Epiphan Introduces DVI2USB 3.0 – Next Generation, High Performance External Frame Grabber

Epiphan Systems Inc., an innovator in professional audio-visual capture, record, broadcast streaming and replay hardware products has introduced a new member to its family of external frame grabbers, the DVI2USB 3.0™.  This new product is Epiphan’s most versatile and highest performance external grabber ever.

DVI2USB 3.0 captures video signals from VGA, HDMI, and DVI sources and supports either USB 3.0 or USB 2.0 connectivity to a host computer.  All of this flexibility is packed into in a sleek and robust aluminum case that fits in the palm of your hand.

DVI2USB 3.0 takes advantage of the increased throughput of USB 3.0 SuperSpeed to deliver outstanding performance.  It captures full HD video signals uncompressed at 30 frames per second while maintaining true 24-bit colour to preserve the quality and integrity of the original source signal.  Because it does not implement compression to achieve the 30 fps throughput this performance is independent of video content no matter how dynamic.
DVI2USB 3.0 draws its power from the host computer USB 3.0 link so that no external power source is required.  It is easily connected in a matter of seconds with one cable to the host computer and another to the video source.
DVI2USB 3.0 comes complete with Epiphan Capture software and drivers for Windows, MAC and Linux systems.  This software is compatible with DirectShow, QuickTime, and V4L (Video for Linux) for integration with 3rd party imaging software.  The software is common across the whole family of frame grabbers enabling a smooth migration from other frame grabber models to this newer high performance model.
MSRP for DVI2USB 3.0 is 699.95 USD.

DVI2USB 3.0 can be pre-ordered immediately for shipment on March 1, 2013.

For more information on DVI2USB3.0, please visit the DVI2USB 3.0 product page.

About Epiphan

Epiphan Systems Inc. (“Epiphan”) designs, markets, manufactures and supports an innovative line of VGA/DVI/HD video signal source processing products. The products are proven, ideal solutions for capturing, compressing, transcoding, recording, broadcasting, streaming, replaying and printing of virtually any video source. Epiphan products are used in a wide range of applications such as education, training, simulation, medical imaging, computing, security, transportation, pro-av and legal applications in which capturing, processing, recording and sharing VGA/DVI/HD video source output is critical to effective communication. Epiphan is headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada with a sales office in the USA and authorized resellers throughout the world.

For more information, please visit www.epiphan.com

Media Contact Information

Shaun Markey
Shaun Markey Communications
+1 613 728 9951
Shaunmarkey@rogers.com

Epiphan Media Relations: info@epiphan.com
US/Canada: 1 (877) 599 6581
Outside USA/Canada: +1 (613) 599 6581
Epiphan Media Contact Page

Easy Screen-Grab of you Desktop

The straight forward ‘Print Screen’ presents the simply way to grab a whole screen or window however, has it’s limitations.  If you have a non-standard keyboard, or simple want to grab a particular area of the screen, you’ll need to resort to a software alternative.

Using Screen Capture tools enables powerful, flexible and intuitive screen-capturing utilities to your system.  It enables you to capture anything on the screen including windows, objects, full screen, rectangle regions, freehand-selected regions, and even scrolling windows/web pages.

Many Screen Capture software tools have innovative features such as floating capture panels, hotkeys, resizing, cropping, text annotation, printing, sharing, and more.

Examples of screen capture software are Skitch for MAC and Fast Stone Capture 7.6 for Windows.

Epiphan Systems Releases PCI Express VGA Frame Grabber

 

In an unexpected move, Epiphan Systems unveiled its’ VGA2PCIe frame grabber today – a completely internal frame grabber based on the PCI Express bus. This move is unexpected because Epiphan specialized in external USB and Ethernet based devices.

The VGA2PCIe is a fairly basic 1-channel VGA frame grabber.  At the same time, VGA2PCIe offers capture rates that are impressive to say the least. Let’s take a look at the advantages and shortcomings of this new device:

Advantages:

• No compression when transferring the from VGA to the PC, meaning that your computer will see the VGA signal in 100% lossless, raw quality.
• Capture rates vary between 35-85 frames per second, making this frame grabber ideal for high frame rate applications.
• VGA2PCIe is able to capture full HD (1920×1080) video at high frame rates.
• VGA2PCIe is based on 1x PCI Express, meaning it will fit in any PCI Express slot.
• For a price of $800, this is lower than other competing internal devices.

Shortcomings:

• Only one channel for VGA capture, although several VGA2PCIe devices can be installed on the same machine.
• No drivers for Linux or Mac, but Epiphan promises to add them in the near future.
• No audio input capture support, while other frame grabbers in Epiphan’s product line (like the VGA2Ethernet) support a stereo audio input.

Conclusion

VGA2PCIe is a strong contender in the internal frame grabber market. It should definitely be put under consideration if you are shopping for an internal VGA frame grabber. The specifications are impressive an Epiphan’s support has always been great.

VGA Splitters Explained – Active or Passive?

What is a VGA Splitter?

A VGA splitter is a device that duplicates a VGA signal. In other words, in accepts one VGA input, and clones it to multiple VGA outputs.

VGA Splitters and Screen Capture

VGA Splitters are often used in screen capture solutions where a VGA signal needs to be captured. Since a VGA splitter clones a single VGA signal into two or more feeds, this allows the user to retain the use of a standard computer monitor, while at the same time sending the VGA signal to a capture device like a frame grabber.

Active and Passive VGA Splitters

Two different types of VGA splitters exist. Active VGA splitters and passive VGA splitters. Passive VGA splitters, pictured below, are also known as simply Y-splitters or Y-adapters:

Active VGA splitters, on the other hand, consist of hardware devices that need to be powered to operate and often have more than 2 ports on the output side. A VGA Splitter from Kramer Electronics is shown below:

When to use a Passive Splitter

A passive splitter has only a few advantages over its active counterpart. Firstly, passive splitters are extremely cheap in price, as they can often be found for under $10. Secondly, they are compact and require no power source.

Unfortunately, passive splitters also have some downfalls. They are not compatible with all equipment, as passive splitters don’t let monitors properly identify themselves to the VGA source. Passive splitters support  a maximum of only two outputs and, since there is no amplification of the signal, the outputs are often of inferior quality than if seen without the splitter.

It is suggested to use a passive splitter when you are connecting two of the same model monitor to the splitter’s output, no power source is available, or when picture quality is unimportant to you.

 

When to use an Active Splitter

Active VGA splitters have countless advantages over passive VGA splitters. Active VGA splitters can clone one VGA port into virtually any number of outputs. Furthermore, an active VGA splitter identifies itself to the computer as a monitor, meaning that there will be no incompatibility issues with the different models of monitors and VGA-based equipment connected to it.

Furthermore, active VGA splitters slightly amplify the signal (not to be confused with VGA amplifiers) which means that the resulting VGA output will be of significantly superior quality when comparing to that of a passive or Y-splitter.

Realistically, the one and only disadvantage of an active splitter is that it requires a power source for it to operate.

 

Conclusion

If possible, using an active splitter is recommended for all applications. However, since proper active splitters retail for well over the $100 mark, a passive splitter will sometimes suffice.

When choosing an active VGA splitter, always make sure to check its specifications in order to see if it is compatible with the resolution you plan to use it with.

Epiphan Systems Announces New Open Source Frame Grabber

A first in the market of high resolution video capture hardware, Epiphan Systems has announced a new open source frame grabber – Epiphan Lecture Recorder.

According to the product page, shipping of the Lecture Recorder will start sometime in November. Epiphan Lecture Recorder, or ELR in short, has some promising features that, at the price tag of $2000, are unbeatable by similar offerings.

ELR’s Unique Features

Even though this product seems to be aimed at the educational market, Epiphan Lecture Recorder has some unique features that make it a perfect frame grabber for pretty much any application. Firstly, ELR supports not only DVI and VGA capture, but also has on-board inputs for composite video and stereo audio.

Furthermore, Epiphan Lecture recorder has a very generous 32GB of buffer memory, which is expandable via portable flash sticks, network drives, or external hard disks.

Finally, ELR features 5 USB ports for external devices and peripherals, meaning that you can create software that will allow you to connect external control devices such as IR remotes, CD/DVD writers, wireless modules, an so on.

Open Source

As mentioned earlier, Epiphan Lecture Recorder will be an open source device. What this means for developers is that it is possible to access all features of the frame grabber. And, because the ELR is more of an embedded computer or internet appliance, many interesting applications can be written for it. For example, the ELR, as it has an Ethernet network interface, can function as its own server, as pictured below.

In a Nutshell

The Epiphan Lecture Recorder is more of a computer with on-board frame grabber and video and audio capture cards than it is an actual frame grabber. While this might not be the ideal device for the general public, the ELR could be used as a platform for a wide variety of applications.

Click here to view Epiphan Lecture Recorder’s product page on Epiphan Systems’ website.

Epiphan Systems first to announce compatibility with Windows 7

As the Windows 7 Release Candidate was made for free public downloading this week, manufacturers of hardware and software developers were able to test their software and hardware compatibility with Microsoft’s new operating system, slated to hit retail stores in October 2009.

Epiphan Systems, the manufacturer of external frame grabbers, recording, and broadcasting solutions for VGA and DVI has announced that all of its’ devices run smoothly under a Windows 7 environment and that the latest version of their software includes full support for this new operating system.

However, users may encounter some difficulties upon upgrading to this new OS, so it is still recommended that you reinstall the software when upgrading from XP or Windows Vista, as the drivers might not remain after the update.

ScreenCaptureNews will keep you updated as more software and hardware developers announce their products’ compatibility with Windows 7.

Frame Grabber Specification Comparison Table Updated

One of the most visited pages on our site is our massive and extremely informative feature comparison table for the world’s best VGA and DVI frame grabbers. Since it was created, some manufacturers have changed the specifications for their devices, while Epiphan Systems introduced the VGA2Ethernet frame grabber, which is now part of the table.

The first thing that you may notice is that the VGA2Ethernet has much higher specifications than any other frame grabber on the market. This is due to the fact that the VGA2Ethernet is a  much more sophisticated device and, as such, is not really comparable to the other grabbers.

Why is the VGA2Ethernet different?

You can think of the VGA2Ethernet as a separate small computer equipped with a frame grabber. As such, it is able to function remotely. In other words, the VGA2Ethernet does not have to have close proximity to the target computer, as is the case with PCI or USB based frame grabbers. As shown below, the only requirement for the VGA2Ethernet is that it be on the same network as the target computer, and within proximity of the source that it is capturing the VGA signal from.

The fact that the VGA2Ethernet can be separated from the target computer distance-wise is not the only thing that makes this device different from others, however. By using the Gigabit Ethernet bus to transfer the images and a PowerPC processor paired with an advanced FPGA, the VGA2Ethernet is able to digitize images at resolutions up to 2048 x 2048 and, depending on the change in content from frame to frame, transfer them at up to 120 frames per second, making the VGA2Ethernet significantly faster than other any frame grabber available on the market.

Please click here to go to our complete VGA frame grabber review and specification page. Do not hesitate to contact us should you wish another product to be added to the table.

 

VGA2LAN Development Kit to revolutionize VGA capture market

When an organization, company, or individual has an idea for a VGA capture-based product, such as a webcasting system, a recorder of VGA signals, or any other VGA-related hardware product, a separate frame grabber is purchased, mated with a PC with software, packaged, and sold.

Solutions for capturing, broadcasting and recording presentations and seminars are often rediculously expensive ($10 000+) due to the fact that the original cost of the hardware (frame grabber + capture card + PC + peripherals) runs at half the retail value of the actual product. Not only did this make VGA capture-based solutions unaffordable to some, it also meant that educational institutions such as school and colleges had to spend an arm and a leg if they were to outfit every single one of their classrooms with such devices.

In order to solve this problem, Epiphan Systems has announced and is now shipping a new product aimed at capturing the market of developers, power users, and integrators – the VGA2LAN Development Kit. With a fully open-source architecture, a custom Linux build environment, access to all drivers and ports, the VGA2LAN is poised to create a revolution in the industry.

 

What is it?

The VGA2LAN platform is based off of a Motorola PowerPC chipset and comes preinstalled with a custom build of Ubuntu. The basic specifications are as follows:

• 1 VGA input with integrated frame grabber
• 1 VGA output
• Integrated Gigabit Ethernet hub
• 5 USB 2.0 ports (4 external + 1 internal)
• No moving parts

In other words, the VGA2LAN is effectively a small PowerPC-based computer with an integrated frame grabber.

 

VGA Capture

Of course, what interests us most is the quality of VGA capture that this device can achieve. Does it really make sense to develop products using the VGA2LAN platform or is it still better to use an internal or external frame grabber paired to a PC? The basic specs are listed below and a full list of specifications can be obtained at Epiphan Systems’ web page:

• 2048 x 2048 maximum resolution
• 120 frames per second maximum capture rate
• Lossless quality
• 270 Mpixels/s pixel rate, 532Mpixels/s if interlaced

The specifications of the integrated frame grabber are comparable to those found in high-end devices costing upwards of $2000. A detailed comparison of VGA frame grabbers can be found here. And, since the price of the VGA2LAN Development Kit is under $1000, it makes sense to use it instead of a computer + frame grabber combo often costing 5 times that amount.

A Platform for Next Generation Internet Appliances

The VGA2LAN does not come with any internal memory. However, USB 2.0 flash memory drives can be purchased for pennies on the dollar and are sold in all capacities up to 128GB, meaning that you have plenty of buffer space to work with. Furthermore, the 4 external USB ports can be used to connect external hard drives and other storage media, such as CD, DVD, or Blu-Ray burners, infinitely expanding the VGA2LAN’s storage capacity.

Since the VGA2LAN is an open source platform, devices such as USB Wi-Fi antennas can be connected in order to provide wireless communications, should the integrated Gigabit Ethernet network card not be sufficient for your application. Furthermore, the presence of USB 2.0 ports means that peripherals suchs as keyboards, mice, AMX/Crestron control units, and others can be interfaced with the VGA2LAN, making it perfect for virtually any application that involves the capture of VGA signals.

The VGA2LAN Development Kit is a great way to build, use, and sell hardware products for a company or organization that doesn’t have the resources, finances, or expertise to manufacture their own capture hardware. And, at a price of $999 US, it is most definitely a bargain.

Click here to navigate to the VGA2LAN Development Kit product page on Epiphan Systems’ website and find out more about this exciting product.

Screen Capture, Recording, and Broadcasting with Windows Media Encoder

Do you want to use your frame grabber, screen grabber or webcam with Windows Media Encoder to record or broadcast video? If yes, then this article will help you understand the ins and outs of working with Windows Media Encoder 9 Series and get the most out of this valuable tool.

Windows Media Encoder may be downloaded free of charge at the following address: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/forpros/encoder/default.mspx. The software may be used with Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Vista.

In this article, a simple VGA frame grabber, the VGA2USB, will be used to broadcast and record the screen of another computer.

 

Configuring Windows Media Encoder (WM Encoder) for VGA or DVI Broadcast and Recording

1. Open WM Encoder. The new session wizard should immediately appear. If you would like to broadcast AND record/archive at the same time or just broadcast the VGA or DVI output, select “Broadcast a live event”. If you would to record without broadcasting, select “Capture video or audio”. Click on OK.

 

2. You will now be brought to a screen within which you can select whether you would like to record video and/or audio, and from which devices. In this example, we will record just the video output from the Epiphan Systems VGA2USB, which is a low-cost external USB frame grabber. If the frame grabber is connected but not appearing in “video” list of devices, it may be because it does not support 3^rd party software or the drivers are not installed properly.

3. Now that you’ve configured which devices you’d like to capture from, the network and connection settings must be selected. In the Broadcast Method step, you must indicate whether you are planning to use an external Windows Media Server to broadcast your video, or if you want to simply use your computer. For simplicity, we will use our own computer. Thus, “pull from encoder” must be selected.

4. You must now select the network port that your broadcast is going to be sent through. If you are not sure which ports are free on your computer, simply click on “Find Free Port”. VERY IMPORTANT: Write down the 2 URLs that are given to you in this step. You will need them later in order to give to your viewers so that they can access the webcast.

 

5. Now you need to select the bandwidth/quality for your webcast. This depends on how much of your internet connection you want to consume for the webcast, but 700Kbps+ seems to be the norm these days for average quality video.

 

6. In the Archive File step, you may select a location on your local hard drive to save the broadcast to. That way, you may access it (and even re-broadcast it) at any time after the original broadcast has been made.

 

7. Here, you may put some details and copyright information about your broadcast. Your viewers will be able to see this information as it will appear if they click on “file properties” from their media player.

 

8. That’s it! You have now configured your first Windows Media Encoder VGA or DVI broadcast! Click on “Finish” to complete the wizard.

 

 

FAQ

How can my viewers open my webcast?

Your viewers can find your webcast by going to the address that was provided for you in step 4.

 

I gave the address to my viewers but they still cannot access the broadcast.

Are you behind a local firewall, switch or router? Disable any firewalls that might be blocking the communication between you and the client machine. If you are on a home/business network and want to broadcast to the Internet or outside of your LAN, then you must setup port forwarding to your computer on the router. This is done by going into the router’s control panel and forwarding the HTTP port provided in step 4 to your machine.

 

My video has both high frame rate and bandwidth settings, but is still not of sufficient quality.

You might have to modify the video processing options. Stop your recording and click on the “Properties” button that is located at the top of the main WM Encoder window. From there, navigate over to the “Processing” tab and select “YUY2″ as the pixel format.

 

Using Adobe Connect Pro and a Capture Card to Broadcast VGA

What makes software packages like Adobe Connect Pro, Cisco WebEx, and Microsoft Live Meeting useful is the ability to broadcast anything that is visible on the computer screen as long as you have one of these applications installed and running. However, there are situations where one cannot install a web collaboration/presentation software on a computer but still needs to broadcast the image from it. It is also possible that you are using a device or operating system that is incompatible with your favorite webcasting software. Perhaps you would like to broadcast from a document camera pod with a VGA or DVI interface.

 

 

Some situations where an external frame grabber is useful:

• When a network connection is lost, the presenters screen is still being recorded.
• There are not enough system resources to run Connect Pro, or the computer does not allow the installation of Adobe Connect Pro.
• Switching layouts- Once a layout has been switched, the computer sharing the screen in the previous layout needs to be activated again.
• Audio – When working with demos, the demo machine’s audio needs to have the Connect Pro audio installed, but muted (through the voice and camera pod) otherwise the session’s audio will echo.
• Bandwidth – Each demo computer needs to be logged into the Connect Pro meeting. When many computers/devices are connected to a Connect Pro meeting, too much bandwidth is “eaten up”.
• Unsupported devices – Since Adobe Connect Pro is normally only compatible with Windows and Mac OS X, adding a frame grabber allows you to use Connect Pro on any device with a VGA or DVI port.

source: www.connectusers.com

In order to accomplish this, you would need to use a frame grabber connected to a Connect Pro capture computer. You would then launch the application that comes with the grabber on the computer with the VGA grabber and share it with Connect Pro. As long as the VGA source is connected to the grabber itself, then you’re ready to broadcast the image from it!

 

What frame grabber works best with Adobe Connect Pro?

There is no universal answer to this question and it really depends on what your capturing needs are. If you are looking for something cost-effective and do not need to broadcast an image with as lot of movement, then the Epiphan Systems VGA2USB will be enough. However, if you need to broadcast an HD or other high-quality imagery, then we suggest to look into the NCast DCC3.1, Epiphan VGA2Ethernet, or DVI2USB Duo.

For a detailed comparison and description of the most advanced high-resolution frame grabbers on the market, please refer to our frame grabber comparison table.

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