Autodesk Smoke 2013 becomes more accessible
April 2012, One of the most talked about announcements at the NAB 2012 show was the release of the Autodesk Smoke product on the Mac platform for $3495 for a perpetual license with an optional $525/yr for maintenance with updates, in addition to the traditional Unix/Linux version that is still available. The product is being launched along with celebrating the 20th anniversary of Flame. The new GUI and version of Smoke incorporated both NLE video editing and effects processing in one application package.
The basis for the redesign and port from Linux to Mac was adherence to the idea that “(the) creative (process) is and should be tool independent”. After discussion and surveys with many creative and production professionals, the feedback was the current tool was too expensive and too hard to use for mainstream small production and creative team. Hence, a new platform that would be cost and platform compatible with competitive products such as Final Cut / DaVinci and others. The code for the new platform, the Mac, does not require additional GPUs nor does it use optimized acceleration blocks written in CUDA. The code itself is designed to handle and edit uncompressed video and has integrated support for storage that is under the ThunderBold interface to the computer The Thunderbolt (TB) interface was the last barrier to storage and data access for large uncompressed video files that come from a variety of cameras.
The edting tool supports integrated effects handling for color correction, white balance, fades, multi-channel sound, multi-source editing and rendering options from YouTube level through SD to HD to full 1080p 10 bit color. The software will be going to pre-release trial in June and will be relased a a full rollup in late Q3.
