Videonics Video TitleMaker 2000 (TM-2000)

Fonts: 23

Font styles: 9

Font sizes: 4

Special character features: Drop shadow, outline, 3 levels of bold, variable character spacing, text borders, boxes, lines, special and foreign characters

Colors: 1 million

Background patterns: 32

Display modes: Scroll, crawl, cut, fade, slide, wipe

Display/transition speeds: 8

Title memory: 8000 characters

Resolution: 720 by 480 pixels

Inputs: Y/C video, composite video, stereo audio, GPI trigger

Outputs: Y/C video, composite video, stereo audio, preview

Backup battery: 7 year lithium

Dimensions: 3.9 (height) by 12 (wide) by 9.5 (depth) inches

Weight: 3 pounds

Videonics Video TitleMaker 2000 (TM-2000)
Videonics
1370 Dell Ave.
Campbell, California 95008
www.videonics.com
($599)

A few years back, Sony Industrial introduced a one-of-a-kind product designed for simple Hi8 editing. Called the EVO-9700, this unique Hi8 deck offered both play and record transports, a built-in edit controller with time code and single-frame accuracy, simple titler, audio and video insert capabilities and more. Basically, the EVO-9700 was a complete Hi8 editing system in a box.

Enter the EVO-9720, Sony's latest dual-deck Hi8 editor. The biggest news with the EVO-9720 is a pair of RS-232 interface ports that put each transport under computer control. Thus a computer-based editing package will drive the EVO-9720 just like a pair of Hi8 decks. Or you can pair the EVO-9720 up with Sony's new FXE-100 switcher/edit controller for flexible A/X-roll (simulated A/B-roll) editing. Throw in a third professional deck as a recorder, and the EVO-9720 will function as two source decks for full-blown A/B-roll editing.

Sony dropped the original EVO-9700's clunky titler, replacing it with a much more usable video fader and background color generator. The unit will read RC time code in addition to industrial 8mm time code, though it writes only the latter. AFM audio is now stereo instead of mono; thanks to an on-screen menu, numerous functions offer a finer degree of control.

Though the EVO-9720 functions well as part of a larger system, we'll test it here as a stand-alone unit. This is how most will use it, at least initially. The Sony has a surprisingly small footprint; it's about the same width as a normal home VCR, though a few inches longer. The remote control attaches with a coiled cable, allowing you to use the remote from about two feet away. Most of the Sony's controls fall on the front panel only, so you really can't stray far from the unit. But you can lean back in your chair and edit from the remote. Luxury.

The EVO-9720's back panel bristles with jacks, including BNC and Y/C video jacks and RCA-style audio jacks. Sony wisely provided all the signal routing capabilities most users would ever need. For example: you can switch the recorder to accept video signals directly from the player deck, from the player through external processing or from another line input. Front panel inputs include microphone and headphone, both with level control.

Two audio/video monitor outputs allow you to watch the signal from both source and record transports. A single monitor works just fine, especially since the EVO-9720 has picture-in-picture capabilities. With this feature enabled, you can see both source and record signals on the screen at once. The EVO-9720 provides many options for editing. You can select and edit scenes manually; one at a time; or you can build up an edit decision list of up to 99 different scenes and fade transitions. You can manually insert video/AFM audio or PCM digital audio, two capabilities most consumer-level Hi8 decks lack.

Depending on the mode, you select in and out points on the playback and/or the record deck. Automatic assemble editing remembers fades, background colors, slow-motion scenes and freeze frames. You can save your edit decision list (EDL) to tape for later retrieval. A GPI trigger output allows you to interface the EVO-9720 with an external A/V mixer or titler like the Panasonic WJ-MX30, Videonics MX-1 or Titlemaker 2000. You can fire the GPI based on the in and out points of the playback or record deck. A programmable offset allows you to fine-tune the timing of the GPI signal.

Thanks to digital stabilization processing on the playback side, the EVO-9720's still and slow-motion effects are perfect. Slow-motion is at a fluid 1/5th normal playback speed, adding a slightly posterized look to the image. I didn't find this objectionable; in fact, it enhanced the slow effect. The playback electronics also include digital chrominance and luminance noise reduction. With three and four levels of correction respectively, the EVO-9720 can make minor improvements on grungy tapes. A digital dropout compensator helps eliminate those annoying flashes of white; but it can't work miracles with a seriously damaged tape.

The addition of a fader makes the EVO-9720 much more versatile as a stand-alone editor. You can fade to or from both black and white; the transition takes either 2 seconds or 0.5 seconds. Both these speeds are quite useful. You can fade still or slow-motion scenes, which makes for some nice effects. The Sony offers eight background colors; too bad it allows fading on just two of these.

Editing with the EVO-9720 is simple, fast and accurate. The unit works with about a two-second preroll, which makes assembling a lengthy edit list less time consuming. Yet even with this short pre-roll, I found edits to be solid and frame-accurate every time. Sony engineers have definitely done their homework on the EVO-9720's transport control.

Audio routing and control is top-notch. You can select AFM, PCM or an adjustable mixture of both from the playback deck. The Sony will in turn lay these down on either AFM or PCM at the record deck. You can also select a "straight" audio routing, which sends AFM to AFM and PCM to PCM. In other words, you can do most anything you want with the EVO-9720's audio signals. Image quality is very good; the Sony's video holds out relatively well against generation loss. I hoped that Sony had found an electronic "shortcut" to minimize generation loss inside the EVO-9720. They may have, but generation loss is still noticeable after an edit; there's a definite loss of crispness and a slight increase in noise when toggling between source and recorder. Until we have a digital dual-deck Hi8 editor, this is to be expected. Overall, the EVO-9720 is a tidy, elegant approach to Hi8 editing. The unit's RS-232 jacks open up a universe of possibilities for computer control, making the Sony a wise investment for traditional and computer-based editing alike.
--Loren Alldrin