Popwire on Thursday introduced Ingest Engine, a client/server solution for importing tape-based content into a digital workflow. The company also updated its WMV-9 Component software with an import function and released Universal Binaries for Compression Engine and Compression Master.
Ingest Engine enables multiple users to import the same content, which is imported to a central server connected to a tape source. It supports MPEG-2, DV, MPEG-4 Proxy, PBF or Uncompressed 4:2:2 and support VTR control via the standard RS-422 remote protocol. Each server can handle one video adapter, and Ingest Engine currently supports the AJA Io series of video capture units.
Popwire recommends that the Ingest Engine server be at least a Power Mac G5 Quad 2.5GHz with 2GB RAM, 200MB hard drive space for software installation, and 20MB of space per second of encoded video. On the client side, Popwire recommends a G5 or Intel-based Mac with 1GB RAM and 50MB of hard drive space to install the software.
WMV-9 Component 2.0, which is a Universal Binary, adds the ability to import, view, and export Windows Media content to any format supported by QuickTime 6.5.2 or higher. Itis a free update for all registered users. The full version is US$49.95 and requires a G4 or Intel processor running Mac OS X v10.3.9 or v10.4.5, respectively, as well as 256MB RAM. PowerPC users need QuickTime Pro 6.5.2 or higher while Intel users require QuickTime Pro 7 or higher.
In addition to support for Intel processors, Compression Engine and Compression Master also now feature support for MXF and IMX, GXF, transport streams, H.264 High Profile, Flash 8 including 2 pass encoding and AAC audio. Compression Engine now also features an extended High Availability function, remote monitoring and event actions facilitating for system integration.