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The Aja KiPro captures HD (& SD?) from analog or SDI to 10-bit 422 to QT-ProRes (ordinaire and HQ).   In comparison the Convergent Design products currently capture to 8-bit 422 (hi-bitrate Mpeg2).  ProRes is particularly suited to (aimed at) Final Cut.  But since ProRes decoder is freely available, including on Windows, the KiPro could be used with other NLEs.Presumably (haven’t yet tried) once the ProRes is  copied to the editing system’s media drive, it can be simply dropped into an Avid project (bin/timeline).  Some seem to find it OK e.g. “I import ProRes straight into MC all day, no problems. You’ll need FCP 7 to have access to the new 4444 codec though..” [http://community.avid.com/forums/p/76196/426097.aspx#426097].  But some people are cagey about this (on principle?) “…if I were you I would reencode the quicktimes to an Avid codec” [http://forums.creativecow.net/thread/45/866733#866733].  One re-encoding option [http://community.avid.com/forums/p/62217/407573.aspx#407573] is Mpeg StreamClip [http://www.squared5.com].  Not sure what the advantage is (or whether it is real) but some people complain of problems with levels [http://community.avid.com/forums/p/62217/407573.aspx#407573] and metadata.  I would hope that Avid’s “New Thinking” would render any such problems historical, but experience will tell.One slight nuisance - Avid doesn’t work directly with the Aja KiPro.  That is, the KiPro is not a device type recognized by Avid’s Advanced Media Architecture AMA [ http://community.avid.com/forums/t/71260.aspx?PageIndex=1 ].  Not a show-stopper, but definitely a tilting force (from Avid to FCS/FCP).The KiPro is bulkier than the Convergent Design products.  It can record from more kinds of input to more kinds of storage medium. I haven’t looked at power consumption or robustness yet. Links: 

• http://dv411.com/kipro.html 
• http://provideocoalition.com/index.php/atepper/story/ajas_kipro_records_prores422_directly_without_a_computer

http://www.avid.com/resources/qualified/MediaComposer-Qualified-Apple-Workstations.pdf

Just wondered what was happening video-wise in the linux world, for example how was Cinelerra going.  Last I looked (months or a year ago) it was possible to get Cinelerra working under Ubuntu.  So when I came across UbuntuStudio, I thought it was worth checking out, just to keep abreast of developments.

However it appears not to include Cinelerra, instead OpenMovieEditor http://www.openmovieeditor.org/

From [https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuStudio/PackageList]: 

Description:

• openmovieeditor - Video editor
• ffmpeg - Multimedia player, server and encoder
• ffmpeg2theora - Theora video encoder using ffmpeg
• kino - A non-linear editor for Digital Video data
• stopmotion - A program for creating stop motion animation.
• dvgrab - Grab digital video data via IEEE1394 links

It is only available as an Installer, not LiveCD [http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=703822] . For more info:

• https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuStudio

Heard about it at http://www.stagetools.com/previs.htm, which said: “People are using existing multimedia tools for previsualizing projects,” … “One exception to this trend is PowerProduction Software’s StoryBoard Artist drawing package, which helps automate the drawing of storyboards by non-artists. The software comes with a collection of pre-made characters, props and backgrounds that can be viewed from various camera positions and animated.

I checked it out and it looks to me mainly aimed at contemporary scenes, not for example english period drama.  Within its own context, it looks extremely slick (hence quick) to use.  Nothing that can’t be done by more general tools but just plain handy, all there and convenient; less technical fiddling to distract from the creative process.  Quick & simple is what you want when the previz needs to be adaptable (e.g. is part of a dialog or things turn out differently than expected) rather than a fixed plan.

Of the three products I saw at that website, the StoryBoard Artist  product (http://www.powerproduction.com/artist.html) seemed most appropriate.  It has a timeline for soundtrack etc..  Also “Multi-angled, multi-positioned characters with overheads and expression.”.  And  “Non-linear linking storyboarding for DVD and iTV prototyping”.   Or indeed uncertainty…

I’ll keep an eye on it.