Instant TV: VC offers quick chroma keying, virtual sets, pop-up video window and a teleprompter.(Evaluation)

Are you ready for the next "gotta have it" video product?

The folks at Serious Magic (the same people who brought you Snappy, the Video Toaster and Trinity) have unleashed a new "video creation" tool called Visual Communicator. It packs enough amazing features to deserve the "gotta have it" qualifier. In fact, Visual Communicator won the Best of PC Expo 2002 Award, which means it beat out hundreds of software products that were considered. Get ready to shift your paradigm gears again for the next generation of video creation productivity.

A True Video Creation Tool

Serious Magic underscores that Visual Communicator is NOT a video-editing program. You're not going to find the traditional video-capture and -editing paradigm that's so popular today. Instead, you'll discover that Visual Communicator is a real-time video creation tool. When you hear the words "video creation," think LIVE video, as in studio news or talk shows--the way television used to be produced before the advent of videotape.

You could eventually produce some of the video projects that Visual Communicator does through conventional analog or digital nonlinear editing techniques, but not without spending a huge amount of time and money. After spending a modest $99.95 MSRP, and with a reasonably fast Windows-based computer, you'll soon be producing real-time video projects that would have normally required a big investment in time and video equipment, such as chroma-key video, virtual sets, interactive pop-up video windows, among others. And, any of these remarkable video sequences can be streamed via the Internet or burned to a VideoCD.

Versions And Computer Requirements

Visual Communicator comes in two versions: Standard ($99.95 MSRP) and the Plus pack ($149.95 MSRP). The Plus pack adds a foldable 6-foot by 5-foot green screen cloth and a high-quality lavaliere microphone. You can also buy the standard version, and if you decide later that the green screen option is too irresistible, you can buy the Plus upgrade for $49.95 by going to the Serious Magic Web site. The actual software is the same for either version.

Visual Communicator runs on any reasonably fast Windows-based computer running 98, 98SE, Me, 2000, or XP. Sorry, Mac enthusiasts! The CPU …