SYNTHETIC APERTURE ANNOUNCES TEST GEAR PLUG-IN FOR ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS

Software Test Instruments Provide Objective Look at Video and Audio

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, CA -- July 8, 2003 -- Synthetic Aperture today announced Test Gear(tm), a new plug-in for Adobe(r) After Effects(r) which provides a variety of visual and audio test instruments for use by motion graphics artists.

"Of course the final result is what matters, but until now artists working in After Effects needed costly hardware test instruments to make more than just subjective judgements," said Robert Currier, President, Synthetic Aperture. "With Test Gear, the artist now has an objective, calibrated view of both video and audio levels and quality, which translates into better, faster work with fewer rejections later in the workflow."

Video Measurements

Test Gear adds traditional waveform monitor and vectorscope displays for checking video luma and chroma levels to After Effects. Numerous display options are available so that the displays can be tailored to the artists preference.

Test Gear also provides image histogram displays. As with all the Test Gear displays, they are available at all times and there is no need to apply an effect to a layer just to see a display. In addition to the graphical histogram display, Test Gear also displays the minimum, maximum, peak, and mean values in numerical form.

Audio Measurements

For working with audio, Test Gear provides an audio waveform display for checking levels, a phase display for checking stereo imaging, and an audio spectrum analyzer to look at the frequency content of your audio.

Image Slice Tool

Test Gear's image slice display lets you define an arbitrary slice through your image data so that you can examine the individual red, green, blue, luma, and alpha channels in far greater detail than you can with a point-sampling tool. It's ideal for checking edge values when pulling mattes from blue- and green-screen footage.

Color Picker and Swatch Books

Test Gear adds a color picker tool to After Effects, letting you choose colors using RGB, HLS, HSB, grayscale, and web-safe pickers. Colors that would exceed broadcast video limits are flagged and can be legalized with a single click. Color swatch books keep collections of related colors always available for use. You can use the supplied color swatch books or create your own.

Standard Interface

All Test Gear displays use standard After Effects-style dockable palette windows, making it easy to customize the workspace by rearranging, docking, and combining displays.

Compatibility

Test Gear is available for Windows 2000 and XP, as well as for Macintosh systems running Mac OS 9.x, and Mac OS X 10.2. Test Gear is compatible with After Effects 5.0 and later.

Pricing and Availability

Test Gear 1.0 is scheduled to begin shipping in late July 2003. List price for Test Gear will be $125, with discounts available for on-line purchases. Test Gear is available through a network of resellers and directly from Synthetic Aperture.

About Synthetic Aperture

Founded in 1995, Synthetic Aperture is a provider of practical tools for digital video and audio. In addition to Test Gear, Synthetic Aperture publishes the Color Finesse advanced color corrector for Adobe After Effects and Apple Final Cut Pro, Echo Fire video previewing software for After Effects and Photoshop, the Video Finesse filters for Premiere, and the popular free utility Test Pattern Maker.

Further information on Synthetic Aperture may be obtained by calling (949) 493-3444, accessing the company's Web site at http://www.synthetic-ap.com, or by emailing sales@synthetic-ap.com.