Leitch Technology Corp. is now shipping its dpsRealityHD parallel HD/SD digital disk recorder and upgraded its Opus master control switcher to version 4.

The DDR is designed to bridge gaps between HD and SD post production. Users can work on projects in both formats, and in DVD and Internet distribution, in a single workflow. The system mostly eliminates the need for HD peripheral equipment during the post-production process through the creation of SD proxies of the HD frames. This allows post-production artists to make edit decisions and preview work on SD equipment while producing HD material without losing the attributes of HD sources.

The system also supports Sony's HDCAM format, which minimizes recompression of HDCAM sources and storage requirements. The DDR's Virtual Tape File System and eyeon Digital Fusion HD nonlinear compositing and effects software also allow post-production professionals to directly read and write HD frames to the HDCAM format.

Opus 4.0 is designed to have increased versatility and ease of use. New features include:

* Background Only, which allows keys and sources to be automatically removed from certain signals;
* Effects Preview for viewing the next stage of an effect before going to air;
* Virtual Keyers, which allow the number of key stages to be transparently extended up to four;
* Incorporation of RouterMAPPER 5.01, a Windows application for configuring Opus and other Leitch routers.