Any more PC equality in RED workflow?

[Dylan Reeve]

Editing directly with RED RAW (.r3d) media generated by the camera will always be very limited as it is now in FCP/OSX because .r3d is not a "CODEC". You can't encode .r3d using a computer, which means that even simple dissolves, wipes or a PIP simply can't be done in your NLE's timeline.

No, that's correct. However the RED QT Component provides a QT-native way of accessing the R3D video (albeit in a lower-quality decoding). So you can then utilise various tricks to facilitate editing (in the case of FCP this means all new media such as dissovles and effects is rendered to another codec, in Avid's case media is converted to native Avid media on import).

It's this tool that is currently missing in Windows - there is no access layer available to applications to get at the media.

You can do basic cuts-only off-line stuff and maybe some basic CC/titling, but until the .r3d footage is converted (or transcoded) into some type of standard file format/CODEC , there can be no "serious" editorial or FX work performed with the footage. I don't expect this to change once the .r3d format is opened up to 3rd parties.

That's correct. All that will change is that applications will be able to essentially transcode the R3D footage into another format, or provide realtime display of that footage by means of an intermediate decode.

When the QT component is available for Windows then any QT-aware application will be able to access the RED media through QuickTime's media layer.

In this aspect, Windows and MAC are both on a pretty level playing field. Once the .r3d media is ocnverted into the file "flavor" of choice, both platforms provide great options for posting your project.

Somebody please correct me if i'm wrong...

Well you are a little bit - essentially on the Mac the media can be access without a conversion, it is available in 'realtime' through the QT component. So all clips can be taken into an NLE for offline editorial without a lengthy transcode.

Once that offline cut is made you can then to a final conversion of only the required footage.

In Avid on the Mac for example (using the QT component) we pull all footage into Xpress Pro in 1.5x realtime (so about 90 minutes import time for 60 minutes of footage), which is much faster than any conversion to an intermediate format.

There are two things that will really open Windows up to RED, one is the QT Component (allowing QT-native access to the footage) and the other is the SDK (allowing as-yet unspecified access to the REDCODE footage at a low level for third-party developers).

I think the QT component would actually provide a bigger usability boost in the immediate term, as implementing SDK-based support into existing applications will take time, and in some cases may be very difficult. However most pro video apps are already QT-aware so will be immediately able to access RED footage once the QT component is available.