DCI Internet Expo Vendors Show off their Wares

Looking for an inexpensive way to enter the world of nonlinear editing? At the DCI Internet Expo held in San Jose in February, a couple of manufacturers showed products aimed at you. Intel showed its Smart Video Recorder III, a low-end PCI video capture board. And the Winnov company showed its audio-video capture board, the Videum AV. Both boards sell for about $200.

Like previous Intel capture boards, the Smart Video Recorder III uses the Indeo software codec to digitize and compress video for storage on hard drives. Unlike the performance in previous versions--largely limited to 15 frames per second at 320x240 pixels--that of Smart Video Recorder III scales itself to the machine in which it lives. On a Pentium 90 it could approach 30 frames per second at 320x240 pixels; on an MMX Pentium 200 it could approach 15 frames per second at full screen (640x480) display. Recorder III does not capture audio; you would have to have a sound capture board in your computer to capture your video's sound track. But if you'd like to just dip your toe into the ocean of nonlinear editing, you might find the $200 price tag just right for you.

The Winnov company's audio-video capture board, the Videum AV, is an inexpensive device that installs easily into PCs because it requires no DMA or IRQ addresses (the bane of computer users who try to install expansion boards into their machines). The Videum can run on any Windows 3.11, Windows 95 or Windows NT machine. As this board captures audio along with the video, it eliminates the need to install a sound capture board and lessens the lip synch problems that plague some low-cost capture devices. The Videum uses a proprietary intraframe codec, and delivers standard Video for Windows (.avi) files. The Videum provides no better than 352x240-pixel video at 30 frames per second, so don't expect to use it to make full-screen VHS video. Nevertheless, like the Intel Smart Video Recorder III, it could be just the thing for giving you a taste of nonlinear editing--say for short productions designed for your Web site. The board can also be used with such programs as CU-SeeMe and VDOnet for video conferencing.

--S.M…