Hedge Software Ecosystem Updates Explained – The Hedge Application Becomes OffShoot

by Francesco AndreolaApril 16^th, 2023

During NAB 2023, Hedge announced a name change for their flagship media offloading app along with new features and updates for their entire range of post-production applications. The Hedge app will soon change its name to OffShoot and support new cloud-based workflows.

If you’re not familiar with Hedge, then you need to know that the company’s mission is that of simplifying modern post-production workflows. Their adventure started seven years ago with the launch of a dedicated software for offloading footage fast and securely on set. To date, the application was simply called by the company’s name.

Over the years, they then built a pretty extensive ecosystem of post-production tools, which includes transcoding, remote collaboration, video signal monitoring apps, and more. On the show floor at NAB 2023, we stopped by their booth to learn more about these updates directly from the company’s CEO Paul Matthijs Lombert. Let’s take a closer look!

The Hedge app becomes OffShoot and goes to the cloud

Seven years after its launch, Hedge’s most-known application is changing its name to OffShoot. The new name surely describes the main role of the software better, which is that of securely creating multiple backups of your media on set.

According to the company, OffShoot inherits the essence of the Hedge app, particularly its speed, reliability, and ease of use, while also bringing new features to the table. The new version will be available in 3 flavors: OffShoot, OffShoot Pro and OffShoot for iPad, which replaces the existing Hedge Mono app and is aimed at mobile content creators.

All three versions offer fundamentals backup functions, but the Pro variant adds more advanced features, such as scripting, preset builder, clip review and Codex 7 support for compatibility with ARRI’s flagship Super 35 mm cinema camera, the ALEXA 35.

Another major update is added support for cloud-based workflows for OffShoot and OffShoot Pro thanks to native integration with media management and remote collaboration platform iconik. Essentially, once you’re done offloading your footage, this will almost immediately pop up in iconik for archiving and reviewing purposes.

But that’s not all. Indeed, media upload to frame.io is also possible via a dedicated watch folder. Furthermore, OffShoot Pro users can also benefit from Amazon S3 integration and advanced metadata support.

Connect 3.0 launched: cloud-based notifications

Along with the redesigned OffShoot app, Hedge has developed a cloud platform, called Connect 3.0, to enhance their push notification system, which is currently only app-based. The third iteration of their notification system adds support for Android and iOS devices running version 16.4 (or later).

According to the company, Connect 3.0 allows them to “add notifications wherever they need them” across the entire Hedge ecosystem, including new applications that may come in the future. Connect 3.0 brings a new web UI and is claimed to allow large productions to track footage across multiple locations.

Other Hedge application updates

Along with creating a new dress for their offloading app, the Hedge team also put effort into enhancing their full range of applications, including:

• FoolCat – a tool to quickly generate easily-readable camera reports;
• Mimiq and Mimiq Pro – a bin-locking software for Avid Media Composer collaborative workflows that is compatible with virtually any storage solution without the need for Avid’s proprietary NEXIS hardware;
• Canister – a tool to simplify archiving and backup operations with LTO tapes;
• EditReady – a transcoding tool for editors;
• PostLab – a remote collaboration tool for Avid Media Composer, Final Cut Pro and Premiere Pro;
• ScopeBox –a set of accurate scopes for monitoring video signals.

Here are some of the highlights of the new and upcoming versions of these softwares:

• FoolCat supports new codecs and camera formats, is claimed to offer 3x faster processing and will come to Windows machines later this year;
• Mimiq now supports AFP connections, while Mimiq Pro introduces Workspaces to expand compatibility from network-storage-only to SAN, RAID, and SSD storage;
• Canister now supports notifications via Connect 3.0, allows you to monitor the progress of both archives and restore jobs, relies on Hedge ETA Technology to accurately predict the remaining time for all tasks, adds support for Nano Pure tape technology from MagStor to reduce the failure rate of new LTO tapes. Also, the company has just announced a new Beta version of the software that you can try by signing up for their testing program here.
• EditReady Server adds to the existing EditReady and EditReady Pro versions. It supports native integration with iconik, allowing users to process each clip (including RAW footage) specifically for upload on the remote collaboration platform with metadata.
• a new version of PostLab is currently being developed and will become available later this year. It will bring improved integration with the Hedge software suite and metadata support for Colourlab Ai within Final Cut Pro (a single license is required for a whole team);
• ScopeBox, which is already built-in into EditReady, will also make its way to other Hedge softwares later this year.

Price and availability

The new OffShoot and OffShoot Pro will be released in May. Existing Hedge users with active support can update to the standard version of OffShoot for free and will also be eligible for a special discount to upgrade to OffShoot Pro.

The company is also introducing a new licensing system for the new OffShoot. You can activate the software on as many machines as you want and, depending on your plan, you can use the app on multiple computers simultaneously.

Moreover, as a CineD reader, you can benefit from a 30% discount when pre-ordering OffShoot standard or Pro. The offer is valid until the end of May 2023. OffShoot pricing is as follows:

• OffShoot – $149 $99 (30% off)
• OffShoot Pro – $249 $169 ($30 off)
• OffShoot for iPad – $49

Also, the new MacOS version of FoolCat will be available after NAB for $149, while Mimiq and Mimiq Pro will cost you $299 and $499 respectively. Lastly, ScopeBox is $149.

If you’re attending NAB Show 2023, then you can stop by Booth N3174 to see the new Hedge products in action. For more information, please visit Hedge’s blog here.

Do you normally use Hedge products in your workflow? What do you think about these updates to the company’s ecosystem of post-production tools? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below!