CompuServe Thread

#Video toaster for IBM

3 messages in this thread
#88363From: Leo HurtadoAug 19, 1994 9:33 PM
I tremendously appreciate the information you just gave me. I have a lot of Amiga-based equipment (6 A4000, 3 A2000) and the Raptor rendering engine. However, we also have about 50 486/66 PC's with the software to match (mainly 3D Studio, Animator Pro, Photoshop Windows, and other image editing/manipulation programs). I am really interested in the DVE capabilities of the Alladin. I have seen pictures of it, and it looks to me like they have turnkey systems as well, am I correct? (A black, sleek PC) What you mentioned about component video sounds particularly good since we are planning to upgrade our decks to Beta (using SVHS right now), because we need the precious quality for our 3D anims. I want to compare the quality of the Opalvision DVE thing, which should be out by now (to dealers, at least) to that of the Alladin. Any idea? Again, thanks so much for the detailed info and please, do keep me updated on your finds and tribulations with the Alladin. POlo
#88391From: Frank VanellaAug 20, 1994 2:25 PM
What I saw of a preliminary version of the Opalvision Roaster/Video Processor was an improvement over Toaster with respect to DVE pixelization and the ability to create and save DVE moves. However, comparing the Opalvision's DVE to the Alladin's is unfair in the extreme. Alladin's DVE is FAR superior and shouldn't even be mentioned in the same breath as the Alladin, and rivals anything you'll see for 25k and up in dedicated DVE's. Pinnacle's turnkey Alladin's are essentially vanilla clones in black mini towers. They can be equipped with a number of configurations depending on memory and HD requirements. Minimum system is 486-DX66 with 2Meg 16 or 24 bit SVGA graphics (800X600 Hi Color or better). 250 meg HD (500 megs recommended), and an Adaptec SCSI controller. The SVGA Monitor must also be capable of 800X600 display. The PC attatches to the Alladin unit via SCSI. This would lead one to believe that at some point in the future, the software which controls the Alladin could come from any platform that offers SCSI (mac and SGI come to mind right off the bat). Sounds as though you are all set to take advantage of 3-D on the PC (I assume you are planning a cross platform Lightwave upgrade) with 50 machines standing by.
#88541From: Leo HurtadoAug 22, 1994 9:48 PM
Thanks for the info on the Opalvision. Yeah, we are thinking of getting an Indy (to get into that software market) and Lightwave for the SGI, and we are planning to take advantage of our PC's.