Serious Magic Announces the Availability of DV Rack 2.0

Serious Magic, Inc. announces today DV Rack 2.0, the latest version of
its direct-to-disk recording and monitoring software to help generate
superior quality video from an SD or HD camera connected to a laptop.
With DV Rack 2.0, Serious Magic strengthens the power of its 10
production tools and now offers a version with real-time capture
support for DVCPro50 and DVCProHD cameras.

Powerful Direct-to-Disk Recording
Extensive enhancements have been added to DV Rack's Digital Video
Recorder that slaves recording to a camera while recording directly to
an internal or external hard drive and includes:

– Motion-Activated Recording to automatically start recording when DV
Rack 2.0 detects motion in a shot. This is especially useful for "solo
shooters" looking to minimize wasted disk space and nature shooters
looking to capture that one-in-a-million shot.

– Stop-Motion Animation Recording allows for easy animation recording
of static objects. DV Rack 2.0 can be set to record images one frame at
a time to a single AVI File.

– Time-Lapse Recording sets DV Rack 2.0 to record a single frame at
regular time intervals to appear as if time is moving faster than it
is. Editors using DV or HD footage can easily convey the passing of
time by recording variant cloudscape motion, crowd movement, or traffic
flow.

– Pause Recording enables users to stop in the middle of a recording
without creating a new clip. This is especially useful when recording
interviews, such as legal depositions.

– Clip naming, reordering and resizing permits users to rename shots
while recording and adds the ability to move and resize them within the
DVR.

– Pulldown removal of 24p(a) footage removes the pulldown from 24p
recorded clips, saving hard drive space and making it easy to edit in
"true" 24 frames per second when using the HVX200 camera.

– DV timecode support has been added for Adobe ® Premiere Pro, Apple
Final Cut Pro, Sony Vegas, and Avid NLEs.

Accessible Monitoring Tools
DV Rack 2.0 includes vital monitoring tools that help videographers
identify and correct lighting, video, and audio problems. The
Professional Field Monitor accepts standard-definition video input and
when using DV Rack 2.0 HD, accepts HDV, DVCPro50 and DVCProHD footage
as well. Users also get a full-resolution 1280×720 monitor ensuring
precise pixel-for-pixel display of 720p footage. The monitor helps
shooters achieve the absolute best image possible from their camera and
includes features such as underscan, safe area and letterbox display.
The Field Monitor can also be flipped horizontally and vertically to
support 35mm lens adaptors, such as the Redrock Micro
M2.

DV Rack's Waveform Monitor and Vectorscope feature industry-standard
monitoring functions enabling users to monitor the actual
post-compression signal as it will be recorded. New in this version is
an RGB Waveform Monitor for users wishing to monitor individual
channels separately to easily see which channel is
illegal.

Better Analyzing, Continuity and More
DV Rack lets users analyze audio by actually seeing what cannot be
heard with headphones alone. The new Audio Spectrum Analyzer III
features analyzing modes, exact frequency readouts, and more accurate
display graphics that help indicate poor microphone placement and
orientation so users can adjust levels for dramatic audio quality
improvements.

DV Rack 2.0 offers advanced tools for checking continuity between
shots. The Split Function in the Field Monitor now provides on-screen
controls to adjust the position of the split making it easier to check
continuity from one shot to another. The new Onion Skin mode enables
users to overlay a semi-transparent recorded clip on top of a live or
recorded video to ensure users get identical framing between shots.
This feature is useful for stop-motion animators to see variations from
one frame to the next.

The ShotClock Timer is now editable and now offers a count-down feature
and support for 24p (NDF) mode. The DV Grabber now allows users to
capture to the DVR while the Spectra 60's lock feature helps users fix
onto a particular pixel for accuracy when adjusting for color or
brightness settings on the camera.

Compatibility
DV Rack 2.0 has two versions available. DV Rack 2.0 SD supports
standard definition cameras while DV Rack 2.0 HD offers additional
support for HDV and Panasonic DVCPro cameras. DV Rack 2.0 will run on a
Windows 2000/XP laptop or desktop PC connected to a standard NTSC or
PAL camcorder via FireWire. Output is in standard formats such as AVI
and QuickTime with additional support now being offered for Avid-based
NLEs.

DV Rack 2.0 HD also includes Serious Magic's DVCProHD Decoder, its
Video for Windows (VfW) decoder that enables Sony ® Vegas ® and Adobe ®
Premiere Pro users to edit DVPro50 and DVCProHD video files without the
need for transcoding. This decoder also includes an easy-to-use
software utility that quickly converts native MXF files from the
Panasonic camera to standard AVI or QuickTime files.

Availability
DV Rack 2.0 SD is available at Serious Magic's online store and many
professional video resellers for $495. DV Rack 2.0 HD is available for
$795. Current owners of DV Rack 1.0 can upgrade to the DV Rack 2.0 SD
for $195 or to the HD version for $395. Owners of DV Rack 1.0 with HDV
PowerPak can upgrade to DV Rack 2.0 HD for $295. Serious Magic is
currently offering a $100 discount on DV Rack 2.0 upgrades for the
month of September.