Friday, April 2, 2004
Plextor's ConvertX PX-M402U Digital Video Converter
Posted by Jason Dunn in "ARTICLE" @ 01:32 PM
"Plextor's ConvertX isn't the first USB 2-based A/D converter box we've seen or reviewed here—ADS' USB InstantDVD holds that honor—but it brings some interesting new features to the table. First and foremost, it's the first DivX-certified consumer hardware capture device, and delivers real-time DivX and MPEG-4 encoding. What's more, the ConvertX is also priced lower ($159) than devices that also offer MPEG-2, but not MPEG-4 or DivX.
It's sleek, shiny, and lightweight, but beyond that it doesn't look like much. It mostly resembles a bedstand clock-radio except instead of the time/frequency LCD it has composite and S-video connectors and two status lights on one side and a USB port on the other. Of course, the real action happens on the inside: true to its name, the heart of the ConvertX is a real-time hardware MPEG encoder that in this latest version adds support for the MPEG-4 and DivX formats increasingly popular in Web and portable-device video delivery and available in several recently announced DVD players. The box includes an NTSC/PAL decoder which enables you to capture video from PAL video sources and convert them to NTSC for viewing on North American televisions. Inside you'll also find, naturally, a USB 2 controller for connection to high-speed USB 2 ports."
If you don't have a digital video camera to serve as an analogue to digital bridge when transferring your VHS tapes, this is the kind of solution you'll want to look for. Looks impressive!
It's sleek, shiny, and lightweight, but beyond that it doesn't look like much. It mostly resembles a bedstand clock-radio except instead of the time/frequency LCD it has composite and S-video connectors and two status lights on one side and a USB port on the other. Of course, the real action happens on the inside: true to its name, the heart of the ConvertX is a real-time hardware MPEG encoder that in this latest version adds support for the MPEG-4 and DivX formats increasingly popular in Web and portable-device video delivery and available in several recently announced DVD players. The box includes an NTSC/PAL decoder which enables you to capture video from PAL video sources and convert them to NTSC for viewing on North American televisions. Inside you'll also find, naturally, a USB 2 controller for connection to high-speed USB 2 ports."
If you don't have a digital video camera to serve as an analogue to digital bridge when transferring your VHS tapes, this is the kind of solution you'll want to look for. Looks impressive!
