Raylight Cutter Bug Release

Raylight Cutter (Windows version) bug release is today. The new version is 1.0 Build C.

Release Notes:

1. Audio editing and Transitions

Many bugs were fixed in the audio fades and audio editing in transition mode. The length of an audio fade can now be controlled by dragging a crank handle off the audio scissors. The audio rolls are shown correctly now when you click on a transition in the pie chart: the top rolls show the sound for the tail of the previous cut, the bottom rolls are for the head of the next cut. By clicking on the top or bottom video rolls you can highlight the corresponding audio rolls. If a roll is selected, any cuts made are applied only to that roll.

2. Secondary Monitor

The size and quality of the 2nd monitor is now controlled using a temporary solution. This will eventually be done with an icon in the settings screen, but for now, the file monitor.txt (in the Documents/RaylightCutter folder) can be edited with NotePad to set the scale and frame size. For example

scale     2

width    1280

height    900

scale = 1 is for full resolution, 2 for half resolution, etc.

the height and width must be supported by the monitor. To see a list of supported sizes, look at the file DirectDraw.txt in the same folder, after the program has run at least once with the 2nd monitor connected.

Also the "2" icon on the viewer must be enabled (lit up) for the 2nd monitor to operate.

3. Deinterlacing

Deinterlacing preview has been improved. High-quality deinterlacing is turned off when you scrub through footage or playback in real time. Deinterlacing is turned on when the video roll is 60i or 50i format and the project settings are progressive, and you are stepping through the video frame-by-frame using the page down key, or when rendering. The upper field/lower field first icon now works, and has the correct effect on 60i to 24p conversion. The frame rate interpretation (60i/30p/24p) is now saved when you change it and has the correct effect on deinterlacing. 3:2 and 2:3:3:2 pulldown removal is working now when you either render or step through footage frame-by-frame.

4. Stability

Some improvements have been made to prevent the program from crashing due to a video frame buffer overrun.

5. Audio Box

The audio box has been modified to make the local and global icons bigger.

6. Flicking Clips

The "flick a clip" feature has been implemented. You can drag your finger (or mouse) from the center of a clip in the folder view towards the project reel and it will assemble into the project after the last cut. We will put up a video this week to demonstrate this.

What's Next

Looking ahead the next release will support the HEVC (H.265) codec using the Main Concept decoder in demo mode, and will have further improvements to the user interface.

A bug release is coming soon with some of the above changes (1,3,4,5,6), and more, for the Mac OSX version.

Cryptowall 3.0 Attacks! (with solutions)

Ugh! DVFilm was hit by the "Cryptowall 3.0" ransomware last night. Only one of our workstations was affected. The malicious software encrypts Word documents and Jpegs (among other type files) with unbreakable encryption and then demands ransom in bitcoin to give you the key to unlock them.

It took us 2 hours of research to find a program to help recover the files. In this case it was for a computer running Windows Vista, so after stopping the virus (which we did manually by running MSConfig in Safe Mode and deleting the suspicious files in the startup folder) we had to download Shadow Explorer and run it to recover the Word documents and other files from saved older versions.

I've read that Cryptowall can also be stopped with the latest antivirus programs and the Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool here:

https://www.microsoft.com/security/pc-security/malware-removal.aspx

Windows 7 can be protected if you have an up-to-date version of Microsoft Security Essentials or for Windows 8.1, Windows Defender, We had Windows Defender running on Vista but it was useless for this particular attack.

Other helpful links:

Windows 7: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security-essentials-download

Shadow Explorer (works with Vista only): http://www.shadowexplorer.com/downloads.html

More info: https://www.microsoft.com/security/portal/threat/encyclopedia/Entry.aspx?Name=Win32/Crowti

Update for DVFilm Maker and Atlantis for Windows

DVFilm Maker and Atlantis have been updated with new

installation programs. There are no major functional changes to

the programs themselves, however the new installer makes

installation and activation easier.

Play back and decoding of MXF files is quicker now and compatible

with systems having more than 8 cpus.

Maker and Atlantis now handle DVCPRO50 MXF files correctly

and use the Raylight codec to decode them.

A bug was fixed in batch processing of VOB or MPEG-2 files.

Installation now works with systems using Windows 7 and UAC

(User Account Control).

The new version of Maker is 2.4.5 and Atlantis is 2.1.9.

The updates are available at dvfilm.com/update

Lion OSX 7 Quicktime 10 & Raylight for Mac

The .mxf.mov reference link files created by Raylight for Mac 3 on Lion OSX 7, do not play correctly in Quicktime X (10) . This does not affect using the Raylight for Mac link files with Final Cut Pro 7 or earlier.

Please use Quicktime 7 for viewing the .mxf.mov files. If you need to download QT7 for Lion, go here: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3678

Atlantis for Mac 2.2 Released with HD features

Atlantis for Mac now has many new conversion modes available now in Release 2.2.

It is now possible to convert 1080i50 or 1080p25 to 1080i60 or 1080p24, and vice-versa. Also 720p25 can be converted to 720p24 and vice-versa.

If the compression format is DV, DVCPRO, DVCPRO50 or DVCPROHD, Atlantis automatically selects the corresponding 50Hz or 60Hz compression format as appropriate (provided the Apple DVCPROHD codecs are installed).

A table listing all the possible modes is here.

This is a free update to all existing Atlantis users. To get the update, go to the DVFilm Update page.

Raylight Ultra 1.3 Released

The new Raylight Ultra adds direct P2 MXF export, with smart rendering, of the most popular P2 formats: DVCPROHD and DVCPRO50. All frame rates for 50Hz and 60Hz systems are supported. Ultra 1.3 is a free update.

Also you can now get two upgrades of interest to AVC-Intra users: Power Pack I with 3X faster AVC-Intra playback compared with the standard Raylight Ultra, and Power Pack II with faster playback and also direct export, with smart rendering, of AVC-Intra formats to P2 MXF files.

The AVC-Intra format uses 50 or 100Mbps H.264 I-frame compression for higher quality and more resolution compared with DVCPROHD. Example P2 cameras with AVC-Intra are the Panasonic HPX3000 and the HPX300.

To update to Ultra 1.3 go to our update page. You must be a registered user to get the free update.

How Many Times Can I Activate?

DVFilm puts limits on the number of times you can activate our software. The limits are to prevent software piracy. However if you are a purchaser, you can always get more activations, if needed, as long as you follow the terms of the license agreement.

Preserving Activations

If you write down the activation code for each computer, or save the activation code emails from our server, you can reduce the number of activations you need from us. The activation code can be used over and over again as long as the computer motherboard is not changed. Installing or rebuilding the operating system or other software does not force you to use a new activation code.

Getting More Activations

If you have only one license, the automatic activation page at dvfilm.com/activate, or the activation dialog in your DVFilm software, will still allow you to request up to 6 activations if you have only one license. It does warn you that you cannot install the software on more than 2 computers, but it will still give you a new code up to 6 times. If you go over six, then you will have to contact DVFilm Support at http://dvfilm.com/support.htm

What to Expect if You Have to Get Activations from DVFilm Support

When customers request more activations from us, we look at the activation history that is logged to our server. If it looks like you are activating the software on multiple computers within a short period of time, we may ask that you purchase more licenses. Sometimes we can provide those extra licenses at a discount. Or if the extra activations were done on the same computer, we will reset your activation count and let you know. Generally, though, we will reset the count no more than once per year.

If You Own Multiple Licenses

If you own multiple licenses from us, we can either provide multiple serial numbers or raise the number of activations allowed per serial number. Contact DVFilm Support if you need that done.

Can I "De-Activate" Software?

No. There is no way to do that right now. Use another activation as required to move the software from one computer to another.