No ROCKET Necessary: 3rd Party GPU Acceleration is Coming to REDCINE-X PRO

nofilmschool by Joe Marine

While proprietary used to be the name of the game, we are entering an age where camera systems and post solutions are choosing more open source options for maximum compatibility (and a likely wider install base as a result). Look no further than the increasing use of CinemaDNG with cameras like the Ikonoskop, Blackmagic Cinema Camera, and Digital Bolex. Now it looks like RED is at least partially entering that arena with an update to REDCINE-X PRO.

Up until now, a RED ROCKET was all but necessary for real-time performance as well as faster proxies in REDCINE-X PRO. This is fine for productions with huge budgets who are going to post-houses, but for smaller indie productions, a ROCKET card is about twice as expensive as a fast computer system alone. Jarred Land, who is now the public face of RED according to founder Jim Jannard, recently posted this tweet to REDUser from Bill Bennett, ASC which shows a new build of REDCINE-X PRO:

Demo version of RedCine X that does not need RedRocket card, uses Windows GPU'S. Mac version coming.

Jarred said this in the forum, and he also mentioned that having more than one GPU will increase performance:

Single Titan 6K @ 24fps. Rocket will be still be alot faster.. but it becomes more of a luxury rather than a necessity.

This is gigantic news for anyone who has dealt with RED workflows. Yes, you don’t absolutely need a ROCKET card, but it makes for much longer transcoding times and you’ll have to deal with lower-quality debayering performance for playback. It seems like the ROCKET will still be useful, but if you’ve got a decent GPU, it likely won’t be worth the money to spring for the proprietary RED card once this new REDCINE-X comes out. read more...