First Rush 2.1 – On-Set Multicam SDI to ProRes Recorder Lands on the Mac App Store

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by Nino LeitnerJune 17^th, 2026

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First Rush, a macOS multicam SDI recorder that follows the camera’s REC flag to capture Apple ProRes already named, timecoded, and organized for Final Cut Pro and DaVinci Resolve, has reached version 2.1 and is now on the Mac App Store. Built by working Korean on-set editor Jinkyu Han, the 2.1 release folds live CDL color, full scopes, real-time compositing, SDI clip playback, and an iPhone and iPad companion viewer into a single subscription that costs around $140 per year.

On-set editing and DIT software that automatically rolls with the camera has long lived at the premium end of the market, with QTAKE and Pomfort Reeltime Pro setting the standard but also setting prices that put them out of reach for many freelancers. First Rush positions itself directly against that gap: a native Apple Silicon application that handles auto-record, multicam capture, and post-ready metadata for a flat annual fee aimed at individual on-set editors rather than fully staffed video-village rigs.

Auto-record that follows the camera

The core idea is familiar to anyone who has worked a video village: the recorder should start and stop when the camera does, without a separate operator babysitting a transport. First Rush detects the SMPTE RP 188 record flag coming down the SDI line and synchronizes every connected channel to it. According to the developer, the trigger is confirmed with cameras including the ARRI ALEXA, Sony VENICE, DJI Ronin 4D, and Blackmagic URSA, covering most of the cinema bodies likely to be feeding a cart.

Naming works the same way. Each clip is tagged with Scene, Cut, and Take values, and the application writes Reel, Scene, Take, and camera name directly into the .mov file. Those fields map automatically into Final Cut Pro’s Info inspector and DaVinci Resolve’s metadata columns, so footage lands in the edit already labeled rather than waiting on a manual rename pass. A Vision-based HUD OCR feature can also read Clip, Reel, ISO, white balance, and shutter straight off the camera’s display as a fallback when those values are not embedded in the signal.

What is new in 2.1

The headline of this release is that nearly everything beyond basic capture is now in the box. Live look tools center on ASC CDL color wheels (slope, offset, and power) plus exposure, contrast, color temperature, and tint, and the look can optionally be baked into the recording so the file matches the monitor. Presets can be saved, copied between cameras, and imported or exported as ASC .cdl files, with per-source 3D LUTs supported via .cube.

The scope set is comprehensive: luma waveform, RGB parade, RGB overlay, a vectorscope with color trace, I/Q lines and 75 and 100 percent targets, and an RGB histogram, all updating in real time and each openable in its own window. False color, zebra, and focus peaking are included for exposure and focus checks.

Real-time compositing is the most ambitious addition. First Rush can pull a previous take, an image file, or another camera’s live feed as a reference source and combine it through green or blue chroma key (with spill suppression, edge choke, and matte preview), blend-mode mix, an angle and feather wipe, or a difference view. That makes it usable for quick VFX composite checks, continuity comparisons, and on-set greenscreen confirmation. The composite appears as its own tile while the source camera tiles stay clean, and it can be routed to a separate monitor, sent over SDI, or recorded when explicitly enabled.

Rounding out the list are SDI clip playback, which sends a just-recorded clip back out over a DeckLink output with timecode and audio for monitor review (holding the last frame on pause), and chapter markers: a single shortcut during recording drops a marker on every rolling camera, and those carry into Final Cut Pro as chapter markers so OK takes and NG points are easy to find later. A clean or processed program-out feed and Elgato Stream Deck mapping for record, marker, and playback are also part of the update.

The companion viewer and a router-free set

Alongside the Mac application, First Rush ships a free companion viewer for iPhone and iPad. The Mac handles SDI capture and ProRes recording while the iOS device acts as a live monitor for directors, DPs, script supervisors, and the cutting room, with one to four camera layouts and stream diagnostics for frame rate, jitter, latency, and dropped packets. Pairing uses Bonjour discovery with a six-digit code or QR code.

The detail that matters most on location is that the viewer can connect over the local network or via direct peer-to-peer, so it works on sets with no router at all. The iOS app is view-only and does not record, requiring iOS 17 or later and a copy of First Rush running on macOS.

Multicam, audio, and the short-form angle

First Rush supports grid layouts from 1×1 up to 4×4 and lets you group cameras for synchronized start and stop, with multiple sources configurable at once for overlays, LUTs, destinations, and auto-record. On audio it ingests up to 16 channels of SDI embedded audio at 24-bit and 48 kHz with per-channel gain and routing, and can route audio from any camera into another clip’s recording tracks.

A 9:16 portrait mode for cameras side-mounted at 90 or 270 degrees applies the rotation to both live preview and the recorded file, a nod to creators producing vertical Reels, Shorts, and TikTok content from cinema or broadcast bodies. It is a reminder that the on-set recorder category, long synonymous with scripted video village, is increasingly being asked to serve social-first shooters too, a shift CineD has tracked through tools like Mavis Studio’s iPad multicam switcher.

Hardware and system requirements

First Rush works with Blackmagic capture hardware (DeckLink and UltraStudio) and AJA devices (KONA, Io, T-TAP, and Corvid), built on both SDKs; SDI playout and program out require a DeckLink with output ports. It records Apple ProRes and runs on macOS 14 Sonoma or later, with Apple Silicon recommended, at least 8 GB of RAM, and 16 GB or more for 4K multichannel work. As a rough storage guide, the developer cites ProRes Proxy 4K 30p at around 2 GB per minute per channel and ProRes HQ at around 7 GB. Notably, every feature sits in one tier: playback, live look, scopes, compositing, and program out are all included rather than gated behind a higher plan.

First Rush 2.1 is free to download from the Mac App Store with an in-app subscription, or available directly from the developer with a 7-day free trial that needs no license key or card. Direct pricing through Lemon Squeezy is ₩20,000 per month or ₩200,000 per year (roughly $140, excluding VAT), with one license tied to one Mac. The companion viewer is a free download. The application is the work of Jinkyu Han, an on-set editor in the Korean film and TV industry who built it around his own production needs.

Could a tool like this earn a spot on your cart, or do you still trust only the established names? Don’t hesitate to let us know in the comments below!