Inside View
Aura2.5b, "Whassup
With That?"
by Steve Bowie
With a modicum of ballyhoo, Aura2.5b has appeared on the world scene. There were some surprises in this release, even for those directly involved in it!
(Currently 2.5b is ONLY available as part of Toaster[2] build 3866. The standalone version is due shortly into the new year)
Surprise, Surprise!
Foremost among the changes, NewTek announced the following enhancements:
LightWave Video Device (paint on LW surfaces)
Chroma blur (for improved DV chromakeys)
Stabilization 2 points
Wrapping Grid
Plasma
Perlin Noise
Support for DPS files added
Support for DV files added
Video device overlay mode w. alpha channel
For the FULL update info, click here.What Is All That Stuff, Anyhow?
Let's talk about a few of these items.
Chroma blur - we all owe a debt to Chris Cosner for keeping the torch burning on this one all last year! This filter can have a dramatic impact on the quality of chromakeying with DV footage.
2 Point Stabilization - this is a really nice addition to the pixel-tracking toolset. With it, you can easily correct for all manner of shooting instability problems.
Wrapping Grid - this is nothing less than a mini-morph application, and should be quite useful!
Plasma & Perlin Noise -along with the Background Generator, these two comprise a new filter class -- Render. With a little imagination, they can be used to supplement existing imagery, or perhaps to create novel animated backdrops.
Support for DV files - with the plethora of DV types in use, this has been a major headache for some until now. Let's hope this is the answer!
Support for DPS files - ditto!
Video device overlay with alpha - this improvement to the live video overlay in the Project window allows it to retain transparency data. This was key to implementing the next new feature...
But Wait ... What About the BIG One?
I deliberately left the biggest "news" for last. LightWave fans were thrilled to see "LightWave® Video Device (to paint on LW surfaces)" listed -- we've been hoping for this for years!
And it's real. Not only has NewTek been hinting at it for some time, but the official release notes list it. I've used it, and so have a number of others. No wonder then some were very disappointed to find it absent in AuraVT 2.5b!
Dang Those Aliens!
Folks, nobody is perfect -- not even at NewTek, with all that alien assistance. Here's the deal:
Aura's developers and NewTek, in conjunction with their merry band of beta testers, painstakingly test new Aura versions in both standalone and VideoToaster environments. The executable is basically the same, though one or another may be released first for a variety of reasons. There are of course some differences in the configuration of the two.
Ordinarily, the practice is that the standalone test version is always the most recent build. The Toaster edition is updated after the standalone has been thrashed for a while.
Where's My LW Texture Display?!!
One significant difference between the two versions being tested at any time, is that the VT version can display the Switcher's program output. Here's the catch, so pay attention: At the moment, Aura can't do that AND show the output of the LightWave Video Device ... it can do one or the other, but not both.
When the The Toaster test version was updated shortly before release, it was (as usual) configured to permit the Switcher Program video display ... which unfortunately elimated the possibility of the LightWave overlay!
About the situation, NewTek's Paul Lara says:
"... the LightWave filter requires more than just the addition of the plug-in code, but necessitates a change in the display code of Aura VT itself." Paul Lara When 3866 was released, its press release was drawn from the current beta version's "readme" file, which does describe the (existing) LW Video Device. No-one caught the fact that it was not an active feature of the VT version.
Paul adds: "Unfortunately, I was not aware of this while working on the readme file outlining the new features."
The Good News
First, what about the upcoming standalone release?
"In the meantime, we're preparing the rollout of Aura 2.5 stand-alone for later this month, which WILL allow Aura to communicate with LightWave." Paul Lara Will AuraVT users ever get this longed for function? Here's the official word:
"Regarding the LW support in Aura VT, we will fix it soon. It's just a matter of time." - Sebastien Miglio, Aura Product Mgr.
"While a momentary setback, the programmers say this can be implemented in the future, so stay tuned." Paul Lara So, the upshot of this little faux pas is that LightWavers will have to wait just a little longer while the dev team does a little tweaking. Standalone users will win the race this time, but AuraVT users won't be too far behind.
Although superficially there isn't too much difference between 2.5b and its recent forebears, there's actually been a lot of work put into it. Aura users are going to be very pleased with the result, and even happier to know that the developers are toiling away on version 3 as I write this!
