Issue: Show Daily - Apr 9, 2003

The Buzz . . . for Tuesday April 8, 2003

  • Dolby says there are currently 4 million Pro Logic II decoders in the market, and expects there to be as many as 12 million by the end of the year.
  • Version 5 of Alias/Wavefront's Maya will ship in May with Maya Complete priced at $1,999 and Maya Unlimited costing $6,999. Alias reps say there are now close to 600 presets included in its PaintFX tool.
  • Ontario-based character generator manufacturer Inscriber is continuing to see success with OEM agreements. The company is providing CG tools to Quantel, Media 100 and Adobe, as part of its new Premiere 6.5 release. "So you've made a lot of friends?" Post asked Inscriber's Douglas Grant. "We're Canadians," Grant replied, "We like to get along."
  • Snell & Wilcox and da Vinci have entered into an OEM license agreement whereby da Vinci will license Snell & Wilcox's new Synapse metadata server (which incorporates the technology behind the former Snell & Wilcox Picasso, Sprint, and Splicer products). Synapse would be integrated into da Vinci's digital intermediate system that centers on the da Vinci 2K. The additional technology would help provide a conform list and serve as the final piece of the digital intermediate solution, according to da Vinci.
  • Woodland Hills, CA's Panavision has appointed Robert Beitcher president, effective April 14, 2003. He joins the company from Technicolor where he had served as president of Technicolor Creative Services since 2000. Beitcher will report to Panavision chairman, Ronald O. Perelman, and will also be nominated to serve on the board of directors.