NewTek VT[5]

One-Stop Production and Post for Toaster Fans and Beyond

Bill Mills

April 1, 2008    Source: Studio Monthly

The heart of NewTek’s VT[5]— a truly evolved "studio in a box" that traces its lineage back to 1991 and the release of the original Video Toaster— is the VTPro card, a PCI card providing composite, standard definition YUV video input and output with four-channel audio. This card is expanded with the SX-84 breakout box providing 24 video inputs that can be configured for composite, Y/C or component use. The SX-SDI breakout box attaches to the SX-84 and allows for eight additional SDI inputs.

This hardware takes care of I/O, and a range of wonderful software modules complete the VT[5] suite. These include digital disk recorders, TBC/CCU-style input adjustment, audio mixing, SVGA output scaling, vector scope, waveform monitor, preview and program monitors, DVD authoring, motion and still CG design, video paint and compositing, live streaming and more. All of these modules are highly configurable and many can be automated and customized via NewTek’s open architecture and the ToasterScript scripting language.

Several of the VT[5] modules have the ability to route their output directly to the VT switcher and share project files without rendering. For example, an animated lower third with moving CG text and a soft-edge cropped motion background video clip can be composed in the editor, dragged directly into a DDR window and instantly overlaid on a live feed via the switcher’s downstream keyer.

New live production modules found in VT[5] include LiveMatte and LiveSet. These are the functional equivalents of having 24 keyer/effect generators— one dedicated to each switcher input.

LiveSets are set up through the preview bus, where camera angles on a chromakey set are lined up with on-screen talent positioning silhouettes. The key color is selected in a drag-and-drop operation, and the talent instantly appears in a virtual environment. The LiveSet format goes far beyond a simple key. It will give you multiple physical camera angles, as well as multiple virtual camera angles. Depending on how the set is configured, the talent may cast shadows on its 3D surfaces, be reflected in glossy surfaces, and even be refracted by semi-transparent foreground objects.

Because the LiveSet is applied to individual inputs upstream of the Switcher module, a TD can perform a take or DVE from one virtual shot to the next without having to worry about simultaneous keyer adjustments. Some LiveSets also include an additional effects channel that lets you select a video source on the switcher’s Effects bus and display it on a virtual screen.

Speedy Edits

VT[4] users will find themselves at home in VT[5]’s editing module, SpeedEDIT-VT. The dual-pane editing format means you get multiple simultaneous views of a project or clip as a timeline, storyboard, 3D crop and positioner, or spline-based effects control.

SpeedEDIT uses DVEs and wipes that are interchangeable with the VT switcher. All of its effects from motion CG and audio plug-ins to scaling, rotating, positioning and 3-wheel color correction are performed in real time. When effects become too complex for the host computer to keep up, background rendering takes over and generates the needed clips while the editor interface and playback remain fully functional— very nice indeed. Even on an older dual 3 GHz Xeon workstation with a SATA array, I have rarely seen anything but real-time operation with four or five scaled and repositioned layers of SD video, a graphic overlay or two and color adjustment. NewTek’s real-time methodology also means that prints to tape do not involve any wait for rendering.

While SpeedEDIT-VT’s interface looks much like its predecessor VTEdit, its YUV processing pipeline has been re-written to support resolution independence. SD and HD clips can be intermixed on the timeline and output in a plethora of resolutions and formats. Editing previews are available onscreen, via the VT card’s SD outputs, and in SD or HD via FireWire output. Although SpeedEDIT-VT can capture HDV footage via FireWire, uncompressed HD must be brought in as files on disk.

Because of NewTek’s paradigm, in which CPUs do the real work and hardware is merely for I/O, VT[5] is available both as a new product complete with the VTPro PCI board and optional breakout boxes, or as a software-only upgrade for existing VT owners. A complete VT[5] live production workstation from an authorized dealer typically costs $12,000 to $14,000. From traditional studio production and IMAG to live streaming with virtual sets and HD post production with effects, NewTek has crammed a lot of capability into a single workstation. There’s a lot to like inside this evolving box.

Bill Mills is the owner of Corinthian Media Services in Palm Bay, Florida. His company specializes in producing media for extreme sports, including tournament paintball.