EchoFX is perhaps best known to Mac users up to now as the company that continued sales and support of the InterView after XLR8 Inc. shut down. Now the company has developed a new Mac OS X-native solution — USBVision — and has expanded its support way beyond just the InterView.
USBVision retains support for the XLR8 InterView, but it also supports third-party USB video interfaces like Belkin’s VideoBus and VideoBus II interfaces, iRez USB Live and CapSure, Global Village’s VideoFX, Alpha Data’s USB Video Adapter, Hauppage’s USB-Live and many others, including many that are sold as PC-only solutions. And if you’re not sure if the device that’s been gathering dust in your equipment closet works, plug it in and download the installer — EchoFX says that if your device shows up when you click the “Devices” button, it should work.
USBVision supports NTSC, PAL and SECAM video capture, works with composite and S-Video formats, and stores about an hours’ worth of video and audio in 4GB of disk space. It can manage single-frame capture, if you prefer, and includes software to export video to QuickTime-supported formats, including DV.
The US$25 software also provides up to eight video capture devices to run simultaneously on one computer — handy if you’re running Ben Bird’s SecuritySpy software, for example, or SubRosaSoft’s HomeGuardian package. Multiple devices can also be used with video Webcasting software and Webcam software, providing the ability for one computer to upload video source from multiple devices to the Internet.
While USBVision’s roots like in the original InterView-only software, a number of improvements have been made, according to EchoFX. Features have been added like a snapshot button, audio input, and increased compatibility with third-party software. The USBVision Capture software spots hardware-accelerated full screen playback and support for AppleScript.
If you already own InterView for Mac OS X, you can upgrade to USBVision free of charge. And if you don’t have a USB video input device, EchoFX sells the original InterView for $64.95.