The Great DV Shootout 2003
Page 5 of 14
As for the talk of the outdated C-Cube chip on the Matrox and Pinnacle boards, yes the other two companies do use the chip, but Matrox has modified the C-Cube since its RT2500 days (last year), and that's what makes it able to output all those real time effects to DV tape in real time. Before, those effects required rendering before transferring back to DV tape in the RT2500. In fact, the RT.X100 doesn't use the C-Cube for playback or decoding any more, instead relying on the processor to calculate those conversions along with a new technique Matrox calls "TurboDV," using its Flex3D chip and the CPU together. This technique also enabled Matrox to use a higher quality codec and to also simplify its installation routine, in addition to letting users capture directly to MPEG2 from composite, Y/C (S-video) and DV. This results in a codec that's competitive with all of the others -- the companies may fight each other about whose codec is better, but I honestly couldn't see any quality difference between the three as far as compression was concerned, and I don't think the average user will, either, unless they put the footage through multiple recompressions and look at the resulting video on some high-end test equipment. Pinnacle has probably done less doctoring on its version of the C-Cube, judging from the diminished responsiveness I noticed with the Pro-ONE, but since the work these companies do with these chips is shrouded in secrecy, I'm not privy to the specific modifications each has done to its hardware components.
Canopus has a good thing going with its Scalable Technology Architecture, though. It's a wonderful thing to be able to update your hardware with a software download, although I wish the company wasn't charging $299 for it. But it gives users the ability to add another video layer to their work, so it's probably worth it for some specialized uses. I still think that if you're going to be creating that many layers, you'll probably want to opt for the sophistication and control of more advanced compositing software like Adobe After Effects, Discreet Combustion or Eyeon Digital Fusion, even if those apps do require extra rendering time.
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
Patrick Beaulieu, Pro-ONE Product Manager, Pinnacle Systems:Pinnacle Pro-ONE RTDV is the ultimate video editing and authoring system for the serious professional. Featuring truly incredible 3D video effects and comprehensive, real time editing capabilities, including real time analog and DV output, Pinnacle Pro-ONE RTDV allows you to quickly and intuitively get your ideas up on the screen where they belong.
Key features of the Pinnacle Pro-ONE RTDV are:
Pinnacle Pro-ONE RTDV comes with a great amount of additional software: Adobe Premiere 6.X, Pinnacle TitleDeko RT, Pinnacle Hollywood FX RT, Pinnacle Alpha Magic, Pinnacle DV Tools 2, Pinnacle Impression DVD 2.2 SE, SmartSound Quick Tracks, Media Cleaner EZ, Pinnacle T-Rex multimedia file, and Pinnacle Impression DVD SE.
Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Next
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
