Sony Creative Software
Release Notes
 
Catalyst Prepare™
March 2015
 
Contents
This document contains information on the following topics:
 
1.0 Welcome
Thank you for purchasing Catalyst Prepare software. This document contains information about installing and using Catalyst Prepare software on your computer.
 
2.0 What's New
Features in version 1.0
Catalyst Prepare is the fast, simple, reliable path from camera to post.
  • In Import mode, you can browse your computer for media files that you want to import to your media libraries.
  • In Organize mode, you can browse and organize the clips in your media libraries.
  • In Edit mode, you can preview media, mark in and out points, and apply color correction.
  • In Export mode, you can export clips to additional volumes or devices and transcode files.
Notable fixes/changes in version 1.2
  • Added support for rendering to XDCAM HD and HD422 formats.
  • Improved performance for previewing RAW video.
Notable fixes/changes in version 1.1
  • Added a Vectorscope tool to the Adjust Color workspace.
  • Added Brightness and Contrast sliders to the Adjust Color workspace.
  • Added support for reading Apple ProRes 422 files (Mac only).
  • Added support for exporting DNxHD clips.
  • Added support to combine to one file when copying a spanned AVCHD clip.
  • Added support for reading SD MPEG-2 clips.
  • Added support for writing XDCAM EX clips to SxS memory cards.
  • Added support for transcoding to interlaced XAVC formats.
  • Added support for showing additional metadata values in the Media Browser.
  • Fixed a bug that prevented the application from reading some files recorded by the PXW-FS7 camera.
  • Fixed a bug that could prevent color correction settings from being applied to all clips in a clip list.

    Please note that you'll be asked to register again after installing the version 1.1 update.
3.0 Known Issues
  • The application may not display if you run the application on a secondary monitor and then restart the application with the secondary monitor disconnected. Hold Ctrl+Shift when starting the application to reset the application settings.
  • When playing 4K clips, the video preview can display irregularities on some systems that do not meet the system requirements for 4K media.
  • ASC-CDL (.cdl) files are not displayed in the Load ASC-CDL dialog when the file is saved in a known folder structure (such as an XAVC or XDCAM volume). Saving the ASC-CDL files in a generic location such as the General folder will allow you to load them.
  • The application may fail to start on some notebook computers with the Intel HD Graphics 3000 graphics adapter. Please visit https://downloadcenter.intel.com to manually download and install the latest driver for your graphics adapter.
  • If the application displays “A compatible graphics card that supports OpenCL 1.1 is required for GPU acceleration. Please install updated graphics drivers or install a compatible graphics card.” please try to install a newer graphics driver. If that is not possible, install the Intel OpenCL runtime for CPU: https://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/opencl-drivers.
  • If playback is not smooth when previewing high-resolution clips, click the magnifying glass in the video preview window and decrease the preview resolution.
  • Metadata cannot be saved in non-MXF files — and some MXF files — that are not in a folder structure.
  • Blackmagic Design Desktop Video 10.1.1 or later is required when using an external monitor via a Blackmagic Design SDI or UltraStudio device.
  • Spanned AVCHD clips may exhibit audio and video noise when previewing the transition between clips. Transcoding is not available for spanned AVCHD clips. We recommend that you copy the clips to your local drive before working with them.
  • If you need to format an SxS card, please use the Memory Media Utility.
  • If you need to format or finalize an XDCAM Professional Disc volume, please use the XDCAM Drive Software.
  • When you first start the application, the Grade in drop-down list in the Options menu is empty. After you select a file, the drop-down list will display normally and allow you to choose a setting.
  • Transcoding performance can be slow when transcoding to an exFAT-formatted SxS card on Windows.
4.0 System Requirements
The following lists the minimum system requirements for using Catalyst Prepare software:
  • Microsoft® Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 (64-bit) or Mac OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion), 10.9 (Mavericks), or 10.10 (Yosemite)
  • 2 GHz processor (multicore or multiprocessor CPU recommended for HD; 8 cores recommended for 4K)
  • 500 MB hard-disk space for program installation
  • Solid-state disk (SSD) or high-speed RAID for 4K media
  • 4 GB RAM (8 GB recommended; 16 GB recommended for 4K)
  • NVIDIA, AMD/ATI, or Intel GPU with support for the following:
    • OpenGL 2.1
    • OpenCL 1.1 or later with at least 512 MB of memory (2 GB recommended for 4K) or a CPU with SSE 4.2 or higher
  • You must provide your registration information to Sony Creative Software Inc., a US company, in order to activate the software. Product requires online registration.
5.0 Installation
The install utility creates any necessary folders and copies all files required by Catalyst Prepare software to your computer.
 
Installing on Windows
  1. Download the install utility from our Web site.
  2. Double-click the file, and then follow the on-screen prompts to install the appropriate version of Catalyst Prepare for your computer. 
Installing on OS X
  1. Download the Catalyst Prepare DMG file from our Web site.
  2. Double-click the downloaded .dmg file.
  3. Drag the Catalyst Browse icon into to your Applications folder to install it on your computer.
6.0 Trials and Demos
If you would like information or trial/demo versions of other products from Sony Creative Software Inc., please visit our Web site. You will always find the latest technical information, trials, demos, and product announcements from Sony Creative Software Inc. there.
 
Commercial distribution of the trials and demos requires written permission from Sony Creative Software Inc.
 
7.0 Contacting Sony Creative Software Inc.
Sony Creative Software Inc. can be contacted in the following ways:
 
Mailing Address:
Sony Creative Software Inc.
8215 Greenway Boulevard
Suite 400
Middleton, Wisconsin 53562
USA
 
Customer Service/Sales:
For a detailed list of Customer Service options, we encourage you to visit http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/support/custserv.asp.
 
Telephone support during normal office hours:
  • 1-800-577-6642 (toll-free) in US, Canada, and Virgin Islands.
  • +608-203-7620 for all other countries.
  • Fax: 1-608-250-1745.
Technical Support
 
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