NewTek to Premiere VT[3] at NAB

All-in-One Live Broadcast Production Suite Boasts Hundreds of New Features Including Real-time,
Multi-Format Editing with Spline Control , 3D Positioning and Seamless Integration with Other Production Tools.

San Antonio, Texas -- March 17, 2003 -- NewTek, Inc., manufacturer of industry-leading 3D animation and video products, today announced that they will unveil VT[3], the next generation software for NewTek's integrated PAL/NTSC live- and post-production studio-in-a-box, at NAB 2003, Booth #SL2844. The update provides hundreds of new features and work- flow improvements, including enhanced integration of VT with a wide range of popular hardware and software video and graphics tools.

“It's hard to believe that a simple software upgrade could significantly improve a product I had already come to love and depend upon for my work, but VT[3] does that and more.” said Paul Goldberg, Hollywood New York Ltd. “With the capability to position, scale and rotate layers in 3D right in the editor, along with ability to animate virtually every characteristic with the spline controls, I'm not sure what you cannot do in VT[3].”

VT-Edit's real-time uncompressed layering and compositing is supplemented with 3D positioning, rotation and scaling of layers, with soft and colored borders, cropping, shadows and many other parameters available. VT-Edit now features full spline-based control of all animateable parameters. Additionally, VT-Edit projects can now be imported into all mainstream 3D, editing, compositing, streaming and DVD authoring applications with no rendering using the new VT-Edit Project Codec developed for VT[3].

“That fact that VT projects can now be used directly within any application that supports AVI files, with no conversion or rendering is a major boost to integration with other production tools, allowing VT to become an integrated part of almost any production pipeline,” said Andrew Cross, Senior Vice President of Engineering at NewTek. “On top of key architectural advances, we have made hundreds of work-flow and interface improvements, giving the user unprecedented power to customize the interface to fit their production needs and style, and a variety of tools and wizards make production tasks faster and easier than ever. Our goal is to offer the most complete, flexible and integrated tools for live and post production, at an affordable price, and VT[3] takes this commitment to a whole new level.”

In VT[3] DV cameras attached to the computer are now automatically detected and made available as live sources for switching, just as though they were attached directly to VT's inputs, and an unlimited number of DV cameras may be connected at once without significant overhead. The “VT-Vision” virtual monitors now include pro-camp controls that allow for calibration of a computer monitor to reference video monitors. VT[3] also includes a completely redesigned CG, as well as new advanced batch capture and EDL features.

“VT makes virtually anything possible,” notes Tim Johnson of KUTV Channel 2, Salt Lake City, UT. “During my work week I'm busy driving the VT at the local television station, producing on-air graphics, station promos and local commercials. On the weekends, I help produce content for religious services to be streamed out on the web for a community outreach program. When NewTek says VT is a complete TV studio-in-a-box, they're not kidding.”

New Features in VT[3] include:

• Mix and match any combination of uncompressed, compressed and DV , play resulting project in real-time, instantly
• Full 3D control of layer position and rotation, with shadow, color correction and other effects
• Spline-based control of all parameters in VT-Edit allow virtually every characteristic of a project to be animated
• VT-Edit Project Codec allows use of VT-Edit projects in any application that supports AVI files, without rendering or conversion
• Default file format is AVI file for storing project data. This works fully with the VT-Edit Project Codec, placing VT-Edit project data into the AVI file.
• Enhanced DV Support
  • DV cameras attached to the system are automatically patched into the Switcher
  • Native DV playback using propriety codec and native YUV decompression and compression.
  • DV is recorded directly, without decompression/recompression
  • Record analog sources to compressed DV in real-time
  • Unlimited number of attached DV devices supported
  • DV deck control
• VT-Vision™ onscreen monitors can be color calibrated to match reference video monitors
• Over 100 new VT-Script™ commands
• Proc-amp can be used to calibrate computer sources as well as analog sources
• Import and export of EDL (Grass Valley, CMX, Sony, Excel) in VT-DDR and VT-Edit
• Batch Capture with frame-accurate capture, Recapture, Print-to-Tape
  • Per frame timecode support
  • Deck manager with presets
• Character Generator - Fully redesigned with major interface and workflow improvements
  • Complete justification, alignment, ruler, grid and guide snapping tools
  • Flexible layering and grouping controls
  • New gradient editor and gradients bin
  • Per-page undos and redos
  • Improved font rasterization
• Details view within Storyboard, allowing you to enter project settings in a 'spreadsheat' like mode.
• Tool-chest - Provides a common plug-in environment to offer high level tools (grouped in ToolChests) for VT-Edit.
• Zebra stripes for 75IRE and illegal colors
• Auto Calibration for 75IRE bars, 100IRE bars and video pass-through mode (requires BOB)
• Interactive graph of all the animateable variables of the currently selected clip.

For a complete list of the new features in VT[3], see http://www.newtek.com/products/vt/info/vt3. For information on VT's full feature list and available options, see http://www.newtek.com/products/vt/info/.

Pricing and Availability
VT[3], regularly priced at $2995US, will be $2495US from now until VT[3] ships, and those purchasing during this special promotional period will receive the VT[3] software update at no additional charge for the downloadable version, or may purchase a convenience upgrade on CDs for $99US. Price of the VT[3] software update, when it becomes available, will be $595US for registered VT[3] owners. Price of VT[3] to be announced on release, but no less than $2995. VT[3] relies on the cutting-edge technology of the SSE2 instruction set, and will require an Intel P4 processor to run. For information on the nearest NewTek authorized reseller, see:
http://www.newtek.com/products/vt/dealer_demo_units.html

About NewTek
With headquarters in San Antonio, Texas, NewTek is a leading provider of full-featured video editing, animation and special effects tools including VT®, LightWave 3D® and Aura Video Paint™. NewTek launched the desktop video revolution in 1990 with the release of the legendary VT®. The company’s products are used worldwide on projects ranging from home video to feature film. Recent television and film projects using NewTek software include Firefly, Taken, Smallville, Birds of Prey, Star Trek: Enterprise, We Were Soldiers, Panic Room, Hart’s War, Driven, A.I., Oscar®-nominated Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius, Final Fantasy, Blackhawk Down, The Time Machine, Behind Enemy Lines and Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Director’s Edition DVD. Recent game titles include Doom III, Unreal Tournament, Serious Sam for XBox, Age of Mythology, Civilization III, Dead to Rights, Baldur’s Gate II, EverQuest and Escape From Monkey Island. Website: http://www.newtek.com

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•VT®, LightWave® and LightWave 3D® are registered trademarks of NewTek.
•VT-Edit, Aura Video Paint, LightWave® Express, VT-CG, VT-Vision VT-Scope, VT-DRR, SX-8 and RS-8 are trademarks of NewTek, Inc.
•All other products or brand names mentioned are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.