In nuce: The VFX service provider DNEG is making its playback and reviewing software xStudio available as open source. This is according to my report, which was published by Dan Sarto on awn.com on 20 January this year. This is a beta version of xStudio. According to awn.com, xStudio is suitable for a wide range of production steps – from the film set to the production office, or even for remote reviewing sessions.

In toto: xStudio can be obtained via the GitHub account of the Academy Software Foundation (ASWF) and is provided as part of the Open Review Initiative. The announcement on awn com also states that xStudio is highly customisable and can be used both as a standalone player and integrated into pipelines via a C plug-in framework or the Python interface. The fact that users also have access to an extensive, open-source library is also emphasised.

Who is behind it? The open-source reviewing software xStudio is managed by a technical steering committee under the direction of DNEG. The committee is made up of engineers and contributors from the community. Chas Jarrett, Senior VFX Supervisor and Creative Director at DNEG, is quoted in the press release: “We encourage our customers, industry colleagues and partners to use and develop xStudio”; Jarrett emphasises that the community can benefit from xStudio.

Academy Softwaer Foundation (ASWF): The idea behind the initiative is standardisation – as Digital Production also reported on 9 August 2022 . The Open Review Initiative is a sandbox project of the Academy Software Foundation (ASWF), which is committed to building a standardised, open-source toolset for playback, reviewing and project approval. DNEG is a founding member of the ASWF, which was founded in 2018 under the umbrella of the Linux Foundation. Further information at aswf.io.

Outlook: In the coming months, the reviewing software itview from VFX house Sony Pictures Imagesworks will be made available as open source.

Click back: Just last week Thursday, 19 January 2023, Digital Production reported on how software developer Autodesk has made its reviewing & playback software Open RV accessible as part of the Open Review Initiative.

Click further: To the GitHub of xStudio. Further information on xStudio can be found at dneg.com .

Sources: awn.com ( announcement by Dan Sarto), dneg.com/xstudio/ ( official announcement)

The post Open source reviewing tool from DNEG? first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Patrick Poti.

In nuce: The software developer Autodesk has published Open RV via the GitHub platform. This is according to an announcement that went online today, 19 January 2023, on beforeandafters.com. Open RV is an open-source version of the reviewing and playback software that is very popular within the visual effects industry. The announcement also states that Open RV would have the same core functions as the commercial version. At the same time, Autodesk intends to continue using the tool as a commercial product. As a building block of the open source community, Open VR will continue to benefit from community-driven updates and professional Autodesk engineers, according to the announcement on beforeandafters.com.

In toto: The corresponding code is hosted by the Academy Software Foundation (ASWF) on GitHub as part of the Open Review Initiative. The idea behind the initiative is standardisation – as Digital Production also reported on 11.08.2022 . The Open Review Initiative is a sandbox project of the Academy Software Foundation (ASWF), which is dedicated to building a standardised, open-source toolset for playback, reviewing and project approval. Autodesk itself is a founding member of the ASWF, which was founded in 2018 under the umbrella of the Linux Foundation.

Diana Colella, Senior Vice President of Media & Entertainment at Autodesk, is quoted as saying that they want to repeat such steps in the future, as is the case now with Open RV; the open-source reviewing software is managed by a technical steering committee chaired by Autodesk. The committee is made up of engineers and contributors from the Autodesk community.

Click further: To OpenRV on GitHub. Digital Production last reported on Autodesk and the move towards open source for the reviewing & playback software RV on 9 August 2022 – the decision was announced at the time.

The post Powerful reviewing & playback software available open source! first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Patrick Poti.

In nuce: The Academy Software Foundation is launching its Open Review Initiative. The idea behind this is standardisation. The aim is to create an open-source toolset for playback, reviewing and approval loops within professional film production. The Open Review initiative is currently in the sandbox phase. Just the day before yesterday, on 9 August 2022, Digital Production reported on Autodesk’s reviewing and playback tool RV, which was made open source – also as part of the Open Review initiative.

Background information: The Open Review initiative is driven by well-known companies, including Autodesk, DNEG and Sony Pictures Imageworks, which make RV, xStudio and parts of the itView ecosystem available as open source. The Technical Steering Committee (TSC) plays a central role in this. It brings together decision-makers from the participating companies, who work together to bring together the various components provided by the companies – with the aim of creating a modern playback-slash-reviewing-slash-release framework.

Speech: Erik Strauss, TSC Chairman of the Open Source Initiative, emphasised that the current reviewing and release landscape comprises a large number of interconnected systems (e.g. production tracking, asset management, transcoding). According to Erik, the merger of the companies involved is intended to help meet the changing needs of the creative industries.

Clicked on: Companies wishing to join the Open Review initiative can find all further information at tac.aswf.io . On 5 August 2022 , Digital Production also reported on the Academy Software Foundation. At that time, it was the open source standard developed by The Foundry called OpenAssetIO that received support from the foundation. The video below promotes the Academy Software Foundation.

2022 Academy Software Foundation Reel

The post Open-source playback & reviewing tools for creative professionals? first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Patrick Poti.