[comp.sys.amiga.advocacy] Amiga Video Toaster for the MAC

dtiberio@eeserv1.ic.sunysb.edu (David Tiberio) (04/28/91)

In article <1195@mdavcr.UUCP> ewm@mdavcr.UUCP (Eric W. Mitchell) writes:
>In article <1991Apr23.031929.16324@cs.dal.ca> graham@ug.cs.dal.ca (Michael Graham) writes:
>>In article <5967@pbhyb.PacBell.COM> rkmossm@PacBell.COM (Richard Mossman) writes:
>>>
>>>What I would really like to see is someone come out with a direct connect 
>>>Mac device that does Toaster-level stuff with a built in NTSC conversion
>>
>> Luckily I'm a Mac owner. An Amiga owner would laugh his head off at this
>>idea. Do you have any idea of what the toaster can do? If not try and catch
>>Tod Rundgren's latest video. It *easily* rivals what I have seen from Pixar
>>and SGI. It could easily do the Lifesaver ad.
>> I don't have all the specs on this product, but similar Mac boards look like
>>a JOKE when compared with the toaster.
>
>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).
>
>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".
>
>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.
>

  Have you ever heard of Toaster Paint or Lightwave 3D? They are two
programs included with the Video Toaster. One is a paint program, and
the other is for 3D renderings, although it does lack one feature in the
3D modeling programs. It will do ray-tracing, but it 'cheats' on the ray
tracing in order to speed up the process (and it still does some impressive
things). It cannot do refractions.

  As for your comparison of Apples and screwdrivers, I have both and use the
screwdrivers more often :).


-- 
    David Tiberio  SUNY Stony Brook 2-3481  AMIGA  DDD-MEN  Tomas Arce 
           Any students from SUNY Oswego? Please let me know! :)

                   Un ragazzo di Casalbordino, Italia.

judge@alchemy.tcnet.ithaca.ny.us (rory toma) (04/28/91)

>   As for your comparison of Apples and screwdrivers, I have both and use the
> screwdrivers more often :).
> 
> 
> -- 
>     David Tiberio  SUNY Stony Brook 2-3481  AMIGA  DDD-MEN  Tomas Arce 
>            Any students from SUNY Oswego? Please let me know! :)
> 
>                    Un ragazzo di Casalbordino, Italia.

Would that be a Phillips or a flat blade?

No, but seriously, the other guy DOES have HIS facts messed up. The 
animations done with the Toaster and included software are quite 
impressive. It is true thatit isn't real ray-tracing, however, in the 
interest of speed, it's a goodtradeoff. I suppose that if you had to have 
real ray-tracing, you could input fromanother source.  Look at the NewTek 
Toaster demo sometime - it was all done on a Toaster and toaster software 
- if those aren't graphics, then it's back to infocom gamnes for me.

rory