Tim Jenison
NewTek founder
The American entrepreneur who co-founded NewTek and led development of the Video Toaster, the revolutionary product that turned the Amiga into affordable broadcast equipment.
Tim Jenison is the American entrepreneur who founded NewTek and drove the creation of the Video Toaster, arguably the most significant professional product ever built for the Amiga. The Video Toaster turned a $2,000 computer into broadcast-quality video production equipment, democratising television production and launching careers across the industry.
Fast facts
- Born: ~1954
- Company: NewTek — founder and president; begun alone, in his Topeka garage
- Product: Video Toaster (1990)
- Price point: the Toaster sold at $1,595; Business Week called it as capable as $60,000 of gear
- Impact: Revolutionised broadcast production
- Before NewTek: hardware and software engineer at ColorWare, on the TRS-80 Color Computer
- Later: Known for art research (Tim’s Vermeer)
The Video Toaster Vision
Jenison saw that the Amiga could replace expensive broadcast gear:
| Traditional | Video Toaster |
|---|---|
| “gear normally costing $60,000” (Business Week) | $1,595 for the card and software |
| Room full of equipment | Single card + Amiga |
| Trained operators | Accessible interface |
| Broadcast facilities only | Small studios, homes |
He came to it from the Color Computer. When the Amiga launched, Jenison was at ColorWare building products for the eight-bit Tandy TRS-80 Color Computer, including CocoMax, “a very impressive MacPaint-like paint program”. He left, and started NewTek alone in a Topeka garage — a detail worth keeping against the later scale of the company.
He was chasing something before the Toaster, too. Images he circulated in early 1986 to promote NewTek’s forthcoming digitizer are described by Maher as “the first quality color photographic reproductions ever seen on an everyday PC screen”.
What It Enabled
The Video Toaster provided:
| Feature | Professional Use |
|---|---|
| Character generator | TV graphics, titles |
| Video switching | Multiple input mixing |
| Effects | Transitions, wipes |
| Chroma key | Green screen compositing |
| 3D (LightWave) | Animation, graphics |
Industry Transformation
Video Toaster appeared on:
- Babylon 5 - CGI on television budget
- SeaQuest DSV - Visual effects
- Local TV stations - News graphics nationwide
- MTV - Music video production
- Corporate video - Affordable production
LightWave 3D
Bundled with Video Toaster, LightWave became:
- Industry-standard 3D software
- Used on major film and TV productions
- Spun off as standalone product
- Still in use today
Entrepreneurial Approach
Jenison’s strategy:
- Price disruption - Undercut by 95%
- Integrated solution - Hardware + software
- Professional quality - Broadcast-legal output
- Accessible - Learnable by non-specialists
Legacy
Tim Jenison proved that professional creative tools didn’t need professional prices. The Video Toaster enabled a generation of producers, animators, and broadcasters to create content that would have been impossible otherwise. His democratisation of video production presaged the YouTube era by fifteen years.