TODD-AO INSTALLS EDIFIS SCRATCHBOX FILM RESTORATION SYSTEM

Todd-AO UK, part of the Liberty Livewire group of companies, has purchased
an Edifis Scratchbox SD film restoration system. The Scratchbox is being used for retouching film-based dramas prior to editing and compilation on video tape.

The Edifis Scratchbox is a film restorer with applications in telecine and television post-production. It is optimised for image retouching and scratch removal, combining storage and matte painting within a single low-cost system. Scratchbox removes sparkle and scratches from film or video at the stroke of a stylus. A simple user interface and intuitive control panel allow repairs to be made faster than any other system currently available.

Scratchbox consists of an Edifis Sting video disk server, compositor, mask layer and paint tools. It operates on four layers of image data: foreground video, background video, mask layer and matte. The mask layer can control the composite of mix of two sources, typically foregound and background or foreground and matte.

Implementing an internal keyer and mixer, a soft-edged matte or key is painted over a damaged frame using a tablet and pen interface. The operator composites or mixes between the damaged foreground and undamaged background layers using this key. Scratches, blemishes and sparkle are painted away and replaced by good material. The resulting repaired frame is re-recorded at the press of a single button. Storage capacity is expandable to 6 hours, allowing many projects to be held at one time which again improves productivity.

Steve Fish, Todd-AO UK Vice President of Engineering explains the reason for choosing Scratchbox: "Being disk-based, Scratchbox eliminates time-consuming pre-rolls and incurs no degradation of image quality. Once film has been electronically restored by Scratchbox, it can be laid back to video-tape for broadcast or DVD mastering purposes. On-screen menus coupled with a control panel, jog wheel and transport buttons, allow operators to work quickly and efficiently. It's a great system!"

Edifis Sales Director Richard Lilley adds: "We are delighted to see Todd-AO join the Scratchbox client base which now includes 4MC London, AV Systems (Koeln), Bavaria Film (Munich), BBC Television (London), Colour Film Services (London), Gaisser (Stuttgart), Granada Television (Manchester), Guertler (Neuss), Nice (Appledoorn), Technicolor (London), TV Werk (Munich and TransWorld International (London).

Todd-AO (www.todd-ao.com) currently assists Disney, Paramount, Sony, MGM, Anchor Bay, Sterling, Image Entertainment, as well as, many other independent producers, advertising agencies, museums, and commercial businesses with placing their feature presentations, promotions, educational training videos, and archiving materials on DVD, DVD-ROM and the internet.

Edifis (www.edifis.com) was formed in July 1997 and is located at the centre of Britain's Silicon Valley. The company has achieved a high reputation for large-capacity uncompressed digital video and audio systems meeting film, post-production and broadcast requirements worldwide. Edifis hardware and software are independent of third-party computer manufacturers or operating systems, allowing highly reliable products to be produced at cost-effective prices to meet the rigours of outside broadcasting and for on-air transmission.

Contacts for further information:

Richard Lilley, Edifis Ltd
Tel +44 1189 712 279
Email richard@edifis.com