Kollaborate 1.3 is a major update to our cloud workflow platform for video professionals. We've listened to your feedback and have added many new features based on your requests.

Comment overhaul

We've completely overhauled the comment system to improve performance and provide timeline markers below the video (you can switch this off in the new Playback Settings dialog accessible from the Actions menu). You can click on a marker to highlight it in the Comments pane.

Comments are now sortable by timecode or date (making it easy to see what's new) and can be filtered by color, author, type or matching text. The export dialog also lets you filter by author and you can even restrict exported notes to Favorites only, thus making it easy to build up a select list of comments to send to someone.

Task overhaul

We've also overhauled the Tasks section with a much simpler UI. We now show all tasks in the same list and you can sort and filter them to find the information you need. Tasks are now color-coded, with overdue tasks appearing red, tasks due in the next week appearing orange and high priority tasks appearing blue.

It's now much easier to manage tasks and task status and priority can be batch modified directly from the Tasks page.

Nudging

The Viewers section below the player shows lists of which users have and haven't viewed the file. Any users that haven't viewed it can be nudged, which sends them an email alert reminding them to view it. You can also click the bell icon to be alerted when they view it for the first time (this is a redesign of the old Receipts feature).

Change video thumbnails

You can change the thumbnail of a video to the current frame by going to Actions > Set Thumb to Current Frame.

Player improvements

• Shift + Left / Right Arrow navigates forward and back 1 second
• Added a 5 second skip back button to help you leave comments in the right place
• The new Playback Settings dialog allows you to loop playback and disable the marker bar and autoplay.
• The Info button lists the keyboard shortcuts available for playback
• Images no longer auto zoom - you can now click and hold to zoom in on a part of an image
• Added an expand button to view images full size

Other changes

• Import users from another project into your Team
• Revisions can now be made accessible in shared links
• File statuses can be batch-edited from the Files page
• Previously-entered settings are now remembered when sharing a link and exporting comments
• Files can be filtered by type or status
• Duration is now shown on the Files page
• Search for team members on the Team page
• Annotations now appear automatically when clicking a comment
• Many improvements to marker importing
• Several iPhone browsing improvements
• Many bug fixes and tweaks

Kollaborate is a cloud workflow platform designed to help you work better with colleagues and clients. Upload files to the cloud, have them reviewed by others and then export their notes back to your editing application. To find out more, view the feature list or sign up for the free no-obligation 15-day trial (no credit card needed).

2015 is now upon us so here's a look back at the past twelve months.

We introduced several new products:

CinePlay for Mac, a Mac video player with professional features like timecode, markers, safe areas and overlays. It also integrates with our Kollaborate cloud service to provide cloud video playback, commenting and synced sessions with colleagues.

Kollaborate Plugin Pack - Upload files to the cloud directly from Final Cut Pro X or Adobe Premiere Pro for Mac.

Kollaborate Folder Watcher (beta) - Automatically upload files to the cloud when copied to a particular folder on your hard drive.

Marker Import for Windows - Free Windows tool for importing markers created by our apps into Adobe Premiere Pro. There is also a Mac version available here.

We also released the following major updates free of charge:

Pro Media Tools 1.3 - Complete overhaul of QT Edit's batch processing mode, offering significantly improved performance and stability.

CinePlay 1.1 for Mac - Audio playback, gang multiple files together for simultaneous playback (useful for comparing two or more shots) and playlist support.

CinePlay 1.4 for iOS - Audio playback support.

Cut Notes 2.3 for iPad - Added an Autosave Vault, changed hold behavior to be in line with Cut Notes 1.x and greatly improved Kollaborate cloud integration.

Preference Manager 4.2 - Compatibility with Adobe Creative Cloud 2014 and Lightworks beta for Mac.

In total we released over 100 updates for our apps.

Kollaborate subscribers also received the following features at no extra cost:

• Annotations (drawing over video)
• Color-coded comments
• Favorites
• Batch uploader
• Shared link expiration
• Email notification filtering
• Move files between projects
• Metadata
• Approve / reject files
• Drag and drop file management
• Dark UI option
• Reminders
• Free storage bump and new pricing packages
• Server-side encoding
• QuickLook previews
• Alias overhaul
• Custom departments and positions
• Kollaborate Transfer overhaul with faster encoding and improved queue management

Our most-downloaded app was FCS Remover but our most-used app was Post Haste. Our most popular paid tool was Pro Maintenance Tools. Our most popular iOS app was Video Space Calculator.

We also improved our website in a lot of ways, but most significantly was the creation of an Account section that allows customers to login to manage their licenses and print invoices.

The most popular blog posts in 2014 were:
10 Useful Avid Console Commands (on track to be our most popular of all time)
Fixing missing database errors in DaVinci Resolve
How to protect your video content
Managing frame sequences in Batch Renamer

You may have noticed we've been a little quiet for the past couple of weeks and the reason for this is that we're working on some big updates, so stay tuned for new products and major updates in early 2015. You can keep up to date with new products, features and tips by subscribing to this blog, following us on Twitter or Facebook or by subscribing to our mailing list.

Last week we released Kollaborate Transfer 1.2, an important update to our free Kollaborate uploader.

This update adds lots of improvements to queue management and greater performance and stability when dealing with large batches. We also fixed a couple of issues where the queue could stop processing if one of the files failed.

In addition, the ability to choose whether or not a file should be automatically revised is now back, based on user feedback.

We were made aware that due to an issue in the software update mechanism in version 1.1.5, some users may not be prompted to update when running the older version. If you do not see an update prompt, please download the new version manually.

We've just released Pro Media Tools 1.3.4, a minor update to our suite of media management tools.

Video Check matte detection

If your video is supposed to have a matte on it, Video Check can determine if it is the correct aspect ratio. It can flag up frames where the matte is missing or the wrong size.

Other Video Check improvements include a reduction in flash frame false positives and the fact that detected problems are now listed by timecode instead of frame number.

Gamma Shift Detector improvements

We've improved support for extreme gamma shifts, added timecode displays for each video plus many other UI tweaks.

The app will also now display an error if you try to compare a black or almost entirely black frame, prompting you to select a different one where a gamma shift can be detected.

QT Edit improvements

We've added new Quick Tasks to help you automate disabling or removing audio tracks in batches. We've also added a timecode field to help you navigate through a movie.

Pro Media Tools is an essential toolkit for media professionals. To find out more view the feature list, read the user manual, watch the overview video or download the free 15-day trial.

Sometimes it is necessary to protect video content against unauthorized redistribution. Here's an overview of the main ways of doing this.

Visible Watermarking

This involves placing text or a logo over the video to show the name of the company owning the content.

Pros

• Simple and free
• Doesn't require specialist software to create or view
• Its obvious visibility provides a deterrent
• Difficult to remove if placed in an area that cannot be cropped out

Cons

• Disrupts the movie
• Does not provide any physical protection mechanisms
• No feasible way to tie a movie to a particular person
• May increase movie encoding times

Invisible Watermarking

Some companies offer invisible watermarking by tagging content with a fingerprint. One such example would be Digimarc Guardian.

You would tag the movie and give it to the end user, then if it appears on a file-sharing website you can download it and read the tag to find out which user shared it.

Pros

• Quick to apply to an existing movie without re-encoding
• Can be tied to a specific user
• Does not disrupt the movie

Cons

• Requires specialist software to create and view
• Does not provide any physical protection mechanisms

Content Protection Plugins

Browser plugins like Flash and Silverlight offer their own Digital Rights Management (DRM) protection systems.

Pros

• A lot of control over exactly what the user can and cannot do. For example, you can make a movie unplayable after a certain time period.
• Offers a physical protection mechanism

Cons

• Requires a plugin, which may cause problems with less tech-savvy users
• May not be playable on mobile devices
• May be too expensive for smaller publishers (Adobe does not publish Adobe Access pricing)

HTML5 Content Protection (Encrypted Media Extensions)

This uses web technologies to allow content protection without the need for a plugin. It is frequently misunderstood as a protection mechanism in itself, but in actuality it is just a means of linking HTML5 web video with existing third-party protection systems, so a lot of the pros and cons of plugins still apply.

Pros

• No plugins needed
• A lot of control over exactly what the user can and cannot do. For example, you can make a movie unplayable after a certain time period.
• Offers a physical protection mechanism

Cons

• Currently very little browser support
• Needs to be integrated with an existing DRM system
• Expensive

Streaming

Streaming a file can make it difficult for users to download it, and for someone people this is all that is needed. This can be achieved with proprietary technologies like Adobe Media Server or HTML5 technologies like HTTP Live Streaming.

Pros

• Difficult to download files
• Fast playback times
• Additional features can be added like automatically changing playback quality to match the user's connection

Cons

• Requires preparation of the files in advance
• Can still be downloaded by tech-savvy users with specific software
• Some technologies require a streaming server

So which is best? That entirely depends on the content you are trying to protect.

• If you are trying to prevent a paying viewer from sharing a movie, DRM is the best way to go.
• If you are trying to prevent clients from using work in progress media without paying you, visible watermarking and/or streaming may be best.
• If you are trying to prevent a movie being leaked before its release, a combination of physical preventions, user tracking and deterrents may be required.

Yesterday we released CinePlay 1.1.4 for Mac, a minor update to our professional video player.

Many of the changes in this version are the result of customer feedback including:

New navigation controls

Fast-forwarding / rewinding can now go up to 16x speed, pressing Shift+Left/Right Arrow moves 1 second forward or back and Cmd+Left/Right Arrow switches between files in a playlist. If no playlist is currently open it goes to either the start or end of the movie.

Type to navigate to timecode position

Instead of having to click on the timecode to enter a new timecode position to navigate to, you can now simply start typing the numbers over the video and the timecode position dialog will automatically appear.

UI changes

The Info dialog now shows the timecode start position for each timecode track in the movie and improves the way audio codecs are displayed.

Dragging the playhead now shows a popup with the current timecode. We've also enlarged the video timecode overlay based on user feedback.

This is a small subset; there are several additional changes listed in the changelog.

CinePlay for Mac is an essential professional replacement for QuickTime Player X. It's free for cloud use and there is also an iOS version available.

To find out more, view the feature list, watch the overview video, read the user manual or download the free 15-day trial.

Pro Maintenance Tools 2.0.27 is a minor update to our suite of tools to maintain, optimize and troubleshoot your editing system.

Improved Premiere project repair

Project Repair now analyzes the structure of an Adobe Premiere project before repairing to try to predict the likelihood of success. If it knows the project is unsalvageable it will be able to provide a more helpful error message. It's especially useful at letting you know when the project file was truncated in the middle of saving so only half of the data is there (yes, this can happen - we recommend Pro Versioner as a way of rescuing your data).

Other changes

• System Toolkit - Added the ability to reset Adobe plugin blacklists
• Plugin Manager - Improved Adobe CC 2014.1 compatibility
• Preference Manager - Improved Adobe CC 2014.1 compatibility
• Crash Analyzer - Fixed an issue that may cause it to erroneously say a newer update is available when submitting a log
• Updated Crash Analyzer definitions
• Various other bug fixes, tweaks and improvements

Pro Maintenance Tools is an essential toolkit for media professionals that is used by freelancers and major studios alike. To find out more, view the feature list, read the user manual, watch the overview video or download the free 15-day trial.

We've just released Pro Media Tools 1.3.3, a minor update to our suite of media management and processing tools.

Improved flash frame detection

We've updated Video Check to more reliably detect subtle flash frames (e.g. a partial frame or a second frame that is almost identical to the first), as well as increasing the default flash frame sensitivity for first-time users of the app.

Improved Gamma Shift detection

We've overhauled Gamma Shift Detector to use a different detection method which can more reliably detect pixel-based gamma shifts.

Video Check speed improvements

We temporarily disabled the Instances feature in the last Video Check update to make the app more reliable while we were waiting for our new architecture to be implemented. Now that this is in place we've re-enabled the feature which has resulted in a significant performance boost.

This is a small highlight of the changes; you can read the full list here.

Pro Media Tools is an essential toolkit for media professionals. To find out more, view the feature list, read the user manual, watch the overview video or download the free 15-day trial.

We've just launched a major new version of Kollaborate Server, our in-house cloud workflow platform.

Server Encoding

Kollaborate Encoder is an add-on that encodes incompatible videos uploaded via the web interface on a separate server. Encoding is fast because the encoder runs on your internal network and has direct access to your Kollaborate Server storage location.

Your Kollaborate Server license includes one Kollaborate Encoder license, although an unlimited number are supported and Kollaborate Server will automatically send jobs to the server with the lowest number of items in its queue. Currently there is no way to purchase additional licenses but this will be coming soon.

Kollaborate Encoder is considered beta so we recommend exercising caution when using it in a production environment and we welcome all feedback.

Kollaborate Server 1.2 also features the changes from Kollaborate 1.2, including:

Favorites

Favorite a file or comment to refer back to later. This is useful for creating to-do lists.

Custom Departments and Positions

Custom departments and positions can be added on a per-project basis, allowing you to create private storage areas only a few users can see.

Alias overhaul

Aliases have been redesigned and can now be linked to all past and future revisions of a file or just a particular revision.

Other changes

• Non-admins can now approve files in their departments if the Approval permission is set (for some user types including Client and Agency Rep, this is set by default). To change this, click the dropdown next to a user on the Team page and click Permissions.
• Navigate between files directly from the player and click a file's thumbnail in the Files page to preview it
• Replace a file - upload a new copy while keeping all comments and links intact
• Hide download button option when creating a link (note: this does not prevent users from downloading but makes it less obvious)
• Right-click menus - instead of clicking the dropdown next to each user, file, project, task or comment, right-click to show the same menu
• New comment export options - CSV and EdiCue
• Many bug fixes and tweaks

Kollaborate Server is an in-house cloud workflow platform that connects with Digital Rebellion products to allow you to share files and collaborate with colleagues and clients on your project. For those who prefer a simpler setup, a cloud version is also available.

To find out more, read the feature list and FAQ, watch the overview video or register for the free 15-day trial (no credit card needed).

Yesterday we launched Kollaborate Plugin Pack. This is a group of NLE plugins that allow for direct uploading to our Kollaborate cloud workflow platform from your editing application, saving both time and effort. We currently have plugins for Final Cut Pro X and Adobe Premiere Pro for Mac.

The installer places Send to Kollaborate functions in the File > Export menu in Premiere and the File > Share menu in FCPX.

The user manual provides a full tutorial but the basic workflow is as follows:

1. Go to File > Export > Send to Kollaborate (Premiere) or File > Share > Send to Kollaborate (FCPX).

2. At this point FCPX users should enter a title and other basic details for the project. Premiere users should skip to step 3.

3. Assuming you're logged into Kollaborate, select the project and provide basic details such as the title, description and where to store the file.

4. Click Export Sequence and the NLE will take over the rendering of the file. Once that is complete, the Kollaborate plugin will upload the video in the background and alert you with a Notification Center alert when it's done.

Note: due to limitations in the Adobe Premiere API, any in and out points in your timeline will be ignored when exporting through the plugin. To export a section of your timeline, please nest the sequence.

System requirements are OS X 10.8+ and FCPX 10.1+ or Adobe Premiere Pro CC or higher.

Kollaborate is the only professional workflow platform that integrates in this way with your editing application. To find out more, register for the free 15-day trial (no credit card needed).