"15-in-1" may be an exaggeration, but....
Product: Matrox Marvel G200-TV and Marvel G400
Pros: based on the same G200 graphics chip as the Matrox Millenium II G200, the Marvel G200 shares the Millennium II G200's prowess at 2D and 3D graphics, plus adds TV tuner, good-quality Motion JPEG video capture and video out capabilities. Video capture software works around the 2 GB file-size limit of Video for Windows. Drivers are available for Windows 9x, Windows NT and Windows 2000 (etc.)
Cons: At this writing, an OpenGL ICD for the G200 promised at the launch of the Millennium II G200 still has not been delivered in final form. A "pre-beta" version with disappointing performance was delivered in Dec. 1998. 3D performance lags behind that of TNT, Banshee and some other competing cards.
The Marvel isn't the fastest 3D card on the block, but its 2D performance is excellent and its image quality is spectacular. Video captures are very high resolution (up to 704 x 480 in NTSC video), thanks to the MJPEG hardware onboard the "15-in-one" card. Also very high quality is the separate breakout box, with audio and video inputs conveniently positioned to help those tired of reaching around the cable-cluttered back of their PC. Our results with the Marvel were excellent -- and we really liked the supplied Ulead MediaStudio Pro VE software, a powerful editing package not significantly unlike Adobe Premiere (but faster!). The package also comes with Photo Express 2.0, an easy to use photo-editing package, and, in the version we tested, a coupon for a copy of Avid Cinema.
The Marvel G200-TV is discussed in greater detail in our 1999 Buyer's Guide report on graphics accelerator cards at PCbuyersguide.com.
The Marvel G400 offers similar video capture and TV capabilities, but is based on Matrox's faster G400 chipset.
For Further Reading:
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