Buyer's Guide: Uncompressed Video Capture Cards
Take a look at this table of uncompressed video capture cards for Mac and PC.
Click on a product name on the left and you'll see detailed information about each card.
The product manufacturers' Web sites can be reached by clicking on a company's name on the right.
| Product | Platform | Streams | High-Definition? | Bits per channel | Price (starts at) | Manufacturer |
| Deepblue LT | Win | Single Stream, output only | No | 10 bits | $1495 | bluefish444 |
| Iridium SD | Mac | Single stream, output only | No | 10 bits | $1695 | Digital Voodoo |
| Deepblue SD | Win | Single Stream, output only | No | 10 bits | $1695 | bluefish444 |
| Iridium AV | Mac | Single stream, output only | No | 10 bits | $1995 | Digital Voodoo |
| IgniterRT Base | Mac | Single Stream | No | 8 bits | $1999 | Aurora Video Systems |
| Iridium AD | Mac | Single stream, output only | No | 10 bits | $2495 | Digital Voodoo |
| dpsVelocity | Win | Single-stream uncompressed | No | 8-bit | $2849 | Leitch Post Production |
| Deepblue AV | Win | Single Stream, output only | No | 10 bits | $2495 | bluefish444 |
| VideoPump D1 | Windows NT or 2000 | Single Stream | No | 8 or 10 bits | $2995 | optibase |
| Video Toaster [2] | Windows 2000 | Numerous (depending on host computer) | No | 8 bits | $2995 | NewTek |
| KONA-SD | Mac | Dual stream | No | 10 bits | $3295 | AJA Video Systems |
| D164RT | Mac | Single stream | No | 10 bits | $3495 | Digital Voodoo |
| Wildblue AV | Win | Single Stream | No | 10 bits | $3495 | bluefish444 |
| D1 64 | Mac | Single Stream | No | 10 bits | $3995 | Digital Voodoo |
| Deepblue I/O | Win | Single Stream | No | 10 bits | $3995 | bluefish444 |
| Wildblue HD | Win | Single Stream | Yes | 10 bits | $3995 | bluefish444 |
| IgniterRT Component | Mac | Single Stream | No | 10 bits | $3999 | Aurora Video Systems |
| Compound | Mac | Single Stream | No | 10 bits | $4495 | Digital Voodoo |
| IgniterRT SDI | Mac | Single Stream | No | 8 bits | $4999 | Aurora Video Systems |
| CinéWave | Mac | Up to 4 layers of video | Optional | 8/16 bits | $5495 | Pinnacle Systems |
| Zenith | Mac | Single stream | No | 10 bits | $5695 | Digital Voodoo |
| Targa 3000 | Windows NT or Windows 2000 | Up to 3 layers of video & 8 graphics/effects | Future | 8 bits | $5995 | Pinnacle Systems |
| Dual Zenith | Mac | Single stream, output only | No | 10 bits | $5995 | Digital Voodoo |
| Iridium HD | Mac | Single stream, output only | Yes | 10 bits | $6995 | Digital Voodoo |
| Deepblue HD | Win | Single stream, output only | Yes | 10 bits | $7995 | bluefish444 |
| Iridium HDXP | Mac | Single stream, output only | Yes | 10 bits | $7995 | Digital Voodoo |
| Deepblue HDS | Win | Single stream, output only | Yes | 10 bits | $7995 | bluefish444 |
| IgniterRT Studio | Mac | Single Stream | No | 8 bits | $7999 | Aurora Video Systems |
| dpsQuattrus (shipping this summer) |
Win | Four streams | No | 8 bits | $9999 | Leitch Post Production |
| VideoPump HD | Win NT or 2000 | Single Stream | Yes | 8 or 10 bits | $9995 | optibase |
| KONA-HD (available in 6 weeks) | Mac | Single Stream | Yes | 10 bits | $10,995 | AJA Video Systems |
| HD Fury | Mac | Single Stream | Yes | 10 bits | $11,995 | Digital Voodoo |
Output-only boards are intended for animators and motion graphics creators. Conceivably, they might also be used in edit bays linked via high-speed networks to centralized storage.
The number of bits per video channel determines the number of colors that the board can produce. 10-bit boards carry an extra 2 bits of information about each color channel, which means that 10-bit boards can display 64 times the number of color combinations that an 8-bit board can produce. In practical terms, this means that 10-bit boards are capable of displaying smoother color ramps that display less banding.
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