Sony Creative Software
Release Notes
 
Catalyst Prepare™
June 2022
 
Contents
This document contains information on the following topics:
 
1.0 Welcome
Thank you for purchasing Catalyst Prepare. This document contains information about installing and using Catalyst Prepare.
 
2.0 What's New
Notable fixes/changes in version 2022.1
  • Added support for a Cine EI workflow:
    • The Adjust Color workspace now includes an EI mode control that you can use to apply an exposure index automatically using metadata or manually.
    • Files that include LUT metadata now display a badge in the Organize pane and display the LUT on the File tab of the Inspector pane.
    • The Adjust Color workspace now includes a LUT mode control that you can use to apply a LUT automatically using metadata or manually.
  • Added support for lens breathing compensation.

    Lens breathing compensation is supported by an upcoming camera release.

    In some cases, Catalyst lens breathing compensation can be less effective than in-camera lens breathing compensation if stabilization is also enabled. Use the Preview pane to compare the original and corrected clip. You can set Stabilization mode or Compensation mode to Off as needed before exporting the corrected clip.
  • Added support for additional aspect ratios in the Masking ratio drop-down list in Clip Settings. Aspect markers from Sony cameras are supported and preserved even when the clip is rotated.
  • Added support for cataloging clips in PDF or CSV format.
  • Added support for previewing 8K XAVC HS Long 422 clips.
  • Added support for transcoding to XAVC S format with LPCM 48kHz, 24-bit, 4-channel audio.
  • Added support for transcoding to XAVC S Intra or Long 422 10-bit.
  • Updated SR Live video processing to the latest specification.
  • Revised the Color Space display for Rec.709 and S-Gamut clips in the Metadata and Adjust Color panes.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause the application to crash when selecting a clip that had been deleted outside of Catalyst Prepare.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause the application to crash when attempting to open some corrupt MP4 files.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause the application to crash when dragging multiple clips.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause the application to crash or a green line to be displayed at the top of the frame when previewing some XAVC HS proxy clips. This issue affected preview only and did not affect source clips or rendered output.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause transcoding to XDCAM format to fail when the Create Sony Professional Disc partitions check box was selected.
  • Fixed a bug that caused the Format for PZW-4000, Eject, and Create XDROOT folder commands to be unavailable if the volume name contained Japanese characters (macOS only).
  • Fixed a bug that could prevent the Stabilization workspace from displaying correctly if the Analyze button was clicked while a clip was loading.
Notable fixes/changes in version 2021.1
  • Added support for batch exporting multiple selected clips from the Stabilize Clip workspace.
  • Added support for loading SR Live metadata from an external .srm file in the Options pane.
  • Improved 3D LUT export:
    • 3D LUT export is now available for any source color space.
    • Added support for exporting 3D LUT files in 3D LUT (NLE .cube) format for DaVinci Resolve or Adobe Premiere Pro or 3D LUT (SDI/SMPTE .cube) format for hardware LUT boxes.
    • When exporting a 3D LUT (NLE .cube) format LUT, you can select the Extend S-Log input range check box and choose IRIDAS/Adobe or DaVinci Resolve to include information about the input range for your destination editor.
    • Added a Precision check box in the Export Color Settings dialog to allow you to save standard (33x33x33) or high-precision (65x65x65) LUTs.
  • Added support for displaying SR Live metadata in Sony camera setting value in the Metadata and Options panes:
    • If metadata is not available in Sony camera setting value, the metadata value will be displayed: Color Gamut: Wide-BC.
    • If the metadata value and Sony camera setting value are defined and the values match, the metadata value is displayed: SDR Gain: -5.2 dB.
    • If the metadata value and Sony camera setting value are defined and the values differ, the values are displayed with the Sony camera setting value in brackets: Knee Level: 54.0 [8.0].
    • When you click a metadata value to edit it with the keyboard, the Sony camera setting value is displayed in the edit box. When you drag a slider to edit a value, both the metadata value and the Sony camera setting value are displayed.
  • Enhanced essence mark format support in the Metadata pane in the Inspector.
  • Added OpenCL/OpenGL interoperability controls in the Options pane:
    • Select Performance to allow OpenCL and OpenGL devices to share rendered frames. We recommend using this setting in most cases for optimum playback performance.
    • Select Compatibility to turn off interoperability if you notice artifacts or corruption in rendered frames.
  • Added support for the AXS-AR3 AXS Memory Thunderbolt™ card reader.
  • Improved the bit rate metadata display on the File tab of the Inspector to more accurately represent clip bit rates.
  • Improved stabilization metadata: the stabilization icon is not displayed when a clip doesn’t have enough metadata for stabilization.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause the application to crash on startup in some cases (macOS only).
  • Fixed a bug that could cause the application to crash when navigating to a folder containing DNxHD clips (Windows only).
  • Fixed a bug that could cause the application to crash when dragging multiple clips.
  • Fixed a bug that prevented the application from reading ProRes 4444 clips on macOS 10.15 (Catalina) or later.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause the application to freeze when the secondary video preview window was maximized (macOS only).
  • Fixed a bug that could cause the application to freeze when loading 8K AVC clips using Quick Sync Video on an Intel Ice Lake CPU (Windows only).
  • Fixed a bug that could result in dropped or repeated frames when decoding clips using an Intel CPU with Quick Sync Video (Windows only).
  • Fixed a bug that could result in dropped frames when transcoding XAVC S clips using an Intel CPU with Quick Sync Video (Windows only).
  • Fixed a bug that prevented exporting Rec.709 clips to Rec.2020/HLG with some Output Color Space or Preview Color Space settings.
  • Fixed a bug that could result in a mismatch between the mark in/out points and the rendered file length when using the Use mark in/out points check box in the Export pane.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause the Format for PZW-4000 command to fail on macOS Catalina.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause thumbnails to be displayed after turning off the Show thumbnails switch in Options.
  • Fixed a bug that prevented the Stabilization workspace from opening when attempting to stabilize a clip within a Catalyst Prepare library.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause image corruption when exporting stabilized clips on systems with Intel Iris graphics.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause the application to incorrectly display an exit-workspace notification when double-clicking a clip in the Correct clip (formerly Stabilize) workspace.
  • Fixed a bug that could result in incorrect timecode in copied clips when Copy only between mark points was selected for a source clip with discontinuous timecode.
  • Fixed a bug that could result in incorrect output when exporting a clip list with multiple instances of a clip using different mark in points.
  • Fixed a bug that could prevent roll-direction camera shake from being stabilized correctly for some clips.
  • Fixed a bug that prevented the clip stabilization OpenGL version-check warning from being displayed in some cases.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause incorrect folder icons to be displayed.
  • Fixed a bug that could prevent color settings from being exported if the Reset button had been clicked before attempting to export settings.
Notable fixes/changes in version 2020.1
  • Added new Use SR Live metadata and Adjust SR Live settings manually controls in Application Settings to read SR Live settings from clip metadata and use clip settings or manual adjustments to convert between standard- and high-dynamic range content.
  • Added support for displaying SR Live metadata on the File tab in the Inspector pane.
  • Added support for XAVC S (AVC) / XAVC HS (HEVC) media.
    NOTES:
    • If XAVC S and XAVC HS playback is not smooth, we recommend using the All Frames playback setting. Click the Playback Settings button on the left side of the transport controls to display the Playback Settings controls, and then click the All Frames button.
    • XAVC HS playback requires specific hardware requirements. Please see System Requirements for more information.
    • XAVC HS playback requires online activation using your camera model number and serial number. The model number and serial number are typically located on the provided warranty documentation, on the box, or on the back, bottom, or inside of the product. The model name and the serial number you enter will be used only for our license management and will not be provided to a third party.
  • When a clip has Flag metadata (formerly labeled Status in the Inspector pane), an OK, NG (no good), or Keep indicator is displayed in Organize mode.
  • Added support for clip rotation metadata in clip thumbnails and preview.
  • Added support for displaying image orientation metadata on the File tab in the Inspector pane.
  • Added filtering to the Media Browser: you can filter by file type, file format, date created, or flag metadata.
  • Added support for reading and previewing XAVC S clips with 48kHz, 24-bit, 4-channel audio.
  • Added support for stabilizing XAVC, XAVC S and XAVC HS clips using metadata.
    NOTES:
    • When stabilizing a clip using a Cropping ratio setting larger than the default value, clips with significant camera shake may exhibit a black border around the frame. We recommend using a Cropping ratio setting that is close to the default value. You can double-click the slider handle to reset the setting to its default.
    • 4K video stabilization requires a GPU that supports OpenGL 4.1 to be connected to a monitor. We recommend 6 GB of GPU memory for stabilizing 4K clips. Please see System Requirements for more information.
  • Added support for fast device-to-device copying between Sony and non-Sony FTP devices.
  • Added support for writing, renaming, and deleting clips in the XDROOT folder for SxS and USB storage via FTP on the PZW-4000.
    NOTE: Copying, renaming, or deleting clip lists to SxS media and USB storage on the PZW-4000 is not supported.
  • Added support for creating non-realtime (NRT) metadata for discontinuous timecode and essence marks when Catalyst creates new non-realtime metadata during MXF clip copy operations.
    NOTE: New non-realtime metadata is not created when the source clip contains NRT metadata.
  • Added support for connecting to FTP devices using fully qualified domain names.
  • Added support for reading long-integer ISO sensitivity and Exposure index metadata.
  • Added support for macOS 10.15 (Catalina).
  • Improved processing time for clip stabilization when rendering on an NVIDIA GPU.
  • Fixed a bug that could prevent the application from starting after installing on some systems with an Intel GPU.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause the application to crash on startup when attempting to read MXF files containing invalid non-real-time metadata.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause the application to crash when closing the application from the Adjust Color workspace after making color adjustments.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause corrupted playback or thumbnail images on macOS systems with an NVIDIA GPU.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause the application to hang during playback on systems with an NVIDIA GPU.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause color banding to occur when exporting a clip from the Stabilization workspace.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause clip stabilization to fail when using an external monitor set to 1920x1080i resolution.
  • Fixed a bug that could produce horizontal line noise when stabilizing clips on systems with an AMD GPU.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause video corruption in some rendered formats when Optimize encoding speed was selected from the Encode mode drop-down list in the Export pane.
  • Fixed a bug that caused an error when attempting to rename clips in an XDROOT folder (macOS only).
  • Fixed a bug that prevented metadata from being updated after editing the metadata for a proxy file and copying the proxy clip back to the device.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause an error when copying a clip list from the INTERNAL directory of an XDCAM Station or PZW-4000 to a local drive.
  • Fixed an issue that could prevent some transcoding presets in the Transcode Presets folder from being displayed. The Import transcode preset command has been removed. Preset files are saved in Preset files are saved in the following folder:
  • Windows: C:\Users\<user>\Documents\Sony\Catalyst\Transcode Presets\
  • macOS: /Users/<user>/Documents/Sony/Catalyst/Transcode Presets/
  • Fixed a bug that could cause incorrect error messages to be displayed when copying to an FTP device.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause copying to fail when copying via FTP from a Sony deck to a remote server.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause copying to fail when copying an X-OCN 4096x1716 50P/59.94P 4K 2.39:1 clip with the Use mark in/out points check box selected.
  • Fixed a bug that could report incorrect timecode information for MP4/MOV media.
  • Fixed a bug that prevented the Loop Playback button from working correctly in the Stabilization workspace.
Notable fixes/changes in version 2019.2.2
  • Fixed a bug that could cause rendering to fail when stabilizing long clips.
Notable fixes/changes in version 2019.2.1
  • Fixed a bug that could cause the application to hang during playback on systems with an NVIDIA GPU.
  • Fixed a bug that could result in a stream error in rendered XDCAM files.
Notable fixes/changes in version 2019.2
  • Added support for stabilizing FX9 clips using metadata.
    NOTES:
    • When stabilizing a clip using a Cropping ratio setting larger than the default value, clips with significant camera shake may exhibit a black border around the frame. We recommend using a Cropping ratio setting that is close to the default value. You can double-click the slider handle to reset the setting to its default.
    • 4K video stabilization requires a GPU that supports OpenGL 4.1 to be connected to a monitor. We recommend 4 GB of GPU memory for stabilizing 4K clips. Please see System Requirements for more information.
  • Improved workflow for exporting clips.
  • Added support for stitching multiple clips to create a single continuous clip.
  • Added support for exporting custom metadata as a sidecar file.
  • The scale of the SDR gain control in Options > Color Management has been updated to use a range of -15.0 dB to 0 dB (in 0.1 dB increments). This change ensures consistent HDR-to-SDR conversion with the HDRC-4000 HDR Production Converter Unit.
  • When formatting a disk for the PZW-4000, the XDROOT folder is no longer created by default.
  • Added support for creating the XDROOT folder on a USB drive or SxS media. Select the drive in Organize mode, click the Tools button, and choose Create XDROOT folder from the menu.
  • Added support for VENICE X-OCN 4K 2.39:1 files.
  • Added support for choosing a verification mode and hash type for copy verification.
  • Improved application start-up times.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause the application to become unresponsive when moving a clip to SxS memory while the memory was in use by the PZW-4000.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause file transfers to fail when transferring a file to a Sony deck via FTP using a lower-case file extension.
  • Fixed a bug that could result in incorrect color space when transcoding with the Add watermark check box selected.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause incorrect output for X-OCN and XAVC clips that contain a Tint metadata value other than 0.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause highlights to be clamped in HDR clips when the Black adjustment switch was enabled.
  • Fixed a bug that could prevent clip list edits from being saved in some cases when closing the application.
  • Fixed a bug that could prevent the discontinuous timecode indicator from being displayed correctly at the start of a clip.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause the Upload button to be unavailable in the Share pane when uploading to Ci Workspace with Upload original clips selected.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause user interface text to appear with a reduced line weight when running macOS 10.14 (Mojave) in Japanese.
Notable fixes/changes in version 2019.1
  • Added support for copying growing MXF files via FTP/FTPS from Sony decks. Growing files are closed automatically after copying.
  • Added a Close growing files check box in the Copy pane to close growing files generated by Sony decks.
  • The MXF file style item in the Inspector File tab now indicates whether the selected MXF clip is a growing or closed clip.
  • Added support for formatting USB drives for the Sony PZW-4000 deck. In Organize mode, select a USB drive in the Devices tab, click the Tools button, and choose Format for PZW-4000 from the menu.
    Note: If the drive you want to format is not displayed in the Devices tab, you may need to format it using your computer's operating system first.
  • Added support for VENICE RAW/X-OCN files.
  • Added new Anamorphic desqueeze and Masking ratio settings in the Clip Settings menu.
  • Added support for s709 LUT look profiles when the Source Color Space Convert to drop-down list is set to S-Gamut3/S-Log3 or S-Gamut3.Cine/S-Log3 and the Working color space drop-down list is set to Rec.709 or Log.
  • White balance adjustment (Adjust Color > Source Settings > Temperature and Tint) has been revised for compatibility with Sony cameras.
  • Added full- and half-resolution render presets when transcoding to DPX and OpenEXR formats.
  • Added new Black adjustment controls in Application Settings to adjust black levels when the Working color space is set to Rec.2020/S-Log3 (HDR). Select the Black adjustment switch and drag the Master black slider to set the master black level and drag and the HDR black offset slider to apply an offset to the Master black value for HDR content.
    Note: The Master black and HDR black offset values should match the settings on the HDRC-4000 HDR Production Converter Unit. On the HDRC-4000, the SETTING MODE should be set to SONY SYSTEM CAMERA, and the ABS mode should be set to enabled.
  • SDR knee parameters have been revised for the compatibility with HDRC-4000, ABS mode.
  • Added a Preserve source UMID check box in the copy pane. Select this check box if you need to preserve a clip's UMID (Unique Material Identifier) when copying it to a Sony deck via FTP.
  • Added support for reading Rec.2020/HLG and Rec.2020/PQ metadata in ProRes clips.
  • The File tab in the Inspector now displays Color primaries and Coding equations metadata for the selected clip.
  • The File tab in the Inspector now indicates whether NRT metadata (non-real-time metadata) exists for the selected clip.
  • Improved encoding speed when rendering to Sony XAVC Long format when at least 2 GB of system memory and 6 CPU cores are available.
  • Improved audio processing to preserve audio levels when transcoding from stereo to mono or multichannel formats.
  • Improved transcoding performance when Optimize encoding speed was selected in the Encode mode drop-down list when using some NVIDIA GPUs.
  • When the Working color space drop-down is set to Rec.709, the Convert to drop-down list in the Adjust Color workspace now defaults to 709(800) Hypergamma for HDR source clips so the default preview is not washed out or dark.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause the application to crash when dragging a clip from the Windows Explorer or Finder to a storyboard.
  • Fixed a bug that could prevent clips from copying successfully via CIFS (Windows only).
  • Fixed a bug that could prevent clips from being deleted correctly when attempting to delete multiple clips from an FTP/FTPS device.
  • Fixed a bug that could prevent metadata from being displayed correctly in the Inspector after renaming a clip on an FTP/FTPS device.
  • Fixed a bug that prevented clips that were copied with the Copy only between mark points check box selected from playing correctly on a camera.
  • Fixed a bug that could result in incorrect color space when transcoding with the Add watermark check box selected.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause summary metadata to be discarded in some cases when transcoding with Use mark in/out points selected.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause files from SD cards to display black thumbnail images and video after changing media.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause corrupted thumbnail images after exporting MXF clips to AVC/AAC format.
  • Fixed a bug that could prevent audio output when previewing ProRes clips in some cases.
  • Fixed a bug that could prevent the Export clips to path from being preserved in some cases when exporting a storyboard.
Notable fixes/changes in version 2018.2
  • Added XAVC Long 422 3840x2160 200 Mbps (Sony) transcoding presets. Please note that these new presets require 16 GB or more RAM. If you're using a dedicated GPU, the presets also require 4 GB or more GPU memory.
  • Added an SDR knee switch in Application Settings. When the switch is selected, you can use the Point, Slope, and Level controls to apply a knee curve that can help preserve midrange colors and highlights when exporting HDR content to an SDR format or displaying on an SDR display.
  • Added support for multiple external monitors: if you have a Blackmagic Design device that supports multiple displays (or have multiple Blackmagic Design devices), you can enable two external monitors, allowing you to monitor SDR and HDR output simultaneously.
    • You can set the display resolution for each display independently.
    • The first external monitor will use the External monitor color space setting, and the second external monitor will use the Preview color space setting.
  • The waveform and histogram monitors now display full-range (-7.3% to 109.1%) rather than clipping at 0% and 100%. Areas outside 0-100% are shaded in the histogram monitor. Full-range color is also supported for external-monitor preview and rendering with HDR to Rec.709/Rec.2020.
  • Added a Create Sony Professional Disc partitions check box in the Copy pane to enable copying XDCAM files with segmented body partitions.
  • Added a Create segmented body partitions check box in the Copy pane to enable copying XAVC Intra and XAVC Long files with segmented body partitions.
    NOTE: Files created with segmented body partitions may not be recognized properly by some Sony camcorders, decks, or servers.
  • Added support for displaying the MXF Partition Style (Single Body Partition or Segmented Body Partition) in the Inspector pane (Inspector > Metadata > File > Media).
  • Added support for deleting all mark points in a clip (Metadata > Mark Points > Delete > Delete All).
  • Added a Protocol drop-down list in the Add Remote Server dialog to allow you to choose FTPS (Explicit) or FTP.
  • Added support for DXVA2 decoding of AVC/H.264 clips on NVIDIA GPUs that utilize DXVA2 decoding. Supported computers will see improved processing performance for decoding AVC/H.264 video files.
  • Improved playback performance for XAVC Long 422 clips with resolution of QFHD or higher and frame rates of 50p or higher when you set the playback settings to Speed/Real Time. In this mode, frames will be skipped if needed to preserve the frame rate.
  • XAVC clips rendered using the MainConcept encoder now correctly preserve HLG and PQ metadata in the video stream.
  • Added support for displaying Cinematone 1 or Cinematone 2 in the Capture gamma equation metadata field.
  • Settings for Audio channels controls in the Export pane are now saved in transcode presets.
  • Removed the Save settings switch in Transcode Tools.
  • Improved performance for FTP devices by turning off thumbnail image loading.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause the application to crash when using an Intel video processing device.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause the application to crash when reading some AVC clips with malformed metadata.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause the application to crash when opening XAVC Intra clips with 24- or 32-channel audio.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause the application to crash in some instances when selecting the Automatically Added bin, switching libraries, or starting a render.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause the application to crash when another user connected to a mounted NAS device (macOS only).
  • Fixed a bug that could cause black frames when transcoding some HD-resolution clips to QFHD XAVC Intra or XAVC Long formats. Please note that high-quality deinterlacing is no longer available on systems with 1 GB or less GPU memory or macOS systems with Intel GPUs and 1536 MB or less GPU memory.
  • Fixed a bug that caused the Catalyst Render Process to remain running in the background, preventing further render operations, after canceling an XDCAM IMX render.
  • Fixed a bug that prevented you from mapping audio channels 1 and 2 independently when using the Map audio channels feature in the Export pane.
  • Fixed a bug that could prevent clips from loading properly after copying them.
  • Fixed a bug that could prevent metadata changes from being saved in the Metadata pane after selecting another file and clicking OK to save your changes.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause settings in the Format and Render preset drop-down lists to be unavailable in the Export pane after changing Color adjustments to All and Output color space to Same as preview.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause some file types to display the incorrect source color space.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause the internal preview to be blurred when previewing QFHD sources on an HD external monitor.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause QFHD clips to be displayed using the incorrect aspect ratio on an HD external monitor.
  • Fixed a bug that could allow you to open clip lists or spanned clips in the Adjust Color workspace using the ' keyboard shortcut. The Adjust Color workspace is not available for clip lists or spanned clips.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause the Output color space setting in the Export pane to be incorrectly set to Same as preview in some cases.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause the Color adjustments drop-down list in the Export pane to display incorrect settings after resetting a clip's color adjustments.
  • Fixed a bug that would cause incorrect color management for non-RAW video files that indicate linear gamma.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause the Best match render preset to use the incorrect resolution after importing an EDL.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause the Use flip and stretch settings check box to be unavailable when transcoding an EDL.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause artifacts when transcoding HDR clips to YUV SDR formats.
  • Fixed a bug that could prevent saving edits to Mark In/Out points or Summary and Mark Points metadata for some MXF files.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause incorrect output for clips where camera ISO and EI are not the same.
  • Fixed a bug that prevented the New Empty Clip List command from being displayed in the Tools menu (macOS only).
  • Improved the accuracy of the remaining time estimate when transcoding clips.
  • Fixed a bug that prevented the library from opening when opening a .cpreplib file (macOS only).
  • Fixed a bug that prevented bins from sorting correctly after renaming.
  • Fixed a bug that prevented clips from being opened from the Finder (macOS only).
  • Fixed a bug that could cause the incorrect file extension to be displayed in the File name box when exporting a storyboard as a single file.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause rendering or transcoding to DPX format to fail.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause only the first image in a DPX or OpenEXR image sequence to be deleted when deleting a clip and choosing to delete the associated source files from disk.
  • Fixed a bug that could prevent search results from being limited to the bin or folder being searched.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause clip lists to become deselected after removing a clip.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause unintended scrolling in Options when changing some settings.
  • Fixed a bug that could prevent you from scrolling in the Export pane when the mouse pointer was over the Audio Channels controls (macOS only).
  • Fixed a bug that could cause audio distortion in clips with 24-bit, big-endian format audio.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause the audio meters in the activity pane to display incorrect data.
  • Fixed a bug that could prevent the Project menu from displaying correctly when the secondary preview window was enabled.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause delays when browsing folders.
  • Fixed a bug that could prevent the Options menu from displaying correctly when the secondary preview window was enabled (macOS only).
  • Fixed a bug that could prevent mark points from being created at the beginning and end of the timeline.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause some characters to be ignored when typing file names in the Export Project, Render Project, and Share dialogs.
  • Fixed a bug that prevented the I and O shortcut keys from moving the cursor to the Mark In and Mark Out points.
  • Fixed a bug that prevented dragging folders from Finder to the Catalyst Prepare window (macOS only).
Notable fixes/changes in version 2018.1
  • Added a Create Sony Professional Disc partitions check box in the Export pane to enable rendering XAVC Intra, XAVC Long, and XDCAM files with segmented body partitions.
    NOTE: Files created with segmented body partitions may not be recognized properly by some Sony camcorders, decks, or servers.
  • Improved color-management workflow for choosing color spaces, applying color adjustments, and transcoding clips with color adjustments:
    • In Options, Color management settings have been grouped together. Grade in has been changed to Working color space, and Display color space settings have been changed to Preview color space and External monitor color space.
    • In Adjust Color mode, the Inspector pane now displays the Preview and External monitor color space (if an external monitor is enabled). If the selected color space is not compatible with the source color space and cannot be exported, a warning is displayed to notify you.
    • When exporting a clip with color adjustments, the Output color space is now based on the Preview color space or External monitor color space to ensure the transcoded clip matches your preview.
    • When exporting a clip with color adjustments, the output format and transcoding presets are limited those supported by the selected Output color space.
  • The Transcode Tools menu in the Export pane now allows you to load, save, and delete transcoding presets.
  • Added support for mapping audio channels during transcoding.
  • Added support for adding a watermark image during transcoding.
  • Changed the Allow timecode in letterbox/pillarbox area check box to Allow burn in within letterbox/pillarbox area to allow the timecode and clip name to be burned into the letterbox/pillarbox area of transcoded files. When the check box is cleared, burned-in timecode and clip names will be limited to the source frame area.
  • Saved transcoding settings are now applied when transcoding clips, EDLs, and storyboards or repairing flashbands.
  • Added support for expanding and collapsing the Favorite Folders, Devices, Recent, Bins, and Storyboards headings in Organize mode and in file-browse dialogs.
  • Improved the accuracy of the remaining time estimate when copying clips.
  • Improved clip numbering when using the Rename files check box in the Copy and Export panes: the clip number is now reset when you choose a different output destination or choose a different setting from the Numbering drop-down list.
  • Improved performance when playing back some AVC clips (macOS only).
  • Combined the Username/Email and Domain login methods when uploading to Sony Ci.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause the application to crash when pressing ] to navigate clips immediately after opening a storyboard.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause the application to crash after editing a clip's metadata, opening another clip, and clicking OK in the “Metadata is being reloaded. Would you like to save your changes?” dialog.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause the application to crash when previewing clips with the secondary window enabled if Intel HD Graphics 4000 was selected in the Video processing device drop-down list.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause the application to hang when transcoding a storyboard multiple times.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause the application to export using the incorrect format after exporting a storyboard.
  • Fixed a bug that caused the Copy only between mark points setting to be ignored when copying XAVC Intra HD clips.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause files to be overwritten after clicking Keep Existing when prompted to replace existing files while exporting to DPX or OpenEXR format.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause the video preview to display black frames when switching the Preview setting between Before and After in the Adjust Color workspace.
  • Fixed a bug that could prevent the Convert to setting in the Adjust Color workspace from being applied correctly when changing the Source color space setting.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause incorrect video levels when displaying and rendering AVC 8-bit 4:2:0 clips on some macOS computers.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause playback to zoom unexpectedly after adjusting color correction controls if CPU was selected in the Video processing device drop-down list.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause poor video performance when scrubbing clips, especially with interlaced media.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause poor playback performance and excessive memory usage when playing some MOV clips on macOS.
  • Fixed a bug that caused relinking library clips to fail when selecting a folder (Windows only).
  • Fixed a bug that could cause the incorrect Exposure index value to be displayed for RAW clips in the Adjust Color workspace.
  • Fixed a bug that could case the Loop Playback and Playback Settings (Speed/Quality and Real Time/All Frames) controls to be ignored when the secondary window was visible.
  • Fixed a bug that could prevent the last-used render settings from being saved when exporting storyboards and selecting one of the Render clips as separate files, Render storyboard as single file, and Export storyboard as project radio buttons.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause the incorrect Output color space settings to be displayed in the Export pane if the clip selection changed.
  • Fixed a bug that could prevent the last-used render settings from being applied when transcoding and uploading to Sony Ci.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause the last-used render settings to be incorrectly applied when uploading to YouTube.
  • Fixed a bug that caused the Export button to be available when unsupported clips were selected.
  • Fixed a bug that caused the Share pane to incorrectly display the user's login status when uploading to Sony Ci.
  • Fixed a bug that could prevent clips from uploading to YouTube if < or > characters were used in the Title, Description, or Tags.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause some H.264 .mov clips to play at double speed on macOS.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause some H.264 .mov clips to play at an accelerated rate.
  • Fixed a bug that caused the Export button to be unavailable when exporting an EDL or repairing flash bands and clicking a blank area in the center of the Transcode To dialog.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause clips to be numbered incorrectly when Rename files was selected in the Export pane and 2 digits or 3 digits was selected in the Numbering drop-down list.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause clips to be rendered using the last-used format (rather than the selected format) when Rename files was selected in the Export pane.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause clips to be displayed in the Import EDL dialog.
  • Fixed a bug that prevented the split location from resetting when double-clicking the split line in split-screen preview mode in the Adjust Color workspace.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause the Override start timecode setting to be ignored when exporting a clip to the same directory multiple times.
  • Fixed a bug that could result in incorrect burned-in timecode if Allow within letterbox/pillarbox area was selected during transcoding.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause the incorrect aspect ratio to be applied when previewing SD MXF clips with the Video processing device set to CPU.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause color variations in MPEG2 clips when the Video processing device was set to CPU or a GPU.
  • Fixed a bug that prevented the source color space of ProRes 422 clips from being identified correctly.
  • Fixed a bug that prevented the Verify mode drop-down list from functioning correctly when using the Back Up Source dialog.
3.0 Known Issues
  • The application may not display if you run the application on a secondary monitor and then restart the application with the secondary monitor disconnected. Hold Ctrl+Shift when starting the application to reset the application settings.
  • When playing 4K clips, the video preview can display irregularities on some systems that do not meet the system requirements for 4K media.
  • ASC-CDL (.cdl) files are not displayed in the Load ASC-CDL dialog when the file is saved in a known folder structure (such as an XAVC or XDCAM volume). Saving the ASC-CDL files in a generic location such as the General folder will allow you to load them.
  • The application may fail to start on some notebook computers with the Intel HD Graphics graphics adapter. Please visit https://downloadcenter.intel.com to manually download and install the latest driver for your graphics adapter.
  • If the application displays “A compatible graphics card that supports OpenCL 1.1 is required for GPU acceleration. Please install updated graphics drivers or install a compatible graphics card.” please try to install a newer graphics driver. If that is not possible, install the Intel OpenCL runtime for CPU. For more information about installing the Intel OpenCL runtime for CPU, please refer to this Knowledgebase article.
  • If playback is not smooth when previewing high-resolution clips, click the magnifying glass in the video preview window and decrease the preview resolution.
  • Metadata cannot be saved in non-MXF files — and some MXF files — that are not in a folder structure.
  • On some systems, transcoding can fail when using Intel HD Graphics Driver for Windows 8.1 version 10.18.15.4279. Please use the latest driver from Intel.
  • Blackmagic Design Desktop Video 10.1.1 or later is required when using an external monitor via a Blackmagic Design SDI or UltraStudio device.
  • Spanned AVCHD clips may exhibit audio and video noise when previewing the transition between clips. Transcoding is not available for spanned AVCHD clips. We recommend that you copy the clips to your local drive before working with them.
  • If you need to format an SxS card, please use the Memory Media Utility.
  • If you need to format or finalize an XDCAM Professional Disc volume, please use the XDCAM Drive Software.
  • Transcoding performance can be slow when transcoding to an exFAT-formatted SxS card on Windows.
  • When exporting a storyboard, the Destination folder exports to your Home folder by default, resulting in a failed export. Choosing a different folder will allow the export to complete successfully (macOS only).
  • In some cases, metadata and mark in/out points that were edited in Catalyst Browse are not preserved after importing a clip into Catalyst Prepare. Closing and reopening Catalyst Prepare will update cached metadata.
  • In some cases, the application can crash if you edit a storyboard before the storyboard has finished loading.
  • On some computers, the application can hang during startup/registration. Updating your graphics driver will allow the application to start normally.
  • When using libraries created in Catalyst Prepare 2.0 or earlier, external folders in the library are displayed as bins.
  • When using DaVinci Resolve to open a Catalyst Prepare project that was exported to Final Cut Pro X format, color-correction information (Lift, Gamma, and Gain) can be imported if the DaVinci Resolve timeline frame rate matches the Final Cut Pro project frame rate.
  • When using Catalyst Prepare 2015.1 to create color presets that contain a Temperature adjustment, the Temperature value will be incorrect when loading the preset in Catalyst Browse or any other version of Catalyst Prepare. You can adjust the Temperature value in the destination application and resave the preset to use it.

    Color presets created in Catalyst Browse or any other version of Catalyst Prepare will display incorrect Temperature values when loaded in Catalyst Prepare 2015.1. You can adjust the Temperature value in the Catalyst Prepare 2015.1 and resave the preset to use it.
  • Catalyst applications can crash on some Windows 10 systems that include multiple GPUs (one AMD GPU and one Intel or NVIDIA GPU). Please check for updated AMD GPU drivers: http://support.amd.com/en-us/kb-articles/Pages/AMD-Radeon-Software-Crimson-Edition-16.1-Hotfix-Release-Notes.aspx.
  • Hardware decoding of 10-bit XAVC HS clips is supported on Intel Skylake U, H, and S processors.
  • When working with clips from multiple discs in an Optical Disc Archive volume, playback can pause when switching discs. If you experience interrupted playback, copy the clips to a local drive.
  • On some Windows 7 computers using an AMD Radeon GPU, the application can crash during playback when Display secondary window is selected.
  • Spanned clips are not intended for use with Catalyst Prepare libraries. However, a bug permits AVCHD spanned clips to be added to libraries. Inconsistent behavior can occur when applying color correction, adjusting mark in/out points, or adding spanned clips to storyboards.
  • Start and end timecode values are not preserved when exporting a storyboard with Render clips as separate files and Use mark/in points selected.
  • If you want to reset the application's preferences to their default values, hold Ctrl+Shift while double-clicking the application icon. When the application starts, you'll be prompted to reset all preferences.
  • When working with DPX image sequences, the following features are unavailable: renaming, deleting, creating a storyboard from a selection, copying to a library or folder, uploading to Ci, and flash band repair.
  • When copying a clip list and its clips to an XDCAM device via FAM, the clips' UMID data is changed, which breaks media links and will cause the copy operation to fail.
  • Copying growing MXF clips to the PDW-HD1500 via FTP can fail.
  • Attempting to preview a clip with a backslash (\) in the file name will result in a "The media is offline, missing, or unsupported" error message (macOS only).
  • When viewing MXF clips from an XDCAM Station or Professional Disc volume, Catalyst Prepare now reads metadata from the sidecar XML. This improves performance but can result in a reduced set of metadata being displayed in the Inspector.
  • If Catalyst Prepare fails to start due to an invalid license file, you can reset the application preferences to choose the correct license file the next time you start the application:
    • Windows: Hold Shift+Windows while starting the application.
    • MacOS: Hold Shift+Command while starting the application.
  • Some computers running macOS 10.13 (High Sierra) may experience visual inconsistencies, hangs, or crashes when previewing clips with the secondary window enabled.
  • Some computers running macOS 10.13 (High Sierra) may experience reduced performance when applying color correction to a storyboard.
  • When running macOS 10.13 (High Sierra), access to Professional Disc and Optical Disc Archive volumes is not available. Support will be enabled when updated device drivers are released. Please check https://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/download/software_for_sony_equipment for updated XDCAM Drive Software and Optical Disc Archive Software.
  • If you notice corrupted video preview or decreased playback performance on macOS High Sierra (10.13), please install the latest High Sierra update to ensure your system is using the latest graphics drivers.
  • When transcoding to XAVC Intra, XAVC Long, and XAVC S formats, some Windows PCs may produce an error. Running Windows Update or installing the Microsoft Visual C++ 2017 Redistributable manually will resolve the issue.
  • When previewing spanned AVCHD clips, you may see blocking noise at the transitions between clips. If you use the Combine relay clips command, the new clip will not exhibit the noise during playback.
  • Deleting clips from a Professional Disc volume can fail if the clips are still loading when you attempt to delete them. Verify the load icon is not displayed in the main video preview window or in the Preview window in the Inspector and then try deleting clips again.
  • Attempting to log in to Ci Workspace using an Enterprise Email (SSO) account fails to log in successfully. We are actively investigating the issue.
  • In some cases, playback performance can be reduced on macOS computers when an NVIDIA GPU is selected from the Video processing device drop-down list in Options. In this case, please choose the Intel GPU from the Video processing device drop-down list.
  • Some computers with an NVIDIA GPUs could produce flashing in the Histogram and Scopes windows. Please update to the latest NVIDIA driver.
  • Clip stabilization could fail for MP4 clips if the lens was detached and reattached during recording.
  • When upgrading from Catalyst 2020.1 or earlier, the application may fail to start on some systems with an Intel GPU. If this occurs, please try the following:
    1. Install the latest Intel GPU driver (reinstalling the same version does not resolve the issue).
    2. Uninstall the Intel SDK for OpenCL.
      • Open your Start menu and click the Settings button.
      • From the Settings menu, choose Apps & Features.
      • Enter "OpenCL" in the box labeled Search this list.
      • If "Intel SDK for OpenCL" appears in the search results, select and uninstall it.
      • Once you have uninstalled the above component, try starting Catalyst Prepare again.
  • When stabilizing a clip using an Intel GPU, some user interface elements could be displayed in white. This issue could be improved by updating to the latest Intel GPU driver. Please note that if this issue occurs, the rendered output of the stabilized clip is not affected.
    • When previewing some XAVC HS proxy clips, the application can crash or a green line can be displayed at the top of the frame. This issue affects preview only and does not affect source clips or rendered output. You can avoid the issue using one of the following workarounds:
    • Turn off Preview using proxy clips in Options.
    • Click the Playback Settings button on the left side of the transport controls to display the Playback Settings controls, and then click the Quality or All Frames button.
  • Clicking the Adjust Color button at the bottom of the Catalyst Prepare window can produce an error when a library clip is selected.
  • Clicking the Adjust Color button at the bottom of the Catalyst Prepare window can open Color Adjustment controls in the Organize view when no library is open.
  • In some cases, Intel Quick Sync Video is not properly initialized the first time the application is started after installation. After you exit and start the application again, Quick Sync Video will work as expected.
  • Some systems running macOS Catalina may fail to play supported media after installing Catalina Security Update 2021-002 (19H1030) due to a regression in the OpenCL framework. Security Update 2021-003 (19H1217) and subsequent updates do not exhibit this behavior. If installing subsequent updates does not resolve the issue, roll back Security Update 2021-002 (19H1030) and then install 2021-003 (19H1217) or later.
  • On Windows systems with some GPU configurations, XAVC S clips rendered in Catalyst 2021.1 and earlier may preview with distorted video in Catalyst applications. The rendered video essence is error free; the distortion is limited to playback in Catalyst applications. You can rerender the clips in Catalyst 2022.1 to resolve the issue.
  • When a clip is exported using the XAVC S Long 422 S-Log2 or S-Log3 color space, some NLEs could recognize the clip as video range and the preview image color could be extended. If the NLE has an input range setting -- such as newer versions of DaVinci Resolve -- you can set the range to Full so the preview image color is not extended. Alternatively, you can use XAVC S Intra 422 or XAVC S Long (420).
  • An exported clip's color space can be displayed incorrectly after overwriting an existing clip with a different color space setting. The correct color space will be displayed after closing and restarting Catalyst Prepare.
  • In some cases, UI text could be corrupted after starting the application for the first time. Text will be displayed correctly after closing and restarting the application.
  • If Same as source is selected in the Format drop-down list in the Export tab of the Correct clip workspace, the Format setting could be changed when adding a clip for Batch Export. You can avoid this issue by selecting a specific Format setting.
  • Rendering to XDCAM MPEG HD422 50 Mbps format can stop when there is a significant change in image complexity. You can avoid the issue by rendering using a different preset such as XDCAM MPEG HD 35 Mbps or XAVC. If rendering progress stops, CatalystRenderProcess will need to be terminated manually using Task Manager (Windows) or Activity Monitor (macOS), or by restarting the system.
4.0 System Requirements
The following lists the minimum system requirements for using Catalyst Prepare:
  • A 64-bit operating system: Microsoft® Windows 10 or Windows 11; macOS 10.15 (Catalina), 11 (Big Sur)*, or 12 (Monterey)*

    *Intel processors only.
  • 2 GHz multicore processor
    • An 8-core processor is recommended for 4K media
    • An Ivy Bridge Core i7 with Quick Sync Video or Xeon E5 processor is recommended for XAVC S media
    • A Kaby Lake Core i7 processor with Quick Sync Video is recommended for 4:2:0 XAVC HS media and required for 8K media
    • An Ice Lake Core i7 processor with Quick Sync Video is recommended for 4:2:2 XAVC HS media and required for 8K media
  • 500 MB hard-disk space for program installation
  • Solid-state disk (SSD) or high-speed RAID for 4K or larger media
  • 4 GB RAM (8 GB recommended for 4K or larger media)

    The XAVC Long 422 3840x2160 200 Mbps (Sony) transcoding presets require 16 GB or more RAM. If you're using a dedicated GPU, the presets also require 4 GB or more GPU memory.
  • NVIDIA, AMD/ATI, or Intel GPU with support for OpenCL 1.1 or later with at least 1024 MB of memory or a CPU with SSE 4.2 or higher
    • OpenGL 2.1 is recommended for optimum performance
    • OpenGL 4.1 is required for video stabilization/lens breathing compensation
    • 2 GB GPU memory is recommended for 4K preview, HD rendering, or HD video stabilization/lens breathing compensation
    • 6 GB of GPU memory is recommended for decoding XAVC S or XAVC HS media, and we recommend using the latest GPU driver version from NVIDIA, AMD/ATI, or Intel. macOS provides software decoding of XAVC S or XAVC HS media.
    • 6 GB GPU memory is recommended for 4K rendering
    • 8 GB GPU memory is recommended for 8K rendering or 4K video stabilization/lens breathing compensation
    • 10 GB GPU memory is recommended for 8K video stabilization/lens breathing compensation

    If your GPU supports OpenCL 1.1, please install the latest driver to enable OpenCL on your GPU for the best possible performance. If your GPU does not support OpenCL 1.1, install the Intel OpenCL runtime for CPU. For more information about installing the Intel OpenCL runtime for CPU, please refer to this Knowledgebase article .

    You must provide your registration information to Sony Creative Software Inc., a US company, in order to activate the software. Product requires online registration.
5.0 Installation
The install utility creates any necessary folders and copies all files required by Catalyst Prepare to your computer.
 
Installing on Windows
  1. Download the install utility from our Web site.
  2. Double-click the file, and then follow the on-screen prompts to install the appropriate version of Catalyst Prepare for your computer. 
Installing on macOS
  1. Download the Catalyst Prepare DMG file from our Web site.
  2. Double-click the downloaded .dmg file.
  3. Drag the Catalyst Browse icon into to your Applications folder to install it on your computer.
6.0 Trials and Demos
If you would like information or trial/demo versions of other products from Sony Creative Software Inc., please visit our Web site. You will always find the latest technical information, trials, demos, and product announcements from Sony Creative Software Inc. there.
 
Commercial distribution of the trials and demos requires written permission from Sony Creative Software Inc.
 
7.0 Contacting Sony Creative Software Inc.
Sony Creative Software Inc. can be contacted in the following ways:
 
Mailing Address:
Sony Creative Software Inc.
1 S. Pinckney St.
Suite 520
Madison, Wisconsin 53703
USA
 
Customer Service/Sales:
For a detailed list of Customer Service options, we encourage you to visit https://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/support/custserv.asp.
 
Technical Support
For a detailed list of Technical Support options, we encourage you to visit https://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/support/default.asp.
 
About Us | Privacy Statement | Copyright Notice | Terms & Conditions | Sony.com
© 2022. Sony Creative Software Inc. All Rights Reserved.

XDCAM, XDCAM EX, XAVC, XAVC S, NXCAM, SxS and Professional Disc are trademarks of Sony Corporation.

All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners in the United States and other countries. For more information, see https://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/licensenotices