CHYRON? DEKO? For the money which would you choose for motion graphics?

[Scott Thomas]

There is Avid (Pinnacle) Deko and Chyron Duet. But there is also Inscriber Inca, PixelPower Clarity, Vertigo X Media and VizRT…

It’s more of a question of just what exactly you are trying to do. So, what are you trying to do?

[Joseph W. bourke]

Until you weigh-in on what you specifically need to do with the box, I’ll give my opinion on the Chyron VS Deko VS Inscriber. I’ve had experience with all three, and I would strongly lean toward the Deko box. They all talk to each other (we have the old Type-Dekos, FXDekos, and the new Deko1000, and we have no problems with interoperability. Plus, they come with a programming language that allows you (if you’re somewhat of a gear-head) to create macros, menus, and custom screens that will take user input for Weather forecast pages, etc.. They are very intuitive to use (the lowest level of CG operator can sit down at it, and be functioning in a short space of time), and almost impossible to crash.

That said, there are probably more Chyrons out there than Dekos (although that seems to be changing quickly), so if you’re looking for operators, you might find a larger pool with Chyron experience.

On the Inscriber front…run the other way! I’ve used Inscriber in our Discreet Logic Edit box, and it is the most counter-intuitive software I have EVER used (it even beats Lotus Notes for uselessness). The GUI is impossible to master without using the manual, which is poorly written; there are commands that are described in the manual which don’t work the way they are described, and, to make matters worse, it regularly just locks up and you lose the graphics you were working on. Good luck in your choice.

Joe Bourke
Art Director / WMUR-TV

[James Riley]

Well what we want to do is to take animations made in after effects
or other effects software using alpha channels and or transparencies
and use them as lower third and or full screen animation in out LINEAR suites.
Each suite is completely different.
Grass valley in one
Pinnacle switcher in one
Sony DFS-700 in the other

All suites have:
DEKO 500, or Type DEKO
Digital Beta Cam Decks

What do you think is the best low low cost purchase to get animated graphics up on the screen….

James Riley

[Scott Thomas]

If you don’t need a CG to edit these lower-thirds, as in, they are completely built inside After Effects, you may want to consider a DDR (or Digital Disk Recorder) instead of a CG. Yes, some CGs will allow playback of animation inside of the box, but do you really need the CG? It sounds like overkill in this case; unless there’s something I’m not seeing here.

How about the NewTek VT3? It can playback uncompressed digital video with it’s software.

Or, perhaps a DeckLink or AJA Kona card in a Macintosh with direct playback from After Effects or some software like Virtual VTR and just make the Mac into a DDR with control from an editor.

Chyron sells a DDR called Aprisa. I’ve not heard any positive comments about it. It’s developed by a 3rd party in Atlanta… Video Technics.

Where I work, we have a Thunder XL. I’m not a big fan of it. Too many weird database problems. Clunky software. No updates in years to the software. I’m waiting to see how long Avid keeps it around.

[Scott Thomas]

[Joseph W. Bourke] “On the Inscriber front…run the other way! I’ve used Inscriber in our Discreet Logic Edit box”

Interesting. 🙂
I was talking to a friend at Chyron and he was telling me about how Chyron is now using DPS cards in the newer Duets for output. I asked the question about Leitch owning Inscriber and DPS. He found the paradox interesting as well. Chyron is as such, a shell of its former self. I wonder how long before Harris buys them out? Sounds like a better fit than Inscriber.

[Del Holford]

I agree with Scott. You have CGs and loading the animations into them is time consuming at best. We have Pixel Power’s Clarity HD and while it does great SmartMoves, the RAM recorder has to preload them and that too takes time. We can load animations but that is a secondary function so again it takes a lot of pre-production time to do that.

With a DDR or other video playout device you can key your CG and DDR over video in real time at the same time with the switchers controlled by your editor controllers. I used to animate single frames off a Dubner TurboPainter onto D2 through a Targa 100Pro card and then key the animation thru my GVG 200 switcher with a Sony 9000 controller. Having AE output finished animations is so much easier.

This may be more heat than light but hope it helps.

Del

[Scott Thomas]

I found a tape the other day with a demo of the Dubner Painter. I need to make a Quicktime of it to share on the net. I wish there was a place to go to where one could play with all the old paint systems. One station I worked at, we had a ColorGraphics ArtStar 3D Plus, GVG 200 and an Abekas A53D. Ah those were the days.

Scott Thomas