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From: chucks@pnet51.orb.mn.org (Erik Funkenbusch)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.misc
Subject: Re: Amiga Video Toaster for the MAC
Message-ID: <4727@orbit.cts.com>
Date: 27 Apr 91 04:05:03 GMT
Sender: news@orbit.cts.com
Organization: People-Net [pnet51], Minneapolis, MN.
Lines: 45

ewm@mdavcr.UUCP (Eric W. Mitchell) writes:
>I think you may have the facts a little messed up here.  The Video Toaster 
>is a video production device, not a renderer.  It is designed to give you 
>near commercial quality transition effects and some limited graphics (titling,
>etc).
>
>Transition effects include:
>
>	- fade from one video signal to another
>	- video signal in flying window
>	- slide image in from the side.
>	- chroma keying of one signal over another
>	- etc.
>
>Basically, the device allows you to combine video signals in a neat way, to
>create some of the snazzy scene transitions they have in commerical
>newscasts and shows like "Entertainment Tonight".
>
>In the version of the toaster I have seen (which was demonstrated to our
>company), there were no significant rendering functions.  This means
>you cannot create anything even resembling the "lifesaver commercial" with
>the toaster - it is intended for an entirely different purpose.
>
>The toaster could be used to take existing video of the lifesavers and
>combine segments in interesting ways, but could not produce the graphics
>themselves.  To compare it to Pixar or SGI products is like comparing
>Apples and screwdrivers.
>

No, The toaster includes Lightwave 3d, which is a fully capable 3d object
modeling and rendering program.  it also includes Toaster Paint, a 24 bit
paint program.  Lightwave is designed to create individual frames of an
animation and render each one in between.  Lightwave comes free with the
toaster, so does toaster paint.  also, the toaster doesn't currently do chroma
keying, just luminance keying, but chroma keying is planned for a future
upgrade.

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