Canto Software has announced the immediate availability of Video Suite 2, which turns Cumulus 7 into a digital asset management system. Video Suite 2 is designed to enable video professionals to catalog video and Flash animations, and add all the metadata they need to track, find, and reuse those assets.

Video Suite 2 extends the capabilities of any Cumulus 7 digital asset management system by enabling users to catalog video into scene-specific shots, each with its own thumbnail and metadata. This gives users the ability to keep transcripts, model releases, credits, and more virtually attached to the videos themselves. In addition, Video Suite 2 automatically captures file-specific metadata, such as shot duration, frame rate, codec information, etc. The Windows version of Video Suite 2 can automatically parse video into separate shots based on shot-boundary detection technology. Once footage has been cataloged, metadata can be added and edited; shot boundaries can be moved; shots can be merged or split; video frames can be exported using resampling or other processing options that make the frames suitable for print or other media; timecode shot boundary references can be exported for use in other systems; and individual clips or entire movies can be streamed live over the internet using RTSP-enabled video streaming servers. All editing is done on cataloged metadata--at no time are original video files altered in any way.

Preferences windows are used to determine system settings, and Video Suite 2 systems can be installed and launched by end users. Support for Flash 8 extends the flexibility of Video Suite 2 to organizations that publish assets in any motion-graphics file format. Users can catalog and organize Flash 8 animations and video, adding links to the assets used to create them, and track changes using check-in/out and version control. Video Suite 2 sells for $4,995 for a 10-user license. Additional user licenses are available. Video Suite 2 is available for Mac OS X (Universal Binary) or Windows (XP/Vista) and works with any Cumulus 7.1.1 (and later) system, including Cumulus 7 Workgroup, Cumulus 7 Enterprise, and BrandAssistant. Cumulus 7 systems are sold separately by authorized Canto resellers.

(www.canto.com)

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