Benchmarks (page 5)

The Bravado 2000 board worked seamlessly from within Premiere. To input video, we just went to the capture command under the file menu, clicked on "Capture Movie" and the NTSC monitor (plugged into the output of the Bravado breakout box) became active. As soon as we rolled our source, the video was displayed on the NTSC monitor. After we finished capturing, we played the clip back and it appeared on the NTSC monitor just as clean and crisp as it looked while recording. We could not tell any difference between the hard disk playback and the original tape. Displaying (or recording) video through the NTSC output of the Bravado's breakout box is an automatic function. Whatever video we captured or played back in Premiere was displayed on the NTSC monitor at full screen (720x480) and full speed (60 fields per second).

We did have a small problem with the audio. The Bravado was not recording or playing back audio when we first started to use it. Drivers were the problem, and after we activated the Bravado 2000 drivers from the "multimedia properties" menu in Windows 95, the audio worked fine.

There were no problems keeping the audio and video in sync. We captured an interview we had recorded on tape that lasted more than five minutes and, on playback, the audio remained in sync. Truevision ships an audio mixer program with Bravado 2000 that is used to adjust record and playback levels and balance.

We found the Bravado 2000 to be a great digital video and audio capture board. Capturing was quick and simple and the quality of the playback was very good. The hardware worked well with Adobe Premiere, one of the most popular editing programs. It would be useful for prosumer and hobbyist video producers alike.

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JVC GR-AXM700 VHS-C Camcorder

Format: VHS-C
Lens: 22:1 optical zoom (3.8-83.6mm focal length), 44:1 digital zoom, four-speed power zoom, f/1.6, inner focus, telemacro, 46mm filter diameter
Image sensor: 1/4-inch 270,000 pixel CCD
Viewfinder: 0.5-inch black-and-white, 3-inch color LCD viewscreen
Focus: auto, manual
Maximum shutter speed: 1/2000th of a second
Exposure: auto, manual
White balance: auto, daylight, cloudy, halogen, manual
Program Modes: 4 - sports, twilight, high-speed shutter, low-light
Picture effects: 7 - fade, wipe, neutral density, wide screen, sepia, fog, negative/positive
Audio: mono
Inputs: external microphone
Outputs: composite video, mono audio, headphones, JLIP edit control and digital mini DIN 8-pin (for digital transfer of still pictures to a computer)
Other features: random assemble edit, electronic image stabilization, insert editing, A-V dub, built-in lens cover, built-in light
Dimensions: 4.6 (width) x 4.6 (height) x 9.6 (depth)
Weight (sans tape and battery): 2.3 pounds

Video Performance (approx.)
Horizontal resolution (camera): 250 lines
Horizontal resolution (playback): 200 lines

Performance Times
Pause to record: 1 second
Power-up to record: 6 seconds
Fast-forward / rewind (30 minute tape): 2 minutes

strengths

• Manual controls
• Color bars
• LCD monitor

weakness

• Poor location of effects control
• Access manual controls through menu summary: Good camcorder for home video productions.

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