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Technology Stocks : C-Cube -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: BillyG who wrote (29768)	2/21/1998 2:17:00 AM
From: jerryrom	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 50808

March 01, 1998, Issue: 903 Section: Windows News ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Videonics Python -- Videonics Python Squeezes Video The Videonics Python is an MPEG I video capture and compression card that allows you to capture full-motion video, create video e-mail, add video to presentations or put video streaming on Web sites. It can also capture JPEG still images. The card works with any software that can accept JPEG and MPEG I files. To use Python, simply plug it into your parallel printer port, reconnect your printer cable and install the included software. Python provides a printer pass-through and includes ports for audio and video input. Using an on-screen control panel, you can preview, capture, trim, mix, adjust and manipulate video clips. The on-screen controls provide a preview of the incoming video signal and employ an innovative user interface. The card accepts video from any standard NTSC composite or PAL video source, including cameras and VCRs. It uses C-Cube compression to create MPEG I video files from the input source before they're stored in the PC. Bundled software includes XingMPEG Encoder2 for creating and manipulating MPEG files, StreamWorks Server and Player (which produces streaming video on a Web site), Kai's Photo Soap SE imaging software and Astound 4.0 for creating multimedia presentations. $349. Videonics, 800-338-3348, 408-866-8300. Winfo #850 Copyright (c) 1998 CMP Media Inc.

To: BillyG who wrote (29768)	2/21/1998 9:01:00 AM
From: John Rieman	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50808

With AGP, not all the memory needs to be on the card....................... February 23, 1998, Issue: 199 Section: News ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 740 Due for Second-Quarter Release -- Intel Graphics Chip Coming On Board Kristen Kenedy Santa Clara, Calif.-Intel's recently announced 740 graphics chip will be the center of several add-on boards shipping as early as next month-including an Intel-branded version, Computer Retail Week has learned. Intel plans a Q2 release of a 740-based graphics board called Express Graphics in 2MB and 4MB versions, according to industry executives briefed on Intel's plan. Intel already markets a line of networking products under the Express brand. Pricing for the new board is not known, and Intel officials did not respond to inquiries at press time. Other manufacturers shipping boards based on the 740 during the first half of this year are co-developer Real 3-D (a division of Lockheed Martin), STB Systems, Diamond Multimedia and ASUS. In addition, TV-tuner manufacturer Hauppauge Computer Works announced plans for a TV tuner card designed to work with the 740. Zoran, developer of a software-based DVD decoding routine and a longtime Intel partner, also announced a DVD daughter card reference design that works with the 740 chip. The daughter card would control a DVD-ROM drive and provide software-based DVD video playback, costing manufacturers about $30 per board, according to Zoran. All 740 boards this year will be designed for the accelerated graphics port bus, except for a PCI version of Real 3-D's StarFighter. Engineers at Real 3-D developed a bridge component that tricks the PCI board into functioning like an AGP board, except it can't access system RAM as true AGP boards do, said George Forbes, director of product marketing at Real 3-D. A custom ASIC includes performance enhancements comparable with AGP, he said. The 740 is a 2-D/3-D graphics accelerator that also provides video support. Manufacturers are enthusiastic about the chip's ability to exploit all the features of the Intel-developed AGP, a special graphics bus in P2 motherboards that provides a faster pipe to the CPU and allows the graphics board to use local system memory as well as its own onboard memory. Intel said the 740 fully utilizes the Pentium II's floating point unit, a key element in 3-D processing. A recognizable brand name in the consumer channel tops off the chip's strong points, vendors said. "Intel developed the AGP specification, so their chip takes advantage of all the AGP features," said Ken Wirt, vice president of Diamond Multimedia. Previous AGP boards did not make full use of all available AGP features, he said. The Intel brand name carries weight with consumers and helps drive up sales, Wirt said. Graphics board makers will very often feature the name of the chip manufacturer on their retail packages, and Diamond plans to play up the Intel name to help spur sales, he said. Peter Glaskowsky, an analyst at MicroDesign Resources, said the 740 isn't necessarily faster than other 3-D processors on the market, but it provides a superior visual quality in a crisper, cleaner graphics presentation. "We believe demand for the Intel 740 will be very strong," he said. "Intel will ship at least 10 million units in 1998, giving them about 20 percent of the market for 3-D chips for PCs." Nevertheless, Intel still faces some strong competitors. Rival chipmakers Riva and Rendition both expect to release significantly faster chips in the first half of the year. There is also the Voodoo 2 Graphics chip from 3Dfx, which will be delivered in boards starting this month. That chip is a 3-D accelerator, so it must be used with a 2-D graphics accelerator in PCs. But Voodoo 2 claims strong support among the game-playing community, and vendors expect it to remain the leader in the game- graphics space for the time being. Although some AGP boards will show up as retail products early this year, volume sales probably won't start until late in 1998, manufacturers said. By that time, some of the early AGP systems shipped in late 1997 will be a year old, and consumers will be more likely to upgrade their graphics boards. Copyright (c) 1998 CMP Media Inc. New Search \| Search the Web You can reach this article directly here: techweb.com

To: BillyG who wrote (29768)	2/21/1998 9:48:00 AM
From: John Rieman	Respond to of 50808

Creative's Encore................................................. March 01, 1998, Issue: 903 Section: Reviews ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Standing Ovation for DVD Encore James E. Powell Considering a DVD drive? The benefits of upgrading your PC are compelling: DVD movies contain downright stunning audio and video, and reference titles on DVD-ROM discs require less disc swapping because of the platters' high capacity. DVD kits' high prices kept many people away. Now, the Creative Labs PC-DVD Encore Dxr2 has shrunk the entry price of a DVD-ROM kit-drive, decoder card and software-to an attractive $380. It's the kit to buy. Unlike the Hi-Val PC-to-TV Home Entertainment System, a DVD 1X kit on our WinList, the Encore kit houses a second-generation drive, meaning it runs faster (at DVD 2.1X) and can read more formats, including CD-R and CD-RW. (You'll need Creative Labs' forthcoming firmware upgrade to play CD-RAM discs.) Our TestaCD Labs benchmark rated the drive at 11.9X (for data discs, below the claimed 20X speed) I played two MGM movie titles ("Singin' in the Rain" and "The Wizard of Oz"), and the picture quality was outstanding, thanks in part to the improved brightness and crispness of the kit's DynamicXtended Resolution (Dxr2) technology. The product uses vertical and horizontal interpolation filters with double scanning at up to 60 fields per second (30 frames per second) so there are no artifacts (such as combing effects) Installation is easy: Connect the DVD drive's audio output to the decoder card and feed the card's audio output to your sound card. Rather than using the PCI bus for video, the Encore employs a loop-back cable between your video card and the MPEG II/AC-3 decoder card. Your monitor plugs into the decoder card, which has an S/PDIF output jack for connections to a 5.1-compatible multichannel amplifier or receiver to play back the AC-3 (Dolby Digital) sound. Even when played through a pair of conventional stereo speakers, the audio quality was exceptional. Using cables and the output jacks on the decoder card's spine, you can route the drive's audio and video simultaneously to PC and TV with composite and S-Video inputs. You can play Video-CD MPEG I movies or MPEG-II video titles full screen at resolutions up to 1280x1024. Unfortunately, the included DVD player requires specific versions of a VXD (virtual device driver) and a DLL file. If another product's installation program overwrites them, you're out of luck. I had to call the company's technical support to get the problem resolved. Creative Labs says a revised viewer is now shipping with the product. The DVD player supports all the standard formats, from CD-Audio and CD Extra to Photo CD and CD-I. It can read the complete CD (748MB and 656MB discs) and DVD maximum data capacity of 17GB (8.5GB per side using a dual-layer recording). You can install the drive horizontally or vertically. Front-panel controls let you adjust volume, or eject or stop a disc. You might want to invest another $200 and purchase Desktop Theater (forthcoming) from a Creative Labs subsidiary, Cambridge SoundWorks. This set of five speakers (2-inch and 3-inch front, center and rear) plus subwoofer provides outstanding quality. Of the vendors we spoke to at Comdex last fall, none had plans to offer anything close to the Encore's features at this price. For now, Creative Labs stands alone with this solid, easy-to-install DVD package, which is why we're adding it to our WinList. --Quick View-- Creative Labs PC-DVD Encore Dxr2 Bottom Line: Very good performance at a great price Price: $379.99 Platforms: 95 Pros: Second-generation DVD drive can read CD-R and CD-RW discs Cons: Software fussy about driver files Strongest Rival: Hi-Val PC-to-TV Home Entertainment System Creative Labs, 800-998-5227, 408-428-6600. Winfo #626 Copyright (c) 1998 CMP Media Inc. New Search \| Search the Web You can reach this article directly here: techweb.com