Cinemaster HARDWARE - I need a fast answer on this one, please!

[Arky]

Can anyone tell me for certain, which of the HARDWARE Cinemaster cards work correctly with Maestro and Scenarist? (Sequoyan / Mikeathome / Easy2bcheesy, do YOU know..?)

I have been offered a Cinemaster 2.1, but I know little of these cards and I have a nagging memory from a post months back on Flexion, that there was a particular Cinemaster card which does NOT work with the above apps.

I only have a day to decide, since the person who has offered it to me is going to just sell it as part of the rest of his ageing system unless I make him an offer tomorrow.

Also, is there a budget alternative? Sigma's Netstream works with Maestro and Scenarist, doesn't it?? But Ii think it's about $300...


Thanks for any (speedy!) advice


Arky ;o)

[TRILIGHT]

Hey Arky. Just didn't want you to think you were going unoticed. Since you don't have an answer yet, I started looking around myself. So far, I don't have a definitive answer but something to find out is if it is a Cinemaster C or a Cinemaster S series card. The info I found says that the Cinemaster S series cards ONLY work in Windows 9x! More than just a "little" negative in my opinion. ;)

I also found this on the old Spruce forum. Bear in mind that someone else posted this so I can't vouch for it but thought you might want to read it anyway...

"The Cinemaster decoder card will work only on Motherboard with 440 chipset. If you are using a Motherboard with chipset other than 440, Cinemaster will not install. If you can not find an older motherboard with 440 chipset, you need to replace the Cinemaster with Netstream 2000 by Sigma Design(www.sigmadesigns.com). This card will work on most Motherboard. If you use this card make sure you use version 2.8 software."

I know all of this isn't the answer you're looking for. Just thought I'd offer SOMETHING. :)

[TRILIGHT]

I also found this which may be of some help to you. Seems hardware isn't even necessary...

http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=15613

I was always bothered that I could not get sound on the preview but after reading this post, it works fine. :)

[tom para]

Arky pal. My input:

Cinemaster 1.2C imprinted on the card (with a cCube chip on it, not Brooktree). I have searched and collected 5 different cinemasters by far ranging from versions 1.0 to 3.0 and other than 1.2C, the rest all cause tons of grief and loss of $$$.

How can you tell ?
HARDWARE: Install in NT w/ proper driver, hook up the TV output, start your NT and you'll see SMPTE colorbars right away on the TV screen. This is THE SIGNATURE and this is THE REAL DEAL.

SOFTWARE: NT Control Panel/multimedia/devices/mixer devices, you must see "Cinemaster C 1.2 Mixer, Audio driver version 1.0.00.0022" or similar.

[Ragornette]

from my memory, cinemaster 1.2 rev C
nothing else
they use to sell these cards only with software
but it's very seldom to find one
I don't remember the name, but a guy in canada who is selling cinemaster stuff (he was a reseller) must have one once a year.

But these cards are expensive.

Have fun

[Arky]

Thankyou for your replies, one and all! :)

Much obliged.

I found this additional page on the eyescream site, which concurs with your above remarks, but also confuses me MORE!:

http://www.eyescream.se/~niclas/dvd/cinemaster/downloads.htm

How is it that the 1.2c apparently offers no TV out, yet it is the TV out which is the reason it is so useful on Spruce/Daikin systems? It seems only the 1.2, and not the 1.2c, offers TV/Svideo out, but Spruce and Daikin offer no driver support for it. This is doing my head in - and what's more, it seems that in order to use the card with Spruce or Daikin, I'll probably have to abandon Win2k and use /NT instead...
ARGGHH!!! :eek:

...and then, of course, there's the possible 440-chipset issue... :rolleyes: :confused:

Owing to the time constraints placed upon me, I'm gonna take a risk, I think.

STILL, I'd be very grateful for any further input on the above confusion!

Thanks again,


Arky ;o)


BTW, Trilight, I am aware of the software solution for preview under Maestro, but I like the idea of using a decent hardware card - after all, many of the Spruce turnkey systems use them.

[Ragornette]

1.2 c should have TV out in order to preview on screen the project and to be able to make simulation. Even Maestro has an option to send images to TV.

1.2 c are special card only made for software like spruce and daikin.
the question is to know if the one you can get is the good one and if there are more 1.2 c than the one we know, in this case, that could be confusing.

[Arky]

Thanks all for your guidance, I missed out on the original card, but managed to find a jammy bargain on e-bay - **£5**!! (+ P&P lol ) :D

Unfortunately, there is no TV out - just SP-Dif (this is for audio, isn't it..??). It was ripped out of an old Dell.

However, I am still happy cos Maestro totally recognises and acknowledges the card, and it seems to make navigation testing, and chapter point placement/timeline scrubbing much more stable.

Thanks again for all your help, peop's, I really appreciate it.


Arky ;o)



Oh, BTW, this disproves that Spruce Forum post regarding incompatibility with later Intel Chipsets, but I still appreciate the above post regarding this, since it might just as easily have turned out to be correct.

[TRILIGHT]

SPDIF is digital audio out. I'm fairly certain it stands for Sony/Philips Digital Interface Format. Anyway, let us know how the card works out!

[anoopkumar]

Arky, how did you get Maestro to recognize the card?

I've installed a Cinemaster 1.2C (with C-Cube chip) card and a generic SiS 6326-based AGP card with VMI connector in my Win2K Pro machine. The drivers for both installed perfectly the first time.:D However, Maestro still does not know that a DVD decoder is available.:(

Is this the wrong version of the card, or do I need to install some more .dll's or other software? I don't yet have a VMI cable, but I'm planning to make one from a floppy cable. Is the VMI cable all that is required for Maestro to recognize the card? I will have the VMI cable soon enough, but I'd like to know if I need to do something else.

Anxiously awaiting a learned response....

Updates:
-- I just thought about the fact that this AGP card has S-Video and composite outputs. In addition to the question posed above, is the DVD picture available on the VGA port as well as the S-Video and composite outputs?
-- I saw an article about how to install the Ravisent DVD Player 1.5 in Windows 2000 (http://www.eyescream.se/~niclas/DVD/cinemaster/docs/dvdplayer_win2k.htm) that refers to the Cinemaster card driver and Cinemaster Player, both for Windows 98. If anyone has any information;) about this, maybe he/she could IM me?

[DmitryM]

Please, help!

I tried to install Cinemaster 1.2c Card. I have Abit BX133 i440 and win2k with SP2. Driver was installed by windows, and I can see black on the TV monitor after driver was installed, but windows say's - DEVICE CANNOT START!

What is the reason??:confused:

I have also MATROX Rt2000 with G400 installed.

[wytdevil]

PLEASE HELP !!
Seems like you guys may have figuered out how to get around the Decoder Card issue on the DVD Maestro. My card recently Burned out!!
And I hate the Real Player Simulator from Sigma Designs.
I am looking for a Emulation program other than the Net Streams 2000 Real Player. I loved the QI program that came with the Cinemaster 1.2.
I need something that will support 8-bits and 16x9 movies the Real Player I have does not do that.!!!
Any suggestions PLEASE FIRE AWAY !!!!!

I am running a Windows NT 4.0 DVD Maestro 2915a
Thanks
Steve