AV-Card (with DV option) any comments?

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mim
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Joined: Apr 23 1999

Has anyone bought or heard anymore about this card reviewed in CV Feb '99 Page 32?

I'm looking for DV NLE first and foremost but
this one looked promising for its AV/DV ability against the more expensive DV Master.

If they have ironed out the batch capture issues, maybe it's worth another look?

I have a DV100 (with DVin/out), a PII 266, and just got hold of a couple of 9GB UW disks by the way, and want to take the plunge on my backlog of holiday vids. Been waiting for something stable and recommended for 6 months
nearly! Still life's too short hey?

Who ate all the pies?

bcrabtree
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Joined: Mar 7 1999

DV100 with in/out????

I didn't know there was such a thing.

I thought that it was DV-in only and that Pinnacle had given every buyer - all six of them - their money back.

Do check out whether Pinnacle is still offering some sort of buy-back/PX deal on the DV100.

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Bob C

mim
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Joined: Apr 23 1999

Oooops! Still a bit woozy with a cold.

Should have said NV-DX100 (Panasonic) with
both DV in/out pre-enabled.

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Who ate all the pies?

Who ate all the pies?

chris thomas
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Joined: Apr 23 1999

I too would be interested. There is only a tiny amount of information on Electronic-Design's website, and next to nothing on their UK distributer's, White Knight (who have not yet answered my email inquiry).

I'm considering purchasing it because of the built in SCSI interface, the three forms of video in and out (composite, S-VHS, DV), on card audio, and MediaStudio Pro 5.2.

A feature packed bundle for £1200, but I'm hoping that the price keeps steadily dropping.

Can anyone tell me exactly how useful the LANC controller will be, and where can I get some information on LANC enabled VCRs?

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Chris Thomas.

Chris Thomas. http://cptv.co.uk - over 30 minutes of streaming video to bore yourself with!

DVdoctor
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Joined: Apr 1 1999

Currently the NON Hardware codec market is pretty much a three way with DV300, DV Raptor and the Digital Origin system. I'd have to give the edge to the DV Raptor for its loop back of the analog to your Pc screen. If you are looking for a high end DV hardcodec solution, Fast DVmaster has a pretty long history and has been quite stable, the DV Rex is newer but seems to be working well also.
There are are only a few instances where a hardware codec is nice, and quite frankly the cost is hard to justify. I'd buy a Soft codec card and put the rest of the money towards a GDV-300. IT would give you the Analog in etc.
Firewire control of the transport if a much better option than using a lanc controller box
For the newer user I'd think twice about straying from the above list.
John Ferrick

chris thomas
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Joined: Apr 23 1999

I assume that the three cards you mention above are DV only. I really want a combined analogue/DV board (to be more accurate, an *everything* combined card), which is why I'd singled out the AV-Card as being a cheaper alternative than the DV-Rex (drool).

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Chris Thomas.

Chris Thomas. http://cptv.co.uk - over 30 minutes of streaming video to bore yourself with!

chris thomas
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Joined: Apr 23 1999

Well, I've now received the literature that I requested from White Knight, which does have more detailed information, and answer one of my questions: It's lowest compression is 2.1:1

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Chris Thomas.

Chris Thomas. http://cptv.co.uk - over 30 minutes of streaming video to bore yourself with!

DVdoctor
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Joined: Apr 1 1999

My recommendation would be similar:
I do not like systems take take DV input and then transcode it to M-Jpeg, I think it is simpler and much cleaner and better preforming to keep everything you are doing in the DV space.
So my recommendation is get a DV card and then use either a TRV900 or a GVD300 to convert the footage to DV. Since this is done from uncompressed analog to DV in one step you are only working with one compression scheme. Personally I think White KInights solution has too many compromises it was an approach that some early systems used and the results are mixed.
John Ferrick

chris thomas
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Joined: Apr 23 1999

Yike!
Point taken. I wasn't really aware that it would do that (recode the DV to MJPEG). I kind of assumed that I could mix and match DV and MJPEG in one project, and then output in either of those formats.

I'll have to re-think my options again.

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Chris Thomas.

Chris Thomas. http://cptv.co.uk - over 30 minutes of streaming video to bore yourself with!

mim
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Joined: Apr 23 1999

I am not set on the AV-Card by the way, but
should point out their claim about mixing
DV in the web blurb:

http://www.electronic-design.com/Produkte/AVCARDE.htm

If what they say is true, then surely there is no comprise with the MJPEG facility I think. Bear in mind many of us do not have TRV900s. My DX100 only appears to have AV out, so all my AV stuff remains marrooned without a hybrid package. Maybe I just have
to accept that. Can you advise further?

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Who ate all the pies?

Who ate all the pies?

chris thomas
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Joined: Apr 23 1999

Yes, they say:

"Should both analog and digital video be used in parallel, one of the two will be converted."

But which way? Will the analogue be converted to DV, or will the DV be converted to the AV-Card's MJpeg compression?

I'd also suggest re-reading the previous sentence to the one above:

"Thanks to this module, DV video signals can be recorded without loss, processed and reproduced."

In what context does that word 'processed' mean? Does it mean that the DV will be converted to MJpeg?

Anyway, I'm considering a TRV900, now. I'm off to surf Sony's website.

Chris Thomas. http://cptv.co.uk - over 30 minutes of streaming video to bore yourself with!

chris thomas
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Joined: Apr 23 1999

Ha!

(fx: slaps forehead)

Check out the December 1998 edition of Computer Video for a glowing review of the Sony TRV900.

Chris Thomas. http://cptv.co.uk - over 30 minutes of streaming video to bore yourself with!