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The Desk Top Video Handbook On Line ver 9.5
Here it is, the article you've all been waiting for!! A comprehensive side by side comparison of the latest and greatest technology. Before we go any further, I want to make one point perfectly clear. ALL the DV/FireWire cards reviewed in this article work great, and they all deliver the identical video quality. So you should base your purchase decision based on the overall bundle, added utilities and features, and compatability to your existing computer system. |
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1999 has just begun and one thing has become very clear to me. FireWire is overtaking over the industry. Over half of the video capture cards we now sell are DV/FireWire capable, by year end I think this number will reach 75%. The reason for this is obvious – incredible video quality, lossless non linear editing, inexpensive DV capture cards and most importantly, plummeting computer costs.
For under $5000 you can buy a DV cam, Pentium PII400 computer, DV capture card, NLE software and enough storage for over an hour of video. Want to hear something even more amazing? The video quality of your final video will be identical to the original footage. That's right, identical. Since the video is transferred to and from the hard drive as a digital stream of data, there is no generation loss. There is also no compression loss, because the video is compressed by the camcorder itselfAll of the cards I reviewed in this article worked great and delivered the identical video quality (which of course makes sense, since DV video is identical to the source footage). . In short, DV/FireWire is simply the videographers dream come true. So if you are planning on getting a new camcorder this year, do not even think about Hi8 or SVHS, DV is the only way to go. DV is the future and the future is now!!
To make this article as useful as possible, I have broken it down into into 5 sections.
| Special Note: I use the term FireWire to describe the transfer of DV data via an IEEE1394 connection. Not all DV cams support FireWire and several claim to have FireWire but do not implement it in a useful method for NLE. That is why I've added the DV cam section to the end of this article. In addition, in late 1998 Apple and Sony got into a squabble about who invented IEEE1394 and what it should be called. Sony has gone to the term iLink, Apple still uses FireWire. I will continue to use the term FireWire. I don't really care what you call it or who invented it, the bottom line is that it is great!! |
The new bundle, for under $400 includes the Digital Origin DV hardware, PhotoDV for still image grabbing, MotoDV for full motion and Premiere 5.1 LE. Not a bad bundle, especially if you're on a tight budget. When you get more familiar with NLE and want to upgrade, you get two choices!! You can either upgrade to the Full premiere or go to Edit DV!! This makes this bundle ideal for those getting started in video editing! The other cool part about this bundle is that it works on Win95/98NT and Mac OS!
The DV200 is Pinnacle's answer to all the low cost FireWire products that have been announced from non-video editing companies. Based on the original Adaptec FireWire hardware (w/o SCSI controller), this board delivers a tremendous amount of features for such a low price. While the card is new, the core technology and drivers are the same ones used for the DV300, so you are getting a very stable card with a proven track record. You get the full DV Tools 1.6 found in the DV300 and miro INSTANT video timeline playback. The DV200 bundle now includes the FULL Premiere 5.1, making it an exceptional value!!
With the introduction of MotoDV Studio 2.0 Digital Origin has established their leadership on both sides of the platform wars (WinTel vs Mac). MotoDV 2.0 is a fantastic NLE system that fully integrates the Digital Origin FireWire board, software DV CODEC and Adobe Premiere 5.1. The 2.0 upgrade from the old MotoDV 1.1.3 consists of two parts – a new driver that includes NT compatibility and faster rendering plus a set of Premiere plug-ins that integrates MotoDV into Premiere. All video capture, previews and output can be played back to the DV device from within Premiere. You do not have to exit Premiere and go into a separate utility. With this seamless integration comes timeline playback., letting you play multiple clips directly from the Premiere timeline, up to 3 hours in length. You can also get frame accurate batch capture and EDL export. These last two features make MotoDV a great choice for commercial videographers who will be taking their work into a broadcast studio for final completion. As an added bonus the Studio 2.0 bundle includes Digital Origin PhotoDV a hi resolution DV frame grabber that lets you load de-interlaced stills directly into Photoshop!The MotoDV Studio 2.0 upgrade software is available for $199.95. It requires MotoDV 1.1.3 and Premiere to function.
Truevision Bravado DV2000 $499.95 (Win95/98/NT)
The Bravado DV2000 is Truevision's own repackaging of Digital Origin MotoDV and Adobe Premiere. What sets this package apart from all the others is it incredible low price. For around $500 you get the MotoDV capture card, Premiere the latest MotoDV driver (with NT) and the Premiere timeline playback plug-in found in the MotoDV Studio bundle. With Bravado DV2000 you get playback and preview from within Premiere and timeline playback out to your DV device. While this bundle does not have all the features of the Studio 2.0, the price makes it a great choice for home users.
The MotoDV Studio 2.0 upgrade software is available for $199.95. It turns your B2K DV into MotoDV Studio 2.0.
Canopus DV Raptor $679.95 (Win 95/98 & NT)
The DV Raptor is the newest card on the block, but don't let that concern you. The Raptor works great, and like its big brother the DV Rex M1, it uses Canopus' own DV software CODEC. This CODEC is very fast and also lets you create files up to 4 GB in size. Video is captured through the Raptors own GUI, which looks and acts just like a VCR remote control. This software can be used to automatically scan, log and capture your DV clips. The DV Raptor now ships with the full version of Adobe Premiere. Canopus has written Premiere optimized drivers that fully integrate batch capture, device control and cut list timeline playback. This new driver also renders FAST! A 1-second dissolve took under 10 seconds on my PII 400.
The feature that really sets the Raptor apart from the other software based CODEC cards is its ability to provide full screen, full speed playback on your computer monitor. To do this, Raptor uses a very clever loop through technology. The Raptor has both analog video input and output jacks. These jacks will NOT let you capture analog video. What they are for is to provide the full screen DV playback. This is how it works. The Raptor sends the DV info into your camcorder via FireWire (so it requires a DV cam with DV in enabled). The camcorder decodes the DV data into analog video and sends it back into the Raptor via analog video jack. The Raptor then displays the analog video coming from the DV cam in a full screen window. The Raptor has analog output so you can pass the incoming analog signal through the Raptor and into a TV monitor. This is a very clever feature, and I have to give Canopus credit for an excellent work around. The only drawback is that you must have your DV cam hooked up and powered on at all times to take advantage of this feature. You can edit in Premiere without your DV cam hooked up, but the results are the same smaller preview window as any of the other cards in this review. Canopus has just introduced a clever accessory that makes hooking-up and unhooking your DV cam a snap. The Raptor Bay (on sale $99.95) installs into an external drive bay and moves the DV Raptor jack panel to the front of your computer!
Pinnacle DV300 $649.95 after rebate (Win 95/98 & NT)
The DV300 was the first DV capture card to come with it's own suite of custom DV utilities called DV Tools. DV tools is a complete DV file management system which can automatically scan and log your footage. You then check out the DV Tools library, trim each clip to the exact portions you want, and then let DV Tools do a frame accurate batch capture. This can save you tons of disk space!! I like DV Tools for my travel videos, but for more professional work it can prove to be to time consuming then just straight captures. Fortunately DV Tools gives you the option of both methods.
The DV300 has built on SCSI controller. This makes it the best choice around if you plan on using SCSI storage. You can add internal or external UW SCSI drives and be editing in no time. Set up is really very easy, as long as the system has 2 available IRQs. Both the FireWire and the SCSI portions of the card require an IRQ, so although you only need one PCI slot, you still need the IRQs. This makes the DV300 a bit more complicated to install with alternative storage solutions that also require an IRQ. While many of us have 2 IRQs open, few have 3.
The DV300 is a very good choice on an older machine, say a PII 233 running NT. On this set up you can save yourself some money and effort by installing the DV300 as the primary SCSI controller, and running all SCSI. I've also found that on a much slower machine, say a P200MMX, you can set up the DV300 and an UW Barracuda drive and end up with a fantastic NLE system. While the rendering may be slow, INSTANT video is extremely efficient, rendering only the transitions, filters and effects. When I first tested the DV300 it was on a P200MMX. I got great results. Since then Pinnacle has introduced newer drivers that are faster, more powerful and significantly more stable.
The DV300 has just been rebundled. It now includes the Full version of Premiere 5.1, TitleDeko and Pixelan SpiceRack. I really like this software bundle. DV Tools 1.6 works really well with Premiere 5.1 and the overall system stability is excellent. TitleDeko is by far the easiest, best looking titling software I've ever used. The SpiceRack transitions are very cool. They combine fluid 2D effects with cross dissolves. The result is transitions that seem much more natural and they aren't distracting like a 3D fly in.
DPS Spark+ $499.95 (Win 95/98 & NT)
The original Spark was the first software CODEC DV card on the market. While for most users it was a very good performer, quite a few ran into the dreaded gray screen of death. This was caused by poor PCI bridge technology that prevented the full data throughput the card required. The solution was to build the UW SCSI controller right onto the card, eliminating these bottlenecks. The result is the Spark +. It uses the identical hardware as the DV300 (the Adaptec 8945 card).
What separates the current Spark+ card from all the other cards mentioned in this article is it's full integration with its bundled software, Video Action 6.2. While not as well known as Premiere or even Media Studio Pro, this is a very powerful NLE application. It has to be, since it is the same software sold with DPS dual streaming Perception RTX 3D real time product. With the Spark+ Video Action gives you fully integrated deck control including frame accurate batch capture, EDL export and timeline playback. The Video Action software bundle is loaded with goodies. Over 1000 transitions, hundreds of filters and really cool effects. Plus you get Sound Forge XE for audio editing and Inscriber CG for titling. While Spark+ has yet to get Premiere approved 5.1 drivers, it is a good choice for those who already own Premiere and are looking for a powerful alternative software.
EditDV for Windows will also be the first Pentium III optimized editing software on the market. Digital Origin uses their new Accelerated Video Architecture (AVA) for dramatically faster rendering. Rendering on a PIII 450 is 50% faster then on a similarly configured PII 450!!
MotoDV, PhotoDV and Bravado DV 2000 owners can upgrade to Edit DV for Windows software for $599.95. The first 299 customers to upgrade can save $100 and get it for $499.95!
I really like this solution. It's the identical hardware found in the MotoDV Studio and Bravado DV2000 with one very MAJOR addition. EditDV 1.6 software. I've said this before and I'm going to repeat it. I feel that EditDV is by far the best NLE application for DV. Why? Because it is the only NLE app designed from the ground up exclusively for the DV format. This makes a huge difference. Rendering, previews and the actual editing environment is faster and efficient. The best example of this is Draft DV mode. In this mode you use low-resolution proxy files while you edit and work in the timeline. This gives you near real time previews of transitions, filters and titles. And don't let the term 'low res' make you think the video is poor quality. I think it looks as good as VHS. When you are done editing, you go back into full DV mode and render out your final project. I also think that the interface is more professional. I found that editing, managing and just working with EditDV is much more efficient then Premiere. The batch capture worked flawlessly and the keyboard shortcuts combined with 3 point editing are just what the experienced NLE editor needs at his fingertips.
I feel EditDV is the single biggest reason to get a G3 for video editing. And if you do get a G3, have them put in a cheap SCSI CD Rom drive. This will open up the secondary EIDE channel. Put a 16.8 GB IBM or Maxtor Ultra DMA drive in it and you've got over an hour of DV storage!
Digital Origin EditDV for Apple FireWire $579.95
The new G3 units are coming with FireWire connectors built onto the motherboard. HOT NEWS!! Edit DVS-G3 software upgrade for Blue G3 is now available! You get all the features and performance of EditDV 1.6 using the G3's built in FireWire ports. That means that for under $600 you'll be able to turn any off the shelf G3 into state-of-the-art DV non linear editing system!
Digital Origin Moto/Photo DV $379.95
The new bundle, for under $400 includes the Digital Origin DV hardware, PhotoDV for still image grabbing, MotoDV for full motion and Premiere 5.1 LE. Not a bad bundle, especially if you're on a tight budget. When you get more familiar with NLE and want to upgrade, you get two choices!! You can either upgrade to the Full premiere or go to Edit DV!! This makes this bundle ideal for those getting started in video editing! The other cool part about this bundle is that it works on Win95/98NT and Mac OS!
Pinnacle DV300 $699.95
The same hardware used on the PC side can be installed in your Mac. The on board SCSI controller is a big plus for owners of older, pre-G3 604 based PowerMacs. Just install the DV300, hook up either an internal or external UW SCSI drive, and you are in business. You don't have to go out and dump your trusted 9500 for a new G3 (although I wouldn't blame you if you did ;-)
If you plan on making long videos, over 30 minutes, I still recommend using one of the faster storage solutions. A Promise FastTrack, Medea VideoRAID, or UW SCSI is recommended. These systems provide a higher sustained data rate, and more importantly they will provide adequate throughput, even as the drive fills to capacity. This is especially important when using a timeline playback utility to create video projects up to and over an hour long. A single Ultra DMA drive may drop occasional frames or jitter slightly during playback. While this may not be a problem for a home user, it can prove to be quite frustrating for more professional work. So, if you intend to use your DV card professionally, I urge you to invest in a dedicated video storage solution. It will cost you a bit more, but you'll never have to worry about any data throughput problems.
JVC GR-DVL9500 now available!
The GR-DVL9500 is the only camcorder we currently sell. We have only added it to our product line up because of the spectacular results we were able to attain with it and how well it integrates into an NLE system using our FireWire cards.We have tested the GR-DVL9500 with the Digital Origin MotoDV Studio & EditDV, Canopus DV Rex & DV Raptor, Pinnacle DV300 &DV200 and the Bravado DV2000. IT WORKS GREAT!!!
Both cards are $699.95 and include the full version of Adobe Premiere 5.1Raptor is an excellent card. The analog jacks are strictly for loop through preview, it can't actually capture or output analog video. But what the loop through gives you is full screen, full motion DV video on your computer monitor. The DV300 is at best 1/4 screen full motion (on the computer monitor).
Both cards have auto scan, logging and batch capture. Both cards have timeline playback to get around the 2GB file limit.
Both cards ship now with Premiere 5.1. Both have very solid integration and stability. So as far as the NLE app goes, it is a push. The DV Raptor now includes the RaptorBay, which lets you hook up all your connections to the front of your PC, a very handy feature! The DV300 ships with TitleDeko, Pinnacles own titling program that is super easy to use and delivers fantastic quality titles. DV300 also includes Pixelan SpiceRack 2D transitions. Since they are 2D, they render quite quickly.
The DV300 has built on SCSI controller. This is a plus and a minus. On the plus side you save a PCI slot. On the negative side, the SCSI portion can't be disabled so it requires an IRQ even if you don't plan on going SCSI. If you plan on going SCSI for your storage, DV300 gets the advantage. If you do nor need a SCSI controller, then the Pinnacle DV200 is actually a much better choice then the DV300. For $399.95 you get teh full Premiere 5.1, DV Tools, and TitleDeko.
Storage. We have found that with today's fast machines PII 350+, 128 megs 100 MHz RAM and a 10+ GB Ultra DMA drive you can capture, edit and output video back to DV. So while a year ago you had to have SCSI for DV, today it's not required. You can just pop in a DV Raptor and start capturing and editing if you have one of today's screaming machines.
Gary
Here you go. This is based on MotoDV Studio 2.0 ($699.95) vs DV Raptor ($699.95)1st) The full screen playback and preview on the computer monitor is a big plus for the Raptor. But, it is a loop thru solution that requires your DV cam to be hooked up and on during all editing. For me this is not practical. I like to hook up the cam, dump in the video, then put the cam away and have it available for more taping. The editing may take me weeks, but my kids do something worth taping on the spur of the moment. If I have to unhook my camcorder from the NLE system, I probably miss most of these moments. So for me, while its a nice feature, it is not practical.
2nd) The ability to capture up to the size of your hard drive is another cool feature that I simply do not use. I find it much easier to edit with a bunch of small files, pre rough cut and named intelligently. I find editing from a single 5 minute clip to be a major chore, I can't even imagine scrubbing through a 20 minute clip!!
3rd) Both card ship with Premiere 5.1 and both have excellent integration and stability. The DV Raptor also includes Boris FX 3.5, one of my favorite Premiere plug-ins. While MotoDV Studio includes PhotoDV, a great little utility that lets you use your DV cam as if it were a scanner to grab images directly into Photoshop (Photoshop le includes in Moto DV Studio).
While MotoDV does not have the full screen playback on the monitor (it 1/4 screen at best), I just think Digital Origin (formerly Radius) has the best software technology and upgrade path. Even more cool features are planned. MotoDV also has the ability to be upgraded to the new Edit DV for Windows. I am a big fan of Edit DV. it has a very clean, professional interface and Draft DV gives you a much more productive editing environment. Draft DV mode uses low-resolution proxy files for the editing/preview environment. I think Draft DV is simply the best NLE feature for DV I have ever used. Why waste time looking at hi resolution previews when a low resolution will do the job just as well in practically real time.
So for $699.95 you have two great cards, with rock solid drivers and DV cam compatibility and full Premiere 5.1. Both companies have proven to be major innovators in DV technology and are totally committed to DV editing. That is why these two cards are in my opinion the best DV editing bundles on the market today for under $1000.
Gary
or Adaptec 8920 card?
I am trying to buy my first digital camcorder and a 1394 capture card so that I can use my PC to edit home video. I heard lots of good things about motoDV, but why the big price difference? Will this Pyro/Adaptec card do the job for basic home video editing? or I have to go for motoDV?
If you are looking for a low cost DV capture solution, I would like to recommend these two products:
Pinnacle DV200 $399.95It is the original 8940 card. No SCSI on board. What you do get is the complete DV Tools package for scanning, logging and batch capture. you also get Premiere le, which you can upgrade to the full version for $199.95Digital Origin MotoDV $379.95The same great hardware used in their EditDV & MotoDV Studio products. Comes with Windows & Mac drivers. You also get PhotoDV for grabbing stills via FireWire directly into PhotoShop. Includes Premiere le which can be upgraded to full version for $199.95. You can also upgrade to Edit DV software.The advantage of these two cards vs other low cost FireWire solutions is simple:
You get an inexpensive upgrade path to more robust video editing and you get cards made for video editing, by companies that make NLE products.The bottom line is that both the MotoDV and DV200 are a much better choice. For a little more money you get the lite edition of the industries top NLE software, and an inexpensive upgrade to the full version. Both cards are made by companies that are 100% video editing and production vendors.
- The Pyro is an unproven card, with a very weak NLE application, made by a company with no experience at all in video editing. I would be very concerned about support for this product. If it is not a big success for ADS, they could just drop it. It is not a core part of their product line.
- While many folks report success running the adaptec 8920 with the 8945 drivers, it is a risky choice. Why? Because if you run into problems, you have no tech support. The answer you'll get is use it with the correct drivers. The 8920 comes with no editing software.
Gary
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