New VTs released

[This_Idiot]

Matrox have just announced the release of new videotools for Win9x (1.54.040) and NT4 (1.53.053).

There are also new bios' for both G200 and G400 based boards.

There are no release notes as yet, I'll let you know as soon as I know....
http://www.matrox.com/mga/drivers/la...ivers/home.htm http://www.matrox.com/mga/drivers/bios/home2.htm

[This_Idiot]

OK, not official but here's some clues to the effects of the new VTs :
essentially the main changes are optimized capture features, a frequency scanner for
Europeans and bug fixes.

All of you get testing !

[MarkD]

Apparently Matrox has been doing something the last few months... ;-)

Another observation: the link to the TurboGL 1.30 driver now contains the title:
Windows 98 Millennium and Marvel G400 TurboGL driver
although in the lastest drivers list for the Marvel they still point to the 1.00 version.

I bet the 1.30 TGl should work...

[Phire]

Is the BIOS update supposed to work for Marvel G400-TV also?

[This_Idiot]

Phire,

I haven't received the official release notes yet, but my understanding is that the bios update is only pertinent to Gxxx cards in OEM machines. These aren't necessary for retail cards.

Personally I'd never blow a bios unless I had a damned good reason for doing so (IE knowing that it fixed a particular problem that I was suffering).

[Jack Hearn]

Someone please tell me that my DVD module will work now with these new drivers.

Jack

[This_Idiot]

Well they're video tools not drivers.

What's up with your DVD ?

[Jack Hearn]

The Matrox DVD hardware module will only work with the 4.33 display drivers date April 99.

Matrox released both display and video tool drivers today. I was hoping the DVD module would now work with drivers less than a year old.

Jack

[Robin]

I've just installed the new Video Tools (with the 5.55 driver) and noticed that the TV tuner sometimes has troubles tuning when switching channels. I'm getting static for 2/3 sec and then get the channel. Anyone else noticed it?

btw. Stitching back to the 1.52 vid tools (while keeping the 5.55 drive) fixes the problem

SYSTEM: PII 350, 128Mb mem, Marvel G400 PAL BG

[This message has been edited by Robin (edited 20 May 2000).]

[Wyntha]

I'm trying the new tools too and to be honest it's difficult to see what's new in terms of features. I still get inferior quality in both normal and full screen mode compared to Win-TV. Picture too soft, not sharp and slightly out of focus. With this version I'm getting unstable picture on left and right sides of picture from TV-Tuner.

[J1NG]

To Jack Hearn,

Good news, I have managed to get the DVD module working with the new Video Tools and PowerDesk 5.52. They don't work with PowerDesk 5.55 so don't use them.

[Jack Hearn]

J1ng,
Anything special I need to know before I start changing drivers?

Jack

[Slugbait]

OK, cool. But before I abandon 4.33 and the original version of VT, does this new release support PCI soundcards? Meaning, is the volume control for PC-VCR still moronicly hooked into the master volume, or did they go back to the original super-duper idea of hooking into Line In?

I will not upgrade to something that downgrades my system's capabilities.

[J1NG]

Slugbait,

Unfortunately, the volume control in the new Video Tools are still hooked to the Master volume. So if you don't like this, stick with your current setup.

Jack Hearn,

Hmmm, all I did was uninstall the previous matrox devices and then installed the new ones, so there's nothing special about it.

[Slugbait]

Well that sucks. Looks like I won't be upgrading to a G400 Marvel anytime soon. Now I just need to get me an 8-meg expansion card for higher rez...cuz I'm thinking about a new monitor.

It just surprises me that no one else has complained about this limitation Matrox introduced in newer versions of VT.