Vidget Is Invaluable for Internet Streaming, Multimedia Production, DVD
And CD-ROM Creation
NEW ORLEANS, SIGGRAPH 2000, July 25 /PRNewswire/ -- NewTek, Inc.,
(Booth 2117) manufacturer of industry-leading 3D animation and video products,
today announced Vidget(TM), an advanced video and audio conversion and
encoding tool that will be invaluable in virtually all areas of computer
graphics and video. Vidget is especially useful for applications such as
Internet streaming, DVD or CD-ROM creation, high definition encoding, web
content creation and multimedia production. Vidget includes comprehensive
support for all major video and audio formats, including MPEG I, MPEG II,
QuickTime and AVI.
"NewTek has always worked to provide artists with the best tools at the
best price," said NewTek CEO Tim Jenison. "What's really cool is that we have
succeeded in creating a full MPEG I and MPEG II encoder that creates the most
gorgeous images you will ever see."
"Of particular note is the quality of our MPEG encoding engine, which
incorporates over a year's development work that has been tightly focused on
producing the highest quality stream possible at the lowest possible
bit-rate," said Andrew Cross, NewTek's director of video software development.
"Our goal with Vidget was to develop a no-compromise video encoding and
conversion engine as well as an easy-to-use interface that integrates directly
into an artist's workflow."
Vidget provides the user with access to extensive encoding parameters,
allowing them to optimize the stream to their own specific needs and content.
The applications for Vidget are varied: Video producers creating DVDs can
convert their productions to MPEG II for authoring; home users wishing to make
video viewable by distant family members can create MPEG I files and add them
to their web site for download; and producers creating streaming content can
convert video to QuickTime, which allows for cross-platform viewing and
variable streaming rates.
Vidget supports NTSC, PAL, 16:9 wide-screen and even High Definition MPEG
II with either fielded or progressive encoding, and with constant or variable
bit-rate. AVI support in Vidget fully complies with Video for Windows, and
the QuickTime translations are 3.0+ enabled.
In addition, Vidget supports all major still graphic formats, including
JPEG, BMP, TGA, GIF, TIFF, PNG, SGI and PCX. Users can not only encode a
collection of graphics into any animated format, but also break any animated
format into stills.
Vidget integrates tightly with Windows Explorer, simplifying the process
of format conversion and placing the tool at the fingertips of Windows users.
With Vidget installed on a Windows 98, NT or 2000-based computer, right
clicking any image, video or audio file in Windows Explorer yields a "Convert
To..." menu, allowing simple conversion between formats.
Price and Availability
Vidget will be available Q3 2000. A version of Vidget that provides for
image conversion only will be available as a free download from
http://www.newtek.com or from other shareware download sites. The complete
version of Vidget will be available for download from the NewTek Web site at
http://www.newtek.com for $99, a price far below any competing software.
About NewTek
With headquarters in San Antonio, NewTek is a leading provider of
full-featured video editing, animation and special effects tools. The
company's products are used worldwide on projects ranging from home video to
feature film. Recent film and television projects include X-Men The Movie,
Scary Movie, Pitch Black, Shakespeare in Love, the latest James Bond film The
World is Not Enough, Roughnecks: Starship Troopers, Star Trek: Voyager, The
X-Files, Ally McBeal and Family Law. Recent game titles include Daikatana,
Deus EX, Torment, HALO, and Kiss Psycho Circus. Contact NewTek at 8200 IH-10
West, Suite 900, San Antonio, TX, 78230. Phone: 210-370-8000, fax:
210-370-8001, website: http://www.newtek.com .
NOTE: Vidget is a trademark of NewTek, Inc. All other brand names
mentioned are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.
Reader contact:
NewTek general reader information:
USA and International: 210-370-8000
sales@newtek.com
SOURCE NewTek, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.newtek.com
CONTACT:
Hollie Wendt of Wendt Communications,
831-688-1193, or Hollie@earthlink.net, for NewTek, Inc.
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