Building cross-platform media workgroup solutions

This paper presents several essential development considerations pertinent to the creation of a new nonlinear editing (NLE) system operating on the Wi ndows NT platform. A significant factor is that the new system is based on a product initially developed for the Macintosh. The initial product operat ed with Apple's QuickTime file-compatible standard, which offered several a dvantages resulting from the program's file architecture. The resulting NLE developed by Media 100 Inc. is called iFinish. The product is a cross-plat form compatible system that permits easy access to the hardware by other ap plications as well as the use of a substantial number of QuickTime-compatib le software applications. Also, the initial signal architecture readily len ds itself to the inclusion of more recent interface standards including DV (IEEE 1394) and serial digital interface (SDI, SMPTE 259M). This is a conse quence of the inherent flexibility stemming from the design choices initial ly made. Based on the ITU-R BT.601 YCrCb, structure, the system design also interfaces to component analog video (CAV) component analog, S-Video, and National Television Standard Committee (NTSC) or phase alternation line (PA L) sources.