Editing Video Toaster (section)

== First generation systems ==
The Video Toaster was designed by NewTek founder [[Tim Jenison]] in [[Topeka, Kansas|Topeka]], [[Kansas]].  Engineer [[Brad Carvey]] built the first [[wire wrap]] prototype, and Steve Kell wrote the software for the prototype. Many other people worked on the Toaster as it developed.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016/03/a-history-of-the-amiga-part-9-the-video-toaster/|title=A history of the Amiga, part 9: The Video Toaster|first=Jeremy|last=Reimer|date=18 March 2016|website=Ars Technica}}</ref>

The Toaster was announced at the [[World of Commodore]] expo in 1987<ref name="randall2">{{cite journal |author=Randall, Neil | date=March 1988 |title=Centerstage: AMIGA! The World of Commodore Show |url=https://archive.org/details/1988-03-compute-magazine |journal=[[Compute!]] |publisher=[[COMPUTE! Publications]] |volume=10 |issue=3 |pages=44–48 |access-date=26 December 2014}}</ref> and released as a commercial product in December 1990<ref name="Flying Toasters">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/1994/05/flying-toasters/ |title=Flying Toasters |magazine=Wired |access-date=2013-07-24 |date=1 May 1994 |first=Stephen |last=Jacobs}}</ref> for the [[Commodore International|Commodore]] [[Amiga 2000]] computer system, taking advantage of the video-friendly aspects of that system's hardware to deliver the product at an unusually low cost of $2,399.<ref name="Flying Toasters" /> The Amiga was well adapted to this application in that its system clock at {{nowrap|7.158 MHz}} was precisely double that of the NTSC color [[carrier frequency]], {{nowrap|3.579 MHz}}, allowing for simple synchronization of the video signal.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}} The hardware component is a full-sized card that is installed into the [[Amiga 2000]]'s unique single video expansion slot rather than the standard bus slots, and therefore cannot be used with the [[Amiga 500|A500]] or [[Amiga 1000|A1000]] models. The card has several [[BNC connector]]s in the rear, which accepts four video input sources and provided two outputs (preview and program). This initial generation system is essentially a real-time four-channel [[vision mixer|video switcher]].

One feature of the Video Toaster is the inclusion of [[LightWave 3D]], a 3D modeling, rendering, and animation program. This program became so popular in its own right that in 1994 it was made available as standalone product separate from the Toaster systems.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lightwiki.com/wiki/LightWave_History |title=Lightwave Wiki history page |publisher=Lightwiki.com |access-date=2013-07-24}}</ref>

Aside from simple fades, [[Dissolve (filmmaking)|dissolves]], and cuts, the Video Toaster has a large variety of character generation, overlays and complex animated switching effects. These effects are in large part performed with the help of the native Amiga [[original Amiga chipset|graphics chipset]], which is synchronized to the NTSC video signals. As a result, while the Toaster was rendering a switching animation, the computer desktop display is not visible.  While these effects are unique and inventive, they cannot be modified. Soon Toaster effects were seen everywhere, advertising the device as the brand of switcher those particular production companies were using.

The Toaster hardware requires very stable input signals, and therefore is often used along with a separate video [[synchronization|sync]] [[Time base correction|time-base corrector]] to stabilize the video sources. Third-party low-cost time-base correctors (TBCs) specifically designed to work with the Toaster quickly came to market, most of which were designed as standard [[ISA bus]] cards, taking advantage of the typically unused Bridgeboard slots. The cards do not use the Bridgeboard to communicate, but simply as a convenient power supply and physical location.

As with all video switchers that use a frame buffer to create DVEs (digital video effects), the video path through the Toaster hardware introduced delays in the signals when the signal was in "digital" mode. Depending on the video setup of the user, this delay could be quite noticeable when viewed along with the corresponding audio, so some users installed audio delay circuits to match the Toaster's video-delay lag, as is common practice in video-switching studios.

A user still needs at least three [[video tape recorder]]s (VTR) and a controller to perform [[B-roll|A/B roll]] [[linear video editing]] (LE), as the Toaster serves merely as a switcher, which can be triggered through [[general-purpose input/output]] (GPIO) to switch on cue in such a configuration, as the Toaster has no edit-controlling capabilities. The frame delays passing through the Toaster and other low-cost video switchers make precise editing a frustrating endeavor. Internal cards and software from other manufacturers are available to control VTRs; the most common systems go through the [[serial port]] to provide single-frame control of a VTR as a capture device for LightWave animations. A [[Non-linear editing system]] (NLE) product was added later, with the invention of the Video Toaster Flyer.

Although initially offered as just an add-on to an Amiga, the Video Toaster  was soon available as a complete turn-key system that included the Toaster, Amiga, and [[sync generator]].{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}} These Toaster systems became very popular, primarily because at a cost of around US$5,000, they could do much of what a $100,000 fully professional video switcher (such as a [[Grass Valley (company)|Grass Valley]] switcher) could do at that time.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}} The Toaster was also the first such video device designed around a general-purpose personal computer that is capable of delivering [[broadcast quality]] NTSC signals.{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}}

As such, during the early 1990s the Toaster was widely used by consumer [[Amiga]] owners, [[desktop video]] enthusiasts, and local [[television]] studios, and was even used during ''[[The Tonight Show]]'' regularly to produce special effects for [[sketch comedy|comedy skits]]. It was often easy to detect a studio that used the Toaster by the unique and recognizable special switching effects.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Morrison |first1=Michael |title=Becoming a Computer Animator |type=Paperback |date=July 1994 |orig-year=1994 |publisher=Sams |isbn=0-672-30463-5 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/becomingcomputer0000morr }}</ref>  The [[NBC|NBC television network]] also used the Video Toaster with LightWave for its promotional campaigns, beginning with the 1990-1991 broadcast season ("NBC: The Place To Be!").<ref>{{cite web
 |url          = http://www.harrymarks.com/Work_Life.html
 |title        = Work_Life
 |year         = 2009
 |website      = harrymarks.com
 |publisher    = HARRY MARKS
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20090609071332/http://www.harrymarks.com/Work_Life.html
 |archive-date = 2009-06-09
 |url-status     = dead
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
 |url          = http://www.harrymarks.com/Media/krasnerimovieweb.mov
 |title        = krasnerimovieweb.mov
 |year         = 2009
 |website      = harrymarks.com
 |publisher    = HARRY MARKS
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20090609071332/http://www.harrymarks.com/Media/krasnerimovieweb.mov
 |archive-date = 2009-06-09
 |url-status     = dead
}}</ref> All of the external submarine shots in the TV series ''[[seaQuest DSV]]'' were created using [[LightWave 3D]], as were the outer-space scenes in the TV series ''[[Babylon 5]]'' (although Amiga hardware was only used for the first three seasons). Because of the heavy use of dark blues and greens (for which the NTSC television standard is weak), the external submarine shots in ''seaQuest DSV'' could not have made it to air without the use of the ASDG Abekas [[device driver|driver]], written specifically to solve this problem by Aaron Avery at ASDG (later [[Avid Elastic Reality|Elastic Reality]], Inc.). This was due to "ASDG's exclusive color encoding technology which increases the apparent color bandwidth of video".<ref>{{cite web
 |url          = http://archive.irixnet.org/siliconsurf/products/appsdirectory.dir/Applications/Audio_Video/ApplicationNumber5576.html
 |website      = irixnet.org
 |access-date  = 2023-11-27
 |title = ApplicationNumber5576
 }}</ref>

An updated version called [https://web.archive.org/web/20120622071827/http://www.amiga-hardware.com/showhardware.cgi?HARDID=506 Video Toaster 4000] was later released, using the [[Amiga 4000]]'s video slot. The 4000 was co-developed by actor [[Wil Wheaton]], then famous for ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'', who worked on product testing and quality control.<ref name="avclub">Nathan Rabin. [https://www.avclub.com/wil-wheaton-1798208240 Wil Wheaton interview], ''[[The A.V. Club]]'', November 20, 2002.</ref><ref>[http://geeksofdoom.com/2008/05/29/conversations-with-god-wil-wheaton/ Conversations with GoD: Wil Wheaton], Geeks of Doom, Retrieved May 2, 2009.</ref> He later used his public profile to serve as a [[technology evangelist]] for the product.<ref name="Flying Toasters" /> Besides Wheaton, [[Penn Jillette]] (of ''[[Penn and Teller]]'' fame) and skateboarder [[Tony Hawk]] also served as evangelists for the 4000. Hawk was given a Video Toaster 4000 by NewTek upon learning that he was an Amiga user, in exchange for appearing in a promotional video for the product.<ref name="Baker">{{Cite web |last=Baker |first=Katie |date=2022-04-06 |title='Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off' Captures the Gravity of Chasing Air |url=https://www.theringer.com/tv/2022/4/6/23012509/tony-hawk-until-the-wheels-fall-off-hbo-documentary |access-date=2023-10-29 |website=The Ringer |language=en}}</ref> Tony Hawk later used the Toaster for editing a promotional video for the [[TurboDuo]] game ''[[Lords of Thunder]]'' in 1993.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/stream/Electronic_Gaming_Monthly_47#page/n28/mode/1up|title=Salvation For Those Who Praise The Lord. — Lords of Thunder|magazine=[[Electronic Gaming Monthly]]|issue=47|publisher=Sendai Publishing|date=June 1993|page=29}}</ref><ref>{{cite tweet|number=842531647958339584|user=tonyhawk|title=holy crap, yes I did|date=2017-03-16|access-date=2021-09-29|archive-date=2021-03-12|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210312143130/https://twitter.com/tonyhawk/status/842531647958339584|url-status=live}}</ref> The Amiga Video Toaster 4000 [[source code]] was released in 2004 by NewTek & DiscreetFX.