| Video Toaster News & Review
With live switching, two video editors, and a video
paint and 3-D animation program, NewTek's Video Toaster
[2] truly lives up to its tag line "TV Studio-in-a-Box."
Toaster also offers performance and quality unmatched
at its $2,995 price or below, making it alluring even
for users who simply want to edit and output their video.
The base Toaster unit includes one channel of component
video, S-Video, and composite video, and stereo audio
input and output. That makes the $1,995 SX-8 breakout
box, with eight additional video inputs plus XLR and stereo
audio inputs, a must-buy for real-time producers. Toaster
handles DV through any OHCI-compatible FireWire card.
Bundled software includes homegrown ToasterEdit and in
sync's Speed Razor, NewTek's Aura (a video paint program),
and LightWave Express (a video-centric version of NewTek's
highly regarded LightWave 3D). Additional functions such
as titling or capture are provided via separate applets,
with preview and vectorscope modules designed to look
and act like their hardware analogs. In fact, most applications
are designed to mimic the operation of studio equipment,
which can be frustrating.
For example, ToasterEdit is a very spare application
lacking familiar controls like scrollbars to navigate
through your production or zoom settings for the timeline.
Instead, both functions are controlled through keyboard
shortcuts. NewTek helps the uninitiated via module-specific
help screens but should consider using Toaster's skin-based
architecture, with an interface designed for computer
users without television backgrounds.
Of course, Toaster's exceptional performance makes it
easy to forget these frustrations once you start editing.
Where other DV-based capture cards offer real-time performance
within tightly defined limits, Toaster was real-time all
the time for every tested effect, including titles, chroma-key,
color adjustments, and picture-in-picture effects.
In fact, on our dual 1.4-GHz Xeon test system (a Dell
Precision 530 equipped with Ultra-160 SCSI drives), we
were able to pull and play back four simultaneous streams,
each displayed in its own picture-in-picture. This is
remarkable, considering that Toaster converts all incoming
video to uncompressed video at 22MB per second. While
obviously taxing the computer's storage subsystem, this
pays dividends in the quality of effects like chroma-keying.
The only significant limitation (aside from the steep
hardware requirements) is the lack of MPEG-2–encoding
capabilities, so you'll need a standalone encoder for
this task. NewTek claims that third-party plug-ins will
be available soon, but DVD and other producers should
verify this before making a purchase decision.
Welcome to the Video Toaster NT mailing list!
This community is for discussion of NewTek's VT[4]™ Integrated
Production Suite. The Emmy®-winning company that created
desktop video and defines the cutting-edge in production
suite integration brings you the solution you need to
meet your production goals with more power, flexibility
and affordability than you ever dreamed possible. VT[4]
provides the world's fastest and most versatile editor,
tightly integrated for production, post-production, and
graphics: live switching, real-time keying, titling, compositing,
2D video painting, 3D modeling and animation. VT[4] delivers
all of this plus unsurpassed video quality with uncompressed
component digital video and four-channel audio
* 8 Component inputs
* 8 Y/C inputs
* Up to 24 Composite inputs
* Unlimited DV inputs
* Real-time FireWire input or output
* Automated Audio Mixer
* 4 Component outputs
* 4 Y/C outputs
* Preview output
* 4 Composite outputs
* 3 RS-422 machine control ports
* Real-time chroma key
* Cue mode in Digital Disk Recorder
* 500+ digital transitions
* Dual GPI In / Out
* 8 Internal Tally light controls
* Background generator
* Internal Genlock
Audio Mixer:
* Mix 8 stereo live and 8 4-channel online audio sources
* 4-track audio: 4 discrete channels of audio in and out
* Talk-over, reduces mix levels for mic inputs to talk
over
* 4 adjustable XLR balanced mic / line inputs with Phantom
power
* 6 stereo unbalanced audio ins from live sources
* 8 stereo inputs from computer sources
* DV and SDI audio inputs
* Floating point audio with distortion-free audio levels
* EQ, balance, mute and mono for all 16 audio inputs
* Aux Mix: stereo aux send and aux returns for external
sweetening
* Automated mixing: transition between audio presets
* Calibrated audio meters
* Audio-follows-video option
* Manage your output mix with Input Pass Thru
* PA Mix Out: for live PA or control room feed
* Balance on all inputs and outputs
Digital Disk Recorder (VT-DDR™):
* Multi-format, multi-standard on-screen tape deck
* Compressed or uncompressed playback
* Play back a single clip or list of clips
* Cue clips to roll when triggered by Switcher
* Real-time transitions between clips
* Count up or count down project time or clip time
* Operate multiple DDRs simultaneously
* EDL import/export (Grass Valley, CMX, Sony, Excel)
Proc Amp:
* Brightness
* Contrast
* Hue
* Saturation
* U Offset, V Offset
* U Gain, V Gain
* Track Preview function
* More than 70 adjustable parameters
* Calibrate computer sources as well as analog sources
* Auto Calibration for 75 IRE bars, 100 IRE bars and video
pass-through mode
(requires SX-84)
VT-Scope™:
* Full-frame data
* 60 fields-per-second
* Monitor Program or Preview
* Waveform of Y/C, Y, C, YUV or RGB
* Vectorscope at either 75% or 100% Chroma
VT-Vision™:
* Fully fielded on-screen playback
* YUV video display
* Monitor Program, Preview, Key / Aux or DSK buses
* Display supports for 4:3 and 16:9 aspect
* Underscan mode
* Zebra stripes for 75 IRE and illegal video
* Proc-Amp for matching computer display to reference
video monitors
Character Generator:
* WYSIWYG editing
* Save projects or pages
* Display Program output within CG interface
* Use any installed TrueType font
* Save pages as 32-bit images or animations
* Soft shadows
* Create graphic objects (boxes, circles, splines)
* Instantly save or recall text styles
* Powerful drawing tools
Digital Video Effects:
* More than 500 real-time transitions
* All transitions reversible
* Expansions
* Wipes
* Curls
* Trajectories
* Fades
* ChromaFX
* Overlays
* Rotations
* Compressions
* Borders
* Much more
VT-Edit™:
* Ultra-intuitive interface
* Integrated Timeline and Storyboard editing
* Unlimited layering in real-time
* 3D control of position, size and rotation of layers
in real-time
* Spline-based movement of all animations
* Unlimited undo, saved with project
* Real-time color correction
* No rendering of complex projects required
* Create subprojects within a project
* CG Post™ for moving text
* Real-time Targa sequence playback
* Multi-format and multi-standard editing
* Real-time playback of compressed and uncompressed clips
* Real-time FireWire in and out
* More than 500 real-time transitions
* Real-time slow motion and reverse
* Real-time chroma and luma keying
* Real-time high-quality scaling of graphics
* Real-time video and audio filters
* Real-time audio mixing of unlimited layers
* 3D audio positioning
* 12dB of audio headroom prevents digital distortion
* All performed in software
External Controller:
* Control external decks from your VT[4] desktop
* Supports multiple RS-422 and DV decks
* Interfaces with batch capture deck lists and configurations
* Jog and shuttle support
* Record allows user to generate time code settings
LightWave 3D®:
* Established industry standard
* World-class rendering
* Fast, versatile Modeler
* Powerful scripting language
* Advanced character Animation tools
* Particles
* Explosions
* Numeric entry (and math in input fields)
* Unlimited points and polygons per object
* Multiple cameras per scene
* Unlimited images
* Unlimited surfaces
* Easy import of Illustrator® data
Aura Video Paint™:
* Amazingly fast 16-bit paint engine
* Paint over live video
* Four-point pixel tracking
* Color isolation
* 3D compositing
* Stroke recorder
* Wide range of text controls
* Instantly use a graphic’s alpha channel
* Animate text along a path
* Native DV support
* AVI and QuickTime audio support
* Apply Photoshop® filters to any animation
VT[4] Supported File Forma
Hello,
Welcome to the Video Toaster NT mailing list!
This community is for discussion of NewTek's VT[4]™ Integrated
Production Suite. The Emmy®-winning company that created
desktop video and defines the cutting-edge in production
suite integration brings you the solution you need to
meet your production goals with more power, flexibility
and affordability than you ever dreamed possible. VT[4]
provides the world's fastest and most versatile editor,
tightly integrated for production, post-production, and
graphics: live switching, real-time keying, titling, compositing,
2D video painting, 3D modeling and animation. VT[4] delivers
all of this plus unsurpassed video quality with uncompressed
component digital video and four-channel audio.Back in
1990, a revolution began in the PC industry as the Video
Toaster began shipping for the first time. The Video Toaster
was an unusual name describing the marriage of hardware
and software into a system that gave Amiga users the ability
to create desktop video production.
In recent days, NewTek has released a completely re-engineered
upgrade of the Video Toaster, version 2, which was announced
at NAB in April. Among the many updates, it offers many
software based upgrades, such as the ability to work with
both NTSC and PAL video sources.
Paul Lara, Product Manager for NewTek, gave me the inside
scoop on the new version. He said: “The Video Toaster
is a hardware and software solution, hardware in that
it is a ¾ length 32 bit PCI card, but all that card does
is to get video in and out of the computer. It is simply
a capture card. All of the magic that is happening within
the Video Toaster is done in CPU. It is software based
and runs on Windows 2000."
“When the Video Toaster first came out, personal computers
weren't fast enough to play video at all, so they had
to rely on a lot of custom chips and proprietary hardware
to make it happen. But now, an off the shelf Pentium 4
computer running Windows 2000 is powerful enough to play
uncompressed video. The advantage for the end user is
that the Video Toaster is software based, so we can make
changes pretty quickly. We just write new code and ship
it.”
Nathan: Is the capture card proprietary or are there
other cards that one can use?
Paul: “No, it is a proprietary card. Essentially, the
Video Toaster is a TV Studio in a box. Everything that
you would expect to find in a TV studio is now sitting
on your desktop, ready to go. You have live switching,
live chromakeying, hundreds of real-time transitions,
both 2D and 3D effects and painting, layering and compositing
with a NewTek package called Aura, which is a video paint
package. The Video Toaster also comes bundled with Lightwave
Express, for creating 3D models and then animating them.
It also comes with Speed Razor 4.8 for non-linear editing
and Toaster Edit, our own non-linear
The NewTek Video Toaster 2
by Nathan Segal
May 14, 2002
Back in 1990, a revolution began in the PC industry as
the Video Toaster began shipping for the first time. The
Video Toaster was an unusual name describing the marriage
of hardware and software into a system that gave Amiga
users the ability to create desktop video production.
In recent days, NewTek has released a completely re-engineered
upgrade of the Video Toaster, version 2, which was announced
at NAB in April. Among the many updates, it offers many
software based upgrades, such as the ability to work with
both NTSC and PAL video sources.
Paul Lara, Product Manager for NewTek, gave me the inside
scoop on the new version. He said: “The Video Toaster
is a hardware and software solution, hardware in that
it is a ¾ length 32 bit PCI card, but all that card does
is to get video in and out of the computer. It is simply
a capture card. All of the magic that is happening within
the Video Toaster is done in CPU. It is software based
and runs on Windows 2000."
“When the Video Toaster first came out, personal computers
weren't fast enough to play video at all, so they had
to rely on a lot of custom chips and proprietary hardware
to make it happen. But now, an off the shelf Pentium 4
computer running Windows 2000 is powerful enough to play
uncompressed video. The advantage for the end user is
that the Video Toaster is software based, so we can make
changes pretty quickly. We just write new code and ship
it.”
Nathan: Is the capture card proprietary or are there
other cards that one can use?
Paul: “No, it is a proprietary card. Essentially, the
Video Toaster is a TV Studio in a box. Everything that
you would expect to find in a TV studio is now sitting
on your desktop, ready to go. You have live switching,
live chromakeying, hundreds of real-time transitions,
both 2D and 3D effects and painting, layering and compositing
with a NewTek package called Aura, which is a video paint
package. The Video Toaster also comes bundled with Lightwave
Express, for creating 3D models and then animating them.
It also comes with Speed Razor 4.8 for non-linear editing
and Toaster Edit, our own non-linear editor.”
The NewTek Video Toaster 2 (2)
“Toaster Edit is a multi-format real-time uncompressed
editor, so you can mix and match formats. You can have
uncompressed video and right next to it, you can transition
or do a dissolve into an MPEG-1 file and it will play
back in real-time.”
Nathan: Is the Video Toaster designed for the intermediate
or professional user?
Paul: “Both, actually. We have priced it as an intermediate
product. The Toaster capture card and all of the software
is $2,995.00. However, it has all of the functions that
any professional video producer would need.”
Nathan: So your product allows users to break into the
video marketplace without having to spend a lot of money
for a high-end system.
Paul: “Correct. And once they learn and start moving
up to larger and larger clients, the existing package
will be good enough. You could spend $100,000.00+ on somebody
else’s package, but the quality of video is not going
to get any better.”
Nathan: How can you use the Video Toaster for streaming
applications?
Paul: “It’s a wonderfully friendly application, in that
Video Toaster is seen by all applications on board the
computer as a video for Windows capture card. The benefit
here is that you could hook up numerous cameras to our
external switcher box and perform a live switch, controlling
video and audio. All you have to do is to fire up your
encoder of choice. We recommend Windows Media Encoder
simply because of the price (it’s free), and once you
configure and enable Windows Media to begin the encoding
session, then anything that is going out of the capture
card is also going out the network as a stream.”
“NewTek was streaming from the National Association of
Broadcasters (NAB) from our booth in Las Vegas earlier
this month. We had five different sources coming in from
our main stage demonstration. We had a converter showing
the screen output of a demo artist on the main stage and
the component output of that Toaster, plus three cameras
(two broadcast and one consumer handycam). Because the
Video Toaster internally genlocks and time base corrects
all of the incoming sources, you can use inexpensive consumer
cameras in a multi-camera event like that.”
   |
VT4
Announcing the all new VT4 Opteron Video Blaster.
