Miglia Technology Limited, a UK company, is now shipping a PCI enabled version of its PAL/NTSC analogue to digital video (and reverse) converter, Miglia Director’s Cut PCI.
Miglia Director’s Cut PCI enables users of older PCI based Macs that don’t have a FireWire port to use both the DV bridge and also new generation DV cameras. With a computer and Miglia Director’s Cut PCI all the user will need to add is a video editing application.
Miglia Director’s Cut, which hasn’t yet made it to the Americas, simply “sees” a DV camera and is ready to receive a video signal from the source. The Director’s Cut will also enable Digital Video editors to export their finished movies to any analog video device, such as VHS tape, according to Miglia spokesperson Nick Peart. By combining Miglia Director’s Cut with a new generation DVD-R it’s possible to create digital DVD archives from “mountains” of old analog footage, he added. Miglia Director’s Cut also brings extra life to “old” analogue video equipment, Peart said. For instance, home video directors can use their old cameras together with a new DV camera to record multiple angles of the same scene.
Separate audio recording devices such as tape and mini disc recorders can also be used to provide continuous sound tracks for laying on top of the movies, in addition to the sound track from the video. Miglia Director’s Cut works with both PAL and NTSC video formats. Director’s Cut has separate composite, S-Video, sound-in/out connectors for video and audio input/output. A unique feature is the ability to watch the imported or exported video and audio footage on a preview monitor, Peart said.
The FireWire PCI card will also enable users to take advantage of other FireWire products like CD-RW, and external FW hard drives, according to Peart. He said that the addition of a FireWire PCI card to the basic Director’s cut product line-up is the first in a line of authorized accessories that Miglia will ship to complement the DV bridge (Director’s Cut). The product line-up will include a gold plated composite/S-Video to SCART converter to enable the use of Director’s Cut with any SCART enabled video recorder or TV.
Miglia Director’s Cut PCI carries a suggested retail price of £339 (+VAT). Sorry, North American users, but the product is only available via distributors in Europe, the Middle East and Asia/Pacific areas.