Encore...
Lab Report
First impressions
Creative solution in the PC- DVD Encore
ÿ
11/17/97
The New Straits Times
The New Straits Times Press
Computimes; 2*
Page 50
(Copyright 1997)
ÿ
EVEN though a comprehensive digital video disk ( DVD ) standard has not been achieved as yet, such products are actually quite easy to find in the marketplace these days. This is because most electronic product manufacturers have introduced their own DVD offerings to satisfy users' fancy and resorted to marketing them without any delay.
Products based on DVD technology are available either for television sets or personal computers (PCs). In this article, we reviewed a PC- DVD introduced by Creative Technology, a popular PC-audio manufacturer.
Called the PC- DVD Encore, it is the implementation of hardware DVD decoding solution where the dedicated hardware will function as the decompressor and playback motion picture experts group (MPEG)-2 video without burdening the central processing unit (CPU).
The Creative PC- DVD Encore upgrade solution for the PC comprises two key hardware components - Creative's DynamicXtended Resolution card which is also known as Dxr2 and a two-speed DVD drive.
The method of using hardware to boost processing is always the best way compared to using a software. This is one reason why this solution concentrates more on the hardware rather than the software. The Dxr2 card incorporates several display technologies like resolution-quadrupling, scaling and filtering in order to provide clean, smooth and high- definition motion video for the PC.
Major benefits of the technologies include flicker-free pictures whereby the card eliminates the flicker and horizontal lines of standard TV video, elimination of combing effects or the jagged lines that linger on the screen and zooming up to 1,280 by 1,024 resolution.
The Creative PC- DVD Encore solution includes not only the latest MPEG decoding technology through its peripheral component interconnect (PCI) Dxr2 card but offers the latest DVD -ROM technology.
This means it allows backward compatible to most current compact disk formats including audio CDs and CD-Recordable disks, and the drive registers a 20-speed CD-ROM speed. With its ability to read normal CD, it is advisable to disconnect the CD drive hooked to the PC before installing this PC- DVD drive. If the CD drive is not disconnected, a drive conflict may occur in the operating system and users will find that all the other drives will be disabled as well.
However, if the CD drive is disconnected, the installation is expected to go smoothly without any glitches. Users can employ the PC- DVD drive exactly like the normal CD drive.
The installation process is not so easy as there are a few cables that need to be hooked properly from the Dxr2 card to the sound card.
The installation will be a little harder if your PC's sound card is integrated on the motherboard instead of a separate card. Another thing that users have to make sure their PCs have PCI slots.
To be precise, the perfect system to install the DVD drive is at least a Pentium 100-megahertz (MHz) processor with 16 megabytes (MB) of random access memory (RAM), running Windows 95, a super video graphics array (SVGA) graphics card installed together with a SoundBlaster 16 audio card or equivalent.
According to the manufacturer, the Creative PC- DVD Encore is capable of decoding up to 5.1 channels of Dolby Digital AC-3 Audio.
The digital audio can be piped out via the back panel S/PDIF connector which easily integrates into commercially available Dolby AC-3 decoders.
As mentioned earlier, a number of technologies are incorporated into this PC- DVD drive.
These include full implementation of contents scramble system (CSS) protection scheme, which Creative claimed to be the first to obtain licensing to manufacturer and distribute DVD -ROM products.
Apart from utilising the DVD drive for PC, the Dxr2 card actually comes with both Composite Video and S-Video output. This way users are able to enjoy their favourite movies not only on the PC but also on TV.
This is an advantage as the card can support both PC and TV viewing, but what's lacking here is that there is no remote control unit which comes with the package.
All the controls are handled from the PC- DVD Player or the Navigator software. There are several viewing angles, language selection, subtitles selection and parental control that can be managed through the software.
As for software, we know that there are not many CD titles that are optimised for DVD . Even if there are, it won't be easy to obtain them here.
However, the Creative PC- DVD is bundled with PC- DVD Player or the Navigator Software, Claw and Wing Commander IV.
As mentioned, the Navigator software controls the playing of DVDs and CDs on the PC and customised settings.
This easy-to-use control panel features a directional pad, status display, playback buttons, volume control and menus for customising settings such as audio, colour, display mode, parental control, language and captions.
The Claw and Wing Commander IV are meant for entertainment - Claw is a 20-minute movie-quality animation while Wing Commander IV is a popular game - optimising both MPEG-2 and Dolby Digital surround sound.
Note: CREATIVE PC- DVD ENCORE. Manufacturer: Creative Technology Ltd. Enquiries: Micro-D (M) Sdn Bhd (Tel: 03-7177151), Syscom (M) Sdn Bhd (Tel: 03-7036468) and Cyberstar Computer (M) Sdn Bhd (Tel: 03-6333880). Suggested retail price: RM1,300.PX:Pix:- The Creative PC- DVD Encore: Provides both television and personal computer viewing.
Caption: The Creative PC DVD Encore: Provides both television and personal computer viewing. |
