Subject: MINI-REVIEW: V-Lab 24-bit Video Digitizer Card
From: [email-masked] (Joseph F. Korczynski)
Date: 4 May 1993 04:12:49 GMT
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.reviews

PRODUCT NAME

	V-LAB V3.1

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

	24-Bit Real Time Video Digitizing Card

AUTHOR/COMPANY INFORMATION

	Name:           MacroSystemUS
	Address:        17019 Smugglers Cove
			Mt. Clemens, MI 48038
			USA

	Telephone:      (313) 263-0095
	FAX:            (313) 263-9639

LIST PRICE

	$499.95 (US).  I paid $415 at my local dealer.

SPECIAL HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS

	HARDWARE

		Amiga 2x00/3000/4000 Zorro II slot

		1 MB Chip RAM, 2 MB Fast RAM minimum.  8 MB recommended.
	
		50MB hard drive minimum.
		
		Works with all 680x0 microprocessors

		It is suggested that A2000 owners use an accelerator.

	SOFTWARE
	
		Requires AmigaDOS 2.04 (Kickstart V37.175, Workbench V37.67).
		Workbench 2.1 and 3.0 supported as well.

COPY PROTECTION

	None

MACHINE USED FOR TESTING

	Amiga 4000/040/120MB IDE hard drive
	2MB CHIP RAM, 12MB 32-bit Fast RAM, 2MB 16-bit Fast RAM
	AmigaDOS 3.0 (Kickstart V39.106 and Workbench V39.29)
	C= 2091 SCSI controller populated with 2MB RAM
	44MB SyQuest Removable Drive
	Chinon CDX-431 CD-ROM Drive
	DCTV display enhancer/slow scan video digitizer
	Canon XAPSHOT still video camera
	HPII compatible laser printer

MINI-REVIEW

	Unlike DCTV, V-Lab is a real-time 24-bit video digitizer. Since
upgrading from a 2000, I've had been using my DCTV exclusively for
digitizing still video images.  One of my dislikes of DCTV is that I am
constantly switching the printer cable and DCTV digitizing cable on my
parallel port.  (Yeah, I know its cheaper to buy a switchbox.)  In addition, I
often need the capability to digitize images off of video tape. Since DCTV
is a slow scan digitizer, it takes 10 seconds to digitize a video signal.
This requires a VTR with excellent freeze frame capability (which I do not
have). I spent about a month researching the various framegrabbers on the
market.  LIVE! and Progressive Peripherals Framegrabber are not actively
supported by their manufacturers from my viewpoint, and I was not sure if
their aging software would work under AmigaDOS 3.0.  With the latest release
of Art Department Professional (V2.3), I noticed that ASDG included loaders
for YUVN and VLAB which were provided by MacroSystems.  I opted for the
V-Lab board after learning that it is AmigaDOS 2.0 compatible and it
supports ARexx.

	Installation was fairly simple. I opened the Amiga 4000 and put the
board in the next available Zorro slot. The board is not a full height card
(compared to the 2091, it is about 2/3 as high).  All the integrated circuits
are socketed. V-Lab uses a commercially available video chip set which
converts video frames and stores it in special video RAM on the V-Lab card.
Once in the V-Labs memory, it can be transferred to the Amiga's system memory
using a 16-bit bus width (Zorro II). The V-Lab card supports AutoConfig so
there are no jumpers to set. Since the V-Lab card has two composite inputs,
you can connect multiple video sources (like a still video and VTR) and
select them via software.

	The software is delivered on a single floppy disk. It does not
contain Workbench and is not bootable. Installation is painless.  Clicking
on the Install script, you are asked if you prefer German or English
installation instructions. All you have to do is supply the path of where
you want the V-Lab software installed, and the script takes care of the rest.
There are also install scripts for for the V-Lab library file (LIBS:
directory) and Art Department Professional YUVN and VLAB loader modules.

	The software takes full advantage of OS2.04 and higher environment.
It is also Amiga Style Guide compliant. You have the option of running V-Lab
on the Workbench or on its own public screen.  The V-Lab software system
offers the user an environment that puts the functions of the pull down
menus in individual windows which make extensive use of gadgets to adjust
various parameters. These windows include: SCAN for single frame grabbing;
CONVERT for converting raw images to Amiga graphic modes both ECS and AGA;
SEQUENCE for grabbing multiple frames (limited to your available system
RAM); COLOR CORRECTION for adjusting chrominance, red, green, blue,
contrast, luminance, and gamma; SELECT SOURCE for selecting input source
signal PAL,NTSC or user definable; DEFINE SOURCE for altering PAL, NTSC or
defining your image clip width (X1,X2) and height (Y1,Y2), RCA input jack,
luminance filter, chroma filter, VCR mode activates built-in time base
correction, VSYNC correction, noise filter, filter frequency, filer weight;
PREVIEW for a grayscale thumbnail size view of the incoming video signal.
Screen mode, screen fonts, window fonts and language are user definable.
Extensive support for ARexx scripts. Each menu item has an ARexx equivalent.
There are over 125 ARexx commands.  
	
	The V-Lab hardware is capable of digitizing one frame of video in
1/30 of a second, or one field in 1/60 of a second (2 fields equal 1 frame).
The maximum digitizing width and height is 720 x 611 pixels. When images are
digitized, they are stored in YUVN format. In order to display the image on
your Amiga or use it in other programs, you will have to render it in a
display mode that your Amiga supports (ECS or AGA) and save it in that
rendered IFF format. You also have the option of saving it as a 24-bit IFF.
Typically, an image in the YUVN file format is 55% the size of the same image
in 24-bit IFF file format.

	I've had the V-Lab only for a couple days, and I have successfully
digitized still video images from the Canon XAPSHOT camera within the V-Lab
software environment and Art Department Professional (V2.3). The images
appear much sharper when digitized with V-Lab than with DCTV (you get what
you pay for!). I have captured single frames and sequences from my VCR with
very good results to date.  

DOCUMENTATION

	Bound printed manual. Text layout via AmigaTEX. It has the same look
and feel of Art Department Professional manual. It has a table of contents
but lacks an index. Includes a quick start section and gives you a thorough
explanation of all menus, ARexx and AmigaDOS scripting commands. It also
devotes a chapter on video signal technology (very informative for the
novice). 

LIKES AND DISLIKES

	The software is very well thought out and seems bug free. I was able
to use the software without out digging too deeply into the manual, and it
has not crashed the system. The software is Amiga Style Guide compliant.
	
	One dislike has to do with the user manual construction.  The
binding seems somewhat fragile. After only two days of use, some of the pages
are separating from the binding.

COMPARISON TO OTHER SIMILAR PRODUCTS

	Over the years I have owned and used LIVE! (A1000), DigiView
(A1000), and DCTV (A2000/A4000). Each product was an improvement over the
previous one in ease of use and image quality. Because of its dual
functionality as a display enhancer and slow scan digitizer, DCTV is still an
excellent value.

BUGS

	None from a user's point of view.

VENDOR SUPPORT

	The product was developed by MacroSystems of Germany.  However, it
is marketed in North America by MacroSystemUS. 

WARRANTY

	A warranty/registration card is included; however, the length of
warranty is not stated. I assume the standard 90 day warranty on electronics
applies.

CONCLUSIONS

	I'm impressed by the software interface and the control that
user has over the hardware.

	As a whole I give this product 4 out of 5 stars. I think the
manual should be spiral bound so that it is a bit more durable.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

	Copyright 1993 Joseph F. Korczynski.  All rights reserved.

---

   Daniel Barrett, Moderator, comp.sys.amiga.reviews
   Send reviews to:	[email-masked]
   Request information:	[email-masked]
   Moderator mail:	[email-masked]