrades from Aspect HD to Prospect HD v3 will come with a free upgrade to Prospect HD v4 (for CS4) when that upgrade is available in January. So for those Aspect HD customers considering an upgrade to Prospect HD anyway, now is an excellent time! For those who were considering a purchase of Prospect HD, you can actually get Prospect HD for $698 through December 19 by purchasing Aspect HD ($499) in the next week and immediately purchasing the upgrade for $199. More information is on our website here: NewPricing

December 12th, 2008, 04:18 PM	#2
Paul Mailath Trustee Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Central Coast - NSW, Australia Posts: 1,606	Thank you David, I got a fright there but as usual you're looking after the customer - I'll jump at that upgrade and get ready for CS4 __________________ Cheers - Paul M. www.perbenyik.com

December 12th, 2008, 05:25 PM	#4
Paul Cascio Trustee Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Bristol, CT (Home of EPSN) Posts: 1,192	David, could you briefly explain Prospect HD and how it differs from Aspect HD? __________________ Paul Cascio www.pictureframingschool.com

December 12th, 2008, 10:59 PM	#7
David Newman CTO, CineForm Inc. Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Cardiff-by-the-Sea, California Posts: 8,095	There will still be support for Aspect HD, you can move your licenses and all that. Of course support is often the place to get bug fixes and request new features for cameras and formats, and that will get tricker without new updates. The deal on upgrade Aspect HD to Prospect HD is not only about CS4, that is just a bonus, it mainly about getting our into our Premium product line at a discount. That said the last release of Aspect HD is our most solid to date, I sure it will continue to work well. You should only upgrade if you like the features of Prospect, or you want to more to CS4, or both. __________________ David Newman -- web: www.gopro.com blog: cineform.blogspot.com -- twitter: twitter.com/David_Newman

December 13th, 2008, 10:05 AM	#10
Marty Baggen Major Player Join Date: May 2005 Location: monroe, or Posts: 572	Compatibility Will Aspect HD based projects created with CS2, have any issues with Prospect/CS3 or CS4?

December 12th, 2008, 04:56 PM	#3
David Taylor Major Player Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Solana Beach, CA Posts: 853	Yes, I guess the headline can cause some initial fright.... Actually we have a many customers who started with Aspect HD a number of versions ago and never actually purchased an inter-product (Aspect HD) upgrade. Instead they upgraded from Aspect HD to Prospect HD at one upgrade cycle, then from Prospect HD to Prospect 4K at another cycle. Hopefully this is a reasonably affordable way for everybody to move from Aspect HD to Prospect HD....

December 12th, 2008, 05:46 PM	#5
David Taylor Major Player Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Solana Beach, CA Posts: 853	More details on the website, but following are a few items that Prospect HD offers: - 10-bit (versus 8 bit) I/O for improved fidelity through post - 32-bit FP modes for rendering (more fidelity for extreme post manipulations) - Full-raster 1920x1080 (versus 1440 for AHD) - HD-SDI I/O including batch capture. Plus Blackmagic Intensity support coming 1Q09 - HD-SDI monitoring from PPro timeline - HD-SDI monitoring in AE - Active Metadata architecture for renderless color workflows. (Previously Prospect 4K only but is being added to PHD for v4). For some that may not have followed this, AM is a new concept. But think of AM as similar to using an Adjustment Layer in Photoshop. In a similar way to an Adjustment Layer, we can attach WB, saturation, gain/offset/gamma plus 64x64x64 3D LUTs to a file in a reversible (non-destructive) manner. You can also generate 3D LUTs from within PPro and export them for later use. You can apply these color "looks" across clips or projects, always without rendering, and move them to different machines - even cross-platform to Mac. This is all managed outside the PPro project, meaning that if you double-click on a file with a 3D LUT attached, it'll play in WMP too. I didn't intend this as a tutorial on Active Metadata, but it is a very powerful concept, and we have lots of plans for future workflow enhancement using AM.

December 12th, 2008, 10:32 PM	#6
David Samiran Tourist Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Denver Colorado Posts: 4	I don't think I'am going to be upgrading to CS4 anytime soon. I just don't have the need to upgrade, CS3 is fine. If a customer is going to be staying with Aspect HD for a while will there still be support for licensing, like deactivation, reinstalls. I know there won't be any more upgrades (bug fixes) for it. But will it be still supported? I just want to make sure. thanks

December 13th, 2008, 08:22 AM	#9
Alex Raskin Trustee Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 1,435	I also do not use CS, but I've upgraded from Aspect to prospect HD some time ago, and could not be happier. Better image quality due to full-raster HD and 10-bit processing. Square pixels. That alone is a lifesaver :)

December 13th, 2008, 10:18 AM	#11
Roger Wilson Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Denver, CO, USA Posts: 85	David, this is great news! I'm really looking forward to getting some value out of the CS4 I bought a couple of months ago. Are you looking for some beta-testers, I'd be glad to help out! Roger

December 13th, 2008, 10:33 AM	#12
David Newman CTO, CineForm Inc. Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Cardiff-by-the-Sea, California Posts: 8,095	Aspect HD projects are completely compatible with Prospect HD. __________________ David Newman -- web: www.gopro.com blog: cineform.blogspot.com -- twitter: twitter.com/David_Newman