Those who read this blog know that I am a Vegas Pro user and I have my reasons for it that apply specifically to self contained video shooters.  One of the weaknesses of Vegas is editing the native m2t files, which eat up CPU cycles.  My understanding is, editing AVCHD is even worse.  CineForm has released a cost effective solution to address this weak link in the post production process and it’s called NEO Scene

Here’s the official press release regarding NEO Scene:

CineForm®, Inc., creators of high-fidelity compression-based workflow solutions for the post production marketplace today announced it is now shipping Neo Scene™, a new software product for users of AVCHD and HDV camcorders that offers accelerated editing performance and higher visual quality than editing native camera sources. Neo Scene improves a user’s editing experience by converting highly-compressed AVCHD and HDV sources into easy-to-edit and higher quality CineForm AVI files.  CineForm AVI files are compatible with most Windows AVI applications including Adobe® Premiere® Pro and Elements®, plus Sony Vegas and Movie Studio.  During file conversion, Neo Scene can also convert source material into 24p (NTSC) or 25p (PAL) CineForm AVI files for projects that desire a cinematic look.

“HDV and in particular AVCHD camera formats are highly compressed and extremely compute intensive for editing”, explains David Taylor, co-founder and CEO of CineForm.  “By converting into a format that was designed specifically for high-performance editing – such as CineForm AVI files – the workflow experience and quality of the final project can be enhanced significantly.  With Neo Scene we’re now offering consumer-oriented AVCHD and HDV camcorder owners the same extreme visual fidelity and accelerated workflow we’ve offered to professional users for many years”.

More About Neo Scene

Using Neo Scene, the user batch converts all source material into CineForm AVI files.  At the time of conversion the user can choose to (optionally) extract 24p or 25p progressive files when a cinematic look for a project is desired.  After conversion the CineForm AVI files become the new master files used for editing in the remainder of the project.  The source AVCHD or HDV files can be archived or discarded, depending on user preference.

Converted CineForm AVI files are always 10 bits in depth (instead of the usual 8 bits) to offer higher visual fidelity through post production.  Further, Neo Scene will double the lower-resolution chroma (color) format from the AVCHD or HDV source by interpolating chroma from its 4:2:0 format recorded by the camera into a professional 4:2:2 format.  Chroma upsampling improves color fidelity for projects requiring color correction or keying.

Pricing and Availability

Neo Scene is available for purchase from CineForm’s website for $129, or through its network of resellers and distributors.  Neo Scene is also available as a fully-functional Trial download from CineForm’s website: www.cineform.com.  CineForm anticipates releasing a Mac version of Neo Scene in the future.

For $129 – you get a frame based file to edit with, as opposed to editing long GOP files which takes much of the overhead off the CPU at the expense of larger file sizes.

I held off purchasing Cineform’s products due to their relative high cost – from my perspective.  You can visit their site to read in detail the workflow for NEO Scene.

A major advantage of going this route is that Cineform is NLE neutral – you’re not confined to one specific NLE – the product works with SONY Vegas Pro, Adobe Premiere Pro, and can even work with Final Cut Pro and Express on the MAC platform by utilizing the NEO Player which is a free download.

Now I and other SONY Vegas Pro users have a compelling reason to utilize Cineform Intermediates for editing content.

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