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NewTek TriCaster Pro
SYNOPSIS:
NewTek's TriCaster Pro builds on the solid base of the initial TriCaster but adds features that make it worthy of use in a professional environment. The $6,995 price point positions the product in the very low end of professional equipment, but the features rival mid-range professional products. Thus, the TriCaster Pro helps re-establish NewTek as a company whose innovations will once again push the boundaries of what a new generation of event videographers will be able to provide for their customers.
PRICE: $6,995
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
NewTek, Inc., www.newtek.com
When I first started in event and industrial video production in the early 1990s, one of our indispensable tools was the Video Toaster. Not only did the Toaster do cool transitions like the onceubiquitous falling sheep and bouncing basketballs for live productions, but it was also a serious post-production switcher. We used BetaSP, S-VHS, and Mil decks, and the Toaster, along with its companion product-LightWave 3D-to do intricate graphics, 3D, and stacked transitions in an era where the only other tools capable of doing any one of these things cost close to $50,000 each.
After a few years, the original Toaster team split, with a splinter group going off to create another company called Play, Inc. This outfit had some success with a product called the Snappy, which grabbed still images and-for a time-had a photo of Kiki Stockhammer on it, the pitchwoman extraordinaire who had helped get the Toaster off the ground. Along the way, Play spun off a company called Play Streaming Media Group and created a product called the Globecaster that combined streaming with live video switching, at a price point set with high-end broadcasters in mind.
Meanwhile, NewTek updated its Toaster product line, after the aging Amiga platform, on which the Toaster was based, ceased production. It also began receiving requests for a product similar to Globecaster, but with Toaster-like ease of use and a feature set geared toward the event market. In essence, these customers wanted NewTek to create a box that would allow them to do live switching and limited post-production work but would also give them the opportunity to move into the...