CompuServe Messages

Ben, The Toaster is buffering (frame buffers) and synching sources and working all sorts of digital effects on incomming Time Base accurate sources (live camera feeds, frame buffers, TBCX'd tapes) and then ships a broadcast quality signal out. However, you can do quite a bit of video with just a Native amiga, a genlock and a singleframe controller. The Amiga can't help with the frame accuracy of the tape, though. The expense is that you are telling a machine to stop/start recording at a specific fram/field value on the tape. So the tape mechanism has to be abel to provide itself its own feed back machanism sot know when it gets there. For starting it has to back up and be able to tell when it hits the desired point at the full speed of the tape and to turn on the record spigot so the incomming signal splashes down on the tape at the right spot regardless of mechanical wow, flutter and tape stretch. The solution requires technology that most people don't need, hence its expensive. I have heard of people doing good stuff with just a titler, animation software, Panasonic 1960s and something like Showmaker or the Video 1 edit controller. I believe that is +/- 2 frame and for a lot of stuff is "good enough" to look reasonably professional. You don't get all those nice Toaster wipes tho :^( wmc