Archive notice: This article was originally published on October 23, 2014. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Both tools work on the basis of GPU acceleration via OpenCL, which is intended to enable stutter-free playback and fast rendering.
Catalyst Browse
Only Sony Pro formats can be viewed and logged with Catalyst Browse. In addition, In/Out markers can be set in the material, colours can be adjusted and metadata edited, among other things, and individual clips or groups of clips can be copied. Since it only supports Sony products, the tool is free, although online registration with Sony is required. Catalyst Browse runs on Windows 7 or 8 or Mac OS X version 10.8 or 10.9.
All further information about Catalyst Browse can be found here.
Catalyst Prepare
The advanced Prepare version is available for 200 dollars and supports not only Sony cameras, but all kinds of other manufacturers’ formats. In addition to all of Browse’s functions, it also has media organisation capabilities and editing functions such as zoom, non-destructive colour correction and a storyboard option that can be used to create a rough cut. Furthermore, data and stroyboards can be exported and transcoded into the .MP4, DPX, OpenEXR, ACES, ProRes and XAVC formats.
Up to now, Catalyst Prepare is not yet available on Sony’s website; anyone interested in the tool can register here for further information on availability.
Our current DP issue contains information about the LookDev and lighting tool Katana, which was also developed at Sony.
