CompuServe Thread

Another M-JPEG card you might want to consider is the Miro DC1TV. From what I've heard of the FAST, the quality of the picture is the same, but if you don't care about the video switching and the TV tuner on the FAST, you can save a few hundred $$'s with the Miro. The Miro will also play NTSC output from any Video for Windows player, including directly from Premeire or just plain ole Media Player. However, it _won't_ accelerate playback to the computer's monitor. Which isn't really a big deal, since I have a little 13" television hooked directly to the Miro for previews. Which in turn is nice because you can run Windows in 256 colors for speed considerations, and still get full color previews on the television (the Miro couldn't care less what resolution/color depth your windows desktop is). I just picked up the Miro bundled with Premeire 1.1 (you'll want to spend the extra $129 for an upgrade to 4.0) and Crystal Flying Fonts Pro (kinda useless once you have Imagine, but hey – it's free) for $599. I haven't tried outputting any animations with it – this is the first capture card I ever had so I've been digitizing clips of everything from Aladdin to True Lies. Once the thril of that wears off, it's back to work! <g> One thing you should know about both the Miro and the FAST M-JPEG cards is that the actual resolution of the images is only 320×240 (correct me if I'm wrong on this account about the FAST), which is then interpolated into 640×480 for playback to videotape. This resolution approximates a VHS videotape, and can actually be a little better, depending on how fast your hard drvie is and what the source material is. How's that for long winded? Adam