Canopus DV Raptor Testimonial

[Rob Morris]

andrew,

In your experience with the DVExpress, did you observe the claim of decoding two MPEG2 streams simultaneously?
If so, what is the format after the decoding?
Is it YUY2 (similar to 422) which can then be rendered directly into a direct X overlay surface?

If so I bet some interesting 3-D effects are possible if used in conjuction with ELSA glasses.

[ScottV]

I've also recently acquired a DV camcorder and would like to know where to source a Raptor in the UK (cheapest supplier).

Does it work OK with MSP 5.2 and is it compatible with all camcorders. Do you have to load a codec onto the PC and is there a different one for Panasonic, Sony etc.

I would be capturing DV and then outputting to SVHS. Are you saying my Marvel G200 would be no good and I'd have to get a Marvel G400?

Also, if I want to output analogue does that mean I'd have to render the entire video to convert it from native DV to MJPEG?

Sorry for so many questions but I don't know much about DV. All I do know is that the RT2000 is out of my price range but £500 - £600 sounds a lot more reasonable.

Thanks.

[andrewh]

Grigory,

If you want to edit DV then clearly native DV is best (excluding highly interesting discussions on chroma-keying). I was arguing over the respective quality between RT2000 and ATI for editing analogue source.

ATI will do fine to encode for DVD type playback.

I agree with you that MPEG2 I-frame and MJPEG are pretty close together in quality and probably similar to DV at 25Mbits/s. However, DVexpress does support a frame accurate IP mode (Pinnacle uses this). I do not know if you get better quality for the kbyte. The theory says you should butin practice they still have to be able to encode in real-time so they have less cycles for super dooper motion estimation etc.

Any comments on this last point?

Andrew

[Jerry Jones]

One more thing I may not have
mentioned about the Canopus DV Raptor.

You know how you read these posts about
JVC MiniDV camcorders and how JVC
sometimes plays fast and loose with
DV implementation?

Well... my work camcorder is a
Sony DCR-VX1000... a three-chipper...
and the image quality is awesome.

My home camcorder is a one year old
model by JVC... the GR-DVM5U... one of
those tiny "upright" units with the
flip-out LCD screen.

Well... the Canopus DV Raptor immediately
established flawless deck control with
the JVC camcorder. Plus, batch capturing
is deadly accurate... right down to the
exact frame I specify in time code.

This Raptor product functions incredibly
well. Very reliable. I highly recommend
it.

[A_BIT]

Any reason to expect improved MediaStudio Pro stability using the Raptor over say a Marvel?

-Anthony

[Jerry Jones]

Yes... in the sense the DV Raptor
includes a software module called
"Raptor Video" that does all of the
capturing.

MediaStudio's "Video Capture" module is
not operative with the Canopus DV Raptor.

But I've found the Ulead "Video Editor,"
"CG Infinity," "Video Paint," and "Audio Editor" modules to be most stable with
the Canopus DV Raptor.

I believe the DV video format is easier
to work with than analog video that is
digitized by a card.

The image quality is superb.

[BrianP]

Well, I took the plunge and ordered a Raptor from Egghead last night. I'm looking forward to seeing how it performs. I will give a full account of my experience once it arrives.

[andrewh]

Rob,

Sorry, I cannot answer directly as we were not using it to output straight on the PC. We were playing with th evideo in another processor. Knowing the other machine, I assume that the output is equivalent of D2 (8-bit CCIR 601) which would be same as 422 at full resolution.

andrew

[Keith Wiebe]

I just ordered the Raptor from Egghead.com. I hate to say goodbye to the Rainbow Runne but hopefully it will solve my skipped field problem here and there. I'll keep everyone posted when it arrives. In the meantime my Mystique and RR is getting shipped up north to fix an s-video output problem and then it will be for sale.

[Jerry Jones]

I said 'goodbye' to my old
Rainbow Runner, too, Keith.

Wasn't easy as it had performed
quite well overall.

I just wanted to go DV... totally.

That mean switching out the trusty
Mystique for a newer ATI board because
the Mystique's MGA chipset did not
support overlay for the Canopus DV
Raptor.

Since installing the DV Raptor, I've
been editing with no trouble, no problems,
no headaches and noticeably higher
video quality with the DV video format.

I'm sold on DV. Canopus products work.
End of story.

Let's hope the Matrox RT2000 works right
out of the box as the Canopus DV Raptor
has.

I'll be watching.

[Brian Ellis]

Well done, Jerry.

How much commission does Canopus pay you for each guy on this thread who says he has ordered a Raptor?

It upsets me to see a competitive product pushed so hard on a forum which is meant to help guys with problems with Matrox products. You are hitting hard below the belt. Nobody objects to your buying a Raptor and mentioning it here, with your reported experience, but pushing it down our throats with all the commercialism you can summon up is NOT on the cards.

Please shut up.


------------------
Brian (the terrible)

[Grigory]

Brian,

The forum name is DeskTop Video. There is no word about:
1. Matrox specifically.
2. Competition between manufacturers.
3. Prohibitions to think and compare the products.

What I did before was changing RR_G to Raptor, just because I decided to DO this. Canopus was not involved in money spending decision as a sponsor.

If you take some time and look at Canopus forum, you will see questions, comparisons, going from Jerry frequently. Nobody asked him to stop comparisons with Matrox or with any other companies.

Take it easier. Future RT2000 <u>may be</u> definitely better than existing now DV Raptor. We all want to compare what is now and what is promised in future and decide what to do now: wait or buy.

Grigory

P.S. Can you even imagine that somebody can like a product not for salary, but only because it works? I am an example.