SYNTHETIC APERTURE'S ECHO FIRE 2.0 ADDS SUPPORT FOR ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS 5.0, FIREWIRE VIDEO ROUTING

Realtime Previewing with Audio Enhances After Effects

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, CA -- April 10, 2001 -- Synthetic Aperture today announced Echo Fire 2.0, a major upgrade to its digital video previewing and productivity software for Adobe After Effects and Photoshop.

"With Echo Fire 2.0 we wanted to build on the capabilities of the new Adobe After Effects 5.0." said Robert Currier, President, Synthetic Aperture, "Motion graphics designers want to see their work in motion, and with our Rapid Preview technology we can deliver realtime video previews within After Effects--with audio--via FireWire and other video outputs. And our new LiveFire video routing feature brings DV video output to any program that can display QuickTime movies, including professional audio programs like ProTools and Digital Performer."

Realtime Previews with Audio

Echo Fire's After Effects video previews include realtime playback, giving designers the ability to see exactly what their work looks like on video without the need to render separate movie files. Previews can loop and be paused, stepped, rewound, and fast-forwarded, allowing for detailed checks of key areas. Previews can be saved to disk for future reference and client approval. When used with After Effects 5.0, previews include audio, making it easy to check for proper audio/video synchronization.

FireWire Video Routing

Using Echo Fire's LiveFire feature, any application that can play QuickTime movies can now have DV-compressed movies routed to the FireWire connection. For professional audio applications like DigiDesign ProTools and MOTU Digital Performer, this means video playback locked to audio without the mechanical delays of a VTR, a miniature image on the computer screen, or the need for another PCI-bus slot. Echo Fire is fully compatible with Apple QuickTime 4.1 and 5.0 so it won't interfere with the operation of other QuickTime applications.

Tools for Better Workflow

Echo Fire also includes features designed to improve digital video workflow. The Drop Play utility allows a collection of movies and still images to be previewed on video by simply dropping them onto the application, with VTR-style control over the preview playback. Any of Echo Fire's preview images can be saved to disk for later reference. And Echo Fire's multiple scaling options--using high-quality bilinear and bicubic scaling--ensure that previews appear accurately on the video monitor.

Flexible Video Output Options

Echo Fire supports a wide variety of video output devices including Apple DV FireWire, Media 100, Digital Voodoo D1 Desktop, Aurora Video Systems Igniter and Fuse, Digital Origin DV FireWire, and Pinnacle Systems CinéWave and Targa 1000/2000. In addition, Echo Fire is designed to work with any device which includes a QuickTime Video Output Component.

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, including After Effects 5.0 and Photoshop 6.0. It requires Mac OS 8.6 or newer and QuickTime 4.1.2 or later. A complete list of supported video cards 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 2.0 is expected to begin shipments in May 2001. List price for Echo Fire is $275. Upgrades from previous versions are $49. Customers purchasing Echo Fire 1.1 between March 1, 2001 and 30 days after Echo Fire 2.0 ships are eligible for a free upgrade to the latest version. Echo Fire is available through a network of resellers and directly from Synthetic Aperture.

About Synthetic Aperture

Founded in 1995, Synthetic Aperture is a provider of practical tools 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.