ATI AIW 7200 AGP vs APEX DRX-9000

[lordsmurf]

Tonight I recorded Stargate SG-1 on both my ATI AIW 7200 AGP card and the APEX DRX-9000 just to compare. Source: channel 244 (SciFi) on DirecTV.

- ATI AIW settings = 352x480 interlaced MPEG-2 at 3.42 VBR (max 4.00, min assumed at 0.00) 1I4P2B with 256k AC3, VideoSoap despeckle 10%

- APEX settings = LP mode, 352x480 interlaced MPEG-2 at 2.50 VBR (max 9.80, min assumed 0.00) 1I4P2B with 256k AC3

- ATI FILE SIZE = 1.74 GB (commercials not removed)
- APEX FILE SIZE = 1.05 GB (again commercials not removed)

They share the same coax, in passthrough mode, with the APEX getting it first, and APEX output goes to ATI card. The ATI AIW has some minor noise, but it may be a groundloop that will soon be fixed.

The APEX does not have any real Macroblock noise (unlike other recorders, notably Panasonic), while intense scenes will get macroblocks on the ATI MPEG capture (which is due to the low bitrate, a more proper MPEG-2 bitrate is 4.0-5.0). In this aspect, the APEX excels, even with it's lower CVD bitrate.

But the ATI card capture is crisper. If it had zero noise, it'd be easier to see the greater sharpness of the ATI capture. Even moreso if VideoSoap was not in use!

Tonight's winner: APEX.
Why? Mainly filesize. And less noise (not really ATI's fault, my wires).
Of course, this only works on live captures. Introduce any degraded VHS source, and the APEX (and any other recorder) quickly becomes a brick and taking second fiddle to the ATI card and the control granted to it on the computer. I have a whole stack of tapes that the APEX (or any other recorder for that matter) cannot handle.

[johns0]

Have you tried the 2 fm adapters soldered to each other filter for the ground loop problem you discussed in another thread?

[donpedro]

Great... I wish that pictures are side by side, but anyway cool

I like Apex pictures more. Especialy on first set of pictures...

[lordsmurf]

@johns0
That's a project for Sunday. Yes, soldering two together will be what I do. I'm going to use two sets too, one in the early, and one near the end, as power interrupts may enter at several junctions.

@donpedro
I did not do side-by-side because I would have to shrink the images. The JPEG is actually causing a little extra noise in the ATI images because the raw JPEGs are 140k each. The board has a 60k limit, these are about 55k each. ... BUT! when this info is present on lordsmurf.com, you can bet they'll be side by side, and I'll be showing a lot more kinds of tests. This was #1, got about 4-5 more I want to do, especially after I get my groundloop fixed.