October 30th...

[Jannard]

"The camera is arguably one of the most important of all inventions… it is the single tool that has the ability to stop time, record history, generate art, tell stories, and communicate messages that transcend language like nothing else ever conceived." Jim

[Jannard]

Hold on. Hang in. We are almost there. And it will be worth the wait… but this time we are going to take just long enough to get it right.

Jim

[Jannard]

Things to keep in mind:

1.RED was just a thought three years ago.
2. We know a lot more today than we did yesterday.
3. We have changed a ton of things… just as we promised.
4. A major part of our program is personal service.* Sleep tight. RED is awake.
5. Development is expensive.
6. We listen more than you think. Thanks.
7. Line-skipping not spoken here.
8. We learned that the process becomes the finished product, but only a few are really meant to be Beta testers.
9. And as always... everything is subject to change. Count on it.

Jim

[Jannard]

EPIC-X FEATURES


RED DSMC (Digital Stills and Motion Camera)

New MYSTERIUM-X 5K sensor
5K (2:1) at 1-100fps
4K (2:1) at 1-125fps
Quad HD at 1-120fps
3K (2:1) at 1-160fps
2K (2:1) at 1-250fps
1080P (scaled from full frame) at 1-60fps
Increased Dynamic Range, reduced noise
Time Lapse, Frame Ramping
REDCODE 250
ISO 200-8000
New FLUT™ Color Science

Completely Modular System, each Module individually upgradeable
Independent Stills and Motion Modes (both record full resolution REDCODE RAW)
5 Axis Adjustable Sensor Plate
Multiple Recording Media Options (Compact Flash, 1.8” SSD, RED Drives, RED RAM)
Wireless REDMOTE control
Touchscreen LCD control option
Bomb-EVF, RED-EVF and RED-LCD compatible
Multiple User Control Buttons
Interchangeable Lens mounts including focus and iris control of electronic RED, Canon and Nikon lenses (along with Zoom data)
“Touch Focus Tracking” with electronic lens mounts and RED Touchscreen LCDs
LDS and /i Data enabled PL Mount
Rollover Battery Power
Independent LUTs on Monitor Outputs
Independent Frame Guides and Menu overlays on Monitor Outputs
Monitor Ports support both LCD and EVF
True Shutter Sync In/Out and Strobe Sync Out
720P, 1080P and 2K monitoring support
Gigagbit Network interface and 802.11 Wireless interface
3 Axis internal motion sensor, built in GPS receiver
Enhanced Metadata
Full size connectors on Pro I/O Module. AES Digital Audio input, single and dual link HD-SDI
Support for RED, most Arri 19mm, Studio 15mm, 15mm Lite, Panavision and NATO accessories

Dimensions- Approx. 4”x4”x5.5”
Weight (Brain only)- Approx. 6 lbs (2.72kg)

Jim

[Jannard]

The 1st new camera to be released will be EPIC-X.* It is the reward for RED ONE owners.* It will be released in 4 stages.

Jim

[Jannard]

[Jannard]

So why no definite dates in the October 30th announcement?

1. We don't have a good track record of making deadlines. So why frustrate our customers any more than we already have?
2. This is an EXTREMELY complicated project with a ton of difficult tricks. We are in uncharted territory.
3. Engineers are optimistic. Question- "So how long will it take to get this done?"… Answer- "6 months, no problem." On top of them usually being overly optimistic, we are always changing things mid-stream… which is an engineer's worst nightmare. These are the primary reasons we are behind a bit in the originally posted target schedule.
4. Several of our suppliers have gone out of business in the bad economy. It takes time to find replacements.
5. Customer feedback. It seems in vogue for companies to "listen to their customers". We actually do. Anyway, listening means paying attention and adjusting the program based on feedback. Adjustments take time.
6. We also changed our release strategy. We had originally planned on releasing EPIC and Scarlet as we did the RED ONE. Bad idea. Instead of "beta" version released to everyone, we will release production versions to everyone after a tight beta program. This change takes longer to accommodate testing, fixes, bug patrol and more testing, upgrades, etc.
7. The market has changed. When we announced EPIC and Scarlet, the world was hot. Now it is cold. No reason to rush to an empty market.
8. "Yesterday we knew nothing." How could we possibly make accurate predictions on delivery when we had no clue what we were doing? "Today we know something." That makes our estimates better than before but still not perfect. "Tomorrow we just might be dangerous." We should be getting better with our estimates as time moves on. If not, we aren't very good learners.
9. We have ALWAYS said (beginning at NAB 2006) that "everything is subject to change, including specs and delivery dates." Yet, it seems to be human nature to forget this caveat. So we will just not give absolute, drop-dead delivery dates anymore. Things will be released when we are finished, and finished properly. We'll continue to give regular updates (every week or so) on specific milestones so you have some idea what's going on.

The good news is that the EPIC/Scarlet project is better than ever expected. The images coming out of the new Mysterium-X sensor have exceeded expectations. The flexibility of the modular system has surprised all of us. The system is significantly better now than when it was 1st announced. Now let’s get to it.

[Jannard]

Scarlet 2/3" Program. Given the recent new VDSLR releases, we have decided to up the capability of the Scarlet 2/3" Fixed 8x and interchangeable models. Several new features are being added that will NOT impact the release schedule (anymore than it would have been otherwise) but it will mildly impact the pricing. We should have all the details ready by the end of this month.

Some of the new Scarlet 2/3" capabilities include:
1. Increased REDCODE data rates
2. New FLUT™ Color, Gamma and Sensitivity Science. Now same as EPIC.
3. More extensive modular system integration.
4. Interchangeable Lens mounts including focus and iris control of electronic RED, Canon and Nikon lenses, along with Zoom data (Scarlet 2/3" Interchangeable)
5. "Touch Focus Tracking" with electronic lens mounts and RED touchscreen LCD's (Scarlet 2/3" Interchangeable and 8x Fixed)
5. Two independent microphone level channels, balanced input circuits, 48V Phantom Power, digitized at 24-bit 48KHz.
6. GigaBit Ethernet port
7. Scaled 1080P at 60fps

To accomplish all of these, we have added one additional ASIC and four new boards to each model Scarlet 2/3".

[Jannard]

Sooooo. What can go wrong? Lots. We are characterizing the ASIC now and there are still issues to work through. We are not completely finished. Everyone needs to fully understand that while we are almost there… we are not there yet. The schedule as outlined is based on no significant bombs going off in the last ten yards.

SOME OTHER UPDATES.

The 1st rev. of new REDCINE-X (Mac and Windows) is available for download now. There is also a new release of ROCKETcine-X. Both free (as always).

The new RED Mattebox will be produced and will ship prior to EPIC and Scarlet release.

18mm RPP final working prototypes in December. Production and shipping should begin in January. We feel pretty good about this schedule since we have history on this program.

Both RED Rocket™ and the Breakout Box are now currently shipping.

In anticipation of our customers having several high-speed solid-state recording options for EPIC and Scarlet (Compact Flash, 1.8" SSD, etc.), we are announcing RED Station. More news on that in a couple of weeks. Delivery will be in advance of shipping production EPIC and Scarlet cameras.

[Jannard]