ARRI summer news

How was your vacation? We have returned with our batteries charged to continue telling you the news concerning the audiovisual world, and we will start with those of ARRI.

During August the company has released a firmware update for Alexa and output in ProRes 4K for Amira.

ARRI Alexa SUP 10.0

Arri has entered the second open beta phase for SUP (Software Update Packet) 10.0. The big news is support for SxS Pro+ cards, which are available in 64GB and 128GB capacities. Using the 128GB cards we could record up to 86 minutes of ProRes 422 HQ.

And speaking of ProRes codecs, as promised, this update includes support for the newly arrived ProRes 4444 XQ, though removing ProRes 422 LT and 422 Proxy from Alexa cameras for it.

Another improvement you will notice when switching to high speed mode, which previously took 40 seconds, now you will see that it has been reduced to 20 seconds. A clean Log-C signal has also been added to REC OUT for recording in modes other than 16:9, HD or normal speed.

These are the rest of the built-in functions:

• 180° image rotation (for use with Steadicam, as well as with the 9.5-18mm “ultra-widw” zoom lenses).
• Support for two independent HD-SDI outputs in a wider range of recording modes.
• ARRIRAW 4:3 cropped mode for 96fps recording.
• Open Gate support for Alexa XT M.
• Adjustable status information.
• Monochrome status icons.
• Color camera index letters.
• Lens shrinkage factor metadata.
• Independent peaking adjustment for playback.
• Master anamorphic lens tables added to the Lens Data Archive (LDA).

To download the SUP 10 Open Beta, Alexa owners will need to log in to the Arri website. The file can then be downloaded to an SD card for uploading to camera.

*Note: Each camera model (XT/XT/Classic) has a different installation package.

Amira software update

Responding to the needs of 4K for certain productions, ARRI has developed a software update that will enable the recording of ProRes UHD (Ultra High Definition) files on its Amira camera.

The resolution obtained will be 3840 x 2160 and can be captured directly on CFast 2.0 cards, up to 60fps, with a Log-C gamma curve.

According to Arri, the new mode goes up to 3.4K directly from the “open gate” mode to get 3.2K and from there to scale up to 3.8K. This means that the scaling is not done from the usual 2K of Amira, but from a 3.2K resolution.

This feature is activated with a software license (we don’t know the price but Arri says it is affordable), along with a sensor calibration, and makes it possible to use Amira in any type of project.