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Like a Lamborghini amid station wagons, NewTek's Video Toaster [2] is head and shoulders above the sub-$2,000 competition in terms of performance, capabilities, and feel. The only issues are whether you can justify the $2995 purchase price, and whether you can stomach jumping into a non-linear editing environment built more for TV producers than the average computer user.
What's Past is Prologue
The original Video Toaster was digital video before digital video was cool. Introduced in 1990, and based on the Commodore Amiga platform, the original Video Toaster offered capture, editing, switching, and animation for $1,595. Though legendary among its devoted user base, the product's visibility and installed base waned with Commodore's, and an NT-- based product released in 1999 created little stir.
Video Toaster [2] (VT2) should propel NewTek back into the digital video mainstream, albeit within a relatively small core group that can both appreciate and leverage the product's capabilities. The product's live switching capabilities are easily sufficient to produce a live event or television show, with easy output to a streaming media encoder and the Internet.
However, most of us set our sights a bit lower, focusing on more traditional non-linear editing applications like producing training or wedding videos. Here, as we'll see, VT2's benefits are more subtle, but every bit as important. But let's start at the beginning.
The Hardware
VT2 costs $2995 for the VT2 hardware and software, which includes two video editors, homegrown ToasterEdit and Speed Razor 4.8 from in-sync Corporation; NewTek's Aura, a video paint program similar to Adobe AfterEffects;
Lightwave Express, a 3D animation program; and a separate character-generation, or titling utility. Other components offer commonly bundled capabilities like capture, preview, and audio input volume control.
The base board includes connectors for component, S-Video or composite video and stereo audio input and output. Videographers requiring additional real-time input sources should spring for the $1,995 SX-8 breakout box that can handle eight component, composite, or S-video inputs, with four XLR inputs for microphone or balanced line and six unbalanced RCA stereo audio inputs. The SX-8 also provides three RS-422 ports for playback or record decks, with GPI Triggers and Genlock.
A separate card costing $995 handles SDI input, and the VT2 software can also manage input from a...