- High End Systems Catalyst v4 Media Server won Best Lighting Product of the Year Award in the AV Awards June 6 at InfoComm in Orlando. Rental & Staging Systems magazine and InfoComm International gave the multi-media generator the top honor in the category of Best New Products Introduced in 2005.
- Says Catalyst software developer Richard Bleasdale, I would like to thank all the users of the software who pushed me to innovate the whole time. This award is quite important for the AV industry, so it is an honor to be recognized by this market.
- Catalyst software was first introduced by High End Systems in 2001 and quickly became the industry standard for media servers. Catalyst allows the user to create virtual scenery and unlimited visual effects for markets ranging from concert tours and corporate events to cruise ships and houses of worship.
- Catalyst v4 supports additional input/output devices and complementary products. Support includes cue lists and pixelMAD functionality, expanding the possibilities. It is controlled with video- and music-industry standard controllers such as Mackie and MIDI controllers. This is the first version of Catalyst to not require a DMX controller. Catalyst Pro features 4 independent on-screen output mixes and 10 independent assignable layers. Multiple on-screen mixes means the the user can break down the set design and run different effects over different sets of fixtures.
- PixelMAD brings with it a new expanded user interface. It features multiple onscreen mixes, applicable for DMX LED lighting fixtures and LED walls.
- Catalyst v4 adds some revolutionary new features:
- Cross fading (video dissolves): between all 10 layers.
- Preview: view content locally on a monitor before outputting to a DL1 or other video output devices.
- Video Montage: the combination of different content layers to create a new movie.
- Masking: take a movie or still image, apply the masking function and use it as an alpha channel effect on the image layer below it. In video terms, this is called keying.
- Framing Shutters.
- 3-D Effects: wrap content on different 3-D shapes such as a sphere or cube and rotate these objects around all 3 axes.
- Spectrograph: create visual waveforms from audio, allowing the user to "see the sound."
- Serial control: of video switchers and playback devices.
- Media Contact:
- Debi Moen, HES marketing communications specialist, phone 512-836-2242 x 1204.
