Pinnacle Systems unveils trio of USB 2 video hardware products

Pinnacle Systems has announced three new computer video hardware products for consumers, designed to take full advantage of the Universal Serial Bus 2.0 standard.
Dazzle DVC 90, Studio MovieBox Deluxe and PCTV USB2 were specifically designed to take advantage of Hi-Speed USB 2.0 bandwidth.
The new products leverage the latest in PC technology including USB 2.0 and Intel processors' Hyper-Threading technology to enable high quality video capture and playback in a compact, external package. While the three new hardware devices were designed for USB 2.0, they are not backward-compatible with USB 1.1 connectors. PC owners can quickly and easily connect peripheral devices to their PCs using their USB 2.0 connector, which provide up to 480 Mbits/sec of data throughput for bandwidth-hungry audio and video I/O. The high data rates supported by USB 2.0 eliminate the need for expensive hardware compression on the video capture device, enabling new price/performance levels.
USB 2.0 is supported on virtually all new PCs, including notebooks and desktop systems.
"As a leader in video technology, Pinnacle is offering the first set of video peripherals created especially for Hi-Speed USB 2.0," said Bill Loesch, vice president of engineering and product management of Pinnacle's Business & Consumer division. "We were quick to adopt USB 2.0 for our consumer products because it provides the data rates necessary to handle high-quality video signals".
Pinnacle PCTV USB2 is a compact, external device for watching and recording TV programs on a desktop or laptop system equipped with USB 2.0 connectors. Included is PCTV's Vision PVR software, which provides advanced TimeShifting features, allowing users to pause, rewind, replay and fast-forward live TV. PCTV USB2 is ideal for users who want to watch and record TV programs on their PC, but who do not wish (or do not have room) to install an internal card. Small and lightweight, PCTV USB2 is also suitable for laptop users and is fully USB powered. With a built in TV tuner, PCTV USB2 is a complementary product to Pinnacle Show Center as a video content source.
The Dazzle Digital Video Creator 90 is a palm-sized input device that lets users quickly and easily connect their camcorder and PC to start working with video on the computer. DVC 90 captures full-quality, full screen video and connects to any 1.6 GHz or higher computer with a USB 2.0 port. Included with the hardware is Pinnacle Studio QuickStart, allowing users to create compelling video projects with professional effects, scene transitions and interactive menus. Studio QuickStart features one-button video cleaning and colour correction tools as well as easy-to-use SmartMovie capabilities. Video projects can be saved as Video CDs, S-VCDs, DVDs or web video.
Studio MovieBox Deluxe connects any analogue or DV camcorder to a PC. The device features analogue video inputs and outputs and IEEE 1394 (DV) input and output. Using Pinnacle's patent-pending "tunneling" technology, MovieBox Deluxe solves the problem of connecting a DV camcorder to a USB 2.0-equipped PC, and enables full control of the camcorder via the Studio 9 interface. The sleek, metallic blue hardware case for MovieBox Deluxe was designed by F.A. Porsche.
Included with MovieBox Deluxe is Pinnacle Studio 9 and Hollywood FX Plus software. Pinnacle Studio 9 redefines home movie making with easy automatic editing capabilities, powerful tools for improving old or damaged video, and new creative options including home cinema-quality movie creation and DVD authoring-all through Studio's simple, award-winning interface. Pinnacle Hollywood FX Plus expands on Studio 9's library of tools, menus and effects with more than 300 high quality 3D rendered effects, audio effects and interactive DVD menus. HFX Plus also features complete effect control and expandable libraries.
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