Underscoring the flexibility and intuitive operation of Fairlight’s Pyxis family of nonlinear video playback and recording systems, several leading companies have recently invested in Pyxis for its high definition video capabilities.
In December, leading post-production facility SSI Advanced Post Services purchased a Pyxis system to bring HD capability to one of its two dubbing stages, as the other stage is already outfitted with a Pyxis system. “We needed compatibility between the dubbing stages,” said Gary Fradkin, director of engineering, SSI Advanced Post Services. “Our Pyxis system has been a reliable and easy-to-use tool for us, so adding a second system was an easy choice.”
Located in Hollywood, the vast majority of SSI’s business is generated through post production services for feature film trailers. Clients include Warner Brothers, Sony, Columbia, Fox, Paramount and Miramax. “One hundred percent of our trailers are delivered in HD copy, so it’s obviously quicker and more effective to work in HD,” Fradkin added. “Once we’ve mixed a trailer, we can lay the final mix back onto the Pyxis and have a record of all the work we’ve done.”
A new Pyxis customer, Dick & Roger’s Sound Studio in Vancouver, B.C., recently turned to Fairlight for a cost-effective nonlinear video solution. Established in 1990, Dick & Roger’s is a digital audio post production studio providing a vast array of services ranging from music scoring to dialogue breakdown for animation to 5.1 channel mixing.
“We needed a solution that is compatible with non-Mac-based editing systems and provides the flexibility of working with nonlinear video,” said Roger Monk, co-founder of Dick & Roger’s. “We considered several different products, but the Pyxis system was the logical choice because of its variety of features and intuitive interface.”
In a unique application, Visual Image Display used a Pyxis system to design and integrate content shown at Panasonic’s exhibit at the recent CES in Las Vegas. The Pyxis system was used for uncompressed video playback on Panasonic’s new line of HD plasma displays. Using a laptop and a SDI connection, Visual Image Display edited video content on-site, which was then transferred to the Pyxis system for playback. With Pyxis, Panasonic can now quickly custom-edit its video content to suit a particular venue.
“The Pyxis system is a huge advantage because you don’t need a lot of training to learn how to use the product and it can be used on the fly,” said Brad Eisenhaure of Visual Image Display. “We made a lot of cuts at the show and were able to accomplish quite a bit of editing in a short amount of time.”
The Pyxis family includes a Standard Definition player/recorder, a Standard Definition player/recorder with Genlock and SDI I/Os, an HD/SD network player and an HD/SD player recorder with SDI and Genlock supporting JPEG Compression or 4:2:2 uncompressed video for the highest possible video quality. The recommended host PC can be configured by the end-user, meaning that storage requirements and peripherals can be optimized to the job at hand or added at any later stage should the need arise.
“Fairlight has enjoyed widespread adoption of Pyxis as evidenced by the recent sales to SSI Advanced Post, Dick & Roger’s, and Panasonic,” said Stuart DeMarais, sales & marketing director, Fairlight. “The ease of use and flexibility of Pyxis translate into a lower overall cost of ownership, while the system offers unprecedented speed and efficiency for HD editing.”
