Dalet Digital Media Systems has extended its integration support for several nonlinear editing platforms with the release of the Xtend module.
Originally designed to offer a fluid workflow between the Dalet Media Asset Management platform and Apple Final Cut Pro systems, this now includes similar media and metadata exchange capabilities with Avid Media Composer, Avid NewsCutter, Adobe Premiere and other NLEs. According to the French manufacturer, this interoperability ‘significantly increases productivity and collaboration’ for editing workgroups.
‘Dalet Xtend makes the production workflow much more seamless in every scenario, whether it is for new production, program prep or sports,’ says Raoul Cospen, Dalet Director of Marketing. ‘Dalet Xtend relies on open development technology and allows editors working on NLEs to be tightly integrated into the overall production workflow rather than functioning in operational silos. Dalet Xtend also gives customers the flexibility to assemble their preferences for best-of-breed choices for production tools with the assurance that they can change their preferences in the future.’
With Dalet Xtend, editors have access to media (videos, EDLS, shot selections, etc) and metadata that are stored in the Dalet content catalogue directly from NLE workstations. From Dalet workstations, prep-editors have access to incoming feeds while they are being recorded, and they have access to powerful search tools to find relevant material in the archive. They also have a set of prep-editing tools available from the same application that cover many pre-production tasks such as clip selection, storyboarding and even voiceover recording. Clips, EDLs and videos are directly accessible from third-party NLEs, where more complex editing can be done.
The finished work can then be exported back to Dalet as a new title, or saved against a placeholder – all with the appropriate metadata entries as the exchange process is not destructive to the metadata. Crucial information such as descriptive locators and usage rights flow back and forth and are tracked by the Dalet content catalogue thanks to intelligent genealogy.
The Dalet MAM engine expertly controls the metadata and media processes. Genealogy metadata linking the editor’s material to the original sources can be preserved and content is better referenced throughout, making searches of the content catalogue and archives more efficient; content is more readily accessible to everyone who needs it. Dalet Xtend can significantly reduce expensive in-suite production time, streamline the workflow and improve media management.
Dalet Xtend for Avid will be demonstrated at NAB 2012 and Dalet Xtend for Adobe Premiere will be available later in the year.
More: www.dalet.com
