CineForm ®, Inc. (www.cineform.com), creators of high-fidelity compression-based workflow solutions for the post production marketplace, today announced Neo Scene for Mac, the industry’s first professional caliber camera-to-delivery compression workflow solution for consumers, prosumers and video enthusiasts, for cameras supporting the AVCHD and HDV high definition standard. With this announcement, CineForm is extending its professional compression workflow technology to a new consumer application for the Mac platform, effectively allowing users to easily edit video with extremely high performance and with stunning image quality. Neo Scene is the industry’s only Mac solution with file-based support for AVCHD source media.
AVCHD is increasingly becoming the defacto standard among most consumer-level camcorders and digital SLR cameras on the market today.

“The explosion of affordable AVCHD video cameras, and new video modes in digital SLR cameras, is fueling growing demand for consumer and prosumer video editing. But until now, consumers have been stymied to find out that once they’ve shot their AVCHD video, they can’t easily edit it. That’s why we created Neo Scene,” said David Taylor, CEO and co-founder of CineForm. “We’re putting the same CineForm compression engine technology used by Hollywood studios and professional editors into a solution that’s not only accessible and affordable to everyone, it effectively releases the shackles of AVCHD editing and gives users incredibly high performance and cinematic image quality results. We’re very proud of what we’ve accomplished with Neo Scene!”

Neo Scene for Mac; How It Works
Neo Scene for Mac is a new software product for users of AVCHD and HDV camcorders, plus Canon’s 5D Mark II, 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 video sources into easy-to-edit and higher quality CineForm QuickTime (MOV) files. CineForm MOV files are compatible with most QuickTime applications, including Final Cut Pro, iMovie, Motion, Premiere Pro and After Effects, to name a few.

During file conversion, Neo Scene can optionally convert source material into 24p (NTSC) or 25p (PAL) CineForm Mac Codec files for projects that desire a cinematic look. This capability is significant ‘ while most cameras can record in 24p, users cannot edit in 24p because of the way the data is organized in the native compressed file. Neo Scene provides users with the only tool for effectively editing 24p content and enabling them to capture the cinematic quality they strive for.

New Features Optimize Image Quality, Performance and Integration
Neo Scene for Mac also adds key new features that professionals demand and consumers will appreciate, such as:
– ProRes Export: To give users ultimate choice, Neo Scene for Mac allows users to export content to either ProRes or to CineForm file formats;
– Canon 5D Mark II Support: Content shot with the Canon’s 5D Mark II is is not easily editable in its native form. Neo Scene for Mac instantly converts content into CineForm files for immediate, high quality editing ‘ a first in the industry and a significant win for consumers looking to edit content shot on digital SLR cameras;
– 10 Bit Image Quality: Converted CineForm Mac Code files are always 10 bits in depth (instead of the usual 8 bits) to offer higher visual fidelity throughout the editing process;
– Color Correction: Neo Scene doubles 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 immediately from www.cineform.com for $129, or can be purchased through its network of resellers and distributors. Neo Scene is also available as a fully-functional Trial download from CineForm’s website. CineForm released a Windows version of Neo Scene in January 2009.