16. Matrox Marvel G400 TV - Supplied Software

Matrox has chosen the same approach as 3dfx and has implemented a software control unit. We believe that this model is the best implementation in the entire test range.

The video editing software "Avid Cinema" makes a very well organized impression. Users can get started straight away without referring to a manual. Even special effects such as transitions or displaying running texts (banners) are simple to use.

If you want to make videos available to others then you will have to convert from the proprietary MJPEG format into the standard MPEG 1 or MPEG 2 format. This conversion can be done using Ligos LSX Transcoder. The space required for a video can then be reduced (at most) to a fifth of the original size. The time requirement for conversion using a Pentium III 500 is about the same as the playtime of the source video, i.e. for a 15-minute video, you'll need about 15 minutes for the conversion (transcoding).