GoPro, maker of the GoPro HERO POV camcorders has announced that it has acquired the video compression and workflow company CineForm. CineForm is well-known for its 444 Codec, which is designed to allow fast and convenient editing of HD and 3D footage. CineForm will become a division of GoPro.

GoPro plan to incorporate “GoPro CineForm” Codec into their soon to be released 3D HERO system.

Companies Join to Democratize Professional Content Creation.

March 30, 2011 – Half Moon Bay, Calif. – GoPro, the world’s leading wearable and gear mountable camera company, today announced that it has acquired CineForm, Inc., a leading developer of video compression and workflow technology for the professional film and television industry.

“We’re extremely excited to welcome the CineForm team to GoPro,” exclaims Nicholas Woodman, GoPro’s founder and CEO. “CineForm is an industry leader in video codec technology and is famous in professional circles for their HD and 3D content creation tools. As GoPro is focused on making it easy for consumers to capture professional quality content, we’re eager to incorporate CineForm’s technology and passion into future GoPro products.”

CineForm is renowned for its CineForm 444 Codec, a professional editing codec that makes HD and 3D editing faster and more convenient without sacrificing image quality. CineForm has produced several award winning editing applications that exploit the functionality of the CineForm 444 Codec, all of which are compatible with industry leading editing programs including Adobe Premiere Pro, Apple Final Cut Pro, Avid Media Composer, and Sony Vegas, as well as Apple iMovie and Windows Movie Maker. Moving forward, the codec will be named “GoPro CineForm” to emphasize GoPro’s commitment to developing professional content capture and editing solutions.

“Numerous Hollywood feature films including the runaway Oscar winner, Slumdog Millionaire, were captured with CineForm’s codec and edited with their software tools,” says Woodman. “GoPro is in constant pursuit of image quality and CineForm represents a terrific step for us.”

The first new GoPro product to incorporate CineForm’s technology is the soon to be released 3D HERO® System, an expansion accessory for GoPro’s 1080p HD HERO line of cameras. The 3D HERO System allows consumers to combine two 1080p HD HEROs into a single housing to capture synchronized 3D photos and video. A synchronization cable joins the cameras via an expansion port on the back of each camera.

“GoPro has come out of nowhere to become a leading HD capture solution for professionals wanting to capture new, never before seen perspectives,” says David Newman, CineForm’s co-founder and CTO. “We were very impressed with the 3D HERO System’s ability to rival cameras costing 10 times as much. We’re looking forward to putting CineForm’s content creation tools into more hands than ever before thanks to GoPro’s global brand and distribution.”

David Taylor, co-founder and CEO of CineForm adds, “It’s exciting to look out and see how many people, consumers and professionals alike, are using GoPro cameras to create compelling content. As we worked with GoPro over the last year, the more we learned about GoPro’s vision, the more we realized how complementary GoPro and CineForm are to each other. We’re thrilled to join GoPro and to help usher in a new era of accessible professional content capture and creation.”

Based in Solana Beach, California, CineForm will become a division of GoPro and will continue to develop and support its award winning line of professional software products while contributing to the development of new GoPro products. The company will join offices with GoPro’s existing staff in San Diego.

In addition to being a top selling consumer camera, GoPro’s HD HERO camera is used by more professional production crews in the broadcast and film industry than any other camera in its class. GoPro and CineForm will be exhibiting in two booths at the upcoming National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) conference in Las Vegas from April 11 – 15th. GoPro will be located in booth number C9525 and CineForm will be in booth SL6929.

About GoPro: Based in Half Moon Bay, California, GoPro is the world’s leading activity image capture company. GoPro’s HD HERO line of wearable and gear mountable cameras and accessories are sold in over 60 countries and in the USA at specialty sports retailers including, Sports Authority, Sport Chalet, Cycle Gear, and Best Buy, as well as online.

About CineForm: CineForm develops compression-based workflow solutions for film and video acquisition, post production, and archive applications. Offering the industry’s highest-fidelity compression, CineForm software products are used by discerning film studios, television producers, and digital media artists to enhance their file-based workflows. CineForm products are available for both end users and OEM integrators, offer cross-platform compatibility, support most camera and file-based sources, and enable 2D and 3D editorial workflows with spatial resolutions up to 8K.

Be a HERO…. GoPro.