ChromaKey+, SuperGen+, DCTV, & RGB Converter. & V3.1 RGB to PAL/NTSC Adapter.

[XDelusion]

Here is a video created by the guy who sold me my hardware collection.

[youtube]9hEbs6FX0cM[/youtube]

Sadly he seems to have been stricken with amnesia and does not remember exactly how he had all the hardware set up, though he does state that he used the DCTV in conjunction with the ChromaKey and Gen Locker in order to produce this video.


Now I am not totally sure of what all I can do with my hardware aside of what I see in the video above. One thing I'd like to start out with is to use the hardware to capture stills of sculpted models and toys to convert to sprites for use in my Star Wars game. I think it would be REALLY cool to create my game as much as possible, in the same fashion as Sprite Based First Person Shooters in the early and mid 90's.

I'd also like to use my blue screen to create special effects. I.E. the trick where make it look like someone just got hit by a car....

[youtube]8B20UYQL4Hk[/youtube]

My sister went to Tom Savini's school of special effects in Pennsylvania, and I myself used to tinker with such things a lot when I was 13. Taking this into consideration I would very much like to shoot a few short films with her and my brother just for fun.

Likewise I'd really enjoy adding my self or others into old videos just to make them more psychotic.  I.E.

http://redlettermedia.com/shorts/mr-plinkett-shorts/youre-invited-the-olsen-twins-movie/#.TjeYRqlxCsk.facebook

[XDelusion]

Oh and Amiga Maniac's adapter will hopefully prevent me from having to use my 1804s, and will hopefully give me the ability to record my final product from S-Video.

I have S-Video out on my laptop, so I'd like to experiment feeding that into the ChromaKey as well. I.E. to take smaller screen shots of Jedi Knight 3D models for conversion into sprites... They can be displayed with a blue background after all...

Lastly I'd like to experiment with the old EBN format:

[youtube]-w67DUjx7q0[/youtube]

[Motormouth]

In retrospect, a Toaster with the Chromakey+ can do everything this set up can do and it's a well documented combination.

If you added a Flyer, then you can even use moving backgrounds.

The Toaster can output 24bit images like the DCTV can.

Just a thought.

Wow like this Toaster Chromakey+ combo.  I was never much of a fan of the Luma key in the Toaster, it was too limited.  You would definitely need to time base correct this combination with the other sources however.  I am guess that the Chromakey+ has a bit of delay, and the toaster has a significant delay.  It took me over a month to get all of the circuits built and delays matched in the production studio.

[Motormouth]

@XDelusion

Cool,  This is too much fun.   I haven't though about production like this for a long while.
In my mind, these profession uses, in the day, this is what really put amiga on the map, not the games.

[XDelusion]

I also have an external Black Burst Generator. I've no idea what this does, I was just told once I'd need it if I ever set up a Toaster System.

As for Toaster, I have a Toaster for the 2000, as well as one Time Based Corrector, but alas, no 2000.

Now in regards to the 2000. You say that the Toaster can do a 24bit output? If that is the case, are there any major advantage to having a Toaster 4000 over a Toaster 2000?

I read in the ChromaKey+ Manual that The Toaster's Luma sucks, and that was why the ChromaKey+ was built.

[XDelusion]

@XDelusion

Cool,  This is too much fun.   I haven't though about production like this for a long while.
In my mind, these profession uses, in the day, this is what really put amiga on the map, not the games.

That's what I'm thinking! More people need to do some productive stuff with their old Amigas to show the world a taste of what could be done on those "old outdated" machines.

In fact it could go as far as showing people exactly why the Amiga is to blame for nearly every piece of tech that we take for granted now a days. Modern computers, how they work, and how they are put together. Amiga did it first in soooooo many ways!

Now as for me, I'm just starting out with all this hardware, so naturally my productivity is going to be a learning experience, but as with many things Amiga, I have a feeling that this like many other things, will not be a very steep learning curb to get around. Amiga has always been very user friendly, not to mention the majority of 3rd party software.

On that note, I think I will be recording videos of my learning experience, as well as uploading tutorials in time as I begin to master techniques and the like.


Glad you're having fun!!!

[magnetic]

Xdelusion

Yes, the Toaster 2k does NTSC broadcast quality "24bit" output via Composite! The A4k has faster chips and utilizes aga for full colour crutons and frames.

[XDelusion]

Xdelusion

Yes, the Toaster 2k does NTSC broadcast quality "24bit" output via Composite! The A4k has faster chips and utilizes aga for full colour crutons and frames.

What is a Cruton?

And is that to say that the 2000 does not display in full color then, but is limited instead to 32 with HAM modes?

[XDelusion]

Check it, youtube tutorials!!! Not for Amiga exactly, but still!!!

[youtube]GjvqsB2EAuc[/youtube]

[XDelusion]

Oh yes, and how does Video Toaster stand up against something like Adobe After Effects as far as Video Editing and Manipulation is concerned?

[magnetic]

xdelusion

A cruton is a toaster framestore. The toaster 2k displays 24bit full color images, nothing to do with ami chipset for it output. It has its own chipset!

To compare amiga vt to AE is rather lame   The only thing Toaster is better for is Live studio / broadcast situations with realtime or near realtime CG overlay and 3d transitions. AE is more for post and its effects are industry standard and blow away any amiga stuff.

Oh and btw you probably wont need the Black burst, thats more for studio situations. For your setup you will be fine without it afaik.

[XDelusion]

Elan Performer:

Lets you assign animations to each key on the Keyboard. Limited to 16 colors in High Res and 32 in Lowres. Though it also works with the DCTV thus allowing millions of colors. If combined with the DCTV RGB Adaptor, you can use all this with a ChromaKey and Genlocker which would be great for video DJing as I've been told.

I got the software... Does anyone got the Cheat Sheets that they could scan for the rest of us? These were made so you can write down what animation is assigned to what key. I realize I could just do this on any old piece of paper, but still it would be great to have scans of those and possibly the manuals.

[Motormouth]

I also have an external Black Burst Generator. I've no idea what this does, I was just told once I'd need it if I ever set up a Toaster System.

As for Toaster, I have a Toaster for the 2000, as well as one Time Based Corrector, but alas, no 2000.

Now in regards to the 2000. You say that the Toaster can do a 24bit output? If that is the case, are there any major advantage to having a Toaster 4000 over a Toaster 2000?

I read in the ChromaKey+ Manual that The Toaster's Luma sucks, and that was why the ChromaKey+ was built.

The Black Burst Generator ensures you have the proper production black reference, in the days of digital HDTV this probably not a problem, By the way in NTSC the black in not complete black, but a dark gray,  This is so one could "see" the difference between no signal and a black signal

[Motormouth]

I also have an external Black Burst Generator. I've no idea what this does, I was just told once I'd need it if I ever set up a Toaster System.

As for Toaster, I have a Toaster for the 2000, as well as one Time Based Corrector, but alas, no 2000.

Now in regards to the 2000. You say that the Toaster can do a 24bit output? If that is the case, are there any major advantage to having a Toaster 4000 over a Toaster 2000?

I read in the ChromaKey+ Manual that The Toaster's Luma sucks, and that was why the ChromaKey+ was built.

As for the time Base corrector is sync the signals from the video source.  In NTSC there is 30 frames per second or 60 interlaced fields (two interlace fields per frames).  the time is 33 ms per frame or 16.67 ms per field.  If the video sources are too far out of sync, lets say 10 ms, then attempting to edit with sources to far out of timing will results in bad edit in linear editing.   This is again not that much of a problem in non-linear digital editing.

This is different than a long delay which is longer than 33 ms,  I remember the toasters delay was close to 100-120 ms or about three or four frames.  I had put delays in all of our non toaster video sources so we would better sync up to the toaster.

As for the toaster 2000 vs. toaster 4000.  You are correct the video buffer and lightwave output are 24 bit, but the toaster switcher traditions used amiga graphics.  The Toaster 4000 enabled fancier AGA switching transition vs. Toaster 2000.

Yes the toaster 2000 Luma is based only on intensity.  yes it was not very good, lots of key leaking.

[Motormouth]

The Black Burst Generator ensures you have the proper production black reference, in the days of digital HDTV this probably not a problem, By the way in NTSC the black in not complete black, but a dark gray,  This is so one could "see" the difference between no signal and a black signal

I remember this was also a legal thing in the US NTSC standard.   I had to re-produce a set of commercials because the black was too dark.

[Heiroglyph]

If you are only using one camera, you can still use these without a time base corrector or blackburst.

Cameras have an inherently stable signal when they are live.  They don't when playing back from tape though.

If you have a digital camera, like DV, HDV or one of the SD card based ones, you can usually even use them even from recorded footage.  They don't have the same problems with the tape mechanism skewing the video timing.

You don't need anything else to get to tape, the output of the genlock will be your final output, so that should go to the tape and your genlock has very high quality output.