RT2000 ...5 months later

[This_Idiot]

Hi Jeff,

Yep, I just got the news officially that the DV500 was released at the end of December - it wasn't that they'd left me out of the party, it looks as if the release crew got into top gear ahead of the PR crowd ! Full text over on the current news page.

I'm hoping to get my mitts on one in the next couple of weeks, although how well I'll be able to review it without a DV cam remains to be seen.

Onto installation woes. Matrox have been telling us here on the site for a Lonnnng time to always install onto a fresh system. Now like the rest of you, I thought this was largely a cop-out. Thing is, it cures 90% of all known first-date blues stone-dead (honestly). Occasionally I try a warm install just to keep myself in trim, because it's a great way of keeping that space between the ears properly exercised

It isn't just Matrox equipment that this applies to, Pinnacle also recommend it. Again, because I'm an obstinate sod I tried the hard route. I think I just about got away with it, but it took some lateral thinking.

The next great pitfall is failure to read the manual. I know, bloody obvious isn't it ? But I can assure you that after having had the pleasure of installing a DC30, that if I'd have followed my (fairly experienced) nose and chucked it into my spare PC without having taken a little time to read the manuals first, I would have come unstuck majorly inside of minutes !

OK, I'm no better than anyone else, the only reason that I read the manual is so that I could get a head start on the review.

I'll be contacting Canopus to see if they've got any review equipment that I can check out.

Cheers

Chris

[Stewman]

Installing onto a fresh system: Why,...well let me tell you, because of development time. Installing on a fresh system insures that your running the hardware in the same configuration they've tested it with (for the most part).

It's also *absolutely* true that other apps installed can cause problems with hardware/software that your installing, but there are SO many apps out there. Where do you draw the line? And when you do, someone is still going to complain. If nd when you get an RT2000, install it on a fresh system first and verify it works (if you don't have back-up software to accomplish this, then you shouldn't be doing video).

This is coming from a QA stand point. I can honestly agree with how some people feel, but at the same time, I want that hardware NOW!



------------------

[Jerry Jones]

I agree with the "fresh install"
bromide.

I think of Windows as the weak link.

You just have to be very careful about
what you download and what you install or
Windows will throw a fit.

I'll give one example of something that
made Corel Corporation hate Microsoft
big time earlier this year:

Turns out Microsoft's visual c++
programming libraries underwent some
radical change that had Corel Corporation
programmers crying foul.

Anybody running Word Perfect on Win 98 would get an MFC42.dll error or something similar
after loading any *newer* application,
particularly newer *Microsoft* applications
such as "PictureIt!"

A lot of Corel product users protested
to Corel. Corel put *huge* pressure
on Microsoft to issue a fix. And
Microsoft did issue a fix: "The
Microsoft Windows Library Update."

I've run into this problem myself at
least twice. Each time, I install
the "libraries update" and everything
is fixed. Ahhh, I can use WordPerfect 8
once again. Fortunately, it doesn't have
any affect on video applications.

Can you believe this stuff goes on???

[DrMordrid]

I can tell you from the standpoint of someone who has betaed products that to get reliable results you HAVE to start with a "clean" system at first. Then you add apps one at a time to see if something breaks. Usually the answer is no but once in a while there is "action".

To do this I have fresh-install backups (no display or capture drivers) of Win95OSR2, Win98Gold and Win98SE on CDR just for the purpose. These get swapped in and device drivers added for each new build, along with some other apps for testing. Once configured the "beta" OS's get backed up to CDRW so they can be updated. I back up my "normal" setup to the RAID before changing so it can be restored quickly.

The total turnaround time to change OS's is <10-20 min. Why not multiboot? Because I've had too many problems with my NT dualboot setup using boot managers. This way has been more stable.

It certainly does separate the wheat from the chaff when it comes to bugs. It also prevents my normal setup from getting trashed.

Dr. Mordrid



[This message has been edited by DrMordrid (edited 05 January 2000).]

[Jerry Jones]

Speaking of the C-Cube DVxplore chip,
what ever happened to ATI's big news
release:

http://www.ati.com/na/pages/corporat...1999/4224.html

[hippie91]

i send matrox an email a while back asking about the rt2k and amd, they said that is wouldn't work off-hand since it was made on intel and currently only works on intel chips, they also said that they'd heard how well the athalons were performing vs the pentiumIII's and that they were trying to get support for amd as soon as they could.

[jeff b]

I was just checking approved Mobo's and camcorders over on Matrox site yesterday, just to see what, exactly, one should have for the RT2000. Well, I guess my Asus P2b-f isn't on the list, nor is my Sony TRV900. And, of course, there's a BOLD statement that they can't be held responsible for any problems associated with hardware that isn't on their list...

I mean, HUH? A Sony TRV900? That's a bit much to take. I can see in their list of Sony camcorders, they've got some on their list that do capture, but don't write back to tape. What's up with that? Aren't all Sony DV and D8 camcorders using the exact same 'iLink'? Especially a newer model like the TRV900, which ain't cheap! And this is five months out from the announcement of the RT2000 'coming soon'.

I agree with everything that's been said advocating 'fresh installs'. We all know that it's a fact of life with NLE. Windows also will 'degrade' over time, in that it constantly changes things at every boot-up. I've got computers at work that, after a few months, have become so crapped up with Windows 'fixing' things that I can't believe the state they're in. It's all Windows, when we're talking about this necessity to do a 'clean install'.

So, given that the 'clean install' is understood and acknowledged as part of the whole process, what's up with this five month long wait, and the very short list of Mobo's that the thing is claimed to be okay on? And what's the story with the Sony camcorders?

Anyway, I'm not too worried about this. I expect that, sooner or later, the RT2000 will be released, and then the REAL beta testing can finally get underway. Once the cards have fallen, I'll be able to make an intelligent decision as to whether I ever buy one or not.

[harry]

About ATI Video Wonder, here what they said
"ATI constantly reviews its product lineup to ensure that our product mix
offers an excellent selection of products, features and price points. During
our recent review, we have decided to postpone the introduction of ATI-VIDEO
WONDER to the retail market. We will be re-evaluating this decision at the
end of January.

In the interim, ATI will continue to offer our existing award-winning line
of multimedia and graphics upgrades that offer the features and price points
demanded by our customers. We appreciate the interest you have shown in this
product and trust that our current multimedia product lineup meets your
needs."

Guess they want to sell their All-In-Wonder card during x-mass first....

harry

[Stewman]

Jeff B - No support for Sony 900?! Now THAT'S unacceptable!

[Jerry Jones]

Thanks, Harry!

Very interesting response from ATI.

I wonder what's up? Being slightly
suspicious... I wonder if they've
uncovered some 11th hour flaw in the
DVxplore chip?

That would be wild.