QuVIS Acuity User Manual - Product Overview
Product Overview
In 2003, the QuVIS Acuity was introduced as the next generation multi-format digital video mastering server. At that
time, content producers were in the process of transitioning from Standard Definition (SD) to High Definition (HD)
production and the large-scale adoption of Digital workflows was in full swing. The QuVIS Acuity’s revolutionary
Virtual Tape (VTP) architecture provided a bridge between tape-based workflows and online digital production.
In 2005, a collaboration of movie studios published the framework of Digital Cinema content specifications and
adopted JPEG2000 as the image-encoding standard. Many elements of these recommendations have undergone
formalization through the SMPTE standards committees and are now industry specifications. With the formalization
of these standards, Digital Cinema as an industry has taken flight and the global initiative to transition film-based
theaters to Digital Cinemas is well underway.
Content production for the Digital Cinema industry has largely been a computer or file-based process. In part this
has been due to the lack of mastering hardware capable of encoding JPEG2000 content in real-time prior to the
standards and workflows being formalized and implemented. While other hardware manufacturers have made
strides in providing hardware-based solutions, they have continued to fall short of reliable real-time encoding. That
is, up until the QuVIS Acuity.
In 2007, the QuVIS Acuity has undergone a generational evolution to provide a cutting-edge mastering platform for
a revised Digital Cinema and post-production industry. At the core of the QuVIS Acuity a new Video Signal
Processor (VSP – version 9) enables the Acuity to not only be the first digital video-mastering server capable of
real-time JPEG2000 and QPE
™ encoding (real-time record) but also to provide the power and flexibility to support a
powerful feature set not available on any other server.
The QuVIS Acuity has been upgraded to provide the most advanced mastering capabilities: this new feature set
includes mastering support for Standard Definition (SD), High Definition (HD), 2K and 4K formats in the most
comprehensive variety of encoding levels, color sampling, frame rates, color spaces, and scanning options
available today. The advanced Digital Cinema mastering features available on the Acuity platform include: Real-
time DCI 2K JPEG2000 Acquisition and Playback, Real-time DCI AES Encryption, Real-time Composition Timeline
Editing and Preview, Real-time QuVIS TitleMaster
™ (server-based) DCI Subtitle rendering, and Real-time Input and
Output Colorspace Conversion.
In addition to providing a comprehensive DCI JPEG2000 mastering platform, the QuVIS Acuity continues to offer
the patented and widely accepted wavelet-based image encoding method, QPE (Quality Priority Encoding), that is
both visually lossless and more efficient than other commercial solutions available today. QPE remains the optimal
choice for reducing online storage requirements while guaranteeing the highest image quality possible.
The QuVIS Acuity offers 16 independent digital, format free audio I/O channels with a choice of 16 or 24-bit audio at
44.1 and 48 kHz allowing the ability to sync audio to video clips recorded at any frame rate.
The QuVIS Acuity offers transparent support for a complete SD, HD or Digital Cinema digital workflow. Beginning
with acquisition and throughout the post process, from color correction to DSR (Dirt and Scratch Removal), editing,
effects, audio processing finishing and optional down conversion for distribution, QuVIS can integrate with or
replace equipment within of existing systems.
Unique to the QuVIS Acuity, the newly enhanced Virtual Tape Editor (VTP Editor) provides complete access to
timeline assets and control of Composition layout for both JPEG2000 and QPE projects. This powerful interface is
invaluable for accurately editing track assets, track asset timing and subtitle track positioning, and adjusting sync
points. Enhanced by the QuVIS TitleMaster subtitling and Output Colorspace Conversion engines, virtual tape
projects, with or without subtitles, can be accurately previewed on a wide range of HD-SDI display devices in the
native colorspace of the display. This means there is no longer a need to tie up a Digital Cinema screening room
and projector just to make sure that a composition tracks are properly synchronized or that subtitles are timed
correctly. This flexibility provides complete real-time preview and adjustment capabilities during the mastering
process not available on any other Digital Cinema mastering solution.
Combined with network-based remote front panel GUI access, the multitude of mastering features, scalability, and
comprehensive professional I/O options, the QuVIS Acuity is the most comprehensive and cost-effective Digital
Cinema mastering platform available on the market today.
QuVIS Acuity
™
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