The most recent articles from What PC?

The most recent articles from What PC?http://www.whatpc.co.uk/The most recent articles from What PC? (Generated on Thursday 8 January 2009 at 09:25:51)VNU Business Publications LTD, London UKCopyright © 1994-2009 VNU Business Publications LTD, London UKhttp://www.whatpc.co.uk/2009-01-08T09:25:51.153Z

The most recent articles from What PC?http://www.whatpc.co.uk/images/rss/wpc_logo.gifhttp://www.whatpc.co.uk/Creative 3D Blaster Personal Cinemahttp://www.whatpc.co.uk/whatpc/hardware/2132770/creative-3d-blaster-personal-cinemaCliff Joseph, <a href="http://www.whatpc.co.uk/">What PC?</a>, Wednesday 20 March 2002 at 14:32:29Watch and pause live telly, capture VCR or analogue camcorder footage, and play the latest 3D games - this card does it all.<content page="1"><html><body>Having pretty much tied up the games market, nVidia is now setting its sights on the video market as well. Its new Personal Cinema system adds a variety of digital video features to its GeForce graphics cards and goes head to head with ATI's popular All-In-Wonder cards.Creative is the first company to release a product that includes Personal Cinema, and has opted to base the system on a GeForce2 MX-400. This is about 20 per cent faster than a standard GeForce2 MX card, so it will provide very respectable performance for 3D games and other graphics applications.The card has a standard VGA interface for connecting to a PC monitor, butalongside this is a second interface that allows you to connect the Personal Cinema module.Video-editing optionsThis little translucent green box sits on your desk and provides a number of video input and output options. There are input and output connectors for both composite and S-Video, so you can capture video from a VCR or analogue camcorder and store it on your PC's hard disk.Creative Labs also includes a copy of the VideoWave SE editing program. This is pretty basic, but it's easy to use if you're just getting started with video editing.Having edited your video clips you can either play them back directly from your hard disk or use the video output port to re-record back onto tape.Tuning inThe Personal Cinema module also has a built-in TV tuner. You can use this to watch TV on your PC's screen, of course, but you can also use the tuner in conjunction with the module's video-capture capabilities and turn your PC into a personal video recorder (PVR).The difference between a DVR and a conventional analogue VCR is that you can use a PVR to perform 'time-shifting'. Time-shifting allows you to pause any programme - perhaps while you stop to make a cup of tea - and then carry on viewing from the point where you hit the brakes. The Personal Cinema module will continue to record the rest of the show and then play it back with a short delay so that you don't miss anything.You could buy a standalone PVR, such as the new Sky+ box from Sky, but they're more expensive than the Personal Cinema package, plus you have to pay a monthly fee on top if you want to use features such as time-shifting.Video nastiesThe Personal Cinema is very good value for money, then, especially as it gives you a pretty good 3D graphics card and video-editing features in addition to its time-shifting ability. However, there's still some room for improvement.Many people now have digital camcorders that use FireWire to connect to a PC. The Personal Cinema module doesn't have a FireWire interface, so it won't be any use if you own a digital camcorder.Creative's manuals and documentation are also very poor. The instructions on how to install the graphics card and Personal Cinema module are adequate, but there's no printed information on how to use the various pieces of bundled software.It's the software that controls features such as video-capture and time-shifting, so beginners may well find themselves completely baffled when they try to figure out how to use these features. The individual programs do have their own online Help files, but these are no substitute for proper printed manuals.Write and wrongThe 3D Blaster Personal Cinema is undoubtedly a powerful and versatile piece of hardware, and it's pitched at a good price too. However, Creative Labs really needs to write a better manual if it wants to cater properly to the ordinary home user.SPECIFICATIONS<ul><li>GeForce2 MX-400 graphics card</li><li>64Mb DDR, 200MHz clock speed</li><li>External 'Personal Cinema' module</li><li>S-Video and composite video input/output</li><li>Supports MPEG-2 video format</li><li>Built-in TV tuner</li><li>Bundled software provides video capture, editing and time-shiftingfeatures</li><li>Handheld remote control unit</li></ul>CONTACT Creative: No sales phone number, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.europe.creative.com">www.europe.creative.com</a>MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS400MHz processor (500MHz or above recommended), Windows 98 SE, AGP graphics slot, 10Gb hard disk.</body></html></content>http://www.whatpc.co.uk/whatpc/hardware/2132770/creative-3d-blaster-personal-cinemaCliff Joseph, <a href="http://www.whatpc.co.uk/">What PC?</a>, Wednesday 20 March 2002 at 14:32:29Watch and pause live telly, capture VCR or analogue camcorder footage, and play the latest 3D games - this card does it all.<content page="1"><html><body>Having pretty much tied up the games market, nVidia is now setting its sights on the video market as well. Its new Personal Cinema system adds a variety of digital video features to its GeForce graphics cards and goes head to head with ATI's popular All-In-Wonder cards.Creative is the first company to release a product that includes Personal Cinema, and has opted to base the system on a GeForce2 MX-400. This is about 20 per cent faster than a standard GeForce2 MX card, so it will provide very respectable performance for 3D games and other graphics applications.The card has a standard VGA interface for connecting to a PC monitor, butalongside this is a second interface that allows you to connect the Personal Cinema module.Video-editing optionsThis little translucent green box sits on your desk and provides a number of video input and output options. There are input and output connectors for both composite and S-Video, so you can capture video from a VCR or analogue camcorder and store it on your PC's hard disk.Creative Labs also includes a copy of the VideoWave SE editing program. This is pretty basic, but it's easy to use if you're just getting started with video editing.Having edited your video clips you can either play them back directly from your hard disk or use the video output port to re-record back onto tape.Tuning inThe Personal Cinema module also has a built-in TV tuner. You can use this to watch TV on your PC's screen, of course, but you can also use the tuner in conjunction with the module's video-capture capabilities and turn your PC into a personal video recorder (PVR).The difference between a DVR and a conventional analogue VCR is that you can use a PVR to perform 'time-shifting'. Time-shifting allows you to pause any programme - perhaps while you stop to make a cup of tea - and then carry on viewing from the point where you hit the brakes. The Personal Cinema module will continue to record the rest of the show and then play it back with a short delay so that you don't miss anything.You could buy a standalone PVR, such as the new Sky+ box from Sky, but they're more expensive than the Personal Cinema package, plus you have to pay a monthly fee on top if you want to use features such as time-shifting.Video nastiesThe Personal Cinema is very good value for money, then, especially as it gives you a pretty good 3D graphics card and video-editing features in addition to its time-shifting ability. However, there's still some room for improvement.Many people now have digital camcorders that use FireWire to connect to a PC. The Personal Cinema module doesn't have a FireWire interface, so it won't be any use if you own a digital camcorder.Creative's manuals and documentation are also very poor. The instructions on how to install the graphics card and Personal Cinema module are adequate, but there's no printed information on how to use the various pieces of bundled software.It's the software that controls features such as video-capture and time-shifting, so beginners may well find themselves completely baffled when they try to figure out how to use these features. The individual programs do have their own online Help files, but these are no substitute for proper printed manuals.Write and wrongThe 3D Blaster Personal Cinema is undoubtedly a powerful and versatile piece of hardware, and it's pitched at a good price too. However, Creative Labs really needs to write a better manual if it wants to cater properly to the ordinary home user.SPECIFICATIONS<ul><li>GeForce2 MX-400 graphics card</li><li>64Mb DDR, 200MHz clock speed</li><li>External 'Personal Cinema' module</li><li>S-Video and composite video input/output</li><li>Supports MPEG-2 video format</li><li>Built-in TV tuner</li><li>Bundled software provides video capture, editing and time-shiftingfeatures</li><li>Handheld remote control unit</li></ul>CONTACT Creative: No sales phone number, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.europe.creative.com">www.europe.creative.com</a>MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS400MHz processor (500MHz or above recommended), Windows 98 SE, AGP graphics slot, 10Gb hard disk.</body></html></content>VNU Business Publications LTD, London UKCopyright © 1994-2009 VNU Business Publications LTD, London UKCliff Joseph2002-03-20T14:32:29.000ZHardware Reviewspc-componentsPinnacle Systems Studio DVhttp://www.whatpc.co.uk/whatpc/hardware/2132684/pinnacle-systems-studio-dvGeoff Bains, <a href="http://www.whatpc.co.uk/">What PC?</a>, Tuesday 1 February 2000 at 00:00:00If you have a digital camcorder, you will want to grab your films off the camera and put them on your PC for editing. The Studio DV makes that task simple with its Firewire interface and easy to use software.<content page="1"><html><body>Digital camcorders (DV and Digital8) are now common and affordable, and editing DV footage on a PC is relatively hassle-free. It's simply a matter of transferring the already-digitised video from the camcorder tape into the PC and manipulating it there.Studio DV is a PCI card that provides for every step of the process. The transfer is handled by a standard Firewire (IEEE1394) interface card and the supplied connecting cable.First the video is captured from the camcorder. StudioDV automatically detects the scene changes and splits the footage into clips, displaying a mini-grab of the first frame of each in an album for identification.Captured video takes up a lot of hard disk space (2.2Gb for 10 minutes). However, Studio DV allows a 'preview quality' capture mode in which you can still use all the editing functions but which consumes only 25Mb for 10 minutes of video. When you come to make the finished movie, StudioDV recaptures the full-quality video as needed.With the video clips on your hard disk, editing is a matter of dragging and dropping the clips onto a storyboard or Timeline display in the required order. Then you can add a choice of 100 transitions (wipes, fades and so on), titles from the comprehensive editor, still images grabbed from your DV tape, and sounds.The finished movie can be turned into an AVI, MPEG-1 or RealVideo file (with no Windows 2Gb file limit) or played back through the interface to record on the camcorder. However, few UK camcorders have Firewire inputs so you cannot then play the movie through the camcorder or record it. It's PC-based movies only.Contact: Pinnacle Systems 01895 424228Minimum requirements: Windows 98, Pentium II 233MHz PC, 32Mb RAM, DirectX 6.0 VGA display card, large hard disk for video storage.</body></html></content>http://www.whatpc.co.uk/whatpc/hardware/2132684/pinnacle-systems-studio-dvGeoff Bains, <a href="http://www.whatpc.co.uk/">What PC?</a>, Tuesday 1 February 2000 at 00:00:00If you have a digital camcorder, you will want to grab your films off the camera and put them on your PC for editing. The Studio DV makes that task simple with its Firewire interface and easy to use software.<content page="1"><html><body>Digital camcorders (DV and Digital8) are now common and affordable, and editing DV footage on a PC is relatively hassle-free. It's simply a matter of transferring the already-digitised video from the camcorder tape into the PC and manipulating it there.Studio DV is a PCI card that provides for every step of the process. The transfer is handled by a standard Firewire (IEEE1394) interface card and the supplied connecting cable.First the video is captured from the camcorder. StudioDV automatically detects the scene changes and splits the footage into clips, displaying a mini-grab of the first frame of each in an album for identification.Captured video takes up a lot of hard disk space (2.2Gb for 10 minutes). However, Studio DV allows a 'preview quality' capture mode in which you can still use all the editing functions but which consumes only 25Mb for 10 minutes of video. When you come to make the finished movie, StudioDV recaptures the full-quality video as needed.With the video clips on your hard disk, editing is a matter of dragging and dropping the clips onto a storyboard or Timeline display in the required order. Then you can add a choice of 100 transitions (wipes, fades and so on), titles from the comprehensive editor, still images grabbed from your DV tape, and sounds.The finished movie can be turned into an AVI, MPEG-1 or RealVideo file (with no Windows 2Gb file limit) or played back through the interface to record on the camcorder. However, few UK camcorders have Firewire inputs so you cannot then play the movie through the camcorder or record it. It's PC-based movies only.Contact: Pinnacle Systems 01895 424228Minimum requirements: Windows 98, Pentium II 233MHz PC, 32Mb RAM, DirectX 6.0 VGA display card, large hard disk for video storage.</body></html></content>VNU Business Publications LTD, London UKCopyright © 1994-2009 VNU Business Publications LTD, London UKGeoff Bains2000-02-01T24:00:00.000ZHardware Reviewsdesktop-computers