DNEG to release open source playback and review software

DNEG has announced that it is working on new open-source software for playback and review. Currently in development, XStudio will replace all other playback systems used in its studio and is slated to be released under an open-source license later in 2022. The main features include:

• Able to play back all common media formats and codecs at almost any bit depth and resolutions up to 8K.
• Accurate colour management with OCIO v2.0 integration
• Robust, frame-accurate picture playback to ensure smooth video display without dropping video frames.
• Audio playback is tightly synchronised with video display to avoid drift or distortion.
• Zoom/pan, RGBA channel selection, masking, adjust exposure and playback rate.
• Pop-out viewer for multi-screen displays.
• The application back-end is optimized for concurrency so that, for example, loading many items of new media into a playlist does not disrupt ongoing playback in the viewer.
• Media can be freely organised into any number of playlists, subsets and timelines
• Notes, on-screen annotations and colour-corrections can be added as notes to media and timelines.
• The abiliy to compare media and timelines in Contact Sheets, A-over-B, String mode, and Horizontal/Vertical layouts
• Drag-and-drop based UI
• User-defined hotkeys and more

Several other features are currently in development. To learn more about the project, visit the DNEG website.