How to share the blue box of a G400 Marvel

[xixor]

I own a G400 Marvel. My father wants to do video editing too. We'd like to share the "blue box" of my Marvel. Is this possible. If, what video card is needed. (G400 dualhead?) Matrox Techline says not possible. Any tip or advise is highly appreciated. Thanks

[This_Idiot]

Well since a Matrox BOB (breakout box) will only connect to a Marvel (G200 or G400), there's no way that you can connect one to a G400 dualhead. More than this, the Marvel card itself contains the Zoran chipset that performs the hardware MJPEG compression that videotools etc relies on.

There are other capture cards/methods available, but they aren't likely to work out cheaper than the Marvel.

[xixor]

Thanks a lot for the clear advise. As G200 cards and RR modules are quite cheap to get in ebay. What about the quality with regard to video editing when using a used G200 and the RR set? thanks

[This_Idiot]

No different than with a G400, although you'll have the benefit of dual-head output with the latter. As well as the convenience of dual-head, it also allows you to preview incoming video on an external TV monitor to make sure that your colour/contrast/brilliance settings are right. I'd check out the price difference between G200 and G400DH models to see if you can go the extra mile.

Having said that, I've got a G200 Marvel in the machine that I'm using at the moment and it still does the business !

[xixor]

Thanks a lot for the quick reply!