Baselight is available on a range of hardware platforms to deliver the power required for intensive grading. The unique Baselight multi-node architecture can deliver real-time 4K performance and a massive 96TB of disk. This power enables the system to ingest in the background, resulting in higher earning power for the suite. The disk capacity enables multiple projects of different formats to be on-line simultaneously.
Baselight's comprehensive GPU renderer handles all operations natively for the most efficient throughput, and the scaleable architecture increases performance linearly on multi-node systems.
Take a look at the system overview below.
- Baselight ONE
Provides real-time colour grading and playback of 2K and video resolution material, whilst allowing higher resolution grading to be performed. - Baselight TWO
The versatile workhorse of the Baselight range, coping easily with standard and high definition video, 2K commercials and longform work, as well as film DI. - Baselight FOUR|EIGHT
Designed for extremely high performance and throughput, to solve even the most challenging grading requirements at any resolution. - Baselight TRANSFER
Sync, review, grade and deliver all your dailies directly from the native digital camera footage.
Affordable and reliable
Baselight ONE provides real-time colour grading and playback of 2K and video resolution material, whilst allowing higher resolution grading to be performed.
This self-contained system is equipped with two dual core processors, 26TB of local storage and the Blackboard control surface. It comes ready for video I/O and provides full, 12-bit image monitoring. Like all members of the range, Baselight ONE can be directly connected to a SAN.
Datasheets
| Baselight grading software | |
| Simultaneous grade layers | Unlimited |
| Simultaneous shapes (windows) | Unlimited |
| Simultaneous key layers | Unlimited |
| Plugin support | OFX™ |
| Colour management | Truelight (integrated) |
| Colour space handling | Linear, log, video |
| Storage | |
| Capacity | 26TB (2TB disks) |
| RAID protection | RAID 5 |
| I/O bandwidth | 500MB/s |
| Caching | Automatic, intelligent |
| Disk management | Auto optimise/defragment |
| User interface | |
| UI display | Up to 2048x1536 |
| Control surface | FilmLight Blackboard |
| Connectivity | GigE, USB, IEEE1394 |
| Audio | |
| File formats | wav, aiff |
| Sampling | 24bit, 48kHz |
| Input channels | 8 AES/EBU (with video option) |
| Output channels | 8 AES/EBU (with video option) |
| Monitoring | Analogue, S/PDIF |
| Media handling | |
| Frame size | 640x480 to 4096x3112 |
| Input & output file formats | dpx, cin, tga, tiff, mxf, quicktime, video |
| Playback frame rate | 23.98 to 60fps |
| EDL support | CMX 3600, FLE, AAF, XML, CDL, ALE |
| Connectivity | GigE, 10GigE (optional), SAN fibre channel (optional) |
| Grading display | |
| Output | DVI, VGA (optional SDI monitoring) |
| Resolution | Up to 2048x1536 |
| Frame rate | 23.98p~60i |
| Truelight | Built-in |
| Synchronisation | DVI (internal), SDI (external) |
| Video | |
| Ingest | HD SDI (10-bit), single/dual link, HD/SD |
| Playout | HD SDI (10-bit), single/dual link, HD/SD |
| Formats | 720x486~2048x1080 |
| Frame rate | 23.98p~60i (psf supported) |
| Sampling | 422, 444, YCrCb/RGB |
| Machine control | RS422 9-pin I/O |
| Synchronisation | Internal/external |
| Software control | Embedded in main app & external app |
Fast, creative video grading and finishing
Baselight TWO is a powerful, eight dual core system with 36TB formatted disk, audio, fast networking and dual-link SD/HD video ingest and lay-off, housed in 5U of rack space.
The system includes the Blackboard control surface and GUI monitor, and is supplied with a dedicated, suite-side control PC. Baselight TWO is designed for fast, creative video grading and finishing but, with no resolution restrictions, can also be used as part of a film pipeline with the addition of Truelight.
Datasheets
| Baselight grading software | |
| Simultaneous grade layers | Unlimited |
| Simultaneous shapes (windows) | Unlimited |
| Simultaneous key layers | Unlimited |
| Plugin support | OFX™ |
| Colour management | Truelight (optional) |
| Colour space handling | Linear, log, video |
| Storage | |
| Capacity | 36TB (2TB disks) |
| RAID protection | RAID 5 |
| I/O bandwidth | >500MB/s |
| Caching | Automatic, intelligent |
| Disk management | Auto defrag/optimise |
| User interface | |
| Host processor | Opteron 175 |
| UI display | Up to 2048x1536 |
| Control surface | FilmLight Blackboard |
| Connectivity | GigE, USB, IEEE1394 |
| Audio | |
| File formats | wav, aiff |
| Sampling | 24bit, 48kHz |
| Input channels | 8 (AES/EBU) |
| Output channels | 8 (AES/EBU) |
| Monitoring | Analogue, S/PDIF |
| Media handling | |
| Frame size | 640x480 to 4096x3112 |
| Input & output file formats | dpx, cin, tga, tiff, mxf, quicktime, video |
| Playback frame rate | 23.98 to 60fps |
| EDL support | CMX3600, FLE, AAF, XML |
| Connectivity | GigE, 10GigE (optional), SAN fibre channel (optional) |
| Grading display | |
| Output | DVI, SDI (single/dual link), VGA |
| Resolution | Up to 2048x1536 |
| Frame rate | 23.98p~60i |
| Truelight | Optional |
| Synchronisation | DVI (internal), SDI (external) |
| Video | |
| Ingest | HD SDI (10-bit), single/dual link, HD/SD |
| Playout | HD SDI (10-bit), single/dual link, HD/SD |
| Formats | 720x486~2048x1080 |
| Frame rate | 23.98p~60i (psf supported) |
| Sampling | 422, 444, YCrCb/RGB |
| Machine control | RS422 9-pin I/O |
| Synchronisation | Internal/external |
| Software control | Embedded in main app & external app |
Maximum bandwidth, ultimate efficiency
Baselight FOUR and Baselight EIGHT have been designed for extremely high performance and throughput, to solve even the most challenging grading requirements at any resolution. Both systems include the Blackboard control surface. They radically enhance performance by distributing the workload across multiple processing nodes, achieving unrivalled computation, visualisation and data transfer.
Baselight EIGHT
Featuring 204TB local storage capacity, Baselight EIGHT provides the performance and allows you to play and grade multiple 4K streams in real-time. Doubling the power of Baselight FOUR, the Baselight EIGHT enables real-time grading of 4K scans or multiple real-time 2K streams and is ideal for a high-end grading suite for commercials or film grading.
Baselight FOUR
Offers up to 102TB of storage by distributing the workload across multiple processing nodes. An advanced multi-node architecture accelerates all the features of the standard Baselight system; synchronisation is ensured at all times via FilmLight's video combiner hardware, allowing all nodes to work simultaneously on the same image. Blackboard and the Dual/Single link HD/SD SDI ingest and playout is included as standard, enabling an efficient real-time HD and 2K grading workflow including background ingest and layoff.
Architecture
Baselight utilises an extensible plug-in architecture and takes advantage of open systems and industry standard database technology.
All Baselight systems run under Linux on commodity PC hardware. Baselight FOUR and EIGHT are high-bandwidth, high-performance creative workstations designed specifically to accelerate the operation of Baselight to provide real-time operation at up to 4K resolution. Using a novel approach, speed increases are achieved in direct proportion to the number of processors, with no bottle-necks.
In contrast to other parallel processing platforms, the multi-node Baselight architecture provides true parallel operation of all hardware components.
Each node processes a strip of the input frame and a proprietary video engine then combines the processed strips to form a single frame. This method of parallel processing removes the latency inherent with other approaches and allows the full power of each node, including its graphics processor, to be used all of the time.
The internal file system is able to utilise a very high I/O bandwidth as each node has its own directly connected RAID. Externally, the file system appears as a standard NFS allowing for standard network connectivity.
By utilising industry standard PC hardware and an open architecture, Baselight provides an economic, flexible and highly scalable platform, able to benefit from the rapid advances in disk, graphics and processor technology.
Baselight multi-node architecture
Datasheets
| Baselight grading software | |
| Simultaneous grade layers | Unlimited |
| Simultaneous shapes (windows) | Unlimited |
| Simultaneous key layers | Unlimited |
| Plugin support | OFX ™ |
| Colour management | Truelight (integrated) |
| Colour space handling | Linear, log, video |
| Storage | |
| Capacity | Up to 204TB (2TB disks) |
| RAID protection | RAID 5 |
| I/O bandwidth | >3GB/s |
| Caching | Automatic, intelligent |
| Disk management | Auto optimise/defragment |
| User interface | |
| Host processor | Opteron 275 |
| UI display | Up to 2048x1536 |
| Control surface | FilmLight Blackboard |
| Connectivity | GigE, USB, IEEE1394 |
| Audio | |
| File formats | wav, aiff |
| Sampling | 24bit, 48~96kHz |
| Input channels | 8 (AES/EBU) |
| Output channels | 8 (AES/EBU) |
| Monitoring | Analogue balanced, SPDIF, ADAT |
| Media handling | |
| Frame size | 640x480 to 4096x3112 |
| Input & output file formats | dpx, cin, tga, tiff, mxf, quicktime, video |
| Playback frame rate | 23.98 to 60fps |
| EDL support | CMX3600, FLE, AAF, XML |
| Connectivity | GigE, 10GigE, SAN fibre channel (optional) |
| Grading display | |
| Output | DVI, SDI (single/dual link) |
| Resolution | Up to 2048x1536 or 4096x2160* * With optional Cinema4K combiner |
| Frame rate | 23.98p~60i |
| Truelight | Built-in |
| Synchronisation | DVI (internal), SDI (external) |
| Video | |
| Ingest | HD SDI (10-bit), single/dual link |
| Playout | HD SDI (10-bit), single/dual link |
| Formats | 720x486~2048x1080 |
| Frame rate | 23.98p~60i (psf supported) |
| Sampling | 422, 444, YCrCb/RGB |
| Machine control | RS422 9-pin I/O |
| Synchronisation | Internal/external |
| Software control | Embedded in main app & external app |
Complete Digital Dailies system
Sync, review, grade and deliver all your dailies directly from the native digital camera footage.
End-to-End Dailies Workflow
Baselight TRANSFER is a complete, self-contained, high performance system designed to handle the end-to-end requirements of your dailies workflow, from ingest and review through to the generation of material for editorial, VFX and other deliverables.
The internal disk array utilises RAID 6 technology giving you high levels of security and reliability. It's 26TB* capacity provides ample storage for multiple camera shoots, over 30 hours of F65 RAW footage for example, and it's ultrahigh data rate, combined with GPU accelerated image processing, enables real-time playback of decoded 4k footage as well as the original native RAW files, complete with grades and input and output colour transforms.
* Actual formatted storage capacity
Native Raw Support
Baselight TRANSFER speeds up the dailies pipeline by playing, grading and rendering directly from the native camera files without needing to transcode them first. Raw formats from all common digital cameras are supported including Sony F65, Arri Alexa, Red Epic and Phantom.
Controls are provided to allow you to adjust parameters in the RAW decoding process, such as exposure index, white point, colour space, tone curve and gamma, allowing you to get the best possible images from your raw footage.
Compressed 'movie' formats such as MPEG2, H264, DNxHD and ProRes are also supported as well as uncompressed frame sequences, enabling Baselight TRANSFER to support all cameras commonly used for film and TV production.
Audio Syncing and Playback
Audio can easily be synced with your camera footage either automatically using timecode or semi-automatically using a clap-detector which pin-points the exact time in the audio file where the clapper closes.
Sound files which span multiple camera takes are easily handled and waveforms in the timeline assist in the manual adjustment of sound sync on a per-shot basis.
Where multiple groups of audio tracks have been recorded, these can be monitored separately and selectively rendered into the output deliverables.
Comprehensive Metadata Support
Baselight TRANSFER provides comprehensive end-to-end handling of metadata and will read everything it can from the headers of your camera footage and audio files. Relevant metadata fields are displayed in the media browser and can also be selected for display as information on thumbnails in the timeline and galleries.
Metadata can be modified and also created if required by editing fields directly on the thumbnails or as tabulated data columns in the 'shots' view. Depending on the file format, metadata can be embedded into rendered output files ensuring all relevant data passes smoothly through the post-production pipeline.
Where the output format does not support all the required metadata fields, for example when producing deliverables on tape, metadata can be exported via a separate file such as a standard EDL or an Avid ALE.
Grading and Look Management
The integrated toolset includes a subset of the same grades, filters and transforms found in the full Baselight grading systems. These powerful and flexible tools enable you to quickly and intuitively apply primary grades and create looks for your raw footage.
Looks can be saved into 'galleries' and shots can easily be grouped enabling you to grade them together or instantly copy and paste a look across multiple shots, either using a one-button apply function or by dragging and dropping onto selected thumbnails.
Transfer your looks as well as your media
Looks created in Baselight TRANSFER are stored in a common database format enabling you to import them directly into a full Baselight system. This allows you to easily re-apply these same looks to the original master footage as a starting point for the final grade. Conversely, 'primary' looks developed pre-shoot in the grading theatre can be imported into Baselight TRANSFER to act as a starting point for on-set grading and dailies preparation.
In addition to direct exchange with other Baselight systems, looks can also be transferred to the rest of the post-production pipeline either as ASC-CDL data or as a series of 3D look up tables.
Built-in Truelight Colour Management
Baselight TRANSFER incorporates our world-leading Truelight Colour Management System to ensure that a consistent and accurate look can be maintained throughout the entire post-production pipeline.
Truelight is used to apply an input LUT (look up table), as well as output and display LUTs enabling accurate transforms between different colour spaces. Full support for IIF ACES workflows is also provided as well as the ability to create customised colour transforms using the built-in LUT management tools.
Built-in Scopes and Workspaces
The built-in vectorscope, RGB parade, YCbCr parade and luma waveform displays plus a high precision histogram enable you to accurately adjust the levels of your deliverables. All scopes provide a live measurement cursor function showing you the precise levels in the image at the current position of the mouse pointer.
Fully customisable workspaces allow you select which scopes and other UI panels you want to display and then freely position them in the user interface. Multiple workspaces can be set up and selected quickly enabling you to make best use of the available screen space for any specific task.
Full Support for Stereo 3D
The optional Stereo 3D licence adds full 3D stereo capabilities to Baselight TRANSFER including support for 3D input file formats, automatic and manual 3D stereo geometry correction tools, convergence and floating window adjustment plus several 3D stereo display modes such as anaglyph, difference and checkerboard. Using the powerful built-in tools stereo 3D shots can be quickly processed to balance the look of the two cameras and apply geometric corrections to compensate for any alignment errors.
When working in Stereo 3D, grades and effects are applied simultaneously to both left and right eyes and the advanced background caching system enables instant playback of the full stereo 3D scene.
Multiple Output Formats and Burn-ins
All standard film and video formats are provided as presets and additional formats can be freely defined for specific workflows. User defined formats are not limited by resolution, aspect ratio, frame rate or colour space and can be freely mixed within a project.
Multiple output formats can easily be rendered from the same project either as frame sequences (DPX, TIFF, JPEG2000, OpenEXR, etc.) or as movie files using the comprehensive range of built-in codecs.
Burn-ins can also be added to any output deliverable to enable the display of selected metadata as well as customised logos or other text and graphics. Several preset burn-in templates are provided and a simple editor allows you to create any number of additional templates according to the requirements of your deliverables.
Datasheets
Key features at-a-glance
- High performance system for generating dailies from virtually all types of digital camera footage including raw media formats and video ingest.
- 26TB* internal ultra high-speed RAID 6 storage.
- Native support and real-time decoding of all common digital cameras including Sony F65, Arri Alexa, Red Epic, XDCAM EX, Panasonic P2, Canon D5/D7 etc.
- Support for raw formats including Sony F65RAW™, ARRIRAW™, R3D™ and CineForm RAW™.
- Built-in support for all common movie container formats including QuickTime™, MXF and AVI.
- Render to frame sequences and all common codecs including MPEG-4, H263, H264, DNxHD, ProRes.
- Instant real-time playback of most raw media with LUTs and grades at resolutions of up to 4k.
- Full support for high dynamic range input material and reading/writing of OpenEXR files.
- Built-in end-to-end Truelight colour management for accurate colour space transforms.
- Full support for IIF ACES workflows with real-time performance at 4k.
- Advanced background caching system for improved interactivity and reduced rendering time.
- Automatically sync audio using timecode or with the aid of a clap-detector for non-timecoded material.
- Easy grouping, sorting and re-ordering of shots.
- Full end-to-end metadata support including the ability to view, modify and export specific data.
- Unlimited layers of primary and curve-based selective colour grading in RGB and YCrCb colourspace.
- Quickly apply grades and filters using same powerful tools found on full Baselight systems.
- Drag-and-drop application of saved grades and looks from multiple galleries onto multiple shots.
- Built-in high precision scopes and histogram with measurement function.
- Fully configurable user interface with instant recall of multiple custom workspace layouts.
- Unlimited, customisable, per-format metadata and graphic/logo burn-ins.
- Work with UI and image window on a single monitor or add a second monitor for separate image display.
- Optional SD/HD-SDI/3G video/audio ingest and playout with full deck control.
- Support for Avid Artist™ Color and Transport controls.
- Space to add user-supplied cards such as Red Rocket™ or SAS interface for LTO tape drives.
- Part of an integrated end-to-end FilmLight workflow with total support for Baselight systems, Baselight Editions™ and other FilmLight products.
* Actual formatted storage capacity
Datasheets
Options
Several hardware and software options can be added to enhance the capabilities of Baselight TRANSFER:
HD-SDI monitoring output
Genlockable, high bit-depth SD/HD-SDI video output interface for separate image monitor display.
10gigabit Ethernet interface
Available with either Cx4 or dual SFP+ ports for connection to Baselight Cloud, Kompressor, and other systems.
Fibrechannel interface
Provides connectivity to supported SAN storage.
Video ingest/playout option
HD/SD-SDI/3G video ingest and playout with embedded audio and full deck control.
Decoder Pack 1 (software licence)
Enhanced and additional decoding support for certain MXF and other format media files.
Stereo 3D option (software licence)
Adds specific tools for 3D stereo workflows and support for professional 3D stereo HD-SDI output monitoring modes.
Datasheets
Specifications
- Dimensions (WxHxD) = 482x220x712mm (3RU)
- Weight = 50kg (110 pounds)
- Power consumption = 100-240V, 14A (Max @ 110V)
- Heat output = 2kW (6,824 BTU/h)