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Real-Time Capture cards revisited

Videoguys' comprehensive review of the latest Real-Time capture cards. Includes our exclusive Real-Time Capture Card Comparison Matrix at the end of the article!!

 May 2001 updated version. This article was originally written and posted in January, and the first update was posted in March. In just two short months many of these products have had major improvements. The most important of which is the inclusion of the new Adobe Premiere 6 in the bundle!!

The first affordable real-time NLE cards on the market were the Pinnacle DC1000 & Canopus DV Rex w/ RexRT option. Back in the summer of 1999 they were introduced with a cost around $3,000. Back then, these cards were a huge bargain. Today you can get two real-time cards, the Matrox RT2000 & Pinnacle DV500 Plus, for under $1,000. Even cooler, these cards are more powerful, with more real-time features!

In this article I'm going to take a look at the hottest real-time cards on the market: Pinnacle DV500 Plus & DC1000DV, Matrox RT2500, Canopus DV Storm. I also have included 2 more expensive real-time cards that are aimed at serious video professionals. All three of these cards (DC2000DV & DVRex Professional) include betaCam (Component) video support. I'll list each cards main strengths, special features and bundled software. Please note: not all real-time cards have the same amount of real-time features. At the end of the article will be a comparison chart that lists each cards real-time capability side by side. Before I get into the specifics of each card, lets take a closer look at real-time NLE and why we feel it is so important.

Real-Time Productivity
The reason you want a real-time NLE card is for productivity. If you do not have to spend any time rendering, then you can get more work done in a given amount of time. This is the obvious advantage of real-time cards. What is not so obvious is how this increased productivity can make you a better, more creative editor.

The learning curve
Anyone can edit video; it's not very hard or complicated. You just pick each scene's in and out point, put them on the timeline, add the transitions/ FX / titles you want and then play it back. Pretty simple, but there is a BIG difference between editing a video and creating a video that look great and makes people want to watch it. To actually create great looking takes some skill and effort. Think of it as a craft. The more you do it, the better you will become. This is where a real-time card can really make a difference. If you stick to the real-time effects with your early projects, you will be able to tweak, and fine-tune your transitions / FX / titles without having to sit around waiting for them to render. This is a huge learning advantage. Since you don't spend any time waiting, you can spend more time experimenting. The more you experiment, the better an editor you will become!

Over the shoulder
Over the shoulder editing is a term used by professional editors to describe the situation when the producer / client is in the room. When the guy who writes the checks is looking over your shoulder while you make changes or add some new stuff, the last thing you and he want to do is stare at the hourglass on the VGA screen. What is less obvious is how many times even a home videographers is in an over the shoulder situation. Once you get into this, you are going to be showing off your work all the time. Many times the people you are showing your stuff to will have a good idea or suggestion. With a real-time system you can implement these ideas instantly. You can also take advantage of asking someone which way they like a certain sequence better. This is very important if you plan on doing any wedding or event videos. You need to make sure you give your customer what he wants quickly and easily. With a real-time card, you can create and edit on the fly, so if anyone is watching, they are seeing you in action, not killing time while the computer renders.

Just messin' around
This third creativity bonus of these real-time cards is actually a combination of the first two. With a real-time card, if you or an associate or a client can come up with a clever idea for a video, you can sit down and play with the concept in real-time. Tweaking here, adjusting their, playing with settings, etc. You can immediately view the results of your 'messin' around' on the TV or VGA screen. You don't have to waste time rendering, you can fully use the time you have for your creativity. If it's just 15 minutes or half the night, it doesn't matter. Every second was spent editing and being creative!!

OK, now that you can fully appreciate the power and productivity of real-time NLE, lets start talking about each card and what makes it so special!!

Before we get into the details on each card, lets talk about some of the very cool things that all of the cards in this review can do:
  1. Real-Time output on the VGA screen and a TV monitor via the included breakout box.
  2. Output MPEG2 video streams for DVD authoring. This feature is going to become very important this spring, when the cost of a DVD burner drops below $1,000. That's right, we'll be carrying a new DVD burner from Pioneer that will cost you under $1,000!! Even cooler, the cost of DVD media will drop to under $10 each when you buy it in 5 Packs.
  3. Certified & Optimized for Premiere 6. All the cards in this article now come with Premiere 6. They are certified by Adobe for Premiere 6 and they integrate extremely well with it. Premiere 6 is a major upgrade from 5.1. You get a lot of cool new features and capabilities. Here are my top new features in Premiere 6:

    1. My favorite new Premiere 6 features is the storyboard editor with automate to timeline function. This lets you create your video using a storyboard. You can trim the in and out point for each scene. Then, with a simple click of the mouse your stroyboard is exported to the titmeline. Even cooler you can automatically insert the transition of your choice. I use a real-time cross dissolve, so my initial project is always real-time!
    2. The real-time audio mixer is super cool. This allows you to set the levels for each soundtrack while the video plays. You can even have Premiere record all your settings as you go, then use these new levels for future playback!
    3. Premeire 6 does a great job letting you see exactly what your setting are. The View Settings feature shows you all your settings for the project, capture, clips and export. This is very important for your real-time editing system. For full real-time capabilities, you need all these settings to be correct and identical.
    4. In addition you also get a bunch of bonus software. My favorite of these is SmartSound Quicktracks. With Quicktracks you can easily create your own custom soundtracks for your video. You can buy additional libraries of music called Palettes to expand your capabilities. Other bonus software included with Premiere 6 is TitleDeko, TitleXpress and Media Cleaner EZ!


The DV500 Plus at $699.95 is a tremendous value and the lowest cost real-time card in the world! The card will run on all of the current Windows operating systems, including Win2K & NT. The DV500 Plus integrates fully with Premiere 6. One of my favorite new tools is the real-time audio mixer. It allows you to set your audio levels individually for each track, just like in a production studio.

On the real-time side, you get the tools you need the most; dissolves, titling, wipes and color correction filters. You also get a bunch of Alpha Magic transitions, which the DV500 Plus can apply in real-time. If you find you like adding these transitions, get yourself the SpiceMaster. Now you'll have complete control over them. The real-time color correction is also very cool. I'm constantly getting great shots that have lighting problems. With the color corrector filter I can fix most of these up quickly and easily.

You also get a ton of really cool software along with your real-time functionality. I think TitleDekoRT is the best NLE titler around. Super easy to use and the titles look great. With the new take to video option you can preview your title superimposed over the video on your TV in real-time.

While the Hollywood FX software isn't real-time, it is a great tool for adding some really amazing 3D animated transitions. While the supplied HFX Copper is a treat, you'll find the $100 upgrade to Bronze to be a great investment. In addition to more effects w/ multiple video layers, you get a very powerful keyframer.

DV500 Specs | Videoguys' hands on review |I want one!!

At under $1,000 the RT2500 is simply the worlds coolest and fastest 3D transition & FX solution. You get Organic Wipes, 3D page peels, 2D & 3D DVEs, Flying PIPs, Distortion, 3D Tiles and Particle FX all in real-time. Once you get a chance to play with the real-time keyframer, your productions will never be the same. Having that much power at your fingertips with no rendering will have you creating fantastic 3D FX and video sequences.

The TitleXpress software does a very good job for titling, plus the RT2000 gives you the ability to apply any of its real-time transitions to them in real-time. I like applying a page peel to my titles, and then have them flutter off the page, all in real-time! Another of my favorite RT2500 titling tricks is to use one of the real-time particle transitions to make my titles explode into hundreds of little pieces.

Since you can use the real-time 3D FX as transitions or filters, the RT2000 is great for making photomontages and other video sequences that involve multiple graphic images and video. Especially since you can layer 2 tracks of video PLUS a graphic layer in real-time.

MegaPack 3 includes Win 2K support, all new Media Tools to Scan and Capture your footage in a single pass, support for the Premiere 6 audio mixer, 60 Premiere 6 transitions that are now in real-time, real-time colorization filter, real-time cropping, plus even more cool real-time 3D transitions and FX.

RT2500 Specs | Videoguys' hands on review OF THE rt2000 |I want one!!

When it was first introduced in 1999 for $3,000 I thought this card was terrific! Now you get the DV option, Hollywood FX Copper, TitleDeko, Spices, and more for $1,299!! You can input and output analog & DV footage in real-time. You can even lower the bit rate of your compression to maximize your disk space while sacrificing very little video quality and still output in real-time! You get real-time color correction and filters. This is simply an amazing value, especially if you plan on making DVDs. The DC1000 now includes an amazing new feature Pinnacle added to the power of this card, Direct IBP.

Direct IBP lets you capture and edit and output your video as MPEG2 files that are ready for DVD authoring. DC1000DV and its big brother the DC2000DV are the only cards I know of for under $10,000 that let you fully edit MPEG2 video using Adobe Premiere and it's full accompaniment of features, FX, and plug-ins. This technology is so cool that you may be able to export your MPEG2 video from the timeline faster then real-time! That's right, faster. This depends on how much filters, FX and other goodies you put into your video. But even if your production is loaded, the DC1000DV can spit out MPEG2 faster then any other card on the market.

DC1000DV Specs | Videoguys' hands on review |I want one!!

When Canopus introduced the RT option for their DV Rex card we were given a look at the future of real-time video editing. With the DV Storm Canopus is now delivering this power at a price that is within most prosumer digital videographer's budget, $1699. They have also enabled their scalable technology to work on a single PIII 800 or faster CPU.

The scalable power of the Canopus technology means that the more CPU power you give the DV StORm, the more powerful it's real-time capabilities become. With a single CPU you can add a single 2 or 3 second real-time effect, transition or filter. With dual CPUs you can unlock the full power of the card. Multiple real-time transitions and filters with significantly longer durations.

What the DV Storm lacks in cool real-time 3D FX, it makes up for with pure NLE power, especially in a dual CPU system using the Storm Edit NLE app. The real-time filters will allow you to manipulate your video footage much like you can an image in Photoshop. The real-time PIP engine means you can have multiple graphics and video layers flying on and off the screen. The real-time chroma-keying looks great with crisp, clean edges. Combine all this real-time power with the simplicity and productivity of Storm Edit and you have one heck of an NLE system. Of course, you can also use all the real-time FX and filters inside Premiere if you want to. With the DV Storm, the choice is yours!

DV Storm Specs |I want one!!

What do you do if you need to handle DV, S-video and component video in real-time? You get the DC2000DV. Based on the same hardware found in the DC1000DV, you get all the same great features plus component video and balanced audio. The bundle gets a little sweeter with HFX Bronze and Stream Anywhere. The main reason to buy this card is if you need component video. The DC2000DV has more then just component I/O, it include Pipelines software for frame accurate device control of your Beta Cam devices.

Since the DC2000DV uses very efficient MPEG2 compression it requires a fraction of the disk space and storage throughput to handle component video. Trying to get the same real-time features with component video will cost you twice as much for any other board and it's required video storage. Combine the Direct IBP technology with component video means you have a fully functional DVD authoring solution for your Beta Cam gear.

DC2000DV Specs |I want one!!

When you create such solid and stable hardware as Canopus does, you are going to get asked to produce even higher end products. Canopus heard these requests and they have delivered. The RexRT Pro is the next generation of the MegaRex bundle. First they combined the next generation DV rex card with the RexRT and real-time MPEG options on a single card. Then they added support for component video, balanced audio and included a rack mountable professional breakout box.

If you need to combine native DV and component video at the highest possible quality the RexRT Pro is what you have been looking for. It comes with both Premiere and Rex Edit NLE apps. While Premiere has more bells and whistles, Rex Edit is one of the easiest to use, productive NLE applications ever. RexRT Pro gives you both. So no matter what the job is, you have the tools you need to get it done right!

DV Rex Pro Specs |I want one!!


Videoguys' Real-Time comparison Matrix (May 2001 update)
Brand Pinnacle Matrox Pinnacle Canopus Pinnacle Canopus
Model # DV500PLUS RT2500 DC1000DV DV Storm DC2000DV Rex RT Pro
Our Price  $       699.95  $       899.95  $    1,199.00  $    1,499.00  $    1,995.00  $    3,995.00
Real-Time Output
Analog Breakout Box X X X X X X
DV / FireWire     X X X X
Component         X X
Real-Time FX
Dissolves & 2D wipes X X X X X X
Page Curl HFX not real-time X HFX not real-time soft Xplode not real-time HFX not real-time soft Xplode not real-time
PIP HFX not real-time X HFX not real-time X HFX not real-time X
3D Transitions HFX not real-time X HFX not real-time soft Xplode not real-time HFX not real-time soft Xplode not real-time
Chrome Keying       X   X
Keyframable real-time FX   X   X   X
Real-Time Cropping   X   X   X
Real-Time Titling
Static Titles X X X X X X
TV Preview X          
Moving Titles   X   X   X
Real-Time Filters
Basic color correction & filters X X X X X X
Advanced image processing       X   X
Premiere 6 Optimization
Adobe Certified X X X X X X
Real-Time Audio Mixer X X X X X Next Driver realease
Real-Time Premiere FX   60        
MPEG Output
MPEG1       X    
MPEG2 X X X X X X
MPEG2 real-time     X MPEG option X X
Bundled Software
NLE Software Premiere 6 Premiere 6 Premiere 6 Premiere 6 Premiere 6 Premiere 6
        Storm Edit   Rex Edit
Titler TitleDekoRT TitleXpress TitleDekoRT Graffit Ltd TitleDekoRT Graffit Ltd
3D FX Software HFX Copper Flex 3D HFX Copper Boris Factory & Soft Xplode HFX Bronze Boris Factory &Soft Xplode
Audio Software QuickTracks Acid, Quicktracks Acid Acid, Quicktracks Acid Acid
DVD Authoring Impressions DVDit! Impressions SpruceUp Impressions SpruceUp
System Requirements
Processor PIII 500+ PIII 500+ PIII 500+ PIII 800+, Dual Processor PIII 500+ Dual PIII 800+
OS Win 2K, NT, 98se, ME Win ME & 2K Win 2K, NT, 98se, ME Win 2K, NT, 98se, ME Win 2K, NT, 98se, ME Win 2K, NT
RAM 128/256 for Win2K 128/256 for Win2K 128/256 for Win2K 256 128/256 for Win2K 256
Storage ATA100 or EIDE Raid ATA100 or EIDE Raid ATA100 or EIDE Raid ATA100 or EIDE Raid ATA100 or EIDE Raid ATA100 or EIDE Raid


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