Canopus Let's Edit RT+
Canopus Corp., which is targeting the entry-level/prosumer markets with new tools for video editing, has introduced Let's Edit RT+, a combination hardware /software solution that offers the capability to import, edit, and export DV and analog video. It offers a host of realtime features, including realtime output and playback of clips, realtime title and graphics layers, and realtime 2D/3D transitions. For DVD output capabilities, Canopus has bundled Ulead Systems' DVD MovieFactory SE, a limited edition of Ulead's entry level DVD authoring package.
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Let's Edit RT+
Canopus Let's Edit RT+ is comprised of Canopus Corp.'s OHCI-compliant ACEDVio hardware card that supports both analog and DV I/O's via S-video and composite inputs and outputs, 3.5mm stereo I/Os, and 4-pin/6-pin FireWire connectors. The card supports VHS, S-VHS, Hi8, Digital8, DV, and DVCAM tape formats, as well as a variety of video editing applications, including Sonic Foundry Vegas, Avid Xpress DV, Adobe Premiere, Pinnacle Edition, Ulead MediaStudio Pro, Windows Moviemaker, and Apple Final Cut Pro on the Mac (on the Mac, the ACEDVio hardware card works as an analog/digital IO board that allows you to capture analog video). Also included with the hardware card are S-Video and Composite cables as well as a 4-pin IEEE 1394 cable. The card also has a 4-pin power connector for connecting bus powered devices such as an internal FireWire hard drive.
When you install the ACEDVio hardware card, two devices are actually installed, a DV device and an analog device. When you connect a FireWire camcorder to the ACEDVio hardware card via FireWire, the analog portion of the ACEDVio hardware card is automatically disabled. When you successfully install the card and the operating system recognizes it, you then install the ACEDV Controller, a software application that enables you to tweak various aspects of your video. This includes adjusting the brightness, contrast, saturation, hue, sharpness, and setup level of your video. The ACEDV Controller also let's you preview what is on the tape as well via the Open Preview window, and select between locked and unlocked audio as well as the sampling rate (you can choose from 48kHz 16-bit, and 32kHz 12-bit).
The Let's Edit Interface
The Let's Edit interface is very clean and uncluttered. It is comprised of six main areas, all attainable from the main window. These include the Edit toolbar, where you have all your main buttons that you'll access when working with the video.
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| The main interface |
Buttons located here include; new file, open file, save file, add clip to bin window, add color clip to bin window, batch capture, seamless capture, cut, copy, paste, separate, add transition, add fade in, add fade out, add title/edit title, Render all effects on timeline, undo, redo, full preview size, and restore previous preview size;
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| DV device control |
The DV Device control toolbar, which sits to the right of the Edit toolbar, is where you control the DV device that is connected to the ACEDVio card;
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| The Bin |
The Bin, which resides below the DV Device control toolbar, is where all the media files that are in the project are stored; to the left of the Bin is the Preview/overlay window, where you can preview your project;
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| Project playback controls |
The lower half of the main interface is where the Timeline and the Project Playback controls are located. Once you are finished cutting and editing your video, Let's Edit offers a variety of output formats to show that video to your audience. In addition to outputting to DVD via DVD MovieFactory SE, Let's Edit RT+ offers the capability to output to AVI, referenced AVI, MPEG, ASF, QuickTime, RealMedia, and back out to videotape.
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| Timeline |
System Requirements
The Canopus Let's Edit RT+ needs a relatively fast system and hard drives. Canopus minimum recommended system requirements are an 800MHz Pentium III or AMD Athlon-based system, 256MB RAM, Windows 98SE or higher, v2.1 or later PCI bus mastering slot, hardware-based DirectDraw overlay graphics card that supports 24-bit color at 1024 x 768 resolution, an AV rated hard disk drive with 10MB per second sustainted transfer rates, and a soundcard for voiceover recording. While these system requirements are the minimum at best to run the software, to achieve the full benefit of the system's real time performance, consider a 2GHz Pentium 4 or Athlon-based system as the minimum specification to run the system on.
The Let's Edit RT+ system scales to the system, so, the faster the processor and the more RAM you have in the system, the better performance you will get out of the Let's Edit RT+. The system was tested on a white box 2.4GHz Pentium 4 system with 1GB RAM and a Matrox G550 dual head graphics card, as well as a 2GHz Pentium 4-based Compaq EVO workstation. Response at these speeds were very acceptable with no hiccups at all when capturing, previewing, or editing video.
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| Transition window |
The only issue that came up was with the addition of certain VideoFX transitions on the Timeline. For some reason, some of the effects would reveal a drop frame error and not complete the preview. To alleviate this, you can press down the shift key as you preview or, render all effects on the Timeline.
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| Luminance Keying |
First Impressions
The Canopus Let's Edit RT+ system offers realtime performance, a nice feature set, and a clean editing tool for $399. Canopus has two other products that would work well as a bundle with the Let's Edit RT+ system; Canopus VideoFX Transitions and Canopus ProCoder Express. The transitions that are included with the Let's Edit RT+ system are clean and generic transitions. VideoFX Transitions offers more than 500 customizable transitions (they range from very cool to very bizarre) that would sweeten the pot a bit. Currently, the Let's Edit RT+ system is limited in its final output capabilities. Integrate ProCoder Express as a menu item like that of VideoFX, and you have more transcoding tweakability available from the Let's Edit interface. A bundle that would include the Let's Edit RT+ system, VideoFX Transitions, and ProCoder Express for $399 would be an excellent deal.
Another advantage of the ACEDVio card is when you send your project back out to DV tape. Once you are finished with your project and are satisfied with the results, hitting the Sync Record button will send the completed project back out to DV tape in real time. No rendering is required. So, if your project is 10 minutes in duration, that is how long it will take to output back out to DV tape. If you are going back out to analog tape, make sure that all your transitions and effects are rendered, and then send it tape.
This hardware/software bundle gives the aspiring video editor enough horsepower to churn through projects without having to wait to see how the project is going to look. Don't like a particular transition that you place on the Timeline? Easy, just click the transition marker on the timeline, and change it to a different one. Scroll back on the timeline a bit and play the new transition. If you like it, keep it, if not, just select another one and preview it just like the last. No rendering required to see the preview. When you are satisfied, you can render all the effects on the timeline to speed things up a bit. Luminance and Chromakey tweaking capabilities are also an added benefit to the Let's Edit RT+ system.
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| Chromakey |
As I've never used Canopus editing tools in the past, I am very surprised at the logic in the way the interface is laid out. The preview window is big; The DV device controls are clearly marked, as are the mark in/mark out buttons. The bin is large enough to see what media you have available for your projects, though it would be nice to preview your clips in the bin rather than have to place them on the timeline to view them. If you don't have a DV camcorder, the ACEDVio hardware card supports analog inputs as well, so it goes both ways regardless of your video format. For more information, visit www.canopus.com
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