Question Regarding Marvel/RR rebate options

[moreau]

One of the options is for the Ulead software.

1. The software is Win2K compatible, and claims to be compatible with the Matrox Hardware. See:
http://www.ulead.com/vs/compare.htm
and
http://www.ulead.com/vs/capcards.htm
2. Does this product explicitly or implicitly claim to support MJPEG hardware capture in Win98 or Win2K?
3. Does it allow compressed captures through a software codec of our choosing? If so, which ones?
4. If anyone could elaborate on the state of YUY2 capture for RR-G users with this, or any, capture software, please do so.

Respectfully,
Charles

[Dr Mordrid]

Hi,

VideoStudio and MSPro support whatever system codecs are installed. I use a load of 'em ranging from HuffYUV, PICVideo and Morgan MJPeg, DivX, M$'s MPEG-4's, Cinepak, Indeo etc. etc. Basically: whatever Windows exposes in terms of rendering from the timeline.

For capture the codec itself has to support capture, but if if does and it is available for rendering you can usually capture to it given proper hardware support for an uncompressed format like YUY2 or RGB.

If this is present the capture codec list typically includes MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 (internal support) and installed codecs like PICVideo, Morgan, HuffYUV, DivX, M$ MPEG-4 etc.

IF either VS or MSPro has the DVD Plugin installed the quality of the MPEG-1/2 captures goes up considerably.

IF the card supports them VS and MSP can also capture uncompressed YUY2 or RGB, either "straight" or HuffYUV encoded. YUY2 works better.

Hardware MJPeg capture in any OS is supported IF THE CARD & DRIVERS SUPPORT IT. This means there is no special advantage in Win2K for Marvel/RRG users. It's up to the card and its drivers.

The eTV works very nicely for alternate codec capture as it has YUY2 exposed in its drivers using both Win9x and Win2K without the hacks necessary for the Marvel/RRG.

Software MJPeg capture using an alternate compressor like PICVideo or Morgan is also possible and actually PREFERRABLE to the Zoran/Morgan hardware in many ways.

These range from higher initial quality because of the availability of higher data rates (5-7 mb/s max vs. 3.x with Zoran) to higher quality after recompression. Recompression defects have always been a problem with the Zoran codec. With PICVideo or Morgan they are less so.

ON_SOAPBOX

IMHO "someone" should have bundled a soft-MJPeg capture codec with YUY2 active in their drivers long ago for this reason alone. It should have also been a no-cost part of the rebate plan.

OFF_SOAPBOX

Just remember that Haig & his guys are out of the loop when it comes to making those decisions, so b****ing at/about them is *totally* pointless. It's the marketing and project manager types who usually gum up the works.

Dr. Mordrid


[This message has been edited by Dr Mordrid (edited 19 June 2001).]

[moreau]

Thank you, Dr.

So, the hardware capture is not available, even through third party software, as the driver supplied for the card doesn't make that available. That is certainly logical.

So, as a RR-G user, my options are limited to RGB capture under win2K in the drivers. Therefore certainly I can capture RGB through a third party software like VS or MSP.

Would VS with DVD or Premiere 6 with a DVD plug-in allow me to, say, capture RGB and compress in MPEG-2 on the fly (real-time)? Is this an avenue that would be recommended?

Thank you,
Charles

[This message has been edited by moreau (edited 19 June 2001).]

[Dr Mordrid]

It's much easier to capture YUY2 and compress it to MPEG on the fly, but RGB is doable in both VS, VS5 and MSPro given enough CPU horsepower.

However, I'd probably spend the upgrade dough on a YUY2 capable card. YUY2 can also be captured in larger formats with cards like the eTV. 704x480 full frame vs. 640x480 for RGB.

Dr. Mordrid




[This message has been edited by Dr Mordrid (edited 19 June 2001).]

[moreau]

Surprisingly, given all that has happened here, I'm still considering a G450 etv. My biggest holdup right now is concern that a G550etv may be in the works. I don't wish to pay a premium for the G450 if it will be replaced.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2"> It's much easier to capture YUY2 and compress it to MPEG on the fly, but RGB is doable in both VS, VS5 and MSPro given enough CPU horsepower. </font>

Presumably, then, the same statement applies to Premiere 6?
Has anyone been able to say definitively that YUY2 cannot be enabled through the registry on the RR-G?

After all, someone indicated that the RR and marvel cards actually use YUY2 to digitize, then use a codec (hard or soft) to compress.

Any thoughts from the community?

respectfully,
Charles

[This message has been edited by moreau (edited 20 June 2001).]

[This message has been edited by moreau (edited 20 June 2001).]

[moreau]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">Has anyone been able to say definitively that YUY2 cannot be enabled through the registry on the RR-G?
</font>

I suppose that question will have to wait until the last driver release for Win2K comes out. If all code relevent to YUY2 capture is removed from the driver, then I suppose no hacking will enable it.

This probably answers my own question, though I'd like to hear the thoughts of others.

Charles