Imagine Products Inc., creator of software utilities for backing up, viewing, sharing, transcoding, and archiving video assets, has released TrueCheck, a one-of-a-kind file comparison, search, report, and verification tool. With a combination of capabilities, including a unique comparison feature, available nowhere else, TrueCheck helps anyone who handles large numbers of files to ensure mirror images, verify data integrity, generate reports for themselves or others, and do so much more.
“This product is unique not only because it contains the only M&E-specific comparison tool out there, but also because there is nothing on the market that has all these features in one place. People would have to use multiple products to accomplish half of what they can do in TrueCheck,” said Michelle Maddox, marketing director at Imagine Products. “We take customer feedback very seriously. Each of the features is the direct result of requests from customers over the years, so we know this is a tool they need.”
TrueCheck has five core functions: Compare, Generate, Search, View, and Verify.
Unlike other comparison utilities, which are geared toward comparing code or text, TrueCheck’s Compare is the only one built to help people in the media and entertainment (M&E) industry evaluate video, audio, and related files. The Compare function allows users to compare files and folders for sameness and differences and locate a file inside of a folder or volume. Multiple comparison options mean users can get the exact comparison they need. For example, they can select “match by checksum value” or “file system attributes” such as name, size, date created, and date modified. Folder options include “check folder structure equality,” “show folders with commonality,” or “compare folders – files only.”
Through the Generate function, users can choose from multiple report options and generate a thorough PDF report — complete with thumbnails and metadata — of any attached media, volume, folder, or files dropped into the queue. The ability to create PDF reports with thumbnails without performing a copy fulfills the No. 1 feature request from users of ShotPut Pro, Imagine Products’ copying utility.
The Search function makes it possible to do a deep search using industry-specific parameters, such as camera manufacturer. As a result, users can perform a much more detailed, thorough search than is possible in Finder.
View allows users to create checksums for any file, folder, etc., while Verify makes it possible to verify file integrity with thumbnails. TrueCheck supports two different types of checksum verification files: an industry-standard Media Hash List (MHL) and a simple text list of files and checksums. TrueCheck will compare the referenced checksums against those calculated for the files within the associated volume.
TrueCheck is especially useful for file organization in group settings, where multiple people are working on a project at once. Unless team members are on a shared network, there’s no good way to ensure that each of their drives contains all the same files. In situations where there are multiple copies of files floating around, TrueCheck will show if the files are an exact mirror image of each other or where the differences lie. Light and dark are available for any environment.
