Aura VT development abandoned?

[Aegis]

I posted a question on the Bauhaus Software forums about the future of Aura/Mirage as regards the Video Toaster and this is the reply I got from Paul Ford:

Aside from bug fixes, you will not see any more development on the Aura VT code base. Mirage is a product of Bauhaus Software. It is effectively a new product that is far ahead of its earlier code base. We have no plans at this time to bundle or integrate with NewTek’s VT products.

Does this mean the end of development for integrated video painting in the 'Toaster? I can appreciate the benefits of owning Mirage but this is a serious loss to the "TV-Studio-In-A-Box" nature of the VT. Time to resurrect Toaster Paint methinks :D

[ScorpioProd]

Well, actually Mirage will create a "tab" that can be dropped on the switcher just like Aura can now. So I think a lot of integration would be there with that product.

As for "TV Studio in a Box"... I've never really liked that, cause it implies no need for third-party software, which if you look around, is basically the way VT[3] is currently. Mirage being a potential new third-party product, will hopefully be the start of breaking that drought. And if you look at the rest of the NLE world, there are tons of third-party products for most NLEs.

Realize that just cause products are "Newtek" doesn't mean they are more "integrated in the box" than third-party products can be. When you look at VT-Edit, the CG, Aura and LW, you can easily see they were all created by different people in different ways with what I certainly wouldn't call any type of "integrated" interface design by any stretch of the imagination. And for "functional integration" I could say some of the same things.

As for Toaster Paint, yuk, that was a horrible program compared to ImageFX. Once I got ImageFX I never used Toaster Paint again. Just cause something is a Newtek product doesn't make it the best way to do something.

If I can get a program that works with my VT[3] that's better than a component of the VT[3], I'll get it and be happy it's there. That's nothing against Newtek, but I don't realistically expect any company to make the "best" of everything.