Controversy Erupts Between Video Card Makers

In the past few days, two of the leading HD/SD video cardvendors--Digital Voodoo and Blackmagic Design--traded claims andaccusations on their corporate websites about the future relevancy ofApple's QuickTime codec and its application to video editing andgraphics.

In a posting on its website Digital Voodoo (www.digitalvoodoo.net)announced it would stop support for Apple's Final Cut Pro with thecurrent version 4.0, stating that future versions of its video cardswill instead offer 10-bit RGB support. The company says that continuedsupport of QuickTime "would impose limitation in our support forRGB."

In a response posted on his company's website, (www.blackmagic-design.com),Blackmagic Design's CEO Grant Perry stated, "I personally believe theinfo posted (on the Digital Voodoo website) could not be more wrong,and as a competitor, it's our duty to offer an opposing view on theirstatement."

The history of these two Australian-based companies is tangled.Grant Perry, for example, founded Digital Voodoo before, as he states,he "lost management control of the company and resigned."

Here's the full text of the postings. Readers can make up their ownminds about these issues, of vital importance to our industry.

From the Digital Voodoo website:

At a recent international broadcast exhibition held in Amsterdam,the Netherlands, Digital Voodoo formally announced that the lastversion of Final Cut Pro that the company would officially support isFinal Cut Pro version 4.0.

We also announced that we will not guarantee that future versions ofour video cards will be compatible with current or future generationsof G5 based systems manufactured by Apple Computer.

These were difficult decisions for us to make. But they are based onour belief that the future of postproduction is going to be 10 bit RGB.This belief has come from our customers asking for these features, andthe development of RGB camera/tape systems by Sony, Thompson andothers.

By remaining reliant on QuickTime to achieve this would imposelimitation in our support for RGB. For example, currently QuickTimecannot capture sequential files nor can it capture more than 2 channelsof audio and we could not see a road map for QuickTime, which gave usall the features we needed. Therefore, as we did not wish to rely on a3rd party making a decision that suited us at a later date, we decidedto adopt different file formats which has taken us away from QuickTimeand the Mac.

This does not mean we are being critical of Apple at all. We simplysee the market in a different way to how Apple currently does. Afterall, was it not Apple the coined the phase "Think different"? www.apple.com/thinkdifferent/.FCP is a fine product for what it is designed to do and Digital Voodoo64 RT cards can still be used with FCP 4.

Neither are we criticising QuickTime either. It is a fantasticformat which is why we still support QTV210 HD and SD YUV video and ifthere was enough demand to do a QT RGB 4:4:4 codec we could easilyprovide this also. However, by switching future developments to the PCand adopting different formats we are able to give our customersgreater choice. We still support QuickTime but in addition also RGBCineon/DPX with separate .wav files.

The PC QT files are seen by all apps that support QT also on bothplatforms, as it is a standard QTV210 header file. If QuickTimeintroduce support for RGB sequential files then there is always theoption for us to re-initiate development on the Mac platform. As thefront page of the site says, "Digital Voodoo Suspends FurtherDevelopment On The Mac Platform"

Digital Voodoo was the first major hardware vendor to support FinalCut Pro with uncompressed video. It was the first to support 10 bit I/Ofrom within Final Cut and we introduced a 16-bit RGB codec back in2001. Numerous changes have been undertaken in the application, theoperating system and in QuickTime itself. Each change has requiredsignificant and substantial rewrites and testing of the Digital Voodoocodec and drivers. However, Digital Voodoo is committed to supportthese changes for Final Cut 4.0. Users who own Digital Voodoo 64RTswill be able to use them until Apple again comes out with a majorupgrade to Final Cut Pro. As soon as the driver is complete it will beposted on the Bluefish444 website (www.bluefish444.com).

Users who purchased a 64AV, and this applies to people who purchasedtheir cards as far back as April 2000, will be entitled to upgradetheir 64 AV to a 64 RT for $995. They can keep their 64AV for use withother Mac applications. But the 64RT (Wildblue|AV) cards which support10 bit RGB can also be used on the PC platform by downloading thedrivers from Bluefish444.com.

Apple Computer has made Final Cut Pro and non-linear editing itsprimary application for its video group. No one knows for sure at thismoment in time what Apple Computer plans for the future. Its currentversion of Final Cut 4.0 for which we promised support, will no doubtundergo dramatic changes in the future as it has already done in thelast four years.

There is nothing wrong with this approach but here's where the twocompanies' philosophies diverge. Digital Voodoo's main interest hasbeen in pushing new technologies on the desktop. This initially lead toYUV 4:2:2 NLE products but also included in this push is dual link4:4:4 HD and 10 bit RGB processing for compositing, motion graphics andfilm work. There is also significant attention to on air broadcastapplications. To continue to follow the direction that Apple is takingwould only be appropriate for us if we wanted to remain exclusively asa YUV 4:2:2 video only NLE market player and did not want to expand ourcustomer and solutions base. Our concentration of development willcontinue to be in areas where we see market growth for us and theopportunity for innovation.

But Digital Voodoo has not "abandoned" its users. It did not justcut out of the Macintosh market and run away. We have said that we willsupport FCP 4.0 but not version 5.0, 6.0 ad infinitem. Our currentsupport for new versions of After Effects and PhotoShop is inplace.

Bluefish444 will continue to drive the Windows and Linux markets andwork with third party developers to take advantage of the Bluefish444hardware. In particular, Bluefish444 will focus on 10-bit RGBsequential files on both SD and HD platforms. Symmetry (www.bluefish444.com/products/symmetry/)is a perfect example of the open file format strategies we areadopting, which in addition to support QT V210 file formats alsosupports Cineon.

All 64 RT users will be able to use their cards in the Macs forwhich they purchased them. They will also be able to transfer their64RTs to the Windows environment and use them in certified systemsunder Windows 2000 or Windows XP. For developers Linux drivers are alsoavailable. If you have any questions regarding our support for FinalCut Pro 4.0 or for other applications on the Mac, please email us atsupport@digitalvoodoo.net.

Here's Blackmagic Design's Grant Perry in response:

Grant Petty, CEO, Blackmagic Design responds to Digital Voodoo'sannouncement of the reasons for ending Mac development.

Hi,

Today my attention was drawn to the Digital Voodoo(tm) web site, anda text monolog basically slamming Apple Computer, QuickTime(tm), andMac based products in general. I wanted to put up a response to this,as I feel it's important to put another hardware manufacturers view onthis topic.

It's important someone responds to this because they have criticizedtechnologies that I believe in, and that thousands of our DeckLinkcustomers have been using successfully to build strong businesses.

I personally believe the info posted here could not be more wrong,and as a competitor, it's our duty to offer an opposing view on theirstatement.

1) They make the claim that QuickTime(tm) is not the future of fileformats for the industry.

This could not be further from the truth. QuickTime(tm) is anextendable format based on no specific video data format. So it canincorporate RGB, YUV or any other kind of data type in any bit depththat exists. You just need to write a simple codec.

QuickTime is used by every software application that exists on theMacintosh platform, and almost everything in Windows. We supportQuickTime(tm) capture and playback on both Windows(tm) and Mac, and itworks great. The quality is incredible with 10 bit uncompressed. Only10 bit YUV capture will give you a true mirror image of what youcapture in the SDI input, to what's played out the SDI output.

While there will also be other formats in the industry, it's hard tosee QuickTime not being one of, or the most popular video file formatfor a long time to come.

2) They imply Quicktime(tm) is a "niche" format.

We ship hundreds of QuickTime(tm) based uncompressed video cards aweek that go straight into the high end of the television industry.With that volume of sales, from a single manufacturer, QuickTime isactually THE standard file format for the industry. It's simple, wejust ship more systems based on QuickTime than any other manufacturercombined.

In addition to this, we have made small tweaks to our codec formatto match Apple's uncompressed video format, and this means that we arecompatible with products used by our codec, from Blackmagic Design andAJA Video, as well as the Io. There is also dozens of products frommanufacturers such as Blackmagic Design, AJA Video, Aurora Video,Pinnacle that are QuickTime based.

The number of systems being delivered by these manufactures wouldoutnumber in a week the yearly sales volume of the biggest dedicatedsystems companies combined in the industry. QuickTime is a standardthat dominates the industry now, has the flexibility to last well intothe future, and exists in higher volume than any other file format inthe high end of the video industry.

A good demonstration of the flexibility of the QuickTime file formatis its compatibility with different media data types. The Blackmagiccodec can even allow DeckLink cards to capture, render and play out theQuickTime file format used by Digital Voodoo(tm) cards.

This is the flexibility Digital Voodoo's current customers will nodoubt use to upgrade to DeckLink cards and use their current mediafiles. Luckily for them, QuickTime allows this flexibility!

3) They claim that QuickTime is being constantly updated, andrequires too much engineering work to remain compatible.

This is just plain wrong, and any well-written piece of QuickTimesoftware will last almost forever.

We recently updated our Blackmagic software codec on our web site toinclude support for 16 bit rendering in Adobe After Effects(tm), whichuntil then had been only supported in the codec in our shippingDeckLink installer. The codec it replaced had been on our web site forover two years, and had originally been written in a single weekend andran under QuickTime 5 on Mac OS X 10.0.0.

This codec has kept working fine for all the time since without anychanges at all. We have had many QuickTime updates as Apple has addednew features, and the codec never been changed. We have also had manyOS updates, and the codec has never been changed.

We provided updates to our software for DeckLink and Kona in both HDand SD for Final Cut Pro 4, and added support for new features, but theolder installer also worked fine if you did not want the newfeatures.

We have recently tested the current DeckLink installer on the newApple G5, and the next Mac OS X Panther 10.3, and everything is workingfine and no changes to the current installer on our web site arerequired. We even ported the same QuickTime code to Windows 2000(tm)and XP, which only took a month of engineering time, and this alsoworked fine.

I simply cannot see how anyone can complain that these updates tothe OS and QuickTime itself could cause a high engineering workload.Any QuickTime updates only add new features. Apart from sending theusual warnings to customers about trying new software while in themiddle of a job, these updates don't cause us any problems at all.

4) They claim that Final Cut Pro is a "niche" editing product.

This is an insane analysis. Final Cut Pro has been growing fasterthan any other product in the television industry in history. We couldnot be happier with the sales we make to people who use this powerfulediting software. This software is not just powerful, but has beendeveloped to include features for the high-end industry.

Final Cut Pro has opened up a world of low cost hardware solutionsthat can do real work in the high-end industry, and allow people toafford high quality television production systems, which was just notpossible before it was released.

If I look at the town I live in, there might be about 2 customersfor an RGB based HD capture product, but 50 customers for a Final CutPro HD/SD based capture card such as DeckLink HD. Most companies arescrambling to get onto the Final Cut Pro bandwagon, while they arecalling it a niche editing market!

This has got to be the most drastically wrong analysis I have everseen a technology company make.

Have these guys even noticed the size and growth of the AppleComputer booth at NAB and IBC over the last few years? Have theynoticed the speed of the G5? Apple have been quoting 5 or more layersof real time video via RT Extreme built into Final Cut Pro 4! That'swhy Blackmagic Design is behind Apple and Final Cut Pro all theway.

I cannot believe they can claim this application is a "niche"market. it's nuts!

I just cannot understand why a company would send out anannouncement like this. It's disappointing for me personally because Ifounded Digital Voodoo and ran it until about 2.5 years ago when I lostmanagement control of the company, and resigned.

I started that company to use an open standard like QuickTime tohelp make the highest quality video more affordable for the industry.It's sad to see what that's degenerated into, however Blackmagic Designcontinues that tradition, and has released many low cost products thatare very exciting.

DeckLink HD is the latest of these products, and it's so exciting tobe back making the tools creative people can afford to buy, but thatalso includes the highest quality possible. Many people are with us andwant to change the industry to a more affordable one and a morecreative one. I might have had to change the vehicle, but I am still onthat same journey.

I can only assume this announcement is aimed to try and get someattention so the anti-Mac crowd notice their new company BlueFish. Orthey have been unable to compete in the Final Cut Pro(tm) hardwaremarket, and are trying to now compete with Final Cut Pro(tm) basedsolutions to try and generate some sales on the Windows side.

I cannot see any other reason for it, but a cheap PR exercise, as Ibelieve the info in this statement on their web site is just plainwrong. We can do both Mac and Windows on the same hardware boardwithout needing to dump on the Mac side. I hope our customersappreciate that stability we have created for them, and how we alwaysthink of their needs first.

Anyway I hope this gives a counter argument to the statement on theDigital Voodoo(tm) web site. I also hope it helps people understand howcritically important technologies such as QuickTime are to allowing lowcost production tools that actually work right, and in the way we needin the high end industry.

It's still an exciting time to be involved with all this, and Icannot sleep most nights, as I want to get back into the office and seewhat our engineers are making. It's like Christmas every day!

Regards,

Grant Petty Blackmagic Design