RasterOps
| Company type | Private (employee-owned until 1992) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Digital video processing hardware |
| Founded | 1987 |
| Founder | 29 ex-employees of AT&T's Electronic Photography and Imaging Center (EPICenter) |
| Fate | Acquired by RasterOps Corporation in 1992; later acquired by Pinnacle Systems in 1999 |
| Headquarters | Indianapolis , United States |
Key people | Joseph Haaf (VP Sales and Marketing), Carl Calabria (VP Engineering), Cathleen Asch (VP Administration and Accounting) |
| Products | Digital video processing expansion cards, including TARGA videographics cards and TARGA 2000 board |
Truevision, Inc. specialized in manufacturing digital video processing expansion cards for personal computers. The company was established by 29 ex-employees of AT&T's Electronic Photography and Imaging Center (EPICenter) following its shutdown in 1987. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, Truevision was purchased in 1992 by RasterOps Corporation, a graphics card manufacturer located in Santa Clara, California. Following the acquisition, RasterOps adopted the Truevision brand name and maintained the Indianapolis-based engineering team, which continued to innovate advanced products until 1999. That year, Truevision was acquired by rival Pinnacle Systems. Subsequently, Pinnacle itself became part of Avid Technology, which utilized Truevision’s AT-Vista technology during its initial development phase.
History
The early management of Truevision was structured as a leadership trio: Joseph Haaf served as Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Carl Calabria as Vice President of Engineering, and Cathleen Asch as Vice President of Administration and Accounting, with each executive holding equal voting rights. The firm remained under employee ownership until it was acquired by RasterOps in 1992.
Emerging from AT&T’s EPICenter with products such as the ICB (image capture board) still-frame grabbers, Truevision was a pioneer in desktop digital video editing through the introduction of the TARGA videographics card in 1987. The company’s engineering team developed custom ASICs that supported real-time live video manipulation, culminating in the 1998 release of the TARGA 2000 board featuring memory-focused HUB chips. This design enabled third-party developers—particularly Japanese corporations like Sony and Matsushita—to integrate TARGA technology into their professional video editing systems.