Cineform Studio vs. FirstLight/HDLink?

[Jake Primgaard]

Hello all, noob here.

I'm just getting into video from many years of stills work in the PhotoShop and Lightroom environment. So bear with me please as this is still rather confusing to me. I am however computer literate and therefore trainable, so I do have that going for me! :)

I have recently purchased a GoPro Hero2 and that lead me to Cineform software with which I am a little confused.

I have downloaded the Cineform Studio Premium trial and am trying to figure out what FirstLight and HDLink are relative to Cineform.

Why would I use one over the other?

The functions in Cineform and FirstLight seem very similar with FistLight seeming to be more complex and capable.

Can someone give me a layman's terms explanation as to the differences between these and why and where I might use one over the other?

I also am shooting video with a NEX7 and a bunch of old Canon FD lenses in the AVCHD 60p format and mixing that with the GoPro footage.

Thanks!

[David Newman]

FirstLight and HDLink are the old tools that will be phased out once all their features are absorbed into CineForm Studio Premium. I personally hardly touch FirstLight any more, CineForm Studio is so much more stable and easier to use. HDLink is still supports more cameras than the import room, but expect that to change.

[Jake Primgaard]

Thanks David.

I thought that might be the case by the way things looked but did not get that direct info anywhere from your site. Perhaps I've missed it.

Thanks again.
Jake

[Peter Ferling]

David, how will HDlink change? Will no longer be stand-alone, correct? I love the application for ingest/conform with small footprint. Do you have an idea when it will wind up in a demo of studio so I can try it? Thanks.

[David Newman]

HDLink will not change, just minimum to no bug fixes. It will be removed from the desktop in a build soon, but can still use it from the Start menu.

[Chris Barcellos]

Having used HDlink for several years, the new Studio GUI seems unnecessary to me. And when I use the current version, it seems that some of the controls available in FirstLight aren't is Studio. I guess it is probably just a matter of finding the way to do it, but as a serious user, I am not finding the new GUI as an improvement. I know this is being done to give GoPro users ease of use, but I hope all the functionality will be preserved.

[David Newman]

All the controls of First Light will be in Studio, not every is there yet, but 95% is. Studio is better for conversion as you can see watch you are converting, and will be adding the trimming controls for more camera formats soon (something HDLink could never do.) For both conversions and color correction (as a user) I've completely switched over to the Studio interface, I prefer its stability and the look and feel.

[Chris Barcellos]

Thanks David. I recognize at some point I will have to give it a serious look. Just haven't had the time to run through processes. Does look fairly simple in what I have done.

[Peter Ferling]

"Studio is better for conversion as you can see watch you are converting"

So we have these features and keep HDLink? Nice. I'll demo this after I'm done with my current project.

Thanks David.

[Gerald Webb]

Maybe someone can answer this.
I find it extremely convenient when doing multi cam color matching in First Light to be able to "sync" to the NLE timeline and set keyframes.
How do I do this in Studio? Or cant it be done yet?
Also related, I saw a pop up in Studio that said "Up to 4 keyframes can be placed on any one clip".
In First Light Im sure I can place infinite key frames.

[Dmitry Kitsov]

2 questions:
1.Black magic Decklink HD Extreme 3D+ - I do not seem to be able to monitor out with the new GoPro Studio Premium (PC Windows 7). Am I missing something obvious?
2. Tangent wave is still no go. Anytime soon?

Thank you.

[Taky Cheung]

I have upgraded to Studio Premium but I still use HDLink and Firstlight in the old way. For firstlight, I can save Snapshot for settings so I can reapply the same settings to another project. Studio Premium doesn't have that option. HDLink is just very light weight and bug free to convert video to Cineform AVI.

David, would that Snapshot feature be implemented in Studio soon?

[David Newman]

The new presets feature complete replaces snapshot (presets are much better in every possible way,) FirstLight is obselete compared to Studio now.

[Taky Cheung]

Thanks David, how can I obtain the new version? link?

[David Newman]

Presets are in the current version (1.2.1), but the upcoming new version you will like even more.