DV Guru and self-professed camera geek Adam Wilt makes the case that resolution’s importance to overall image quality is overstated.

A typical study assigns the following weights to brightness, contrast, and resolution:
Contrast 64%
Resolution 21%
Brightness 15%
Resolution, then, is only a factor, and not the largest factor, in the determination of the subjective quality of a television picture.

More here. In a related article, Oliver Peters takes on resolution purists.

Red has announced Build 16 v3.2.1 for the Red One, as well as updates to REDCINE, RED Alert, and the RedCode RAW Quicktime Component. Included in the RED Alert update is a tool called RedRushes, which is sort of a quick and dirty way to set in/out points and generate rushes for offline editing (with batch options and .RSX support).

In other Red-related news, there is a new render of Scarlett that has been posted. Engadget picked up the story a few days ago.

 Shoot35 SGfollow focus [4:13m]: Download

Last fall FreshDV posted the results from our 2007 Follow Focus Shootout, which compared 5 different popular models for 15mm rod configurations. We intend to continue updating that review series as new models and features hit the market, and to that end we are offering this video review of Shoot35’s follow focus, the SGfollow focus unit. You may know Shoot35 more commonly as the makers of the SGPro 35mm adapter. The SGfollow focus is a £199 unit that now ships with a standard accessory port…our review unit did not include the accessory port, only the 4mm connection shaft that the port attaches to. More details on this update here.

You can watch the review below, at FreshTV, or view all 6 follow focus reviews conveniently in one playlist here.

stockfootageforfree.com is a new site started by the Footage Firm folks that offer true, honest to goodness free stock video clips. There’s a decent sized archive to choose from, so get to maxxing out your broadband connections!

The new Focus Enhancements FS5 video recorder is now available. This latest version to the Focus line of hard-drive recorders adds better support for metadata and can be wirelessly accessed on-set for better logging on the fly. The FS-5 also includes MXF support that allows HDV media to be edited natively in Avid. B&H has it in stock for $2,195.

Kottke.org has an interesting post on possible collateral damage from the ascendence of high-quality Blu-ray and digital filmmaking.

“…Some studios are even going so far as to scrub the grain out of NEW releases that have been shot on film. Case in point: New Line’s Pan’s Labyrinth Blu-ray Disc. When I saw this film in the theaters, it was dark and gritty. The grain was a deliberate stylistic choice — part of the artistic character of the film. New Line’s Blu-ray, on the other hand, is sparkly and glossy — almost entirely grain-free. So much fine detail has been removed that the faces of characters actually look waxy. Everyone looks like a plastic doll.”

I’m curious what FreshDV readers think about this subject. Should studios be making creative decisions that could override the original artistic intent of a filmmaker? Reply with your thoughts in the comments below.

(Thanks to Ajit for the link)

Ever wonder what formats and encoding options the “big boys” use for their streaming video content? Jan Ozer has written a detailed 2-part article on the subject. In it, he talks about how he examined video content from ABC, Accuweather, ESPN, CNET, Cisco, Microsoft, and many others. He breaks down into tables the current trends as well as what formats and datarates are in use. So if you are re-evaluating your codec options, perhaps this info will be helpful. Read Part1 and Part2.

VeeYou 1.5 is a plugin for Final Cut Pro, Motion, and After Effects that allows you to automatically generate EQ meters and VU animations based on the audio in your project. There are a number of visual meter/gauge options to choose from, including a 3d version. You can download the latest update here, and if you are looking for some instructions, check out the tutorial video or demo.

Studio Daily has posted a video that talks about best practices and workflows for getting Red footage from REDCine into your NLE of choice. Watch it here.

Andrew Balis has written a detailed tutorial for how to handle a number of ingest/output formats in Apple Color, and the best practices for each. Topics include:

1) Capture Card Workflow- Original Format
2) Native Format Capture And Output - Original Format
3) Start With Native Format - Output to Different Format
4) Start With Native Format Not Supported For Output - Final Output to Tape Back to Native Format

The latest version of Sony’s DVD Architect software can now create Blu-ray discs in the same workflow used to create standard definition DVDs. You can even create one disc, and use it to generate an SD DVD as well as a Blu-ray disc, complete with menus. Sweet.

The 5.0 update is free to registered DVD Architect 4.5 users, use this link to take advantage of the offer (which expires at the end of this month). You can also purchase the full Vegas editing suite and be eligible for the DVD Architect Blu-ray upgrade.

Bimi & Herschel have released another fantastic educational tutorial on the subject of Audio Compression, both with hardware and software. You can check it out here.

Real World Video Compression has posted a handy resolution reference matrix that outlines common frame sizes and aspect ratios.

ZDNet Clock is a software tool you can use to overclock your Mac Pro (or XServe’s, if you’ve got ‘em).

“The improvement in performance is quite remarkable. For example, the cheapest Mac Pro in the current series with a 2.80 GHz processor runs significantly faster after overclocking than the most expensive at 3.20 GHz. This is because in addition to the CPU frequency, the main memory clock speed is also increased, which results in an additional increase in speed. The price difference between these two machines is 1430 Euros.

ZDNet plays it safe when overclocking. ZDNet Clock does not use any voltage increase for the CPU, the front-side bus (FSB) or the memory modules. Voltage increase leads in increased electro-erosion and shortens the life of the modules in question. In order to designate an overclocking trial as stable in the ZDNet test, the computer has to perform the mprime torture test for 24 hours without any errors. And in addition to this, there must not be any reports of ECC errors from the FB-DIMM main memory modules.”

At this point I’d say proceed with extreme caution if you cannot afford to replace your Mac Pro should it all go sour…but if you are sufficiently interested, you can download ZDNet Clock here. More info on adverse side effects and such here.

Stu’s Rebel Cafe has an interesting discussion on the feature Miami Vice. I’d recommend the read.