🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <0096180E.58D289C0@vms.csd.mu.edu>, 2719weberj@vms.csd.mu.edu writes:
> Hi all,
> I am considering getting a Quadra 950 multimedia package under the
> student pricing package.  This package includes the super Mac
> video spiget video board etc.  Does any one have any reviews
> that might help me on this?

I have a VideoSpigot card in my LC. I've been dabbling with capturing
video from a VCR and (more recently) a camcorder, and also with some
homebrew software for driving the Spigot through the standard QuickTime
interface.

The Spigot is very much a low-end digitizer card. Video capture, and even
on-screen play-through, are very CPU-intensive processes. The good news is,
your Quadra 950 should be able to manage real-time grabs of movie sequences
at 30 frames per second with no problems--straight to RAM, at any rate.

The bad news is, it's not going to be able to do this at full-screen (480*640)
resolution. It should certainly do it at on-sixteenth (160*120) resolution,
and possibly at one-quarter (320*240) size as well.

There are two ways to grab frames from a Spigot. The first way is with the
bundled ScreenPlay utility. This gives you on-screen play-through, and lets
you grab both single still frames and movie sequences. Movie sequences are
saved in standard QuickTime format, so you can import and edit them with Adobe
Premiere or other software. Still frames are saved in standard PICT format.
You can grab a full-size still frame, but only if the video source is putting
out an absolutely steady still image.

The other way to grab frames is through the standard QuickTime "vdig" (video
digitizer) interface. Unfortunately the driver for this is still in beta;
it works, but is not *quite* as robust as it should be. You can use this driver
with applications like DiVA VideoShop, that include frame-grabbing capabilities.

ScreenPlay has one annoying characteristic if you run it on a machine with
built-in audio input (like the LC or Quadra): if you want to grab a movie
sequence with simultaneous audio, it won't let you use any other audio input
devices you may happen to have connected. For example, I have a MacRecorder
hooked to my LC, that I prefer to use for most things, mainly because it
has a manual recording level control. But ScreenPlay won't give me the option
of using it! So if I want a decent-quality soundtrack, I have to grab the
audio separately, and combine it with the video using something like Premiere.

All in all, I think the Spigot is a neat product, that has no competition in
its price range.

Hope this helps.

Lawrence D'Oliveiro                       fone: +64-7-856-2889
Computer Services Dept                     fax: +64-7-838-4066
University of Waikato            electric mail: ldo@waikato.ac.nz
Hamilton, New Zealand    37^ 47' 26" S, 175^ 19' 7" E, GMT+13:00
To someone with a hammer and a screwdriver, every problem looks
like a nail with threads.