Special Effects Generator Buyer's Guide

In a world where digital technology is steadily replacing analog, one might expect that the realm of special effects belongs exclusively to the nonlinear editor. But before computer-based editing, effects and transitions were carried out in the linear world with switchers and video mixers. You can still find them in use today in television control rooms, educational facilities, semi-pro production rooms and even in the home of the hobbyist.

Special effects and transitions are so common in movies and TV that we may not realize that we see them in just about everything we watch. They could be as simple as dissolves or as complex as chromakey superimpositions, but they're everywhere.

The devices that perform these transitions are often referred to as switchers. With them you can mix live video sources, like multiple camcorders on a location shoot or recorded sources in your own studio. Those that have the capability of adding special effects as they switch, are known as Special Effects Generators (SEGs), so the terms SEG and switcher are often used interchangeably.

The Stand-alone Box
For the editor on a tight budget, there are several devices for under $600. One of the most basic, Sima Corporation's SED-EM ($149), provides fades and can enhance picture quality. It includes a microphone and stereo mixer.

For $600, Sima offers the SFX-M. It performs A/B-wipes and dissolves, as well as chroma- and lumakey effects.

In addition to 46 effects and transitions, Datavideo's SE-200 Pro ($500) can store and recall up to four different EDLs (edit decision lists). It can read and write time code and it comes with a stereo mixer and microphone.

Two of the most popular SEGs come from Videonics. The MXPro ($1800) and the MXPro DV ($2495) both perform more than 500 effects and transitions, process the video signal and perform luma- and chromakey effects. The main difference between the two is that the MXPro DV has FireWire inputs and outputs for mixing DV sources, while the MXPro has analog inputs and outputs only. Panasonic Broadcast and Digital Systems offers the WJ-MX50 ($3995). It has over 200 effects and transitions, does image processing and luma- and chromakey.

With a Computer
If you have a computer, a computer-based SEG is an option. Generally it will come in the form of an expansion card for your computer's PCI slot that lets you control external devices via point-and-click mouse commands. The switcher element of Play's Trinity ($6495) works for live shoots as well as post production.

FAST Multimedia's Video Machine ($3995) performs more than 300 transitions and effects and acts as a character generator and audio mixer.

If you're setting up a linear editing system or want to create live productions with the flair of digital effects, this buyer's guide is for you.