Chris! need your help to post some Marvel G400 shots

[Elie]

I was given the green light to post some jpg shots of clips captured with the Marvel G400 from my Camcorder.

Would you like those shots in bmp or JPG format?
And should I ftp them to the ftp server?

Regards,
Elie

[Ant]

You can use the MURC ftp server now at ftp.matroxusers.com

[Elie]

Thanks Ant we'll do.
And I'll let you know when the files are there.

I also have a 6 mb MPEG file too.

Regards,
Elie

[This_Idiot]

Hi Elie,

Glad you got sorted out with Ant. I guess JPGs will be quicker for folk to download if you can keep a quality you are happier with.

As far as the MPEG goes, I suggest that you ftp it up to the Vid Showcase server and I can link to it there. Server details are on the first page in the Video Showcase subweb.

Cheers

Chris

[Elie]

Hi Ant & Chris,

Ant, as you suggested I uploaded some jpegs to ftp.matroxusers.com under a directory called "New Folder (2)" and the files are called Marvel G400x where the x represents the number of the file.

Chris, I'm currently uploading an mpeg clip to the avi showcase ftp server as you requested, the file is called Marvel G400.mpg

What your gonna see here is obvious.
The colours are simply amazing nothing is washed out.
I wish i can upload the actual mjpeg clip but I guess it's a tad large
I captured this footage using my XL1 and playback was simply stunning, though the jpegs and the mpeg files will not show what the Marvel G400 can truly do but it's a good example.

Regards,
Elie

[ScottV]

Elie,

I thought the video capture hardware on the G400 was identical to the G200.

Are you saying that it's been improved?

[Elie]

Hi Scott,

The data rates are the same, however the colours are much more vibrant and crisper,
nothing is washed out.

Check out ftp://ftp.matroxusers.com and click on the folder (new folder 2)
I have a whole bunch of screen shots though a bit blurry you'l still be able to see the difference.
I also now have an MPEG clip on Chris's avi showcase site.

Cheers,
Elie

[This_Idiot]

Hi Elie,

I didn't forget, I will be putting the link up on the news later tonight. Boy, is that a big file ?

For those that can't wait, you can (hopefully) download Elie's MPG from
http://216.15.144.49/Marvel%20G400.mpg

But be warned, it is nearly 7Mb !

Can't wait to see it myself.

[Elie]

Ok, I guess I'm being a bit too selfish in a way

I have a cable modem rated at 2mbps and forgot all about the agony of downloading large files using my 4 year old 288 kbps modem.

Soooo what I'll do is try to make an ASF version of it so it'll bring the file down to aprox 2 mb.

Chris, I'll let you know what happens.
Sorry for the large file

Regards,
Elie

[This_Idiot]

Hey Elie,

We appreciate the time you put into this.

If ASF doesn't give the required quality then don't bother, this vid is all about quality !

Besides, it ain't my filestore !

[wizz]

Hey Elie,

Well finally got time to watch the vid, I'm well impressed, the whole thing looks much better than what i get with my Marvel G200, i even use professional mini DV cameras at times and i don't get that type of quality. I may just get the G400, the only problem is that i'm thinking of going full DV instead of analogue which means the RT2000.

Oh yeah, nice to see someone else doing straight cuts with their editing instead of using so many transitions e.t.c. I have a few very good friends who are Editors and boy do they frown on using so many special effects.

Tony

[This message has been edited by wizz (edited 18 October 1999).]

[ScottV]

Elie,

I agree. The vid looks really impressive but I don't understand why. What's changed from a technical (hardware) point of view?

[DaddyBay]

Could it be that the reason the RR cannot be found for sale anywhere is that Matrox is revamping them to give the same quality results as the G400 Marvel?

[Elie]

Hi Guys,

I'm happy you like the quality

I can't speak on behalf of Matrox(Haig please correct me if I'm wrong) but it has something to do with the new generation Maven TV out chip producing much cleaner more vibrant colour output.
Like I said the Mpeg clip still doesn't even come close to my MJPEG clip

Tony,
I used to do many transitions until a producer once told me that too many transitions take people's attention from the actual story and could do more harm that good.

Though transition like cross fade's come in handy which I use often to precieve the passage of time.

I used my XL1 to shoot that by the way and I can tell you after I capture and playback the clip the normal viewer couldn't tell the difference.

Here's a tip for everyone...

"As long as your original video is clean and crisp the end results is going to be ruffly the same"

Regards,
Elie

[Sven]

Elie,

thanks for putting the clip and stills online. It gives me good understanding what kind of quality to expect when upgrading my G40032MB DH with a RR-G.

I have some questions, though:

What you're saying in your last message sounds like "garbage in, garbage out". Would you say that you need a 3CCD camcorder like the XL1 to get the level of quality of this clip? I would expect the quality to be lost in the MPEG transcoding process anyway, and you hint at that, too.

I don't yet have a camera, and my main application for the videos will be clips to be transferred onto CD-ROM for presentations. Additionally, I'd like to experiment with web streaming.

The second thing I am wondering about is the quality of the stills compared to the picture you get when pausing MPEG playback of your clip. Are the JPEG stills downscaled from the full-res MJPEG? They look much smoother and have much less DCT blocking artifacts than the frames of the MPEG clip.

One last thing: Is the quality from a G400+RR-G the same as from a Marvel G400? I always thought the hardware would be the same.

Regards,
Sven