Radius EditDV makes the cut

EditDV 1.0: 3 1/2

Following its MotoDV and PhotoDV FireWire acquisition products, Radius Inc. has introduced EditDV, a digital video, nonlinear editing package that offers single-channel real-time playback without the need for an expensive hardware compression board. The $999 application (street price, $750) comes with a Radius FireWire card and cable and offers unprecedented performance at its price point.

Unlike nonlinear editing products like Radius' VideoVision or Scitex Digital Video Inc.'s MicroSphere (see 03.10.97, Page 27), EditDV does not use Motion-JPEG compression to achieve real-time playback of full-screen video. Instead, it uses SoftDV, a Radius software implementation of the DV compression used in digital camcorders. When connected to such a camera or VCR via FireWire, EditDV uses the device's hardware DV decompression to offer full-screen NTSC playback of a single video channel. If a device is not available, the program offers Adobe Premiere-like playback in a preview window on your monitor.

The advantage of this arrangement is obvious. Using only a FireWire-equipped DV camcorder or VCR and a fast hard drive, EditDV lets you create professional-quality video programs without the associated costs. Since all compression occurs in the camera and the quality of miniDV, DVCAM and DVCPRO (three distinct flavors of the Digital Video (DV) format) is widely regarded as superior to that of the professional Beta SP format, DV compression can almost be ignored. The one disadvantage: You can't digitize from an S-video or component video source - all media must already be in one of the three DV formats. To digitize non-DV video you must first transfer it to a DV format readable by your FireWire-equipped DV camcorder.

Cutting it all together

EditDV is bundled with MotoDV (see 09.15.97, Page 13), which provides a no-frills but adequate method of turning DV data into QuickTime movies. Radius has not yet enhanced MotoDV to handle batch loading or loading via timecode but said these features will be in a new version, due around April.

The EditDV interface includes a Project window, where you organize source clips; a Monitors window, where video is viewed when not played via FireWire; and the Sequencer window, where you arrange clips along a time line and add effects and transitions. Once DV media has been transferred to your hard drive as SoftDV-encoded QuickTime files, you can import them into EditDV via a standard import dialog box or Macintosh Drag and Drop. If you drag a folder of QuickTime clips to the Project window, EditDV will automatically place them into a project bin, preserving your file organization within the editing environment. EditDV also supports QuickTime files compressed with other compressor-decompressors (codecs), including those supporting alpha channels; these must be rendered to the SoftDV codec to be played full-screen through the FireWire port.

You assemble programs by dragging clips from the Program window to the time line, or by using the professional three-point editing approach used in high-end nonlinear systems, such as Avid Technology Inc.'s Media Composer. In this system, three of the four points required to determine an edit (source in/out, program time in/out) are determined by the editor, and the fourth is automatically calculated by the program. EditDV automatically adds filler - blank media used as a placeholder - to keep various tracks in sync as you insert, delete and move tracks around on the time line. You can add transitions by simply dragging the appropriate effect from the Transition window to the time line.

EditDV offers multiple video and audio tracks. Because it can only play back a single channel of DV-encoded video at a time, multiple-layer sequences and transitions must be rendered down to a Video Program track, which contains the single Program Master DV video channel. The program's time-saving DraftDV Mode renders a low-resolution DV proxy - great for trying out various renditions of an effect. DraftDV is four times faster than regular renders.

Unfortunately, the Update Video Program Track menu option is not as intelligent as you'd hope. If you render a transition involving more than one video stream (such as a wipe from one shot to the next) to the Video Program track, then make subsequent changes to that edit (such as changing the duration of the transition or adding an effect to one of the shots), EditDV won't automatically generate a new composite QuickTime file to replace the original. Instead, you must manually remove the rendered movie from the Video Program track, then select the Update function.

Neat stuff

EditDV allows individual clips and sequences to be affected by built-in filters such as tint, color adjust and PZR (Pan Zoom Rotate). All filters can be keyframed over time, and keyframes can be defined as hold, linear or spline. These controls are global to each clip, however, so you can't apply different interpolations in succession to the same clip. Spline interpolation offers no control points for fine tuning.

The program's full-featured luma and chroma keyers are comparable in quality and function to those in the more expensive and more complicated $1,995 After Effects Production Bundle from Adobe Systems Inc. EditDV also has a solid keyframe-based titler.

EditDV requires you to digitize into a separate application, which is a marginal inconvenience. However, the program's lack of batch-capture with timecode capabilities is a bigger problem. Currently, it's difficult to move a completed sequence from one section of the program to another - EditDV won't let you select clips and transitions from several tracks at once. EditDV also doesn't support After Effects filters; its built-in effects use a proprietary API.

EditDV does not suffer from the long-standing problems of Premiere, still at Version 4.2. Most significantly, movies created with EditDV don't have Premiere's audio sync issues. EditDV also feels more integrated and mature than Premiere in dealing with DV, easily handling nonsquare pixel transitions and FireWire output to tape. Premiere's one clear advantage over EditDV is its support of open standard filters.

Conclusions

Despite some rough edges, EditDV is already more compelling than many desktop M-JPEG systems that cost less than $10,000, such as the recently introduced Media 100 QX from Media 100. Radius' SoftDV technology sets a new standard for image quality and interactive playback at this product's price point. High-end video professionals who need the speed and flexibility of two-channel video systems will find EditDV inadequate, but video and multimedia producers looking to edit their own projects will find the MotoDV-EditDV combination offers significant advantages over the aging Premiere.

Radius Inc. of Sunnyvale, Calif., can be reached at (408) 541-6100 or (800) 572-3487; fax (408) 541-6150; http://www.radius.com.

Scorecard: EditDV 1.0 3 1/2

Radius Inc. List price: $999*

Hits: Excellent image quality; full-screen DV playback on NTSC monitor; time-saving DraftDV feature.

Misses: No batch capture; doesn't support After Effects filters; video program track doesn't automatically recognize changes.

*Street price, $750. Upgrades from MotoDV, $349.