Dazzle is shipping the second version of its Digital Video Creator II (DVC II) hardware and software combo for capturing and producing DVD-quality videos.

The compact hardware is no bigger than an external modem standing upright on your desk. But, there's a lot of audio and video smarts within that small footprint.

For starters, the unit can sample and record mono or stereo audio at or near CD quality. Conversely, it can output edited audio to WAV or MPEG files.

When it comes to video, the DVC II can grab hi-res stills (at near 2 megapixels resolution) or capture video (at better-than-VGA resolution) from composite or S-Video input at up to 30 frames per second (fps). Alternatively, you can set the DVC II to capture video frames at regular intervals, useful for security applications, time-lapse photography, or feeding Web cams.

The included editing software makes cutting and mixing video and audio tracks together a drag-and-drop operation. You can preview your work at any time on an external monitor or TV and then go nuts adding digital transition effects and scrolling titles.

Finally, you'll want to render your edited masterpieces directly to a VCR, the Web, CD-RW or DVD-RW disks in your choice of video formats; RealVideo®, MPEG-1, or MPEG-2.

Whether you shoot techies in training videos or toddlers in training pants, Dazzle's Video Creator II appears to be a low-cost production tool bristling with the video gadgetry you need to tell your story.

Features:

- Video Formats: RealVideo®, MPEG-1, MPEG-2
- Video In: Composite and S-Video: NTSC, PAL
- Video Out: Composite and S-Video: NTSC, PAL
- Media: Create CD-ROMs or DVD-ROMs
- Audio: RealAudio®, MPEG and WAV at 64Kb/sec to 384Kb/sec
- Audio sampling: 32KHz, 41.1KHz and 48KHz, mono and stereo
- Max resolution: 720 x 480 (video), 1600 x 1200 (stills)
- Still image capture: single, multiple, or periodic snapshot modes
- Max frame rate: 30 fps
- DVD playback: Mediamatics Software DVD Player
- Requires: 400 MHz CPU, 64MB RAM, Windows 98/2000
- Interface: PCI
- Price: $350

Copyright © 2006 Stephen Jones All rights reserved.