Matrox Marvel G400-TV

Trevor Snyder

April 1, 2000

The Matrox Marvel G400-TV is an Editor's Choice award winner! ''It does what they say it does!''

You'll see many products advertised as "all-in-one" if you look, but few come as close to actually meeting the hype as the Matrox Marvel G400-TV.

Perhaps the single most important feature that pushes the G400-TV above competitors in its price range is the hardware MJPEG video codec. Second on our list of must have features in an all-in-one would be a feature that, as far as we know, is unique to Matrox. The company named it "Dualhead." What it really means that you can experience simultaneous output to multiple picture sources, whether this means a TV and a monitor, an digital flat panel and a monitor, etc. Other cards we've seen allow output to a single monitor or a single TV but not both in tandem. A useful feature during extended video editing and for other purposes.

Other important features of this card are the built in TV tuner, the ability to record digital video to your hard drive and a software package called Avid Cinema that is notable for its ease-of-use.

Why the hardware codec makes a difference

We noticed a huge difference in the overall quality of video captured with the G400-TV versus software based cards. Not only did we find the editing process faster using the G400-TV, we were impressed at the wide range of resolutions available when performing a capture. Running on a Pentium II 450 system, the Matrox outperformed a sofware codec based competitor running on an Athlon 650 with three times the RAM. Processing went much faster on the G400-TV saving us precious minutes in our tests.

One disadvantage of the G400-TV is that its hardware codec uses more hard drive space than MPEG2. However, falling hard drive prices offset this. If you are serious about quality, it's hardly an issue at all.

Simplicity is the best feature of the included editing software

Users who value simplicity will greatly appreciate the complete lack of a learning curve necessary with Avid Cinema, the editing software included with the G400-TV. All that is required is a basic knowledge of computers. Our first video took very little time to compile and we were favorably impressed with the results.

The storyboard tab contains helpful tips and is logically laid out. Included effects are ample yet non-confusing. Publishing for a variety of formats is as simple as choosing the one you want.

Sample Video

Other Important Notes

Several other items are included in the G400 package including a cool Matrox Software DVD Player and Tonic Trouble, a silly little game kids will love.

We tested Half-Life, Quake III and several other popular games on the G400-TV, and were favorably impressed with the visuals and frame rates.

The included Ulead Photo Express 2.0 is adequate but none of it's features were stunning. 

The G400-TV is, overall, the most powerful and easiest to use product we've seen its class and price range. We highly recommend it for small businesses and video hobbyists.

You'll find it to be an incredibly well thought out package that is simple, fun and highly productive. Overall, the G400-TV is one of the best values on the market.

The Geek Stuff

Matrox G400 Enhanced Games List

RN TO REVIEWS]

Copyright 2000, Trevor Snyder, All Rights Reserved