SYNTHETIC APERTURE SHIPS ECHO FIRE 1.1, BRINGING ENHANCED VIDEO PREVIEWING TO ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS AND PHOTOSHOP

New Version Adds Realtime Previews in After Effects, Media 100 Support

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, CA -- June 15, 2000 -- Synthetic Aperture today began shipping the latest update to Echo Fire, its video previewing toolkit for Adobe After Effects and Photoshop.

"The number one request we had from users of Echo Fire 1.0 was for realtime video previewing in After Effects," said Robert Currier, President, Synthetic Aperture, "so that's what we added to version 1.1. It goes beyond standard RAM preview by showing you your work on a real video monitor, and gives the option of previewing from disk, reducing the need for huge amounts of RAM."

Also new to this version is support for additional video output cards, including Media 100 and the Igniter and Fuse cards from Aurora Video Systems. Other enhancements include a screen previewer to provide video preview capability to virtually all applications, drag-and-drop utilities to streamline image creation workflow, enhanced safe action and title overlays for 16:9 and 14:9 aspect ratios, and additional image scaling options.

Realtime Previews in Adobe After Effects

Echo Fire 1.1 provides realtime previews of After Effects compositions on an NTSC/PAL video monitor. Previews can be either RAM-based--as with the After Effects' built-in RAM preview--or disk-based, greatly increasing the available preview length. Previews may be saved for repeated viewing and client approval. All of Echo Fire's usual settings--including 16:9 aspect ratio conversion and waveform and vectorscope overlays--can be included in the realtime preview.

Support for Additional Video Hardware

In addition to the FireWire and QuickTime Video Output Component support contained in Echo Fire 1.0, the new version adds support for additional video output devices, including the Media 100 Vincent and P6000 boards, and Aurora Video Systems Igniter and Fuse boards.

Screen Previewing

While Echo Fire directly supports Adobe After Effects and Photoshop, other applications--such as specialized paint packages and 3D rendering applications--can also benefit from accurate video previews. Echo Fire 1.1 adds a screen previewing application which displays a user-selectable portion of the computer desktop on the NTSC/PAL video monitor.

Drag and Drop Simplicity

To output compressed movies to FireWire or other supported output device, Echo Fire 1.1 provides a new drag-and-drop output utility. By dropping one or more movies onto the application, they are seamlessly sent to your output device, providing the ideal way to output footage split across multiple movie files.

Compatibility

Echo Fire is available for PowerPC-based Macintosh systems and is compatible with Adobe After Effects 4.0 and later and Adobe Photoshop 5.0 and later. It requires Mac OS 8.1 or newer and QuickTime 4.0 or later. The video output device must have a QuickTime Video Output Component, such as Apple FireWire, Pinnacle Systems Targa 1000/2000, Digital Voodoo D1 Desktop, or have a specific Echo Fire driver provided, such as the Media 100 and Aurora Video Systems Fuse and Igniter boards. A complete list of supported video boards is available on the company's Web site. For use with FireWire, a DV camcorder or media converter is required. Echo Fire is compatible with NTSC and PAL video systems.

Availability and Upgrades

Echo Fire is available for immediate purchase. List price for Echo Fire is US $275. Orders placed for electronic delivery directly from the company's Web site http://www.synthetic-ap.com receive a discounted price of US $255. Registered owners of Echo Fire 1.0 are eligible for a free downloadable upgrade. A demo version--good for a fully functional 72-hour evaluation period--is available on the Web site.

About Synthetic Aperture

Founded in 1995, Synthetic Aperture is a provider of practical tools and services for digital video and audio. In addition to Echo Fire, Synthetic Aperture publishes the Video Finesse filters for Adobe Premiere, a line of digital video clip art collections, and the popular free utility Test Pattern Maker.

Further information on Synthetic Aperture may be obtained by calling (949) 493-3444, accessing the company's web site at http://www.synthetic-ap.com, or by emailing sales@synthetic-ap.com.