CompuServe Thread

I have posted reviews of a couple of PC genlock devices in Library 2 of this forum. There are several on the market, the operation of each is quite different. The one I currently recommend is the VGA Producer Pro from Magni Systems, Inc. It is a full length card which goes into the PC. It includes an external remote control box which allows you to control the genlock, fading, keying, and other functions of the card. It eliminates TSR programs which eat up memory and may not be compatible. The only disadvantage is that it only does 256 colors, but for titling this is more than enough. It is available with composite and S-Video outputs standard, and with Betacam SP as an option. It can also be timed into a system with switchers, etc. As for titling software: DEPUTY CG from Shereff Systems, PRIME TIME from Innovision, and INSCRIBER CG from Image North are the big ones. The VGA Producer Pro includes DEPUTY SE (a slightly stripped down version of the full DEPUTY CG) which I found to be much better than PRIME TIME in terms of compatibility but with a slightly more difficult user interface. INSCRIBER is a great program but you pay out the nose for it. DEPUTY wins on a price/performance basis. I am going to be looking at PC video output/genlock devices in the near future. There are more of them on the market now and it is time I do another set of evaluations. Good to have you in the forum. James Bell Jr. — Multimedia Contributor – CompuServe