#Flyer Info Update
35 messages in this thread
Videology, Inc
72-6 Newtown Rd, Suite 210
Danbury, CT 06810
(203) 270-9000
VIDEO TOASTER/FLYER SPECIFICATIONS – DECEMBER 30, 1994
Software Specifications:
Switcher/Editor
Simultaneous playback of two video streams with instantaneous rewind,
fast-forward and pre-roll
Editing and sequencing of video clips, framestores and effects
Clips (as croutons on the edit screen) placed next to one another on the
story board will perform a cut
True A/B roll is acheived by placing a transition between the clips
Clips whose sequence produce an A/B roll situation will have the B clip's
overlapping frames moved to the other harddrive without user input,
producing a full two video stream input to the Toaster Switcher
Any sequence made up of video clips, framestores, CG pages, and Toaster
transitions may be viewed immediately as no rendering is required
Since most of the effects requiring realtime video compression cause the
Switcher to produce a video image with pixelized images, the Feral Effect
board is available for realtime, non-pixelized compression.
For effects not available with the Toaster Switcher, or to replace
effects that cause pixelization, the effects may be rendered from the
Flyer clips, through the user of LightWave, producing clean, broadcast
quality transitions, limited only by the user's imagination
Special effects/transitions may be created by the inexperienced user by
using Hollywood F/X, selecting one of the many packaged effects, telling
the program what features you want, and telling it to render it for you. A
newer version, available by February '95, will allow the user to create
the effect.
Insert editing (overlaying a longer clip with audio with a shorter video
clip) is possible
Visual framestore representations (thumbnails)
New file management capabilities built into the editor
Fully automatic A/B roll editing
Multiple video quality modes
Play forward from any point
Disk to disk high speed direct copy
Over 100 new effects in Version 4.0
Using stereo RCA connectors, unbalanced stereo audio input and output can
be recorded simultaneously with the video
Two background stereo audio tracks may be added with a separate disk
installed on the third SCSI interface
Independent audio level control on all tracks
Independent In and out audio points may be set creating a "split edit"
with overlaping audio
Stereo audio can be played from two video clips simultaneously, with
independent volume level and face controls.
All four stereo tracks (eight channels) are mixed down to final stereo
output using the Flyer's onboard DSP chip
All audio is CD quality (16-bit 44.1 Khz)
ToasterCG
Ability to rotate, resize and shear text
Unlimited CG pages stored independently
Extensive ARexx controllability
Improved brush preview operation
Spell Checker
ToasterPaint: (Amiga 4000 systems only)
All-new interface
Full-screen, full-color paint on the A4000
High-Performance airbrush
Stencil
Alpha Channel
Alpha Channel painting
New color editing with HSV color wheel
PostScript text support including rotate, resize and shear
New ARexx macro interface
User definable palette
Global flood fill
LightWave
LightWave output to Flyer
Basic inverse kinematics
"Unaffected by fog" option for objects
"Unseen by Rays" option for objects
Improved shadow mapping and soft filtering
Anamorphic option for NTSC widescreen or CinemaScope
Item selection by clicking in LightWave view
Modeler
Enhanced control of Bones
Multi-level undo and redo
Features Not Yet in .9
SMPTE recording with timecode stored with clip
Sequencing of CG overlays, scrolls and crawls
New ToasterPaint for Amiga 2000 systems
ChromaFX croutons
Archive utilities
Cutting Room: Bulk digitizing, audio stripping, stripping of
still-stores, segmenting of long video clips
Hardware Specifications
Flyer Technical Specifications
Video Signal Tolerances
Differential Phase: <2(0N:
Differential Gain: <3%
Chroma Bandwidth: Maximum available (NTSC standard)
Compression Data Rate Data Rate Luminace S/N Storage
Mode Peak Variance Bandwidth Ratio
Requirements
* Uncompressed 8.0MB/sec to 8MB/sec 6MHz 54dB <6Min/GB
Top Quality <5.0MB/sec 1.4-5MB/s >6.00 MHz @ -3dB 56 dB 6-8Min/GB
High Quality <3.7MB/sec 1.4-3.7MB/s >4.20 MHz @ -3dB >50dB 8-10Min/GB
Low Quality <3.7MB/Sec 0.7-3.7MB/s >2.75 MHz @ -3dB >50dB 10-12Min/GB
Note: Add 1.76K/sec (0.176MB/sec) for stereo audio recorded with video.
* – Uncompressed hardware dependent
Uncompressed is true uncompressed D2 video. Since it requires an
8.0MB/Sec Data Rate, this resolution will not be available until there are
drives that achieve that speed.
Top Quality is true D2 quality which is 60 fields per second, full
overscan (752
pixels wide by 480 lines high)
Internally the Flyer works with D2 data so there is no D2/Composite
transcoding
The Flyer uses Newtek's Video Toaster Adaptive Statiscal Coding (VTASC).
VTASC relies on reducing the quality of the video signal (i.e. dropping
from D2 to Beta SP) instead of picture quality, as do JPEG, MPEG and
WaveLet. The resulting degradation looks more like noise associated with
video, since there is no visible pixelization. Using the faster, 9GB
drives, lossless D2 quality can be acheived, but not uncompressed D2.
The video is 8 bit sample at 14.3 MHz (D2 standard) using state of the
art A/D, D/Aconverters
Flyer Hard Drives
IBM 3.5"x1.6" 2GB 70G8493 Rev
Seagate 3.5"x1.6" 4GB ST1515ON Rev
Seagate 5.25"x3.2" 9GB ST41080ON Rev
During firmware developement for the above drives, Newtek identified
specific firmware that produced Flyer compatible drives. Since the
model/firmware combinations are not being made currently, all Newtek
certified drives are being manufactured exclusively for Newtek, in
small quantities, and shipped to Newtek distributors.
The Flyer provided formatter will format any drive for video that is
mounted on either of the two video SCSI video controllers. However,
that is no certification that the drive will work.
Additionally, newer versions of some firmware doe not work, so only
specific Newtek production drives should be used.
Videology, Inc – Where you get all the P.O.M.P. under all
Circumstances
Henry –
A couple of questions on your Flyer specs posting:
What's a "Feral Effect board" – who makes it, how much, availability,
etc.
How extensive is the ARexx implementation for Flyer control?
What's the pricing and availability of the Flyer itself, and the 9GB
Seagate drives?
Do you have any idea what the compression ratio for audio would be (on
the 3rd SCSI interface separate disk)?
Thanks – Happy Flyin' New Year
– Joe
Hi Joe –
The Feral Effect board is a combination TBC and effects board that can do
very clean compression of video. Used in conjunction with the Video
Toaster, most of the Toaster's over-the-shoulder effects can be replaced
with Feral compression, providing clean, unpixelized video. It is
designed to interface with the Toaster using ARexx control through a GUI
that let's you design the output graphically, and it creates the script.
It doesn't solve the compression problems of other compressing Toaster
DVE's. The SRP is $1495.00, and since it includes a good TBC, that seems
to be a reasonable price.
Prior to the Video Toaster User Expo in LA, Newtek held a developers
conference and opened up the Toaster/Flyer technology. Just yesterday
(1/3/95) I talked with a developer who was creating a developers interface
for the ARexx control of the Flyer. It seems he had enough commands to
control most of the Flyer actions and permit developers to create
wonderful addons to the Flyer system, such as comprehensive clip
manipulation. I'm sure the goal is to have complete ARexx control of the
Flyer, but Newtek has to finish the Flyer software first.
The Flyer, for those who did not prebook it back in June '94, has an SRP
of $4,995. If you have a prebooked Flyer, you should be getting it by the
end of January (or early February). New orders won't be shipping until all
prebooks are delivered and the Flyer software is finished. Since some
distributors booked Flyers back in June, there may be some early ones
available, but generally we don't expect to be filling new orders until
March.
The 9GB Seagate drives have a recommended selling price of around $5,500.
Since this is higher than the current market for similar 9GB drives, that
price could change daily. Since all Flyer drives are being manufactured
to Newtek specs for one OEM, that OEM has all the drives and is paying a
premium, since the specs require a special run by the manufacturer. Until
the manufacturer starts manufacturing those drives for everyone (when the
demand is greater?), there will be a limited supply. If you work with a
Toaster dealer, I would recommend getting them from him, since you may
also need his support if you have any trouble.
The audio will be recorded in 16-bit 44.1kHz standard CD quality. As with
any graphic or audio file, compression WILL reduce quality. There is no
plans to compress the audio.
Hope this helps – but with everything I've learned about developing
products, these notes could change tomorrow.
Enjoy your Flyer – it is the best NLE in the industry.
Hank
Videology, Inc – Where you get all the P.O.M.P. under all
Circumstances
Thanks for the extensive reply Henry. I'll be in touch.
– Joe
There aren't any drives that can push 8mb/sec……but 3 or 4 drive arrays
can do it with ease. The SCSI-II bus can handle 10mb/sec.
Is this Flyer a board for the Amiga, a stand alone system, or something
that interfaces with the Video Toaster?
Dave
Elite MicroComputers – Flying high on AutoPilot
Hi Dave –
The Flyer is designed to give 20MB/Sec with the correct pair of drives,
and that will support uncompressed D2 video. Since the Flyer is one of
the few NLE systems providing true, realtime A/B roll with realtime
transitions and DVE, its viability was dependent on the sustained speed of
the available drives. All the Flyer hardware supports that speed.
The Flyer is a board designed to go in a Newtek Video Toaster computer.
If it could be hooked up to control other similar products, it could be
installed in a different computer, since the Flyer/Computer interface is
on the level of a serial communications port. Since there is no other
interface presently available, it must be installed with a Video Toaster
in an Amiga (A2000, A3000, A3000T, A2500, A4000).
The Flyer is practically a complete computer system on a board as it
contains three SCSI-II controllers, stereo audio digitize and playback A/D
– D/A conversion, and video digitize and playback A/D – D/A conversion as
well as harddisk file management for the Flyer drives.
Hope this helps –
Happy Flyin'
Hank
Videology, Inc – Where you get all the P.O.M.P. under all
Circumstances
NewTek does it again…..
How much does this board run….and how much "normal" video hardware does
it replace in dollar value? (If there is even anything out there to
compete with it)
Dave
Elite MicroComputers – Flying high on AutoPilot
Hi Dave –
With the complete Toaster/Flyer system and sufficient hard drive space
to hold all your raw footage for your largest drive (6-10 minutes per
GB) the minimal studio would need a camcorder to capture raw footage
(and produce stillstores for presentation), a play/record VCR (with
no need for frame accurate editing control) and a TBC for Flyer
digitize input. This system could do A/B roll and therefore would
replace the two editing player decks and editing system otherwise
required. And, of course, the Toaster part of the package provides
character generation with 350 scalable PostScript fonts (40 – 400
lines), chroma effects, luminance keying, 24-bit paint program, and
full 3D modeling and animation. Most systems can't offer true D2
quality, and none of them come close at that price point with all of
those features.
Since the initial captured video is loaded directly into the Flyer,
your final output tape is bearly first generation, and the Flyer can
easily make many masters by just pushing 'PLAY' each time. Since the
output is in realtime, it takes 30 minutes to create a master of a 30
minute tape, but it only takes the user a second to push 'PLAY'. If
you had the output hooked to a DA, you could make many in the second.
The savings in dollars depends on what format you're using. Certainly
you would save more in Beta SP then Hi8. Or cut your investment by
selling your uneccesary gear.
Definitely revolutionary!!
Hank
Videology, Inc – Where you get all the P.O.M.P. under all
Circumstances
Do I understand correctly, that you are asserting the necessity of a TBC to
dump your camcorder raw footage into the flyer/hard drive? Why?
Newtek does require a TBC for video input. IF the TBC has a proc amp,
then it is a great way to be sure the footage is color corrected. Due to
the need to be precisely 30fps, the TBC is essential. Of course it will
take live camera input without a TBC. Remember, the Flyer captures 60
fields per second and must digitize each one for storage on the disk.
Changes in input speed would require adjustments by the Flyer, causing
drop frames, at the least.
Newtek has the Y/C connector for a TBC already on the Flyer board. With a
future hardware update they plan to provide the rest of the circuitry and
make the board a total solution.
By the way, what's WCNOC?
Hank
Videology, Inc – Where you get all the P.O.M.P. under all
Circumstances
Henry,
Newteks been talking about doing a TBC since Toaster 1.0! I certainly
wouldn't want to wait for a Flyer H/W update.
Hopefully we'll be hearing some hands-on enduser reports soon.
….John
We got our unit Saturday and should have a good install program by
tomorrow with AirBorne. I'll post progress.
Hank
Videology, Inc – Where you get all the P.O.M.P. under all
Circumstances
"By the way, what's WCNOC?"
Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corporation
Okay – – – sounds great. What goes on there?
Hank
Videology, Inc – Where you get all the P.O.M.P. under all
Circumstances
Producing 1100+ MW of electrical power.
"precisely 30fps" if we're being precise, we might as well be accurate and
say 29.97fps or really, 59.94 fields/sec… but what's a few hundredths of
a frame between friends!
OK, if we're REALLY being precise, NTSC video is 29.97002998 fps or 59.94005996
fields/sec. If anyone's interested in the derivation, I'll post it. (An even
the above numbers are rounded off; sorry.)
Looks like someone used a Pentium in creating the standard.
Dale,
No mercy for Pentium?
I like it.
Eduard Joseph
Volt Information Sciences
You're absolutely right!
Hank
Videology, Inc – Where you get all the P.O.M.P. under all
Circumstances
Well, not absolutely, as Bruce has pointed out… duoooh!
PMFJI, Henry, but will such a system produce D2 equivalent output? What
format Camcorder and VCR are needed for D2 output?
Hank
D2. You can't get higher resolution out than you put in. And you can't
record higher resolution than that which the record deck is capable. The
system will not generate missing lines of resolution. If you record D2
with a Hi8 deck, all you get is Hi8.
Some day we may have interpolative image processing, and we'll be able to
fill in the blanks.
Hank
Videology, Inc – Where you get all the P.O.M.P. under all
Circumstances
Thanks for the info. I'm really a novice, amateur video buff and would
like to learn more, at least before going into debt for more sophisticated
equipment. I am at ground zero now with VHS editing set-up (Panasonic twin
decks and controller, awaiting Opal VideoProcessor).
Incidentally, I was born and raised in Stamford, and spent some of the
better hours of the summers of my youth in Candlewood Lake.
Hank
We be sure to say hi if you get back this way. Candlewood has become a
very popular, crowded summer area now.
Where are you now?
What is the basic equipment (models, etc) setup? Might be a good entry
level system for future videographers.
Let me know how it works out –
Hank
Videology, Inc – Where you get all the P.O.M.P. under all
Circumstances
I'm in northwestern New Jersey…the fresh air, rural, treed and
hilled section of the state where there are deer on your lawn, bear
in the woods, and no industrial odors.
I have been using my current system for about 5 years. It includes
twin Panasonic industrial editing decks and a controller, but only
VHS. I did some home video editing until my SuperGen stopped working
about one and a half years ago, and since then have been on hold
awaiting the appearance of the Opal Video Processor.
While I'm not very happy with the VHS format resolution, I don't want
to commit to spending big bucks for an upgrade (S-VHS or Hi 8) until
I see where the Amiga is going. In the meantime, I am trying to learn
as much as I can about the "field".
Hank
Glad you're hanging in there. We should know about the Amiga "real soon
now". I just hope it is resolved before Chicago/Windows'95 comes out.
Hank
Videology, Inc – Where you get all the P.O.M.P. under all
Circumstances
Hank Duckman,
The V-LAB motion board may be a more reasonable answer to for the
video/hobbiest educator. While it is not in the same league as the Flyer,
at $1800 for the VLAB-M and sound board, and no need for special hard
drives, it is certainly much more affordable. In fact I'll let you know
since I just ordered one! 🙂
BTW I live on Lake Candlewood in Danbury. Beautiful lake sunsets every
night. I truely love it!
…Warp Engine Engaged…
-Paul-
Paul;
I'd appreciate your comments on the VLab Motion Board when you get it
going.
I have the fondest memories of Candlewood. Is the Danbury Fair still in
existence?
Hank
Hank,
>Is the Danbury Fair still in existence?
Nope. The entire fairground has been developed into a gigantic
mall. Not a very good trade off IMHO.
Henry,
There is one "gotcha" here: To record D2 directly there would need to
be a 9 pin output on the Flyer to get the digital composite to the
recorder where it is recorded to tape. So to be perfectly accurate,
it is D2 quality up to the point at which it is converted to analog
and poured out the composite spigot on the back of the board.
So, even if you had a D2 deck, the recorded signal would be degraded compared
to the signal as manipulated internal to the Toaster/Flyer due to the losses of
the D/A then A/D process to get the Toaster D2 to composite, and the Program
out composite back to D2 at the deck. So the D2 quality output "spec" is a
little misleadging – it is Toaster Program out quality which is s a high
bandwidth composite signal which could support the resolutions available in D2
– at least that is how I interpret the "D2 Quality" phase.
wmc – via Autopilot!
Looks like "Flyer Mark II" needs component outputs! (At least) :->
Trent/ReAnimators
Sounds like you've got that right. I'm learning more from my contacts
every day about video, and hope some day to feel I know at least 10%. Then
it will all change to digital everything. How does digital signal
processing differ from analog? Do cable lengths, terminators, etc. play a
part? If it's true digital like in a computer, than they shouldn't. Or
not?
There's a whole new world coming.
Hank
Videology, Inc – Where you get all the P.O.M.P. under all
Circumstances