Hello, Has anyone used the Videonics (http://www.videonics.com) to create VideoCD 2.0 compliant MPEG files? This product is offerred at some sites for $157.00. It hooks up to the parrallel port of the computer and the specs state that it does real-time encoding of ISO11172 spec MPEGs. If anyone has used this product, please let us know.

Thanks Gopal

-- N. Gopal (ngopal@dbt.net), March 28, 2000

Answers

ANY encoder/video capture device connected through the parallel port is always highly suspect and so steer clear of it. Any serious vidcap device is always either internal PCI, AGP, or external 1394, or USB. The price is also a dead giveaway; I wouldn't expect anything even approaching acceptable for $157. :)

-- EMartinez (epmartinez@yahoo.com), March 28, 2000.

EMartinez , what makes usb any better for vidcap than parallel? do u think the usb dazzle does a better job than the parallel dazzle? they support the same max bitrate, i know u dont mention the dazzle, its my example of choice. i can understand u saying firewire,pci ang agp are better, but usb offers convenience over parallel, nothing more. if u have proof its better, post it.

-- ndumu (ndumu@hotmail.com), March 28, 2000.

We purchase it for my company with the intention to instead of giving our marketing people VCR, and TV (or organize it in every place they actually are) to give them posibility to play it straight from the laptop through video projector. As Python captures into VCD format so I have also that bright idea to put my home video on the VCD and play it on my DVD. Generaly quality sucked and I thought it was because of the source etc. The truth is Python doeas not perform to the required standard although it does the job of capturing A/V to mpeg. User interface is OK as long as you do not attemp to make any thing else but capture A/V source and make a file of it. Finaly we got away by puting the highest quality mpegs (but not VCD format) and then it was acceptable to play it on the presentations but only just because we wanted to do it from the computer. Usualy VHS delivered better quiality. And it captures only to mpeg, you can to capture to any other format. Now I am trying deprately to put Photoalbum on VCD to play it on set top DVD but to do it with the use of iMac and Toast because all our computers are Macintosh now. Regards.

-- Marek Malinowski (Marek.malinowski@skanska.pl), March 31, 2000.

Thats me again. Pardon my English but this not my tong language.

It supposed to be "you can not capture to any other format but mpeg"

Sorry

-- Marek Malinowski (marek.malinowski@skanska.pl), March 31, 2000.