CompuServe Messages

Well Scott thanks for the Kudos, and at an opportune time as well, as I've just completed my preliminary evaluation of the PAR. As I've said before there are a lot of options and no single solution because everybody's situation is a little different. Features in one approach may be very important to some while features in another approach will be more imporant to others. Having said this, I'd rather address the PAR with regard to my particular application rather than trying to second guess how others might want to use it. My intended application has been as a production tool. Because my final output needs to be at a Broadcast quality level. I consider animations put to tape frame by frame on Beta SP or Animations transferred to Abekas or D1 as being of the necessary quality to meet this criteria. On the other hand, I have been able to create animations with a Targa and put them to Laser Disk with very good result. Many in Broadcast have accepted the Laser Disk as an efficient means of transferring animations before finalising to tape. But that is the minimum level of quality as the Laser Disk is considered Beta not Beta Sp. People in the business know the difference and if its going to be a problem, I know up front, and will typically use Beta SP. By these standards the PAR fits somewhere in between SVHS and Laser Disk. It has better resolution than the Targa but it also has the inherent JPEG attributes, so its not a reasonable comparison. And that's part of the problem. What do you compare it with? Its different. Its different like Laser Disk and Video Tape. Maybe too much focus has been placed on its ability to meet broadcast requirements. What should be pointed out is that for the money and its capability it is an outstanding value. For an aspiring animator with a limited budget its a real bargain. As an experienced animator looking for a prodution tool to help in the development and design of animations, the PAR will be most invaluable. That the PAR is an economical way to preview animations at broadcast resolution and save the wear and expense of the alternatives is reason enough for acquiring it. In this regard it will pay for itself in short order. Its other attributes are icing on the cake. Like being able to splice mutiple animations, like being able to output to Beta for sound track sync, like multiple first generation copies, like convience of archiving, the list goes on and on. And I wouldn't rule out a whole other market, that until now, I hadn't considered economically viable. The other debates will be drowned out by all the applications people will find for it. And that's my perspective, what's your? <g>