
	Log In \| Not a Member?	Contact ADC

FxPlug SDK 1.2 for Final Cut Pro and Motion Released

The FxPlug SDK lets you write plug-ins that add image-processing effects to Final Cut Pro and Motion. The focus of FxPlug SDK 1.2 is improved consistency between Motion and Final Cut Pro, and better support for timing information. In addition to the changes in the FxPlug framework itself, there are other FxPlug-related changes in Plug-in Manager 1.7, Final Cut Pro 6, and Motion 3

Developed by Apple's Professional Applications group, FxPlug is a compact yet powerful plug-in architecture for image processing. With FxPlug, you can leverage technologies such as OpenGL, Quartz, Quartz Composer, and Core Image to create unique effects that include on-screen controls and custom UI elements—all running seamlessly in the host application. FxPlug supports both hardware-accelerated and CPU-based effects. A single plug-in can use either software rendering or hardware rendering, or both.

You can write three types of plug-ins with the FxPlug SDK: video filters, video generators, and video transitions.

The bulk of the FxPlug SDK consists of Objective-C protocol definitions. You create a plug-in by writing code in Objective-C or C++ that conforms to these protocols. When a plug-in needs to access host application functionality—such as requesting video stream information—it uses methods in a host API, an object provided by the host application that conforms to a host protocol. For example, the FxPlug SDK defines host protocols that include methods for requesting layer information, converting between canvas and object coordinate spaces, building a list of plug-in parameters, getting and setting parameter values, and evaluating input images at arbitrary times.

For More Information:

Posted: 2007-05-21