I am departing from the regular coverage of "All Things Audio" for the
Toaster/Flyer system in order to bring you this special report on the
development of The Video Toaster Version 2.
The original PC version of the Video Toaster (VTNT) has been on the
market for several months now, and users have had enough time with this
system to learn what works well and what doesn't. Some former Amiga
users quickly bought into the new system and offered up their old Amigas
for sale through the Video Toaster Flyer Mailing List (VTFML) and on
eBay. Other users held onto their existing systems and added the new
system. Still others (like me) have decided to wait it out until the
introduction of VT2, which promises a Storyboard interface and a more
user-friendly operating system which we might be more familiar with.
I do not subscribe to the official VTNT mailing list, but I can report
that the VTFML has been alive lately with comparisons between the VTNT
and the original Amiga version. Everything from scientific evaluations
and detailed and comprehensive comparisons to outright mudslinging (in
both camps) has graced the VTFML in recent months.
Some of the VTNT users are supremely and completely satisfied with what
their system does for them and don't miss their Flyers one bit. Others
have discovered that by using both systems for projects they can get the
"modern look" and updated technology of VTNT with the speed and ease of
the Flyer. Most of these people use the VTNT for compositing,
rendering, and other advancements, and then put the pieces all together
in their Flyer systems. But many of those users feel that the VTNT does
not completely fulfill the promise of a "PC Flyer".
The lesson I learned in reading these posts is:
-The VTNT will do *precisely* what you want it to do, providing you
don't mind wallowing through a clunky interface.
-The Flyer STILL has a superior working surface, although, due to its
advancing age, it falls a mite short of the mark because it has had no
real advancements in recent years.
-NewTek developers are feverishly working to make VT2 the best of VTNT
and the Flyer combined.
I have plenty of time to wait, NewTek. Be thorough. Take your time (but
not TOO much time of someone else will beat you to the punch). Spend
lots of time on the audio capabilities. Give the User (your customers)
not only a familiar storyboard interface, but also incorporate all the
things that (still) make the Flyer easy to understand and utilize. The
bottom line is - VT2 POSITIVELY HAS to be everything we all hope it will
be. If it isn't, the company may lose momentum and credibility - and
not get a second chance in the marketplace.
We all (should) realize that NewTek is under a great deal of pressure
right now to produce a system that will not only project us all into the
future of the medium, but will also provide an operating system which
will endear it's users in the same fashion as the Toaster/Flyer did.
The proof of all this: NewTek realized early on that they need to
incorporate all the good qualities of the existing system into the VT2,
so they did the best possible thing. They hired on the most prolific
developer of the platform (Aussie "Mr. Wonderful" Holten) in order to
pick his brains and see if he can adopt those same friendly and useful
features into the PC version. I am no technodweeb but even I know this
must be a monumental task. These things take time. No amount of
badgering or coddling from the peanut gallery should sway NewTek from
their appointed Statement of Purpose. To do so would probably result in
falling short of the mark, and losing the game entirely. No one wants
that. Not NewTek. Not the present owners of VTNT. Not even the huddled
masses of the "Old Guard" (Amiga T/F owners like me). We would ALL lose.
I think that in the past month, we here on the VTFML have read enough of
the prevailing threads (and groused about it) on the "Flyer vs. VTNT"
issue. Hopefully, we have all learned that in it's present form, the PC
version of the Video Toaster compliments the existing Amiga
Toaster/Flyer very well. Many users who jumped on the VTNT band wagon
early on have by now figured out which one to use for what purposes.
That is all well and good.
My hopes/dreams/prayers/ are that NewTek will create such a worthwhile
production tool in the VT2 that there will be NO need for the Amiga
version. For me, the only way they are going to do that is to re-invent
the wheel and provide something very close to what I am using now, only
with an enhanced feature set and advanced working surface. I don't mind
taking the time to learn Aura and whatever the final result will be
concerning the audio capabilities. But I DO need for the basic system to
function close to what I am used to and have spent the past eight years
learning. Otherwise, I am basically starting all over with a brand new
operating system and therefore a brand new learning curve. That would
completely level the field and I would have no particular allegiance to
NewTek or ANY manufacturer. That would also be counterproductive to
NewTek's goals. They know what a winner they had on their hands. It
wasn't their fault the Amiga stumbled. So then they had to revamp their
strategy of Tim Jenison's original dream and somehow bring all those
endearing qualities of a perfectly good system over to a completely
different computer platform. No small task. And one that has cost NewTek
dearly in terms of time. And we all know that time is money. In the time
it has taken NewTek to develop a PC Toaster/Flyer, many changes have
occurred in the medium, not the least which was streaming content
technology on the Internet.
To simply "make a PC Flyer" would not be good enough. New technologies
had to be incorporated or the new system would be obsolete at its
unveiling. I believe the newest technologies were possibly the easiest
place to start for the NewTek team. This is why we've seen the
development of Aura, Vidget, and other technological advancements not
possible on the Amiga platform. The basic feature set and interface for
the PC Toaster began as VTNT and included Speed Razor, an already
developed timeline A/V editing interface, courtesy of In-Sync.
Superior character generation and paint programs were designed, and a
software approach to video control was implemented.
Now, for VT2, the design team is tackling the more difficult task of
looking back at the Amiga Toaster/Flyer and choosing all the features
which made that system popular: Ease of operation, user friendly
controls and processes, system flexibility, and the Storyboard editing
feature which made the Flyer so unique in its operation. The real chore
will be for the development team to adapt those qualities into the
existing VTNT.
Is NewTek up to the task? Will the "Friendly Flyer" interface prevail?
Can "The Old Guard" have our cake and eat it too? Only time will
tell���.
Tune in next time for the exciting slam-bang finish!!
Bob Ketchum, the Aristocrat of Amigas,
has gone out to hock all his worldy belongings for a newer, faster PC for the VT2
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