What is new in Silverstack Lab?
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Version
Version 9.2 introduces foundational changes to clip detection and vertical footage handling. While 9.1.x and 9.2.x are compatible (rollback is possible), we recommend updating between productions rather than during active shoots.
What’s new in version 9.2?
Workflow progress and status bar:
- App-wide progress: Choose between per-workflow or app-wide progress display in the status bar
- Quick access to workflow details: View execution speed and ETA directly from the status bar without switching to the job view
Reports:
- New report designs: Added dual-tone styles (light and dark versions) for all report templates
Scripting:
- Metadata adjustment scripts: Automatically run scripts during ingest, for example, to adjust clip metadata with custom Lua scripts in the Register in Library step
- Post-step scripts: Trigger actions when a job finishes, such as passing file lists or sending emails
File scanner & default looks:
- Faster file scanner: Improved clip identification with better format support and clearer reporting of problematic files
- Improved handling of mixed formats: Full clip detection on cards with diverse footage types
- Custom looks on ingest: Automatically apply custom looks or show LUTs by specifying them in your offload workflow preset
Vertical footage:
- SDI orientation controls: Adjust output orientation for vertically mounted SDI displays, with improved handling of rotated footage
- Vertical footage transcoding: New options to control orientation and scaling of rotated and vertical footage in transcodes
- Consistent processing: Flipping, cropping, desqueeze, and overlay placement behave identically across internal playback, SDI out, still exports, and transcoding for both rotated and unrotated footage
Format support:
- Blackmagic RAW: Now with decoding to multiple colorspaces, RAW settings, and dynamic metadata extraction
- ProRes RAW: Supports more decoding colorspaces (like Apple Log 2) and RAW settings
- Nikon RAW: Now supporting N-RAW and R3D NE, with selection of decoding colorspaces, RAW settings, and dynamic metadata extraction
- Sony and Canon MP4 formats: Improved metadata extraction for XAVC S, HEVC S, XF-AVC S, and XF-HEVC S, including dynamic metadata
Livegrade 7 support:
- Markers and in/out ranges: Import markers and in/out ranges during look matching
Offload menu:
- Sectioned volume list: New, already offloaded, and destination volumes are now clearly separated, with options to show or hide individual volumes from the list
Job view:
- Task execution chart: Visualize task execution over time for better monitoring of parallel jobs
- Volume details: View active read and write tasks per volume
- Job and task status: Clear explanations for why jobs or tasks are waiting
Still image exports:
- EXIF tagging: New options to add metadata to stills with EXIF, IPTC, or TIFF tags
- Granular scaling options: More control over still image scaling, including the option to add black bars
Post-step scripts
Extend your workflows beyond Silverstack Lab
Your own Lua scripts can now be added to workflow configurations and run on job completion, letting you trigger external processes with job parameters. That way, you can pass clip lists, file paths, and required metadata from Silverstack Lab to other applications — such as Mail or third-party uploaders. Find further information with links to documentation and sample scripts on pomfort.com/developer.
Metadata adjustment scripts
Automatically polish extracted clip metadata
Define your own rules to transform extracted clip metadata during registration in the clip library — for example, to normalize camera identifiers or take numbers. This lets you automatically maintain your custom metadata naming conventions across different cameras. Built-in default scripts demonstrate the capabilities and syntax.
New report designs
Give your data a fresh look
The new dual-tone report themes bring a modern, clean look to Silverstack Lab’s comprehensive report data. The dark version is optimized for display on monitors, while the light version is printer-friendly. You can also customize the accent color to add a personal touch or seamlessly match your production’s CI.
Vertical footage
Get ready for all-vertical and mixed-format productions
The revised processing pipeline provides a consistent playback experience for all footage types in the internal player, and on external SDI displays. This includes an independent rotation option for vertically mounted screens. New sizing and fitting options in transcoding allow granular control over the output.
Workflow overview
Monitor app-wide or per-workflow progress
Improved segmentation and structure of the app status bar give a better overview of running and scheduled workflows. A new option lets you switch between granular or cross-workflow progress display (also shown in the app icon). Click on any section to open a popover with workflow details, including individual job states and ETAs.
Task execution chart
Visualize task execution to fine-tune performance
The right level of parallel task execution is key to achieving the best performance on your hardware. Silverstack Lab’s new task execution chart visualizes task execution over time, letting you trace concurrent operations and identify bottlenecks in your workflow chain.
A detailed list of all changes can be found in the Silverstack Lab 9 changelog.
What’s new in version 9.1?
Format support:
- ALEXA 35 Xtreme / ARRICORE: Added support for the new ARRI camera and codec, including custom RAW settings for ARRICORE
- Canon EOS C50: Added support for footage from the new Canon camera
- Variable frame rate: Full support for playback and transcoding of clips with minor frame rate shifts; basic playback support for clips with significant shifts
- Apple Log 2: Integrated official Apple Log 2 → Rec.709 Preset LUT
Jobs and workflows:
- Workflow validation: Better communication of common error cases (e.g., not enough space on destination)
- Job priorities: Pre-configure job priorities in the workflow configuration
- Task concurrency settings: Immediate evaluation of changed volume performance settings
- Retry & overwrite: Better recovery options from “File Exist” errors
Diverse improvements:
- S3 bucket upload: Better support of custom endpoints
- Playback: Better update behavior after grading changes, less black frames on external SDI displays when switching looks
What’s new in version 9.0?
Workflow configuration:
- Redesigned user experience: A new user interface replaces and unifies the separate Offload/Backup/Transcode/Upload wizards. This enables a new, combined approach to processing those activities and all connected jobs
- Chaining of activities: Combine activities like offload, transcode, backup, upload, and report into one workflow and start it with a single click - for reduced manual work, fewer repetitive tasks, and faster processing
- Infos, warnings, and quick fixes: Workflow configurations are validated before execution. Potential issues are clearly communicated; common problems can be resolved by accepting a suggested quick fix
Jobs and tasks:
- Interleaved execution: For faster turnaround times, task execution is managed on clip level across different jobs: Transcoding and uploading of the first clips on your RAID can start while the rest of a camera card is still offloading
- New overview: Redesigned interface for easy tracking of workflow, job, and task execution progress and history
Drive management:
- Load balancing per drive: Set up the maximum amount of tasks to be executed in parallel based on each drive’s individual performance - Silverstack Lab executes the workload accordingly
- Shuttle drive rotation: Replace offline destination drives with their successor in your workflow configuration via a single click
- “Untitled” camera cards: Improved identification of volumes with non-unique names, which enables parallel processing of multiple “Untitled” cards
Ingest / registration:
- Ingest metadata: Set up or adjust a card’s common metadata (like shooting Date, camera, episode, or crew unit) before ingest and use it for subsequent workflow steps as wildcards
- Automatic library outline: Specify where to register new bins in your library through a custom registration path with ingest metadata wildcards
- New shooting date field: Date-only field for referencing a shooting date without taking time stamps (and crossing of midnight) into account
- Thumbnail creation in background: More responsive user interface with less blocking dialogues
Transcoding preset options:
- Source resolution: Create dailies with original resolution, independent of different source types
- Bypass desqueeze and crop: Options to ignore the processing information of anamorphic footage for dailies
- HEVC and H.264 codec details: Configure codec profiles and key frame intervals
- Color tagging: Granular options for specifying color primaries, transfer curve, and matrix coefficients
ASC MHL and sealing:
- ASC MHL-based sealing: Hand over travel drives with a transparent chain of custody, based on the open ASC MHL standard, compatible with MediaVerify
- Checksum creation jobs: Create ASC MHLs for transcoded clips to start their chain of custody in your library
- Improved history continuation: Better support for continuation of existing ASC MHL histories, e.g., when offloading RED magazines with ASC MHL history
- Handling of special cases: Support for ignore patterns and many border use cases
And much more:
- Undo: Quickly revert your last library and grading edits
- EL Zone exposure assist and false color modes: Individual false color modes for different camera types, including the stop-based EL Zone system
- Revised Stream Deck integration: New functions and default profiles for Stream Deck devices; support for dial encoders
- Grading shortcuts: New actions for SPL grading (warmer, greener, contrast, stretch), saturation and contrast (increase, decrease, reset), and printer lights (increase/decrease red/blue/green/master) - with adjustable step sizes
- Report templates: Save and restore different report configurations in templates
- Customizable toolbar: Tailor your user interface for a better overview
- Optimizations: Countless under-the-hood improvements, including bug fixes, stability and performance enhancements, and smoother user experiences
Workflows
Chained activities in custom workflow presets
Cascading copy was just the beginning! Now you can combine the initial offload with subsequent backup, transcoding, upload, and report steps. Once configured, you can repeatedly start a complex chain of activities for each new card with just a few clicks. Save the workflow configuration as a preset and correlate it with an input type to automatically load the intended configuration for each card.
Interleaved processing
Faster turnaround with smarter controls
Dependencies between jobs are resolved at task/clip level: Cascading backups or transcodes start as soon as a single clip is offloaded, allowing proxy uploads already while the rest of the magazine is still being transferred. The redesigned "Jobs View" groups all tasks by workflow, showing what’s currently running, planned, or done. Use the volume filter to spot parallel usage and cross-relations. Set individual per-drive concurrency rules to boost throughput. Of course, success or errors are clearly indicated and granularly traceable.
Validation and quick fixes
Next-level user interaction with the new workflow concept
The new workflow configuration window advances and unifies the previous wizards for offload, backup, transcode, and upload. Before execution, each configuration is validated, and configuration problems are presented transparently as warnings, info, or errors. Quick-fix suggestions for common problems can be accepted with a single click.
Ingest metadata
Define common card metadata at ingest
No more need to create the “Shooting Day” outline manually: Specify the common metadata of a card like shooting date, episode, crew unit, or camera before the ingest. That allows you to create automatic project folder outlines and subsequently use them in the destination paths. The new “Shooting Date” field (date-only, time-agnostic) allows for easier management of late shootings with midnight rollovers.
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