Which Decoder?

[jliger99]

I currently have a Matrox G400 DH (non-Max), and I'm looking to get a decoder card for the video-in. Money IS an object in my case (a big fat hairy obnoxious object), so my choices are the following (as far as I know):

1. Hauppauge Model 401 WinTV-radio with dbx-TV stereo, FM radio and remote control

2. REALmagic Hollywood Plus DVD/MPEG-2 Playback/Decoder Card

Which of these two would be better for TV video editing (and/or are there any compatibility problems with either)?


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JLiger99

"There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact."
Sherlock Holmes - The Boscombe Valley Mystery

[Dr Mordrid]

You can also get the RainbowRunner-G MJPeg card for use with the G400DH. Because it uses hardware MJPeg it'll work with much lower spec'ed systems, which can justify its higher cost relative to the Hauppage cards if you don't have a fast processor. $149 USD here;

http://shop.matrox.com/usa/products/datasheet.asp?id=31

The Hauppage WinTV DBX 125 would be another excellent choice. You can get it for $83.95 at Buy.com;

http://www.us.buy.com/retail/product...006127&loc=101

The WinTV doesn't have a built-in capture codec. It captures uncompressed YUV, so getting a software capture codec to reduce the drive specs necessary for full frame video would be the first order of the day.

HuffYUV 2.1.1 (freeware) is perfect for maintaining the highest quality with PICVideo MJPeg (free also) running second because it can provide the smallest file sizes and still maintain good quality.

Because the WinTV had no hardware compression you'll need a moderately fast processor to use either HuffYUV or PICVideo for captures. I'd recommend at least a Celeron-II 633 or Duron 700.

Isn't the Hollywood Plus an output-only card? Not great for capturing....

Dr. Mordrid


[This message has been edited by Dr Mordrid (edited 18 October 2000).]

[Dr Mordrid]

Two things you might have a problem with:

1. You're overclocked. Many video capture cards don't like that.

2. Sounds like you only have one HD. You need a second HD for capturing and editing. This cannot be just a second partition of the main drive but a totally separate device. This is so Windows writing to the swapfile doesn't contend with video writes and reads.

At its standard 566mhz your system should be just fine for the RR-G addon, but a little light for YUV captures & softcodec use.

Dr. Mordrid

[jliger99]

I should have mentioned my system:

Celeron 566 @ 850
Asus P2B-B
128MB SDRAM
Matrox G400 DH
Diamond Monster Sound MX300
15G Maxtor Hard Drive
CD-ROM, CR-RW
Mouse, Modem, etc...

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JLiger99

"There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact."
Sherlock Holmes - The Boscombe Valley Mystery