From: aa794@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Pete Nofel)
Newsgroups: comp.graphics.animation
Subject: Re: Video and Animation
Date: 26 Jan 1993 13:37:28 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA)
Reply-To: aa794@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Pete Nofel)
NNTP-Posting-Host: thor.ins.cwru.edu


In a previous article, nowinski@sciborg.uwaterloo.ca (Andrew Nowinski) says:

>
>Does Matrox Studio produce a RS-170A signal? Is Matrox Studio
>used in any TV shows for titles or animation? 

I just got my copy of "Videography" magazine this morning and there's
supposed to be a "hands-on" review of Matrox Studio in it. I'll post a
follow-up after I've read it. It's the January 1993 issue if you can find it.

>How many colours do Mathematica's Tempra programs have?
>Can animation be done with the pictures?
>What resolution will the finished animation have and how many
>colours will it have?
>
>Which computer is the best for desktop video? 

That's like asking which women is the best wife. We use an Amiga/Video
Toaster, but I'm sure there are other out there willing to defend IBMs and
Apples to the death. At a recent meeting of the local chapter of the ITVA
we had reps from shops using Macs, PS/2s, and Amiga/Toasters. They all
looked very good. The only caveat I offer is that both the Mac & IBM shops
"rolled their own" software and hardware. Very little was off-the-shelf.
The IBM shop even bragged that they were doing a better job at creating
their own video software than IBM was.

>What resolution does 3D Studio by Autodesk use? How many colours
>does it have? Can it be recorded to NTSC?

3D Studio depends on your display card. I think it can work with a VGA
card, but the color palette is larger with an SVGA card. The last time we
used 3D Studio the resolution was limited to something like 320 x 200.
There have been new releases since we got ours.

It cannot be recorded to NTSC out of the box. You need a video i/o board of
some type. We have a Video/VGA board that acts as a display card and a
video out (NTSC) card.

>What resolution does Autodesk Animator Pro have? How many colours
>does it use? Can it be recorded to NTSC?

Animator Pro offers 640 x 480 resolution at, I think, 256 colors. But, you
need an SVGA board that is VESA compatible (with VESA drivers) in order to
get it to run at that resolution. It does not do overscan -- you have a
boarder around you animation. If you use a black background, it isn't
noticable. Like 3D Studio, you need a video i/o board.

Here's my anti-plug for Autodesk products. They are grossly overpriced.
Animator Pro is less functional than Deluxe Paint IV for the Amiga, but it
is priced at $795. 3D Studio goes for between $1000 and $3000. So you've
got to spend $2000 - $3000 for your PC, $800 - $1000 for your video i/o
card, and $2500 for 3D Studio. You can range from $5300 - $6500 for a
system that only does medium rez animation, or $5400 for a Toaster
workstation that does better 3D animation and offers a video switcher, a
character generator, a 24-bit paint program, and digital video effects.

>I heard of a animation program called AT&T GLS TOPAS. Is it good?
>What resolution does it have? How many colours does it use?
>Can it be recorded to NTSC?

There is a whole library of AT&T video software. It is wonderful to behold.
And, as of a couple of years ago you had to be a high-volume video
production house to afford it. The software cost between $3000 and $15,000
depending on the application. I've heard prices have come down, but unless
you're going into business with an already-established large client base,
you might want to give this a pass.  As with all of the packages mentioned
above (except Matrox), you need a video i/o board and probably a digital
frame store board ($1000-$2000) as well.

>
>Thanks in advance.
>
>--
>Jack Nowinski
>
Anyone out there with better info about this stuff, please feel free to
correct me.

-- 
Pete Nofel, aa794, primary sysop
It's a Mystery - The Mystery Literature Group
Cleveland Freenet, Cleveland Ohio