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From: gilmore@vms.macc.wisc.edu (Neil Gilmore)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Product Announcement
Message-ID: <3371@dogie.macc.wisc.edu>
Date: 21 Mar 90 23:21:34 GMT
Sender: news@dogie.macc.wisc.edu
Organization: University of Wisconsin Academic Computing Center
Lines: 102

Unfortunatly, this announcement points out most clearly what I hate in 
advertising. Let's see how it looks with a little editing..
(I promise I'll even try to make this useful).

In article <1990Mar21.051034.17203@csusac.csus.edu>, monsoor@cssexb.csus.edu (matthew monsoor) writes...
(header of ad removed) 
(note that the >'ed lines HAVE been edited. My comments appear as 
normal.)
>What is DCTV (tm)?
(useful for organization, but neutral)
>DCTV (Digital Composite Television) is a new display and
>digitizing system for the Amiga Computer.  DCTV includes image
>processing software for digitizing video images and converting IFF images
>into DCTV graphics for display.  It plugs into both the RGB video and the
>parallel ports of any Amiga.  A pass-thru for the RGB monitor is provided.
>NTSC video input and output jacks complete the connections.
I deleted the superfluous adjectives here. After all, if I'm going to 
buy the thing, I'll decide whether or not is is revolutionary and 
powerful.

>What does DCTV (tm) do?

>DCTV uses normal high resolution display modes on the Amiga, however, it
>interprets the Amiga video signal .  By using a
>video compression system, DCTV takes
>the digital video signal that comes from the Amiga RGB port and converts it
>into full color composite video with the color and picture quality 
>of broadcast TV.
Once again, hype deleted. And do you really believe that broadcast TV 
has 'vibrant color' or 'stunning picture quality'. So far, it sounds 
kinda like a genlock. 

>DCTV Digitizes Video...
Aha! Now maybe some meat for this fluff...
>DCTV is also a "slow" scan video digitizer.  Using any color camera, still
>video camera, or still frame capable VCR, DCTV can capture a color
>composite video frame in about 10 seconds. Once the video image is captured,
>DCTV image processing controls allow picture manipulation
>including conversion to any IFF format.
I always wonder when they say 'any'. My experience has been the same 
with 'one size fits all'. So it grabs frames. It should be superfluous 
to say that it can save frames in IFF format, but no harm being 
specific.

>FEATURES...
A list of features is a nice inclusion to this.
>>> Digitize and display full color NTSC video graphics on any Amiga.
>>> Display full color video images with millions of colors.
Uh... How? Where, on the Amiga or somewhere else? This isn't very 
specific. A normal genlock could show a normal broadcast picture onto an 
Amiga monitor, thus getting those 'millions of colors'.
>>> Capture a video frame in 10 seconds from any color video camera.
>      Also works with still video cameras, video disk, and freeze frame VCRs.
Would it be better to say 'from any still video source'? Or isn't that 
accurate?
>>> Display and capture full color 24-bit high resolution IFF images.
It seems as though they've got some trick for this. This should mean 
that the device can display all 24 bits of color.
>>> Convert DCTV images to any IFF display format including HAM and 24-bit.
Like I said above, should go without saying, but no harm in being 
specific. Even if it didn't, a simple utility would suffice.
>>> Animate in full NTSC color.
How fast? Pumping NTSC color images takes up lots of time, even in an 
optimized format.

>COST:  Well under $500 retail U.S.
$499.99? 'Well under' grates on me, it's another unquantifiable term.
>SHIPPING DATE: Early summer.
RSN, huh? Does this thing make bread for the Toaster? I won't hold my 
breath, but no flames either. (You could toast a lot of bread over all 
the flames the Toaster generated.)
>            For additional information call
And now the obligatory contacts. If they were left out, I would've 
noticed.
>Digital Creations
>(916) 344-4825

>Or to receive a full color brochure with actual pictures of DCTV screens
>send a Self Addressed Stamped Envelope (SASE-25") to
Does my dealer have these pictures? Just a question.
>Digital Creations
>Dept DCTV
>2865 Sunrise Blvd., Suite #103
>Rancho Cordova,  CA  95742

All that and I'm still not sure what it does. It displays 'millions of 
colors'. This implies that it uses its own display hardware, perhaps 
genlocking its image onto the Amiga monitor, but the ad isn't specific 
enough to tell... It digitises. O.K. I know what that is, and it seems 
to do it from any still video source, but I'm not convinced of that.
This ad (as are all typically) was full of hyped adjectives which I 
deleted, just to see what it would look like afterward. Since it's not 
shipping yet, and there's no fixed price, I won't sit around waiting. 
I'd have to see a lot more than this. Too bad this ad wasn't more 
specific about this unit's capabilities. Especially too bad bacause I 
might be interested.

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| Kitakaze Tatsu Raito	Neil Gilmore     internet:gilmore@macc.wisc.edu | 
| Jararvellir,          MACC, UW-Madison bitnet: gilmore@wiscmac3       |  
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