In advance of an official launch at NAB Show 2019, SGO has released a free open beta of Mistika Boutique, its new software-only finishing system for Windows 10 (64-bit) and MacOS High Sierra and Mojave.
Mistika Boutique is designed to run on off-the-shelf hardware, unlike the full Linux-only Mistika Ultima suite it’s based on, which includes customized workstations and storage systems for each user. SGO said it will not be guaranteeing performance of Boutique on client hardware, but said fast systems should be able to handle 4K 60p in real time. Demos will be available at SGO’s booth #SL3805.
SGO said the speed advantage of Mistika Ultima is likely to be more pronounced when working with uncompressed video formats, and recommended that Mistika Boutique users consider fast NVMe drives or disk arrays. Mistika runs best on recent Nvidia graphics cards, the company said, but also recommended bulking up on CPU performance, since Boutique will tap multiple CPU cores in parallel for playback and rendering. (The R3D and H.264/H.265 formats may also benefit from GPU acceleration, though SGO noted that Apple doesn’t support Nvidia’s hardware encoder for H.264/H.265 on macOS.)
For more on appropriate hardware configurations, see the current SGO support document.
Since Mistika integrates VFX and color-grading tools in the same user environment, Boris FX has agreed to offer all beta-testers a one-month license of Boris FX plug-ins, including Sapphire, Continuum and Mocha Pro. Some versions of Mistika Boutique will be interoperable with SGO’s Mistika VR stitching software via metadata exchange, SGO said.
“Everyone can take part in the open beta program and help us shape Mistika Boutique software by test-driving pre-release versions and letting us know what they think,” said SGO MD Geoff Mills in a prepared statement.
When it launches later this year, Mistika Boutique will be available on a subscription model, with plans ranging from €99 ($112) to €299 ($338) per month, the company said. The higher price points enable features including stereo 3D, VR, raw format support, and Tangent Arc control panel support, but all features are enabled in the open beta.
