WaveWatcher-TV / TV in Windows! (w/ capture) $160

[Owen Adair]

FOR SALE:

Aitech's Wavewatcher-TV video capture with cable ready tuner

256color vga video capture. Cable ready tuner.

This board works great to watch TV in *any* size Windows window. You can
even iconize the Window and see the teeny screen. :-) There are three
different window styles, and control is via menus or an onscreen "remote"
DOS software is available I'm told, but I don't have it.

Supports USA broadcast, USA cable, or Japan cable.

Includes Video for Windows DRIVERS (no I don't have VFW). You must have
a feature connector on your VGA card.

I bought this as a toy a couple of months ago. I'm done playing. This thing
is a load of fun.

Although the software isn't perfect, it is certainly usable and they have
a BBS you can get free updates from.

Price: $160 (firm) plus shipping

I've pulled a review for the board (the one w/o tuner) and reprinted it
below for your review.

============

Windows Sources August 1993 v1 n7 p274(3)
------------------------------
WaveWatcher-TV. (from Aitech International Corp.) (Hardware Review) (one of 14
video boards evaluated in Windows Captures the Big Screen)
(Brief Article) (Evaluation)

Includes cable compatible tuner.

[This review is for WaveWatcher w/o tuner. Mine has tuner]

Author
DeVoney, Chris
------------------------------
Full Text
If you need to capture still video images, Aitech International's
$499 ($569 w/tuner) WaveWatcher can get the job done. The WaveWatcher is a
two-third-length, 16-bit ISA board based on the C&T PCVideo chip set
and includes solid frame capture and editing software. The two adapter
cables that plug into its bracket support three video sources and two
line-level stereo sound sources. Installing the board is simple,
and the ribbon cable that's provided connects WaveWatcher to your VGA's
feature connector. A second cable connects it to the monitor jack
of your VGA, and a third and fourth cable supply RCA phono plugs
for video and audio.

WaveWatcher's Windows frame grabber can capture a single field or a full
frame of video and store the image in .PCX, TIFF, .BMP (in 8-, 16-,
or 24-bit color), JPEG, or IBM's MMotion formats. And the bundled
ProLab ProImage for Windows lets you edit still frames with features
such as cropping and blending colors.

Image quality is good, though the picture suffers from a slight shimmy or sparkle
from video noise. Since the software correctly freezes and adjusts frames,
capturing still images from any full-motion video source is easy and
accurate. The software handles frame captures up to 24 bits at
640-by-480 resolution and 256 colors at 800 by 600 or 1,024 by 768.

The Video for Windows driver, which is included, can capture frames in
resolutions from 40 by 30 to 640 by 480 in steps of 40 by 30.
The board also produces up to 21 bits of color (or 2.2 million colors).

As for full motion video, the board is an under-achiever. At 30 fps,
with 160-by-120 resolution at 8-bit color, WaveWatcher dropped over
505 of 901 frames. At 15 fps, it dropped 49 of 451 frames--an
acceptable rate, though the sound had noticeable pauses and
produced static in spots. And while it displays captured view unless
Windows runs at 640-by-480 resolution in 256 colors; this makes it
hard to adjust colors correctly, since the picture has up to 2.2 million
colors.

Overall, WaveWatcher is acceptable only for capturing and playing "silent
movies" at 160-by-120 resolution. But for capturing still image videos,
the WaveWatcher is among the best choices reviewed.

Additional functions: Built-in on-screen remote control; image
capture; VGA overlay; NTSC or PAL video; audio input

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