HATVista/Illuminator?
9 messages in this thread
Ihope someone can offer a little advice as to which framebuffer I should get. I
currently have a Targa+ 16/32. I have ordered a Diaquest DQ-422+ and a Sony
UVW-1800. I am considering either an ATVista (with a PAR for previewing); or a
Matrox Illuminator Pro with the Animation Express option to accomplish the same
thing. I'm leaning towards the Illuminator because it offers (Y,R-Y,B-Y) color
difference output to match the UVW-1800. However, I have been told that the
Illuminator exhibits some color banding (something about the encoder/decoder).
Also I learned the Animation Express is an EISA board.
I guess I needed another machine anyway. Any suggestions?
Todd
Todd,
This may be another issue: I thought that Diaquest did not support the
Matrox board, but do support the Truevision cards (Targa, ATVista, & DVR
series).
Kevin Krell – Computer Support Associates
According to Diaquest the DQ-422 will support the Illuminator Pro, Quick Pass,
however will not. Thanks for your response.
Todd Dunbar
Todd,
OK, it was the non-QuickPass support that must have triggered my alarm.
Kevin Krell – Computer Support Associates
Thanks for the info. Someone else suggest that maybe I should forget the
ATVista/DQ-422 combination and use the PAR for all output. What do you think?
Todd
Todd,
It's doable, so long as you don't need the ATVista for any RGB input, or
for use with ATVIsta applications (Hi-Res QFX, TIPS, Lumena, RIO, etc.).
Ultimately, an ATVista with an appropriate encoder/decoder/transcoder will give
you better quality in a broadcast setup. The PAR output seems to be acceptable
for all other circumstances. Indeed, you could probably start with the PAR &
add a Vista board later if you wished.
Kevin Krell – Computer Support Associates
Kevin,
Thanks for the swift reply. I have already ordered the ATVista, DQ-422 and a
transcoder; so I guess I'll be set for just about anything that comes my way.
I've been talking with Don Landis. He uses the PAR for all his output and
thinks that it works fine. I'll probably do the same for most jobs (and keep
the frame accurate hours down on the UVW-1800). I just wish there was at least
one vendor in the southeast who had actual experience with the PAR and could
have at least mentioned that I could record "acceptable" video from it before
telling me that I should go with the framebuffer/diaquest combination! Oh
well, I guess a plane trip west and a couple of nights in a motel to find a
dealer with experience would have cost the same.
Thanks again for you help,
Todd Dunbar
The Illuminator Pro has banding, but only in the Y-C and composite outputs, and
there is a chip upgrade coming out shortly to cover that. I believe the CAV
output is flawless… at least it appears that way on my Illuminator Pro.
And yes, the MAX requires an EISA MB, plus an adaptec 274x or 174x scsi
controller with seagate barraccuda hard drive. I'm getting pretty impressive @
4.7 megs per second write and 5.6 megs per second read times with the MAX and
my setup.
John Tissavary (LUNA cie)
Use the PAR for all your output to the UVW-1800. Dump the diaquest bd. and get
a TBC IV for frame grabbing real time. The AT Vista will still have some uses
as a good quality frame buffer even with a PAR. The PAR has betacam component
out.